The Scotsman, Under The Radar, December 2012
Copyright The Scotsman NewspaperPublished in print: Thursday 6th December 2012Photo copyright Euan RobertsonClick Photo below to read on Scotsman.com
Garden of Elks is the latest project from Niall Strachan, one half of Bronto Skylift, and boasts a splendid chunky guitar sound with alternating male and female vocals. Already creating a bit of a buzz with Highland tastemaker Marion Scott on Moray Firth Radio, as well as the BBC’s Vic Galloway and the Song By Toad blog, the band launch a AA-sided cassette single at Milk’s Christmas party in Glasgow on 19 December. Get a taste of what lies ahead with this live video of our track of the month, This Morning We Are Astronauts. Play below or visit: http://youtu.be/LAtubc-HCUw
Hear Glasgow (an organisation that gives young people access to / opportunities to participate in music), is running a free weekly Monday night showcase in Glasgow’s George Square in the lead up to Christmas and Hogmanay. The gigs are part of a wider Winter Festival and hosted by DJ Jim Gellatly. Confirmed acts include St Deluxe, Teen Canteen, Hector Bizerk, Julia & The Doogans and Jo Mango. Visit www.hearglasgow.org Threads of Sound is a non-profit record label and promotions company which releases recordings of live gigs and is run by event managers, sound engineers and digital distributors. To date it has released artists as diverse as The Amphetameanies, Maple Leaves, RM Hubbard and The Rezillos. The latest offering takes place at Stereo on 14th December, featuring Turning Plates and How To Swim. Visit www.threadsofsound.com Celebrating 10 years in existence, indie music publication Is This Music? has a special live evening lined up at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus. The party is headlined by local indie legends ballboy with a solo performance from Adam Thompson of We Were Promised Jetpacks on 13 December. Visit Visit www.isthismusic.com/category/news for tickets and details on 10 years supporting Scottish music.Two days later the capital’s Summerhall will see a full-day extravaganza called Tinderbox Fest which features the amazing Tinderbox youth Orchestra and numerous guest acts including the Dark Jokes, Matt Norris and Broken Records. Visit www.tinderboxproject.co.uk Thanks to a film and recent tour, an obscure Detroit-based artist called Rodriguez has become world famous four decades after his first release. Now it seems that a 64-year-old Highlander is also enjoying a career revival, thanks to his song Wanna Make You Happy being used in skateboard commercial which has been viewed over 250,000 times. Recording under the name Jeep Solid, and known to his pals [including Jools Holland] as Rod, the artist recently had his 1971 album Fake Sugar re-released on one of our favourite Scottish labels, KFM Records. View the video below:Kid Canaveral host their third festive bash, Christmas Baubles III at the Caves on 22 December with an excellent programme of bands, comedians and DJs. The line up features er, Kid Canaveral as well as Malcolm Middleton, King Creosote VS FOUND, Josie Long, Meursault, Randolph’s Leap, Pictish Trail (DJ set), Elaine Malcolmson and plenty more. Full details and tickets visit Visit www.kidcanaveral.co.uk Hercules Moments have released their free annual compilation download highlighting the Aberdeen scene, titled ‘Hercules Moments: Vol. 3’. Founded by two students in 2009 to promote the music they loved, the online music magazine (and label) has become a comprehensive resource for what is happening in and around the North East of Scotland. The compilation has music from artists including Boy With Compass, Cara Mitchell, Das McManus and Orienteering. It is available from www.herculesmoments.co.uk A welcome addition to Edinburgh’s live music scene, Czech themed nightclub Pivo on Carlton Road now programmes gigs. The free entry shows were launched by Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit. Visit www.facebook.com/pivo.edinburgh • Olaf Furniss and Derick Mackinnon run the Born To Be Wide music industry seminars. The next event is a ‘Talk Show’ and fund raiser for the free concerts offered at the annual Wide Days event. Guests include Ally McCrae (BBC Radio 1), Bruce Findlay (Simple Minds) and music journalist Nicola Meighan, with live performances from Panda Su, Stanley Odd, Donna Maciocia and Austen George. Visit Born To Be Wide