After kicking off the show with the sweet summer vibes of Giant Fang, I welcomed Drew Wright, a.k.a. Wounded Knee into the studio as my session guest for the evening. With a wonderfully obscure selection of tracks under his arm, we chatted, mused about protest songs, and discussed the Whatever Gets You Through The Night project. And there was plenty rummaging in the infamous bawbag to choose the three live songs you'll hear during the show.
There's the usual serving of new Scottish music too, including tracks from the forthcoming Camera Obscura, Boards Of Canada, Quickbeam and Algernon Doll albums, plus a Cover Lover and Re-Mixing It Up track. Huzzah!
The latest Scottish Fiction podcast, which aired on Pulse Community Radio on 7th November 2012, features an orgy of great new Scottish music. There's a first play of a track from Queen Jane's new EP, Trapped In Kansas, Magic Daddy and CHVRCHES. Boo-yah!
On top of that our Featured Artist is cult heroes The Vaselines, there's a track from Kid Canaveral's debut album 'Shouting At Wildlife' which features as our Classic Scottish Album. Our Re-Mixing It Up track is a smoking Discopolis remix of 'The Fog' by Rachel Sermanni and our Aye Tunes Friday Freebie track comes from The Douglas Firs. Enjoy!
A few months ago we ran the Scottish Fiction free music treasure hunt featured twelve free tracks from some of our favourite Scottish artists. These tracks were then hidden amongst our EP's for you to find and discover, all in aid of celebrating one year's worth of free music via our Scottish Fiction EP's.
As the EP's have come to a, hopefully temporary, stop, we thought it would be good to put all of the tracks together for the first time, and let you get a hold of them all if you haven't already done so.
So get downloading, and share with your pals. Here's what's on the EP:
The Son(s) - Karl a.k.a. The Son(s) has dusted down an old unreleased track,
'Wanton' and given it to us to finally give it a home!
Randolph's Leap
- The eight piece indie folksters have never been bigger, with T In The
Park and King Tut's Summer Nights safely tucked under their belts. For
our treasure hunt they have contributed 'Wack' a track from their mega
special 'The Way Of The Mollusc' EP.
Discopolis
- Electronic three piece Discopolis are one of Scottish music's hottest
property. With a whole heap of new material on the way, they have
kindly given us an exclusive brand new track 'Indiependance'.
Ambulances -
Responsible for one of my favourite albums of 2012 so far, Ambulances
offer up a remix of their album track 'Falling Apart' by Cian Ciaran of
the Super Furry Animals.
Lovers Turn To Monsters
- Kyle Wood, a.k.a. Lovers Turn To Monsters is a creative dynamo. He
also has a penchant for covering lo-fi punk songs, and has given us a
cover of 'The Goldheart Mountain Top Queen Directory' by Guided By
Voices. Kyle's version has been mixed and edited by Craig McConnell.
DOLFiNZ - Another brand new exclusive track from the DOLFiNZ lads called 'Protein Shake Brain'.
Miniature Dinosaurs
- Having recently signed to Integrity Records this can only mean good
things, hopefully in the form of new material. Meanwhile we've got an
acoustic recording of old favourite 'Alligator'.
The Mouse That Ate The Cat - The indie electro pop duo have whipped up a new track with the help
of Kerr Okan of The LaFontaines called 'Going Away'
Satellite Dub
- Craig Brown is Satellite Dub, responsible for some of the best beats
around. He's given us a brand new and exclusive track 'Kizuna
Encounter' for our EP. Enjoy!
IndianRedLopez
- The Aberdeen five piece are tucked away in the studio working on
album number two. On the EP's is an
alternative version of 'Silence/Vacuum' which will feature on that new
album.
Run/Lucky/Free -We love a good live track, and Run/Lucky/Free have given us just that! A live acoustic version of their track 'Denim Skyes'.
Mitchell Museum
- We were majorly chuffed when Mitchell Museum reformed, and even more
so when they generously gave us a brand new exclusive track 'The Closer
We Got The Harder We Fell'.
On this week's show we were joined in the studio by live guests 7of7. As there were 6 of them, it got a bit crowded, but fun nonetheless! The band played two live tracks, one of which was a special cover, and chose some tracks to play during the first hour of the show. In between all that there was some chat about their music and more! Sadly due to a recording mishap, the first 10 minutes of the show are missing. Sorry 'bout that! There's also bag loads of new Scottish music from the likes of Evil Hand, Father Sculptor and Be Like Pablo. More good music than you can wildly shake a stick at!
This week's show featured a bevvy of new music including the likes for The State Broadcasters, the new single from Admiral Fallow, Discopolis and some unearthed gems from Tambay and Nassim Donald. Our Featured Artist this week was Edwyn Collins, and we also had a track from our Classic Scottish Album 'Please Describe Yourself' by Dogs Die In Hot Cars. Get stuck in!
We have released our twelfth FREE EP today in the form of Scottish Fiction July 2012 EP and as promised we have scattered 12 exclusive tracks from some of Scotland's finest artists across our 12 EP's which you can find on our Bandcamp.
Here's a reminder of the 12 artists and a little synopsis of their tracks:
The Son(s) - Karl a.k.a. The Son(s) has dusted down an old unreleased track, 'Wanton' and given it to us to finally give it a home. Just where that home is however is up to you to find out!
Randolph's Leap - The eight piece indie folksters have never been bigger, with T In The Park and King Tut's Summer Nights safely tucked under their belts. For our treasure hunt they have contributed 'Wack' a track from their mega special 'The Way Of The Mollusc' EP.
Discopolis - Electronic three piece Discopolis are one of Scottish music's hottest property. With a whole heap of new material on the way, they have kindly given us an exclusive brand new track 'Indiependance'.
Ambulances - Responsible for one of my favourite albums of 2012 so far, Ambulances offer up a remix of their album track 'Falling Apart' by Cian Ciaran of the Super Furry Animals.
Lovers Turn To Monsters - Kyle Wood, a.k.a. Lovers Turn To Monsters is a creative dynamo. He also has a penchant for covering lo-fi punk songs, and has given us a cover of 'The Goldheart Mountain Top Queen Directory' by Guided By Voices. Kyle's version has been mixed and edited by Craig McConnell.
DOLFiNZ - Another brand new exclusive track from the DOLFiNZ lads. Get searching to find their track 'Protein Shake Brain'.
Miniature Dinosaurs - Having recently signed to Integrity Records this can only mean good things, hopefully in the form of new material. Meanwhile we've got an acoustic recording of old favourite 'Alligator' hiding in amongst our previous EP's.
The Mouse That Ate The Cat - The indie electro pop duo have whipped up a new track with the help of Kerr Okan of The LaFontaines. Get looking for 'Going Away' and enjoy!
Satellite Dub - Craig Brown is Satellite Dub, responsible for some of the best beats around. He's given us a brand new and exclusive track 'Kizuna Encounter' for our EP treasure hunt. Enjoy!
IndianRedLopez - The Aberdeen five piece are tucked away in the studio working on album number two. Lurking in amongst our previous EP's is hidden an alternative version of 'Silence/Vacuum' which will feature on that new album.
Run/Lucky/Free -We love a good live track, and Run/Lucky/Free have given us just that! A live acoustic version of their track 'Denim Skyes'.
Mitchell Museum - We were majorly chuffed when Mitchell Museum reformed, and even more so when they generously gave us a brand new exclusive track 'The Closer We Got The Harder We Fell'.
Now you know what's up for grabs the only place to get them is by going in with our treasure hunt. Each of the above tracks is hidden in one of our 12 FREE EP's. So head over to our Bandcamp page and get downloading each of our FREE EP's to discover each of these hidden gems! For those of you who like things made even easier, just click on each of the 12 links below to be taken directly to the relevant EP and download it there.
Also please take the time to listen to the other music which is on each of these EP's. They are from hugely talented Scottish artists, and whilst we are excited about offering some exclusive tracks, we also want to promote as much Scottish talent as possible!
On yesterday's show we
had a very special guest in for Festival Focus, none other than Jamie
Murray Festival Director of Doune The Rabbit Hole! Jamie was chatting
about what makes their festival great, and played some music from three
of the acts playing.
We also had our usual Peenko Friday Freebie track, our Featured
Artist was Primal Scream, our Classic Scottish Album was
Dananananaykroyd's 'Hey Everyone', and we had exclusive first plays of
new tracks from Discopolis and Mitchell Museum. Phew!
King Creosote - I'll Fly By The Seat Of My Pants - As chosen by Jamie Murray of Doune The Rabbit Hole
Punch And The Apostles - Tie Me To The Mast - As chosen by Jamie Murry of Doune The Rabbit Hole
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - Let's Stop Here - As chosen by Jamie Murry of Doune The Rabbit Hole
A week ago on Saturday we unveiled probably the biggest thing to happen here on Scottish Fiction. In less than two weeks time we'll be unleashing twelve fantastic tracks from some of the best Scottish artists around, slipping one hidden track onto each of our 12 monthly EP's. Read all about just how it's going to work, and how awesome it all is right here.
And then come on back here and check out the next two names contributing a track. It's exciting!
Mitchell Museum - Reformed, not like cheap luncheon meat but like ageing rock stars, Glasgow four piece Mitchell Museum a whole heap of fun wrapped up in quirky inventiveness. In the process of recording their second album, the Mitchell Museum boys will be throwing a new track our way.
Discopolis - They were the soundtrack to summer last year, bursting onto the scene with urgency and riding a wave of expectations. Beautifully crafting electronic shoegaze music, the past 12 months has seen Japanese super stardom, a single Zenithobia, and multiple plays on shows such as BBC Introducing In Scotland. Exciting!
Remember, Sunday 29th July is the big date, when we scatter twelve tracks across the Scottish Fiction EP's.
What can I say about the BBC's Sound of 2012 that hasn't already been said? Yes most of the artists are already signed to major labels, and yes the more cynical amongst us may believe that those labels are heavily influencing the list to get their act a foot ahead. But the bottom line is that no one, (not even dear old Auntie Beeb) can truly define what you or I will be listening to next year. Because if you truly love music, then you'll spend some time to discover it for yourself.
I doubt many people are looking at the 15 names thinking to themselves, "right that's my listening duties wrapped up for the next twelve months". However the more worrying thing is that a lot of people will happily accept this list as the 'best' new music, and will not delve further.
I shouldn't be self-righteous about it either. Afterall, I like the sound of 'Friends' and 'Dry The River', and there will probably be a lot of success for a few others on the list. And maybe that's what it serves to do. Provide a list of artists who will probably achieve commerical success next year. But we all know that's not always worth much, see: Adele.
So to the point. The Sound of 2012 will be whatever you decide it to be. All lists and tips are simply served up as suggestions for your listening pleasure. How much faith you place in those suggestions are purely down to the value you place on the person suggesting. And with that confidence shattering realisation, here's my picks for 2012:
Discopolis This is an easy one. The blazed their way through a headline slot on the BBC Introducing Stage at this years T In The Park, they've been tipped by many commentators including the NME with a vomit inducing comment about setting the heather ablaze (seriously? How much heather do you see in Edinburgh city centre?), and they have been giging like mad over the past 6 months. With a sound fused from the shoe-gazing wonder of The Cocteau Twins, the roar and urgency of M83 and the electro dance beats of LCD Soundsystem, and a debut album hopefully forthcoming in 2012, Discopolis should garner fans to them in a similar way that saw Japan warm to them earlier this year!
Bear Bones Bands just seem to be getting larger these days. Not content with the age old line up of drums, bass, lead and rhythm, Bear Bones are an 8 piece bethemoth lovingly whittled in the sounds of Admiral Fallow, Open Swimmer and Frightened Rabbit. There's a distinct Scottish warmth and melody behind their sound, and with an album out (hopefully) next year more people should get to appreciate that.
I first discovered Rachel Sermanni when she supported Admiral Fallow back in 2010. Even then it was clear she was extremely talented and special, if albeit a little shy. 2011 has seen her playing SXSW, Wickerman and a stand out set at this year's T In The Park. With a debut EP, Black Currents dropping in January 2012, Rachel's star will certainly be in the ascendency.
I make no secret about the fact I love Michael Cassidy's music. He has a fantastic and mesmerising voice, and having become very familiar with a lot of his tracks, I am really looking forward to hearing the final article which hopefully should come with a debut album release next year. The singer/songwriter niche is hard to successfully crack, but I'm sure Michael is up to the job.
These lucky buggers recently had their song 'History' named as the Scottish Fiction 'single of 2011'. They have sinced followed this gem of a track with another two songs, 'Are You Who You Think You Are?' and 'Devil Of Mine'. With a C86 twee sound, all the noises eminating from this quirky quartet point to further brilliance. I do hope I'm right!
I'm rather excited about Glasgow band French Wives debut album with will be out next year. They released 'Numbers' on 24th October and to say it has whetted the appetite would not even begin to describe it. The album itself has a lot of promise with Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai) on producing duties.
Open Swimmer are a diverse bunch. Hailing from Glasgow, Sweden and Australia where there debut album was recorded. That album should be released on the public in 2012, and you'd be wise to look out for it as single Sugar Bowl, released earlier this year, was bloody awesome! And the band are just off the back of a performance on Ally McCrae's BBC Introducting In Scotland
So there you have it. Seven artists who are worth your time in 2012. Why seven? Well let's just say me and the laptop had a little disagreement resulting in me punching it, so I had to finish this post on my iPhone.
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