The List Issue 780

Jonzi D e Wyllieum

Brìghde Chaimbeul

Ray Bradshaw

Garbage

Jenny Matthews

Fat Dog

Jonny Sweet

Nia Archives

Fallout

Ashley Storrie

Marisa Abela

on fate, fame and being Amy Winehouse

It was fun and surprisingly erotic

wel come

A star is born: an iconic trio of films, and four words that represent the epitome of hype. No young actor, singer, director, artist et al really wants to be dubbed in that manner. But, oh well, let’s do it anyway, and declare that our cover star Marisa Abela is well on the path to superstardom. Anyone who saw her turn as the ambitious and devious Yasmin Kara-Hanani in the horribly addictive stocks-and-shares BBC drama Industry will agree that she’s destined for big things. And now she has bagged herself one of the plum film roles of 2024, as the tragic Amy Winehouse in biopic Back To Black

Abela’s mission for the movie is to give Winehouse a voice once again, to reclaim her narrative from the men, mainly, who did their utmost to both silence and destroy her. Abela herself found a new voice, and learned to sing just like Amy. A ‘force of nature’, director Sam Taylor-Johnson has called Abela, and by all early accounts, her performance will blow us away.

From a season-defining music biopic to the live action of our summer music festival scene. We interview a diverse selection of acts who are appearing on bills across Scotland over the coming months: Shirley Manson, blk, Elaine Mitchener, Fat Dog and Brìghde Chaimbeul occupy very different territories on the music landscape but are perfect symbols of the rich and varied circuit that Scottish promoters and festival bosses have cultivated here. While we mourn those high-profile events that are unable to take place this year (farewell, for now, Connect), we celebrate all those who are set to make the summer an unforgettable time for live-music devotees.

Elsewhere in this issue, we speak to couturier Rachel Scott who is going bespoke on bridalwear and beyond, chat to street-dance icon Jonzi D about his ambitious plans for the Pomegranates Festival, and hang out with comic Ray Bradshaw in a basement full of his lookalikes (it’s even stranger than that sounds). Among our reviews are strong thumbs-up for Jenny Matthews’ photography exhibition, Colin Farrell’s detective series, Nia Archives’ jungle album, moody Japanese restaurant Miju, and (not exactly a shocker) hip-hop musical juggernaut Hamilton

As the wisely ignored saying has it, it’s a sucker rather than a star that’s born every minute. But there are plenty of people doing amazing cultural work right now to suggest that this proverb is being gently reversed.

Brian Donaldson EDITOR

CEO

Sheri Friers

Editor

Brian Donaldson

Art Director

Seonaid Rafferty

Sub Editor

Paul McLean

Eat & Drink Editor

Jo Laidlaw

Travel & Shop Editor

Megan Merino

Advertorial Designer

Bradley Southam

Writers

Becca Inglis, Brian Donaldson, Claire Sawers, Danny Munro, David Kirkwood, Emma Simmonds, Eve Connor, Fiona Shepherd, Graham Peacock, Greg Thomas, Isy Santini, James Mottram, Jay Richardson, Jay Thundercliffe, Jo Laidlaw, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, Megan Merino, Murray Robertson, Neil Cooper, Paul Dale, Paul McLean, Peter Ross, Rachel Ashenden, Robin Hodge, Shona Munro, Stewart Smith, Suzy Pope

Print & Digital Content Manager

Murray Robertson

Senior Business Development Manager

Jayne Atkinson

Online News Editor

Kevin Fullerton

Media Sales Executive

Ewan Wood

Digital Operations & Events Manager

Leah Bauer

Events Assistant

JONZI D

front the insider

Amouthpiece

So you preferred Maestro to One Love, did you? Know your Bird from your La Bamba? Arts journalist Paul Dale ponders music biopics and wonders why very few of them are bona fide hits

h, the great American musical biopic. Breathless jingoism and the whitest form of nationalism known to humanity: Yankee Doodle Dandy (about George M Cohan), The Glenn Miller Story, The Buddy Holly Story, and Night And Day (the Cole Porter story). With a few really notable exceptions, it’s a genre so culturally tricky yet uninviting that it can be placed somewhere between romcoms and those TikTok videos where young women lip sync to the speeches of senile politicians (weirdly popular during the pandemic).

As a film critic in the 90s and noughties, I lost hours trying to stop my glass eye from falling asleep: Walk The Line, Control, Ray, Backbeat, La Vie En Rose and Beyond The Sea to name a mediocre few. There were so many journeys on the road to genius. Their struggle. Their truth . . . pass me the saxophone-shaped sick bag.

I don’t do that job anymore. I now run a home for demented musical biopic filmmakers (all elderly white men of course) whose delusions seem to confine themselves to the fact that they once made a major contribution to cinema history. Beside their tendency towards racism, victimhood and narratives that align personal triumph with commercial rather

In this series of articles, we turn the focus back on ourselves by asking folk at The List about cultural artefacts that touch their heart and soul. This time around, Claire Sawers tells us which things . . .

Made me cry: Andrew Scott and his wonderful face emoting all over the place in All Of Us Strangers. Chuffed it’s streaming on Disney+ so I can enjoy it all over again sometime. The new minimal, athletic version of Swan Lake being toured by Scottish Ballet right now looks to be pretty incredible too. I’ve got tickets for Edinburgh. I reckon that could almost push me over the edge.

Made me angry: Seeing that the amazing Edinburgh DJ and River Rapids record label runner Eclair Fifi has had her Instagram account suspended for posting pro-Palestine content. What an absolute crock. Hope they restore it. And, obviously, ceasefire now.

Made me laugh: Edinburgh drag acts Groundskeeper Fanny, Alice Rabbit and Oasissy. I was late to the party but White Lotus had me in stitches, so I’m pumped for season three. Oh, and can someone let me log into their NOW TV so I can watch the new Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Made me think: Watching brothers and good eggs Sam and Toby Paterson discussing their favourite old Scottish skate spots from the 80s and 90s on the new Board To Death podcast made me think back very fondly to my occasionally misspent youth. Many school afternoons spent around Bristo Square and then, strangely, going back to someone’s house to watch clips of skaters having accidents.

Made me think twice: The Bad Gays podcast by Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller. I’ve often had to think twice about some of my gay heroes after hearing their very well-researched exposés. Joe Orton and Karl Lagerfeld were some of the complicated subjects recently, or dig into the archive for Truman Capote, Freddie Mercury and Liberace.

than creative gain, musical biopics compound all the things I don’t care about when I listen to music. Namely controversy, class credentials, sexuality, drug abuse and dodgy politics. Everyone knows that genius and psychopathy go hand in hand.

I’m in no doubt that Morrissey, Ian Dury, Eric Clapton, Gary Glitter, John Lennon, The Eagles, Courtney Love, Chris Brown, James Brown and Phil Spector were/are a bunch of grade-A knobheads, but I still love listening to their music. I don’t need a rags-to-riches apologist arc to give me permission to separate the bigot/pervert/wife-beater/paedophile/neglectful parent (delete as applicable) from their mortal talent and art.

As I look at stills of Timothée Chalamet on the set of Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (all corduroy, thick wool scarf and newsboy hat), I wonder if I’m really going to bother. I’ve got a complete set of Dylan on vinyl. I could just listen to that and rewatch Todd Haynes’ brilliant experimental feature I’m Not There instead. A true, rare cinematic jewel. A celluloid gift of refraction and reflection on virtuosity and precocity.

 You can’t track Paul Dale down on social media but you may well find him in a cinema that’s showing a John Cassavetes movie.

playLIST

The weather may not have been treating us kindly of late, but with our summer music festivals feature and this accompanying sunshine-themed playlist, hopefully we can bring good vibes your way regardless. Dive in (pun fully intended) to this soundtrack featuring The Beach Boys, Sun Ra, Bon Iver, Olivia Dean, Kendrick Lamar, Bikini Kill and many more . . .

Scan and listen as you read:

head head2

MEGAN

In a world where, historically, fathers would hand over family businesses to their sons in order to sustain them through multiple generations, it makes perfect sense that children are still partially socially conditioned to walk in the footsteps of their parents. Of course, we don’t consider a string of related blacksmiths or doctors as ‘nepo babies’; instead we reserve this term for the world of celebrity where perhaps we feel that dynasties take up too much space at the cost of new blood. In the arts, nepotism partially thrives from public demand. Sure, having parents who work in the industry helps you enter it with fewer barriers, financial or otherwise, but when a well-known name is attached to a project, the likelihood of it being made and then consumed increases. Whether we like it or not, fame makes someone more newsworthy. So when a studio is casting a brand new TV show about mentally-ill pop stars, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter (Riley Keough in Daisy Jones & The Six) or Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’ daughter (Lily-Rose Depp in The Idol) are pretty attractive options. Until the powers that be trust audiences to buy into riskier creative endeavours, I fear that sticking with familiar names churned out by the nepotism machine will prevail.

from the archive

We look through The List’s 39-year back catalogue to see what was making headlines this month in decades gone by

This time in 1999, Glasgow Film Theatre celebrated its 25th anniversary, Beastie Boys were weeks away from playing Glasgow, and we bounced into a Scottish spring with Texas leader Sharleen Spiteri on the cover. Ahead of her band’s fifth album being released, Spiteri wittily defended the integrity of their music and the relationship between self-image and selling records. Plus, we interviewed Suede frontman Brett Anderson and heard from David Cronenberg about his new sci-fi horror flick eXistenZ.  Head to archive.list.co.uk for our past issues.

It might sound like an April Fool, but Davy Crockett (the 19th-century frontiersman who had a dead raccoon for a hat) is being used in the PR campaign for 21st-century bluesman Charley Crockett. Fair play. Or is it? Megan Merino and Kevin Fullerton argue some toss over the pros and cons of ‘nepo babies’

KEVIN

Nepotism exists in every walk of life, from God giving his only son a top job down on Earth, to Ethan Hawke (the god of Sundance Film Festival) offering his only daughter Maya a leg up in the arts (she may yet be crucified for her singing career; time will tell on that one). It’s natural for some children to follow in their parents’ footsteps and, if they’re gifted, what’s the harm?

In a drizzle, no harm at all. In the current deluge, the flood of Richie Riches will do little but drown out voices from outside their bubble of privilege. The silver-spoon spawn of Hawke, Smith, Deschanel, Kravitz, Coppola, Depp, Apatow, and countless others who decide they want to swan into their folks’ line of work, means less room for young, unvarnished and unconnected talent to ascend the ranks. Entertainment industry dynasties have become protectionist rackets, maintaining their personal brands and wealth with the violent vigour of a social-media influencer moonlighting for the mafia. This regression of art into a monoculture for the hyperaffluent looks like it’ll continue unabated, blocking out interesting stories from people of varied financial backgrounds. The question is, how many Hawkes will it take before the poor realise that the entertainment world is a closed shop and simply give up?

TAKE A WALK ON THESIDEWILD

ROAR INTO ACTION THIS EASTER

AT EDINBURGH ZOO!

For upcoming biopic Back To Black, rising star Marisa Abela learned to look and sing like Amy Winehouse. As James Mottram finds out, it takes one force of nature to know one >>

Chasing Amy

>>

When I meet actress Marisa Abela over Zoom, she’s a few minutes delayed and full of apologies. ‘I’m not really usually late at all,’ she says, sitting in her brightly tiled kitchen, sporting a brown polo-neck. All this arriving behind schedule . . . maybe she’s gone all rock’n’roll, a hangover from playing Amy Winehouse in new biopic Back To Black? ‘It was the least rock’n’roll thing ever,’ she giggles. ‘My bus changed drivers. I’m like “this is so annoying!” because I like to plan things well.’

Her journey home aside, it feels as though the raven-haired actress has planned everything perfectly so far. She was still at drama school (the prestigious Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art) when she won the role of Yasmin in Industry, the sizzling BBC/HBO drama set in an investment bank. Later, Abela appeared opposite Sam Riley in romantic drama She Is Love before scooping up a small part in the biggest movie of last year, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. But now she takes the lead as Winehouse, the iconic singer whose life was tragically cut short in 2011.

Playing someone as singular as Amy Winehouse naturally caused the proverbial butterflies to flutter. ‘I was definitely nervous,’ Abela admits. ‘But I would say that I felt those nerves through a more serious lens of responsibility.’ It’s just 13 years since the troubled Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning, a fate that already spawned one Oscar-winning documentary, Asif Kapadia’s Amy, which led the singer’s father Mitch to claim it was a ‘negative, spiteful and misleading’ portrayal of his daughter.

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and written by Matt Greenhalgh (the team that previously made the acclaimed Nowhere Boy about the young John Lennon), Back To Black is unlikely to stir up the same controversy. Mitch Winehouse (played in the film by Eddie Marsan) endorsed the project, claiming on Twitter that Abela was ‘great casting’.

The actress met him, though remains cryptic about their conversations. ‘I mean, obviously, anyone that knew Amy, personally, in that way, has massive insight,’ she says, evasively. Their film, meanwhile, comes with a mission statement. ‘I think it was important for us to get back to Amy being in control of her own narrative,’

MARISA ABELA

Abela says. ‘I think for a long time, there have been a lot of people, a lot of men especially, that have been able to control the narrative around her life. And I’m not really sure how that’s happened as she was one of the most prolific female songwriters of her time. She was there telling us what was happening. So this was about putting the words back in her mouth.’

With the film steering audiences from the era when Winehouse brought out her debut album Frank (at which point the Camden-based singer was already becoming known as one of Britain’s biggest talents), it digs deep into her family but also her turbulent relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil (played here by Jack O’Connell). The man who became the love of her life, his presence inspired the music and songs for her best-selling 2006 follow-up album, Back To Black, which eventually won Winehouse five Grammy Awards.

‘What we wanted to do was show audiences where this album actually came from,’ says Abela. ‘And put Amy back in the centre of that story, really show people what her inspirations were and her point of view on life then. And a major inspiration for the album is Blake; it’s completely undeniable, and I think that her relationship with him can act as a metaphor for how she deals with the majority of relationships in her life. Amy is a zero or hundred person.’

Remarkably, Abela also belts out every song, going far beyond a mere impersonation of Winehouse’s rich voice. ‘I’d never sung professionally. I never had singing lessons in an intense way. I never trained as a singer . . . at RADA, you do a singing class a week. So it wasn’t like I’d never opened my mouth and hummed a tune before, but I had never pictured myself singing like this for a job. No . . . no way.’ Little wonder her director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, calls Abela a ‘force of nature’.

‘It was never a prerequisite that I had to sing,’ the actress adds. ‘There was the option of melding voices throughout. But I think the most important thing for me was that I was doing all of this work to capture her essence and her emotionality . . . I didn’t want to give that up at the last hurdle. This was her method of pouring her heart and soul out . . . to write this music and then to sing it herself. So I felt that it was only right that I gave as much as I could to that process.’

Now 27, the same age Winehouse was when she died, Abela superbly essays the singer’s demise, as drink, drugs and fame take hold. ‘Something that our film does, which I think is important, is it puts you in Amy’s shoes. The reality of the situation is that she’s a 22-year-old girl walking barefoot in Camden from the supermarket, with 12 or 13 fully grown men [the paparazzi] around her. I mean, it’s an unsafe situation

MARISA ABELA

and it’s scary. And in any other world, that would be considered harassment or stalking, but for some reason, it’s completely legal. And it still is. And I think that’s mental.’

Certainly, Abela’s own sedate upbringing feels far removed from the chaos of Winehouse’s life. Born in Brighton (her mother Caroline is an actress, her father Angelo a director), she was educated at the private Roedean School. Early on, she had thoughts of being a lawyer. ‘When I was doing my A-levels, the assumption was that I would study something academic. And I was really interested in history, especially civil rights. And that seemed to lend itself to studying the law and understanding the law.’

After attending open days at universities, she began to realise it wasn’t for her. Joining RADA ‘just felt a bit more right to me’, as if she’d found her tribe. Her instincts were right, and halfway through her final year she booked her role in Industry. ‘It was kind of insane. I went back to graduate and we were filming episode two. It’s hard for me to imagine my career without Industry Season three is about to come out . . . it’s difficult to even put into words how grateful I am for it.’

Does she ever worry about becoming as famous as Winehouse?

‘It’s a very specific side of fame,’ she reasons. ‘I think it’s different for musicians . . . maybe they got you through a break-up or the loss of a family member or the happiest summer of your life. They were there with you. People have such an intense personal connection with musicians specifically that I don’t think they have with actors. Maybe I’m being naïve, but I think that someone can be in your favourite film, but the film is the thing that’s your favourite.’

Whether fame is heading her way or not, Abela has already caught Hollywood’s gaze. She’s just booked the Steven Soderberghdirected Black Bag, from a script written by celebrated screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park), and starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. ‘It feels very different for me. I’m excited to do something new and challenging in a different way and learn from really incredible actors and creators that I admire.’ Can she say what it’s about? ‘I don’t think so,’ she chuckles. ‘It’s probably not worth the risk!’ So rock’n’roll . . .

Back To Black is in cinemas from Friday 12 April.

Around 18 years ago, awardwinning journalist Peter Ross interviewed a rising star who had just released a record that today stands at number 12 in Britain’s all-time bestselling album list. This meeting in Glasgow turned out to be protracted, poignant and darkly prophetic

NI don’t want to grow old and bitter and full of what-ifs

ot long ago, one melancholy evening, I went up the loft to look for a voice.

It was in a box. A tape among other tapes; the record of a conversation in the winter of 2006. On the label, two words, handwritten: ‘Amy Winehouse’.

I remember her well. We had met in Glasgow. She was up from London for a show at Òran Mór, the converted church. Strange now to think of her playing such a small venue. Back To Black had been out for a few weeks, but had not yet become ubiquitous; nor had the greatness of Winehouse’s writing (that alchemical ability to sing her wounds) properly sunk in. They just seemed like, you know, good songs.

She was 23. It was late afternoon. A few hours til showtime.

‘Don’t worry,’ she said, ‘I’m only croaking ’cos I just woke up.’

She poured herself breakfast: a smoothie mixed with wine. The famous beehive was a little crestfallen, her eyeliner swooshes smudged, and she was tiny; but she had total presence. There was the aura of stardom, naturally; but what I also sensed, thinking back, was the gravity of artistry, an almost moral force which comes from being true to your gift. In Amy’s case that gift was the visceral candour of her writing and a voice full of blood and tears. She sang from her stomach, she said, which was the same part of her body where she felt the thrill of love and the pain of love ending.

The interview, backstage, was a little chaotic. There were a lot of people coming in and out, including her boyfriend, and members of the band in powder-blue suits. She went off for a while, reluctantly, to soundcheck (‘c’mon, just one track’, the tour manager had said), and when she returned she was still polite, but her attention was elsewhere. Rogano for dinner, that was the plan; then, the following day, a new tattoo. ‘I’m going to get a wild stallion, or a nightingale with little musical notes. Some creature that you can’t tame, to symbolise what a fucking nutjob I am.’

Where would you like to be in your life, I asked, by the time you’re 30?

‘Three kids,’ she said, ‘and five more albums.’

I do think sometimes: what if she’d lived? It’s a consoling fantasy that she would have made more great records, but even if she hadn’t, even if she’d never recorded another note, she would have been present in the world, just doing normal stuff, listening to The Shangri-Las and Donny Hathaway, eating oysters, getting ink. She would like, she told me, to open a diner.

My recording is growing faint now. Time is doing what time does. But I had no problem making out her final words: ‘I believe in putting my heart on the line,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to grow old and bitter and full of what-ifs.’

Peter Ross can be found on X @PeterAlanRoss

Marisa Abela in Industry (above) and starring opposite Sam Riley in She Is Love

The List Festival Awards Coming this August

Pipe dreams

summermu s ci•slavitsef

UStill in her mid-20s, trad star Brìghde Chaimbeul has won awards and collaborated with everyone from alt-pop pioneers to acclaimed soundtrack artists.

Kicking off our summer music festivals special, the Skye player sits down with Megan Merino to talk about stories, frequencies and drones

nder the nave of Glasgow’s Mackintosh Queen’s Cross church, among the dissonant wails of strings and brass being tuned, Brìghde Chaimbeul is trying to find us a quiet room to chat. The journey is meandering as she’s stopped by numerous tech staff, fellow musicians and promoters calling ‘hello Brìghde! Good to see you!’ from in and around the chancel. It’s the last weekend of Celtic Connections and Chaimbeul is in Glasgow to perform a new composition by Linda Buckley with the Maxwell Quartet; this is a homecoming of sorts for the already revered musician, now based in Northern Ireland.

Despite only being in her mid-20s, Chaimbeul has been a force on the Scottish trad music scene for the best part of eight years, ever since winning BBC Radio 2’s Young Folk Award at the age of 17. The piece she’s performing this evening, titled ‘Thar Farraige (Over Sea)’, was written especially for a string quartet and Scottish small pipes, the instrument Chaimbeul has come to redefine on stage and in her three critically acclaimed albums. To give you a sense of how her peers perceive her, one Maxwell Quartet member labelled her ‘small pipes, big brains’.

Chaimbeul’s instrument, in contrast to traditional Scottish bagpipes, is entirely blown by bellows (meaning there’s no additional air being produced orally) and has three drones that sustain underneath whatever notes are played on the chanter. ‘A drone is that constant note, so everything is against that,’ she explains, once we finally discover an empty room. ‘There’s tension and release all the time because that note doesn’t move. But then you’ve got the frequencies which echo from the drone. If everything’s really in tune and the frequencies are in a nice acoustic, you can physically feel that buzz as you play.’

Chaimbeul grew up on the Isle Of Skye where weekly Gaelic song classes and specialist pipes, harp, fiddle and cello teachers were the norm at her primary school. ‘It was a time where there was Highland Council funding there, so actually a lot of my generation from Skye got that music education.’ While most of her schooling was in English, at home Gaelic culture and language prevailed.

Largely disengaged with mainstream culture, she grew up listening to Gaelic acts such as James Graham and Cliar. How, then, did she find herself playing on one of the most critically acclaimed alt-pop records of last year and joining the artist in question, Caroline Polachek, on stage at Glastonbury? ‘She had been listening to The Reeling [Chaimbeul’s 2019 debut album] and I guess she just liked the sound of my pipes

PICTURE: STEVE BLISS

and wanted them on her album. I didn’t know her before I worked with her but I’m a big fan now,’ she says with a giggle. While The Reeling was inspired by Chaimbeul’s explorations of international piping traditions from Bulgaria, Spain and France, her latest album is far more grounded in the Highlands and Western Isles. ‘I think there’s probably something in looking outwards to then go back to where you’re from. It happens a lot,’ she reflects. We needn’t look further than the title of that latest record, Carry Them With Us, to see the inspiration she’s taken from home.

‘My dad [Scottish poet Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul] is from South Uist and there’s a storyteller we knew from there called Iain Sheonaidh Smus. When I was younger, if someone wanted to hear a particular story and he didn’t want to tell it at that time, he would say “I haven’t carried it with me today”. That’s a literal translation of the Gaelic phrase, but I just liked the idea that he carries the stories and the songs, rather than saying “I don’t want to”.’

Dipping into the School Of Scottish Studies Archives in Edinburgh, Chaimbeul discovered a treasure trove of stories that acted as building blocks for the album. ‘Storytelling is very much part of Gaelic culture, and it’s something that is overlooked a lot of the time. Back in the day, you would go to someone’s house to hear a story, but there’s a possibility of them being totally forgotten. And a lot of them have been, apart from the ones that were recorded.’

Made in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson (composer of soundtracks to films such as Hereditary and The Menu), Carry Them With Us has a darker and more experimental quality than Chaimbeul’s previous work. She recalls first meeting Stetson when working remotely on the score of Disney’s Among The Stars documentary: ‘I sent him some music that I was working on just to get his thoughts. And then when he sent it back, he had recorded this stuff over it. That was the first moment I got an idea of how we would sound together and I loved it.’

This prompted the two musicians to meet in-person for the first time and record most of the record together. Despite the album’s expansive soundscape and occasional electronicsounding complexity, all of the parts were recorded with organic woodwind instruments, harmonium, vocals, and, of course, Chaimbeul’s pipes. ‘Colin sounds like ten instruments at once,’ says Chaimbeul, a reality she’s having to work around for her solo shows. ‘I’ve adapted parts so that I’m able to play it solo using electronics, which is a new thing for me. It’s very subtle the way I’m using it. You might not necessarily know it’s electronic if you don’t see it, but I’m kind of interacting with it as though it’s someone else I’m playing with.’

A string of tour dates across the UK marks an exciting new venture for Chaimbeul who, despite being a seasoned live performer, finds that touring on her own comes with ‘ups and downs. It’s changing your mindset of “it’s just me” to “it’s me and the pipes, it’s me and the three drones and the chanter and the unit that’s adding delay or adding a base drone”, and all these extra things. Coming up with this show has been such a special process.’

Brìghde Chaimbeul plays Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sunday 28 April; she performs with Aidan O’Rourke, Rouken Glen Park, Glasgow, Sunday 9 June, as part of The Reeling.

PICTURE: CAMILLE LEMOINE

I’m essentially the same twat “

Shirley Manson, one of Edinburgh’s greatest musical exports and advocates, is mourning and celebrating and remembering. She is mourning the death last autumn of her rescue dog Veela, a huge wee player in her life. ‘I still cry every day,’ she says down the line from her LA base. But she is also celebrating being part of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s new Revolutionary Women In Music:

‘I’ve always said awards and recognitions mean nothing until you get them,’ she laughs. ‘Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I never saw women really represented en masse in any national museum; women had been omitted from the narrative. So I was thrilled to be part of this lineage of incredible artists, male and female. I hope it’s not a one-off. I hope the museum is dedicated to promoting women as they move forward. I wish it was much easier for women to thrive in the music industry, but we keep pushing.’

Manson is also remembering a time she might prefer to forget, as Garbage prepare to mark next year’s 20th anniversary of their fourth album, Bleed Like Me, with its first ever vinyl release. ‘This record was a bit of a disaster for us,’ she says. ‘We got dropped shortly after its release so it’s married to some very difficult emotions and memories for us. It was the only period of the band where we’ve actually had a lot of friction. We all started to turn on each other because our career was floundering, but we didn’t allow the record company to dictate the terms of our play. There was a real defiance,

Shirley Manson is being rightly lauded for her work across 30 years as the Garbage spearhead. As her band prepares to hit the summer circuit, this proud Edinburgher tells Fiona Shepherd about hope and homecomings

which is funny because my bandmates are all so sweet but they are strangely and quietly hardcore. So we shook a little but we didn’t break, and I’m so grateful for that because we went on to have a very healthy career which nobody foresaw. We’ve just been this little engine.’

Manson is now happy to report that the band are completing work on their as-yet-untitled eighth collection, due for release next year. ‘If the last album [2021’s No Gods No Masters] sounded like the apocalypse, this album sounds a bit like we’re emerging from the underground with a searchlight,’ she says. ‘It’s just got a slightly different perspective than the last record which was really indignant. This one is trying to find more hope in the world. The times feel dark to me so I couldn’t really afford to get into my indignance too much. I had to find my way out and that has influenced the record’s sound.’

Returning to Scotland this summer to play TRNSMT and the Usher Hall is another boost for Manson, who spends months at a time back in her native Edinburgh. ‘I always relish coming home. It matters to me that we play in my homeland. Coming from Scotland, you have a really strong identity (at least I did) and it really rooted me and I never feel like I lost my head. We got very successful very quickly and at no point did I ever get ahead of myself. I kept my feet on the ground so I never strayed too far from who I was. I think I’m essentially the same twat.’

Garbage play Glasgow Green, Friday 12 July, as part of TRNSMT; Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sunday 14 July.

Left Of Center exhibit, alongside the likes of P!nk, Joan Jett and Meg White, in recognition of her fronting alt.rockers Garbage over the past 30 years.

Change of tune

TPushing boundaries is nothing new for experimental vocalist Elaine Mitchener. Stewart Smith hears how her bold reworking of songs plays an important role in promoting the work of black avant-garde composers

o see Elaine Mitchener perform is always a mesmerising and transformative experience. A 2020 appearance at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall featured the British Afro-Caribbean vocalist, movement artist and composer’s piece ‘Amazing Grace [reworked]’, a radical response to the hymn and its complex history. Singing live over a recording of her own multi-tracked vocals, Mitchener stretched the song to its limits, wailing, groaning and soaring over ghostly harmonies.

‘It allows me to reflect on and respond to the circumstances which birthed the original hymn and its contemporary resonances,’ she says. Mitchener reprises the piece at Tectonics as part of a programme that includes her composition ‘Unknown Tongue II’ and Olly Wilson’s 1977 work ‘Sometimes’, a voice and tape piece based on the spiritual ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child’.

The choice of Wilson (a composer, multi-instrumentalist, musicologist and pioneer of electronic music who died in 2018) reflects Mitchener’s ongoing mission to celebrate black avantgarde composers. ‘Shamefully, I didn’t know of Olly Wilson’s work and perhaps that’s simply due to much of it not being widely recorded. But that’s not an excuse. In the summer of 2020, his work “Cetus” was played to me and I had to know more. Wilson’s approach to music is significant to me in how he dismissed hierarchies. Electronic sounds were raised to the same level of importance as voices or instruments; they equally co-exist and serve each other.’

Mitchener acknowledges the connection between Wilson’s piece and ‘Amazing Grace [reworked]’. ‘They both rework well-known songs and allow the voice to explore itself beyond the lyrical whilst retaining the central meaning of the songs being sung.’ The author of the sermon that inspired that hymn, Mitchener explains, was John Newton whose Royal Navy career led to him working in the slave trade. ‘A spiritual conversion during an intense storm in 1748 did not initially dampen his zest for the slave trade but after joining the clergy in the later years of his life he became an active abolitionist. He lived long enough to see the Slave Trade Act pass through parliament in 1807, the year of his death.’

‘Unknown Tongue II’ is inspired by the poetry of NH Pritchard, who Mitchener was introduced to by a friend several years ago. ‘I was stunned by what I saw and what I read. In the opening page of [his poetry collection] The Matrix, he states “words are ancillary to content”. And as [writer and teacher] Erica N Cardwell explains, despite this, words remain, their sound released from contrived sequences. So, inspired by his process, I will use it to explore the oral and aural regions of “Unknown Tongue II”.’

Elaine Mitchener plays Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Saturday 4 May, as part of Tectonics.

PICTURE: MYAH JEFFERS ELAINE

summermu s ci•slavitsef

In the

LIrish DJ blk may have had an unlikely journey to get where he is today, but the adventure just keeps on rolling. He chats with Becca Inglis about coping with social anxiety and nearing the final entry on his techno bucket list

ast month, blk performed his biggest show to date: the coveted St Patrick’s Day shift at 3Arena, Dublin’s 13,000-capacity indoor amphitheatre. BICEP made history there in 2023, when they became the first Irish DJs to headline the Dublin Docklands venue. Now blk has made his mark as the first solo Irish DJ to take that spot. After a year of many milestones, including a headline slot at Creamfields and a debut residency in Ibiza, this moment feels particularly sweet: ‘one that will live with me forever,’ he admits.

It’s been a big jump for blk who, before he was packing out supersized arenas, grew up in Tipperary Town, the sleepy Irish settlement whose population could fit into the 3Arena twice over. ‘There weren’t really any clubs, any record stores, anything to get some inspiration from,’ he says. ‘The closest club would have been in Limerick, where I’m living now. Still, we only have two clubs that play dance music.’

Blk had to make his early musical discoveries by unearthing techno tracks on YouTube and SoundCloud and swapping them at mates’ houses. When it came to his first clubbing experience, he wasn’t even sure he would like it. ‘I suffer with social anxiety, which is weird because my job entails playing for crowds,’ he says. A trip to Limerick with his brother to see Boots & Kats changed his mind. ‘That whole experience locked me in it. I loved the whole community there in the club and the loud, loud music.’ But the transition from smalltown clubs to massive stages proved more difficult. ‘Pre going on the stage, it was sheer anxiety and nerves, sick to my stomach; but it’s made my social anxiety a lot less, being able to conquer these things and play shows in front of thousands of people.’

One artist who has shared a similar trajectory is Ben Hemsley, the British darling of trance music. ‘When I was blowing up, he was blowing up in the UK,’ says blk, which led to a natural kinship between the two DJs. ‘Ben has always liked the harder stuff, as well as the trance he makes. He messaged me saying he really liked my stuff.’ Their bond has even extended to making music, though nothing has reached the studio yet. ‘It’s nice to get into someone else’s head and see how they work,’ says blk, who has enjoyed several collaborations of late, not least ‘Parasomnia’, the eerie techno banger he released with Circo earlier this year. ‘They have their sound down to a tee. It’s really emotional, a lot of melodic-style hard techno. It’s inspired me to be more broad with my music.’

That musical journey continues with blk’s new label, luvs.u, which launches this month with a debut of his alias, DJ Too Quick To Groove. He’s also jumping back into the DJ booth, after taking time out to recuperate. ‘Once I played my first show, I remember saying to myself that I felt like I needed it. I needed that release of energy in that place with my favourite people.’ Up next is a return to Australia and his first ever American dates, but the main event for blk is a digital native’s dream. ‘At the end of the year we have Boiler Room. That’s the last one on the bucket list to tick off. I can die happy once that’s done.’

Blk plays Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, Sunday 14 April, as part of Terminal V.

Groove

You just go balls to the wall and barge your way through the crowd “

Joining Stag & Dagger’s esteemed collective of misfit performers this year is Fat Dog, a zany group of South London outliers who will be sprinkling us with a dash of their surrealist mix-match sound. Still in their relative infancy as a band, Fat Dog is made up of Joe Love (vocals), Chris Hughes (keys), Ben Harris (bass), Morgan Wallace (sax) and Johnny Hutch (drums), a quintet who have made impressive strides since forming in 2020 thanks to a bizarre, hard-to-pin-down blend of rock, pop, dance and klezmer (among other things).

In case you were looking for a sense of the insouciant vein of humour coursing through the group, when asked over email what the country’s music scene was missing prior to their arrival, this came back: ‘6’4” inbred Canadians and impish Devonshire lasses dancing together hand in hand. We’ll bet you don’t see a lot of that on your average Tuesday night in Stockton-On-Tees . . . ’

Seemingly unphased by their lack of genre, Domino Records (home to the likes of Wet Leg and Arctic Monkeys) picked up the energetic Dog boys last year, leaving them ‘pretty happy’ with their relatively rapid success. ‘We would say, it’s either this or we’re cheesemongers, gardeners and kitchen porters for the foreseeable future, so we can’t really complain.’

Having recently survived an intense gigging schedule in Texas, the Stag & Dagger weekender might seem like a breeze for Fat Dog. But as this unclassifiable band collectively inform Danny Munro over email, breaking a sweat is par for their course

Marking a significant first for the band, Fat Dog made their inaugural transatlantic voyage together this year, taking on Texas for the behemoth cultural gathering that is South By Southwest. In a similar, if significantly larger style to Stag & Dagger, SXSW provided Fat Dog with no less than ten performances crammed into just four days. The battle to try and win over unfamiliar crowds was uphill all the way, but a task that Fat Dog made the most of. ‘We always gave it 110% but obviously a lot of these people have never heard of us. But that’s when you just go balls to the wall and barge your way through the crowd, forcing them to at least put their fucking hands in the air.’

With just two official singles in the world at the time of writing, Fat Dog have done a good job of making their presence felt as some of Britain’s wildest performers. Explaining what Stag & Dagger attendees can expect, the klezmer aficionados kept things brutally honest: ‘from what we’ve heard from our close friends, we’re one of the worst smelling bands of all time, so expect a pungent set full of sweat, and a kinetic show where a sense of controlled chaos prevails.’

Fat Dog play Mash House, Edinburgh, Saturday 4 May, and The Garage, Glasgow, Sunday 5 May, as part of Stag & Dagger.

The coming months are packed with music festivals all across the country from punk pandemonium in Dunoon to relaxing retro in Linlithgow. Here we list a mere 20 acts playing a room or a field near you sometime soon

BUZZCOCKS

Punk’s (clearly) not dead, and old punks rarely expire; they just come back and play one-day festivals such as The Calling which, of course, has a stop-off in Glasgow. The John Peel-endorsed icons lead the way alongside Sham 69 and Anti-Nowhere League.

 Scotland Calling, O2 Academy Glasgow, Saturday 27 April.

VENGABOYS

If you’re somehow unaware of the Dutch Eurodance pioneers, all you need to know is that they enjoy the word ‘boom’ and they like to party. Which is why they’re heading to South Lanarkshire this May on a oneday bill also featuring Snap! and The KLF’s Wanda Dee.

 Stereofunk Festival, Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton, Saturday 4 May.

HAMISH HAWK

The weekender which platforms some acts who just need that extra nudge toward superstardom has previously included Ed Sheeran, Warpaint and Michael Kiwanuka. Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter Hawk has recently been touring with the Scotland Sings Bacharach project, but this will be a showcase of the kind of talent which has earned him a couple of SAY Award shortlistings.

 Stag & Dagger, La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, Saturday 4 May; The Garage, Glasgow, Sunday 5 May.

DÀIMH

Pronounced ‘dive’, this Gaelic supergroup has a diverse line-up with members hailing from the likes of Cape Breton and California (with more local stop-offs in Glenelg and Arisaig). Their love of Caledonia can never be questioned, though; after all, track one of their 2000 debut album was entitled ‘Welcome To Scotsville’.

 Edinburgh Tradfest, Traverse Theatre, Saturday 11 May.

GBH

More classic punk stuff, this time down by the Argyll water, with the raucous Brummies doing their hardcore thing (Metallica’s James Hetfield is an admirer).

 Punk On The Peninsula, Coal Pier, Dunoon, Thursday 23 May.

N’FAMADY KOUYATÉ

Born in Guinea, based in Cardiff, this young multi-instrumentalist is highly proficient on the balafon (a West African wooden xylophone) and uses it to play a variety of styles including jazz, pop and funk as well as traditional African sounds.

 Knockengorroch Festival, Galloway, Friday 24 May.

KARINE POLWART

Arguably the finest festival name of this or any other summer, Haddstock will be releasing further news of its bill in the coming weeks. But already announced is the roots impresario and former member of The Burns Unit, with support from Gaze Is Ghost.

 Haddstock, Haddington Corn Exchange, Saturday 25 May.

ELIZA ROSE

This Dalston DJ was spinning the ‘tables in her late teens, while at the end of last year she collaborated with one Calvin Harris on energetic dancefloor anthem ‘Body Moving’, which made the Top 40 in both the US and UK but had its biggest success in Latvia.

 Riverside Festival, Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Saturday 25 May.

AMY LAURENSON

This Shetland pianist made some serious waves in 2023 when she was named BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician Of The Year, a deserved acknowledgment for someone who can flit between classical, trad and jazz with consummate grace and ease.

 Arran Folk Festival, Brodick Public Hall, Friday 7 June.

Gig

Live and direct (clockwise from top): GBH, Eliza Rose, Fara, N’famady Kouyaté, Siobhan Wilson

FARA

Making very good on their promise to guarantee that at least half of their lineups feature women and gender minorities (this applies to the staff as well), The Reeling bids a hearty ‘come away in’ to this fiddle-led Orcadian foursome.

 The Reeling, Rouken Glen Park, Glasgow, Sunday 9 June.

CORTO.ALTO

Bad With Names was the title of this jazz collective’s acclaimed debut album last year. Good At Gigs could be a reasonable suggestion for a follow-up as the live forum is where Liam Shortall and co’s wild abandon fully lets rip.

 Eden Festival, Raehills Meadows, Moffat, Sunday 16 June.

YOUNG FATHERS

Not content with scooping one SAY Award after another and picking up five stars whenever they get up of a morning, this Edinburgh trio have just announced their biggest headline show to date. Not only that but they’ve curated this one-day fest with acts to be confirmed soon. See press for details, as they used to say.

 Stirling City Park, Saturday 29 June.

MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV

Born in 1988 to a family of musicians, Emelyanychev made his conducting debut at the tender age of 12. He currently leads the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and will take the reins at the Swedish Radio Symphony in 2025. For this event, there are slices of Mozart and Beethoven while the man himself kicks things off with some piano improvisation.

 East Neuk Festival, Bowhouse, St Monans, Sunday 30 June.

BRENDA

This Glasgow-based trio (Flore, Apsi and Litty) just want to make music and have a laugh. They recently flagged up a gig by announcing they’d be singing songs about ‘slave dads, psychopaths and pigs’. Presumably they’ll be doing the self-same thing here.

 Kelburn Garden Party, Kelburn Castle & Estate, Fairlie, Friday 5 July.

CALVIN HARRIS

itup

The aforementioned DJ and producer who emerged straight outta Dumfries bagged his third BRIT Award earlier this year despite (clickbait alert) ‘everyone’ on the internet ‘all saying the same thing’ ie he didn’t deserve it. The Love Regenerator will ignore those brave laptop warriors and simply do what he does on Glasgow Green.

 TRNSMT, Glasgow Green, Sunday 14 July.

GABRIELLE

Kicking off this year’s Summer Nights gigs (which run through to Bananarama on Saturday 10 August) is the R&B pop singer who abandoned the idea of a law career to follow a different dream. Quite literally, when her debut single, ‘Dreams’, shot to the top in Britain, Canada and America during the heady summer of 1993.

 Summer Nights At The Bandstand, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, Tuesday 23 July

SUGABABES

Well-established again with their original line-up of Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy, Sugababes are absolutely hammering away at the festival circuit this year, but a very special welcome will be assured in the Highlands.

 Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Belladrum Castle, Beauly, Thursday 25 July

SIOBHAN WILSON

This Elgin-born composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist hung out in Paris for five years before returning to Scotland to create a full score for The Heirloom video game. She’s also produced soundtracks for documentaries and last year brought the world a double album.

 MugStock, Strathallan Castle, Auchterarder, Saturday 3, Monday 5 August.

ABC

The look of love is strong with this Sheffield new wave outfit still led by the irrepressible Martin Fry. Their 1982 debut album and one-stop hit factory, The Lexicon Of Love, crops up in various top 100 British albums of all-time polls.

 Let’s Rock Scotland, Linlithgow Palace, Saturday 10 August.

GILLA BAND

These Dublin post-punk volume-worriers changed their name from Girl Band in 2021 and were described in The Irish Times as having a sound that is ‘menacing’. Core might well win the noisiest festival of the summer award, should there be such a thing.

 Core, Woodside Halls, Glasgow, Saturday 3 August.

PICTURE:

Abbey Close AND Bridge Street, Paisley

Friday 26 and Saturday 27 April

Over 35 delicious street food traders and licensed bars

Live music / Free family fun on Saturday

www.paisley.is paisleyfoodanddrink

SOMEWHERE BY

NICO

It seems there’s no stopping Nico Simeone. Already in 2024 we’ve had a new Six By Nico in Glasgow’s Merchant City, with the original site in Finnieston becoming fish and chip speakeasy Sole Club. Now Somewhere By Nico takes Simeone’s familiar rotating approach, with a new mixed drink menu and playful food pairings every six weeks. First up at the Byres Road spot is ‘Land Of Oz’, with a sextet of whimsical beverages (plus alcohol-free versions) inspired by L Frank Baum’s beloved characters and their journey to the Emerald City. Who knows, it might even stop us wanging on about The Willy Wonka Experience (David Kirkwood)

n 358 Byres Road, Glasgow, sixbynico.co.uk

eat & drink

Get lit

Suzy Pope finds out how Scotland’s restaurants are learning from the past by embracing ancient cooking techniques and preservation methods

More and more restaurants are scrambling to make sustainability claims to lure in conscientious diners. Amid the rise of plant-based, nose-to-tail and zerowaste menus, perhaps one of the simplest ways to reduce food miles is by harking back to the days before refrigerated mass shipping and a vast global import/export trade. Implicit in embracing ancient cooking techniques from hundreds of years ago is the idea of turning towards traditional dishes and ingredients from the land and sea around us, rather than relying on avocados and tomatoes from greenhouses and forests thousands of miles away.

This isn’t a new idea for some Scottish restaurants. On the Isle Of Skye, The Dunvegan offers a fire-dining menu where local lobsters, scallops, mussels and venison are cooked over an open flame. In Argyll, Inver (Scotland’s first Michelin Green Star winner) pickles and bakes with a zero-waste ethos that echoes the stocking-up for winter which was routinely practised before household refrigeration became widespread.

In Edinburgh, chef Dan Ashmore plans to embrace ancient cooking at ASKR, which has just opened in Leith. Meaning ‘ash’ in Old Norse, ASKR will focus on the local larder and open-fire cooking, harnessing both the power of flickering flames and slow-cooking potential of overnight embers, just as folk did hundreds of years ago. ‘With ASKR, I wanted to create my dream restaurant,’ says Ashmore. ‘I hope to be quite “caveman” in my cooking method but refined in the plating of the dishes.’

The highlight of his menu will be hogget cooked over an open fire. ‘It doesn’t get much more ancient than fire cooking, does it?’ he continues. ‘I’ve been reading about old cooking methods; leaving food near the dying embers of the fire was a popular way to make sure there was something ready in the morning. We’re going to incorporate this into a beetroot dish for long, overnight cooking without being so wasteful as to keep an oven on all night.’ There’s also a preservation station in the kitchen, so fruit, vegetables and pulses can be stored and used long after they are in season.

Formerly head chef at The Pompadour, Ashmore’s dream restaurant will be supported by chef Dean Banks, no stranger to embracing traditional Scottish cooking methods at his own places. Haar in St Andrews showcases local seafood from the Fife coast, sometimes caught and collected by Banks himself. A deconstructed Arbroath smokie dish nods to fish-smoking techniques that have been practised on the east coast for centuries.

At the very least, incorporating natural preservation and fire-cooking into the modern restaurant kitchen is a way to keep the old methods from dying out. While it’s not a sure-fire option to guarantee restaurant food miles stay low, turning to traditional methods of cooking draws inspiration from, and focus to, the ingredients in the landscape around us. ‘After all,’ Ashmore says, ‘Scotland really does have the best larder in the world.’

Chef Dan Ashmore of ASKR

PICTURES: GRANT ANDERSON

good in the hood

RWe wander through a neighbourhood and tell you where to drop in for food, drink and groceries. This month, Jay Thundercliffe takes a walk down the western half of Sauchiehall Street

eaching from Charing Cross to Kelvingrove Museum, the west of Sauchiehall Street is in stark contrast to its bustling, often raucous, nightlife-merry eastern side. Heading away from the city centre, you’ll find attractive terraced townhouses and peaceful parades as the street moves closer to the park. Dining options may be thinner on the ground, but this hood is home to some of Glasgow’s culinary highlights.

Veer off at Charing Cross for Chinaskis: the laidback Bukowski-inspired bourbon bar impresses on the food front, with bonus beer garden. Back on Sauchie and around the block is Willow Grove Coffee, serious about great brunch, cakes and, of course, the hot brown stuff. Nearby, Lamora Pizzeria dishes out excellent pasta and pizza at its wee takeaway-diner. Up a side street is Five March, serving inventive small plates and cocktails (note recent collab Five At Phillies with the Shawlands bar).

Next up is a trio of top spots. Mother India, the matriarch of Glasgow curry houses, always impresses with home-style cooking at their multistorey tenement, featuring a lovely wood-panelled room. Opposite is Unalome By Graeme Cheevers. Local boy Cheevers set up his own spot here after years of winning Michelins for others and quickly garnered a star for himself; expect technical mastery and imaginative flourishes. And nearby is Ox And Finch, who turned their humble beginnings as street-fooders into this casual small-plate diner that’s set the city’s culinary bar high for ten years.

Hit the Mediterranean with Yeros Greek Street Food, a popular wee takeaway doing rotisserie gyros, skewered souvlaki, falafel and more. Finally, close to Kelvingrove Museum is The Butchershop, delivering prime Scottish-reared beef cuts alongside classy mixed drinks in a Manhattan-vibe setting, with dreamy views across the university-dominated skyline.

Jo Laidlaw springs forward into a new month with citywide celebrations in Glasgow and high-profile new openings in Edinburgh

April is set to be a busy one in Glasgow, with the launch of the first Glasgow Food And Drink Month. Kicking off with a Producers’ Market in Princes Square (6 April), the city’s restaurants are next up in Glasgow Restaurant Week (11–18 April), where spots like The Gannet, Hanoi Bike Shop and Eusebi Deli will offer special set menus at £10, £15 or £25. The month closes with the now-traditional Glasgow Cocktail Week, with exclusive discounted cocktails available to wristband holders at over 40 bars, as well as a brand-new bar and events space in Princes Square (19–28 April).

Edinburgh is all about new openings. Tomás Gormley’s Cardinal has taken flight, with a tasting menu that’s mostly cooked over coals and features world influences and Scottish ingredients (sister restaurant Skua has moved back to its original small-plates-til-late vibe in response). Margot is a new Bruntsfield brunch/lunch/coffee spot from the gang behind List fave LeftField, while Dùthchas has opened in Aurora’s old home on Great Junction Street in Leith. From the team behind the ever-dependable Purslane, they’re bringing a sixcourse tasting menu inspired by seasonality and local produce.

Finally, there are some great food and drink festivals to check out. Springfest at Loch Lomond Shores is packed with tastings, guided foraging sessions and demos as well as street food and produce to take home (6 & 7 April). The Scottish Vegan Festival heads to Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms (7 April) with food, cosmetics and more. And Paisley Food And Drink Festival rolls into town at the end of the month: expect street food, local traders and live music (26 & 27 April).

side dishes

Cardinal

TipLIST suggests the places worth knowing about around Edinburgh and Glasgow in different themes, categories and locations. This month, we’re exploring the places that are just a little bit different from the norm, offering a memorable location for your night out

Quirky venues

tipLIST

EDINBURGH GLASGOW

FINGAL

Alexandra Dock, fingal.co.uk

All aboard Fingal for dinner on a ship, without having to leave shore. This award-winning hotel is open to non-residents for cocktails, afternoon tea or dinner. It’s a gorgeous space for a celebration, with views of the islands in the Forth.

KIM’S MINI MEALS

5 Buccleuch Street, facebook.com/mrkimsfamily

You’d think early last orders (8.30pm, no exceptions) and a firm policy on reservations and takeaway (neither allowed) would put folks off, but Kim’s is an enduring institution. Show up, queue up and eat up some of the best bibimbap in town.

PABLO EGGSGOBAO

62 Inverleith Row, eggsgobao.com

Quirky name, quirky food, and the bao bun/ breakfast fusion you didn’t know you needed. Refined? Nope. Delicious? Oh yeah. Try the breakfast bao: crispy hash browns, square sausage, omelette and melted cheese with sriracha. Takeaway or delivery only.

PARADISE PALMS

41 Lothian Street, theparadisepalms.com

Bright and bold Paradise Palms is the antidote to a grey weather day. It’s a bar, a restaurant, a record shop and a venue, decked in neon lights and kitsch ephemera. Cocktails are a specialty, plus a menu of American-style veggie/vegan soul food.

SINGAPORE COFFEE HOUSE

5 Canonmills, singaporecoffeehouse.co.uk

Singaporean food is a fusion of flavour and colour, condensed here into a cheery eight-seat restaurant. Roti canai is deliciously buttery and flaky, served with a rich curried sauce. A cup of kopi with condensed milk completes the authentic experience, powering you with sugar and caffeine for your day.

BATTLEFIELD REST

55 Battlefield Road, battlefieldrest.co.uk

This restored tram shelter has a history going back to 1914. Since 1993, its petite confines have housed a quaint Italian with bistro-ish plates (smoked haddock crêpe, black pudding salad) alongside pizzas and pastas. Lunchtime offers particularly good value.

HANOI BIKE SHOP

8 Ruthven Lane, hanoibikeshop.co.uk

Places hidden down lanes always excite. A garland of plants and Vietnamese flags herald your entrance into this canteen-style space of wooden benches and hanging bikes, with vibrant renderings of street foods and hearty dishes. Try the pho, and anything with the homemade tofu.

NONNA SAID . . .

26 Candleriggs, nonnasaid.com

This place picks up on our ongoing love affair with all things Neapolitan, throws in some eyebrowraising toppings, and indulges an equally potent crush with old-school hip hop. Munch on fried carbonara bites or a lamb doner pizza, while Biggie blasts out of the speakers.

THE TIKI BAR & KITSCH INN

214 Bath Street, tikibarglasgow.com

Quirky is kind of the point of tiki bars. Foosball, shuffleboard and popcorn machine downstairs, Thai eatery above and doing some fantastic work on sticky and aromatic curries. You can also order food amid the 50s Americana of the bar while supping on a Zombie from a Polynesian tankard.

THE WEE CURRY SHOP

7 Buccleuch Street, weecurryshop.co.uk

Twenty-odd seats, an open kitchen and the steady stewardship of the Mother India group make for a delightfully quaint ‘front room’ experience where dishes are classically composed but light and modern.

Sarah Berardi, Hendrick’s Gin Ambassador, shows us around three of her favourite quirky bars

THE ABSENT EAR

Brunswick Street, Glasgow, theabsentear.com

If you know, you know. Hands down, one of the most interesting and creative cocktail bars I’ve ever been to. Inspired by Van Gogh, the red-lit basement bar is hidden down a stairwell in Merchant City. The drinks menu takes guests on a creative adventure, with an interactive way to select your beverage. Maximalist cocktails are paired with garnishes that help them evolve over time: the team is incredibly talented. Get the Coco Fino Daquiri and thank me later.

THE COCKTAIL GEEKS

27 East Market Street, Edinburgh, thecocktailgeeks.com

Who doesn’t love a chance to geek out? The Cocktail Geeks epitomises quirky in the best way. Themes rotate every four months; and by theme I mean cocktail list, décor, lighting, menus, social media . . . everything. It’s currently Super Mario-themed and it’s incredible, unique and immersive. Definitely book ahead.

PANDA & SONS

79 Queen Street, Edinburgh, pandaandsons.com

It’s amazing to see what Iain McPherson and his team have done here: multi award-winning and known worldwide for their pioneering cocktail techniques, Panda pushes the boundaries. Beyond the techniques and façade though, Transcend, their newest menu, is easily one of the best. Service and décor instantly make you feel comfortable, so sit back, relax, and allow one of the brilliant team members to bring you a tasty libation (I’m biased, but get the Sharp Shooter).

The Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn

The Absent Ear

Fingal

“TREAT

JAPANESE MIJU

Opening recently in West Coates, this is the second branch of Japanese restaurant Miju (the original is on Dalry Road). Despite being part of a boutique hotel, it feels nothing like a typical hotel bar: stepping behind traditional noren curtains takes you into a world of light wood and ink black. Shelves of sake bottles and plum wine display kanji script while the small bar is stocked with a variety of Japanese whiskies, gins and sake, as tinkling spa-like music inspires conversation at murmur level. Reading the menu in a dim light is challenging, but there’s no denying the atmosphere.

The focus is mainly sushi; bagging a seat at the bar means watching skilled hands prepare each roll fresh in front of you. It’s a pleasant surprise to find individual nigiri plates, allowing you to curate your own selection. Small-plate starters hold no huge surprises, and include takoyaki (octopus balls), edamame and chicken karaage. Gyoza are clearly handmade and fried on the spot for a comforting ease into more adventurous dishes, while eel skewers come glazed with a sweet, sticky sauce, and yakitori-style skewers are perfect with a cold Asahi or Sapporo.

On presenting your picture-perfect selection of sushi, staff tell you the correct order to eat each element (start with sashimi that tastes of fresh water). Of course, there are items for Western tastes: rainbow rolls layered with salmon and tuna, dragon rolls with avocado and prawn tempura, and a particularly delicious spider roll with crispy soft-shell crab, though the California roll with grilled cheese feels a little too fusion for such distinctly Japanese surroundings. Miju is one of the classier Japanese restaurants in Edinburgh, with everything from décor to eating directions feeling carefully considered. There’s no doubt this is a bit of stylish diversity for the Haymarket/Roseburn dining scene. (Suzy Pope) n 6 Hampton Terrace, Edinburgh, miju-jp.com; average price for starter and classic sushi selection £32.

MEXICAN LA MASA TACO BAR

The team behind a previous restaurant here (the well-regarded Scamp) have crossed the Atlantic for inspiration to become a taco bar. With other commendable venues under their brolly, including Eighty Eight and Hooligan, the owners continue to show a knack for success.

A taqueria that leans into its drinks menu should be able to hit fiesta level, and the Friday post-work payday slot certainly delivers. There’s dimmed lighting, indiscernible music amid chatter and laughter, and servers side-stepping each other to slide plates and coupes onto high-stool tables or bar spots segregating the bustling open kitchen. Margaritas and mezcal cocktails dominate; straight-up tequila, Curaçao, lime and salt nicely pep mood and tastebuds, while Oaxacan Old Fashioneds seemingly omit the tequila component for a somewhat overwhelming hit of Del Maguey mezcal. Beer-wise, Spanish favourite Cruzcampo cuts expertly through spicy food.

Several taco and tostado options hit the spot (three/four for a feed), with zingy sea bass ceviche on tostada, enveloped by Baja sauce; joyful crisp-then-soft fish taco; chicken-skin salsa giving a meaty punty-up to chicken tostada; and al pastor grilled pork perked up with pineapple salsa. Only one bum note: blue corn quesadilla with salsa negra is just too dark and gloomy to party. Barbacoa offerings nearly wrestle the show though. Tajin pork belly is a winner, its fizzy, foamy fatty layer combining with tender meat, while coffeebrined beef short-rib offers sweet, sticky, meaty goodness. In fact, forget middling soft-serve ice-cream with sugary nachos: get more barbacoa instead. (Jay Thundercliffe) n 26a Renfield Street, Glasgow, lamasaglasgow.co.uk; average price for three tacos £12.

PICTURE: @VOOM.STUDIO

Drinking Games

Och aye the noo and shove a caber whar the sun disnae shine, because Kevin Fullerton is back to howl another drinking game into the void and onto these pages. This month’s challenge . . . find a Scottish pub in Glasgow that makes your heart explode with patriotism

Scotland and I share a love that dare not speak its name, mainly because the things I’d do to Scotland are illegal in most parts of the world. Smearing haggis across the outer crust of my beard before bedtime, I like to place a saltire between my partner and I as a symbol of the divide caused by the union of our proud nation and its colonising aggressors. Before you ask, yes, my partner is an inflatable doll with a mask of Scottish wonder-man Gerard Butler Sellotaped to its head. Most nights I stare into those beautiful Butler eyes and wonder why my last partner left (‘Kevin,’ she said with a suitcase in her hand, ‘these Drinking Games articles are getting too off-putting’). My deep-fried heart has led me to review these three Glasgow Scottish-themed bars based on how patriotic they made me feel. Read on, Macduff.

First up The Ben Nevis, a cosy Finnieston joint with ancient stones on the wall and a formidable selection of delicious whisky on display. The crammed crowds in this petite space should have been stressed by the bustle; instead, staff and punters remained polite, though unresponsive, when I stood on a table and began a rousing striptease to the tune of ‘Donald, Where’s Your Troosers?’ Patriot rating: A tickle o’ ma wee doonstairs bunnet.

Dreaming of my inflatable Butler (honestly, what a boy), I meandered into The Pot Still, a brown-panelled mainstay of Glasgow’s city centre. It’s the kind of pub that welcomes all, from old guys to young couples, solipsists reading a book all afternoon to weary travellers waiting on their train home. They even welcomed me, a man with an £8.99 tammy stapled onto his head. Fair play. Patriot rating: A strong Connolly.

And finally, The Piper, where you’re likely to find an American tourist telling staff that their 55th cousin twice-removed is from Dingwall. The food menu may be as straightforward as they come and the drink selection standard, but the unerring amiability of the bar staff is a real draw here. Fully sated by my Scottish brethren, I depart to my flat to mount ‘Gerard’ and dream of a better Scotland tomorrow. Patriot rating: The full Sturgeon salute.

BAR FILES

Creative folks reveal their top watering hole PIANIST & COMPOSER BEN SHANKLAND

When I think of pubs and bars in Edinburgh, the one which always comes to mind is The Jazz Bar. It’s the first ‘proper’ bar I ever visited, sneaking in to play in the open jam session on a Tuesday night when I was just getting started with jazz. It’s an amazing place for music, with bands on every night of the week, and the only full-time jazz venue in Scotland that I know of. There’s a good selection of beers, and an instant vibe as soon as you step off Chambers Street and down the steps into a real basement jazz club. I try to make a point of visiting any time I’m back in Edinburgh whether I have a gig there or not, and it still remains one of my favourite places to play music in the whole country.

n Ben Shankland Trio perform as support for Laura Macdonald & Zoe Rahman, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Monday 8 April, as part of Soundhouse.

ME+EM

travel & shop

Founded in London 15 years ago by Clare Hornby, this womenswear boutique offers a range of modern basics, dresses, footwear, outerwear and accessories. All ME+EM pieces are designed in-house and manufactured in the same factories as luxury brands, only with all wholesalers and third parties removed. This reduces costs while maintaining a high-end feel, particularly evident in the tailoring and fabric quality. ME+EM’s Edinburgh store is the only Scottish branch so far, located across a spacious 3000 square-foot Victorian building on George Street. The natural light in this space alone is worth experiencing in-person, but getting a feel of all the pieces will always trump online shopping. (Megan Merino) n 43 George St, Edinburgh, meandem.com, @me_andem on Instagram.

after William Shakespeare Zinnie Harris 14

Written

wanderLIST: Osaka

Japan oozes with magnificent culture, cuisine and history. In search of something a little unexpected, Suzy Pope guides us through the hedonistic neon-lit streets of the country’s nightlife capital

Just two and a half hours south of Tokyo by bullet train, the once-seedy port city of Osaka is a hive of activity. During daylight hours, I explore its softer side: the cultural museum housed within ancient and imposing Osaka Castle (rebuilt after the city’s decimation in World War II); soba restaurants with creaky wooden floors; and the tranquil courtyards of the Sumiyoshi Taisha Shinto shrine. But, if I’d wanted to experience old Edo Japan and hop between shrines and castles, I would have stayed in Kyoto. Osaka comes into its own after dark.

As sunset arrives, the city’s neon lights flicker into life. A lively hub of street food, pavement izakayas and noisy pachinko parlours can be found in the Blade Runner-esque district of Dotonbori. Ambling along the main drag, I pick up the city’s staple street food, takoyaki (octopus dumplings), from the original of a now ubiquitous chain, Takoya Dotonbori Kukuru, which bears a huge, angry-looking red octopus above the entrance. This is just a starter to a full street-food extravaganza in central Osaka.

Next, I join the snaking queue for steak sushi, before sitting at a high table in the street to watch a fashion parade of teenagers walking past. Hair spiked into gravity-defying updos and long black trench coats seem to be in vogue. Forget Tokyo’s stylish Harajuku district: Osaka is where the fashion-conscious come to show off their drip.

For my final course, I head to the adjacent side of Dotonbori River where izakayas spill out onto the street as lantern-adorned dinner cruises make their way slowly along the water. I squat on a seat made from old beer crates and order a plethora of skewers featuring everything from quail eggs to grilled chicken in a sticky, sweet sauce.

Apart from Dotonbori, Osaka’s vibrant nightlife can be found in Shinsekai (meaning New World). Pedestrian streets meander through low-rise buildings where nearly every doorway leads to an izakaya (restaurant or bar). Tourists stop in the street, snapping photos of the elaborate glowing light sculptures designed to lure them inside. Here you’ll find sushi restaurants where you catch your own fish, hole-in-thewall pockets featuring suited businessmen cramming around a single bar to wash down yakitori skewers with cold Asahi, or red-hot teppanyaki grills with a chef deftly serving up the city’s most famous dish, okonomiyaki.

I end my night at one of Osaka’s many karaoke bars, blasting out some Bon Jovi to a kitsch video of cherry blossom and Japanese teenagers falling in love. The streets are still bright as daylight and busy with revellers as the metro slows to a halt. Lively and a little rough around the edges, Osaka is a city of neon-bright lights and hedonistic nights.

osaka-info.jp

As spring attempts to take hold, Shona Munro shares three flourishing green spaces that are hidden in plain sight

NINEWELLS COMMUNITY GARDEN

In the woodland south of this Dundee hospital sits a garden that’s open to all, offering tranquil surroundings and a focus on biodiversity and community involvement. The sensory and physic gardens reflect the medical backdrop while the colourful borders, vegetable beds and orchard indicate the team’s commitment to making this a garden to remember.

n 7 Tom MacDonald Avenue, Dundee, daily all day, free.

DUNBAR’S CLOSE

With all the distractions of a busy Royal Mile, you could easily walk past the entrance without realising what this small but perfectly formed garden offers. The Mushroom Trust developed this derelict site in the 1970s after consulting with the community and created a haven for all to enjoy. Based on historic Canongate gardens, a series of planted compartments offer year-round interest. Pick a bench to pause and enjoy this green oasis.

n 137 Canongate, Edinburgh, daily 7am–4.30pm, free.

GARGUNNOCK HOUSE GARDEN

my favourite holiday on your doorstep

The Landmark Trust restored Gargunnock House in the 1990s and it’s now holiday accommodation so the grounds are only open at certain times. The extensive woodland holds many remarkable trees and seasonal plants. Look out for the octagonal doocot and the walled garden, packed with flowers, greenhouses, veg beds and orchards. Just allow enough time to take it all in.

n Gargunnock, near Stirling, Wednesdays 2–5pm, midApril to mid-June, September & October, £5.

This Is Memorial Device star Paul Higgins recounts a blissful family holiday on the Greek island of Corfu

With my wife and our two daughters (aged 13 and 15), we had the ground floor and garden of a two-storey house in Imerolia, Corfu. The other floor was reserved for the absent owners. The long, terraced garden ended at a bright blue, wooden gate onto a deserted pebble beach about four metres wide, then the warm, blue sea. You rinsed off the salt at a beachside shower, before returning to sit in the shade. Two tortoises, Tiny and Tim, lived in the garden for our girls to track down and tempt with a variety of foods. Strawberries were popular and the juice would come out of their prehistoric noses.

A fruit and vegetable truck pulled up on the road behind once a week. An airy, quiet taverna sat less than 100 metres along the beach, and the fishing village of Kassiopi, with its bars and restaurants, was a 15-minute walk. There was no internet and no TV. I had run the London Marathon the day before we arrived and my thighs were so stiff I had to walk backwards down the steep path from the road, but it meant I could feel relaxed about relaxing. We went back twice before the owners sold up.

It’s still the model: basic, self-catering (luxury is for losers); warm sea on the doorstep; action within walking distance, but not too close; the whole family together. It was the sort of place you dream of retiring to, if you dream of retiring (I’m dreaming of it right now).

This Is Memorial Device, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wednesday 3–Saturday 6 April; Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, Thursday 18–Saturday 20 April.

PICTURE: ROBIN GAUTIER

Dunbar’s Close

Mass-produced fashion may be taking over our wardrobes these days but, as Megan Merino discovers, bridal retailer and textile expert Rachel Scott is committed to providing Scottish shoppers with a more bespoke service

The most extravagant outfit most people get to wear in a lifetime is on their wedding day. There’s something about the joys of matrimony that permit us to indulge in high-end, tailor-made garments in a way we would never dream of doing for other special occasions.

Rachel Scott, of Edinburgh’s Rachel Scott Couture, has been working with brides for nearly two decades after attending Heriot-Watt’s School Of Textiles And Design in Galashiels where she fell in love with the science of fibres, fabrics and yarn. ‘Most of the people that were on my course ended up either doing forensic science or working in the Ministry Of Defence making parachutes and bulletproof vests. So I took a slight tangent when I saw there was an opportunity in bridal,’ Scott says, laughing.

Scott has long been the only Scottish retailer to work closely with fashion houses such as Vivienne Westwood, Suzanne Neville and Alice Temperley in her bridal business on Dundas Street, but this year she’s determined to replicate that service in a non-bridal Queensferry Street location. There, she stocks a range of specialist jewellery and Miller Harris scents, alongside offering a wider selection of gowns for any occasion. ‘Now our clients won’t have to go to London, directly to the designers, to get something so bespoke.’ After an initial private appointment, Scott and her team help customers piece together the construction, fabric and fit of their garment from scratch, a process which can take up to five months. ‘I like that it’s the opposite of fast fashion. Everything is really considered, really thought out.’

Whether a garment is commissioned for a single event or as a wardrobe staple, having it made-to-measure ensures minimal waste in the atelier and long-lasting quality for the customer. ‘Going back to bridal, that’s often the most considered purchase you’ll ever make and you only wear it on one day. An occasion piece is obviously an investment but it’s also going to have real integrity behind it and be absolutely perfect for your needs.’

Rachel Scott Couture, 19 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, rachelscottcouture.co.uk

Great Scott

shop talk

KNOT BOOKSHOP

Glasgow-based Knot Bookshop serves up a unique offering of rare photography and contemporary art books (think vintage magazines, artist retrospectives, movie pamphlets and essay collections). This is a haven for the pop-culture obsessed, fashion heads and cult-film lovers. Spend hours combing through their online selection or visit Glasgow’s W2 to browse in-store.

n W2, 10 Ruthven Lane, Glasgow, @knot_bookshop on Instagram.

CARBOOT

Made in Edinburgh by Katie Bremner, Carboot specialises in bold and playful bags. Flashes of colour collide with muted earth tones across endlessly expanding styles.

With products ranging from photography books and handbags to flower bouquets, Graham Peacock explores three small independent Scottish retailers worth knowing about

Created by hand using an ancient felting technique, a unique point of view has made Bremner’s eclectic designs a mainstay in Scotland’s fashion scene.

n @__carboot__ on Instagram.

FLOWERS VERMILION

Flowers Vermilion is a contender for Glasgow’s most beautiful one-stop shop. Besides their signature flower bouquets, the store houses a beautiful array of independent makers. Expect artisan ceramics, intricate vases, apothecary, clothing and more. There’s such an eclectic curation of items, it’s impossible not to fall in love with their offerings.

n 920 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, flowersvermilion.com, @flowers_vermilion on Instagram.

PICTURE: HANNA WOLF

Saturday 6 April

Hawkwind

Friday 19 April

Okean Elzy

Saturday 20 April

The Clone Roses + Definitely Mightbe (Oasis Tribute) + The James Experience + The Gerry Cinnamon Experience

Saturday 27 April Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox

Monday 29 April

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World Tour

Friday 3 May

BBC Radio 2 Sounds of the 80s - The Live Tour with Gary Davies

Wednesday 15 May Old Time Sailors

Sunday 26 May Day Fever

Friday 7 June

Martin KempBack To The 80s DJ Set

Friday 28 June

Rob Lamberti Presents Perfectly George

Friday 23 August

Don’t Stop Queen Now

Friday 6 September

Pro Wrestling NOAHUK Tour 2024

Tuesday 10 September Blackberry Smoke

Friday 27 September The Undertones + Ruts DC

Tuesday 15 September

Wednesday 16 September Wallows

Thursday 17 October AC/DC Experience

Friday 25 October

Glasville

Saturday 23 November Shed Seven

Saturday 30 November

Sunday 1 December

An Evening Of DartsGary Anderson + Raymond van Barneveld + John Henderson + Robert Thornton + Cameron Menzies

Friday 27 December Skerryvore

Friday 24 January Antarctic Monkeys

o2academyedinburgh.co.uk

EDINBURGH SCIENCE FESTIVAL

Whether you were an utter egghead at school or a STEM-shaped dunce, there’s no denying that our lives would be very different without science and scientists. Taking place in city venues as diverse as Dynamic Earth, The Biscuit Factory and Edinburgh Zoo, the Edinburgh Science Festival’s focus this year (as you’d imagine it would be on an annual basis) is the future. Wonderful and weird matters are explored, as exemplified in the words of festival director Simon Gage: ‘the programme touches on the cutting edge of invention from the worlds of AI, robotics and space exploration to the unusual such as giant rooms made of mushrooms.’ (Brian Donaldson)

n Various venues, Edinburgh, until Sunday 14 April.

A waterside gallery dedicated to the work of sculptor George Wyllie is set to open in Greenock. Exploring this new building, Greg Thomas speaks to its director about an ‘outsider artist’ whose creations feature hidden depths that have been ignored

Filling in the blanks

PICTURE: RICHARD MURPHY

I‘have tried to find out if there are any other cruise terminals with art galleries in them,’ says Will Cooper, director of The Wyllieum, as we look out of the building’s majestic floor-to-ceiling front windows across the chilly Clyde. What’s a Wyllieum, you might ask? Well, like an art gallery in a cruise terminal, it’s something of a one-off. Occupying part of Greenock Ocean Terminal, where vast tourist liners dock during the summer months, The Wyllieum is a new home for the permanent art collection of one of the town’s most famous (adopted) sons, Glasgow-born sculptor George Wyllie. Opening this month, the gallery will show Wyllie’s work as well as temporary exhibitions by artists whose practice bears affinities and connections with it.

For more than three decades, George Ralston Wyllie (who died in 2012 aged 90) worked as a customs and excise officer in a port building a few hundred metres away. For this reason and others, the gallery’s location is, like much of Wyllie’s work, whimsically poetic. But the presence of a contemporary art gallery on a site previously associated with waterborne trade also underpins a deeper, more complex symbolism (again, like lots of Wyllie’s art). In the decades following the dismantling of heavy industry along the Clyde, Greenock has undergone a profound identity shift. One of the more positive aspects is the evolution of its creative life. As if to illustrate the point, the next building along from the artist’s old workplace is the stylish Beacon Arts Centre which opened in 2013.

Wyllie never went to art school, only taking up art-making full-time in his late 50s, around the point he retired from Greenock Customs And Excise Department. It’s partly why he’s still seen in some circles as an eccentric autodidact or ‘outsider artist’. The son of an engineer’s clerk and a telephonist, Wyllie trained as an engineer with the Post Office before serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, returning to take up his customs job in 1947. Three decades later, as the man himself insisted, it was ‘time for art’.

The work he went on to create found fame in Scotland and beyond. He was an early adopter of styles we might now call performance art and site-specific art, and was mentored by Joseph Beuys and the Scottish-American kinetic artist George Rickey. Works by Wyllie predate near-identical ones created or proposed by Claes Oldenburg and Jeff Koons. Outsider? Hardly. But labels stick.

Wyllie’s two most famous creations tackle the de-industrialisation of the Clyde with oblique wit. His ‘Straw Locomotive’ was a giant toy-train engine (made from straw, steel and chicken wire), suspended from the totemic Finnieston Crane for six weeks in 1987, before being transported to a former locomotive works in Springburn for a ceremonial

Clockwise from below: director of The Wyllieum Will Cooper; The Wyllieum; George Wyllie; entrance to the gallery; view across the Clyde; sculptures in Wyllie’s Gourock garden; ‘Paper Boat’

‘Viking funeral’. The 78-foot long ‘Paper Boat’ (it looks how you’d imagine, but was actually crafted from steel, plastic and gauze) set sail from the banks of the Clyde two years later, the artist on board in a crisp white boiler suit. The so-called ‘pride of the Origami Line’ graced the Thames too, and the Hudson River in New York, in different iterations of the accompanying performance.

These pieces allude to the demise of industrial western Scotland with a nod and a wink. But the gestures are freighted with sorrow and anger. ‘A Paper Boat . . . not what a ship used to be,’ goes the song written to accompany the vessel’s maiden voyage from the decaying heart of British shipbuilding. As Cooper and I talk, he picks up some jaunty blue picture discs featuring the tune and muses on the comic aspect of Wyllie’s work. How much have we missed by fixating on this one facet? ‘I don’t think we’re always great at understanding humour in art. We just think something’s funny and then we move on. We don’t get to the next level.’ Perhaps for this reason, the new gallery director is keen that audiences get to see more of Wyllie’s output besides the locomotive and the boat: ‘we need to fill in the blanks.’

In The Wyllieum’s stunning temporary exhibition space (its big windows facing the water), Cooper is currently assembling the gallery’s first show with his co-curator, sculptor Sara Barker. This will feature a selection of Wyllie’s ‘Spires’, tripods of aluminium poles each holding a central rod in a gimbal of the kind used to keep ships’ compasses steady, weighted

with a rock (hanging just above the ground) that makes it flail gently when nudged. ‘All of George’s work is about change, and the ebb and flow of life, and how equilibrium is maintained,’ says Cooper. He suggests this is connected to Wyllie’s wartime experiences. ‘He was one of the first servicemen to set foot in Hiroshima. That stuck with him. The idea of how violent the world could become, and how we can regain balance; all that was important to him.’

Next door we explore the permanent gallery, a smaller, landlocked space. We talk about Wyllie’s love of Americana and look at some oversized model guns coated in flannel with soap-bar cartridges; this is in homage to Tom Mix, a star of almost 300 cowboy movies who was known as the ‘cleanest gun in the west’. ‘George understood that the Wild West myth was actually a story of colonial exploitation,’ Cooper suggests. ‘The geopolitical aspects of his work are often missed.’

One advantage of the impression that Wyllie was not an artworld insider is that lots of people seem to feel less distance from him and his work than they might otherwise. Cooper says that for the first few months of work on the site, locals would come in every day to share memories and anecdotes about the man. ‘It’s unusual to have the general community feel so connected to a local artist like that. And being able to give something like this to the community is great.’

The Wyllieum opens in Greenock on Friday 26 April.

George Wyllie’s ‘Straw Locomotive’ goes up in ceremonial flames; ‘Paper Boat’ (left) suspended from the Finnieston Crane; ‘32 Spires For Hibernia’ (above)

“

We don’t whip ‘em up;

Publicity-shy Brian Bilston has been described as the Banksy of poetry and Twitter’s unofficial laureate, with more than 400,000 followers on social media. He’s currently touring with writer, poet and Radio 4 fixture Henry Normal, who co-created The Royle Family, and co-founded production company Baby Cow with Steve Coogan, along the way bringing us seminal TV comedies such as The Mighty Boosh, Ideal and Nighty Night. Here they have a right old chinwag with Jay Richardson about alter egos, echo chambers and Hobnobs

How’s the tour going?

Brian Bilston: Brilliant. We were just in Oxford, my hometown, and 600 people came along.

Henry Normal: . . . on a Tuesday. You get thousands watching football. But no poet ever sold out Wembley. Allen Ginsberg coming over in the 60s was probably the biggest.

I guess Leonard Cohen or Gil Scott-Heron might have drawn big crowds?

Yeah, but they were always doing it with music. We’ve

no dancers.

BB:

We’re strictly a cappella.

As gentlemen of a certain age, how do you find touring?

We’re quite rock’n’roll. So it takes a toll.

HN:

Brian is surprisingly young, I think you’ll find. Almost a babe in poetry circles.

BB:

Like a lot of poets I don’t drive and have to contend with Network Rail when I do solo shows. Partnering with Henry has been like a dream. Well, like having a chauffeur.

Why don’t poets drive?

They prefer a scenic view. Staring aimlessly out of a window into the middle distance. They can’t concentrate for long periods.

HN:

I’m looking forward to driving round Scotland though; some of the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Much better than Birmingham.

How are Scottish audiences?

Very warm. I was on at the Assembly Rooms at midnight once during the Edinburgh Fringe, and people used to come in, sleep, then wake at the end.

You both employ pseudonyms. What’s it like being an alter ego?

BB: Well, mine is slightly accidental. I joined Twitter under my pseudonym and it blossomed from there. I write one small step removed from who I actually am, so it’s quite helpful to think ‘right, I’m Brian for the next three hours’. Even now I struggle with the idea that I’m a poet. I changed my name back in the 80s. I was touring with Pulp and a lot of the Sheffield bands. But as an insurance broker, I’d often come straight from work in my suit. By calling myself Henry Normal I was getting the joke in before all these punks and post-punks. And it meant my boss didn’t find out. Or the taxman.

HN: touring

we’re in cardigans

Brian started as an Alan Partridge-type character, so you’ve both got a Steve Coogan link?

BB: ‘Brian Bilston’ was a correspondent for the Dudley Echo when I first joined Twitter. I had a spoof football team and did match reports.

HN: I produced the Partridge film and obviously worked with Steve for many years. I didn’t really write for Partridge because I was working on Mrs Merton and The Royle Family; he was working with his posh London mates. I’ve been lucky. My superpower is working with very good people, whether it be Caroline Aherne, Linda Smith, Hattie Hayridge, the Gavin & Stacey lot, and now Brian. I’ve a knack for being in the right room.

Henry, you've essentially retired from television. But can you ever switch off from being a poet?

HN: I’d like to think all the TV and film work I did had an element of poetry. I started off as a poet-comedian and they’re both trying to find a greater truth. But poetry is a very personal, one-to-one communication. Making Philomena was brilliant but there were 400 people working on it.

Were you poetically inclined before Twitter, Brian?

BB: I’d be at some terrible sales conference. At night, I’d scuttle back to my hotel room and write passive-aggressive poetry about senior managers. It took a while to realise it was something I might share with others.

Henry, I understand your autistic son brought you back to writing?

HN: I made 450 television programmes while trying to bring up an autistic kid. Being a bit autistic myself, I thought I’d sort out all our photos. Some made me cry; some joyous; some angry. Describing those photos to myself got me back into poetry after 20 years. Johnny is 25 now and still severely autistic, but we have a great life.

Brian, does poetry help you process?

BB: Absolutely. I’ve written a lot about politics. But on social media, you get into your own echo chamber. I remember realising my last seven or eight poems were about Brexit or Trump.

HN: There’s no mob or anti-government violence at our shows. We don’t whip ’em up; we’re in cardigans.

BB: There’s a role for poetry in having a voice about bigger things though. We find joy in the everyday but focusing on that alone wouldn’t be right.

HN: There is serious stuff. Humour just stops you slitting your wrists with the pages.

What’s next?

BB: I’m thinking about a sequel to my novel, Diary Of A Somebody. And I’ve a collection of poetry for kids.

HN: A packet of Hobnobs.

Brian Bilston & Henry Normal, Tolbooth, Stirling, Friday 5 April; Gardyne Theatre, Dundee, Sunday 7 April; Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Tuesday 9 April; Mackintosh Queen’s Cross, Glasgow, Wednesday 10 April.

GAELIC ARTS AOIFE SCOTT

‘It’s been mad the last few days,’ Aoife Scott says from New York, amid her current American tour. ‘I’m promoting three albums at the moment.’ With roots in Rathlin Island (which sits between the Argyll and County Antrim coasts), Scott was educated in an Irish-speaking school before going on to make documentaries. Having returned to her musical roots, the language remains a key element of her self-penned oeuvre. This includes cuts like ‘Fásaim’ and ‘Slán Leat’ from her 2016 debut Carry The Day, and ‘Do Mhuirnín Ó’ from her sophomore project, Homebird

Scott has spent recent years carving out her own identity as an artist, having come from a famous musical dynasty, the Blacks (led in the 80s and 90s by female figureheads Mary, and Scott’s mother Frances). As well as Scott, the next generation includes Mary’s offspring, Róisín O (who also has a new single out now) and Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas. Setting them apart from their mothers, all are songwriters in their own right.

For Scott, touring is also part of that creative process: ‘I feel out songs. I gig them, then I feel better about recording them.’ Ahead of a new album next year, audiences should seek out her only scheduled Scottish gig later this month. But she and her band hope to be back in the country soon: ‘it’s one of my favourite places to play.’ (Marcas Mac an Tuairneir)

n The Glad Café, Glasgow, Sunday 28 April.

@pclpresents

@pclpresentsuk @pclpresents

27TH AUGUST

GLASGOW

BELL WITCH

FRIDAY 12 APRIL

GLASGOW ROOM 2

THE WEDDING PRESENT

WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY LEMON TREE ABERDEEN

THURSDAY 23RD MAY ROOM 2 GLASGOW

SUNDAY 6TH OCTOBER LIQUID ROOMS EDINBURGH

ROMare

THURSDAY 25 APRIL ROOM 2 GLASGOW

Thurs 09 May Edinburgh The Caves

Yowl

Norman Jay MBE Ugly

Asomvel

The Black Delta Movement Islands (Duo)

Giant Sand

Moderate Rebels

Home Counties

Allegra Kreiger

Paul Weller Experience

Minami Deustch

Deep Dark Woods (solo)

Night Beats

Bob Log III plus many more

MAY 10 GLASGOW, AUDIO MAY 11 EDINBURGH, SUMMERHALL

Adwaith

Allegra Krieger Chemtrails

Ducks Ltd

Francis of Delirium

Gaffa Tape Sandy

Group Listening

Maruja

Marta Del Grandi

Midnight Ambulance

Memorial

Moderate Rebels

Romare

Ryley Walker

Spiritual Cramp System Exclusive ... plus many more

BARROWLANDS

Come together

Scotland’s festival of traditional dance features everything from ceilidh to hip hop. Lucy Ribchester talks to Pomegranates’ choreographer-in-residence Jonzi D about finding unity in difference and decolonising the expressive arts

Anyone who has seen the acclaimed veteran hip-hop choreographer and MC Jonzi D whip up a crowd will know how adept he is at bringing together huge groups of people. So when he got the call inviting him to be choreographer-in-residence for Pomegranates Festival, Edinburgh’s celebration of diverse traditional dance forms, accepting was a no-brainer. ‘I’m very excited about the project,’ says Jonzi over Zoom. ‘What we’re working with is dance that is localised to specific communities, be it national dance styles or just groups made up of different types of movement. My job is to bring them all together so they’re one voice.’

The festival features dance-theatre performances, live music, spoken word and exhibitions, but Jonzi’s principal role is to helm a flagship show on 29 April (International Dance Day), with 20 dancers from Scottish traditions and those practised by cultural migrant communities. He’s being assisted in the creation process by poets Jim Mackintosh and Ian McMillan, and visual artist Mare Tralla.

That’s a lot of voices to harmonise. But the challenge of such diversity is, Jonzi says, key to his process. ‘I think that level of not knowing is part of the way in which I work.’ Improvisation will play a crucial role in making sure each dance voice is heard (or seen), while working to an overarching theme of peace, unity and having fun (‘the mantra of hip-hop culture’) will help to fuse the performers.

There is also a more serious side to the choreographer-in-residence role, which comes in the form of delivering the festival’s keynote lecture on 30 April. For this, Jonzi has chosen to speak about decolonising the expressive arts, an expansion of themes he explored in his 2015 TED Talk ‘Hip-Hop Theatre: Recognition Without Permission’.

‘One of the big problems with art, particularly with these big institutions,’ he adds, ‘is that they’re very prescriptive as to what happens in that space, and what’s valued in that space. I’ve been challenging that using hip-hop forms for many years now.’

His TED Talk is breathtakingly acute in its message, while delivered with a trademark exuberance; it’s a must-watch (and available on YouTube) for anyone interested in challenging the Western arts canon. At one point, he uses a smooth physical movement to demonstrate how his ‘hip-hop body’ was colonised into classical ballet, and he gives a blistering explanation of his refusal to accept the MBE in 2013.

Traditional dance is important, Jonzi says, because it represents heritage while celebrating difference. ‘I think we’ve reached a period in society where our differences are being used against us; our differences are being used to keep us separated; our differences are being used as judgmental tools. All of these things are keeping us apart. But my dream is that we come together because of our differences.’

Pomegranates Festival, various venues, Edinburgh, Thursday 25–Tuesday 30 April.

COMEDY MY COMEDY HERO ARI ELDJÁRN ON BILL BAILEY

When Blacks Books first aired on RÚV (Iceland’s tiny version of the BBC), Bill Bailey instantly gained a local fanbase. Cut to 15 years later when I’m an aspiring stand-up comedian and my Norwegian friend Stian asks if I’d like to promote a Bill Bailey show in Reykjavík. I instantly say yes, the show goes on sale and the dreaded promotion part awaits. But the 1000 tickets just sell out instantly and my work is done. No need to hype this man.

The day arrives and I pick him up in my old car which coincidentally has a personalised license plate that reads ‘BÍLL’ (car in Icelandic). After convincing him that I am not a stalker with his name on my car, we hang out and I get to enjoy his comedy both off and on stage. The show is called Limboland and the audience is in hysterics. What a comedian. The storytelling. The music. For the cowbell part he allows me to join the show as a stage-hand.

After all is said and done he departs Iceland with an assortment of odd instruments. But an idea has been planted. I had never done a one-man solo show before so I book the same venue for my now annual New Year gig. It’s been eight years since then and I’ve done more than 100 shows. Bill showed me how it’s done and for that I will always be grateful. Next up: I’m going to learn how to dance.

 Ari Eldjárn: Return Of The Icelandic, Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, Saturday 27 April.

OBITUARY NORMAN CHALMERS

Here at The List, we are saddened to learn that Norman Chalmers has died, aged 75. Norman was part of the original team that launched The List back in 1985. An accomplished concertina and whistle player, he pursued his own career but was also committed to promoting the folk scene across Scotland and encouraging young talent.

Norman was folk editor of the magazine until 2001. In the early days, this required detailed research to compile day-by-day listings of what bands were playing when, together with articles highlighting the best (or most interesting) of what was on. Meeting or even acknowledging deadlines did not come easy to Norman and many a late night was spent by the production team tearing their hair out waiting for his copy. It would eventually come, often from a phone box on a remote Scottish island, sometimes needing to be taken down by laborious dictation.

Norman was proud of his St Kildan ancestry and was a regular on the celebrated musical voyages around the Western Isles of the restored 19th century trawler, The Lorne Leader. Norman was a member of various bands, most notably Jock Tamson’s Bairns and later The Cauld Blast Orchestra. Perhaps his most prominent performance was in the Communicado show (also called Jock Tamson’s Bairns) at Tramway, marking the start of Glasgow’s reign as City Of Culture in 1990. We send our love and sympathy to Norman’s daughter and two grandchildren. (Robin Hodge)

PICTURE:

Norman Chalmers (front middle) in Jock Tamson’s Bairns

With an atmosphere pitched somewhere between an illicit political rally and a hesitant pride gathering, a wildlife documentary about a critically endangered species or a highly selective sexual kink, I’m in a windowless basement, surrounded by almost exclusively bald, ginger men with beards. Inside Glasgow’s Van Winkle bar and its subterranean, speakeasy-style performance space accessed via a fake bookcase and quizzical looks from the kitchen staff, I’m reminded of Being John Malkovich when the celebrated actor crawls into his own smoothly polished bonce, to be confronted by hordes of insanely gibbering fellow Malkoviches.

Artificial light is bouncing off shining pates, illuminating russet whiskers. A nightmarish approximation of . . . what? Battery farming? Egg cloning? Orangutan baiting? The conversation is cheerily, casually communal. Nevertheless, it feels wise to be congregating underground, out of civilised sight. With a microphone in hand, one bald, bearded redhead stands above and apart from all the other recessive genes and receding hairlines. Ray Bradshaw is here to launch his Doppelginger stand-up tour in Scotland (ginger ground zero, the flaming mother lode) by trying to find his one true lookalike.

Of the more than 350 submissions he’s attracted so far, the results have spanned generations and continents, and include some exceptionally dark corners of the US penal system and specialist man on man dating apps. This feedback is invariably wounding to the Glaswegian comic. And it would break a more sensitive soul. But they’re good comedic fodder too. Although he can’t legally offer discount tickets for his fellow copperchins and firecrotches, in what would have been an unprecedented instance of ginger positive discrimination, Bradshaw is truly enjoying doing this ‘frivolous’ show.

As the son of deaf parents, since 2017 he has been simultaneously signing his tours for the hard of hearing and is ‘knackered’ from

all the exertion. This time round, he’s simply speaking and employing an interpreter. And he’s fully committed to his conceit, hiring a giant, electronic billboard outside the Westfield Shopping Centre in London to advertise for even more of his doubles. ‘I spent a lot of money on that,’ he sighs. ‘Then it was foggy. Before me it was Emma Watson advertising Dior. And afterwards it was Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka. You look like an absolute loser standing beside a billboard waiting for your face, this face, to appear.’

As well as the footballers John Hartson, Liam Boyce and James Collins, Bradshaw has also been likened to comedians Broden Kelly of Australian sketch troupe Aunty Donna, and Tarot’s Adam Drake. But the comparisons he usually attracts are seldom that flattering. Even actor Michael Rapaport, good-looking enough to be in Friends as Phoebe’s boyfriend (and with whom Bradshaw shares a face if not a hairstyle) is 53 and the best part of two decades older than the comic.

Gesturing around the basement at his melanin-shunnin’ brethren and Titian twins, Bradshaw beams broadly. ‘Everyone here is eye candy compared to what I usually get. Every morning I get a picture of another guy in my inbox and it generally makes me laugh so hard.’ Bradshaw met his wife after he lost his hair. ‘It must have been part of the deal for her,’ he speculates.

Her absence from the gig remains conspicuous but is perhaps understandable lest her head be turned by a similar model. He recently discovered some grey hairs lurking in his beard, meaning his quest to find the ultimate doppelginger has also become a race against time. ‘I always thought that gingers don’t go grey,’ he laments. ‘It’s coming. Yet every time I go to Australia, New Zealand or America, I meet a new incarnation of me. I think this could rumble on for years.’

Ray Bradshaw: Doppelginger, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Thursday 18 April; Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Friday 19 April.

Glasgow comic

Ray Bradshaw is on a Dave Gormanesque search for his exact double. Jay Richardson enters a ginger bearpit as the hunt for red lookalikes goes truly global

Crimson tide

THE KINGDOM. WHERE IT ALL BEGINS.

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Visit Scotland’s newest city that’s home to some of the country’s richest history. Step back in time over 700 years and uncover the intriguing past of Scotland’s ancient capital. It also offers all the variety of a must-visit city, from national attractions, museums and theatres to picturesque parks and delicious food and drink to enjoy. Whatever you choose to do in Dunfermline, you’ll make memories to last a lifetime in The Kingdom, where it all begins.

welcometofife.com/dunfermline

GOING OUT FURTHER AFIELD

Get yourself away from the central belt and out into various parts of Scotland where the cultural landscape is just as rich and varied. Among the highlights this month are a classic coming-of-age tale brought to the stage, a provocative dance work, and a veteran actor reflecting on his distinguished career

ABERDEEN

SHŌ AND THE DEMONS OF THE DEEP

Based on a picture book set in ancient Japan, this tale is about fear, nightmares, the climate crisis and generational legacies. The piece is written by Zoë Bullock and direction comes from Shilpa T-Hyland.

n Lemon Tree, Wednesday 17 April.

BONNIE & CLYDE

An award-winner for its West End run, this musical extravaganza brings us different angles on the tale of two smalltown kids who became folk heroes in America.

n His Majesty’s Theatre, Tuesday 9–Saturday 13 April.

DUNDEE

CHARLOTTE MCLEAN

After a strong showing at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe with the provocative and evocative And, the Arbroath-born contemporary dancer and choreographer returns by unleashing Futuristic Folktales on us.

n The Space, Friday 5 April.

SUNSET SONG

Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s powerful coming-of-age tale makes its way to the stage. Danielle Jam takes the lead role of spirited Chris Guthrie as she faces a choice between a hard farming life and the world of learning, just as World War I looms.

n Dundee Rep, Thursday 18 April–Thursday 2 May.

DUNFERMLINE

IAIN STIRLING

The Edinburgh stand-up, former children’s telly presenter and creator/star of ITV’s Buffering, hits the road for Relevant as he probes who and what he is today.

n Alhambra Theatre, Friday 5 April.

INVERNESS

SCOTTISH BALLET

After its debut in 2016, Scottish Ballet’s Swan Lake returns, rebooted for a new generation featuring David Dawson’s bold choreography with its story of love, loneliness and betrayal.

n Eden Court, Friday 26 & Saturday 27 April.

KIRKCALDY CRAFTED SELVES

A showcase for 13 Scotland-based artists exploring dual identities. The exhibition presents sculpture, painting, ceramics, textiles, installation and moving image films with artists such as Sekai Machache and Ashanti Harris featured.

n Kirkcaldy Galleries, until Sunday 12 May.

PERTH

JAMES COSMO

He’s been in everything from Game Of Thrones to Sons Of Anarchy and Taggart to Trainspotting. The veteran Clydebank actor is here to discuss his 60 years in the entertainment industry.

n Perth Theatre, Saturday 27 April.

STIRLING

BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

Not one for the overly faint of heart or those scared to the pits about heights. But for genuine thrill seekers, this is the mountain film festival to top them all.

n Macrobert Arts Centre, Tuesday 16 April.

Banff Mountain Film Festival (and bottom from left), Iain Stirling, Shõ And The Demons Of The Deep, Charlotte Mclean's Futuristic Folktales

PICTURE: GEORGE ON A BOAT

PICTURE:

Through photojournalism and embroidery, a stunning new exhibition by Jenny Matthews links together generations of women caught up in conflicts. Neil Cooper finds a collection that celebrates and elevates the life of every woman featured

From Greenham Common to Palestine, Jenny Matthews has long been on the frontline of international protests against warfare. As a founder member in the 1980s of all-woman photographic agency, Format Photographers, Matthews’ images have brought to life the women caught in the crossfire of conflicts and atrocities across more than 40 years. Two decades on from her book, Women And War, this solo show, Sewing Conflict, brings together several bodies of work that immortalise and honour her subjects using the most tender of means to keep them in the frame.

This is as clear in the series of 23 quilts lined with images from Matthews’ archive as it is with the 35 portraits that use embroidery to mask the faces of Afghan women in ‘Facial Derecognition’ (2021). It is there too in ‘Torn Apart’, an up-to-the-minute series drawn from the crisis in Sudan, and a new set of images from Gaza. In the former, Matthews taps into the radical comforts of quilting, with some of her photographs of women in Chechnya, Ukraine, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and other battlefields printed on

materials sourced from each country. If taken down and thrown on to beds, those seeking shelter beneath these handcrafted creations would be able to share the warmth of those depicted as they nestled in close.

As it is, having them hung on the gallery walls sees them become monumental banners finding common ground on some almighty crusade that lays bare the wounds depicted while trying to heal them. Named simply after the (allegedly safe) country where the photographs were taken, 40 portraits that make up ‘Rwanda’ (1995) are as powerful as the strip of five images of women in ‘Bosnia’ (1992). That power comes from what amounts to an ever-expanding archive of living history.

Drawing from DIY political montage and women’s sewing circles, Matthews transforms her already substantial body of work into something even richer, with images gathered together in a show of collective strength. This is brought home in some of the images that accompany the quilts, with colours added to change an

art

5 STARS

••tra•tra art•

otherwise black and white world. The barbed wire through which a Greenham protester is dragged by soldiers now looks like the bloodied outline of a cartoon heart; the woman from Sierra Leone who holds onto her metal arm after having her real one chopped off by rebel soldiers is framed by a string of flowers; the pregnant Nicaraguan woman is similarly framed, and with an embroidered figure of her unborn baby made visible.

In a world where needles are used by men to maim, mutilate and murder, Matthews’ tapestries reclaim their creative and restorative function as weapons of happiness. This isn’t just about making and mending; it’s a celebration of the life of every woman photographed. Those posing in the ‘Facial Derecognition’ series have been made anonymous due to their everyday identities being wiped, robbed or politicked out of existence. Garlanded here with floral bouquets or knitted masks, however, they have their dignity restored and memorialised by Matthews’ intervention. She isn’t so much patching up the wounded but, by subverting her own work with other forms,

art of the month

elevates them to a state of grace that makes them iconic. The descriptions on the labels beneath humanise them even more.

In ‘Torn Apart’, the heads of Sudanese women are split, their mirror images peppered with red thread patterned like bullet holes.

In ‘Palestine’, a wounded woman swathed in bandages screams, red threads this time hanging from her eyes like a cocktail of blood and tears. The sense of disruption and scarred beauty in all of Matthews’ images go beyond photojournalism to bring home the horrors depicted in them using everyday means. As the double-edged sword of the exhibition’s title suggests, Matthews is knitting together a rich and necessary tapestry that links generations of women by way of an invisible thread. As the tapestry circumnavigates the globe in resistance, it finds strength in numbers in a fearless and unflinching provocation to create a real peace-keeping force.

Jenny Matthews: Sewing Conflict, Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, until Sunday 12 May.

PICTURE: ISEULT TIMMERMANS

FILM CIVIL WAR

(Directed by Alex Garland) 

With Americans heading to the polls later this year, they face the ugly prospect of a deranged Donald Trump returning to power, or the threat of violent fallout if he doesn’t. Without aping things exactly, Civil War chillingly imagines how a disastrously divided country might evolve into all-out conflict. British writerdirector Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Devs) delivers the food for thought.

Nick Offerman plays the film’s incompetent president, holed up in the White House while clinging on in his third term. Events unfold amid this chaos he has created, as separatist forces descend on the capital and gun-toting militia roam the country. Kirsten Dunst is revered war photojournalist Lee, with Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny an ambitious young upstart looking to learn from her, Wagner Moura a very rock’n’roll reporter, and Stephen McKinley Henderson a wise veteran. Civil War takes the shape of a road trip, following this quartet on their dangerous journey from New York to Washington DC.

Garland adopts a wonderfully unexpected approach, swerving exposition and the explicitly political, instead giving us reams of unforgettable imagery as he zeroes in on the dehumanising effects of war and the catastrophic outcome of dismantling institutions, sowing suspicion and allowing citizens to amass weapons. He rejects the faux sincerity and empty spectacle of blockbuster dystopias, with the funky soundtrack and satirical script bringing warmth and levity, while silence is used to disarming effect too.

Civil War is also a scintillating study of war reporting and those who are drawn to it, showing them as thrill seekers, heroes, martyrs and sages. Dunst is spectacular as a jaded legend who despairs that lessons from external conflicts have not been learned, with Spaeny and Moura providing satisfying contrast. We’ll have to wait until November to see whether Americans pay heed to this film’s desperately important warnings. (Emma Simmonds)  In cinemas from Friday 12 April.

ART PAULINE CAULFIELD

Textiles 

Instilled with the artist’s idiosyncratic flair, Pauline Caulfield’s vivid portfolio of large-scale textile panels hangs magnificently on Dovecot Studios’ tapestry balcony. They provide a bold backdrop for any curious onlookers studying the weavers who diligently work below, with the screen-printed panels spanning abstraction and illusion.

It’s as though the repurposed 19th-century Infirmary Street Baths are a natural habitat for the panels. Their striking colour palette (enhanced by moments of sunshine beaming down from the ceiling windows) offers a reminder that textiles absorb light rather than reflect it. ‘Playing Cards’ (comprising ‘Back Of Card’ and ‘Jack’, produced 15 years apart) have previously hung in Caulfield’s coveted home studio in London’s Primrose Hill, a location that’s been the subject of countless pieces of editorial.

Transferring the trope of trompe l’oeil from painting to textiles, Caulfield cunningly plays with the effect of fabric weaving in ‘Check Ribbon’ with spatial precision. Her witty penchant for illusions manifests again in ‘Back Of Canvas’, a comparatively dull wall hanging that comically evokes the reverse side of a painting. On the same wall of the tapestry balcony is ‘Lace Fan’ which, upon closer inspection, offers new insight into Caulfield’s recent explorations with a freehand technique of combing to create the impression of bamboo. While there remains scope for the curators to delve further into her biography and career trajectory as she turns 80, Pauline Caulfield: Textiles boasts a perfectly peaceful (and at times quite eccentric) 30-minute viewing experience. (Rachel Ashenden)

 Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, until Saturday 20 July.

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COMEDY LESLIE LIAO

The Nighttime Routine Tour lllll

On her first UK tour, Californian stand-up Leslie Liao is something of a slow, gentle burn, as she feels out her audience. Yet by the end of this show, the conversationally chatty, engagingly curious and easy-to-like comic has found her rhythm and metier, picking apart the peculiarities and compromises of modern dating and relationships. Born to Chinese immigrant parents and raised in a predominantly white neighbourhood, there’s irony in her feeling that she’s socially encouraged to ‘represent’ Asians, because her performance never feels more like an act than with her opening routines, teasing white privilege.

This is perfectly serviceable observational comedy from a slightly oblique angle on mainstream Western culture. But even when she offers concrete examples of casual and inadvertent racism that she’s experienced, it doesn’t really set her apart. Neither do her repeated lamentations about turning 37 and feeling tired all the time, even when the childless comic jokingly empathises with parents as an aunt. Liao is consistently witty but her self-centredness, initially at least, seems slightly inconsequential.

Where she truly starts to come good is in setting up distinctions between generations, and the wildly different romantic expectations and realities of your 20s and 30s. Liao finds her distinct groove deconstructing dating through apps and the competing motivations of heterosexual couples. Drawing on specific elements from her own experience, she reaches for sweeping, persuasive generalisations that impress with their original insight and universality. Evoking the thrill and trepidation of potentially settling down with someone for life and babies, it’s effortlessly relatable but shorn of excessive sentimentality. It's a little bit gritty and a lot of it painfully funny.

(Jay Richardson)

n Reviewed at Òran Mór, Glasgow, as part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

MUSIC MIKE lllll

Four years ago last month, Glasgow handed a warm welcome to MIKE, whose Scottish debut came just days before the country plunged into the first lockdown. An emerging voice in alternative rap, the 21-year-old stood somewhat mawkishly on stage in the basement of a vegan café, performing for a select group of underground hip-hop heads as if he believed the crowd required a fair deal of winning over.

Six albums and one pandemic later, MIKE made his second visit to the city, armed with dozens of co-signs from a host of respected rappers and producers who appear to have left the soft-spoken wordsmith with a well-earned sense of assurance in his abilities. While MIKE hasn’t lost any of the mild-mannered charm that initially helped him carve out a space in a busy industry, he now raps with a delectable sense of pride, his shoulders appearing more relaxed as he beams down at the Southside crowd.

Just as in 2020, MIKE is once again propped up by his trusted friend and collaborator, Jadasea. Keen to share the love, MIKE can’t wipe the grin off his face as he takes control of the decks for his pal’s warm-up duties, and later in his headline slot he barely lets two songs pass without thanking Jadasea and the opener, Mark William Lewis. Though it can be easy to lose concentration in his tightly packed, wordy raps, MIKE retains audience attention with singalong fan favourites from his ever-growing discography, such as ‘Hunger’, ‘no, no’ and the Sister Nancy-inspired ‘Stop Worry!’

In typically polite and grateful fashion, he signs off by showing appreciation for his family and friends; the sound guy; the merch guy; the bartenders; the security staff (‘cause they not the police’); and the nation of Scotland. He delivers his final bars from the floor, safe in the company of a sold-out crowd who appear to fill their adopted son with a genuine and contagious sense of contentment. (Danny Munro)

n Reviewed at The Rum Shack, Glasgow.

The sort of person who usually goes unnoticed is steered fascinatingly to the fore in this carefully crafted tale of social anxiety, isolation and suicidal impulses from director Rachel Lambert and writers Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz and Katy Wright-Mead. Given that she’s the ‘chosen one’ from the Star Wars saga, known for kicking arse and vexing fanboys, Daisy Ridley might seem an unusual choice for the wallflower in question, but she turns in an exquisitely judged, strikingly plausible performance.

Based on the 2013 play Killers by Armento and a 2019 short, Sometimes I Think About Dying unfolds in a small Oregon coastal town, with the camera lovingly lapping up this cool and serene setting. It focuses on Fran (Ridley), a young woman unobtrusively inhabiting the background of life, like an unplayable character in a video game. Although she says painfully little, we get into our lead’s head which is plagued by daydreams of her own death, presented as peaceful, escapist tableaux.

Working as an office administrator, it’s a role she quietly excels at, and the film is brilliant at capturing the awkwardness of Fran’s interactions with co-workers, as she struggles to speak up, or surreptitiously exits a birthday celebration; meanwhile the team bonding, led by ‘zany’ boss Isobel (the excellent Megan Stalter from Hacks), is cringeworthily convincing. When affable new colleague Robert (Dave Merheje) shows an interest in befriending or perhaps even dating Fran, his efforts are enough to coax her out of her shell.

This is American independent filmmaking of the highest order. The static lensing and meticulously composed shots (cinematographer Dustin Lane deserves huge credit) direct us to tiny, delicate details and find beauty and poignancy in the prosaic. This strategy works wonderfully considering that Fran gives so little away; we’re encouraged to look closer, with Ridley’s knack for relaying feelings through microscopic emoting and subtle gestures impressive.

Although a gentle melancholy pervades, Lambert and co find as much time for hope as they do for sadness. The film revels in simple pleasures that Fran enjoys, like how good she is at her job, or savouring some cottage cheese and a glass of wine in her apartment after work. Black humour is thrown in too; during a murder-mystery role playing game with strangers (a terrifying social situation if there ever was one), our central character’s obsession with death comes in handy.

On one hand playing out like a romcom for depressives, Sometimes I Think About Dying is also a sensitive and very artful look at shyness and living with intrusive thoughts, and captures what a colossal risk it can be to put yourself out there. It’s not in the film’s nature to fix Fran or explain her behaviour to us and she remains a tough person to get to know, however hard Robert tries. Yet as we watch this unlikely heroine taking small but significant steps, it seems like a connection could well be on the cards.

Sometimes I Think About Dying is in cinemas from Friday 19 April.

I Think About Dying platforms a central character who has major issues with human connection. Emma Simmonds believes this intimate movie is American indie cinema at its finest

film of the month

THEATRE

HAMILTON

(Directed by Thomas Kail) 

Not sure why anyone would even do this, but if you took your seat determined to play down the magnificence of Hamilton, prepare to be left thoroughly crestfallen. You might not like hip hop; you may baulk at the USA’s origin story; you could even feel permanently lukewarm at the entire concept of musical theatre. All those preconceptions will be shot to pieces by the majesty of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s game-changing production which, were it a ten-part streaming-service drama, would most likely be worthy but stultifying. But this vibrant cast can rap and act as if their characters’ lives depended upon it . . .

Shaq Taylor provides strong leadership in the central role of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who has been largely sidelined in that period’s narrative in favour of George Washington, John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Sam Oladeinde is note perfect as Aaron Burr, the lawyer who became Jefferson’s vice president and whose slow-burning animosity leads to an appalling final act.

Given the wave of exhilaration which Hamilton largely rides upon, you shouldn’t feel overly weighed down by this history lesson, but still, light relief is provided by Daniel Boys. His King George mocks, teases and chides America for having broken off the special relationship, in segments which very nearly threaten to steal the whole show. It’s a production which also pays heed to the tale’s women, with Maya Britto and Aisha Jawando impactful as the Schuyler sisters.

For those who have avoided the actual history books about 1776 and all that, or managed not to stumble upon Miranda’s original Broadway staging via their Disney+ subscription, such blissfully unaware audiences probably won’t expect the show to be as side-rippingly funny or heart-crushingly moving as it turns out to be. If any tickets are left, they could well be few and far between, so move quickly if you want to be in the room where Hamilton happens. (Brian Donaldson)  Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Saturday 27 April.

FILM

I COULD NEVER GO VEGAN

(Directed by Thomas Pickering) 

From gruelling abattoir exposé Dominion to plant-based fitness paean The Game Changers, preaching to the choir has always been an issue in the burgeoning sub-genre of vegan documentaries. The same is partly true of new addition to the canon, I Could Never Go Vegan, though not for want of trying. From the off, this impassioned pro-plant proselytising from the Pickering Brothers (director Thomas and writer James) does its best to provide a gentle entry point to the weighty and ambitious subject matter it tackles.

The film places affable everyman Thomas Pickering at its centre as he answers stock questions from meat-eaters with the forensic detail of a master’s thesis. The queries and asinine statements he faces will be instantly recognisable to most vegans (where do you get your protein from? Why is bacon too delicious to give up? Isn’t plant-based food disgusting?) but what the Pickerings do with them proves at points to be revelatory, providing the kind of joined-up thinking that’s missing from single-issue documentaries focusing on fitness or animal welfare.

Diffuse though it may initially appear, the Pickerings’ overarching approach pays dividends when they begin discussing animal welfare and ecology in brutal, precise and unflinching detail, sharing footage and statistics which are stomach-churning enough to turn a butcher vegan. Its final moments, which invert the idea of the circle of life by describing ecological and ethical horrors of animal slaughter, have a clarity of vision that even those in Camp Carnivore would struggle to refute. While meateaters are unlikely to flock towards this in their droves, its watertight case for a plant-based diet could convert flexitarians who give it their time.

(Kevin Fullerton)  In cinemas from Friday 19 April.

OTHER THINGS WORTH GOING OUT FOR

If you fancy getting out and about this month, there’s plenty culture to sample such as an Irish comic’s latest blockbuster set, a South African dance supremo, and the next instalment of a Scottish play cycle

ART BEFORE AND AFTER COAL

Subtitled ‘Images And Voices From Scotland’s Mining Communities’, this exhibition marks 40 years since the nation-splitting strike and tells the visual story of groups in Ayrshire, Midlothian and Fife.

n National Galleries Scotland: Portrait, Edinburgh, until Sunday 15 September.

COMEDY

TOMMY TIERNAN

One of the key Irish stand-ups of the late 20th century has rolled on into this one with further shows of innovation, style and wit. Tommedian is his latest entry to a back catalogue that bursts with verve.

n Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Saturday 6 April; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sunday 7 April.

DANCE JOHANNES RADEBE

The South African dance icon takes his House Of Jojo extravaganza on tour featuring showstopping music, dazzling costumes and scintillating movement.

n SEC, Glasgow, Saturday 20 April; Edinburgh Playhouse, Sunday 21 April.

FILM THE LAST CAVEMAN

Silence and slapstick go hand in hand for this movie about a lovelorn prehistoric chap written by and starring Harry Hill. Eight minutes shy of an hour, it also features Fringey comics Holly Burn, Jason Forbes and Nick Helm.

n GFT, Glasgow, Thursday 18 April; Cameo, Edinburgh, Friday 19 April.

CHALLENGERS

After the latest Dune, Zendaya comes smashing back to Earth for a tennis drama in which her starlet player gets involved in a messy love triangle with Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.

n In cinemas from Friday 26 April.

MUSIC HAWKWIND & EBB

Scotland-based Ebb (formerly the Erin Bennett Band) have long had Hawkwind’s seal of approval and this prog pairing go on tour once more.

Stories From Time And Space is the perfect title for this adventure.

n O2 Academy Edinburgh, Saturday 6 April; O2 Academy Glasgow, Sunday 7 April.

NORTHERN STREAMS

This Scottish-Nordic festival of music, song and dance returns with appearances from the likes of some Jelephant Folk Band members and Amy Laurenson, plus workshops and song sessions.

n The Pleasance, Edinburgh, Friday 26–Sunday 28 April.

THEATRE

THE GIRLS OF SLENDER MEANS

Muriel Spark’s classic novel is adapted by Gabriel Quigley as we head back to 1945 and meet those who live in a hostel for the (deep breath) ‘pecuniary convenience and social protection of ladies of slender means below the age of 30 years.’

n Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Wednesday 3 April–Saturday 4 May.

JAMES V: KATHERINE

The latest instalment of Rona Munro’s James Plays places a lesser known historical figure at its centre, a 19-year-old woman who finds herself inexplicably put on trial for her life.

n The Studio, Edinburgh, Wednesday 10–Saturday 20 April; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thursday 25–Saturday 27 April.

Ebb (and bottom from left), Johannes Radebe, Challengers, The Girls Of Slender Means

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Barrowland

Edinburgh O2 Academy

Perth Concert Hall

More dates to follow for November

The Maclean Foundation (SC051703) is fundraising for clean water projects. For every £6,000 raised at this event, one borehole will be built in the Southeast of Madagascar.

Launch Event

April 06

Start: 17:30

Edinburgh Academy Pitches, East Fettes Ave, EH4 1DN

Arrival drinks with canapés

Relaxed buffet-style dinner

Music and speeches throughout

Dress code: Casual.Tartan welcome

Guest speaker: Sir Alexander McCall Smith

£60 per ticket. Scan QR code

Dinner and 2x complimentary drinks included

RIPLEY

To say that Andrew Scott is man of the moment feels like a major understatement. He recently weighed in on the debate about badly behaved theatre crowds with his own experience during Hamlet of an audience member producing a laptop in order to send an email. Then there was the awkward red-carpet moment when a reporter repeatedly asked him to comment on a fellow Irish actor’s appendage. On screen he has been excellent in All Of Us Strangers and now plays Patricia Highsmith’s talented yet shifty creation in an eightpart mini-series set in 1960s Italy and shot in lavish black and white.

(Brian Donaldson)

staying in

n Available on Netflix from Thursday 4 April.

GIMME SHELTER

As the latest video game to make its way onto our TV screens arrives, Murray Robertson primes us with a brief history of the post-apocalyptic gaming series Fallout

The Last Of Us proved that with great care, a long runtime and a ton of money, video games can successfully translate to TV. This month, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, co-creators of Westworld, attempt to join this tiny pantheon with their ambitious adaptation of the beloved Fallout series. While there have been numerous Fallout games over the past 27 years since the original’s launch, they all share a distinctive look: a retro futuristic post-war US aesthetic, heavily inspired by the 1950s Atomic Age, replete with robot butlers, mutants and nuclearpowered cars. Players begin as a ‘vault dweller’, sealed in a vast underground nuclear-fallout shelter. Each game follows a standalone story but, in each case, players must leave this relative sanctuary for the vast badlands outside.

Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game was released in 1997 and is credited with helping turn around the fortunes of gaming during its late 90s slump. It’s still fondly regarded, along with the sequel which swiftly followed a year later. It would be another decade before Skyrim developer, Bethesda, took over the series with Fallout 3, a phenomenally successful title that retained much of the classic iconography but brought it up to date as a first-person adventure set in a beautifully realised post-apocalyptic Washington DC.

In 2010, Obsidian Entertainment released a spin-off title, Fallout: New Vegas. Despite being constrained by the same buggy engine as Fallout 3, New Vegas has long been regarded by many fans as the series highlight. In 2015, Bethesda returned as developer for Fallout 4. Despite glowing reviews, many fans baulked at its relatively light RPG elements and it remains a contentious entry; although it’s not nearly as controversial as 2018’s Fallout 76 whose launch has gone down as one of the worst in history. Its reputation has been somewhat redeemed thanks to a vast amount of (ongoing) support, including a drastic decrease in its reliance on multiplayer mechanics.

Rather than adapt a previous story, the TV series is wisely following its own path while cherry-picking suitable elements from the games. It follows vault dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) and features Kyle MacLachlan as her father while Walton Goggins plays a mutated bounty hunter. The trailer is set to The Ink Spots’ melancholic 1941 hit ‘I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire’. That same song featured in the much-loved teaser trailer for Fallout 3, a hat-tip that might help allay some fans’ fears.

 All episodes available on Prime Video from Thursday 11 April.

albums

ALBUMS EDY FOREY

When listening to the varied and complex sounds of Edy Forey’s album Culture Today, it may be surprising to discover that it’s a debut collection from a relatively new band. This Scotland-based jazz duo made up of visual artist, vocalist and bedroom producer Edy Szewy and keyboardist Guilhem Forey met in Edinburgh but hail from Poland and France, respectively. Since they released their first single in 2022, the pair have finessed their sound, creating in Culture Today a body of work that feels cohesive and musically rich.

First playing together when Szewy’s six-piece neo-soul band needed a fill-in keys player, they bonded over a shared worldview, growing up as ‘nonconformists’ and ‘outsiders’. The record explores some of these feelings of angst, pulling from their distinct but complementary vaults of musical references. Culture Today’s opening track is a lamenting yet soothing instrumental combining classical motifs with electric piano and psychedelic reverb, and from there we’re served a healthy dose of groovy basslines, politically-charged spoken word, frantic freestyles, and even a gorgeous samba track (‘Agape’) that practically transports you to the beaches of Rio.

Featuring artists such as Mercury Prize-winning drummer Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective, Gorillaz) and Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League, this debut album stretches itself to the full. The pair’s musical influences (from Erykah Badu and D’Angelo, to Bach, Esperanza Spalding and Herbie Hancock) imprint themselves strongly on the record. This is a perfectly fused jazz album with a patchwork of sonic worlds, harmoniously held together by the strength of Edy Forey’s joint musicianship. (Megan Merino)

 Culture Today is released by So Soul Records on Friday 5 April.

first writes

In this Q&A, we throw some questions about ‘firsts’ at debut authors. This month we feature Elizabeth O’Connor, author of Whale Fall, a novel about longing and betrayal set in the 1930s on a remote Welsh island

What’s the first book you remember reading as a child? My mum read to me from a book of English folk tales. I used to love one in particular about someone stealing a bone from a graveyard and making a stew with it. I can vividly remember the illustration on the opposite page: a woman trembling under a patchwork quilt, a ghost reaching out to her from a crack in her bedside table door.

What was the book you read that made you decide to be a writer? I don’t think of a single book; more a slow accumulation, like a bird building its nest.

What’s your favourite first line in a book? Yoko Tawada’s Memoirs Of A Polar Bear: ‘Someone tickled me behind my ears, under my arms. I curled up, becoming a full moon, and rolled on the floor.’ I like unassuming first lines where strangeness takes it time to reveal itself; sometimes there is too much pressure, I think, to come up with something pithy and expansive, like an advertising slogan.

Which debut publication had the most profound effect on you? Reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison transformed the way I saw and understood the world, and my understanding of what writing could do and be. I think a lot about the depth, daring and lightness of touch of The Bluest Eye when I write.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up on a writing day? Feed my cat, who then yells at me until I pet her. She doesn’t care about my writing, which is sometimes a useful reminder.

What’s the first thing you do when you’ve stopped writing for the day? Back up what I’ve written about a hundred times! I had a close call with Whale Fall and have learnt my lesson.

In a parallel universe where you’re the tyrant leader of a dystopian civilisation, what’s the first book you’d burn? A very odd screenplay I wrote as a teenager about a colony of ravens.

What’s the first piece of advice you’d offer to an aspiring novelist? Not to give up. Rejection is part and parcel of writing: it’s how we figure out where we want to grow, and also what we believe in with our writing. You have to keep going and follow the things that excite you.

Whale Fall is published by Picador on Thursday 25 April.

BINGE FEST

Our alphabetical column on viewing marathons reaches W

A liberal’s wet dream and a conservative’s nightmare, whatever side of the political fence you reside on, The West Wing (Channel 4/Prime Video) is unarguably a wildly compelling and at times head-scratchingly complex fictionalised account of a Democrat-run White House. It just so happens to be brilliantly funny, too. Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff are among those performing the roles of a lifetime in a vastly garlanded drama created by Aaron Sorkin. There’s a noticeable dip when he departs at the end of season four, only for it to miraculously pick up in quality as an election campaign battles for the soul of America. Despite Mr Theroux spending time with the intriguing likes of lisping boxer Chris Eubank, bewigged magician Paul Daniels, and dancing Tory Ann Widdecombe, When Louis Met (BBC iPlayer) inevitably attracts most interest for his 2000 documentary on Jimmy Savile. Theroux returned to this subject in the wake of the notorious sex criminal’s death and wondered whether he should have pushed harder on rumours of his paedophilia. While guilt has clearly stayed with him, it’s up to the viewer to decide, with a vast benefit of hindsight, whether Theroux probed enough or if Savile was let off a hook that he had continually managed to slip away from during his despicable life. (Brian Donaldson)

 Other W binges: Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Channel 4), What We Do In The Shadows (BBC iPlayer), Wednesday (Netflix).

The only thing that calms parents down is a Radio 4 series “

Having left behind the live comedy arena for the solitude of a novelist’s lair, Jonny Sweet has never been happier. Brian Donaldson spoke to the former Edinburgh Comedy Award winner about fears, farces and family

During an online interview a decade ago, alongside fellow Cambridge Footlighters Simon Bird and Joe Thomas, Jonny Sweet declared that writing was the part of the creative process that he most feared. Back then he was a performer of much Edinburgh Fringe renown having scooped the Best Newcomer Award in 2009 with a superb solo show after a series of successful sketch affairs with Bird and Thomas. That trio also appeared in the vastly under-rated WWI Sky sitcom Chickens (about three men who refused to fight in the trenches for very different reasons, none of them especially honourable).

But if writing was once a hellscape that Sweet was desperate to avoid, the times they have a-changed. The publication of his debut novel, The Kellerby Code, comes hot on the sharpened heels of his screenplay for Wicked Little Letters. That delightful cursefest about poisonous correspondence being dropped through letterboxes in a small Sussex village during the 1920s was, almost unbelievably, based on a true story.

Fair to say, then, that Sweet is taking to the whole writing malarkey better than he was ten years ago. ‘At that point, I was writing a radio sitcom which became Together for TV, and it was the first thing I had written on my own,’ he recalls. ‘It wasn’t about how to write ten minutes or an hour of live material, this is assembling characters and working out a plot, so it was certainly different. I have always wanted to write a book but put it off because I never felt that I had the tools. But weirdly, this book was the most pleasurable writing experience I’ve had. And also, I like a bit of time to myself. I now fear everything else.’

The Kellerby Code is a stirring romp set in the modern day but with heavy PG Wodehouse vibes as it brings together Edward Jevons (a hint in the name there of PG’s most famous butler), a man who is described at one point as ‘a doormat waiting for a house’. Edward can’t stop helping out and running errands for a sort-of friend, a vaguely pompous theatre director called Robert Pepper (one letter away from sitcom writer Robert Popper who cast Sweet in Channel 4’s I Hate You: the name, he insists, is pure coincidence).

Both men are besotted with Stanza, a bohemian who is on high alert to inherit the ostentatious country pile of Kellerby. When it’s revealed that Pepper is being blackmailed by a figure who most likely runs a gangland operation, Edward (a gentle giant with a tragic backstory) steps in to bail his ‘friend’ out but using methods which have devastating consequences (without spoiling too much, Sweet calls his debut a ‘murder farce’).

‘I want people to be on Edward’s side but also for them to think that he might well be the maddest among them,’ states Sweet. ‘I’m on his side but there are moments when you think Robert and Stanza’s worst crimes are apathy and a low-level amorality. But it’s the social architecture that Edward finds himself in that turns him into something else.’

The Kellerby Code is dedicated to Sweet’s parents who, it seems, were never fully certain that a career in entertainment was a serious proposition for the son they expected to excel in the legal profession. ‘My agent said the only thing that seems to calm parents down is a Radio 4 series. Well, I remember Joe and I writing sketches for a Radio 4 sketch show and we got about £16.50 each for two weeks work. But the book and the film have made it easier for them to tell people at bridge what I’m up to, rather than telling people he’s done a show about the HMS Nottingham in a corrugated iron bunker somewhere in Edinburgh. So I think they have calmed down.’

The Kellerby Code is out now published by Faber.

future sound

Our column celebrating new music continues with Aberdeenshire’s Citizen Papes.

From ragtime to Rubik’s Cube, the songwriter has drifted between different hobbies, but tells Fiona Shepherd that he’s now settled into a musical groove

There are a number of typical formative experiences on the young musicians’ checklist. But mentorship by a member of ZZ Top may be almost exclusive to Citizen Papes, the nom de pop adopted by singer/pianist JP O’Grady, whose music first caught the attention of the late Dusty Hill during an otherwise disastrous gap year in Texas. ‘I actually knew Dusty really well, better than I knew anyone else in Texas,’ says O’Grady. ‘But I was definitely too young to appreciate the mentorship and the wisdom that he had. I didn’t realise how valuable it was at the time.’

O’Grady’s mother hails from Texas but it was her son who persuaded the family to move there, following the offer of an internship at a recording studio, which quickly fell through. ‘The first time I ever had anxiety was in Texas,’ recalls O’Grady, ‘and it was super intense. I didn’t know what it was and really thought I was dying.’ The offer of a place on a sound recording course at North East Scotland College was his get-out clause and he returned to Scotland.

O’Grady holds triple nationality (UK, US and Irish) and even now says ‘I bounce around between a couple of places’, but his roots are in north-east Scotland. He grew up in Chapel Of Garioch which he describes as ‘proper countryside living at the foot of the hills’, then

moved to the relative metropolis of Inverurie where music started to take hold. ‘I was one of those kids who had a million different hobbies,’ he says. ‘I learned how to ride a unicycle, I was into magic tricks, Rubik’s Cube and puzzles, but none of those hobbies were lasting. I was never the music kid growing up, but we had one of those crappy old keyboards and for some reason when I was ten years old I really wanted to learn ragtime.’

Singing came later and O’Grady wrote his first song in his midteens. Before, during and after his Texas trip, he performed with his brother in a duo, Canary Gold, but during lockdown his solo incarnation Citizen Papes (a corruption of his nickname Japes) took shape. ‘I knew I needed to write songs that impact me so I wrote more from my perspective, about myself and my anxieties,’ he says. The bold, glistening pop tunes of his debut EP, For You, are the result, with a title track he characterises as ‘classic post break-up. It’s almost like we naturally pursue things that we know are going to hurt us. There’s a push and pull throughout the whole EP. Is this good for me? Is this bad for me?’

For You is released by Local Artists on Friday 19 April.

GAMES DAVE THE DIVER

Every once in a while, a game seems to come out of nowhere and take everyone by surprise. Last summer, Dave The Diver launched on PC and became an overnight sensation, selling a million copies in ten days. Inspired by the real-life experiences of a South Korean restaurateur, players must divide their time between managing a sushi bar by night (organising rosters, serving up dishes and cleaning away plates) and scuba diving for fresh produce by day.

It sounds inauspicious but it’s utterly captivating, thanks to a wonderful blend of charming 8-bit style graphics and a furiously addictive gameplay loop that constantly innovates. The diving sections are beautifully rendered, with colourful coral and exotic, frequently dangerous marine life to evade and/or gather. Oxygen is (naturally) a finite resource that must be carefully managed in order to reach the most interesting, deeper areas, and the game teases mythical wonders in the ocean’s depths.

On land, the restaurant management section is an almost literal plate-spinning exercise but, remarkably, the overarching experience is actually quite relaxing. Resplendent with a cast of colourful characters and a cute script, PlayStation players will be able to plunge into the fun later this month. (Murray Robertson)

 Dave The Diver is out now released by Mintrocket on PC and Nintendo Switch.

In this column, we ask a pod person about the ’casts that mean a lot to them. This month, it’s Jasper Chanter, funeral arranger, former bookseller and host of The Deathinitions podcast which reflects upon the mysteries of dead bodies and what actually happens to us once we’ve perished

my perfect podcast •stsacdop podcasts•

Which podcast educates you? Betwixt The Sheets. Kate Lister interviews the most interesting people about sex, scandal and society throughout history. I highly recommend her books too.

Which podcast makes you laugh? It has to be Drunk Women Solving Crime. I love it so much. Last summer two separate people surprised me with tickets to their live show at the Edinburgh Fringe. My go-to for a pick-me-up and always gives me a giggle.

Which podcast makes you sad or angry? RedHanded. These ladies are meticulous in their research and always handle the subject of victims and crime with empathy and compassion. Some episodes are very hard hitting but if you’re going to tell these stories you have to do it right and this podcast never fails to get me thinking.

Which podcast is your guilty pleasure? To tell the truth I don’t really go in for guilty pleasures, but I suppose it would have to be Colours Of The Dark which is a horror nerd’s goldmine for the spookiest, most hair-raising movies both old and new.

Tell us someone who currently doesn’t have a podcast but totally should. And why do you think their one would be amazing? Cat Irving. She’s the Human Remains Conservator from Surgeons’ Hall. I think she would have SO many amazing stories to tell about the collection.

Pitch us a new podcast idea in exactly 25 words Queer people. Horror movies. ’Nuff said. There’s deep history between the queer community and the horror genre; neither have ever been afraid to push boundaries.

All episodes of The Deathinitions can be found on various platforms; Jasper Chanter takes part in Disposing Of The Body at National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh, Tuesday 2 April, as part of Edinburgh Science Festival.

Pee-Culiar Experience

Uncover the secrets of 17th-century medicine with a hands-on workshop led by Dr Arnott.

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album of the month

Bringing jungle to a new generation, Nia Archives is already a big deal in dance music. With a debut album that’s both fresh and nostalgic, she adds a melancholy edge to the genre, says Becca Inglis

Leaving aside claims about jungle’s resurgence (for its most faithful apostles, the genre’s rattling rhythms never really left), the scene is undeniably experiencing a shot in the arm of late. At the weightier end of the spectrum, artists like Sherelle, Tim Reaper and Coco Bryce have incorporated hardcore and footwork, pushing the sound to ever more deafening reaches. But on the other side, a softer, more pastel-coloured jungle has concretised, born of the bedroom-based, confessional culture on TikTok, where painful experiences like heartbreak, loneliness and depression are felt in the open.

One of the most recognisable names in dance music today, Nia Archives, has typified this more sensitive clubbing corner, and her debut album (which follows a slew of EPs, a MOBO win and a BRITs nomination) shows why she continues to be among the best in this niche. We’ve already heard some of the tracks on Silence Is Loud (‘Forbidden Feelingz’ got its own EP in 2021, ‘So Tell Me’ followed a year later) but now they come contextualised by Archives’ larger vision.

She’s a junglist, but also an indie-pop girl, a neo-soul songstress, even an emo descendant. Frequently, she shows herself on equal footing with vocalists such as Lily Allen, Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse. For her diaristic style, we might add Arlo Parks to that list too. The opening title track nods to the massive four-to-the-floor kick currently sweeping across drum & bass and jungle dance floors (softened here by clackety snare rolls). It’s a ravey start, but still imbued with melancholy.

A heavily distorted vocal floats above the din, intoning ‘without you the silence is loud’; a clarion call for any bass-loving junglist, but also indicative of the shades of isolation that colour the album.

By the time we reach the track’s reprise (a soulful piano-driven lament now bereft of breaks), we’ve encountered limerence (‘Cards On The Table’), emotionally unavailable situationships (‘Unfinished Business’), estranged daughters (‘F.A.M.I.L.Y’), and social isolation in company (‘Crowded Roomz’). If the club is a place for escapism, collectivism and joy, then this record represents its dark underbelly: the anxiety and missed connections that haunt the morning after.

Part of Archives’ strength is jungle’s vintage. Three decades on from its inception, we’ve seen Britpop, indie sleaze and pop punk emerge, all of which imbue Archives’ sound with equal doses of freshness and nostalgia. On ‘Nightmares’, she flexes her neo-soul vocals, layering harmonies to create a backing band of various Nias. Indie pop rears its head in the sunny acoustic strums on ‘Out Of Options’. ‘Tell Me What It’s Like?’ opens with a Paramore-esque riff. With such a sonic palette, this is indisputably post-Y2K jungle, made for a generation raised on a diet of Skins and Euphoria, for whom youthful angst and partying make a natural pairing.

Silence Is Loud is released by Hijinxx/Island Records on Friday 12 April.

REVIEWS

BOOKS

TV THE REGIME (Sky Atlantic/NOW) 

Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Andrea Riseborough: Will Tracy has recruited a veritable menagerie of talent for his political satire The Regime A recipe, surely, for success? Over six episodes, Winslet’s mercurial chancellor Elena Vernham guides her small, central European nation down the path of financial ruin and civil unrest. Portraying Vernham as little more than a petulant child, Winslet is accompanied by Guillaume Gallienne (her mewling husband), Schoenaerts (an unhinged soldier), and Riseborough (the stalwart palace manager). Everyone is on top form, especially Riseborough whose turn as a mother torn between national loyalty and protecting her son provides the show’s only true emotional grounding. Unfortunately, there is but one word for The Regime: bizarre. One moment Vernham is performing a tuneless rendition of Chicago’s ‘If You Leave Me Now’ to her supporters, the next she’s sanctioning the annexation of neighbouring territory. Each episode lurches wildly between unsuccessful attempts at absurdism and moments of dystopian horror, unable to unite them under the banner of black humour. Winslet’s TrumpPutin hybrid with a penchant for chatting to her father’s preserved corpse is in a farcical dark comedy; Schoenaerts and Riseborough, meanwhile, are trapped in a tense, psychological thriller.

ROSIE GARLAND

The Fates (Quercus) 

Greek mythology gets an almighty shake-up in Rosie Garland’s alternative, feminist retelling of The Fates legend. The first half is a slow burn but stick with it: once you’ve sorted out who’s who, this compelling tale is affecting and action-packed. We encounter The Fates, three sisters born before time began, long before the gods on Mount Olympus. They spin, measure and sever the thread of destiny for every mortal.

But witnessing the unpalatable consequences of this, they hatch a plan to surrender their immortal power and give humankind the gift of free will, in turn wiping out the gods’ ability to interfere in people’s lives (Zeus, Hera and co are hilariously awful in Garland’s world, a preening posse of power-mad narcissists revelling in the suffering of others). To achieve this, the sisters must curse a single man with an unjust fate and ensure he dodges the moment of death. Enter the legendary warrior Atalanta and the man in question, her lover Meleager.

The concept of being ‘other’ is woven through Garland’s lyrical prose (Atalanta’s rejection by birth parents and her refusal to bow to what is expected of a woman, for example). The author also powerfully questions the notion of family: the one you’re born into or the one you choose (your ‘logical family’, as Armistead Maupin so deftly described it). As the thrilling finale looms, with a couple of belting twists along the way, we’re left rooting for Atalanta and Meleager to get their happy-ever-after. (Paul McLean)

 Published on Tuesday 9 April.

It’s a real pity, as Vernham’s isolationist policies, her land theft, and an insistence that dire polling statistics are ‘fake CIA numbers’ should provide the foundation for a pertinent satire. Yet these moments of clarity are lost beneath severe tonal inconsistencies and increasingly ludicrous plot developments. The Regime imagines itself the lovechild of Armando Iannucci’s Veep and The Death Of Stalin, but Tracy’s effort fails to replicate the insight and seamless wit of the award-winning Scot. Despite its fantastic cast and opulent set, this Frankenstein’s monster of a show is a disappointing dud. (Eve O’Connor)

 All episodes available on Monday 8 April.

tv of the month

Colin Farrell gives noir a modern spin in his stylish new detective show. Claire Sawers investigates Sugar and finds that top casting, knowing homages and smart plot twists create a slick and gripping drama

Gone are the exquisite hand-knitted jumpers and choppy haircut from The Banshees Of Inisherin. This time Colin Farrell slides into a sharp suit and shades to play smooth private investigator John Sugar, cutting about Los Angeles in a little blue Corvette. Sugar gives a loving tip of its trilby hat to film noir’s movie heritage: we hear Philip Marlowe in Sugar’s whispery voiceover, meet various troubled femmes fatales (Amy Ryan, Sydney Chandler), and watch Sugar sipping scotch while suffering from a mysterious ailment

The noir tropes are all there as Sugar hunts for a missing girl, but with an updated, post-Weinstein and #MeToo plot about one Hollywood celebrity family and its sinister secrets. James Cromwell (LA Confidential), Dennis Boutsikaris (Better Call Saul) and Nate Corddry (Perry Mason) are excellent as three generations of the same rich film dynasty; weary, shifty and slimy in turn. Sugar’s work takes him from Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, where his client is a yakuza, to LA’s hills and dive bars as he doggedly tries to find missing actress Olivia Siegel. Of course, he isn’t meant to take the case, and his enigmatic boss Ruby (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) tries her best to stop him, but something from his puzzling past compels Sugar to get in deep.

Our PI has a well-calibrated bullshit detector and an action-hero knack for outsmarting henchmen, so there are occasional punch-ups along the way and, for a certain contingent of Farrell fandom, shots of him stripping off and stoically dabbing his wounds. He has a few other super-skills that also raise questions about his background, which just adds to the intrigue. Jenny the donkey is nowhere to be seen as he navigates LA’s underworld, but an abandoned dog does become his new beloved sidekick.

Besides the storyline of murder and vice, writer Mark Protosevich has fun with his stylised homages to various film genres. When not sniffing out bad guys, Sugar is a Cahiers du Cinéma-reading cinephile, with choice clips of Cassavetes and Carpenter films regularly playing in his mind. There are also occasional Easter eggs for film fans, including a copy of the famous swirling-plughole-to-eyeball fade-out from Psycho Robert Mitchum’s iconic tattoo-knuckled preacher in The Night Of The Hunter is another touchstone for a mostly wholesome Sugar’s detective work, where he strives to be a good guy but sometimes battles with the pull to his dark side. Featuring classy broads, massive ennui and some huge plot twists, Sugar is a gripping, glossy pastiche of movie styles, with solid acting to weigh down the moments that could otherwise spill over into suave parody.

Sugar starts on Apple TV+, Friday 5 April.

REVIEWS

SPRING INTO SUMMER WITH THESE UNMISSABLE EVENTS

As the weather gets warmer and days get longer, Scotland is the perfect stage for things to do this spring and summer. EventScotland supports a diverse and vibrant range of events taking place across the whole of Scotland; and from major music festivals to world-class sporting competitions and traditional Highland games, there’s something for all ages and interests.

It’s hard to believe but Falkirk’s iconic Kelpies will turn double-digits old this year. They’ll be celebrating their 10th birthday on 27 April with a number of free family activities. Later – for the first time at the venue – they’re putting on a live concert, featuring performances from Callum Beattie and the Red Hot Chili Pipers. On the Moray Firth coast, the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival (Portsoy, 21–23 June) features a flotilla of heritage boats plus music, food and drink events for the whole family. It all kicks off with the Big Gig on the Back Green, headlined by Scottish trad act Skipinnish.

With tradition at its heart, the Inverness Highland Games (13 July) is a fantastic family day out in a perfect setting, with competition, music, stalls and more. Or for history of a very different kind, head to Thirlestane Castle for the 49th edition of the BVAC Classic Festival of Motoring (Lauder, 2 June) to check out the vintage cars in the beautiful castle grounds.

Golf fans can look forward to the Genesis Scottish Open (North Berwick, 10–14 July) where former world number one Rory McIlroy will defend his title on the East Lothian course. Expect a big family atmosphere with golf-themed activities for all ages and interests. Then, on the other side of the country, South Ayrshire welcomes visitors to the 152nd Open Championship (Troon, 14–21 July). Later this summer, the historic “Home of Golf” itself in St Andrews plays host to the AIG Women’s Open (St Andrews, 21–25 August). This will be the third time the iconic links course has hosted this prestigious tournament since its inception in 1976.

Ahead of the capital’s vast August festivities, the World Orienteering Championships (Edinburgh, 12–16 July) will be in town, giving athletes the chance to weave their way around the nooks and crannies of the historic city, with plenty of buzz for spectators to enjoy.

Scotland is a nation that really loves its festivals, and fans have plenty to look forward to in the first half of the year. The Orkney Folk Festival (23–26 May) is in fine fettle; last year it turned 40 and it also won Event of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. Expect a mixture of folk, country, bluegrass and Americana. On the west coast, Kelburn Garden Party (Fairlie, Largs, 4–8 July) features a diverse range of music and arts events set in the stunning surroundings of Kelburn Castle and its majestic gardens.

Other music festivals include Scotland’s largest free youth music festival, Youth Beatz (Dumfries, 29 & 30 June); on Orkney, St Magnus International Festival (21–28 June) is a multi-arts celebration in a magical setting; HebCelt (17–20 July) is a uniquely Scottish event that takes place in the heartland of Gaelic language and culture in the Outer Hebrides; while Tiree Music Festival (12–14 July) is an adventurous weekend in the Hawaii of the North.

So whatever you fancy doing or seeing this spring and summer, Scotland is the place to be.

Find out more at visitscotland.com/events

Get out and about across Scotland with festivals, sporting events and more

The Kelpies

Kelburn Garden Party

Scottish Traditional Boat Festival

BOOKS SINÉAD GLEESON

Hagstone (4th Estate) 

A literary blend of Black Narcissus and The Wicker Man, Sinéad Gleeson’s debut novel Hagstone takes place on a remote Irish island haunted by a mysterious sound. When experimental artist Nell is invited to create a piece for the Inions (an isolated community of women living in a remote cliff-side house), she is drawn into a conflict that threatens not only the Inions’ way of life but her own as well.

Hagstone’s atmospheric writing is one of its greatest strengths. The island is almost a fully formed character, its wail holding supernatural secrets that seem to guide the inhabitants’ lives. On one occasion, the sound causes every woman on the island to bleed. It reportedly also has the power to drive people temporarily, or even permanently insane. Gleeson’s poetic prose perfectly conveys the eerie unknowability of her characters’ environment and you begin to sense that the island has its own motivations. Maybe, as the Inions believe, it is inhabited by the goddess Danu. Or perhaps it’s something else entirely.

Beyond all these folk-horror vibes, the novel is somewhat lacking in depth. Themes of womanhood, art, isolation and power populate Hagstone’s pages, but they are only intermittently explored. This becomes a problem when coupled with the story’s slow pace, and it only really gets going in the back half. Most of the book focuses on Nell’s romantic dealings with local man Cleary and actor-turned-filmmaker Nick, and this relationship drama is engaging, benefitting from the occasional alternate point-of-view chapter. It does, however, begin to feel meandering and directionless compared to the more intriguing drama of the Inion community, with which it never really intertwines. Hagstone feels like a novel of two halves, equal parts frustrating and rewarding. (Isy Santini)

 Published on Thursday 11 April.

ALBUMS

GUN

Hombres (Cooking Vinyl) 

There is a sense that Glasgow rockers Gun have been straining at the leash to deliver their first new album in seven years, sharing the frustrations of their fellow tour-hardened road warriors. At its best, Hombres sounds suitably hungry and ready to roll. All that pent-up post-pandemic energy is released on opening track ‘All Fired Up’. A quasi-gothic intro leads into a crunching riff and the band motor right along the Sunset Strip, waving to Billy Idol as they go, enjoying some good dumb chugging action.

The rest of the album follows suit in a doing-what-they-do-best spirit.

The lighter-waving ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ boasts a strong singalong hook, not dissimilar to Primal Scream’s caveman rocking moments, while ‘Take Me Back Home’ has that soused nostalgia baked into its title. The full classic rock menu is on offer here, from the glam swagger of ‘Fake Life’ via the soulful Stonesy rootsiness of ‘You Are What I Need’ to the power balladry of ‘A Shift In Time’ and straight-up catchy, commercial rock of ‘Coming Back To You’, while ‘Pride’ provides some Caledonian bite.

Hombres is committed and consistent and some playful highlights emerge. The mean snarl and hoary power rock chorus of ‘Never Enough’ dissects feelings with a blunt instrument and the rip-roaring 70s classic rocking action of ‘Wrong To Be Right’ delivers gonzo attitude and an ‘oh yeah’ outro. It’s all very meat and potatoes but that is still a satisfying meal for many a rock fan. (Fiona Shepherd)

 Released on Friday 12 April.

OTHER THINGS WORTH STAYING IN FOR

A packed month of things to do indoors or consume on your travels including an author’s retort to a savage neardeath experience, TV’s take on the sweating duke, and probably the most heavily anticipated album of 2024

ALBUMS

VAMPIRE WEEKEND

Five long years you lot have waited for Ezra and co’s fifth album. Which is released on the 5th. Number nonsense aside, the guys promote their new collection with a gig in Texas to mark the total solar eclipse.

n Columbia Records, Friday 5 April.

TAYLOR SWIFT

World domination is almost complete as the Eras Tour-embarking behemoth delivers a spanking brand new album, The Tortured Poets Department Now, if she could just go and denounce Tru*p once again, her power will truly reveal itself . . .

n Republic, Friday 19 April.

CORRIDOR

These Quebec indie rockers return with a fourth album, Mimi, which moves away from their previous louche guitar sound to something altogether more jagged, glitchy and synthy.

n Sub Pop, Friday 26 April.

BOOKS SALMAN RUSHDIE

If the title (Knife) isn’t visceral enough, the subtitle of Rushdie’s latest non-fiction affair gets the message across: ‘Meditations After An Attempted Murder’. This is his analysis of the moment when an attacker assaulted him on stage in 2022.

n Jonathan Cape, Tuesday 16 April.

DAVID NICHOLLS

The timing of Nicholls’ latest book could barely be more ideal given the love for Netflix’s take on One Day. A tale of first encounters and second chances, You Are Here should sate the fans.

n Sceptre, Tuesday 23 April.

PODCASTS

THE LAST CITY

Starring Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn, this drama is set in 2072 amid a world ravaged by the climate disaster. The city of Pura stands as a green anomaly. Except all is not as it seems . . .

n Wondery, all episodes available.

TV MANDY

Having previously convinced Carol Decker, Shaun Ryder, Brian Cox (the science one) and Deborah Meaden to play themselves, what antics will Diane Morgan get up to for the third batch of her thoroughly oddball sitcom?

n BBC Two, Wednesday 3 April.

SCOOP

Gillian Anderson is Emily Maitlis and Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew in a film adaptation about that Newsnight interview which did so much to destroy the duke’s already-tarnished reputation.

n Netflix, Friday 5 April.

FRANKLIN

This eight-parter tells the story of Benjamin Franklin (Michael Douglas) and his secret mission to seduce France into funding the American revolution. An excellent cast is bolstered by Daniel Mays, Ludivine Sagnier, Eddie Marsan and Assaad Bouab.

n Apple TV+, Friday 12 April.

Scoop (and bottom from left), Mandy, Knife, Corridor

back

After its successful pilot episode in 2021, a full series of Glasgow-set comedy drama Dinosaur hits our small screens this month.

Acclaimed stand-up Ashley Storrie, the show’s co-creator and star, takes on this issue’s Q&A, musing and mulling over fancy-dress glory and vengeful haunting

you in the movie about your life? Who do you think the casting people would choose? Ideally it would be a young Kathy Bates. But I can imagine some ‘out of the box’ casting with Margot Robbie doing an ugly girl summer, like Charlize Theron in Monster, so she can get that Oscar.

What’s the punchline to your favourite joke? My mum can’t make soup.

If you were to return in a future life as an animal, what would it be? them whales that’s destroying superyachts.

would One of

If you were playing in an escape room, name two other people (famous or not famous, dead or alive) you’d recruit to help you get out? Frank Morris, the genius bank robber who escaped Alcatraz, for the escaping. And Betty White, for the lols.

THE Q& A WITH ASHLEY STORRIE

When was the last time you were mistaken for someone else and what were the circumstances? It rarely happens; there’s not that many women walking about who look like a sexy version of Hagrid. However, there was a photographer who said she met me on the set of Outlander (a place I’ve never been) and rather than accept she was wrong she argued with me.

What’s the best cover version ever?

The Gourds’ cover of Snoop Dogg’s ‘Gin And Juice’ or William Shatner’s version of ‘Common People’.

Whose speaking voice soothes your ears? Thierry Henry. He can ‘va va voom’ in my ear whenever he likes.

Tell us something you wish you had discovered sooner in life? That I was autistic. I really thought for the longest time that EVERYONE was struggling to people and that I was just really bad at it.

Describe your perfect Saturday evening? Sims 4. Bloody Mary. Podcast about murder. Then I murder my sims.

If you were a ghost, who would you haunt? Haunting is tough, cos do I want to be a vengeful spirit or a sexy spirit? If vengeful, I’d probably haunt the Edinburgh Fringe, and my one ghost power would be to make comedians think they’ve seen the light indicating the end of their show. But really it’s me, and they still had 15 minutes. HA!

If you could relive any day of your life, which one would it be? I would relive the day I got told Dinosaur had been picked up for a series by Hulu and BBC, and I’d insist everyone make a fuss. At the time I said ‘no it’s fine, don’t make a fuss’ when in actuality I really wanted a fuss, and now I’m annoyed that one wasn’t made.

What’s your earliest recollection of winning something? I won a fancy-dress competition at a caravan park when I was two. I dressed up as a television and sang the Neighbours theme tune.

Did you have a nickname at school that you were OK with? And can you tell us a nickname you hated? I’ve never had a nickname, and I’m really good at giving nicknames, so it’s mad vexing! I think it’s like seeing aliens: if you want it too much you don’t get it. Here are some nicknames I think I’d suit: Ace, Darklight, Night Girl, Kickers, Spock, Turkey Twizzler.

If you were to start a tribute act to a band or singer, who would it be in tribute to and what would it be called? Obviously I’d be a Taylor Swift tribute act, but I’d be called Taylor Slow. Because of my knees.

When were you most recently astonished by something? I found out that when Cheers first aired, Frasier aka Kelsey Grammer was only 27, and Norm and Cliff were 34 and 35. And I’m not talking character ages, I’m talking ACTORS. Taylor Swift is the same age as NORM in the first series of Cheers ASTONISHING!

What tune do you find it impossible not to get up and dance to, whether in public or private? Simple Minds’ ‘Alive And Kicking’ is my JAM!

Which famous person would be your ideal holiday companion? Larry David. I once had a dream where we went on a cruise together and it was both fun and surprisingly erotic.

When did you last cry? I cry constantly, so about 45 minutes ago. Nothing bad happened, I just sometimes look at my dog and she’s so cute I cry.

As an adult, what has a child said to you that made a powerful impact?

As an adult, I avoid talking to children. But one time at the Fringe I was wearing cycling shorts and a hoodie, and a teenage girl said ‘you look like Billie Eilish’. I almost cried with happiness.

Tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise people? I don’t know how surprising this is to people who know me, but during lockdown when I had lost my mind, I wrote the equivalent of two War And Peaces worth of fanfiction that was all about Harry Potter characters on Love Island. That’s actually more than a million words.

What’s the most hi-tech item in your home? Probably my fridge, it’s got all the bells and whistles.

What’s a skill you’d love to learn but never got round to? Piano. I’m always so jealous of those people who can walk into a train station and just play the public piano. And everyone smiles at them.

By decree of your local council, you’ve been ordered to destroy one room in your house and all of its contents. Which room do you choose? Kitchen, because then I can replace everything with Ninja products and air fryers.

If you were selected as the next 007, where would you pick as your first luxury destination for espionage?

South Korea. Not to spy, it’s just James Bond on a jaunt to go visit his favourite K-drama locations and to eat indoor BBQ.

Dinosaur starts on BBC Scotland, Sunday 14 April; all episodes available on BBC Three, Thursday 18 April; Ashley Storrie performs a work-in-progress show at The Stand, Glasgow, Sunday 7, Saturday 20 April.

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You don’t need Sherlock on hand to work out that Paloma Faith has had a rough time of it, relationship-wise, as she brings a single (‘How You Leave A Man’) and album (The Glorification Of Sadness) to Glasgow’s SEC (30 April). As her press material insists, Faith comes among her flock ‘recharged, empowered and back in control’.

While Glasgow and Edinburgh get the bulk of the book-festival attention in Scotland, Paisley is taking a slice thanks to a strong line-up for the town’s own spree of events (25–28 April). Among those at the Paisley Book Festival are Aasmah Mir, Vicky Allan and Anna Deacon (pictured), Len Pennie, and Graeme Armstrong.

And . . . while Glasgow and Edinburgh get the bulk of the film-festival attention in Scotland, St Andrews is taking a slice thanks to a strong line-up for the town’s own wave of events (19–21 April). Steven Soderbergh (pictured) will take part at Sands for an in-conversation event with fellow filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo.

PICTURE: PETER ANDREWS