SCOTTISH MUSIC IN 2016 - WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO

I wasn't going to do this as many others have already taken care of this topic, most notably Murray Easton's superb post on his Everything Flows blog where he lists 16 things to look out for this year. Have a read of that as there's loads of good stuff there. Anyway, I keep getting emails about new things and reading about bands and their forthcoming releases so, in no order particularly, these are a few things I'm keeping an eye out for this year:

1. New NightSchool records magic

In a recent interview I did with Michael Kasparis, he mentioned that 2016 will see new releases from Happy Meals, Apostille, Molly Nilsson and two as yet unnamed artists. It's also the label's 5th anniversary and it keeps going from strength to strength

2. A new Machines In Heaven album

Easily one of the intriguing electronic bands around, Machines In Heaven's second album promises to have a more experimental feel than their bordersbreakdown debut. It's going to be superb - that's guaranteed

3. Twissted

One of my favourite electronic bands and one who are definitely going to grab a lot of attention this year, Twissted will be releasing a new e.p. and touring this year. Not to be missed.

4. The Insomniac Project

You've read all about them here already (here and here) and you're going to read a lot more about them this year in many more places. There's a reason James Murphy got scared and brought LCD Soundsystem out of hiding you know...

5. Kill The Waves

The band are due to record their second album for the rather lovely Bloc Music label and, if it's anything like debut The One That Could Have Been it's going to be splendid. Read all about it and Bloc Music's forthcoming plans here http://blocmusic.org/news/happy-new-year/

6. King Tut's New Year's Revolution

This is basically the best of new Scottish music crammed into one legendary venue, spread over 16 nights. The gig on 13 January featuring Tongues and Machines In Heaven looks unmissable (http://www.kingtuts.co.uk/gig-info/?gig=6862) but there are so many wonderful bands to see over the length of the event (7 January to 23 January) that you'd be best advised to take residence in King Tut's an enjoy the whole lot. The Apache Darling headline set on 20 January (http://www.kingtuts.co.uk/artist-biog/?artist=6870) is also bound to be a belter. I've seen them play King Tut's before and they were magnificent.

7. Chvrches at the Hydro on 2nd April

This is obviously going to one of the gigs of the year. A hometown show, a Saturday night and The Twilight Sad on the bill. Ridiculous. 

8. The Twilight Sad

I missed the Barrowlands gig sadly but I'm making up for it a bit by seeing them at the Chvrches show and then in Berlin later on in the year supporting The Cure. The fact that Robert Smith handpicked them to support on a sold out worldwide arena tour is amazing, The Twilight Sad are going to make thousands of new fans this year.

9. Other blogs

I'm going to be immersed in an all consuming Depeche Mode project until the end of March meaning my writing about new Scottish bands will suffer. But, there are far better places to read about that anyway and blogs like Everything Flows, Gold Flake Paint, Podcart and of course one of my other homes and, frankly, one of the best music blogs there is full stop Scottish Fiction will more than take care of your needs. The job these blogs do in promoting new music can't be ignored - go and read them all. 

After you've read this obviously

10. HQFU

This blog's Best New Band of 2015 is going to have a huge year. A new ep, a tour and no doubt more majestic electronic wonderfulness awaits.

11. Call To Mind and The Son(s) at the Glad Cafe on 30 January

Two of the brilliant Olive Grove Records finest bands playing a gig in a great venue about 5 minutes from my house - how cool is that? Just needs a Martin Gore DJ support to top it off. Maybe you can call him Lloyd? Tickets here http://www.musicglue.com/the-glad-cafe/events/30-jan-16-independent-venue-week-call-to-mind--the-sons-the-glad-cafe/

There are 11 things for you to mull over. I could have gone on and mentioned the inevitable rise of Kloe, a new Friends In America album, Hot Gem continuing to put out some of the most inventive electronic music there is, the SAYS, the BAMS and more but I had to stop eventually. An in-depth analysis of the samples used on the Death Mix of Fly On The Windscreen won't write itself. 

All I would add is that, as far as I can recall, there has never been a better and more fertile music scene in Scotland than we have at the moment. Go and check all of it out, buy the records (at Love Music Glasgow and Monorail), see the bands, read the blogs and enjoy it. 2016 is going to be quite superb.

THE ALMOST PREDICTABLES 2015 NO.3 - BEST SINGLE

2015 has been a year when my ears have been stuffed with outstanding new tunes both from seasoned artists and from new ones.  One of the many wonderful things about writing this blog is the number of tunes that artists send me to listen to, so Best Single focuses on songs that have been sent to me or that I've stumbled upon online.  That means Everything Everything miss out for No Reptiles and Hot Chip miss out for Hurrache Lights but they'll cope. This isn't going to be a top twenty however as I don't want to miss anything out from what has been a great year for music - instead, it'll be a review of sorts followed by the virtual handing over of the virtual award.

Electronic music is this blog's main thing and a number of acts I've got to know and whose music I love have released a number of singles this year and they are all worth listening to if you haven't already. Leading the way are Tongues who's three singles (Anymore, Religion  and You Never Knew Me) have all been on heavy rotation round here this year. Check out Tongues Soundcloud page other them all. What makes Tongues stand out is the sheer digital perfection of their take on electronic pop. At the other end of that spectrum, you'll find the "melancholitronica" of Shards three singles ( Just To Get Something Started, Afterwards and Sad Sayonara, Goodbye) fit the band's self anointed description perfectly. Clever, thoughtful electronic music that, like Tongues, won't fail to move you. Again, check out Shards Soundcloud page to enjoy the music yourself.

Apache Darling are another band who've rightly grabbed a lot of attention this year. Firebird  was an example of powerful synthpop that really caught my ear this year. Their powerful love performances are always worth catching too. Also on the pop front, Kloe's Grip and Touch were highlights this year. You suspect that big things await Kloe. One of my real favourites this year were Twi§ted, the Glasgow based duo who are going to be huge next year. Everything they've released this year has been superb and Scunnered  was a close runner up to the event winner of this award. Here's the video for the track that the band released last week



Continuing the electronic theme, Shona Brown had a superb year with her 10 in 10 project which saw her release a single a month from November 2014 onwards. This year's Your Silence Is So Loud was my favourite of the bunch. Fiona Soe Paing's Heartbeat and Analog Angel's Your Breath  showed new exciting sides to acts, both of which promise much for the future.  Let's not forget HQFU too whose Dust & Dirt  and Ca$hle$$ Lip$ have already seen an Almost Predictable head her way. YuTaNi gave us one of this year's great tracks with Mt. Minakami. Away from Scotland, synthpop singles by Rodney Cromwell, High Jinx and the superb Priest were also highlights. Death Of Hi Fi's superb Swim Away is also a track you really have to catch from 2015.

It wasn't all synthpop though. Edinburgh's Gus Harrower produced confident, insanely catchy pop with Girl I Didn't Know and the marvellous Mt Doubt's Soak was a towering beast of a song. Wozniak and Kill The Waves also produced some superb material and Woodenbox gave us one of the songs of the year with More Girl Than Friend.

There's only one Almost Predictable however and this year, the Almost Predictable for Best Single goes to The Insomniac Project for their frankly perfect debut single In And Out (Of My Head) which this blog was proud to exclusively preview in August. This band is surely bound to get bigger and bigger. Their music is infectious and their live performances already have something of a celebratory air to them that should only see them play to bigger and bigger audiences as they develop. One to keep and eye on for certain. I caught up with Debz and Andy from the band for a chat. Before we get to that though, have a listen to the track


APA: Congratulations on winning the Almost Predictable for Best Single for In And Out (Of My Head). How's 20125 been for you?

Andy: It's been a great year, put simply. Even though we launched as a band in late 2014, we feel that this has been the first year that we can look back on and appreciate what we've done. We've hit a few milestones that we wanted to hit and, most importantly, we are on the up and pushing forward with more exciting things. We're played some great shows and still have a couple more to play, so for me, personally, having the connection and energy on stage and seeing it rub off on the crowd has been a highlight.

APA: What have been your highlights of this year?

Debz: There are two highlights for me. Our single launch at Sleazy's was mega. The venue was packed and the atmosphere was amazing. (APA: I was there and it was). I have to say though, our recent gig at King Tut's with Crash Club and Our Future Glory was something else! I've seen so many of my favourite bands play there, so I felt a bit giddy. It was a wicked night, although I think I'm still feeling the effects of the overzealous lighting man and his extreme strobe action!

APA: How did you find the reaction to the single? It seemed to go down extremely well.

Debz: We were a bit overwhelmed with the reaction to the single, so many kind words from bloggers and journalists. It was definitely what we wanted for the first single, but it's certainly not what we expected. In fact, we got quite a few emails that we were looking at thinking "Is this spam? Because if not it's AMAZING!"

APA: Your live shows are fast developing a reputation for being something special - how have you found the reaction to your gigs this year?

Debz: We've only played a small number of gigs, so to see people dancing and singing along to stuff is brilliant. I'd like to think we always bring loads of energy to the live shows, so it's amazing to see the audience getting into it too. We're definitely going to try and play a lot more next year.

APA: What are your plans for 2016?

Debz: As well as getting a few more gigs under our belt, we're working on a new single. I get the feeling 2016 will come with as many surprises as 2015. We've got a bit of a plan in mind, but the exciting thing is seeing what unexpected things happen along the way.

Andy: Yeah, as Debz say, we do have a plan in mind, however, ultimately we just want to keep growing as a band and keep having fun. We feel we've only just scratched the surface as far as exploring sounds and writing material is concerned so there will be plenty of time spent creating new songs and, critically, letting our fans hear them live and on record.

APA: Finally, given how this blog began there's an obligatory Depeche Mode question. What's your favourite Depeche Mode track?

Andy: Got to be honest, I'm not the biggest DM fan (sorry) (APA - that's ok...) however they do have a couple of cracking songs. Personal Jesus is really tribal and has a great drive to it - out of their big hits that's definitely my favourite. As a more left field option. The Things You Said from Music For The Masses is a really nice song. It screams 80's New Romantic, however it does have a sense of timelessness about it and some of the synth lines and lead parts are beautiful. It's a sort of lullaby almost, similar to Asleep by The Smiths which is another song I love

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Basically, picking The Things You Said forgives any suggestion of not being a big DM fan - easily one of the band's most wonderful tracks. Anyway....thanks very much to The Insomniac Project for taking part and I look forward to hearing what the band has to come for 2016. As for all the other bands who've sent me songs this year, thank you too and please feel free to keep sending as much music as you want next year and beyond.

Congratulations to The Insomniac Project - well deserved!

The Insomniac Project Facebook https://www.facebook.com/The-Insomniac-Project-330344370464489/?fref=ts 

INTERVIEW - TWI§TED

Twi§ted are a band I've been talking about for quite a while, having come across them in the early part of this year and featured them as the first of my New Bands 2015 (here). Since then, they've also featured on one of the Almost Scottish Fiction e.p's that I've put out with Scottish Fiction (grab it here) and I quite honestly can't get enough of them. A Glasgow based duo comprising Vicki Milne and Zoe Burnett, their releases thus far range from the superb electropop of Turn It Up to the dancier, icier and frankly stupendous Machines to the harder sounding but no less melodic Scunnered which you can listen to below. For those of you who aren't from Scotland, the word "scunnered" means fed up or something similar.

Anyway, very soon many, many people are going to know about Twi§ted so, I thought it was only right that we found out a bit more about them. This way, you'll be ahead of the game when all your friends start talking about them. It's the type of service I like to provide. Thanks to Vicki and Zoe for taking time out of their busy schedule to answer a few questions.

APA: How did Twi§ted come together?

T: We met several years ago at a casting audition and, realising we were kindred spirits, we quickly became firm friends. In the early days we had various opportunities to work with some local bands and songwriters. The sound was all very "pretty" and it was all good fun, but we quickly realised this was not really what we were all about and, after a chat with our friend and mentor Paul Buchanan (The Blue Nile), we had the confidence to strike out on our own. From there, we started writing and producing our own songs, finding our own sound. 

To take it to the next level, we approached Dave "Disco" McClean who was preciously in Union of Knives, a band we both loved. He helped add a professional edge to our recordings and as this has progressed, Dave has become an integral part of the band. And so, Twi§ted were born.

APA: Tell us who does what in the band

T: We co-write all the songs and of course do the vocals, recording the rough demos in a home studio. We then move it all into the studio with Dave where we bounce ideas around, pushing each other out of our comfort zones and experimenting until we are happy with the sound.

APA: I've always got to ask this one - who are your main influences?

T: The list is endless! We take inspiration from the whole musical spectrum; from Public Enemy through Nine Inch Nails to Leftfield. Seeing as you're pushing us for an answer though, I guess The Prodigy, Fever Ray and Goldfrapp are big influences.

On a personal level, our biggest influence is Paul Buchanan. Although he is infinitely more talented and his music is so massively different to ours, he gave us the tools to write, create and believe in what we do.

APA: For new listeners, describe your sound

T: Our sound is Electropop with a dark/glitchy edge. We write tracks that have meaning and aim to take the listener on a journey. We don't follow plans or structure norms - we just write and produce what feels right at the time

APA: Your songs thus far display a range of sounds and electronic influences at least to my ears. What area, if any, do you see your sound developing into? 

T: As we mentioned earlier, we don't really plan these things. Any change in direction will come about naturally (we refuse to us the word "organically!" APA - quite right). At this point, we enjoy what we are doing and will continue in this vein for as long as we get good reactions and people enjoy it.

APA: How have you found the reaction to the band thus far?

T: The reaction to the band so far has been fantastic. We have had a few reviews that we are really proud of and, so far, reaction from people on social media has been really heartening. We are slowly getting picked up by listeners thanks to blogs like yours, Scottish Fiction, Jim Gellatly and Synthopia (in Australia!) being long terms supporters. So far it has all been very positive which makes us think we might be doing something right!

APA: What are your plans for the future? Will we see any live shows?

T: We will be releasing a 5 track e.p. very soon so keep an eye on Twitter (@Twissted_band) for updates on that. We then plan to take it live and are currently in the process of planning and designing our stage show which we aim to start gigging towards the end of the summer. We have already been invited to play at a few venues but we want to make sure we put on the best shows we possibly can, so we have pushed these back to September.

APA: Finally - what are your favourite electronic albums?

T: There are so many - it's really difficult to pin down any ultimate favourites! Today, however, our answers would be: Music For The Jilted Generation (The Prodigy), The Private Press (DJ Shadow), Moon Safari (Air) and Ok Cowboy  (Vitalic). We're changing our minds as we think of this so we'll top there!

Thanks so much to Vicki and Zoe for answering these questions. Go and check out Twi§ted on their Facebook and Soundcloud pages and, as they said above, keep an eye on Twitter for all information about upcoming shows and, of course, the new e.p. I can't wait to hear that as on the evidence of their previous work, it's going to be something any fan of electronic music will want to hear.

Twi§ted Facebook

Twi§ted Soundcloud