After the distinct lack of beards on last week's show, into the studio came Ross Hoon owner of mighty fine facial hair and better known as Blue Rose Code. We chatted about his trip to Nashville, his album North Ten, and the process of reconnecting with Scotland and it's culture. In amongst that we managed to squeeze in three beautifully performed live tracks. The second hour of the show is feature packed, with Re-Mixing It Up, Cover Lover and Tweet-a-track, plus new music from Plum, Roman Nose, The Leg and Saint Max & The Fanatics. All the best new Scottish music packaged for your ears.
Wah hey! It's time for another Scottish Fiction FREE EP! Been excited about this one since about two days into October, so I'm happy to finally release it upon the vaults of the internet.
As well as being a collection of terrific songs which together create a whirlwind of awesomeness, this month's EP also showcases some of the best Edinburgh has to offer, as each of our four participants are from Auld Reekie. Delightful stuff if you ask me! Click on the artists names below to be transported through IP addresses and web servers to that particular artists 'We're Only Here For The Banter' feature.
First up are Edinburgh five piece Trapped Mice, contributing a track off their last EP called 'Pointing And Shouting'.
Next are Plastic Animals who have been around for over five years now, and have released a swarm of recent stuff. 'Green Light' features on our EP.
Following them is Donna Maciocia who will have some brand spanking new material out soon. She has contributed a demo of the wonderful 'Fists At The Sky'.
And lastly are Supermarionation closing things off with the track 'The Paris Express'.
Enjoy! You can download the full EP for free here (also check out previous month's EP's available for free too), and also stream below.
I first heard the music of Donna Maciocia recently at The Captain's Rest supporting the wonderful Adam Holmes And The Embers (read the review here). I was so impressed by her music that I pursued her incessantly to answer some questions. (Just asked Donna, she has the e-mails to prove it!)
Donna Maciocia is a singer songwriter based in Edinburgh. She used to be the front woman of Amplifico and currently rocks it up on stage with her band, throwing in some solo numbers. Her style is hard to pin down, but involves FX pedals, looping, keys, with an underlying current of funky pop. She has a new EP out soon, and thankfully took some time to answer some questions below.
Hello, how are you?
Well, thank you. Enjoying a wee cup of tea and a bacon roll and a sit down!
Tell us a little bit about your music and influences.
I always find it pretty hard to coin! Ronan Breslin from LaChunky Towers said the other day ‘f***ing intelligent quirky pop that grabs you by the heart and soul’. My influences are really varied… from my earliest years until my teens, I knew little more than Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. I had all their albums and knew all their songs word for word. And since my teens I have fallen in love with so many different artists including Bjork, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Jeff Buckley, Portishead, Radiohead, Blur, Ella Fitzgerald, The Cocteau Twins, Rachmaninov and Massive Attack. Very recently I have been listening obsessively to the likes of Feist, St Vincent, Tune-Yards, Anna Calvi, Kill It Kid, Janelle Monae, Beach House and The Kills.
Scotland has a thriving music scene. How do you find being a part of that?
When I was in my former band Amplifico (2004-2009), I felt the rest of scotland was thriving, but that Edinburgh was really far behind. I moved to London for 3 years and since my return last year I have been genuinely blown away by the quality and quantity of new talent up here. I love being a part of that! It means there’s constant inspiration on your doorstep, you’re always learning from your peers & it motivates you to up your game.
Which Scottish artists would you recommend to the Scottish Fiction readers?
Adam Holmes & The Embers, Amy Sawers, Austen George, Chris Bradley, Hoochie Fig, Paul Gilbody, Stanley Odd, Stu Goodall Band, Super Adventure Club, The Banana Sessions, The Horndogs & The Mike Kearney Ka-Tet, William Douglas & The Wheel
What is your songwriting process like?
It really varies… I play & own quite a few different instruments, have a home recording setup as well as a live looping set up. Sometimes I start with lyrics, sometimes the music. One thing that is consistent whenever I’m writing, is my Dictaphone. I take it everywhere with me. For me there is a power in being able to listen back. Sometimes I come up with something that I really don’t rate at the time, but can listen back an hour or a year later and it totally grabs me.
What could we expect to see/hear from your live shows?
With the band, it’s pretty piano driven, kick-ass and dynamic! I like louds and softs, ups and downs... There tends to be a couple of solo live looping songs dropped into the set also, which involve just my uke, an FX pedalboard. In these songs I beatbox and put my uke & vox through an array of FX pedals, layering and multi-tracking.
I heard rumours of some new material being released at your gig at The Captain's Rest. Care to shed any light on this?
Yes! My band and I recorded our debut 3-track EP titled ‘Fists At The Sky’ earlier this year at LaChunky Towers in Glasgow. It features amazing musicians I am so grateful to work with - Neil Warrack (drums) and Bruce Wallace (guitar) from the awesomely crazy glasgow/edinburgh 3-piece Super Adventure Club, and Lorna Thomas on bass who is also working with Jill Jackson at the moment. We will be launching the EP at Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh on Saturday 19th November, with the inclusion of newest band member Lewis Rumney on fiddle, guitar & backing vox.
What does the rest of 2011 hold for you?
Getting the EP launched and demo-ing/arranging songs for the album which we intend to record with La Chunky Springtime next year.
What's been your biggest achievement so far?
Without a doubt the amazing people & friends I have met through making music. And the fact that my current band actually choose to work with me sometimes boggles me. I mean, me?? Cos I can tell you right now they ain't doing it for the money!! Ha!! Each member of the band is genuinely one of my musical heroes - that is amazing!
How does the 'solo' stuff feel different to being in Amplifico?
I have way more responsibility and control over everything with the solo stuff. I’m also older & wiser with a greater awareness of my own strengths/weaknesses, and a strong sense of clarity over what it is I want from life & music in general. Therefore I am probably an easier person to work with now! There was a period of time in Amplifico where I lost sight of why the hell I was in a band in the first place, I let the business & marketing side of running a self-releasing band kind of overwhelm me and I ended up pretty unhappy. In Amplifico, we were 3 friends who had known each other since high school too, so there was a lot of history & it felt like a family relationship. That’s a really wonderful thing to have as a band, but can be quite intense & tricky if people change, circumstances change, individual priorities change and you’ve all got to roll with those changes as a team. It makes or breaks bands.
Your ability to create multi-layered sounds is impressive. How did that style come about?
Thanks! I guess it came about through hours and hours of experimentation, and a lifelong obsession with music technology geekery. I have to thank the guy who I first saw live looping about a decade ago in Cab Vol in Edinburgh too - it was just him, his cello and a loop pedal. The potential of using live looping to perform & write had me hooked instantly.
Thanks for speaking with us, would you care to share a joke with us?
A guy goes into a bar with a slab of tarmac on his back. He sits the tarmac on one of the bar stools. The barman says, what can I get you? The man says a pint of lager, and one for the road…
But before that we were treated to two fantastic support acts. (Phew that's a lot of links above!)
First up was Amy Sawers who has featured in teen drama (read: sex romp) Skins (apologies for the MySpace link, it was the only one I could find). Playing on a guitar that was borrowed from Adam Holmes, her stripped back sound retained a darkness and sense of forebodding akin to the no longer of this earth Miss Winehouse. She has a fine voice, which filled every corner of The Captain's Rest effortlessly. Last song 'Last Train' was a quieter gentler song to end proceedings. This girl has caught my attention, have a listen below to see if she catches yours.
Next on the bill was Donna Maciocia with her FULL band. Standing on stage strumming a ukele she starts her set. With the help of a self made beat box, the sound is Hawaii meets East London, which is no bad thing. By the end of the first song their is a five person choir echoing round the small room, but only one person on stage. Impressive. Second song 'Infinite Colours' sees the rest of the band join Maciocia on stage, and rock a funky bassline throughout. Donna stands centre of stage, commanding her keyboard and filling the room with some well placed 'ooooooh's (except it sounds better than it looks written down).
A few songs in and we get treated to another absolute belter of a track, 'Beauty Of Choice' sees the return of some beatbox action, which is used to very good effect. You can check out the video on YouTube. Some name dropping celeb action follows as Stu Goodall (he of the Stu Goodall Band) clambers on stage to lend some soft vocals to the next song.
The set ends with possible the worst plug I've ever heard, as Maciocia informs us that she has CD's on sale upstairs, but none of the songs she has played are on them! It's all in good jest, and I'm sure that many people, like me, left the gig with one of those CD's in hand. Onwards to the closing song, which finally let's me place a musical reference, as it sounds very Alison Mosshart (in either The Kills or The Dead Weather). Keep your eyes peeled for some future blog space from Miss Maciocia.
And onto the main event.Adam Holmes takes the stage backed by his band The Embers. Straight from the word go, Holmes is keen to involve the audience, offering up explanations behind the songs he is singing. That's one of the first things to strike you about the band, they genuinely seem to be enjoying every minute on stage, and Holmes' songs are written with a heartfelt honesty.
Third song in and we are treated to a track of the recent EP, 'Long Way Home'. It should be noted that only in Glasgow's West End, with it's healthy population of Edinburgh ex-pats, could you get away with saying, "I'm from Edinburgh, it's a great place" as Holmes does to introduce the next track 'Home'. It's the most folky/country offering of the night so far, and keeps the crowd happy.
Keeping up the banter, Holmes then recalls a story from our interview on Pulse Community Radio last Monday evening. I'm humbled, but not as humbled as I'm sure Donna Macoicia must have been, having been told that with her full band, The Embers feel like they should be supporting her. It's good when there's a mutual appreciation between acts on the same bill, rather than the selfish 'I've-done-my-bit' attitude.
As for the sound, there's a genuine feel of Neil Young in the music, and a hint of Paolo Nutini in Holmes' voice. At times the band almost inspire a hoedown, and others the mood is very mellow. One of the skills of Holmes, is knowing when to change pace, and the well lubricated audience are offered a rarity. A happy song.
Heading to the final stretch, Holmes throws in a cover of one of his biggest influences, who we are told if he was still around today would be sitting in bars getting drunk. Can't argue with that. A beautiful rendition of Robert Burns' 'Ae Fond Kiss'. The last two songs are the other tracks from the EP. 'I Can't Be Right' is a powerful track, with the full band backing it up, sounding very much influenced by Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. And to end the night Holmes' invites his support acts, Amy Sawers and Donna Maciocia back up to join in with the chorus of 'Fire In The Sun'. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable night, and I certainly recommend checking out more of all three acts on the bill.
