IT’S an exciting time for new music in Scotland. Where do we start? How about an introduction to our track of the month: Little Finger by Our Lunar Activities – a band from the Isle of Lewis who specialise in serving up catchy, anthemic choruses.
The boys are just back from Los Angeles where they recorded their new album with Mark Hoppus (formerly of Blink 182) and Christopher Holmes (worked with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers).
The four-piece, whose singer Charlie Clark was formerly a member of Astrid, really look set to make their mark this year. They’re heading across the pond again in March to play SXSW in Austin, Texas, and they’ll be following that with another jaunt to LA for Musexpo in April.
You can hear the track by clicking on the green audio link above.
Also off to SXSW are Glaswegian sing-along electropop outfit Make Model. After the event they’ll be heading back to the UK for a relentless tour, playing almost a gig a day throughout March and April. The rest of the bands representing Scotland in Texas are: Sons and Daughters, Frightened Rabbit, The Dykeenies, Aberfeldy, Popup, Freddie Stevenson and The Law.
Closer to home, Edinburgh’s Hard Rock Café is hosting an impressive show on 4 March featuring none other than Ocean Colour Scene. The event is a fundraiser for the music therapy charity Nordoff-Robbins (
www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk). If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket for the Edinburgh show you will also be treated to the synth led indie-rock anthems of a local band who are fast on the rise, The Debuts, whom we had come down to DJ for us at last month’s Born To Be Wide. Visit
myspace.com/thedebutsmusic.
Another artist definitely worth the trek to your local music venue is Sixpeopleaway (
www.myspace.com/sixpeopleaway). The Falkirk duo have carved out an individual sound incorporating fractured laptop beats interwoven with bass, acoustic guitar and beautiful vocals.
They will self-release their excellent Intermittent Fault EP on 29 February and follow it up with a number of live dates across Scotland in March.
The quintessential guitar sound of Malcolm Ross underpinned the songs of 1980s legends Josef K, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera, and subsequently inspired the likes of Franz Ferdinand. Recently Ross has been gigging with Fire Engines drummer and Hunter S Thompson lookalike Russell Burn and his actor brother Tam Dean. On 6 March he will be playing his favourite records at Born To Be Wide, followed by shows with The Leopards in Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms (22 March) and Glasgow’s Nice N Sleazy (23 March).
Unfortunately, it’s not all bright and rosy for Scotland’s music scene. GCap Media, owners of XFM Scotland, have announced plans to sell off the station as part of a cost cutting programme. A buyer must be found by 28 March or the station’s FM license will have to be handed back to Ofcom. It’s a dire state of affairs, which could result in Scotland losing a valuable promotional platform for exposing new bands to a wider audience. So if there are any multi-millionaires reading this, here is a golden opportunity to acquire yourself a prominent, commercial FM radio station.
• Olaf Furniss and Derick Mackinnon run Edinburgh’s Born To Be Wide (
www.myspace.com/borntobewide) where bands and people involved in the music scene are invited to play their favourite records, as long as they are not by The Smiths or Joy Division. The night takes place monthly at The Street, Picardy Place, Edinburgh.
The full article contains 631 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
