Issue 161 February 2019 by The Skinny

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CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

February 2019 Scotland Issue 161

FILM Simon Amstell, Barry Jenkins, Christian Petzold, House Guests at Filmhouse MUSIC Girlpool, Ladytron, Savage Mansion, Mothers, James Yorkston, Graham Costello's STRATA, Andrew Wasylyk, Play It Like A Woman COMEDY Glee Club, BBC Scotland, Mara Joy CLUBS Leon Vynehall, LEZZER QUEST x Meat Free, Exterior THEATRE The Dark Carnival, Tandem Writing Collective INTERSECTIONS Monetising hobbies, LGBT dating and rom-coms ART Borderlines

SCREEN CITY GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS WITH A CELEBRATION OF THE 1990s

Feature

THE SKINNY

P.31 Camino de Santiago

P.35 The Refillery

February 2019

Issue 161, February 2019 © Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 1.9 1st Floor Tower, Techcube, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

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Contents

Editorial Acting Editor Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Events Editor Film & DVD Editor Food Editor Intersections Editor Music Editor Theatre Editor Travel Editor

Peter Simpson Adam Benmakhlouf Heather McDaid Nadia Younes Polly Glynn Nadia Younes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Katie Goh Tallah Brash Amy Taylor Paul Mitchell

Production Production Manager Designer

Rachael Hood Fiona Hunter

Sales Sales Manager Sales Executives

Sandy Park George Sully David Hammond Joanne Jamieson Megan Mitchell

Online Digital Editorial Assistant Online Journalist Web Developer Intern

Alexander Smail Jamie Dunn Stuart Spencer Emily Corpuz

Editor-in-Chief Bookkeeping & Accounts Publisher

Rosamund West Aaron Tuveri Sophie Kyle

THE SKINNY

Photo: Benedict Brink

P.19 Girlpool

Photo: Valentina Pimanova

P.16 If Beale Street Could Talk

Contents Chat & Opinion: An intro to February’s 06 mag; a shout-out for this month’s cover artist; our Skinny on Tour competition; Shot of the Month. Heads Up: Tackle February one day at a 08 time with our planner of the best of the month ahead.

Rice Gallery’s new exhibition 29 Talbot takes an in-depth look at the somewhat topical issue of borders (cough Brexit cough) – Borderlines’ curator and artists share their thoughts. LIFESTYLE

FEATURES

Reflections from a 500-mile solo 31 Travel: walk on the Camino de Santiago.

Film Festival is back! Find our 10 Glasgow highlights of this year’s programme,

Monetising your hobbies 32 I inntersections: the age of the side-hustle; a look back at

then go and watch them! We also have chats with Simon Amstell, bringing his directorial debut Benjamin to GFF and Christian Petzold, rethinking the WWII period piece with the intriguing Transit.

the influence of rom-coms on one writer’s early forays into LGBTQ+; an exploration of coming out as bi and presenting as femme.

hristina Neuwirth is spending 2019 C only reading books with bisexual characters or written by bisexual authors – the author of Amphibian talks us through the reasons why.

We dive into the world of drag and 15 talk to the creative team behind Jock Tamson’s Bairns, touring Scotland this LGBT History Month. ow do you follow a film like Moonlight? 16 H Barry Jenkins has adapted James

Baldwin’s novel If Beale Street Could Talk and changed the ending; proof that bold decision-making is the way to go.

talk to Ladytron as they return with 18 We their first new album since 2011. Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad talk 19 about growing into their creative selves on their third album as Girlpool.

Mansion drop their debut album 21 Savage via Lost Map this month; we talk gig promotion, songwriting and membershuffling with frontman Craig Angus. As Mothers return this way on tour, we 22 catch up with Kristine Leschper – topics covered include the band’s new sound, health and touring, and Frank Zappa’s legion of fans. no David Bowie, and I’m not trying 25 "I’m to be,” says James Yorkston as he fills

us in on his new album, The Route to the Harmonium.

lee Club throw their hat into the 26 G Scottish stand-up venue ring with their new Glasgow outpost; plus, a dive into what BBC Scotland have planned for Scottish comedy, and some tips on what they should be doing. Vynehall discusses impostor syn27 Leon drome, trying not to steal Jon Hopkins’ thunder on tour, and the method behind his new DJ-Kicks compilation. Point and The New 28 Vanishing International join forces on undead musical drama The Dark Carnival; we chat to Matthew Lenton and Biff Smith.

February 2019

ood and Drink: A guide to the places to 35 Fget eco-friendly while also getting your shopping done; the new venues to check out; the events and food festivals to stick in the diary. REVIEW usic: Graham Costello of STRATA on the 39 M impressively-diverse references behind the band’s new record; chats with Andrew Wasylyk and the folk behind the Play It Like a Woman compilation; gig highlights for February, and a selection of albums scored out of five. lubs: A B2B interview between a pair of 44 C female-led club nights in LEZZER QUEST and Meat Free; Edinburgh producer Exterior shares his Guest Selector playlist; our clubbing picks. ilm & TV: This month’s crop of film 46 Freviews; a preview of our House Guests series of screenings at Filmhouse; and a choose-your-own review of Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch. Reviews and highlights for the 50 Books: month ahead. heatre: A trio of theatrical titans – 51 TTouching the Void, Les Mis and Glasgow Girls – reviewed; picks from February’s theatre calendar highlights; Tandem Collective on their new writing nights. Mara Joy of The Spontaneous 53 Comedy: Players gives Matt Berry’s Toast of London a once-over. rt: Reviews of shows at Tramway and 54 AGoMA; news of exhibitions and opportunities galore. istings: A full list of every event occur55 Lring in Scotland this month. OK, not quite, but it’s still pretty comprehensive. he Last Word: Bohemian Rhapsody 63 Tand The Favourite are both in line for awards glory at the Baftas and Oscars, but only one of them does a good job with its queer characters. You’ll never guess which...

Contents

Shot of the Month Mt Doubt, Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 30 Jan by Kate Johnston

Editorial I

Oscar-winning Moonlight, which leads us neatly to our back-page look at 2019’s awards frontrunners Bohemian Rhapsody and The Favourite and their varying success in portraying their queer characters. And *that* leads us neatly on to the fact that it’s LGBT History Month – Amphibian author Christina Neuwirth discusses her project to only read bisexual literature in 2019, and our theatre editor dives deep into the world of drag ahead of Jock Tamson’s Bairns touring the country this February. In Clubs, new editor Nadia Younes grabs Glasgow-based DJ duo LEZZER QUEST and Blasha & Allatt of Manchester night Meat Free and gets them to interview each other (smart move) and catches up with Leon Vynehall; in Music, we chat with Girlpool, Ladytron, Mothers, Savage Mansion, James Yorkston and Andrew Wasylyk; Travel reports back from a 500-mile walk along the Camino de Santiago, with nary a Proclaimers reference in sight. Bringing it back full circle, Art looks at the Talbot Rice Gallery’s new exhibition Borderlines, which tackles the boundary-based insecurities at the heart of all of this whole Brexit situation, and Intersections looks at the millennial realities of monetising your hobbies and turning your side-hustle into a going concern in the wake of the closure of Rookie magazine. And speaking of bringing things back to the start, this is the last of my editorials covering for our editor-in-chief, Ros, as she returns from maternity leave. It’s been a blast, and to be honest I hope you haven’t noticed too much of a difference in recent months. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put seven or eight extra layers on because it’s flipping freezing. [Peter Simpson]

By Jock Mooney

t’s looking pretty chilly outside, both literally – your man nearly decked it on a patch of ice on the way in to write this editorial – and figuratively. The intellectual black hole of Brexit continues to suck presumably-intelligent people inside out, and the past two weeks have seen a mass bloodletting in the journalism industry with hundreds of writers and editors left out of work and out of pocket. For what it’s worth, our solidarity is with our colleagues and contemporaries at Buzzfeed, The Pool and elsewhere; keep up the good work, as there’s all manner of interesting and/or shady shit going on these days that needs looking into. Moving on to this month’s mag, it’s headed up by a celebration of Glasgow Film Festival’s triumphant return for its 15th birthday. We talk to Simon Amstell about his directorial debut Benjamin, catch up with German filmmaker Christian Petzold about his new flick Transit, and pick out our highlights from this year’s programme (A Bread Factory, my heart belongs to thee). But that’s not all! If you’re out and about at this year’s festival, you’ll find one of three editions of this year’s CineSkinny; it’s a comprehensive guide to the 2019 line-up complete with interviews with the likes of Bo Burnham, Richard Billingham and Alice Rohrwacher, plus daily picks from the programme. Pick it up and you won’t go wrong (this only applies to film-based decisionmaking; don’t try to use it as a map or anything). Over in Edinburgh, we’re screening our own little season of films at the Filmhouse this month – head to p48 for a full rundown of our House Guests selection. There will be blood, and blues, and soup. We also chat to Barry Jenkins about If Beale Street Could Talk, his follow-up to the

Chat

THE SKINNY

Online Only

The Skinny on Tour It’s a tricky one this month if you’re being specific with your answers, or blindingly obvious if you’re generalising. We’ve gone on that classic British holiday of yesteryear; the kind of annual break we all used to take before Ryanair and easyJet made travel to warmer climes roughly the same price as a round down the pub. Back in the day, though, this was our annual holiday. Everyone squeezed into the car, bucket and spade in hand, dad with a white handkerchief on his head as the only protection from the sun (we didn’t use factor 50 in those days) and

Category Is

11 of Scotland's Best Independent Bookshops Updated for a new year, our guide to the very best of Scotland’s independent book retailers – where they are, and what makes them stand out “Co-owners Charlotte and Fi Duffy-Scott describe Category Is as a “fiercely independent Queer Bookshop in the southside of Glasgow”. This wife and wife team have dedicated their bookshop to celebrating queer stories. All are welcome to this bookshop – whether you’d like to pick up a new book, learn about the community, or get a haircut from their queer-inclusive barber.”

bitterness, division... but somehow, no. The rest of her family are, without exception, supportive, trusting and kind. What gives?”

Read the full article at theskinny.co.uk/books

Read the full article at theskinny.co.uk/festivals

Pod People The latest edition of our podcast column tackles Australian podcast Silent Waves, dealing with devastating familial revelations in a surprising and supportive way “Exposing abusers in your family is supposed to cause factionalism, rancour,

Live reviews Head to theskinny.co.uk/music for reviews from gigs big and small across Scotland, including our verdict on recent shows from Massive Attack, LOW, Death Cab for Cutie, Makeness and The Streets.

wearing both socks and sandals on his feet. Breakfast, lunch and dinner options were broken down to the three basic food groups of fish & chips, candyfloss and 99 flakes. If the Brexiteers had their way, this would be everyone’s annual holiday. We’d prefer to use those blue passports for the odd city break to Rotterdam or Barcelona once in awhile, though. Worked out where we’ve been? Then head over to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and let us know – one of you will win a copy of Salt on Your Tongue by Charlotte Runcie, courtesy of our friends at Canongate.

Read the full Pod People archive at theskinny.co.uk/tv-radio

Death Cab for Cutie

Photo: Kate Johnston

Terminal V Easter 2019: Full line-up revealed The all-dayer at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh have unveiled their full roster for this spring’s event – Mall Grab, Daniel Avery, Objekt, Jennifer Cardini and Mr G are among the names joining the bill. Read the full line-up at theskinny. co.uk/festivals

Find more at theskinny.co.uk

COVER ARTIST Tom Saffill Tom Saffill is an illustrator based in the east of England. He likes speculative fiction, visual metaphors, spooky things, and spending inordinate amounts of time looking at pictures of kittens and puppies. Past clients include Prospect Magazine, The Covent Gardener and Walnut Magazine. You can see more of his work at tom.saffill.co.uk

February 2019

Chat

Larry Dean

Orla Kiely

Mon 11 Feb

Bands meeting on internet forums is pretty much the new norm, and Kero Kero Bonito join the likes of Brockhampton and Superorganism in being one of those bands. Legend has it the band’s two token male members, Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled, sought out a Japanese singer on ex-pat online forums and frontwoman Sarah Midori Perry was one of the first to respond. And the rest is history. SWG3, Glasgow, 7pm, £10

If there are two things millenials love, it’s brunch and drag, so why not combine the two? And, what’s more, it’s a vegan brunch. Royal Brunch is back at Paradise Palms this month, with their very first special, Lunar Dynasty Takeover. The show is open to all ages, with an under 12s brunch option even available, and food is provided by Palms’ residents Lucky Pig. Paradise Palms, Edinburgh, 12pm, £5-12

We like films and we know you like films too, so we have selected some films for you to enjoy on the big screen this month, as we take on the role of the Filmhouse’s House Guests this month. Tonight, drop in for a screening of Jûzô Itami's 'ramen western' Tampopo, which features lots of actors slurpin’ noods, amongst other plot lines. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 6.05pm, £6.50-10

Kero Kero Bonito

Lucky Pig

Photo: Lucky Pig

Sun 10 Feb

Photo: Tracey Ng

Sat 9 Feb

Tampopo

Fri 15 Feb

Sun 17 Feb

New York post-punks BODEGA explored the impact of technology on the modern world on their debut album Endless Scroll, released last year, while also addressing subjects including female masturbation and “learned male behaviour”. The five-piece make a stop in Glasgow tonight on their UK tour in support of the aforementioned album, so now’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about. The Art School, Glasgow, 7pm, £12.50

Duffer earned Ahir Shah his second consecutive nomination for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards last year, following a nomination for his 2017 show Control. The show focuses on the two fairly broad topics of life and death, so the actual content is anyone’s guess (unless you saw it at the Fringe, in which case no guessing necessary). The Stand, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £12

Emma Pollock

Fri 22 Feb

The Jasmin Vardimon Company, dedicated to the choreography of its Artistic Director and one of the world’s leading choreographers, celebrate 20 years in existence with an exploration of the myth of Medusa. Jasmin Vardimon's Medusa brings together a multi-talented cast of performers to deconstruct the myth of the prominent figure in Greek mythology and explore her aquatic symbolism. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £16-25.50

Perhaps Shakespeare’s most gruesome tragedy, Macbeth has been reworked and reimagined for the stage and screen in just about every way possible over the years, but the play’s resonance remains. The latest production comes from the National Theatre, directed by the company’s Artistic Director Rufus Norris and designed by Rae Smith, currently touring the UK. Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £10-40.90

Jasmin Vardimon's Medusa

If you’ve been toying with the idea of a trip up to the Isle of Lewis for a while, this month might just be the perfect time to go. The Hebridean Dark Skies Festival (821 Feb) is a new two-week programme of events from An Lanntair, combining scientific talks with various art forms. PhD student Natalie Marr will team up with musician Emma Pollock tonight for a cross-platform event. An Lanntair, Stornoway, 6pm, £5-6

Troye Sivan

Sat 23 Feb

Macbeth

Thu 28 Feb

Fri 1 Mar

You no longer have to rely on that YouTube video of Fatboy Slim at Big Beach Boutique in Brighton in 2002 to get your fix of early 00s dance music. Mr. Slim himself, Norman Cook, is taking his In the Round Show tour across the country over the next two months, where he’ll turn massive arenas into a unique nightclub experience. SSE Hydro, Glasgow, 6.30pm, £31.20-48.25

The latest to join Edinburgh University’s Visiting Writer series is young adult writer, journalist and activist, Juno Dawson. In her latest novel, Clean, she explores a teenage girl’s struggle with heroin addiction and her attempts to get clean, while her non-fiction works include the bestselling non-fiction guide to life for young LGBT people, This Book is Gay. Lighthouse, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, £0-3

If you’ve been gripped by Netflix’s The Good Place and its depictions of the afterlife, then Vanishing Point and A New International’s The Dark Carnival will probably be up your street. The music and theatre spectacle, featuring 16 performers and musicians, tells the story of newcomers to the afterlife who quickly discover that death isn’t as final as they had thought. Tramway, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £12-26.50

Chat

Juno Dawson

Photo: Jack Latham

Wed 27 Feb

Fatboy Slim

Ahir Shah

Photo: Brinkhoff Mogenburg

Thu 21 Feb

Photo: Mert Gafuroglu

Sat 16 Feb

BODEGA

Photo: Courtesy of Orla Kiely

Dovecot’s latest exhibition, running throughout February, A Life in Pattern documents the distinctive designs of fashion designer Orla Kiely OBE. To discuss the exhibition and her illustrious career, the gallery will host Orla Kiely in Conversation today, before the exhibition opens on 7 February. Kiely will also be signing copies of her latest book, published to coincide with the exhibition. Dovecot, Edinburgh, 12pm, £30

Photo: The Other Richard

January’s over! Make up for lost time by going to as many things as possible this month; here's our guide to what's on...

Don’t expect much in the way of highbrow political satire from Larry Dean. Instead, prepare for plenty of cheeky banter and quips on Scottishness, sex and Dean’s childhood. Originally written to celebrate his relationship with his boyfriend, Bampot had to be rewritten slightly when that relationship came to an end prior to the show’s first outing but it still packs the same punch. The Stand, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £10

Photo: Jules Faure

Compiled by: Nadia Younes

Wed 6 Feb

South African-born, Aussie-raised Troye Sivan worked with a dream team of American musician Leland and Canadian musician Allie X, as well as producers including Oscar Holter and Ariel Rechtshaid, on his second album Bloom, released last year. The album also featured a collaboration with musician of the moment Ariana Grande, Dance to This. Expect nothing but straight up pop gold on Sivan’s accompanying Bloom tour. O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm, £27.50

The Dark Carnival

THE SKINNY

Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic & Niall Walker

Heads Up

Tue 5 Feb

Fri 8 Feb

Scotland’s first and only improv festival, the Edinburgh International Improv Festival begins tonight, with a headline set from awardwinning hip-hop musical improviser Abandoman and Monkey Barrel regulars Spontaneous Potter. Over the next four days, the festival will continue with a range of workshops and shows to teach you about and celebrate improvisational theatre and comedy. Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, 7.45pm, £25

With February marking Scotland’s LGBT History Month, a plethora of events enabling people to be educated on and engage with LGBT history and culture will take place across the country throughout the month. Tonight, London-based performance artist, theatremaker, poet and writer, Travis Alabanza will talk about and perform some poetry in part two of Poetry and Power. David Hume Tower, Edinburgh, 7pm, £4

Rob Broderick

Travis Alabanza

Thu 14 Feb

Set in war-torn Uganda in 1978, under the rule of Idi Amin, The Dark tells the story of a four-year-old boy and his mother attempting to flee the capital of Kampala. Nick Makoha’s autobiographical play, presented by Fuel Theatre and Ovalhouse, is currently touring the UK, with dates in both Edinburgh and Glasgow this month. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 8pm, £5-15

Ever an eclectic selector, Leon Vynehall’s contribution to independent record label !K7’s DJ-Kicks series is expectedly intriguing. Featuring exclusive tracks from the likes of Peach and Pavilion, as well as various firsttime digital releases and new tracks from Vynehall himself, it’s a strong addition to the series. Catch him in the flesh, playing all night long, at Sneaks tonight. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 11pm, £10

Love is in the air and all that, so if you’re planning dinner and a movie this Valentine's Day, the Filmhouse is the place to be for the latter. There will be afternoon and evening screenings of romantic classics Casablanca and The Lady Eve, and a one-off evening showing of Luca Guadagnino’s more recent classic, Call Me By Your Name. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, times & prices vary

The Audacious Women Festival

Sun 24 Feb The Audacious Women Collective was formed in 2015 and just a year later The Audacious Women Festival was born. Back again for its fourth year, the festival’s programme includes a series of performances, workshops, talks and exhibitions celebrating audacious women from all walks of life. Attend a songwriting workshop, go on a Witches & Bitches walking tour or take part in a beer tasting. Various venues, Edinburgh, times & prices vary

Photo: Debbie Toksvig

Nils Frahm’s seventh album, All Melody, came in at number ten on our Top 50 Albums of 2018 list, despite being released so early in the year. Frahm recorded the album in his new studio space in Berlin’s Funkhaus, which he spent two years building, and also launched the album with a special start-to-finish performance in the venue prior to its release. SEC Armadillo, Glasgow, 6.30pm, £30

Tue 19 Feb

Wed 20 Feb

One of the standout shows at 2018’s Edinburgh Fringe was undoubtedly Olga Koch’s multimedia masterpiece, Fight, detailing her father’s arrest by authorities on the Russian border. Koch’s taking the show out for another spin, with dates around the UK, for those who may have missed it back then. Keep your eyes peeled for a particularly hilarious Russian Pizza Hut advert. Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 7pm, £8-10

Actor, photographer, streetwear style icon and now filmmaker, Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s, will open this year’s Glasgow Film Festival, celebrating its 15th edition. The coming-of-age drama stars Sunny Suljic as a 13-year-old boy who begins to hang out with an older group of skateboarders while living in 90s Los Angeles, with Lucas Hedges playing his older, disapproving brother. GFT, Glasgow, 6.30pm, £13-15

Olga Koch

Call Me By Your Name

Mid90s

Mon 25 Feb

Tue 26 Feb

Poppy Nash’s new exhibition, Care, centres around ‘care curtains’ using printed words from voices from over 50 people of different ages and backgrounds. The works, which use different textile techniques, type faces and sizes, reveal how the subjects feel about living close to someone with a long term health condition or disability. The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until 17 Mar

Based on a true story spotted by his mother-in-law in an Ohio newspaper, Arthur Miller’s critique of the American Dream, All My Sons, was also his first critical and commercial success. Tonight’s performance from the Dundee Rep Ensemble will also be followed by a postshow discussion with members of the cast and creative team. Dundee Rep, Dundee, 7.30pm, £9-22

Poppy Nash, Care

Credit: Poppy Nash

Mon 18 Feb

Leon Vynehall

Photo: James Deacon

Nils Frahm

Photo: Alexander Schneider

The Dark

Photo: Phil Sharp

Wed 13 Feb

Photo: Akiya Henry

Tue 12 Feb

All My Sons

Sun 3 Mar

Mon 4 Mar

Since its inception in 2011, Wee Dub Festival has become one of the biggest roots and reggae events in the UK. Now inhabiting seven venues across Edinburgh, the festival includes four sessions over three days, as well as a film screening and family social. Today’s two sessions will be headlined by Thali Lotus of CAYA Soundsystem and DJ duo The Nextmen featuring Kiko Bun and Dynamite MC. Various venues, Edinburgh, 3pm, £5-42

Before she jets off to the Venice Biennale to represent her home country of Estonia in May, Kris Lemsalu presents a new body of works at Tramway in a co-production with CCA Goldsmiths. If Lemsalu’s previous works are anything to go by, you can be sure to expect a collection of feministleaning mixed-media sculptures and installations with unexpected materials. Tramway, Glasgow, until 7 Apr

In her latest show, Sunrise, Jessie Cave details the breakdown of her relationship with the father of her two kids, fellow comedian Alfie Brown, to heart wrenching effect. The show’s stint at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe earned rave reviews and even landed her a spot on The Guardian’s Top 10 comedy shows of 2018 list. The Stand, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £10-12

Thali Lotus

Photo: Elliott Baxter

Sat 2 Mar

February 2019

Photo: Elise Rose

Thu 7 Feb

Kris Lemsalu

Jessie Cave

Chat

High Anxiety In his tender new comedy Benjamin, Simon Amstell fictionalises the most anxious parts of himself to explore his own burgeoning filmmaking career, love life and ideas of masculine identity

Interview: Caitlin Quinlan

“I

“ It was certainly easier to relax knowing I’d already fictionalised the most anxious parts of myself” Simon Amstell

particular is especially revealing about both character and director. “I’m not sure if I knew that at the beginning, but there was definitely a point where I realised his problem is he won’t stop talking, and the reason he won’t stop talking is then something might happen that’s beyond his control and then he would be vulnerable. I was probably just writing in the way that I spoke at first, and then realised our problem.” Discussing these autobiographical links, Amstell sees Benjamin as a portrait of a former self, who’s now to be kept very separate from his current outlook. Like the character, Amstell also presented his work at the London Film Festival in 2018 to an audience eager to see where his creative pursuits had led, the man who has occupied a cherished spot on British television since he first appeared on Popworld almost 20 years ago. “I had to do a speech and a Q&A, and I was nervous about doing all that and I was nervous about how the film would be received for the first time,” Amstell says.

“But then I thought about how Benjamin felt when his film premiered at LFF and what a nervous wreck he was, and I thought it would be insane if I was still him because I’ve written him out of me. Maybe I can just let him be Benjamin and I’ll be this cool, calm, director guy who gives a lovely speech and then just enjoys the film. It was certainly easier to relax knowing I’d already fictionalised the most anxious parts of myself.” As is Amstell’s wont, he makes charming quips throughout our discussion but there is a clear sincerity behind his sentiments that lingers. Such a deeply personal process seems to have been compounded by the wider pressures of writing itself. “I really didn’t know what I was doing,” he laughs. “It’s usually just terrible for two weeks and then something will happen. I’m writing something new at the moment and for about two weeks it’s seemed impossible to do anything, or solve problems in the script. I might just have to spurn the whole thing and get a new job.” As well as writing and directing, Amstell was

Photo: Laura Radford

His self-reflective tendencies led Amstell to use his past experiences not only as idea springboards but as sources for speech and character. In its earliest stages the script for the film was comprised of snippets of “dialogue from various difficult relationships I’d been in in my 20s,” Amstell explains, before he “honed that down into what were the most interesting aspects of two relationships where there was the most conflict and also the most humour.” Benjamin’s dialogue in

Photo: Laura Radford

get such a lot from trying to figure out what’s wrong with me,” says Simon Amstell – TV presenter, writer, stand-up, now director – when we sit down to discuss his new feature film, Benjamin. From his 2012 stand-up show Numb to his book Help, released in 2017, Amstell has not shied away from self-examination on many platforms. So it’s no surprise that his filmmaking is a similar exercise in catharsis and recovery; the artistic process, however torturous for Amstell, provides a therapy worth holding on to. “There’s not just a film at the end of this,” he says, “but it might also be the healing of your absurd personality.” With Colin Morgan in the title role, and the likes of Joel Fry, Anna Chancellor and Jessica Raine alongside, Benjamin is a tender comedy about a writer-director facing the premiere of his second film. With its emphasis on the autobiographical and self-referential, Amstell’s work blends his own career anxieties and humour with an affecting look at masculine identity and vulnerability.

Feature

FILM

directly involved in the creation of the music in the film along with former Klaxons keyboardist James Righton. The songs, written to be performed by Benjamin’s love interest Noah (Phénix Brossard), are honest and raw, almost adolescent in their aching tone but wholly mature in their expressive content. While Benjamin can never say the right thing to anyone, Noah exposes his heart to crowds of people. Another mentally taxing process, Amstell explains: “I was in an acting workshop where people were really encouraged to go to the root of what was going on for them emotionally, so when I came to writing these songs I realised what they were really about.” Laughing, he says, “I know what this is. I went on a course. I know who I am now.” The emphasis on masculinity in Benjamin and Amstell’s interest in exploring such issues of doubt and anxiety, emotional vulnerability, and self-expression was not a deliberate effort on the director’s part to tap into a current social climate. “It’s never felt to me like there’s this thing with masculinity, so I should write something about masculinity,” he says. “It’s always just come out of me, quite naturally, and I think I should just carry on like that. The only thing I have to go by in terms of whether something will be interesting, funny, authentic, is whether it’s something that I’ve felt. With this it feels like people are noticing that that’s what’s really going on, but that’s not because my process has changed, it’s just because the culture has caught up.” Our conversation is again peppered with laughter. “What I’m saying is, I’m a genius,” he jokes. Benjamin certainly is a work of great accomplishment, tapping into a vital conversation about anxiety and mental health, especially for men, with an earnest, authentic approach that retains the comedian’s signature touch. We close our chat looking forward to his next projects, and Amstell displays his eagerness to continue in the filmmaking world. “I think if I can make a film every now and then, and also go on tour every now and then, I’ll be pretty happy with that.” Benjamin has its Scottish premiere at Glasgow Film Festival on 25 & 26 Feb, and Simon Amstell will be in attendance to introduce the film and take part in a Q&A Benjamin is released across the UK on 15 Mar by Verve

THE SKINNY

Time Warp Christian Petzold scrambles time and identity in his twist-filled adaptation of Anna Seghers’ WWII novel Transit

hristian Petzold is seated in the balcony bar of the Berlinale Palast, the posh venue that annually hosts the grandest premieres at the Berlin Film Festival, and giving The Skinny a brief history lesson. “Right now we’re sitting on Potsdamer Platz, and exactly where we are sitting there used to be an orphanage: the orphanage where Bruno S lived, the protagonist in Werner Herzog’s movie Every Man for Himself and God Against All.” Readers are more likely to know the film by its international title, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. “During [WWII] they were bombed out and traumatised.” This trauma that haunted Bruno S seems to haunt Petzold also. The 58-year-old German filmmaker has increasingly turned to his nation’s turbulent past in recent works. In 80s-set GDR thriller Barbara (2012), Nina Hoss plays an East Berlin doctor who’s planning to defect to the West but has the Stasi breathing down her neck. Hoss also starred in Petzold’s haunting Phoenix (2014), in which a disfigured Holocaust survivor returns to postwar Berlin with a new face after reconstructive surgery. In both, Germany’s dark, splintered past seems to talk to its unified present. In his wonderful new film Transit, based on Anna Seghers’ 1944 novel of the same name, the distance between Europe’s past and present is elided completely. Seghers’ novel is set in Nazi-occupied France just a few years before it was written, but Petzold’s film seems to take place in a liminal time between then and now. Protagonist Georg (Franz Rogowski) is a German refugee on the run from Paris to Marseille trying to avoid the fascist regime occupying the north of the country; he’s dressed like he’s straight out of a Jean Gabin flick from the 40s, but there are plenty of anachronisms along the way that suggest the time period is much closer to today. We see 21st century cars in the streets, most of the chara-

cters wear contemporary clothing, the film’s narrator references Romero’s zombie movies and Georg discusses the league success of Borussia Dortmund with a young football-nut.

“ That’s the core of this story... the problem of trying to change your identity is that you still can’t get out of your skin” Christian Petzold

This discombobulating timeline instantly insinuates a link between the atmosphere of fear during Nazi-occupied Europe and the rippedfrom-the-headlines stories of desperate refugees denied safe passage through Europe today. Petzold explains his resistance to a traditional period setting: “I’m not interested in a reenactment of history, like everything is arranged like in a museum, and people go to the cinema to look at how people like Marie Antoinette or Napoleon lived in those days, and then go back home. To me, that’s dead history. As Faulkner once said, ‘The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.’” With Transit, Petzold’s uncanny setting suggests the events of the past are still palpable today. As hazy as the timeframe is our hero’s identity. On his journey to Marseille, Georg inadvertently finds himself in the possession of the manuscript and papers of a famous Mexican author who has committed suicide. The author’s passport should secure him safe passage across the Atlantic, but while reading the manuscript

Interview: Jamie Dunn

there’s also the dreamy feeling that Georg is entering the writer’s fictional narrative. “I love stories where people try to be someone else,” Petzold says, “like Jack Nicholson in that movie where he’s a reporter and he assumes someone else’s identity, the person who’s died.” The Passenger, we suggest? “Yes, that’s the one. These people, they might try changing identities because they have a feeling that their own lives are meaningless or empty, and a different identity would offer something new, but the problem is that people always carry who they are with them into the new identity and that’s also the same problem for these refugees, they always carry with them who they are and where they are from, like a backpack. That’s the core of this story, I think, the problem of trying to change your identity is that you still can’t get out of your skin.” These ruptures in time and identity may be destabilising, but at the centre of the movie, Franz Rogowski’s insular, soulful performance proves a captivating ballast. Petzold puts Rogowski’s on-screen charisma down to two qualities. First, his physicality. “When I was writing the movie I imagined someone like Jean-Paul Belmondo playing that part, someone who might be playing around with girls but also might steal a car and wouldn’t care about tomorrow. Franz doesn’t come from an acting academy, he was actually a trained dancer, so he has this very impressive physical presence.” And second is the sadness in his eyes. “That’s something that all the great screen actors share: this sense of melancholy. “All great heroes are sad characters, and that’s why Steven Seagal is not a hero, because he’s never sad.” Transit has its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival at GFT, 22 Feb, 6pm & CCA, 26 Feb, 4.45pm

Golden Tickets Here are the titles from the GFF line-up that have caught our eye, from Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro and Scottish closing film Beats, to coming-of-age film Eighth Grade and LA noir Under the Silver Lake

Beats (Brian Welsh) On-fire Scottish playwright Kieran Hurley adapts his acclaimed Fringe show for this bittersweet coming-of-age film centred on two best friends who lose themselves in the freedom of Scotland’s 90s rave scene. Brian Welsh directs, while Benjamin Kracun provides the stylish black and white cinematography. 3 Mar, 7.15pm A Bread Factory 1 & 2 (Patrick Wang) Patrick Wang’s sprawling four-hour epic, spread over two films, has been described as being like if “Eric Rohmer had made a Christopher Guest movie”. The focus is a small town’s modest art centre, and the lively community it has built up over four decades. When a giant, Chinese-funded art complex opens down the street, the smaller institution fights back. 3 Mar, 1pm & 3.45pm Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham) Adolescence is hell in this spiky but tender debut from US stand-up Bo Burnham, which follows a painfully awkward 13-year-old on her last few days of middle school, with high school looming. The teen angst is complemented by Anna Meredith’s

swirling electronic score, which amps up the feeling of anxiety one moment, and brings joy the next. 28 Feb, 6.30pm & 1 Mar, 3.45pm Fugue (Agnieszka Smoczyńska) The director of flesh-eating mermaid musical The Lure is back with another curio: in this case, a memory-loss melodrama about a woman who enters a fugue-like state, only to emerge walking on some train tracks with a radically different personality. This proves a tad disconcerting for her family when they’re reunited with their matriarch after she’s been missing for two years. 27 Feb, 5.45pm & 28 Feb, 10.45am The Grand Bizarre (Jodie Mack) We’ve heard great things about Jodie Mack’s first feature-length work, a thrilling celebration of the rhythms, textures and colour she found while travelling to ports and marketplaces around the world from India to Morocco to Mexico. Mack’s stop motion photography process is back-breakingly laborious, but the results are pure visual pleasure. 2 Mar, 2.45pm

Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher) Alice Rohrwacher’s drama about a village of peasant farmers cut off from society spills from poetic realism to dreamy fantasy, telling a spellbinding story that’s a potent allegory for the pervasive evils of modern capitalism. 1 Mar, 1pm & 2 Mar, 8.45pm Her Smell (Alex Ross Perry) / Vox Lux (Brady Corbet) Treat yourself to these two vibrant portraits of stardom. In Alex Ross Perry’s film, Elisabeth Moss plays a 90s punk rocker whose star is on the wane; in Brady Corbet’s wildly ambitious Vox Lux, Natalie Portman portrays a drug-snorting pop sensation who found fame after being shot during a mass shooting as a teen. 24 Feb, 8pm; 2 Mar, 8.30pm & 3 Mar, 3.30pm Making Montgomery Clift (Robert Clift, Hillary Demmon) Received wisdom tells us Hollywood icon Montgomery Clift was a rather tragic figure who was torn by external pressures to conceal his bisexuality, but this ebullient documentary

Words: Jamie Dunn

reveals a more nuanced picture. Archive images, home movies and a treasure-trove of audio tapes combine to paint Clift as a vibrant, intelligent, funny man free from hangups about his sexual preferences. 28 Feb, 6pm & 1 Mar, 5.30pm Ray & Liz (Richard Billingham) Award-winning photographer Richard Billingham dips his toes in moving image with this formally inventive cine-memoir reenacting his own childhood growing up in a cramped flat on a Birmingham council estate, where his fearsome mother very much ruled the roost. 23 Feb, 6pm & 28 Feb, 4.15pm Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell) David Robert Mitchell channels Hitchcock and Welles in this shaggy LA noir following Andrew Garfield as a feckless loser who embarks on a surreal odyssey across Hollywood in search of his missing neighbour – he encounters a string of canine murders, mysterious characters and baffling clues along the way. 25 Feb, 8pm & 28 Feb, 1.15pm Glasgow Film Festival runs 20 Feb-3 Mar glasgowfilm.org

February 2019

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A New Leaf Words: Christina Neuwirth

Photo: Andrew Perry

Christina Neuwirth, author of the watery wonder Amphibian, has decided to only read bisexual books in 2019. She tells The Skinny why she came to that decision, and what #twentybiteen will look like for her

n New Year’s Day 2018, queer pop icon Hayley Kiyoko tweeted to announce her new album Expectations and gave us the hashtag #20Gayteen – an affirmation, celebration and a New Year’s Resolution all in one word. We’ve now arrived in 2019, aka #twentybiteen, a hashtag which Twitter users are embracing to celebrate bisexuality and combat bi erasure. For me, twentybiteen is the year I read only bisexual books. My challenge follows in the footsteps of two reading challenge projects that have an overt political aim of highlighting and combating inequalities. In 2014, Joanna Walsh started the project #readwomen to encourage people to read more literature by women, and last year Gary Younge shared his challenge to read fiction by African women writers for a year. #twentybiteen challenge (and for anyone who would like to join me) is to read only works by bisexual writers, and/or books that feature a character who is attracted to more than one gender. The idea for twentybiteen occurred to me when I realised I had inadvertently been reading several books in a row that featured bisexuality – How to be both by Ali Smith, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales by Kirsty Logan, Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney – and I thought, “Do you reckon I could read only bi books for a whole year?” As soon as I had thought of it I knew I had to do it, which I suppose is a sign of how stubborn a person I am. The response to this decision has been overwhelmingly encouraging, but I also got questions echoing my first doubts: “Is it possible?” The truth is that even before I started looking for my books this year, I trusted that it was an achievable challenge; that the feeling there may not be enough to read was just a symptom of the lack of visibility for bisexual writers and bisexual stories. I knew they had to be there, and I hoped that

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recommendations from friends and the internet would help me find them. I have a particular stake in this project, being a bisexual writer myself. I am interested in exploring how other writers have written about bisexuality. I want to get to know the tropes and traditions of writing bisexual characters, to find out if there are any commonalities, any conventions I can follow or subvert. On the flip side, I also want to read work by bisexual writers that isn’t necessarily about bisexuality, to highlight – to myself and others – that bisexual writing isn’t some kind of monolithic genre that has only one theme. As well as learning how bisexuality is written about by different writers, I am also doing this because I want to spend more time reading books that reflect something about my identity. I only realised what I’d been missing when I first read bisexuality in fiction, in André Aciman’s 2007 novel Call Me By Your Name. The way I felt reading this book and discovering a complex, relatable bisexual character is perhaps best described in this passage, where the book’s central character Elio finds a kindred spirit: 'What never crossed my mind was that […] someone else in my immediate world might like what I liked, want what I wanted, be who I was'. It had never crossed my mind that instead of projecting my own desire onto straight or gay characters, I could actually read… bisexual characters. If you’ve read this far, you’re probably not going to accuse me of ‘reverse discrimination’, but just in case, I should tell you that I’m not here to say that you’re a terrible person if you’ve never read a bisexual author. What I want to highlight is that bisexual authors and bisexual stories exist, and that they offer a broad range of contributions. Even the attempt at this sort of reading challenge makes visible implicit biases in our reading habits that favour particular kinds of

stories and books by – predominantly – wealthy, straight, cis, white (and often dead) men. I know there is a paradox inherent in this kind of project: by saying that I’m only reading bisexual authors, I am sort of putting them all in one box (or on one bookshelf), when surely the point is saying that your sexuality shouldn’t matter. Except that of course it does matter.

“ What I want to highlight is that bisexual authors and bisexual stories exist, and that they offer a broad range of contributions” Christina Neuwirth

Stonewall’s 2017 LGBT In Britain research found that “one in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity”, and another Stonewall study published in April 2018 revealed that bisexual people are less likely to be out at work than their gay and lesbian colleagues. On top of that, many bisexual people experience themselves as being seen as too queer to fit in with a heteronormative world, and not queer enough to fit into the LGBT community. Of course my project is a political act, but

BOOKS

it’s also – in practice – a simple, small change to my reading habits. It’s a change of paying close attention to the next book I will pick up, while still letting my reading be guided by what I want to read. The good news is that there’s no shortage – any and all genres of fiction and non-fiction, poetry, contemporary and historic. The internet has been very helpful for finding out more about the wealth of bisexual books out there: last year, as a starting point, Autostraddle published an article by Chaya Bhuvaneswar, listing ten books by bisexual women. In 2017, Casey Stepaniuk wrote about 100 bisexual books on BookRiot, including classics like Orlando by Virginia Woolf and Another Country by James Baldwin, young adult books like The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, Pantomime by Laura Lam and many more. The @bihistory Instagram account regularly shares histories of bisexuality, including the work of bisexual authors. All these have been wonderful starting points for this reading journey. On my bedside table at the moment is Hunger by bisexual author Roxane Gay and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, which features a bisexual character. I’ll start with these, and I’m excited to see where the year’s reading will take me. So, circling back to the question, “Is there going to be enough to read?” I’m grateful to the recommendations from friends, blog posts and other resources that have already shown me that there are in fact too many books that meet my criteria, too many for me to read in a year. It goes without saying that more should be written, and that we’re not suddenly finished with bisexual representation, but still: what a joy, to find yourself reflected. You can follow along with Christina’s reading adventures using the hashtag #twentybiteenbooks and at christinaneuwirth.com

THE SKINNY

February 2019

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Illustration: Michael Arnold

THE SKINNY

Queen For A Day Our theatre editor chats to the team behind Jock Tamson’s Bairns and unleashes her inner bio queen for the afternoon

February 2019

Photos: Chris Scott

here could be many reasons why I might find myself in CC Bloom’s toilets on a Thursday afternoon, sponging foundation on my face under the watchful eye of Civil Disobedience’s Barry Church-Woods. But this time, the reason is their new show Jock Tamson’s Bairns, which is touring to venues around Scotland as part of LGBT History Month. Confused? Well, CC Bloom’s has provided rehearsal space for the show, which is an immersive new piece of performance exploring issues of equality and belonging. Written by ChurchWoods, it was initially designed to be a live-action self-help manual for young people; it’s now “part drag, part cabaret, part theatre” and features The Duchess (Ewan James Armstrong), a drag queen and insult comic. Today, The Duchess is going to “drag me up” into a bio queen (a female who adopts the style of a drag queen) while I interview her and the company. Yes, this was all my idea. “Our working title was Unfuck Yourself, and then Chicken Soup for Your Hole,” explains Church-Woods, as The Duchess slathers more foundation on my face. “You need more foundation than skin,” she explains. “Funnily enough, programmers don’t really go for Chicken Soup for Your Hole,” interjects Louise Oliver, who also stars in the show. She was already being made up to be a bio queen when I arrived, and her makeup is perfect. Witty titles aside, the show, which is set in a drag club, explores the bystander effect and growing up gay in central Scotland. After waiting in the background for two-and-a-half years while ChurchWoods and the rest of the team worked on other projects with their clients, including Courtney Act and Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum, the show is finally ready to hit the stage. They are also working on bringing the show to schools so LGBTQ+ young people can see it. As The Duchess carefully transforms me from plain old theatre editor into a bio queen called Fanny B’Gaslight, Church-Woods tells me more about the piece. It’s immersive, theatrical and boasts an excellent soundtrack, including artists like Annie Lennox, Madonna and Bette Midler. But at the heart of the show is Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy. To Church-Woods, the song describes a story that a lot of queer people have experienced; growing up gay in a regressive and unwelcoming environment and feeling the only option is to leave. “[It’s] the universal story that most queer, out of the mainstream people have. So, it started off like that, but the more research we did, we started looking at bystander behaviour, and so we landed on the Kitty Genovese case in New York.” The 1964 murder of Genovese, who was attacked outside her apartment complex by a stranger, was made famous by a New York Times article that alleged 38 people had witnessed the attack but none of them had intervened. Although this was later found to be inaccurate, it led to the creation of the term ‘bystander effect’: a phenomenon which stipulates that the more bystanders there are, the less likely someone is to help a victim. In the show, the audience will be invited to take part in open space discussions, but also to listen, and the hope is that they leave with better tools to help them to resist bystander behaviours. Meanwhile, my conversation with The Duchess inevitably moves on to RuPaul’s Drag Race. Her favourite Drag Queen from the show is Bianca Del Rio, while mine will always be Katya. Like Del Rio, The Duchess is also an insult comic. “I love a bit of an insult. I’m not saying I disagree

THEATRE

Interview: Amy Taylor

with modern society, but with drag, it’s a rebellious thing,” she explains, reaching into one of her many makeup bags. As she turns me into the bio queen I’ve always been, I wonder whether the enduring appeal of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and drag in general, is this sense of rebellion? In a society that enforces a strict gender binary, a man dressing as a woman is not only two fingers to the establishment, but also an escape. If you’d grown up presenting as anything that could be construed as “other”, and felt you had to repress who you truly are, then being given the chance to be who you want to be must feel like freedom. “Isn’t that also the point of drag in a way?” asks The Duchess, with one hand on my head while she gives me a new pair of eyebrows. “To get lost? It’s a world where you can get lost and you can be what maybe people don’t allow you to be, and that’s great that everyone’s doing it now.” She continues: “That’s the positive thing in my opinion, about the bio queens, purely because they’re allowing themselves to have a bit more freedom over what they’re usually encouraged to do.” While The Duchess never felt like she fitted in at home on Lewis, “… their families were crofters and mine were Madonna touching themselves on stage!” she says. "I struggled to be feminine. Makeup was a mystery to me; if I bought it, I was too scared to try it out in case I got something 'wrong'. My inability to embrace the more stereotypically womanly side of myself made me feel less feminine, less attractive, other". Before long, my makeup is done, and I can finally look in the mirror (The Duchess has warned me not to get too excited, gesturing at Oliver. “Just look at the girl behind you; it’s a little bit like Aunt Sally from Worzel Gummidge became an alcoholic!”). It’s a cliché to say that I don’t recognise myself, because I do, but I’ve never worn this much makeup in my life. I am now dark eyeshadow and red lips and dramatic arched eyebrows. As The Duchess and Civil Disobedience stalwart Martin MacLennan helps me put on a wig that looks like it should belong to Wilma Flintstone, and the kind of flowing, impractical gown that a rich divorcee would wear to lounge around her mansion, complete with black elbow length gloves with red fake nails, I ask the key question – what on earth do I look like? Oliver says I look like “Lucille Ball, crossed with Mars Attacks!”, and she’s right, although I see some similarities with Elsa Mars from American Horror Story: Freak Show, myself. I’m led to a piece of staging and told to pose for the photographer, Chris Scott. My body groans from years of folding myself behind a desk and continually rearranging my limbs into unforgiving theatre seats. But I’m starting to feel different in going from bystander to centre of attention, occupying the space alongside The Duchess, Oliver and MacLennan. The colours in the room start to seem a bit brighter, I feel lighter, and by the end of the shoot, I’m even starting to enjoy it a little bit. But all too soon, it’s over, and I’m back in CC Blooms’ toilets, in my jeans and t-shirt, removing the last of the makeup. But I can’t shake the feeling that the clothes, the makeup, the wig, all made me feel and act differently. Oliver tells me that I started walking a little taller, too. How nice it was, to stop being a bystander, and just be someone else, for once. Jock Tamson’s Bairns, CCA Glasgow, 6 Feb, 8pm & 18 Feb, 8pm; Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, 21-23 Feb, 8pm wearecivildisobedience.com/

Street Spirit Barry Jenkins follows Moonlight with an adaptation of James Baldwin’s heartbreaking If Beale Street Could Talk. As with his Oscar-winner, the results are bittersweet and beautiful

iami-born filmmaker Barry Jenkins has worked his way to the centre of Hollywood’s attention in a stunning, enviable trajectory. After graduating Florida State University in 2003 and premiering his first feature – the $15,000-budgeted Medicine for Melancholy – in 2008, he beat the ‘sophomore slump’ in style. Jenkins followed his eight-year hiatus with the achingly intimate, multi-Oscar-winning epic Moonlight in 2016. “I thought I was making Moonlight in obscurity,” says Jenkins. “And then it ended up at the centre of this thing. Which was a very privileged place to be, and now I don’t get to work in obscurity any more. So I’ve got to reconfigure what my relationship is to my work. And what I’m trying to do is not make work acknowledging the expectations. I like to work about process, not results, but it’s really difficult to not be aware of potential results when you’ve been to that place where we were with the previous film!” His new film, If Beale Street Could Talk, does not attempt to dwarf Moonlight in scale, but it’s another ambitious project dealing with love, pain and African-American experience. An adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel of the same name, it centres on 19-year-old Tish and 22-year-old Fonny, childhood friends who’ve grown into lovers as adults. These soulmates are wrenched apart when Fonny is falsely accused of rape, having been framed by a racist police officer. While her fiancé awaits trial, Tish realises she’s pregnant. There is frustration and anger in the story, but there is also intense longing and idealisation. In collaboration with a team that includes cinematographer James Laxton, with whom the director has worked since film school, Jenkins has created a work of tableaux that linger on black beauty, and of the magnetism between soulmates. The imagery, as in Moonlight, has an emanating, ethereal quality. Jenkins explains that those mechanics come from the need to immerse viewers in the characters’ subjectivity. “The biggest thing for me was the point of

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view,” he says. “The book is written from Mr Baldwin’s point of view, but the film is told from Tish’s point of view. And so it’s really a series of memories – a series of dreams, memories and nightmares. And when you frame it that way, you know, a 19-year-old girl’s memories of her first sexual experience, of the first time she made love, first time she realised that a young man thought she was beautiful – that then frees you from the restrictions of realism, or from the restrictions of genre or story form. “And so now, when she’s remembering these very bright moments, they can be saturated, they can be quite golden, these golds and these greens. And that’s totally fine, because I know I’m working from the consciousness of a 19-year-old girl; it’s not about making a factual document of what New York looked like in 1974. If you’re trying to hold on to a vision of something, you’ve gotta create that vision in your own image. “This cape that Tish wears is almost uncommonly beautiful. But that’s how she sees herself. That’s how she wants to remember herself and these moments. And when the cop appears, it’s almost nightmarish, and his face is all pockmarked, because to her he’s not even a human being, he’s a demon in a certain way. “And so we tried to just channel everything through her; what does this feel like coming through Tish? And I think in that way you arrive at an image that is at times almost impossibly beautiful, impossibly saturated.” In Medicine for Melancholy, a young man and woman who have had a one-night stand, even though one of them is in a relationship, try to have a special adventure while racing against time and facing a changing San Francisco. In Moonlight, two young men snatch a secret moment of homosexual love as teenagers, and try to reconnect years later after time and jadedness have worked on their hearts. In Beale Street, the love of Fonny and Tish, played with gorgeous sincerity by Stephan James and newcomer KiKi

Layne, is roadblocked by America’s systemic incarceration of young black men. So all three of Jenkins’ films so far have been about AfricanAmericans trying to find connections of love over gulfs or obstacles. “I think that’s been my experience of what it’s like to be black in the world,” says Jenkins. “I’d like to think that everything is the same experience for all of us, but in my experience that is not the case. Particularly for black people in America. And yet love and romance are these things that we can all relate to. It’s a very universal feeling. You know, even Nazis were married! People who enslaved black people were married, they had families. And so we can all relate to relationships, no matter how evil or good we are, black, white, gay, straight, whatever – it’s the common thing for all our lives. So for me, that’s the best frame to tell a story through. And yet over the course of time, love stories, romances, have become anaesthetised in a certain way, that it’s just about the love, and always divorced from the circumstances of society, or the social condition.” Whatever falls away from the characters in If Beale Street Could Talk, love endures. “[The book] combines the two voices of Baldwin,” explains Jenkins. “The one voice that wants to write love stories about very passionate romances, sensuality; and the other voice that wants to talk very clearly about society, particularly American society, and the ways in which this affects the lives of black people.” Jenkins perhaps leans closer to the romantic side of Baldwin. In his adaptation, Baldwin’s ending has been changed, removing a plot development that leaves the book on a note of howling, looseended despair and adding a scene which both speaks to the greater societal issues and affirms a note of resilience. “We filmed a version of the ending that is very faithful to the ending of the book, but as you said, that ending is pretty tragic. And the story itself is tragic in certain ways, but I felt like with the work with the actors, and building

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Interview: Ian Mantgani the characters, that ultimately we were telling a story that was more about hope. Not necessarily uplifting, but more about hope and perseverance.

“ I’d like to think that everything is the same experience for all of us, but in my experience that is not the case, particularly for black people in America” Barry Jenkins

“I just wanted to extend the narrative and make it very clear that despite the horrors, despite the struggle, that the family unit was still intact. And so we decided to actually show the family, that Tish and Fonny’s child is healthy. Kind of a confirmation of the thesis of the book, which was to me this idea that, you know, black people, these black families, any way they find to build communities – these Beale Streets so to speak – that that is the thing that protects us, and gives us the strength to endure. So I just wanted to end on an image of strength for the family. It wasn’t a very light decision, but I feel like it was the proper one.” If Beale Street Could Talk is released 8 Feb by Entertainment One

THE SKINNY

February 2019

Reunited Nations After an unplanned five-year hiatus, Ladytron were further apart from each other than ever – both musically and geographically. Now, they’re back to soundtrack our turbulent times

band meetings at the drop of a hat were an impossibility. Instead, their re-emergence would have to happen glacially. Eventually, in February of last year, they announced their sixth LP in conjunction with a Pledge Music campaign, releasing their first new music in almost seven years in the shape of the sharp, driven The Animals at the same time. That it’s taken another 12 months for the record to actually turn up is a testament to the methodical, deliberate manner in which it was constructed. “You only get one chance at a self-titled record,” says Hunt, a man apparently unfamiliar with the oeuvre of American Football or Weezer, “so we wanted to get it right. Since we were coming back from so long away, this felt like a good time for it.” To say that they’ve failed to pick up where they left off with Gravity the Seducer would be putting it mildly; Ladytron is a different beast entirely – more pointed, more aggressive, heavier both musically and atmospherically. It’s a sprawling affair that sounds like the spilling out of years’ worth of ideas, and yet, as Hunt tells it, its gradual gestation was by no means by design. “I actually found some old notes the other day that said we’d maybe planned to have something out by the end of 2013,” he laughs on a call from his new Brazilian base. “I think it’s fair to say that didn’t go to plan. Life got in the way, I suppose. We all kept busy, with Helen making solo records

and me producing for other people and working on some film scores. We started on Ladytron in June of 2016, so it feels like it was a five-year gap, rather than anything as dramatic as seven or eight, but we never thought we’d have more than a couple off when we first took the break.” The creative relationships between the individual members of Ladytron have never relied on them all being in the same room, or even on the same continent. “We’ve never been the sort of band to say, ‘Hey, wanna get together and jam?’” is Marnie’s take over the phone from Glasgow, with her intonation suggesting the idea would be preposterous. Even so, there was still some concern about rust in the early stages of making the record; as closely tailored to their own way of working as their dynamic is, the group hadn’t actually utilised it in a while. “We did some comeback shows at the end of last year – three hometown gigs in Glasgow, Liverpool and London,” recalls Hunt. “We’d been gone for so long that, personally, I was thinking it was going to be really difficult, and then after literally ten minutes in the rehearsal room, I couldn’t believe I’d felt that way. It’s not that difficult, getting together and playing music. It sounds counterintuitive, but if anything, it’s been more straightforward this time around than it ever has.” Marnie has her own theories on quite why that proved the case. “It was as if we’d hit reset by going

Photo: Maria Louceiro

ou might have been forgiven for wondering if there’d ever be another Ladytron record. After 2011’s Gravity the Seducer, their fifth LP, the Liverpool four-piece went to ground as they took a long-planned break; real life and new musical projects beckoned. What might have been a layoff of a year or two ended up drifting, as side ventures became all-consuming and the individual members spread out geographically. From the outside looking in, it didn’t appear if they were in any sort of rush to return to Ladytron, and by the time singer Helen Marnie was readying her second solo album in 2017, the hiatus had gone on long enough – six years, by that point – that questions about the group’s long-term prospects became entirely reasonable. By then, though, they were already on the comeback trail, albeit quietly. A brief July 2016 announcement that “another chapter in Ladytron’s story is about to begin” was yet to be consolidated with any new music. The band’s members were all committed to a return, and there was no question of a line-up reshuffle, but it was more a case of chipping away at new songs and sending ideas back and forth, especially with Ladytron now a truly global outfit. Since Gravity the Seducer, synth and guitar man Daniel Hunt had relocated to São Paulo, with fellow electro botherer Reuben Wu decamping to Chicago. With Marnie still in Glasgow and Mira Aroyo remaining in London,

Interview: Joe Goggins

away,” she explains. “It simplified things creatively – there was more clarity between us. In the past, there was always a sort of trajectory between the albums, where we’d take elements that we liked from the last one and extrapolate them on the next one, but the slate was clean this time around. Plus, the confidence that my solo work gave me – to know that I could stand on my own two feet and make something worthwhile – that meant I was more confident in putting my ideas across. I realised that I always know a Ladytron song when we come up with one; what I was doing on my own was a very different proposition.”

“ I think making an album that feels darker is a fair reflection of the world around us at the minute” Daniel Hunt

She wasn’t the only one approaching Ladytron with plenty of creative juice in the tank; Hunt, too, talks about how it feels as if there’s more ‘content’ on this release than previous efforts. “I think I’ve probably been influenced by Brazil, having been working with a few different musicians here and getting involved in the scene in São Paulo,” he says. “We got Igor Cavalera from Sepultura in to play drums on a few tracks, so that obviously helped to make things feel a bit heavier. We were aiming for that; we wanted something more danceable than Gravity the Seducer, something that we could thrash around to a little bit. I think making an album that feels darker is a fair reflection of the world around us at the minute, anyway.” Ladytron is never overtly a political record; the slow-burning nervous drama of The Island, which simmers with post-Brexit anxiety, is about as close as the band get to making that kind of statement. It does, though, feel thick with foreboding in places, and Marnie confirms that it serves as an accurate summation of their collective mindset during the writing of the album. “It’s less about the lyrical content and more a sort of feel that the record has, I think. It’s quite personal. Apart from just the political climate, it’s about fear and loss, and relationships, too. A lot of the lyrics feel almost like a dreamscape, in that they came to me through imagining scenarios in the same way you would in a dream.” Anybody hoping for Ladytron to hit the road to soundtrack what’s shaping up to be a turbulent 2019 may yet be disappointed. “At the end of February, we’re going to Mexico and California, and a lot of people have been assuming it’s the start of a big tour,” says Hunt. “I don’t think it will be, though. We’re trying to keep the shows to short bursts; we’re not 25 any more, and the idea of spending nine weeks on tour without being home in all that time – and we did that once – doesn’t appeal any more. We’re glad to be back, but it feels like we’re still whirring into gear.” Ladytron is released on 15 Feb via !K7 ladytron.com

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THE SKINNY

Out-of-Body Experience With their third album, Girlpool come closer to the band they were always meant to be. Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad talk about growing into their creative selves, making their collaboration even stronger

Interview: Tony Inglis

udiences hunger for bands who are fullyformed. The modern listener demands artists arrive on the scene fleshed out, rounded human beings with the complete story of why you should love them trailing behind. When it’s easy enough to click past a song on your weekly discovery playlist on your chosen streaming platform after ten seconds of not being grabbed, there’s no time for musicians finding their voice. This is unapologetically not the case when it comes to Girlpool, the duo of Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad who stumbled upon a spark between them in the Los Angeles DIY rock scene, and have been making music together ever since. From their formation they have been an ever-evolving picture, with each project changing, growing and coalescing who they are. They have moved from the punky shout-a-long of American Beauty – the finale of their 2014 self-titled EP, and an unflinching expression of female sexuality charged with humour – to the quiet, bare bones intensity of their first full-length LP, 2015’s Before the World Was Big. By 2017, they were embracing a full band sound on Powerplant, weaving nursery rhyme melodies with climaxes of noise. In just five years, Girlpool have been ever-expanding and evolving. It could be said that the only constant throughout has been their intertwined, united front in the direction of their art, immediately identifiable in what became trademark harmonies. On their third record, What Chaos is Imaginary, the branches begin to untangle a little, and Tucker and Tividad start to flower. “It’s definitely a changing time for us,” confirms Tucker, who is joined on the call by Tividad, in an early morning chat from the US west coast. “I think that this album perfectly reflects exactly where Girlpool – where me and Harmony – kind of stand. There’s individualism in this record between the two of us in ways that I don’t think has existed before in previous albums. Harmony and I are settling, and growing, into our independent directions and then finding the space to craft together with more focus on our own individual processes.”

“ I think that music was really healing for me ‘cause it’s what I know and it’s what drives me forward” Harmony Tividad

This willingness to explore different paths manifests itself in unexpected ways. “Even if you just listen to the sounds on the record, there’s a lot of wandering,” explains Tucker. “There’s some familiarity, and some sounds that aren’t that new, while others come completely out of left-field when compared to the history of Girlpool.” It’s true, What Chaos is Imaginary is a collection of mini-experiments: jangly guitar-pop sprinkled with scathing put-downs (Pretty), synth-abetted shoegaze (Where You Sink), proggy electronics (Minute In Your Mind) and emo dream-pop (Chemical Freeze). All Blacked Out could be a lost

February 2019

Photo: Ilana Kozlov

Elliott Smith cut, and the title track is a sprawling symphony of ideas. That won’t come as a huge surprise to fans who enjoyed their Dev Hynes collaboration (Picturesong, released early last year), though Tucker and Tividad tell us this stage of Girlpool’s development was well underway by then. Their confidence as songwriters, in their own right as individual artists, brought with it a desire to match these new songs with a musical ambition they deserved. “You can go to any place to make the song represent itself as it needs to be, and it kind of doesn’t matter. If the song needs to exist in that space, then it has to go there sometimes,” says Tividad. For Tucker, playing around with different elements was a means of connecting on a more destructive level: “By the time we were recording and arranging this album, a lot of the songs that we pulled from my end were rock songs, and at that moment I had strayed away from wanting to write indie rock music, and guitar music, and experiment with different kinds of temperatures in music. So for me it was almost like any opportunity I could have to fuck up an indie rock sounding song, I really wanted to take it.” No matter how much of an emphasis this time around is being placed on Tucker and Tividad as separate songwriters (the album’s accompanying press release talks about the two straying “from beginning hand in hand in every instance”), the sentiment that they have a unique bond as a band remains true, which is why all the genre experimentation works. Regardless of any aesthetic difference, it retains the defiant essence of Girlpool. “There’s definitely a togetherness that’s more marked by support of each other’s individual life and expansiveness than the other records,” says Tividad.

Hire is a song that exemplifies this completely. A highlight of the new record, Tucker – who leads the vocal – describes it as “like throwing a tantrum”. “That song is charged,” says Tucker. “It feels really good to sing. I was really feeling it, and it is loaded emotionally. There’s not a lot of perspective about my own responsibility, in the given dynamic that I’m talking about. It’s just like I’m having a fucking tantrum right now. That’s just the way that it happened.” Hire is sung in a lower register than previous Girlpool releases, brought about as a result of the hormone replacement therapy Tucker underwent after coming out as transgender last year. While these were important to his personal development, Tucker expressed, at first, not being “in a comfortable place” with his voice. It’s clear that Tucker has found it; Hire is full of confidence, verve and assuredness. His words are abstract and yet hint at the deeply personal; lines take you down unexpected streams, and rhymes seem to clash satisfyingly. It is quintessentially Girlpool, it’s just that they shine in working as two distinct and distinguished wholes, rather than component parts of a harmony. The album’s creation saw Tividad use songwriting in her own way. After feeling a deep sense of displacement and an inability to work through some low moments, the title track became a channel to express and move out of that mindset. “That was about trying to find a way out of a problem that feels impossible and a way out of your body through art,” she says. “That’s something I think about a lot – how art is us sometimes trying to get out of our bodies. There was a moment where I was like, ‘There is nowhere I want to be less than in myself right now, but I have no choice so I’m going to try my hardest to release all this clouded feeling as articulately as

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possible.’ I think that music was really healing for me ‘cause it’s what I know and it’s what drives me forward. But maybe whatever your thing is will have the same effect. Whatever makes you move in yourself is what you need to do in those moments. For me, music was definitely it.” When they met, Tividad and Tucker became fast friends, and that closeness has followed them through their short career. They are noted besties. That relationship means making music together for them has a unique twist, that brings its own pros and cons. “I can’t imagine making an album with anybody, and it not being an extremely intimate process,” says Tucker. “When creating, there’s no way for it to be surface, there’s no way for it to be simple and chill. It’s just, I’ve never done this with anybody else, only alone or with Harmony… I guess that’s not true, I do it every day, in relationships and in connections. To me that’s a creation, that’s the closest thing, to me, that feels like making music.” Tividad adds: “If I was making a record with someone I didn’t have this respect for, it would be way harder I think. We have a lot of mutual respect and I think that is really important when you’re making things with someone.” As Tucker and Tividad continue to flourish independently, personally and artistically, Girlpool remains a clearly defined collaborative and shared project. Vulnerable and honest, it will continue to expand and evolve and become more realised. That is not necessarily to the benefit or detriment of what Girlpool was before. It is simply that this is the band Girlpool were always meant to be. What Chaos Is Imaginary is released on 1 Feb via ANTIgirlpoolmusic.com

THE SKINNY

Community Service We speak to Craig Angus about his debut album as Savage Mansion, Revision Ballads, the Glasgow music scene and about not being complacent in trying times

e started off being fairly bad, by the time we split up we’d got a lot better, but it was never going anywhere.” It was a blessing in disguise when the early incarnation of Savage Mansion – Poor Things, who formed in 2010 – disbanded in 2016. Initially, though, frontman Craig Angus didn’t see it that way. “I took it pretty badly," he says. "It was an amicable split but I was so embarrassingly melodramatic about it, considering that it was plainly obvious to anyone paying attention that we were reaching that stage in our lives.” Poor Things had been a fairly collaborative effort, so Angus didn’t anticipate the freedom of writing on his own, which inevitably meant writing different kinds of songs and taking it in the exact direction he wanted. It was the clean slate he needed all along. “This is exactly what my friends in Catholic Action were saying to me. I’d been in a band that just sounded like Weezer a lot of the time, and then suddenly I’m sitting in this bedroom in the house I’d grown up in writing (what I thought) The Velvets or Jonathan Richman would have written if they’d come from a nondescript town in Scotland.” While Savage Mansion was born out of an instinct to do something different, Angus still looks back on his time in Poor Things fondly – the name of his new venture even being taken from a song that Poor Things were working on for their never-to-see-the-light-of-day second album. “We had some friends who lived in this real shithole of a place in Glasgow, who passed the house on to another group of friends the following year. They called the house the ‘savage mansion’, which I always just found really funny.” The additional members of Savage Mansion joined out of happenstance and, to this day, the line-up remains pretty casual. Currently, alongside Angus you’ll find drummer Taylor Stewart – “a mad wee guy who I know from playing in Herbert Powell who I thought was hilarious and really wanted to play music with” – and Andrew Macpherson and Jamie Dubber, both from Catholic Action, but the actual line-up of the live band changes depending on how busy people are. “Right now Taylor’s focusing on making the Romeo Taylor (Stewart’s electronic side-project) stuff into the sort of cultural phenomenon that can make him millions. Lewis Orr, who I know from drumming in the Martha Ffion band, is playing with us right now, but it might change, or expand, in the future. Who knows – whatever feels right.” The various name-checks of certain Glasgow bands throughout our chat – as well as recollections of hazy summer days spent drinking Buckfast and forming friendships – points very much to an understanding of experiencing music as a community. “It’s like anywhere, there’s some incredible music happening in Glasgow,” Angus says, “but there’s also some stuff I don’t dig going on. It’s pretty difficult to get bored here.” Indeed, there is something about Glasgow that keeps people there. Angus left Perth for Glasgow to study in 2008, but the pursuit of music lingered the whole time. “I was obsessed with getting the NME, Q, whatever music magazine was on offer as a teenager, and reading it cover to cover. Glasgow was close by and had all this history and it was always being mentioned in those magazines – Franz Ferdinand was a big thing for us at school. It had to be Glasgow, and – aside from that 19 month period where I lived in Perth midweek – I’ve not left, nor had the desire to leave.” Angus has recently started promoting shows

February 2019

with Siobhain Ma (Happy Spendy) in Glasgow under the moniker Underachievers Club which launched last month at Celtic Connections, and is heavily involved in the city’s DIY scene, contrary to his own beliefs. “I don’t know if I am!” he says. “I feel uncomfortable with it: there are promoters, record labels etc in the city who have been doing this stuff for so much longer than I have – real stalwarts.”

“ A lot of the musical paths we’re collectively treading have been walked already – I think guitar bands are fairly out of fashion and I can see why” Craig Angus

Angus and Ma set out with the purpose of promoting in order to be more active members of a community that has served them so well, and, essentially, give back a little more. We discuss how we think DIY communities can be improved, and swiftly move on to the subject of being a woman in the music scene. “I realised from talking to Eimear [Coyle, from Happy Spendy] and Siobhain more in depth about this that even in fairly progressive circles, the gender gap is still a vast one. So that’s one thing that as promoters we’re thinking about.” Recorded in two bursts of three days with a fellow Glasgow music scene stalwart (the aptly named Jamie Savage at Chem19), Savage Mansion’s Revision Ballads is an album that’s as comfortingly familiar as it is subtly idiosyncratic and timely. Angus’ reverence for Neil Young is manifested in the energy and honesty of every track, with an emphasis on capturing mistakes and using them to his advantage. Various literary influences also imbue a lot of the tracks – Philip K. Dick feeds into Infinite Factory and Situation Comedy, while Dog O’ Tears is named after a character from José Saramago’s Blindness. Revision Ballads is a culmination of all the potential and creativity that the band exuded on earlier recordings. It’s easy to denounce a band like this as derivative – the slacker-esque melodies certainly recall the likes of Stephen Malkmus and Pavement – but Savage Mansion are not mere copycats of bygone eras. Angus uses his influences as a tool to create something familiar but very much of its time, no doubt thanks to the political themes that are littered throughout the album. Dog O’ Tears, for example, is a response to living in an increasingly xenophobic society. We observe how an increasing amount of bands are engaging in political discourse using their own music. “How could you not?” says Angus. “We’re living in difficult times. A lot of the musical paths we’re collectively treading have been walked already – I think guitar bands are fairly out of fashion and I can see why. “There’s more new territory being explored

Credit: Beth Chalmers

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Interview: Hayley Scott

in hip-hop – that recent Earl Sweatshirt album is astonishing. But I don’t think the conversation ends there. The challenge we have now is to attempt to reflect on and alter the times we’re in to still be relevant. I don’t think all music has to be political. There are other ways that lyricists can keep it novel. I was particularly bothered by the Brexit vote. Not so much the idea that the EU is terrible – I think it could be reformed – but the plainly racist rhetoric, and the racially motivated aggression that emerged.” Contrary to the laid-back nonchalance of Savage Mansion’s music, the band negate any form of idleness in favour of effecting change. Angus is already working on their second album and, cultivated by an interest in Glasgow’s history, insists that there will be a lot more urgency in the political side of his songwriting.

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“I’ve been doing a lot of research into Glasgow for it; trying to view the city as a character a bit more. I’ve been reading about the Suffragette movement here, John Maclean and the power of collective action, as well as young lads who went to fight fascism in Spain, and Glasgow’s role in the slave trade which is horrifying. “We just can’t get complacent. I think it’s good that people stand up. There’s great music to be made if you can use it all as fuel. I remember hearing Alternative Facts by Mush for the first time and thinking they’d written an anthem for a specific moment. I’m raising the expectations for myself in that regard this year.” Revision Ballads is released on 15 Feb via Lost Map Records Savage Mansion play The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 15 Feb; Conroy’s Basement, Dundee, 16 Feb facebook.com/savagemansionband

Western Medicine Ahead of their return to Glasgow in February, we speak to Kristine Leschper of Mothers about her creative process, touring while unwell and the themes behind the band’s latest collection of songs, Render Another Ugly Method

’ve gotten a lot of shit from people who love The Mothers of Invention. People who love Frank Zappa love Frank Zappa.” Kristine Leschper, whose voice is being transported from her home in Philadelphia to Edinburgh by the mysterious force of Skype, laughs entirely unrepentantly as she shares an unforeseen consequence of naming her project Mothers. “To be clear, I wasn’t thinking about [The Mothers of Invention] at the time, but now it feels, in a small way, that I’m reclaiming the feminist aspect of that title from a very masculine enterprise.” Leschper began to perform as Mothers in Athens, Georgia while studying printmaking; choosing to distance herself from her own name in order to summon “more courage for early performances”. While “making a lot of visual work about nature” at college, inspiration for her (unintentionally) Zappa-head bating moniker arrived as she became interested in how animals go through pregnancy and childbirth. “I was reading about how rabbits, while they are getting ready to give birth, start pulling their hair out with their teeth to make a nest for their young. There are a lot of examples of things like this in nature, where the mother sacrifices parts of her body for the wellbeing of her child. I don’t really have a connection to the name anymore, but – thinking about mothers as a source of life and creation – [it does] still fit.” Mothers’ second studio record, released in September 2018, was “absolutely informed” by Leschper’s other creative outlets. “I was interested in incorporating sensibilities of collage, because I’ve used that in visual work and in writing poetry; kind of going back to the Dada movement and the cut up techniques they used.” Though Leschper had a different, less fragmented approach in mind when she began to write the songs, they gradually took shape in a manner that reflected her mindset at the time. “I was very scattered personally, largely from all of the touring we did in 2016 and into early 2017 [that] left me feeling overwhelmed, like I was cut up into a lot of different pieces. I wanted to harness that feeling and see how I could turn it into music. It wasn’t a straightforward process, but it felt very natural at the time.” Leschper goes on to describe Render Another Ugly Method as “reductive abstract expressionalism”, and a record that “flows directly from one idea into the next without pause”, making for a tense and frequently hypnotic listening experience. The claustrophobic instrumental of BEAUTY ROUTINE viscerally reflects the headspace of Leschper as she sings ‘show me a beauty routine to erase me completely’. In direct contrast to When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired – Mothers’ warmly-received debut, a “collection of poems [accompanied by] music” – Render features “music and lyrics that actively inform each other. The words aren’t meant to exist on their own.” Leschper also shook up her process by writing as a third-party in addition to employing the first-person narrative she used “exclusively in the first record. I thought that would make me more honest, to remove myself from the situation that the song is about.” Delving further into the diverse array of influences that helped shape Mothers’ more abrasive sophomore release, Leschper mentions William Carlos Williams, who “once talked about the poem as a field of action.” “There’s another poet that I really love,” Leschper says, “Charles Olson, who had a similar idea when he talked about how a poem must be

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like a high energy construct. I thought that was very powerful, and I wanted to harness that idea of creating inertia. Because I was also using music, I could use the musical arrangement to push [the words] forward and give them that active space.” Leschper’s meditations on “the body, power-structures and consent” are made all the more disarming by startling shifts into tempo and volume. ‘Well you seem quite healthy so / Don’t be needy,’ Leschper sings in WESTERN MEDICINE over a convulsing beat that feels as if it could crumble at any moment. “Dismissed by doctors over and over again” while attempting to get to the root of an ongoing health issue, Leschper wrote WESTERN MEDICINE after a particularly disheartening experience with an ex-military doctor. “I was feeling very desperate,” she begins. “I’d seen a lot of doctors and they’d all told me I was fine. I couldn’t seem to figure out what was going on, and he basically told me to suck it up. It was so upsetting to be dismissed over and over. Partly due to my experience with chronic pain, the record discusses the body a lot. The idea of being stuck inside a body that is either functioning correctly or is not, and the feeling of not belonging. I’m [also] very interested in power dynamics. Seeing the way that people create emotional violence towards people they love and how difficult it can be to deal with those experiences, that was a theme as well.”

“ I was very scattered personally... like I was cut up into a lot of different pieces. I wanted to harness that feeling and see how I could turn it into music” Kristine Leschper

Leschper has only recently began to discuss her health issues publicly. “It can feel a bit self-absorbed in ways to talk about it, I don’t want anyone to think that I’m reaching out for pity. There is this vacuum within the music industry where, historically, physical and mental health are not really talked about. I do see that changing, and that’s really exciting for me, and a big part of the reason why I chose to start discussing my struggle with chronic pain and my mental health in the context of touring. I’ve realised, after running myself into the ground, that long tours are not very good for me; I’m increasingly more emotionally and physically fragile [as they] go on.” Leschper, contagiously warm and inquisitive throughout our conversation, is gratifyingly open when discussing life on the road, voicing an opinion many musicians actively keep to themselves out of fear of being misconstrued. “It sometimes feels like a trap, because the only way

Photo: Tonje Thilesen

“I

Interview: Fraser MacIntyre

to be financially stable is to tour. It can feel like an obligation. For a long time I felt too guilty to say that, like it was unfair for me to admit that I don’t see myself as a performer because there are people who pay money to see me perform, and I didn’t want to belittle that experience. It’s very much something that has been necessitated through this thing that I’ve chosen to do – write and record music.” While she primarily treasures the creative process, Leschper remains animated as we discuss what makes a live show rewarding, and Mothers’ imminent return to Glasgow. “I’ve played enough shows now that it doesn’t hurt my feelings when people talk loudly. I understand that it’s going to happen, but to me, a really valuable experience [occurs] when there is mutual respect between the performer and the audience. It’s a connection that can’t be forged when drinks are being slammed on the counter. We’ve played The Hug and Pint before, and I had a wonderful experience there. The audience were very receptive and the energy was so good. It was one of our absolute favourite shows overseas. I really can’t wait to come back.” On the road, Leschper keeps stagnation at bay by reading. “If I’m not really trying to engage with something, my mind empties in an unhealthy – not meditative – way,” she says, before enthusing over Bitches Ride Alone by Laura Chester and Patricia Lockwood’s memoir

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Priestdaddy, both of which she read in 2018. “Ultimately [Priestdaddy] is a story about how a family can stay intact while having totally different views of the world. I found that really refreshing as someone who, at times, struggles to relate to my family and their views.” Whilst Render Another Ugly Method continues to receive bountiful praise as Mothers tour in support of it, Leschper’s focus has shifted to “beautiful melodies and concise pop songs” as she begins to think about a third record, which she assures will be “very different” once again. Before parting ways (clicking ‘end call’), we touch on the “extremely problematic” compartmentalisation Leschper and her contemporaries often still receive in music journalism. “I do feel that women who are singer-songwriters tend to be portrayed in a way that makes them seem like fragile beings who are possessed by some spirit outside of themselves. This is a very old idea. In some ways our most recent record is a refusal of that and a way to make things complicated. Female writers can be very direct. I wanted that to be considered. I don’t want to be compartmentalised into this tiny fraction of my creative process at large.” Render Another Ugly Method is out now via ANTIMothers play The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, 23 Feb mothersband.us

THE SKINNY

February 2019

THE SKINNY

Route Master Eighteen years into a ferociously diverse career, James Yorkston returns to his solo roots for his most searingly personal album yet

Interview: Joe Goggins

’m no David Bowie, and I’m not trying to be. The person I’m best at being is James Yorkston.” The thing is, it’s been a while since James Yorkston has actually been James Yorkston, or at least the version of himself that his fiercely loyal fanbase has come to know. He’s spent the better part of two decades marking himself out as one of Britain’s most singular and idiosyncratic songwriters, meticulously crafting his own brand of folk, one that’s defined by its instrumental diversity, structural ambition and wry lyricism. More recently, though, his creative restlessness has led him into uncharted territory. His last record as simply James Yorkston was released four-and-a-half years ago, although to describe it as a solo effort would be disingenuous; The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society was less an abstract concept around which to base an album and more of an actual fellowship. Its members included long-time Yorkston collaborators Jon Thorne and Emma Smith, as well as Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip (who produced the album), KT Tunstall and Pictish Trail – the latter two both one-time labelmates on Anstruther and Cellardyke’s Fence Records. This embrace of the spirit of collaboration felt like a turning point for Yorkston, and he’s spent the intervening years out of his comfort zone. The two albums he’s released since have been truly cooperative affairs, working with Thorne and Suhail Yusuf Khan as part of an improbable but impressively symbiotic Indianjazz-folk trio. Yorkston Thorne Khan takes three clashing styles – Khan plays the bowed sarangi instrument, while Thorne is a virtuoso on double bass – and marries them in a handsome, if unlikely, alchemy. Yorkston also found time to write and release his second book and first novel, the warmly-received, blackly comic thriller Three Craws. He’s still in talks about putting out a third, and has a fourth sitting on his hard drive awaiting completion. He chipped away at Three Craws during breaks from his Yorkston Thorne Khan duties, with the three-piece touring the world. “You’re happy to be getting back to the solitary nature of writing alone when you’ve spent so much time in other people’s company in cheap hotels,” Yorkston notes drolly.

“ I’ve been around long enough to know where the real magic is – in the words, in the melodies, and in the personal connection” James Yorkston

Only now, though, is that solo work finally bearing musical fruit; with both The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society and 2012’s I Was a Cat from a Book involving an accomplished cast of musical associates, it feels like a long time since we’ve had a truly independent effort from Yorkston. That’s precisely what his seventh LP is,

February 2019

Photo: Ren Rox

“I

though. The Route to the Harmonium was conceived and recorded almost entirely – “95 percent, I’d say” – at home in Cellardyke, a sleepy fishing village on the coast in his native Fife. “It’s so far away from London, Glasgow, Manchester – those main musical centres – and nobody really gives a fuck what’s happening out here on the East Neuk. That means there’s complete freedom. I’m 60 yards from the beach. I go to bed at night to the sound of the waves, rather than rolling traffic in the distance. Other than the school run, there’s nothing stopping me from spending all day writing. When you’re in a studio in London, there’s an element of clock-watching, of making sure you use every minute of your limited time productively. This album is very different; it’s been brewing slowly over four years.” It’s a record sharply forged in Yorkston’s own image, both as a musician and as a person. The sonic fearlessness that has slowly become his calling card since his 2001 debut, Moving Up Country, is present in abundance, with implements as obscure as dulcitones, autoharps and nyckelharpas helping to weave the album’s musical tapestry – as well as the titular harmonium. Lyrically, he reflects with considerable intensity and quiet theatricality on the loss of three close friends to suicide. My Mouth Ain’t No Bible, for instance, is an increasingly tense imagined conversation between Yorkston and one of the three. “A lot of this record is about those friends taking the big flip,” he says over the phone from Cellardyke, “and how much it hurts those of us left behind.” The glacial pace at which The Route to the Harmonium gestated allowed Yorkston plenty of scope to be his unconventional self. “I was thinking back to my second album, and how there was a real pressure to sit down and actually write songs, the same way you might drystone a wall or something,” he laughs. “There was no expectation like that on this one. If I was working that way, there

probably would’ve been a lot more songs about heartbreak, but as it is, I’ve ended up talking about being swept out to sea and having the seaweed crawl over me. There never would have been tracks like The Irish Wars of Independence if I hadn’t let the writing flow naturally, with the songs slowly adding up every time I had a free month.” That might be the influence of having turned his pen to prose with Three Craws; writing fiction, he explains, is “a different kind of flood”. The Route to the Harmonium sees him return to spoken word on three tracks – it’s an approach he’s flirted with before, particularly on one of his biggest hits, Woozy with Cider, but it’s never felt as vital to the conveyance of his ideas as it does on this record. The device electrifies My Mouth Ain’t No Bible, lends The Irish Wars of Independence a soft menace and imbues Yorkston Athletic with an endearing, rambling wit. “I didn’t give it too much thought,” he explains. “As a writer, you’re trying to respond to the art, rather than wondering what’s going to go over best on 6 Music. If I’d been thinking commercially, I would’ve been doing Woozy with Cider ever since, because I’ve had countless electronic tracks sent to me over the years with requests for spoken word vocals. By my middling standards, that song was pretty successful. I’ll often try and talk through the lyrics when I’m writing to see if it fits, but I’ll only go that way on the recording if it brings something to the song. That’s what’s happening on My Mouth Ain’t No Bible and Yorkston Athletic – it’s energised them, and kept them from being too emo.” Musically, too, The Route to the Harmonium is quintessentially Yorkston, and quite literally an amalgamation of everything that’s gone before in his career in instrumental terms. He has such an eclectic collection of curios, gradually accumulated over the years, that nobody but Yorkston could’ve made an album that sounds precisely like this. “With Domino supporting me, I’ve got a

Music

small budget, so there’d be nothing to stop me from paying to bring in a string section, or a drummer, or a pianist, or a bass player. That’d be very easy, but those people would inevitably bring their own certain flavour to the record that would detract from what I’m trying to do as James Yorkston. I wanted this record to be very personal, musically as well as lyrically. “It’s me playing all this road-battered gear with crazy histories – the harmonium’s from 1916, and the nyckelharpa was handmade in 1983. I’m still using Chris Isaak, which is my guitar that I’ve had since 2001 that has that Wicked Game wangy sound to it. All of it adds up to this very distinct junkshop orchestra thing that I absolutely love; the thick, woozy sound of the brass reeds and the concertinas, the monosynth, the nylon string guitar, Chris Isaak. It all blends to create something beautiful, and when a lot of the songs are about friends who have passed, you want to present their story as invitingly as possible. You don’t want to accompany them with a tin can rattle.” When he takes The Route to the Harmonium around the UK in May, though, Yorkston will have to strip things back considerably, with no plans for an extensive backing band – “maybe a double bass player and one other person.” This far into a career in which he’s only ever marched to the beat of his own drum, Yorkston knows his following have come to expect reinvention. “I’d rather see Michael Hurley or Jonathan Richman or Bill Callahan solo than with a band. I’ve been around long enough to know where the real magic is – in the words, in the melodies, and in the personal connection.” The Route to the Harmonium is released on 22 Feb via Domino James Yorkston plays Summerhall, Edinburgh, 2 May; Oran Mor, Glasgow, 3 May; Airdrie Town Hall, Airdrie, 4 May; Harbour Arts Center, Irvine, 23 May; Tolbooth, Stirling, 24 May jamesyorkston.co.uk

Laugh Story The Scottish comedy circuit’s in the midst of an explosion, and adding another spark to the scene is the opening of the Glee Club in Glasgow this month. We speak to the club’s founder, Mark Tughan

comedy. We hope Glaswegian comedy fans will come to us both. We’re a slightly larger venue (400-seater), with a focus on a complete night out, which includes an extensive dining offer. Our format is slightly different – three equal sets, one compere and two intervals.”

Mark Tughan

ooking past the heady August fug of the Edinburgh Fringe, Glasgow has always had Scotland’s lion's share of comedy clubs. Now the Glee Club is set to join its ranks, opening on the old site of the infamous Glasgow Jongleurs. It’ll face stiff competition sitting alongside The Stand, The Rotunda and Yesbar, to name a few of the city’s popular comedy venues, but with the bleak wasteland of today’s current affairs, more people should be looking for a laugh. So why Glasgow for the next branch of Glee? “As a lifelong fan of Scotland’s comedy scene, opening our first Scottish Glee Club is extremely exciting for me and the rest of the team,” says

Glee Club founder Mark Tughan. “Glasgow is such a vibrant cultural city, and there is a huge amount of fresh comedy talent coming through on the circuit here, so it was a no-brainer.” Helping it stand out (or should that be up) from the crowd, the Glasgow Glee aims to provide premier entertainment in a venue with a renowned rep. With this in mind, the new venture boasts that it will offer more than just comedy, with music and burlesque acts already booked. But how else will the offering differ from that of the already-established clubs like The Stand? “Well, we’re big fans of The Stand and have huge respect for what they’ve done for Scottish

“ Reputation really helps here – people come wanting and expecting to laugh” Mark Tughan

As for the origins of the Glee Club, it all stemmed from work blues and a love for laughter. “I was working (unhappily) in corporate finance in the early 90s, but I’d first been introduced to the then-called ‘alternative’ comedy scene in 1986. I spotted that it was really exploding in London as I was a regular customer at clubs, and I noticed it hadn’t really happened much outside of the city. One day I just went into work and quit. I knew I had one shot at going it alone. I opened The Glee in Birmingham in September 1994.” After Brum in ’94, Tughan opened subsequent clubs in Nottingham, Cardiff and Oxford,

Interview: Polly Glynn

making the Glasgow club the fifth of its kind. Amongst punters and promoters alike, the Glee brand has earned itself an excellent reputation. Acts love the venues too, because “the show comes first”. “Nail that, for both the artist and the audience, and the rest follows",Tughan says. A comic once gave me the compliment ‘you make it almost impossible for us to die’. We put in place all the ingredients we have control over – now it’s up to the act to deliver. By all the ingredients, I mean a fantastic, well-run venue, nice staff, lovely settled-in audience who really want to listen and enjoy, and then some anticipation. Reputation really helps here – people come wanting and expecting to laugh.” The list of acts that the club has supported reads like a list of soon-to-be national treasures: Kevin Bridges, Sarah Millican and Michael McIntyre for starters. But who does Tughan regard as new and exciting? “Daniel Kitson is still the most innovative and exciting comic of his generation. As for newer acts coming through, I’m really impressed by Christopher MacArthur-Boyd.” And which acts would sit on his dream line-up list? “Our opening weekend of course! That’s Gary Little, Geoff Norcott, Jay Lafferty and our very special guest headliner, Sean Lock!” The Glee Club, 11 Renfrew St, Glasgow glee.co.uk/comedy/glasgow

Still Got Game? K

icking off a brand new BBC Scotland channel with the premiere of Still Game’s final series is a sensible, if far from ground-breaking move from Auntie Beeb. Although Scotland’s best-loved sitcom will inevitably draw big viewing figures (3.75 million viewers watched the first episode of series eight last year), will the public really stick with the channel if it’s only broadcasting 18 hours of new content a week, with comedy being a tiny fraction of that? Of course, the nature of comedy broadcasting is a world away from when Jack and Victor first graced our screens as part of Chewin’ the Fat in 1999. There’s no need to ring your sister to tell her to tape your programme off the telly anymore, or praying that the next series of Friends won’t clash with EastEnders. The fact we can now trawl through comedy old and new, catching up on that show your mates won’t stop going on about three months later, and easily sharing those moments that made you cry-laugh, has revolutionised the viewing experience. Then there’s the frequency and speed with which content can now be commissioned and produced: Turtle Canyon Comedy release new content pretty much every week, Next Up film and upload new live shows every month, and Netflix released 47 international stand-up specials all at once on New Year’s Day. No wonder ‘normal’ TV struggles to compete with this

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volume of output. And is a terrestrial TV channel like this even the best way to champion the comedy Scotland has to offer? BBC’s The Social web channel is surely doing a better job by showcasing folk like former Scottish Comedian of the Year winner Rosco Mclelland and hot property Christopher McArthur-Boyd, as well as familiar faces on the Scottish circuit like Rachel Jackson and Chris Thorburn. Even the brilliant Scot Squad, which features bit-parts from a roster of Scottish comedians, is due to air a fifth series soon whilst still being treated like the new kid on the block. The only newly commissioned comedy for the BBC Scotland channel is The Comedy Underground, which showcases new Scottish stand-ups, and The State of It, a topical show akin to Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe and reliant on BBC Scotland veterans Robert Florence (Burnistoun) and Joe Hullait (Scot Squad writer). As the home of one of the best-regarded comedy circuits and the biggest arts festival in the world, why isn’t the channel doing more to support its wealth of home-grown talent? After all, the biggest sitcoms of last year were platforms for bright, innovative youngsters telling it as it is, with a regional lilt to boot. Derry Girls was the most-watched series in Northern Ireland since 2002. Cork-based The Young Offenders was lauded for its winning combination of gags and

Words: Polly Glynn

Still Game

heart after its UK release. And This Country won an RTA and multiple BAFTAs in 2018 for both its West Country writers and stars, Daisy-May and Charlie Cooper, with its second series likely to do the same. But where’s the youthful, vibrant Scottish sitcom that can’t move for plaudits? That said, this new channel is desperately needed if Scottish talent is to remain unrecognised across the UK. Janey Godley, one of the hardest-working Scottish comics who’s been on the scene since 1994, has only just appeared on Have I Got News For You. Likewise, Richard Gadd, the first Scottish winner of the Big Fringe Comedy

COMEDY

Award (yes, we’ll call it the Perrier ‘til we die), is still an unknown name outside the Fringe bubble. On top of this, there’s only been five separate Scottish acts on Live at the Apollo in the last ten years (four if you exclude Edinburgh-based but Canadian-born Tom Stade). And when the most recent of these acts to grace the Apollo’s stage are Larry Dean and Fern Brady, both comedians since 2010, perhaps the upcoming Glasgow-based Channel 4 Creative Hub will give new and existing comics a better leg up in the industry instead. The new BBC Scotland channel launches on 24 February

THE SKINNY

Photo: Alan Peebles and BBC

Launching a new TV channel in 2019 sounds like an idea that’d need a battalion of loyal support. Lucky for BBC Scotland, its rabbit’s foot is the premier of Still Game’s final series. But will this impact future comedy content for the channel?

Live and Kicking The latest to take part in !K7’s DJ-Kicks series, Leon Vynehall discusses his approach to the mix, suffering with impostor syndrome and his upcoming tour

Interview: Nadia Younes

“ I’m making more of a conscious effort not to compare myself to others... the DJ-Kicks is probably the first project I could try and apply that mental state to” Leon Vynehall

“It sort of began as a nice exercise for me and my nan to do, then from that I thought I can make a pretty interesting story out of this… Then I thought how could I lend my own creative stamp to it, then it just sort of blew up from there and it took like four years to put it all together,” he says. “It felt right to do because it was such a personal family story and I was already so attached and involved with it that I felt like I could do it justice… doing some sort of house-y, club thing for such a sentimental or personal story like that would do it such a gross misjustice.” When it came to compiling his DJ-Kicks, Vynehall favoured the track selections over the

February 2019

Photo: Phil Sharp

ince its debut in 1995, !K7’s renowned DJ-Kicks series has become a fragment of dance music history. Over the years, the series has seen an array of well-known and respected names in dance music – such as Four Tet, Maya Jane Coles, John Talabot and, most recently, Robert Hood – provide their own unique mixes to the DJ-Kicks back catalogue. For the latest in the series, and first of 2019, the label invited Leon Vynehall to offer his contribution. Despite being a fan of the series though – with just one of his favourites being Bristol duo Smith & Mighty’s 1998 drum‘n’bass mix – Vynehall didn’t want his contribution to be influenced by previous efforts. “With everything that I do in music, I try not to look outward too much,” he says. “You know what it is for me, I start comparing myself and that for me is such a downhill slope when I start doing that; everything sort of snowballs. “I only found out what impostor syndrome is about six weeks ago and I definitely suffered with it – I mean I still do – but I think I’m making more of a conscious effort not to do that and not to compare myself to others and wonder what other people think too much. I think the DJ-Kicks is probably the first sort of project or public outing that I could try and apply that mental state to.” The mix comes less than a year since the release of Vynehall’s debut album, Nothing Is Still, and his first release since signing to Ninja Tune. The album is a masterclass in ambient music; a cinematic epic created to document his grandparents’ time spent in the US, following the death of his grandfather. As well as releasing two accompanying short films and following it up with a series of specially-developed live shows, a limited edition box-set version of the album also came with an accompanying novella, co-written by Vynehall and his friend Max Sztyber.

actual mixing itself, initially beginning the process with a list of around 150 songs before eventually narrowing it down to the final 26 that appear on the mix. “I wanted to approach the DJ-Kicks more like a compilation than a sort of stand-alone mix,” he says. “I thought how about I look at it from a different angle and think about what songs I like, and would like to present them to sort of represent myself, and also what would people like to buy. “So I thought more about that than how the mix flowed; that was definitely a secondary thought,” he continues. “But in a way that was a really interesting thing to do, to be given a bunch of songs that I really like that may not necessarily go together and figuring out how they flow in a coherent manner.” Vynehall’s tracklist is as eclectic as you would expect, travelling through first-time digital releases from the likes of Japanese pop icon Haruomi Hosono and The Bygraves to more recent exclusives from NTS radio host Peach and Hessle Audio affiliate Ploy. “I made a list of tracks that I thought would be good for it and I’d sort of been penning names and artists for a little while,” he says. “I remember hearing (Rose & Beast) in a Madlib track years ago and finding out it was Haroumi Hosono and being quite surprised because I’d never heard it and it stuck out… I’ve loved that song for a long time, so I guess that was probably one song that I definitely had earmarked for quite a while.” The mix also features two new tracks by Vynehall himself – the warped opener Who Loved Before and the chuggy builder Ducee’s Drawbar, which he recently shared online ahead of the

mix’s release. “My head was kind of all over the place, and I was being mentally and emotionally pulled in many different directions, because the kind of mad thing was I was trying to put together, the DJ-Kicks stuff, and put together the live show for Nothing Is Still, and DJing a bit, and doing the album campaign thing,” he says of the track’s inception. “So what came out of that kind of felt almost like an exorcism of feelings of what I’d been going through the whole year. “I knew that I wanted to do something that was aimed a bit more towards the dancefloor, but I didn’t want to revert to something that I’d done like two albums ago, so it’s kind of like an anti-club club song actually.” If you were hoping to hear Vynehall drop a few of his own tracks in his upcoming DJ sets though, you might not want to hold your breath. “There’s a part of me that finds it a bit self-aggrandising when you play your own stuff out... It just feels like someone’s rubbing my ego, especially when it’s yourself rubbing your own ego,” he laughs. “That’s a strange analogy saying rubbing your own ego.” To coincide with the release of Vynehall’s DJ-Kicks, he’ll be embarking on an accompanying tour in the coming months, which will see him playing all night long at Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s and Glasgow’s La Cheetah Club, as well as several other venues across the UK and US. “I always prefer playing all night because you’ve got a lot more room to change tempos and timbres and styles when you’re playing. It’s kind of what I wanted to do with the mix as well, starting kind of slow and moving into different areas,” he says. “It’s a lot more fun for me as well. Going into a club and

CLUBS

playing for 90 minutes is all well and good but you don’t really have a lot of time to sort of experiment or be playful or challenging or trying to educate audiences a little bit.” It seems he’s picked up some new ideas for his DJ sets along the way too, taking tips from a recent support slot for Jon Hopkins on a few of his US dates towards the end of last year, along with his experience of putting together his own live show for Nothing Is Still. But his DJ etiquette certainly hasn’t gone out the window in the process. “I was essentially supporting Jon’s live show, so if I was to come out and start playing 135bpm techno I think that would be a bit of a dick move,” he jokes. “Jon’s show was essentially a live show in a gig venue rather than a club, and DJing in gig venues to audiences that are there to stand and watch a show rather than sort of be physically moved and dance for hours on end, it’s quite interesting playing a different type of music to those audiences because they’re a lot more attentive to what you do,” he says. “Again, it’s similar when you do all night, you’ve got a lot more freedom to do something perhaps a bit more interesting, and actually DJing and playing records before Jon made me think about my club sets a bit differently as well and how I’d like to incorporate more of the unusual material in a nightclub set and seeing how that works.” DJ-Kicks: Leon Vynehall is out now via !K7; Nothing Is Still is out now via Ninja Tune Leon Vynehall plays Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 13 Feb; La Cheetah Club, Glasgow, 16 Feb vynehall.com

Dead Air Interview: Amy Taylor

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic and Niall Walker

Ahead of the premiere of new co-production The Dark Carnival, Vanishing Point’s Matthew Lenton and A New International’s Biff Smith discuss their so-called “hare-brained scheme”, and explain why their new show is not a musical

lashes of inspiration can come to anyone from anywhere. For director Matthew Lenton, the founder and Artistic Director of Vanishing Point, it all began when an image suddenly appeared in his mind’s eye. “It was pure, like someone had just slipped a little slide into my brain.” We’re talking during a break in rehearsals for The Dark Carnival, a new production created and performed with Glasgow band A New International, and co-produced with the Citizens Theatre in association with the Dundee Rep Ensemble. “I saw this image of the dead underneath in their coffins and the grass above and the gravestones. The blue sky is shining, but a world in which the dead... underneath the ground had their own little society," Lenton explains. It probably came from years of visiting a graveyard after the loss of someone and I didn’t decide to make a show about it, but all the experiences of that place just probably got into my brain a little bit.” For Lenton, the image just wasn’t enough, it needed music too. Specifically, it needed a live band. And while he’d initially thought of another musician to collaborate with, and had even approached them about the project, it was on a drive to the Cairngorms one day when he heard a track by Biff Smith and A New International on the radio that it all started to come together. “I had initially thought about Tom Waits,” says Lenton. “And a channel of communication had opened up between Tom Waits and me. But then I was driving up north to visit my daughter, and heard one of Biff ’s songs – one of New International’s songs – on the radio as I was driving up to the Cairngorms, and the song, together with the fantastic scenic view that you get up there, just tripped my imagination. “I loved the sound of the music, and I loved the visual images, the natural landscape that happened to be going with it," he continues. "[I] felt that they had exactly the right feeling and

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atmosphere that I wanted, that I loved, the kind of music where I could just feel it in my blood, then I sent Biff an email.” For A New International’s frontman Biff Smith, Lenton’s message was an unexpected but very welcome invitation. “I received an email [that] seemed out of the blue to me, asking me if I’d ever written for theatre? Would I be interested writing for theatre? And it was a no-brainer: ‘Yes please!’” That email led to a meeting between the two men at the Griffin Pub in Glasgow on a cold January night where Lenton told Smith all about his idea for a show set in a cemetery, while “trying to make it sound like it wasn’t completely miserable, which it’s not.” And, as Smith explains, it worked: “Matt described his hare-brained scheme to me and I bought into it!” This “hare-brained scheme” would go on to become The Dark Carnival, a music and theatre spectacle which opens at Tramway in Glasgow later this month. It boasts 16 performers and musicians, using song and spoken word to tell the story of the recently deceased arriving in the afterlife. Except that, once there, they realise that death is not the end and form a community where every night is a party. Inspired by the brief, Smith sent in song after song. “I found that a lot easier in some ways than something from my own experience,” says Smith of realising Lenton’s proposal. “The idea of having a brief almost set me free in a contradictory way, I found it liberating and an awful lot of fun.” Smith’s prolific songwriting in turn inspired Lenton as he was writing the text of the piece. “I couldn’t get them out of my head,” admits Lenton, “because each one is so distinctive and catchy. I suppose too as I started to write the text, they started to, in an organic, subconscious sort of a way, infest – if that’s the right word – my mind and influence how the show was going.” While the ideas flowed freely, The Dark Carnival posed a few problems when it came to

categorising the show. It uses a mix of music, theatre and poetry, and its story of life after death, or simply life despite death, takes place in an illogical and abstract world that most musical theatre-type shows don’t dare to visit. So, just what is The Dark Carnival, exactly? “I’ve sort of described it to people as a musical tragi-comedy set in a cemetery," Lenton explains. "It’s not a musical like a theatre musical, but it’s not a gig because it’s got a story in it.” But while the show isn’t a musical, the inescapable spectre of famous musicals did make an impact on Smith when he was writing the songs. “I love The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Cabaret, and even the idea in Cabaret that some exciting stuff is happening where oppressors have overlooked it. You might just have this small window of opportunity before the funding is yanked, for example; we have a window of opportunity right now to make something. “As far as musical influences go, even though it’s not a musical theatre show, there’s things in musical theatre that I’ve loved and I’ve tapped into that in a certain degree in the writing of this piece," Smith continues. "I love villains, always have. I always thought the bad guys and bad women had the sexiest outfits, the best tunes... the devil always had the best tunes, as we know.” But the most important thing for Smith, and also for Lenton, is how artists use darker themes to create work. “Matt mentioned Tom Waits earlier,” Smith says. “He’s a big hero of mine. Anyone that uses darkness and doesn’t ignore darkness, if it’s all just happy clappy, I think it’s dishonest. Twee.” The danger of making a play about death is perhaps to make a show full of well-known clichés. But, as Lenton points out, our ideas of death are informed by stereotype, and so the duo have decided to not just include platitudes about dying and the afterlife, but actively celebrate them too. “It’s also celebrating cliché a little bit,"

THEATRE

Lenton says. There’s heaven, there’s a sort of hell, there’s the living, there’s angels sitting on fluffy cotton clouds. So it’s kind of embracing that idea of the kind of sort of slightly, stereotypical notions about the afterlife, and hopefully using those stereotypes in a kind of fun, playful and maybe a little bit of a provocative way.”

“ I love villains, always have. I always thought the bad guys and bad women had the sexiest outfits and the best tunes” Biff Smith

As the show embraces themes of death, the afterlife, and the darkness that both Smith and Lenton appreciate and use within their work, is it designed to be a Handbook for the Recently Deceased, or a celebration of living? They answer: “Both.” The Dark Carnival, Tramway, Glasgow, 19 Feb-2 Mar; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 6-9 Mar; Dundee Rep, Dundee, 13-16 Mar The Dark Carnival: Unplugged, an innovative, storytelling version of The Dark Carnival starring Biff Smith and Robert Jack, will premiere on the Isle of Eigg on 13 May, then tour around Scotland A New International will release an album of the songs from The Dark Carnival in Spring 2019 vanishing-point.org/our-work/the-dark-carnival/

THE SKINNY

Breaking Down Borders

rt has a way of splitting open simple-seeming binaries and allowing for the grey area of experience. This feels all the more important in February 2019, when it’s hard not to come back to the binary of Remain or Leave in the referendum on the UK’s member status in the EU. Marking the end of the long countdown to Brexit, the Talbot Rice Gallery’s contribution to the discussion is the programming of Borderlines, a large group show that brings together a number of artists’ reflections on the contemporary definitions of the border. More broadly still, the organisers and artists, in their work and in conversation, begin to question and to shape out the potential and the challenges for art within the current international political moment. Flash back to the discussions held in Westminster when a two-choice vision of political organisation and decision-making took form. The Leave campaign slogan of “take back control” imagines power as singular, to be set down either in the UK or in Brussels. The drastic choice set the tone for an ensuing pantomime, and was a reduction of nationalism and globalism’s intersections of identity that stretch far beyond the bounds of the nation-state. A question emerges: how we would like to atomise ourselves, and how would we like to collectivise? And more specifically, what is art doing already to respond to the current international moment and what can contemporary artists, curators and writers do to meet present challenges? As the title of the Talbot Rice’s show suggests, it seems pertinent to focus on how borders, both geographic and cultural, are being turned to in an attempt to shore up our trembling centres.

In Borderlines, many diverse interpretations of such a term are explored through trade networks, economic sovereignty, tribal territories that resist the conception of the nation-state, and the pressing issue of the UK border in Northern Ireland. For one artist in the show, Willie Doherty, it is the issue of a re-instigated Irish border following the UK’s exit from the EU that he chooses to incorporate into his work as an artist. He uses his characteristic approach to the disjuncture and disconnect between media and experience to inform the matter with the particularities of Northern Irish sectarianism. In much of Doherty’s work there is an unsettled malaise coming from a perceived anxiety towards our ability to ‘reimagine the future’ – as the narrator of Doherty’s 2013 work Remains posits – and a resultant fear that we will continually circle round old patterns and repeat the worst mistakes of history. This line has gained relevance in light of the recent decision for the UK to leave the EU: after the hard-won de-escalation that followed decades of conflict, the issue of the Irish border was barely addressed in the political dialogue at Westminster, and only now, when the consequences are present and immediate, has the discussion come to involve it. Borderlines will present a new work by Doherty consisting of a diptych with ten photos of the Irish border between Derry and Donegal on each panel, the visual banality of the stretches of road depicted paradoxically emphasising the great volatility such a border would create. Speaking to Doherty, he mentions that the work thus shows the “absurdity of the border in these places but the

fragility of it as well – how easy it is to disturb the equilibrium of it, and I’m saying this as one of many that cross the border five-six times a week.” Talbot Rice’s director Tessa Giblin points to Doherty’s work as a pivot point in the exhibition, and to the necessity of such work in the current climate. “We all remember this time of conflict in Northern Ireland, we all know it, but it’s amazing how quickly it can drop out of the public consciousness," she says. "This is when visual artists can show us, literally, what this memory really is. “It impacts us in ways that media, journalism and other forms of public discourse sometimes fail to do. It helps that we don’t suspect that there is any political, economic or lobbying motivation behind their position because this should necessarily be true.” Providing an alternative to media content that is so often distracted by conscious and unconscious biases towards certain myths seems to be the aim of Borderlines. For instance, the supposed certitude of national borders and state sovereignty in the formulation of an identity are revealed to be far messier affairs in the work of Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan. Episode of the Sea is a film that the artists made in collaboration with the fishing community of Urk, a former island in The Netherlands. Urk was connected to the mainland last century when The Netherlands reclaimed the land beneath the sea that separated it and after generations of fishing, the inhabitants were expected to change their practices so they could farm the arable land. Rather than drastically alter their scheme of existence, they chose to expand their vessels and

Interview: Colm Guo-Lin Peare

“ We all remember this time of conflict in Northern Ireland, we all know it, but it’s amazing how quickly it can drop out of the public consciousness” Tessa Giblin, Talbot Rice Gallery

Khvay Samnang, Preah Kunlong, 2016-2017, Two-channel HD video, color, sound, looped 18’43”

February 2019

ART

Photo: Courtesy of Artist

Talbot Rice's new show coincides with Britain’s scheduled date to leave Europe. Speaking with artists and curators, they discuss the potential that art might have in a time of bi-partisan politics and divided communities

“ In the contemporary world there seems much to be critical about, but we need to also express what we find compelling and intriguing, to find values we share” Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan

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strike new territory in the North Sea. van Brummelen and de Haan explain that, due to the expanding economic territory of Iceland in the second half of the 20th century, the state of UK fisheries was dire. “For many years, Urk’s fishermen fished on UK fishing rights in ships that sail under the British flag. The Urker fishermen explained to us what made them become ‘British’ ... When the UK entered the European Economic Community in 1973, the country barely had a fishing fleet left; still the UK was able to negotiate substantial fishing quota for its fishermen. UK fishermen had more quota than they could catch fish, whereas their Dutch colleagues were cut short. Over the past decades, Dutch fishermen extended their quota by purchasing them from UK fishermen. “Knowing all this, we were a bit surprised when we heard that pro-Brexit campaigners sailed up the Thames in a fishing trawler a week before the referendum, and claimed that Brexit will free British waters from foreign fishermen. The narrative of British fishing seems more complicated than that. It involves Iceland’s territorial waters, EU regulation, and free-market mechanisms. It even includes the migration of fish due to global warming.” van Brummelen and de Haan position themselves decidedly within the tension of current affairs, not by heading to the political centre but to the people and communities that are more often being represented and contested by others, rather than given resources to consider and share their own experience. In our conversation, van Brummelen and de Haan acknowledge some of the difficulties of addressing wider social issues within artistic practices and the kinds of spaces that these circulate. This might touch on Miwon Kwon's

radical definition of contemporary art as ‘the space in which the contemporaneity of histories from around the world must be confronted simultaneously as a disjunctive yet continuous intellectual horizon’. Put differently, van Brummelen and de Haan can be understood as broadening the number of reported experiences that make up a sense of the world, adding them to other aspects of the present simultaneously. More broadly, van Brummelen and de Haan describe the “episteme that makes us see the world in a particular way” and how they too must have “internalised the cultural schemes of the society we inhabit”. However, their answer is a return to the locality of human experience. van Brummelen and de Haan take their specific experiences working on these projects to reveal the limitations of their speculations. “Art making thus becomes a process of unlearning, and acknowledging that there are no solid truths, but only temporary and local truths.” Their practice reflects on the responsibilities and social influence of artists and more generally the galleries, curators and writers that form contemporary art as an institution. In particular, the actions of van Brummelen and de Haan represent a kind of direct action in investigating and adding further detail to the multiple realities at play across different levels of society. This was particularly present in the duo’s experience of working with the fishermen of Urk – how could their practice bridge the cultural divide between what the fishermen were experiencing in losing their trade with the cosmopolitan audience of contemporary art galleries? A profound display of discerning optimism was their answer. “Art may have contributed to current divisions between those

ART

Photo: Courtesy the Artists

van Brummelen & de Haan, Revolt of the Giants, 2008, film still

that participate in and benefit from globalisation and others that have been pulled back by it. But can contemporary art be reduced to its complicity to the cosmopolitan scheme? In our opinion, art can still reach outside institutions and academia. But we all need to be creative and look for strategies that can circumvent divisions [...] We, too, tend to see our work in the tradition of ancestors. In the contemporary world there seems much to be critical about, but we need to also express what we find compelling and intriguing, to find values we share. This may allow us to forge unexpected alliances and to reach beyond borders.” It is not the long-standing centres that must be looked to in times of tumult, it is to the borderlines; for these are not where cultures end but where they disperse and potentialise. The liminality of the borderline offers us a place in which totalisation can be disregarded and the local embraced. In 1994, the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney described his experience of the Troubles: “The quarter century we have lived through was a terrible black hole”, with an “inestimable suffering inflicted and endured by every party to the conflict”. If all it was to do was to provoke a memory of the complexity of concerns in societies of division, Borderlines would be a wholly necessary exhibition. In our current position it remains paramount to do justice to the intricacies of these entangled knots by not recognising simple rhetoric to be of any regard, nor let it cast an amnesia over the experience of the past that, with much strife, has given rise to our present. Borderlines, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, 23 Feb-4 May ed.ac.uk/talbot-rice

THE SKINNY

LI FE ST Y LE

The Walk of Life What drives someone to walk 500 miles, alone? One writer reflects on their solo trek on the Camino de Santiago

Words: Claudia Esnouf

February 2019

to mass that night. It’s only a few of us in the tiny chapel, and one of them is my snoring man. Only this time he stands, fidgeting with a prayer in his hands. The priest asks us to share our reasons for walking the Camino. When it’s the snoring man’s turn, I realise he’s fidgeted so much with his prayer, it’s torn down the middle. He finally manages to find his voice. He’s doing this for his only daughter. She took her own life. He doesn’t understand why.

“ It’s not the fittest who will survive; it’s the most determined”

Photo: Valentina Pimanova

overing in the tiny town of Saint-Jean-Pied-dePort in the French Pyrenees, I wonder how I might gather up the courage to talk to other pilgrims. Luckily, a keen German decides I’m good enough company for dinner. Michael is ex-army, determined to walk to Santiago in three weeks. He hardly speaks at the table, but as we stand up to leave, he raises his voice. He tells us that there are three laws on the Camino: be honest, give or take something up, and cry once – it has to be real. The next day as we set off, Michael mutters something as he walks on. It is not until I lose sight of him that I gather what he has said: walk alone. It’s hard to process that you’re about to walk 500 miles in a month. Put an amateur hiker into the equation with a 10kg backpack and questionable physique, and it’s likely she’ll not make it past the first week. Add perseverance and some humour, and it’s likely she will. It’s quite simple really – all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. It’s not the Camino that’s a test; the challenge is focussing on the journey instead of the life you left behind. It’s worrying about the husband and wondering if he’ll be able to work the oven, or how the office will cope without you for 33 days. The challenge is having the ability to let go of daily routine, and invest in the now. Letting go means becoming vulnerable again. You’re left with nothing but your raw self to show. Whether you’re a CEO or an 18-year-old student, the hierarchy crumbles and re-shifts itself. What matters now are your social skills, your capacity to wake up at 6.30am with snow outside, your patience to put up with a snoring orchestra at night. It’s not the fittest who will survive; it’s the most determined. The weather has taken its toll on the few crazy pilgrims who have chosen to walk while the Beast from the East is shaking Europe. There’s one particularly bad day, where it rains obstinately for hours on end and the trail is an ocean of mud. I push on, this time accompanied by a painfully shy German boy who hasn’t said a word all day. We walk for six hours in silence together, and I don’t even know his name. With no town in sight, and with the evening fast approaching, the boy finally speaks. ‘How much further?’ he pleads. I look back at him, having almost forgotten he was there, and realise he is defeated. I have no map, and neither of us have seen the trail’s iconic yellow arrow in hours. As I tell him this, his exhaustion reduces him to tears. I fumble for my phone and pretend to study the dead screen. ‘Hang on,’ I say. ‘It’s only 20 more minutes.’ He perks up. Not only that, but he develops the nerve to ask me if I have any water. I give him a whole bottle, and after that, his manner changes considerably. For the next while, he finally talks. His name is Julius, and he is 20 years old. He’s from a remote part of Germany where he’s been home-schooled. He’s working up the courage to go to university. He started this walk with his father, but the father has injured his foot and flew back home. I realise the father has probably left on purpose, to encourage his son to do precisely this – talk to people. We often think we’re the protagonist of a situation – it’s about you overcoming obstacles

and testing yourself. But perhaps we’re also there as a platform for other people to achieve their dreams. On that long afternoon, it’s not me who has conquered a fear, but Julius. I continue my solo journey through medieval towns, the history of pilgrims ploughing through to Santiago becoming more apparent by the day. As we draw closer to the end, the pilgrim population increases drastically. With people meters away from me both in front and behind, I start to feel nostalgia for those solitary days. Consequently, I also have to adjust to the new, humming albergues or hostels. A lower bunk is

now a luxury, and the quiet nights with only one or two others in the room become a memory of the past. An older man, in particular, gets to me. I call him the snoring man. He’s in his 70s, a heavy, shuffling gait, constantly stopping and panting. For three days I’ve had the bad luck of sharing a room with him – a drill would be more peaceful than his snores. Yet every morning he wakes up fresh and rested. I moan and grumble, wondering if I should push on to the next village tonight to avoid him. I do, and just my luck, he’s done the same. With the increasing hustle and bustle, I decide to escape

TRAVEL

That night dinner is served, and I see my snoring man sitting alone as he fumbles through his pasta. My fellow pilgrims giggle as I tell them I’m going to join him. I’ve told them all about the snoring man, but not about tonight. My snoring man lets me join him, and we share a glass of wine. We don’t talk much, but he does introduce himself. From now on, I call him Pepe. That night I let him snore as loud as he needs and, somehow, I sleep well. There’s a monumental feeling that stirs your whole being when you first set eyes on the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral’s spire looming in the distance. Grins from ear to ear, pilgrims from yesterday greeting those of today, families that have flown in to greet their missing member, and most noticeably, the lone pilgrim who gazes up at the spire in deep, silent satisfaction. You realise that the point is not the end, but the whole journey that’s now passed. It’s about the people you met, and the moments you shared, and that time you dragged yourself to the top of the hill because even when your body wasn’t on your side, your mind was. I spent 33 days walking 500 miles solo. I don’t know what it was that got me through the relentless rain or the loneliness, but the truth is, I never really felt alone. I had God. We hadn’t been on close terms for a while, and the Camino brought me back to Him. I think about the people I met on the way, their reasons for walking, the part of them that they chose to share with others. I wonder if the snoring man’s steps got any lighter as he thought about his daughter; I wonder if Julius made a friend, and if Michael, the first pilgrim I met who gave me the three laws, ever really existed. I don’t think that the Camino is about finding yourself or becoming someone. I think it’s about stripping back all pretences and ego-driven fluff and letting your true self be who it was always meant to be. Go back to your five-year-old spirit who cartwheeled on the beach, cycled with no handlebars and waltzed on the streets. Don’t overthink who you are or what you want to do. It’s quite simple really. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other.

Lifestyle

Generation Rookie The end of online teen mag, Rookie, felt like the end of the era of blogs. One writer reflects on how its closure impacts how she views monetising her own creative projects

Words: Mayanne Soret Illustration: Kaitlin Mechan

ast November, beloved online teen magazine Rookie shut down. Tavi Gevinson, its founder and editor-in-chief of seven years, broke the news through a six-page long Editor’s Letter. It tells the story of a struggling publication, a young editor spending her time meeting venture capitalist and angel investors, and the expanding, voracious anxiety that followed her. But above all, this last Editor’s Letter is the story of Gevinson’s refusal to turn Rookie into what it is not and was never meant to be. “It has sometimes felt like there are two Rookies: There’s the publication that you read […] and then there is the company that I own and am responsible for. The former is an art project; the latter is a business,” writes Gevinson. “Art projects typically have end dates, while a business is pretty much supposed to go on for as long as possible,” she concludes. It was fitting that Rookie’s final theme was 'evolution'. Rookie was founded in 2011, when Gevinson was only 15 years old. Aiming to offer a digital magazine for teen girls by teen girls, it quickly grew into a creative community, evolving online and offline, with fierce independence and authenticity. Recalling the early days of the digital magazine in her final Letter, Gevinson writes that in 2011, “I had a slide phone and no Instagram account. When I got home from school every day, I looked at websites on a desktop computer.” The internet before smartphones was a vast playground to experiment at building 'your thing', an approach that would foster a brand new creative working culture that Rookie embodied: turning your hobby into your day job. From it emerged version 2.0 of the self-made (wo)man, the creative entrepreneur of the 21st century, the human embodiment of Mark Twain’s famous quote, then plastered all around Tumblr: “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” In fact, Rookie didn’t appear out of nowhere. The site owes its name to Gevinson’s own fashion blog, Style Rookie, through which she rose to internet fame at just 12 years old. In digital history, the late noughties was the age of blogs, and every weekend from 2007 to 2011, like Gevinson, I would sit at my own family’s desktop computer looking at websites.

“ 2019 is the year I stop monetising my hobbies, making all of my personal projects into full time jobs and building my ‘brand’” Blogs encapsulated every aspect of my teen life so perfectly, from the music to the fashion, to the films and the art, all condensed into one URL. Blogs shaped my identity in a way very little other media did, providing a platform for all of my interests to be accessible at once. Yet reading Gevinson’s farewell letter, I realised blogs had shaped my expectation of working life too, specifically my expectation of working in a creative industry. Weekend after weekend, I saw young

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women posting photos of their outfits after school being catapulted to the pages of Cosmopolitan and Grazia, signing book deals, and launching fashion lines. Through years of following bloggers from micro-blogging platforms to their own sites, I learned that a side-hustle well-advertised and a personality well-curated were the keys to a creative career. And so, I studied blogs to create my own 'brand', one that would be unique enough to draw the crowds in, but marketable enough to make me a success. Quietly I learned to weave every aspect of my daily life into my digital personae, often bending my offline reality to fit my online desires. It has been more than ten years since I first logged into my family’s desktop computer, and I have attempted many times to make my hobbies into a day job. My passion for everything digital arose from those hours spent building blogs upon blogs, in the hope that I would one day look as fulfilled and successful as 15-year-old Gevinson, holding the first copy of the Rookie Yearbook, standing in her kitchen with an exhausted but content smile. And of course, in the direct continuation of my admiration of Gevinson and the bloggers of the late 2000s, I have a side project, Tabloid Art History, that I run with friends. It was always supposed to be a hobby, yet throughout 2018 we often felt it was a day job we were not getting paid to do. Looking back, it is hard to know if I ever truly wanted it to be my day job, or if that was what I thought I should want from it. After I finished Rookie’s final Editor’s Letter, I realised that I was done trying to turn every aspect of myself and my creative life into a consumable and marketable product. 2019 is the

year I stop monetising my hobbies, making all of my personal projects into full time jobs and building my 'brand' as if I could fit my whole personality into a marketing plan. Last year, in the midst of professionalising my art project, unsure whether this was my choice or a social pressure, I burned out. As I was confronted with the idea that this project may some day end, I started to panic. It was not the hypothetical end of the project that I feared. Instead, I became acutely aware of how much of my personality I had tied to this project and its success, and suddenly I feared there would be nothing left of me without it. Much of our identity is tied to the things we do and the things we consume, so when you are expected to bank on every aspect of your doings, there is no space left for approximation. Everything needs to be perfectly over-performed. You need to be always present, always involved in your own growth. Everything you do and enjoy is connected, every thing feeds off another; there is no time off because even your time off serves a bigger purpose. Online everything seems eternal, immovable, permanent, existing on its own space-time continuum, and the closure of Rookie came smashing into all this. It reminded me that things end, and most importantly, that endings are necessary. “So this is also about that, and shortcomings, which are more worthwhile to read about – and write about, and experience – than success,” Gevinson writes in her letter. Hobbies are important because they remind us to fail, to end, and to quit. More than promoting a healthy “mindfulness” through taking up embroidery, cooking, or knitting, learning to let go of the need to capitalise on all of

INTERSECTIONS

our hobbies is a way to maintain excellence in our craft. There is little space, if any, for self-exploration, failure, and pure enjoyment in the things we do to pay the rent. The possibility of ending is important for creatives, who often run side projects that are not quite hobbies, yet not quite jobs. And for those who are lucky enough to live off the thing that they enjoy creating, where do you draw a line? How do you write for pleasure when you write for a living? How do you keep drawing when you draw for a living? Through the refusal to cash in on everything creative you do, there is a sense of control to be regained – a small, precious reminder that we would continue to exist even without the things that we do. I don’t necessarily want to stop advertising my hobbies on my social media. I am proud when I have finished a dress, made a delicious cake, or read a great book. I don’t want to stop working hard on my personal projects either; they have taken me on journeys I would never have gone onto in my own professional life. But hyper-involvement is not an ultimatum for success. Digital life and personal identity have a complicated relationship, and I don’t believe that blaming new technologies as a whole will fix any of it. There are no guidelines on how to grow up online because we are the first generation to do so. Yet somehow, Rookie’s last Editor’s Letter left me relieved, almost content with the reality of living a digital life. Accepting the end of Rookie meant going back onto my social media timelines and accepting that they are complex, fragmentary, often contradictory and complicated versions of myself, much like my offline life.

THE SKINNY

Just Like in the Movies Words: Andrés Ordorica Illustration: Kate Costigan

A writer explores how the leading ladies of rom-coms became his guide for dating as a young gay man

remember being in love with Drew Barrymore in basically all of her films from 1998 to 2005, but her best work will always be Never Been Kissed. Her character, Josie Geller, was everything my young heart aspired to be: smart, well-read, sweet and poetic. Looking back, I now realise that what I truly loved was that Josie was an outsider. She was a 25-year-old virgin who lived mostly on the sideline. High school was a traumatic experience for Josie, just as it is and was for many queer people, as classmates perceived her as ‘abnormal’. Josie was a kindred spirit. Like many people, she wanted a love story of her own. Cue an amazingly unrealistic plot where Josie goes undercover in a Chicago high school to write a juicy newspaper feature, ultimately resulting in her meeting a hot English Literature teacher and being crowned prom queen. The dream!

“ While in the closet, rom-coms were a means of visualising what love might look like” When I came out at 19, I was like Josie: un-kissed and a virgin. While I never got egged on prom night, people were still cruel and insensitive. I can recall the homophobic insults that were whispered as I walked through the hallways of my high school. Like Josie, my early 20s presented the opportunity to make up for a life unlived in high school (although, my methods were less problematic than Josie’s). As a teenager, the romantic comedy was one of my favourite movie genres. These films felt accessible, safe and hopeful for someone like me: young, shy and closeted. Rom-coms permitted the possibility of true love and a happy ending, especially during a time when society scoffed at the idea of

February 2019

romance and marriage for queer people. I spent my teenage years passively, watching friends live life to the fullest as they struck up conversations at house parties, went on dates, experienced heartbreak and acted on the urges surging through their bodies. I took refuge elsewhere and found comfort in drama club, writing for the school paper, sinking my head into countless books and, of course, watching my leading ladies of romance. High school bullies did not dampen my idealism. I knew that love was real and one day it would come into my life. When I finally came to terms with my sexuality and was ready to start dating, I had no script to follow and nobody to ask for advice. This is why rom-coms were so important. I grew up watching films like While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle and The Wedding Planner on repeat. I was glued to the screen whenever Ally McBeal and Ugly Betty were on the telly. Slightly awkward but intelligent female screen protagonists taught me how to navigate life. Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping provided one of the best educations in romance. Her character is an unpolished, solitary dreamer. She spends the opening of the movie watching other people get on with their days as she works the ticket booth of a train station. Although her ‘meet cute’ is less than ideal – no one wants to have to rescue a man from their death – it gave her character a new lease on life and helped her learn what she really wanted: a family to call her own, something she gets in the end after a very bonkers, but beautiful character arc. I am well aware that romantic tropes in film are often problematic and wholly unrealistic. But the idea of love kept me going at a time when being in the closet was difficult. During my teenage years, ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ (the policy which forbid openly gay people from serving in the US armed forces) was accepted practice, same-sex marriage was a pipedream and only a handful of public personalities were openly gay. Society did not promote the possibility of queer love stories. Instead, I grew up with the belief that my storyline might include AIDS, alcoholism, a meth addiction or being a loner-degenerate existing on the margins of society. In spite of these fears, I genuinely believed I would find love

one day and learn to care for a partner, share my innermost fears and be his biggest champion. The issue was that dating in real life was very rarely filmic. Men did not magically appear in the queue at Starbucks with a perfect side parting and a Hollywood smile. More often, I met guys in low lit and dingy clubs, when they slid into my

DMs or from Craigslist ads (the world before dating apps). Meet cute, these were not. However, because of rom-coms, I was prepared for heartache, disappointment and bad kisses. A firm belief in love got me through the mire of unfulfilling dates and relationships. I learned to laugh at the awkward bits and cherish the magical moments of dating and intimacy. My beloved female leads dated men who were kind, intelligent and had big personalities. While I never dated a man running for the US Senate while working as his maid-slash-love-interest (a la Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan), I did begin to realise I too could date interesting people. I was smart. I was worthy. I knew enough about love and plot structure to understand that a mountain of crappy men might lead to one person who would make the pursuit worthwhile. The reality is, romantic comedies did not make me who I am. I did not learn to be comfortable with my sexuality, or accept and love myself because of these absurdly saccharine stories. I certainly did not learn how to have sex, nurture a relationship or work through an argument by watching Kate Hudson woo Matthew McConaughey. However, these films taught me that being hopeful and schmaltzy was OK. While in the closet, rom-coms were a means of visualising what love might look like. While I am aware it was through a heteronormative lens, it was all I had to work with during those lonely and confusing younger days. Eventually, I would leave the plush seats of the cinema and, with a few helpful tips from my leading ladies, start to navigate love in real life in my own happy and gay way.

Sharing Makeup Brushes This month’s columnist explores coming out as bi and femme to their high school sweetheart Words: Stephen Butchard

e never intended to become sickly high school sweethearts. It just sort of happened. I asked her out after her birthday party, where we’d spent all night talking about Sigur Rós and our favourite books. That summer was made up of study sessions cut in half by make-out sessions, late night films – “you’ve never seen Lost in Translation?!” – also cut in half by make-out sessions. The next year was made up of constant train journeys between the Highlands and Glasgow. I’d just moved to university. Lindsey had a year of school to go. We had decided to just see how it goes, not put any pressure on us as long distance. But nothing changed. We never argued. It just worked. Five years later, we’re still best friends, and we share everything with each other. She told me about the cunts that made her early school years hell. I came out as bi to her two weeks in. She was the first person I talked to about gender dysphoria. She told me it was OK to be non-binary. Now, she helps me with my makeup and holds me when I’m having a bad day. We’re as stable as ever. If it were just us, my queerness wouldn’t be a worry.

INTERSECTIONS

Being visibly queer is more complicated than that. It tempts family, friends, colleagues and strangers to weigh in on the legitimacy of your love, to ask prying questions, some of which don’t come from a caring place. We had experienced this in miniature when I came out as bi casually to a few work friends, and I was hit with a bunch of ugly responses. “Does Lindsey not mind that?” “So are you sure you’re not gay?” I’ll leave the slurs out of this piece. Presenting as femme has put even more pressure on how people view us. Before, with the safety of being a straight, cis-passing couple, we were the boring long-term couple, and that fit us just fine. Ruining that for us is something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. Life will likely be just that little bit harder in the spotlight. So why be visible? In short, it’s because it’s me, the me that Lindsey sees behind closed doors, and not expressing that is more draining than the alternative. And over time, family are beginning to understand, to see us again as the sickly high school sweethearts, sharing everything, including our makeup brushes.

Lifestyle

THE SKINNY

Waste Not, Want Not We pick out some of our favourite packaging-free and eco-friendly shops across Scotland, helping you save the planet and make use of all those mason jars

Words: Peter Simpson

he environment is pretty good, all things considered. It helps us to breathe, it gives polar bears somewhere to live, and it’s where all our food comes from. But unfortunately, much of how we get that food comes at an environmental cost. We chuck millions of tonnes of plastic, glass and metal in the collective bin, not to mention all the actual food that ends up going to waste before or after it makes it out of the shops. Thankfully, Edinburgh and Glasgow are becoming increasingly packed with stores big and small at which you can get your groceries without creating a small mountain of rubbish in your wake, while also saving yourself some cash. The Shopping List Glasgow is well-served by the fantastic Locavore (349 Victoria Rd), a fantastic treasure trove of foodie delights. OK, ‘treasure trove’ is over-stating it – we’re talking about by-weight groceries here, not big piles of gold coins – but it’s still a great shop to pick up packaging-free versions of most of your key goods. Nuts, seeds, pasta, flour, all kinds of dried stuff; the list goes on. By only buying what you need you can cut down on wasted food, and get your shopping bill down at the same time. Who ever needed exactly one kilogram of flour anyway? Everybody knows that the ideal situation is to buy exactly the right amount for the cake you’re making, because that way you can’t accidentally knock a half-open bag of self-raising into your sink full of dishes leaving everything covered in a soapy, floury sludge. Moving on, Zero Waste Market are also worth keeping an eye on; they currently operate as a market stall, with plans afoot for a physical shop in the near future. Over in Edinburgh, the classic option for getting your eco-shopping comes at either end of town in the form of Real Foods (8 Brougham St, 37 Broughton St). If you’re looking for flours, grains and all the standard cupboard stuff but without any of the pesky plastic then this is a good place to start; the enormous selection of organic chocolate is a happy bonus, so consider it your treat for being so nice to the planet. Another good option lies in the heart of leafy, student-filled Marchmont. The New Leaf

The Refillery

Co-op (23 Argyle Pl, Edinburgh) is a small but packed corner store that’s great for the kind of things you only need a little bit of. Want to try out something new from that recipe book you got for Christmas, but short on some of the more exotic spices? Just take some old jars down with you and grab what you need from a wall filled with everything from aniseed to za’atar. As an added bonus, New Leaf have an on-demand peanut butter machine, and not even the biggest enormo-supermarket has one of those. We know. We’ve looked around. Then there are a host of newbies on their respective blocks, offering a big range of grocery staples with no wasted plastic or stupidly sized jars in sight (unless you’ve brought your own). There’s the fantastically titled Weigh to Go (27 Crighton Pl) on Leith Walk, The Refillery in the Southside (39 Newington Rd) and The Eco Larder near Haymarket (200 Morrison St) – each of them offer well-organised selections of eco-friendly

groceries for you to take home. Quick side note: invest in a roll of masking tape and a pen, or get ready to irritate the hell out of your flatmates when they go looking for the jam and find a succession of jars full of different kinds of unmarked lentils. Boxing Clever If you want to cut down on the environmental chaos you’re causing, another good place to start is in your vegetable drawer. Most supermarket veg you pick up will present two problems. One, it’s covered in plastic, and two, it has been brought to you from hundreds or thousands of miles away as part of a convoluted global supply chain. Fruit’s even worse – as we’ve said in these pages before, you can’t grow mangoes in urban Scotland in February, and yet there they are on the supermarket shelves, looking all tasty and problematic. What you need, my pal, is a veg box. Usually

coming direct from the farm, veg boxes help cut down on emissions from transporting stuff around, they reduce waste at the farm’s end – grown too many turnips? Chuck them in everyone’s veg boxes! – and they keep you stocked up with tasty local stuff to get stuck into. As the name suggests, East Coast Organics is an organic farm near Edinburgh, and their boxes are an excellent way of cutting down on your waste. Almost everything in their boxes is grown on the farm, it’s all organic, there’s next-to-no packaging involved (except for the box, obviously) and it’s actually a fair bit cheaper than if you were to nip to the shops and get the whole lot yourself. Also, their boxes are delivered in zero-emission electric vans, which feels like showing off at this point but their veg is lovely so we’ll forgive them. Through in Glasgow, perennial favourites Roots, Fruits and Flowers offer a range of fruit and veg boxes, and Locavore’s veg box offerings always feature some produce grown on their very own farms around the city. Popping Bottles We don’t want you to think that this is all completely utilitarian, by the way. Cutting down on your shopping waste does involve a fair amount of lentil-spilling and sticking your head in bins full of grain, but it can also feature some swanky-ass partying. Demijohn (32 Victoria St, Edinburgh; 382 Byres Rd, Glasgow) bills itself as ‘the world’s first liquid deli’, and its shelves are packed with oils, vinegars and all the other stuff you put on salads. Those same shelves are also home to a whole host of spirits, liqueurs and all the other stuff you put in cocktails. You can get your bottle refilled for just the cost of the liquid inside, so if you’re a big fan of olive oil or sippable booze this is the place to hit. If you want to take the waste out of your beer run, The Grunting Growler (51 Old Dumbarton Rd, Glasgow) are here to help. Their rotating selection of draft beer is available to take away in the aforementioned growlers, large resealable bottles designed to keep things super fresh. You get tasty beer straight from the tap to drink in the house, and the environment doesn’t end up covered in discarded cans and bottles. It’s a win-win situation.

Roots, Fruits and Flowers

February 2019

FOOD AND DRINK

theskinny.co.uk/food

Lifestyle

New in Food As the new year motors on in earnest, we round up some of the more interesting and exciting new bars, cafes and restaurants to check out across Edinburgh and Glasgow

Words: Peter Simpson

Pavement Name your cafe or restaurant after one of our favourite bands and you’re going to grab our attention, and while this Merchant City bar is sadly short on references to Malkmus and co it does have a few other things going for it. It’s in a great location, just round the corner from GoMA; the menu is varied but affordable, and all signs are that their fridges will always feature at least one or two weird or rarely seen beers to try out. 69 Hutcheson St, Glasgow Mr Wu’s Disco Kitchen This new Shawlands spot throws its focus onto Asian dishes of all shapes and sizes. You’ve got your small plates – your soft shell crab, your fried tofu – and your bigger plates of katsu and satay, as well as most things in between. The folk behind Mr Wu’s are big fans of the-ones-and-twos, with regular DJ guests planned for the coming months, which explains the ‘disco’ part of the name. And if you ever wonder whether you’ve wandered into the wrong place, a giant mural of the name on the wall will set you right. 87 Kilmarnock Rd, Glasgow

Lady Libertine

Soul Food Kitchen “Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well” reads the enormous

block letters on the wall in the first picture of Soul Food Kitchen you’ll find online. Yes, this is a healthily minded vegan cafe, but of the kind that most of you will be able to get on with. That means ‘raw’ cakes made from plant sugars, bowl-based mains of varying origin, and a broad range of all-veg dishes to please even the most dogmatic omnivores. 973 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow Lady Libertine New from the people behind El Cartel and Bon Vivant, Lady Libertine is a two-floor den of swanky lighting and tasty booze perched just off St Andrew Square. The food is an intriguing array of mezze dishes and flatbreads (so wear a patterned top to help you cover up any hummus stains), the drinks list is interesting but not too long, and it’s open til 3am for those of you who love to stay out late but don’t like clubbing. 25 West Register St, Edinburgh

Bross Bagels

Burlington Bros The Burlington Bertie is no more, time’s endless march swallowing up the Tollcross pub last year,

but at least what’s taking its spot offers an interesting change of pace. A sister venue to the excellent Bullard and Worth (formerly Bryant and Mack) off Rose St, Burlington Bros seems to present a similar offering – lovely lighting, nice chairs, excellent cocktails, and a spot that’s easy to find if you know where it is but also handy if you need to lay low for an hour or two. Come for the delicious drinks, stay for a quick game of ‘Who’s here on a Tinder date?’ 11-13 Tarvit St, Edinburgh Bross Bagels Larah Bross’ much-loved bagelry has sprouted a third branch, this time in the West End just off Princes Street. It’s a tiddler with just a few tables, but ideal if you need a highly smashable bagel on your way to/from the office/gym/sofa (delete as applicable). Expect the same freshly made bagels, brilliant fillings and exquisite-yet-puerile signwriting (it says ‘Fill That Hole’ on the wall outside!) that have made Bross a favourite. 19 Queensferry St, Edinburgh theskinny.co.uk/food

Chews Bulletin This month’s food events guide takes in blindfolded boozing, award-winning gin and chicken, and even a bit of light exercise

irst up this month is some Hot Chicken News, as one of our favourite places in the whole wide world – Edinburgh street food yard The Pitt – returns from its winter hibernation bigger and better than ever. There’s more space to play with (some of which is actually indoors under a roof) and promise of mod cons like a big screen, but what we’re both amped and psyched about is news of their latest permanent vendor, The Buffalo Truck. The multi-award-winning fried chicken geniuses will be taking up residence at Pitt 2.0, and if that means a weekly chance to grab their incredible fried chicken burgers then goodbye arteries, it’s been nice knowing you. 125 Pitt St, Edinburgh; Saturdays throughout February; facebook.com/pittstmarket Next on the award-winning tip, it’s gin! If you like gin, you’re surely bound to like award-winning gin, and if you like one award-winning gin then surely ten of them at the same time would

Lifestyle

be at least ten times better. That’s the thinking behind The Scottish Gin Society’s aptly titled Meet the Winners of The Scottish Gin Awards 18 event at Sloans this month. A chance to sample a cabinet’s worth of excellent spirits, meet the people responsible for their creation, and snap up a bottle or two to keep in the cupboard for ‘special occasions’ – i.e. refuse to touch until next Christmas. Sloans, 108 Argyle St, Glasgow; 9 Feb, 12-4pm, £15 + booking fee, tickets via Eventbrite You’ll need to be quick or in the know to bag a ticket for Julie & Jimmy Cook Chinese New Year, the two-venue feast from Julie Lin Macleod of The Skinny readers’ fave Julie’s Kopitiam and Jimmy Lee of Lychee Oriental. If you pull it off, you’re in for a four-course banquet of contemporary Chinese cooking that sounds so good we may have dribbled on the keyboard when the email came in. SWG3 Acid Bar, 100 Eastvale Pl, 7 Feb, 5.30 & 8pm, £35 + booking fee, tickets via Eventbrite

If you’re still clinging to a New Year health kick but are fast deciding you can’t be bothered, may we suggest Stewart Brewing’s Dockside Tap Running Club? They take fortnightly 5k runs around the area near the brewery’s taproom at The Shore; ideal for those of you who want to keep fit or feel like you need an excuse for a nice beer on a Tuesday evening. For the record, you don’t, but here’s one anyway. Dockside Tap, 38 Bernard St; 6 & 20 Feb, 7pm, facebook.com/docksidetap From running around in the dark to drinking wine with your eyes shut, Marchtown present a series of Blind Wine Tastings this month. Finally, a chance to put our vague assertions about grape varieties and ‘the terroir’ to the test! Marchtown, 741 Pollokshaws Rd; 8 & 16 Feb, 7.30pm, £25, tickets via marchtown.co.uk If you want to learn a more – dare we say – practical skill than blindfolded wine identification, Edinburgh’s Forest Cafe are hosting a string

FOOD AND DRINK

of free Pasta-Making Workshops at which you can learn the ins and outs of making your own pasta. Forest Cafe, 141 Lauriston Pl; 10 & 24 Feb, 4pm; free, book via Facebook And finally, everyone’s favourite culinary anthropologists Küche are back with Supper Scozzese. The event takes a food-first look at Italian immigration to Scotland from the late 1800s, and its cultural and culinary impact on Scotland. There’ll be discussion of Italian-Scottish identity, the defining role that the Italian diaspora have played in creating modern Scottish food culture, and stories from across the years. There will also be Ribollita (Tuscan bread soup), fish and chips and a whisky-laced tiramisu. History, community *and* a tasty dessert? We’re sold. MILK Cafe, 452 Victoria Rd, Glasgow; 16 Feb, 7.30pm; £17, tickets via kueche.co.uk [Peter Simpson] theskinny.co.uk/food

THE SKINNY

February 2019

THE SKINNY

RE V IE

Ahead of the release of STRATA’s sophomore record OBELISK, Graham Costello talks us through the unexpected music that has influenced his sound as a musician

Graham Costello’s STRATA: Under the Influence

Words: Graham Costello

Lightning Bolt – Nation of Boar [Earthly Delights, 2009] A very integral part of STRATA is the fusing of post-punk/noise energy with jazz improvisation. At times, the music on the album sounds like it’s coming apart at the hinges and about to burst. I owe a lot of that direction to Lightning Bolt. A two-piece noise rock band that set up huge amps, sing through a distorted telephone microphone being held on by a mask, and play IN THE CROWD?! Sign me up. Drummer Brian Chippendale’s style is a huge influence on my own. His flow around the instrument is exceptional. The standout track for me is Nation of Boar from 2009 album Earthly Delights. It really encapsulates the crazy forward momentum in their music, and it’s all go from the first note until the last.

“ Zach Hill from Death Grips is my greatest drumming influence. A bit weird to hear from a jazz musician, right?” Graham Costello

Steve Reich – Octet (also known as Eight Lines) [1979] The first time I heard Steve Reich’s music was a pretty seismic moment for me. I could list a bunch of music theory rhetoric that makes me sound smart to give reasons why, but ultimately Reich’s music has stuck with me for a more simple reason... I just get it. Some people are not into minimalism. They’re not into constant repeated patterns, static harmony etc etc, and that is totally fine, but I totally connect with it. Reich is my all time favourite composer, my biggest compositional influence, and this is my favourite piece. The Mars Volta – Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt [De-Loused in the Comatorium, 2003] The Mars Volta’s De-Loused in the Comatorium. What an album. Ask any fan of the band and

February 2019

Photo: Peter J Stevenson

often find it very hard to describe my band. Is it jazz? Is it fusion? Is it noise or classically influenced? It’s all those things and more I’d say. I can only write music that’s genuine to me and my influences, and if I tried to deliberately write within a certain style, the music and its integrity would suffer. I’m not trying to write Dilla grooves, or a modern take on blues or rhythm changes. I love that, but it’s not quite me. Here’s a list of songs from artists that have helped influence the sound-world I’m going for. Warning: I may be a 'jazz' musician, but most of this stuff is very much not jazz.

chances are they’ll cite this debut album as their standout favourite, and for good reason. From start to finish it immerses you in their unique progressive rock-meets-experimental psychedelic vibe. And when Omar Rodríguez-López has written a fairly crazy rhythmic section, Jon Theodore’s modern Bonham-inspired drumming always makes it groove unbelievably – it’s not just a bunch of chops. If you listen to the introductory two tracks of Son et lumière into Inertiatic ESP, the initiated are most certainly air-drumming that opening. However, I chose Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt. Having such a strong tune so far into the album shows the amazing depth of this record. John Coltrane – Acknowledgement [A Love Supreme, 1965] Here’s an experiment – gather a bunch of jazz musicians/fans in a room, put this tune on and watch what happens. The first note (or should I say gong strike) is enough for them to know. It’s Coltrane. It’s A Love Supreme. It’s one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded by one of the greatest musicians of the 20th Century. I implore you: if you’re not into jazz or haven’t explored it yet, please just take 33 minutes out of your day and listen to this album. This man and his quartet transcended the genre moreso than anyone else, and he was always moving forward, always trying to better himself until the very end. Nik Bärtsch – Modul 38_17 [Stoa, 2006] In the realms of minimal music you have Steve Reich and Philip Glass, but for me Nik Bärtsch is just as important. Further progressing ideas the previous guys pioneered, the Swiss pianist and composer explores the concept of minimal groove with his band RONIN; combining slow developing figures with funk-inspired groove and meditative flow, his band are the tightest I’ve ever

heard. Full stop. I’ve got a very small list of things I still need to see live. I want to see Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians in concert, and I NEED to see Nik Bärtsch live. Zach Hill – Green Bricks [Face Tat, 2010] Zach Hill [best known as Death Grips’ drummer and co-producer] is my greatest drumming influence. A bit weird to hear from a jazz musician, right? For me, he changed the way the instrument can be played, and the fact that this guy isn’t a household name among drummers is just astonishing. I compare Zach Hill’s noise drumming to the wall of sound effect that saxophonist John Coltrane was searching for. You see him playing and you just can’t quite believe it. His own music is futuristic, sometimes lo-fi punk, and very much formed around his incredibly unique and innovative drumming style. The Thing – India (John Coltrane) [Boot!, 2013] This band are a force to be reckoned with. Mats Gustafsson’s baritone saxophone just echoes through your whole being and this cover of John Coltrane’s India is unbelievable. Listen to the original and then compare it to this: you’ll immediately get what The Thing are all about. Organic, free flowing, intense, heavy-as-fuck free jazz. The sections in STRATA’s new album where myself and saxophonist Harry Weir improvise together is definitely influenced by these guys. Philip Glass – Vessels [Koyaanisqatsi, 1983] Another minimalist composer, but one I feel is very different to the previous mentioned. The music on our new album experiments a lot with energy ranging from fiery, noise-inspired sections to more mediative, minimal moments, and I feel

Music

the same range of energy when listening to Philip Glass, from his solo piano etudes to his work on this amazing score Koyaanisqatsi. His music can be so delicate and serene at times but there is always such an undercurrent of intense potential energy that propels his music forward. Zu – Chthonian [Carboniferous, 2009] Riffs. Noise. Doom. This Italian trio needs to be on your radar if they aren’t already and this album has some of the best riffs you’ll ever hear. Their sound as a band is so incredibly dense and full, and this tune in particular is so goddamn heavy. Also notably it’s the last album with drummer Jacopo Battaglia – one of my greatest influences behind the kit. I always have these guys in the back of my mind whenever my music hits a section where it’s all about the riff. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Free for All [Free for All, 1964] My favourite tune from one of my favourite drummers on one of my favourite albums. This is arguably one of the strongest iterations of the Jazz Messengers line-up, and the way Art Blakey interacts and drives the band forward on Free for All is so prevalent. You may have noticed a recurring theme in a lot of my picks – I’m really into how a band/artist manipulates and controls energy. Blakey’s never afraid to be messy when pushing the musicians to their utmost limit, and this album is a total triumph of band chemistry at its best. OBELISK is out now via bpqd Records Graham Costello’s STRATA play St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh, 8 Feb; Tolbooth, Stirling, 9 Feb; CCA, Glasgow, 10 Feb grahamcostello.com/strata.html

Review

Land and Sea We talk to Andrew Mitchell, aka Andrew Wasylyk about his ambitious third solo record The Paralian

Interview: Fraser MacIntyre

hristmas is in six days. On the other side of the glass, small strike-teams of last-minute shoppers are scurrying up and down Edinburgh’s Cockburn Street. While some have taken to our annual collective conquest for toys and treats with righteous enthusiasm, one or two stragglers gaze longingly at the black coffee in Andrew Mitchell’s hands as he details how The Paralian – his ambitious third solo record – came to be. Mitchell, who releases under the name of Wasylyk in honour of his Ukranian grandfather, was commissioned by Arbroath’s Hospitalfield House to write music for their recently restored 19th century harp at the beginning of 2018. Commuting from Dundee to Arbroath several days a week between January and June, his original, modest intentions – to take inspiration from “the history of the house and its owners”, the last of whom, Patrick Allan-Fraser, bequeathed his property to the community as an arts centre – were swiftly “derailed” by the presence of the North Sea. Transfixed by its “full gravity and capability”, Mitchell felt compelled to

write about the relationship between the North Sea and Hospitalfield. A calm and thoughtful presence, particularly in relation to the deadline-fuelled drama on display outside the cafe we’ve taken shelter in, Mitchell explains his shift in direction. “Living in Dundee you’re quite sheltered by the mouth of the Tay. I wanted to investigate how beautiful and dangerous the sea can be.” To do this, he began to take field recordings during expeditions to “nearby cliffs and weird, secluded alcoves”. The running water heard throughout opening track Through the Field Beyond the Trees Lies the Ocean was recorded near Seaton Cliffs. “In my head,” Mitchell details, “that [song] offers a journey from Hospitalfield House to the harbour.” When asked if the remainder of the record follows any kind of narrative, he nods, while also stating his intention was for “each track to stand alone in its own right”. The first half of The Paralian focuses on journeys from land to sea, while the second offers “different perspectives of a return from sea to land at dusk”.

Following in the footsteps of many able producers, Mitchell became a little obsessive in his desire to capture the perfect “defined” sound, and received a formidable wake-up call. “I was nearly swept away by the waves when I was recording,” he recounts with a chuckle. “I was so absorbed by the sound of them [that] I barely even noticed.” The hypnotic tranquility of the sea is captured beautifully by Mitchell on a wildly creative record that sees him delve deeper than ever before into jazz and neo-classical influences, while composing for harp for the first time. Sharron Griffiths, “a wonderful Welsh harpist living in Glasgow” features on The Paralian. “Sharron plays with a lot of orchestras so her time was very limited. I had to develop a lot of ideas before she went away on tour,” Mitchell explains. He wrote Griffiths’ parts on the piano, and much of the sense of wonder permeating Journey to Inchcape and Flight of the Cormorant arrives from her magnificent performance. The flugelhorn is another key presence on the record, particularly stirring during the mournful

Super Inuit

Review

Photo: Brian Pokora

City of Glass: Final Show @ Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 9 Feb Edinburgh musician, promoter and all round good egg David MacDonald, who runs the City of Glass nights, is moving to Canada in April, so this is going to be his last big hoorah. Head down to Leith Depot to give him the send off he deserves, and in the process you’ll be entertained by some top notch music in the form of Fast Approaches (jesus h. foxx / eagleowl), Super Inuit, Gaze Is Ghost and Me Lost Me.

Faith Eliott

Photo: Mario Cruzado

Do Not Miss

OK PAL presents My Big Day @ Henry’s Cellar Bar, Edinburgh, 15 Feb We’ve been pretty excited about OK PAL Records since making themselves known to the world at the end of last year, and My Big Day is set to be their first night of 2019. Coming the day after Valentine’s Day, the duo behind the label – Hailey Beavis and Faith Eliott – are promising a night of “romantic horror” which we are fully on board with. Having just announced their debut album, set for release in April, Eliott heads up tonight’s bill with support from KITS and Housekind.

Start to End: Jeff Buckley’s Grace @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, 15 Feb; Oran Mor, Glasgow, 16 Feb If, like us, Jeff Buckley’s Grace still gets you every time – from the opening vocals of Mojo Pin through Last Goodbye, to his inimitable version of Hallelujah and the phenomenal Lover, You Should’ve Come Over – then you could do worse things this month than go and check out the Start to End crew taking on this forever classic. Start to End’s line-up for this one will feature Sam West taking on Buckley’s iconic vocals, backed by members of Admiral Fallow, Roddy Heart and the Lonsesome Fire, Fat-Suit and Pronto Mama.

Music

Jeff Buckley

“ Living in Dundee you’re quite sheltered by the mouth of the Tay. I wanted to investigate how beautiful and dangerous the sea can be” Andrew Mitchell

The Paralian (the title means ‘a dweller by the sea’) retains an incredibly compelling sense of mystique throughout that encourages the listener to envision and be moved by surroundings foreign and familiar to them as it unfolds, ably showcasing Mitchell’s proficiency in distilling a transformative experience of his own into an ambitious and ethereal work. The Paralian is out now via Athens of the North wasylyk.co.uk

Bis

Photo: Brian Sweeney

Andrew Wasylyk

Photo: Donald Milne

crescendo of Mariner’s Hymn, where it seems to herald a great loss, or accompany a claustrophobic descent into the abyss. Elsewhere, Mitchell’s original plans for his residency were altered a second time, as the “minimal harp pieces” he began with “evolved unexpectedly to have brass, strings, oboes, synthesisers and pianos.” Mitchell is particularly enthused to speak of his collaboration with Modern Studies’ Pete Harvey. “I gave him space to write his own [string] arrangements for a few of the tracks and he did a beautiful job," he says. "I think they are my favourite tracks on the record. It’s nice to hear someone else’s personality sitting there with your ideas. We talked about the territory he would explore after I sent him my initial ideas, and eventually recorded all of the strings on the record in his studio just outside Perth in an afternoon.”

Bis @ The Glad Cafe, 15 Feb; The Old Hairdressers, 16 Feb; The Hug & Pint, 17 Feb, Glasgow ‘Sugar sugar kandy pop / Push it down pull it up / Sugar sugar kandy pop / Just don’t let the music stop’. That’s right, Bis fans, the creators of the infectious 90s hit Kandy Pop are back with a new album – Slight Disconnects – set for release on 15 February via the Last Night From Glasgow label. To celebrate they’re playing a trio of small shows in Glasgow starting off on album release day at The Glad Cafe (15 Feb), followed by The Old Hairdressers (16 Feb) and ending at The Hug & Pint (17 Feb). Sure sure, why not!

THE SKINNY

Girls On Top Glasgow DIY label Double A-Side Records co-founder Alicja Yokarska tells us about their debut compilation, Play It Like a Woman, released to coincide with International Women’s Day

owards the end of last year, a study conducted by Fender found that, across the UK and US, women accounted for 50% of aspiring guitar players. This can largely be attributed to a growing number of female musicians making and playing their own music being celebrated rather than fetishised in the mainstream media. Where once ‘girls who play guitars’ may have been treated as mythical beings lusted after in Maxïmo Park songs, now women are more commonly seen as the important and influential voices in guitar music. In an article for Noisey in December last year, Lauren O’Neill wrote: “If 2018 has taught us anything, it’s that women’s dominance of rock music isn’t a trend – it’s the new normal.” But it’s not just in rock music alone that women are setting the trends, across genres female musicians are thriving and, more regularly, leading the conversation. For their debut compilation, Play It Like a Woman, which coincides with International Women’s Day (8 Mar), Glasgow-based DIY record label Double A-Side Records chose to showcase a selection of the finest female-identifying artists based in or with a connection to Scotland. “We wanted to do a release for International Women’s

Day for a long time and it seemed to make most sense to do a compilation so that we could showcase as much talent as we could,” says label co-founder Alicja Tokarska. “The idea of making it a charity record followed very quickly.” All proceeds from the compilation and the accompanying launch gig at Glasgow’s Glad Cafe on 9 March – which will see performances from many of the artists featured on the record – will be donated to local charity Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis. “One of my good friends volunteers with Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis and she told us a little bit more about their services such as their free telephone helpline, staffed entirely by volunteers,” says Tokarska. “We think they’re an amazing organisation doing their best to help survivors of rape and sexual assault, which is still a huge issue nowadays.” The compilation, which will be released digitally and on purple vinyl, features contributions from the likes of Martha Ffion, L-space and Carla J. Easton, to name a few, all of whom were selected especially by the label. “When we started working on the record there were some artists we definitely wanted to have on the record so we got in touch with them first,” says Tokarska. “Some of

Interview: Nadia Younes

them were people we’d worked with before, like Hairband or Life Model. I also posted a few words about the project in a Facebook group called Women In the Arts Scotland and we got a few emails from artists afterwards.” Through this, they received a response from Edinburgh singer-songwriter Lou Mclean, who submitted her track Play Dead for the compilation. In addition, Tokarska, along with Double A-Side Records co-founder Angus Lawson, scouted artists at independent gigs, where they found Curdle and Jo Foster. Then they made sure they were covering a range of genres to complete the line-up. “We wanted to make sure the flow of the record was smooth but also wasn’t just all one style,” adds Tokarska. “If I had my way, this would be a five-LP box set because we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to talented women in the music industry.” A particularly fitting track selection for the compilation comes from experimental pop musician Law Holt in the form of her 2013 single Hustle. “Music and musicians can be overly introspective. There is always a more important cause than ourselves,” says Holt. “Hustle is all about the shady push and pull of sexual eco-

nomics. It’s also erroneously my most identifiable and popular tune. I just want to make my minuscule contribution.” Becky Sikasa – one half of Cologne-based, Edinburgh duo LUNIR – echoes this sentiment when it comes to their track selection: “Wadidi is a love song to my independence. It’s about empowerment. It just seemed like the right track for a compilation called Play It Like a Woman.”

“ If I had my way, this would be a five-LP box-set because we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to talented women in the music industry” Alicja Tokarska

February 2019

Kobi Onyame

The Comet Is Coming

Photo: Beth Chalmers

The Comet is Coming @ Stereo, Glasgow, 28 Feb Join London-based trio The Comet is Coming – King Shabaka, Danalogue the Conqueror and Betamax Killer – for a cosmic night of jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock. Their 2016 debut album Channel the Spirits was nominated for the Mercury Prize and with new album Trust In the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery on the way in 2019 we’re almost certain you’ll get to hear some new cuts tonight in among their back catalogue.

Music

Play It Like a Woman is released on 8 Mar via Double A-Side Records Play It Like a Woman All-dayer takes place at The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 9 Mar doubleasiderecords.com

Kathryn Joseph @ GU Debating Chambers, Glasgow, 1 Mar Kathryn Joseph stunned us all last year with her absolutely breathtaking second record, From When I Wake the Want Is, the follow-up to her 2015 debut. Coming in just outside of our top ten albums of 2018 (it came in at number 11), it was another heart-wrenching turn from the Glasgowbased singer-songwriter and pianist. Catch her tonight at Glasgow’s GU Debating Chambers and be sure to get down early to catch the very excellent SHHE – Su Shaw, who formerly performed under the moniker Panda Su – on support duty.

Kathryn Joseph

Review

Photo: Kat Gollock

Kobi Onyame @ Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 23 Feb It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Kobi Onyame here at The Skinny. Having graced us with his infectious presence on our stage at Kelburn Garden Party last summer, and again as part of our involvement at the Alternative Peers Ball at the Assembly Rooms in November, we’re excited to see what he’s going to bring to Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery tonight. What’s more, Heir of the Cursed, who features on Onyame’s track Wedadi, is on support duty. A two for one if you will. Count us in!

Photo: Fabrice Bourgelle

CHVRCHES @ SSE Hydro, Glasgow, 19 Feb Seven years on and it’s still hard to believe that CHVRCHES played their first ever show under the guise of Shark Week – to hardly anyone we might add – as the first band on a bill at the now defunct Electric Circus back in 2012. Just look at them now! Following the release of their third album, Love Is Dead, last year they’re set to play their biggest hometown headline show to date as they take on the gargantuan SSE Hydro. Support comes from the punctuation loving Let’s Eat Grandma and Glasgow pop-goths The Ninth Wave.

Martha Ffion

Photo: Ryan Johnston

CHVRCHES

Photo: Paul Storr

Law Holt

Photo: Kat Gollock

If, like O’Neill says, women’s dominance in rock music is the new normal, it makes sense that the music industry is taking note. When Barcelona music festival Primavera Sound announced their 2019 line-up at the end of last year, which featured an equal gender split, they even went as far as to label it The New Normal. And this is something Double A-Side Records are on board with. “We want to make sure that Double A-Side gigs and regular releases continue to feature a gender-balanced line-up,” says Tokarska. “The music industry can be such a boys club and we’re really digging what the likes of Primavera are doing right now. There are countless talented women in the music industry and it’s baffling that many promoters and bookers still need to be reminded about it.”

Album of the Month Julia Jacklin

Crushing [Transgressive, 22 Feb]

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On her debut album Don’t Let the Kids Win, Australian Julia Jacklin framed a quarter-life crisis in stinging alt-country tones. The title of her new record Crushing gives a glimpse into the refined atmosphere she sets to conjure this time round. Building on the mood of her debut, it explores differing aspects of love and heartbreak that are often quietly devastating. There are a couple of moments where Jacklin brings out the driving guitars and veers into more conventional indie-rock territory, such as on Head Alone where she defiantly sings ‘I don’t want to be touched all the time / I raised my body up to be mine’. Yet more often than not Jacklin keeps things sparse and raw. Guitar lines are lilting and occasionally muted, drum beats steady and piano lines faded and plaintive. The plucked guitar of Convention feels beautifully unpolished and real alongside Jacklin’s vocals. It results in an inherent intimacy woven into the record that makes it feel all the more personal, as if she’s is in the room with you, confiding in a trusted companion. This downbeat instrumentation allows Jacklin’s best asset to step firmly into the

Andrew Wasylyk The Paralian [Athens of the North, Out Now]

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Andrew Wasylyk’s third solo offering cements his impressive compositional talents with evocative instrumentals rich in romantic glamour and subtle grandeur. Originally commissioned to create new music for the restored 19th century Erard Grecian harp at the historic house Hospitalfield in Arbroath, the pieces blossomed over the fivemonth residency largely due to the influence of the external environment, with inspiration coming from the building’s relationship to the brutal but beautiful North Sea. As time passed, the songs expanded with extensive field recordings taken on exploration of the surrounding coast. Greendrive #2 glides and floats with effortless grace, while Welter in the Haar is soft-focus filmic beauty. The horn-led Dreamt the Breakers Spill has a sense of sorrowful solitude, and Flight of the Cormorant boasts suave jazz-infused percussion before the contemplative, swelling lament of Mariner’s Hymn. Wasylyk’s vocal appears on the penultimate track Adrift Below a Constellation, lurking dreamlike in the darkness of a laid-back beat, increasingly engulphed by waves of instrumentation. The Paralian is an antidote to everyday chaos, an album that’s somehow both meditative and majestic, quieting the mind as it leads through multiple journeys of space, time and place. Wasylyk has once again fortified his abundant talents on this record, producing yet another breathtaking body of timeless work. [Susan Le May] Listen to: Flight of the Cormorant, Adrift Below a Constellation

Review

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forefront: her songwriting. She continually crafts narratives that are captivating and emotionally open, sometimes to devastating effect. On the opening lines of Good Guy, she exposes a desire to be wanted, even if it’s unrequited (‘Tell me I’m the love of your life, just for a night / Even if you don’t feel it’), a narrative she continues throughout. Closer Comfort documents an aching transition after a breakup, detailing the ways in which life can go on: ‘Take him out dancing, help to begin again’. But when Jacklin sings ‘are you thinking of me too?’ and the answer is left all but unresolved, she makes it feel agonising. It’s this sometimes plain and forthright way in which Jacklin lays out her feelings that make them empathetic; on Turn Me Down it’s the sheer force of her vocals in its climactic crescendo that land an even more brutal gut punch. That howl is just one of myriad moments that will rattle around your head long after the last notes of Crushing have passed by. Remarkably generous in its open nature, it further cements Jacklin’s place as a future alt-country great. [Eugenie Johnson] Julia Jacklin

Listen to: Good Guy, Comfort

Graham Costello’s STRATA

James Yorkston

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The Route to the Harmonium [Domino, 22 Feb]

OBELISK [bpqd Records, Out Now]

From the very first notes of the opening title track, as propulsive and agitated piano kicks in, it’s almost instantly apparent that OBELISK – the debut album from Graham Costello’s STRATA – takes influence from more than just jazz standards. Indeed, OBELISK is an album that sees the sextet pushing the boundaries between jazz and rock, a polyrhythmic, genre-melting journey. All of the ingredients of a more traditional jazz outing are here, yet there are often more staccato, repeated refrains that run through tracks. At times it almost mirrors the urgency of math rock while still feeling free-flowing and maintaining an improvisational edge. The brass is sometimes punchy and at others smoky; piano melodies can be smooth or insistent, while the guitars come to the fore in dramatic, squalling fashion. Costello ties all of these elements together with his own drumming that can sometimes feel airy, and at others carry a greater weight where the percussion joins the musical dialogue, rather than simply acting as an anchor. And yet, although the bombastic but groove-laden moments could easily become overwhelming, there’s just enough variation in tempo to make sure that the listener can catch their breath. Filled with texture, OBELISK is an hour-long journey that demonstrates all of the most gripping aspects of a rising ensemble. [Eugenie Johnson] Listen to: OBELISK, OCELOT

The songs on The Route to the Harmonium are delicate beings; looser than your standard folk fare, but with lush brushstrokes offering movement across the still waters of Yorkston’s deliberate fingerpicking. Tunes like Oh Me, Oh My, Brittle and Your Beauty Could Not Save You are lilting laments lolloping along on beds of autoharp, chimes and muted brass. There’s whistling, too, but don’t let that put you off. A couple of spoken word pieces hold their own in such melodic company, but it’s the twisted

Lau

Midnight and Closedown [Reveal Records, 8 Feb]

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Midnight and Closedown is the fifth album from traditional music trio Lau. Renowned for pushing at the boundaries of folk music, the record – which takes its name from Seamus Heaney’s The Shipping Forecast – sees Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke musing on the afflictions of our time over some of their most timeless music. Produced by John Parish, it captures the intimate traditions of folk music against queasy lyrics that tease out the discontent and isolation of the modern world. Drever has described the

RECORDS

tales at the heart of tunes such as The Blue of the Thistle and Like Bees to Foxglove that will stay with listeners. There’s the bruised intimacy of Robert Wyatt on offer, too, as sparse instrumentation and long instrumental notes demand your attention – but it’s Yorkston’s voice that will capture you. Whispered stories are nothing new in folk music, but there is something more compelling happening here, especially when the Scottish author breathes in tune down your ear over brushed drums or oscillating organs. Affectedly quaint? Perhaps. But, in a genre getting more crowded by the day, it’s the quiet ones who can often shout louder than war. [Alan O’Hare] Listen to: Your Beauty Could Not Save You, The Irish Wars of Independence, Oh Me, Oh My songs as being “about islands... big islands and little islands and human islands”, while O’Rourke has been even more blunt: “We wanted to make a Brexit album.” These sentiments are rarely so on the nose but from the haunting fiddle of Echolalia to the glitch rhythms that underpin Return to Portland, these are songs that know how to subtly unsettle. The smudged fingers on Dark Secret and the gorgeous acoustic closer Riad are intimate moments, beckoning the listener inside with camaraderie and tenderness, while Toy Tigers is as close as the group have ever come to a singalong, as they float over a shimmering electronic backdrop. If our collective future is hazy, Lau are a shining beacon lighting the way. [Max Sefton] Listen to: Echolalia, Toy Tigers

THE SKINNY

Photo: Nick Mckk

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The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change [Cooking Vinyl, Out Now]

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Back with her witty, dry humour and pop riffs, Nina Nesbitt is taking a second shot at stardom. Her latest album The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change is fresh and shows a maturity only time can provide. The Scottish pop-sensation briefly hit the big time in 2013 when her sophomore single Stay Out peaked at number 21 in the UK chart. Since then she was signed and dropped by Island Records; now signed to Cooking Vinyl, Nesbitt’s brief fall from the stars has proved beneficial. She now possesses much more pizzazz, and since learning more about production is now the boss of her own music; a Scottish Lady Gaga without the wigs. Her latest album is far from the Scottish folk-pop/ rock sound akin to Amy Macdonald that first

Savage Mansion Revision Ballads [Lost Map, 15 Feb]

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Revision Ballads is the debut record from Savage Mansion, aka Perth-raised singer and guitarist Craig Angus and friends, released on Eigg-based Lost Map Records. Coming on the back of a series of well-received singles, its 12 tracks cover

established her popularity. Many of the songs here show the maturity Nesbitt has gained over the past four years, her experiences providing her with insight into the reality of modern relationships. She uses that insight to her advantage with her wry cynicism in lyrics like: ‘Am I the only number that you’ve tried?’ Some of the songs seem more heavily influenced by other pop artists of the moment. For instance, Colder screams Taylor Swift in its classic use of regretful self-reflection ('Why did you wake up with somebody in your bed again’), and references to how crushing fairytale expectations of relationships turn everyone bitter (‘When you’re young and you get your heart broken / And he leaves the scars open / When you can’t believe it’s over / That’s when you get a little colder’). While it may not be full of the chart-topping hits we were hoping for, The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change is fun and like a comingof-age drama in album format. [Briony Pickford] Listen to: The Best You Had, Is It Really Me You’re Missing an impressive amount of ground, from smart ass power pop to grubby, loud and loose rock’n’roll. Opener Bring Down the City Hall sounds like Pavement blinking in the sunlight as a jangly sunbeam of guitar twists its way around Angus’ winding lyrics, while Infinite Factory is a fuzzy alt-rock gem designed to be blasted from rattling speakers. Angus has described the single Do You Say Hello to Your Neighbours? as being about how “people know each other less in suburban neighbourhoods than they used to” and this is a

Ladytron

Guided By Voices

Desperate Journalist

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Ladytron [!K7, 15 Feb] Ladytron last released an album back in 2011. Yet when they returned with new track The Animals last March, it was almost as if they’d never been away. The quartet’s synthdriven melodies and Helen Marnie’s often blunt delivery of lines about the primal nature of humanity (‘There is no law / There is no god’) provided an instantly familiar touchstone. Somewhat shirking some of the more spacious, atmospheric elements that laced Gravity the Seducer, Ladytron picks up the pace and is littered with the kind of pulsating, relentless electronic soundscapes that helped forge the band’s identity. Despite there being moments that feel drawn-out, if you've already invested in their icy yet sleek sound, then Ladytron is a welcome return. [Eugenie Johnson] Listen to: The Island

February 2019

Zeppelin Over China [GBV Inc., Out Now] Guided By Voices return with their 26th album, and like previous releases there’s no shortage of tracks. Zeppelin Over China features a mammoth 32 songs, comprised of indie jingles clocking in between the one and four minute mark. Opening tune Good Morning Sir is a cheery, jaunty song that would be at home on any recent GBV record, and acts as a pleasant introduction to what lies ahead. The album takes a few gentle twists and turns as it moves along, but there’s nothing necessarily new offered here in the way of direction or sound. While old fans will be satisfied, Zeppelin Over China would be a great starting point for any newcomers to the group. [Paul Sinclair] Listen to: Send In the Suicide Squad

In Search of the Miraculous [Fierce Panda, 22 Feb] The London quartet’s third album In Search of the Miraculous is a work of indisputable artistic maturity entwined with sharply beautiful poetic integrity. Packed full of soaring choruses and starkly beautiful riffs, the band deliver a romantic manifesto that is as much about the acceptance of ourselves as it is about coming to understand the expansions and limitations of others. Desperate Journalist create music that transcends the definitions of any one genre. Indie-goth, shoegaze, post-punk – all of these descriptions fit but none of them can begin to tell the whole story. With the arrival of In Search of the Miraculous there is a sense that this soulful, anthemic, continually evolving band are just getting started. [Hannah Clark] Listen to: Cedars, Murmuration, Black Net

Nina Nesbitt

record that’s all about music as a communal activity, roping in your friends for a sing-song. The opening stretch of Revision Ballads in particular is hugely impressive in this regard, with a surfeit of memorable melodies that sound readymade for a pub full of people to leap around to. The second half of the record is not quite as tight. Three and a Half Thousand Cheetahs (Big Cats) sounds like it was probably more fun in the studio, while Situation Comedy returns to channelling the brainy but stoned ramblings of

Jessica Pratt

Quiet Signs [City Slang / Mexican Summer, 8 Feb]

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This short but endlessly replayable third record from LA folk singer Jessica Pratt was reportedly made under the extremely fraught circumstances of a nervous breakdown, but sonically it’s carefree and light of touch. While Quiet Signs may be an overt step away from the lo-fi bedroom recordings of Pratt’s previous work, this is not some shiny, pristine product – Pratt’s voice is still gorgeously muffled and her words remain indecipherable at times. But while she may have once sounded fragile, here she is almost swaggering. There’s no doubt she harks back to yesteryear, but Pratt’s music is not retrograde – the songs on Quiet Signs seem like lived-in classics, passed down from generation to generation. [Tony Inglis] Listen to: As the World Turns, This Time Around, Crossing

RECORDS

Photo: Wolf James

Nina Nesbitt

Stephen Malkmus but never really lands a tune. Nevertheless there are still some strong moments, including excellent recent single Elwood and closing track Older and Wiser, which seems to get faster and faster, tight solos and yelped vocals accelerating off into the distance until its collapse. School’s out, Savage Mansion have arrived. [Max Sefton] Listen to: Infinite Factory, Nudist Beach

Girlpool

What Chaos Is Imaginary [ANTI-, Out Now]

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Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad have spent more time apart in this two-year gap between albums than previously, making it generally more apparent which songs ‘belong’ to which member on What Chaos Is Imaginary. However, regardless of who’s at the helm, it coheres neatly in both arrangement and lyricism, managing not to get too bogged down in a particular style. What Chaos Is Imaginary offers a view into the minds of a pair of singular artists who might differ in their delivery, but who both understand that a glimpse of truth is a whole lot more intriguing than a disingenuous attempt at the whole thing. [Lewis Wade] Listen to: What Chaos Is Imaginary, Swamp and Bay, Hire

Better Oblivion Community Center

Self-titled [Dead Oceans, Out Now]

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Better Oblivion Community Center is the surprise new duo of Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst. With just a Twitter account and some strategically placed advertising boards pointing the way to their eponymous album, it’s a low stakes but no less enjoyable venture from a prolific pair of artists. Opener Didn’t Know What I Was In For ploughs a similar vein to Would You Rather, their previous collaboration on Bridgers’ Stranger in the Alps album. Elsewhere, there’s thereminassisted alt country, chunky alt-rock and the type of strummed emo-flecked folk songs that Oberst made his name with. While it isn’t an obvious step forward for either artist, it showcases the complementary talents of two of America’s most talented songwriters. [Max Sefton] Listen to: Dylan Thomas

Review

B2B: LEZZER QUEST x Meat Free As they prepare to launch their new queer party Doppelbänger this month, we asked Glasgow-based DJ duo LEZZER QUEST to go B2B in an interview with their first guests Blasha & Allatt, co-founders of Manchester night Meat Free

Interview: LEZZER QUEST

LEZZER QUEST: Firstly, we’re delighted to have you as the very first guests at Doppelbänger. How do you feel about making your Sub Club debut? Steffi Allatt: We are really happy that you chose us as your first guests! We’re really excited to come back to Glasgow actually, it has a lovely feel about the place. We first played there last March for GYA (Grind Your Axe) at The Art School, which was wicked. We remember stumbling past Sub Club and being surprised at how small the entrance was! To be asked back to play there is very surreal. When did you start DJing as Blasha & Allatt? We started DJing together approximately seven years ago now. Tasha had moved from Scarborough three years previous, so once we connected it was about four or five months later that I made the move from the Midlands. How did the idea for Meat Free come about? Meat Free stemmed from a previous night that we ran called Fundamental, which fizzled out after a few events. Once that finished, there was a bunch of us that still wanted to carry on promoting in some form. Fast forward six years and Meat Free has taken on a life of its own. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for; lots of opportunities have come about off the back of it, let alone getting to play out a lot more. There seems to be a resurgence of nights with a more conscious aim at being diverse and

LEZZER QUEST

inclusive, certainly that’s what we hope to achieve with Doppelbänger. Have you noticed an increase in these types of parties throughout the UK and further afield? If so, any recommendations? Yes, most definitely. When we first started Meat Free there definitely wasn’t as much rhetoric around equality within the scene, but obviously as time goes on these issues get broken down and targeted, which makes for the better (or so at least you would hope). I can wholeheartedly recommend Love Muscle in Leeds and Kiss Me Again in Manchester. We’ve been fortunate enough to play at both of these and they are just hands down some of the best parties in the UK.

We both DJ independently outside of LEZZER QUEST. Are you two strictly a duo or do you ever play solo? We’ve both played separately over the years, but to be honest it’s been few and far between. We think at this point, while we are both enjoying DJing together, we’re happy continuing as a duo. We both make music separately, so down the line it’s likely that we could release music individually and that might push us in separate directions. We both bring a different vibe to our sets. Tasha is much more meticulous when it comes to mixing, her blends are always spot on, whereas I am a bit more blunt you could say. I like chopping and might not always get it right, but whatever, it works (for now!).

Blasha & Allatt

Review

Photo: Craig Bernard

You’re known for your techno sets, but are there other genres you enjoy playing in sets when you get the chance? Yes most definitely. Over the last few years we’ve played a lot of warm up sets, which willingly forced us to delve into various genres we might not have ever come across if we hadn’t had the chance. Lately I would definitely say we are more known for playing techno but we are really into that grime-y, broken UK/Bass sound, which is reflected in our recent mix for Pretty Pretty Good. Probably one of the most challenging sets for us of recent years was warming up for Boy Harsher. Personally, I’m a huge fan of theirs but didn’t necessarily have enough music I thought would work to set the scene before they came on. This turned out to be a really interesting and rewarding experience as we had a few people comment on our set afterwards, which was obviously really nice. Do you like to keep each other on your toes by throwing a musical curveball during a set every now and then? This used to happen a lot in the beginning, when

CLUBS

Photo: Tiu Makkonen

nna Gram and Bonzai Bonner, aka LEZZER QUEST, have already made a name for themselves as the creator (Bonzai Bonner) and resident (Anna Gram) of the popular Shoot Your Shot and Weirdo Warehouse nights. This month, they launch their brand new queer party Doppelbänger at Sub Club, with the aim to invite their favourite LGBTQ+ DJs and allies to play for a diverse, up-for-it crowd. They want to create an atmosphere of positivity, acceptance and joy for everyone, as testament to the original spirit of underground dance music culture. Playing at their first party are rising stars of techno Blasha & Allatt, co-founders of the hugely successful Manchester-based night Meat Free.

we didn’t really gel together. There was an instance where we were playing at a house night and I played Blawan’s Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage, which obviously sent everyone a bit west. What advice would you give to budding DJ duos out there, particularly female ones? Be prepared to forgo those 36-hour-benders for a start! Preparation is key, particularly in a duo. One of the most important things is making sure you’re both on the same page before you start pulling records out for an upcoming gig. And, above all, practice, practice, practice. Not only are you looking to improve your individual skill set as a DJ, you’re also responsible for making sure you both grow and develop your sound as a duo. Last year you played at Fabric for the first time and released your debut track Broughton 93. What exciting things does 2019 have in store for you? Yeah, last year was really a big year for us! This year we will be playing at Tresor, Fabric for the second time, Sub Club of course and a few parties/festivals we can’t mention for a little while longer. Production-wise we have a remix coming out on one of our favourite labels at some point this year. Lastly, LEZZER QUEST are known for posing hard-hitting questions on our Facebook page, so we wanted to ask you one. You HAVE to play one of these songs in every DJ set for the rest of your career: A) Tubthumping by Chumbawamba; B) Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader. Which one’s it gonna be? Tubthumping all the way; it brings back nostalgia of being in primary school. Doppelbänger, Sub Club, Glasgow, 15 Feb subclub.co.uk/events/doppelbanger-with-blasha-allatt

THE SKINNY

Guest Selector: Exterior Edinburgh producer Exterior shares some of his favourite tracks ahead of the release of his new EP, Plagued Streets of Pity, out this month on Hobbes Music

ince abandoning his hardcore and noise-rock roots, Edinburgh producer Doug MacDonald has taken a turn towards the electronic with his musical moniker Exterior. Just under a year since releasing his debut EP Public Transport on London-via-Barcelona record label Land Recordings, for his latest release Exterior has kept it local. His new EP, Plagued Streets of Pity, is due for digital release on Edinburgh-based label Hobbes Music on 8 February, and is also available on 12’’ vinyl. The release comes not long after Exterior performed a thrilling live set for Hobbes Music’s fifth birthday party at The Bongo Club in Edinburgh, alongside the likes of Nightwave and Michelle Manetti. The four-track EP also features a remix of its title track by fellow Hobbes Music affiliate DALI, keeping things firmly in the Hobbes family. MacDonald talks us through some of his favourite tracks. James Holden – Renata [Border Community, 2013] This was the most formative electronic track for me. Undulating, inexplicable synths, winding against dynamic kicks and live percussion. This song really showed me the power of what could be done with electronic music. I especially love the way the track grows and expands, keeping a specific identity whilst changing constantly. A river in sound.

Bruce – What [Hessle Audio, 2018] A seductive and relentless assault on your midriff. Although not out for long now, What really made me think about how one vocal sample can be used to create tension over time. Again a wonderful example of steady rhythm with careening, disconcerting sound art on top. I played this at a New Year’s party much to everyone’s bewilderment and my own pleasure. DJ Spoko – War of the Pizzi [Lit City Trax, 2014] Anyone who knows me knows that I have a dance-seizure when War of the Pizzi is dropped. Backwards/forwards snares in a four-minute tussle with addictive bass and leads. A cheeky number and very forward-thinking at the same time. Tragic that DJ Spoko died last year, only 35 years old. Swans – Oxygen [Young God Records, 2014] Who says dance music needs to be made on Ableton by someone in their bedroom? Oxygen takes repetition, rage, glee and transcendence straight to the heart (or the intestines). This will either clear the dancefloor or ignite it. Only Gira can say which. Jlin – Challenge (To Be Continued) [Planet Mu, 2017] I vividly remember thinking ‘how the fuck did she

even think of this?’ Challenge is the last track of Black Origami but feels like a beginning. An eruption of movement in seemingly disparate directions. Percussion, vocal snaps, snares and unintelligible shards of noise. A maelstrom from the future.

Overall I think this makes most sense live, seeing her singing and embedding her voice in the music. The album version on Platform has a coldness and distance which is part of its power. Then you see her wee ginger grin and think, ‘eh!’ Interference alright.

Jon Hopkins – Everything Connected [Domino, 2018] Oh J-Hop! Not really the most consistent live performer, but this tune is what the kids refer to as a ‘belter’. My favourite moment is halfway through where it seems like it’ll just wash off into ambient pish but it bounces back hard, dry and relentless, like a randy Alsatian that just won’t take its bath.

Clark – Butterfly Prowler [Warp, 2017] If I had to pick a single biggest influence on Exterior then it’s Chris Clark. Butterfly Prowler is a solid, cogent, dreamlike, lion of a track. It is a perfect distillation of pleasure and programming. The emotions at play here are optimistic and comforting whilst dragging you forward with them. It’s also a masterwork in how to mix electronic music, but then so is the whole of Death Peak. Curse him.

DJ Nigga Fox – Apocalipsiii [Príncipe, 2015] The track swings and pivots, at times staggering, at others bounding. There is such a clever use of withholding and releasing the main riff. There is also a really great sense of progression in this song and aspects changing over time, but in a sudden, broken way. You should see the dancing it unleashes when dropped at the correct juncture. Holly Herndon – Interference [4AD, 2015] Interference is a track both frustrating and rewarding in unequal measures (moreso the latter). No matter the number of listens, I still hear new audio within it, sometimes radically so.

Club, Actually

Now that dry January's over, you've got plenty of partying to make up for, so pack your calendar full of our clubbing highlights for the month ahead

SENSU presents Mall Grab & Nite Fleit @ SWG3, Glasgow, 8 Feb Young Australian sensation Mall Grab’s rapid rise shows no signs of stopping. Along with the launch of his own record label Looking for Trouble in September last year, Jordon Alexander also threw in a string of global tour dates for good measure. Joining him for this Glasgow show, as well as the rest of the UK dates on the tour, is fellow Aussie Nite Fleit, with Sensu residents on the warm up, so get down early for a precarious 9pm start. La Cheetah presents Mumdance & Josey Rebelle @ La Cheetah, Glasgow, 8 Feb Josey Rebelle is pretty much radio royalty; her Sunday morning Rinse FM breakfast show is a staple on the London-based community radio station and was voted one of London’s ten best radio shows by Time Out. With her DJing schedule as busy as it is, including a residency at London club The Pickle Factory in 2018, it’s a wonder she’s been able to hold down the slot for over seven years. Playing alongside her in the La Cheetah basement is Mumdance, another regular on both NTS and Rinse FM. FUSE by VAJ.Power Agency Launch Party @ The Art School, Glasgow, 15 Feb Glasgow VJ duo Holly McGowan and Sofya Staune, aka VAJ.Power, are back with their first FUSE night of 2019, and they’re taking the opportunity to celebrate the launch of their recently created agency dedicated to promoting bass-heavy and

February 2019

Interview: Nadia Younes

experimental sounds in Scotland. Along with the usual live visuals and electronics provided by the duo, assisting in the celebrations are Ghanaian DJ Keyzuz and Edinburgh-based DJ Scotia, as well as Glasgow locals TAAHLIAH, 皚桐, Plantainchipps and Evil Medvěd (live). Palidrone 1st Birthday: Errorsmith @ The Mash House, Edinburgh, 16 Feb Palidrone have roped in a real stalwart of the electronic music world for their first birthday celebrations. Berlin-based Erik Wiegand, aka Errorsmith, is credited for his contribution to the development of electronic music, not only through his own solo output and collaborative efforts dating back to the early 90s, but also for his creation of the digital synth Razor alongside Native Instruments. Don’t miss this show, also featuring sets from Hyperdub’s Proc Fiskal, plus Frost and Texture residents. All Good presents Or:la @ The Reading Rooms, Dundee, 22 Feb Just one look at Derry-born DJ Or:la’s touring schedule is enough to exhaust you. In the past year alone, she’s played all over the world with two slots at Dekmantel and numerous at Manchester’s Warehouse Project, along with several dates at Berlin’s Panorama bar. Amongst all that, she also found time to launch her Deep Sea Frequency label with Breakwave, on which she has released her own tracks as well as tracks by DJ Seinfeld, Pépe and Carlton Doom.

CLUBS

Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares – Kalimankou Denkou (The Evening Gathering) [Elektra Nonesuch, 1987] As I now grasp, these ladies combine traditional Bulgarian vocal styles with contemporary classical composition techniques. Quite simply some of the most beautiful vocal music I have ever heard. We live in great times, I believe, especially when listening to this. Plagued Streets of Pity is released 8 Feb via Hobbes Music facebook.com/DougExteriorEdinburgh

Words: Nadia Younes Illustration: Andrew Denholm Agora 001: Bruce @ The Mash House, Edinburgh, 22 Feb Hessle Audio and Timedance affiliate Bruce is hot off the heels of releasing his debut album Sonder Somatic towards the end of last year on the former of the two labels. The Bristolian DJ, also known as Larry McCarthy, will join Agora residents Lewis & Gregor for their debut outing at Edinburgh’s Mash House, playing a three-hour set, which is sure to be as unpredictable and energetic as always. Lionoil: Eris Drew & DJ Voices @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 22 Feb Lionoil continue to bring together some of the best DJs going for unmissable parties. This time round, they’ve gone for a Chicago vs New York showdown, as Smart Bar resident Eris Drew and Working Women collective co-founder DJ Voices hit Sneaky’s. Having both featured on FACT magazine’s top DJ mixes of 2018 list, their selector credentials are not to be questioned, and we can’t wait to see what they both pull out the bag. Heaters: HAAi @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 27 Feb Not long since she was last in Scotland alongside close friend Daniel Avery at Glasgow’s Sub Club, HAAi’s back, but this time she’s heading to the capital. Always boisterous, and brilliant, but fond of a midweek Scottish date, you’ve been warned now – take the Thursday off work and you won’t regret a thing. theskinny.co.uk/clubs

Review

In Cinemas If Beale Street Could Talk

Director: Barry Jenkins Starring: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Brian Tyree Henry

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If Beale Street Could Talk is only the second screen adaptation of James Baldwin’s work, following an obscure French take on the same novel in 1998, and the spirit of Baldwin infuses the whole movie. It feels like Barry Jenkins sat down with the late author to craft this screenplay, which has emerged as a brilliant fusion of their distinct artistic visions. It’s impossible to imagine a film better capturing the romantic, yearning, angry, incisive tones of Baldwin’s voice, and Jenkins’ attempt to find a cinematic equivalent to his prose has pushed the director and his cinematographer James Laxton to give us a visually rhapsodic experience. The film opens with the camera swooning over Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James) as they stroll through an autumnal New York. They are a young couple very much in love, and Jenkins makes us feel that love, his camera getting up close to the actors as they gaze adoringly at each

other. They are soon ripped apart, when Fonny is falsely accused of rape and imprisoned, forcing the pregnant KiKi and her devoted parents (Colman Domingo and Regina King, both magnificent) to fight to prove his innocence. While Jenkins cuts back-and-forth between this fraught central narrative and their past happiness together, he also allows us to spend time with Domingo and Michael Beach (Fonny’s dad), as two fathers doing whatever it takes to support their offspring, while Regina King carries a powerful section of the film as she attempts to track down Fonny’s accuser. Jenkins draws flawless work from his ensemble, but the film’s standout performance comes from Brian Tyree Henry. He breezes into the film as Fonny’s childhood friend but his buoyant demeanour is stripped away over the course of a breathtaking ten-minute conversation, as he recalls his incarceration. He is an embodiment of the fear and insecurity felt by young black men living in a racist society, then and now. If Beale Street Could Talk is a film about boundless love in the face of unimaginable hatred and injustice, and it is a triumph. [Philip Concannon] Released 8 Feb by Entertainment One; certificate 15

The Hole in the Ground

Director: Lee Cronin Starring: Seána Kerslake, James Quinn Markey, Simone Kirby, Steve Wal

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There are few endeavours horror has found more perilous than motherhood: see the classics Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Omen (1976), and more recently The Babadook (2014), Goodnight Mommy (2014) and Hereditary (2018). For better or worse, mothers in the genre frequently blur the lines between victim and villain. Director Lee Cronin steers a largely familiar course to these touchstones in his compelling feature-length debut, The Hole in the Ground – the follow-up to his award-winning 2013 short Ghost Train. The young single mother at the centre of the film – co-written with Stephen Shields – is Sarah (Seána Kerslake), who has recently relocated to the Irish countryside with her son, Chris (James Quinn Markey). They take up residence in an old house bordered by an eerie wood where one evening they stumble across a meteor-sized hole. Shortly thereafter Chris goes missing, and although he quickly resurfaces seemingly unharmed, his behavior

grows so disturbing that Sarah begins to doubt that the boy is actually her son. The film, sometimes to its detriment, relies on a host of age-old horror conventions: secluded houses, forbidding woods, haunted old women, soul-revealing mirrors and so on. But it’s a remarkably effective tale of fear nonetheless, skillfully atmospheric and winningly steeped in the folkloric. Its sepia-toned cinematography aside, the film does a fine job of grounding us in Sarah’s paranoia, emotional residue leftover from her traumatic relationship with Chris’ father. He doesn’t appear on screen, but the father’s glaring absence haunts the film and Sarah’s dynamic with her son. For her part, Kerslake delivers a thoroughly engaging performance, and as these roles seem wont to demand of late, a convincingly physical one, too. Markey is appropriately unsettling and James Cosmo strikes a chilling chord as Sarah’s neighbour with a tragic past. Comparisons to The Changeling (1980) and The Omen may well be inescapable, but The Hole in the Ground still manages to carve out a comfortable space for itself in the genre. [Kelli Weston] Released 1 Mar by Vertigo; certificate 15

Capernaum

Old Boys

Capernaum

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Director: Toby MacDonald Starring: Alex Lawther, Pauline Etienne, Jonah Hauer-King, Joshua McGuire, Denis Ménochet

Cyrano de Bergerac, the original catfishing text, is given an 80s-set update in Toby MacDonald’s charming but trite Old Boys. A bespectacled Alex Lawther takes Cyrano’s place here as Amberson. He isn’t afflicted by the character’s famous schnozzle, but he is lanky and awkward, and can’t get a sentence out without stumbling over his words. He boards at an Eton-esque school for boys, where he’s bullied relentlessly. Amberson sees an opportunity for love, however, after a meetcute in the garden of feisty French girl Agnes. She confesses to Amberson that she has a crush on the school’s golden boy, Winchester. The problem: Winchester is hopeless with girls. Amberson unwittingly finds himself playing cupid – using artsy videotapes to construct Winchester as the suave enigma Amberson wishes he was. These short tapes have a playful Nouvelle Vague aesthetic in what is otherwise a visually dry film. Regardless, MacDonald’s debut packs a lot of charm. The manipulation that foregrounds this small-town courtship may be somewhat distasteful, but Old Boys is an endearing slice of adolescent puppy love. [Iana Murray] Released 22 Feb by Verve Pictures; certificate 12A

Review

Director: Nadine Labaki Starring: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawthar Al Haddad, Fadi Kamel Youssef Nadine Labaki’s skillfully crafted third feature, Capernaum is a searing, politically-charged drama set in the underbelly of Beirut, exploring the savage world of child-trafficking. Labaki frames the narrative with a court case involving a 12-year-old boy who wants to sue his parents for giving him life. Such a framing device is an outlandish move, yet in Labaki’s hands it works, perhaps because she doesn’t linger in the courtroom. Instead, she uses extended flashbacks showing how this boy has ended up in this situation. Capernaum has similar qualities to Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God, with the mainstream appeal of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, and resembles Rohinton Mistry’s novel A Fine Balance in how it explores the lives of those who fall through the cracks in the system. Zain Al Rafeea as the young protagonist is incredible, giving a raw, wounded and angry performance. What most impresses about Capernaum, however, is how it continually swerves away from clichés; it will surely have you in floods of tears. [Joseph Walsh]

Piercing

Foxtrot

Piercing

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Director: Samuel Maoz Starring: Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonaton Shiray Samuel Maoz follows his astonishing 2009 film Lebanon with another that continues to depict the chaos and tragedy of war. Told over three distinct acts, the first concerns a couple in Tel Aviv receiving news their son has been killed in the line of duty. In their pristine apartment, sound design and cinematography conspire to create an atmosphere so suffocating that when the film moves to its second act you realise you’ve been holding your breath. Next we find the couple’s son posted in a unit guarding a roadblock surrounded by orange mud, their daily trudge back and forth from the roadblock to their barracks in a shipping container accompanied by a soundtrack of lounge music. Tragedy returns in the third section that seemingly attempts to combine the stylings of the previous two, and falters somewhat. Regardless, it is in this final act that the film’s philosophical musings formulate. Foxtrot explores the repetition of past mistakes through generations by evoking the dance steps of its title – a dance that leads you to your starting place repeatedly. [Gianni Marini]

Director: Nicolas Pesce Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Christopher Abbott Anybody who caught Nicolas Pesce’s directorial debut would have known better than to expect anything gentle from his follow-up. The Eyes of My Mother was an ostensibly brutal tale chronicling death, disfigurement and decidedly unconventional family dynamics, and yet the 29-year-old New York native carried it off with a delicious undercurrent of pitch-black humour. Piercing carries on in the same vein; the perennially underrated Christopher Abbott is superb as a would-be murderer who plots to kill a prostitute to prevent his murderous urges being taken out on his infant child. When Mia Wasikowska’s Jackie shows up to what should be the scene of the crime, she proves more than a match and what ensues is a darkly funny and consistently unsettling two-hander that explores S&M with a beguilingly light touch. If you thought Dexter or Killing Eve handled this kind of subject matter blithely, Piercing will give you pause for thought. At this pace, Pesce is quickly becoming a master of this particular medium. [Joe Goggins] Released 15 Feb by Vertigo; certificate 18

Released 1 Mar by Curzon Artificial Eye; certificate 15

Released 22 Feb by Picturehouse Entertainment; certificate 15

FILM & TV

THE SKINNY

At Home Rosa Luxemburg

Blindspotting

Dave Made a Maze

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Director: Margarethe von Trotta Starring: Barbara Sukowa, Daniel Olbrychski, Otto Sander, Adelheid Arndt, Jürgen Holtz, Doris Schade

Director: Carlos López Estrada Starring: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones

Rosa Luxemburg (Barbara Sukowa) addresses a crowd: “Those who point to 40 years of peace in Europe are forgetting about the wars that took place outside Europe, and in which Europe had a hand.” In 1986, Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic of the socialist writer and activist had a profound relevance for audiences. It is part of the tragedy of Luxemburg’s character that this new digital restoration of von Trotta’s film remains so affecting. In the chaos that followed the end of the First World War, Luxemburg’s leadership of the Communist Party made her a target for those who sought to retain power in Germany. The film depicts her life from 1900, as she campaigns tirelessly for pacifism, freedom of opposition and democracy. To humanise historical figures, some filmmakers create cloying melodramas by inventing romanticism. For Luxemburg there is no need, for she is deeply embedded in a revolutionary movement where the political is personal. Von Trotta’s screenplay draws on some 2500 of Luxemburg’s letters, and Barbara Sukowa’s award-winning performance conveys a characteristic that is so rarely captured authentically – intelligence. Luxemburg gave rousing speeches to thousands, challenging and humiliating the leadership of her own party and throughout the film we see her struggle with loneliness. She is imprisoned nine times, so often at odds with the political views of friends or family and stricken with the challenges that faces a woman who employed her intellect publicly. She is consistently patronised by those around her but refuses to relinquish her desires: to have love, passions and children, but also work and have intellectual experiences. There is no directorial flashiness, instead von Trotta finds poetry in Luxemburg’s own writing, creating images that emphasise the deepness of her humanity in an historical period so often over-simplified. [Gianni Marini]

Friendships change constantly under the best of everyday circumstances; friendships dealing with incarceration, police brutality and uncertain employment can suffer more stress and re-evaluation than most. Blindspotting gives us Oakland through the eyes of Collin (Diggs), working alongside his lifelong best friend Miles (Casal) to complete probation and restart his life after a violent crime put the former behind bars. This premise is carried by terrific performances, inventive sound design and a bold script. Director Carlos López Estrada and writer-stars Diggs and Casal create a vibrant, multifaceted vision of Oakland and its peoples: gentrification and the gig economy are irrevocably altering lives while systematic profiling threatens its non-white citizens, and yet the city’s lively atmosphere is cherished. Diggs and Casal – lifelong friends in real life – wrote this film over nine years to reflect the changes and challenges faced by their home town. Their love for Oakland seeps through every frame but does not cloud a damning picture of modern America’s systems of oppression. While the uncertainty, instability, and socio-political hostility defining Collin’s existence elicit anger and outrage, the film is shot through with moments of hilarity and surrealism. Instead of distracting from the realities portrayed, the absurdity enhances the story’s urgency and honesty. The details of Collin and Miles’ crime play out in a humorous monologue over flashback – a highlight in an already stellar film – and this heightened reality also allowed Diggs to showcase his acclaimed freestyle rap skills when faced with realities he cannot change. When his world becomes too much, the only appropriate reaction is to break out of it. Blindspotting is a near faultless film, bravely engaging with topical issues while providing a frank, often funny, look at those caught in the mess. [Carmen Paddock]

Out on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on 4 Feb from StudioCanal

Out on DVD, Blu-ray and digital downlaod on 4 Feb from Lionsgate

February 2019

Director: Bill Watterson Starring: Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Nick Thune, Adam Busch If an artist finds their inspiration blocked, they don’t usually give into frustration and create a cardboard maze that ends up taking on a life of its own. This, however, is the whimsical premise of winning American indie Dave Made a Maze. The maze’s representation of frustrated creativity is immediately endearing (not to mention relatable). The rough-and-ready backdrop for Dave and company’s fantastic adventures, however, is the star of the show; the plot and people are as insubstantial as the cardboard world. As Dave’s friends – some equipped with cameras for an in-universe documentary – navigate through his bizarre creation, everyday materials create a set of obstacles that would not be out of place in an Indiana Jones movie. The booby traps and cardboard creatures might represent the stuff of nightmares, but they are so charmingly handmade that it’s hard not to be swept along by the antics. While the body count is substantial, the sense of peril is negligible – it loses some engagement here, but the low stakes make Dave unashamedly fun. Seeing monsters moving almost as claymation figures alongside live action highlights the practical effects’ ingenuity. These sections – clearly labours of love, making the most of a miniscule budget – are the films’ strongest, most exciting moments. None of the performances are standouts, but Nick Thune as Dave and Meera Rohit Kumbhani as Dave’s girlfriend Annie earn sympathy through their low-key, natural rapport. A quiet scene with multiple paper costume changes is an endearing highlight. There is not much that will stick in the memory after the charmingly animated credits roll, but Dave is an hour and a half of light-hearted fun, revelling in the whimsy of the mundane and celebrating the adventures – real and imaginary – that cement friendships and memories. [Carmen Paddock] Out now on Blu-Ray, digital download and VOD from Arrow

Review

Be Our Guest We’ve programmed an eclectic series of films to screen at Filmhouse throughout February, from Martin Scorsese’s prescient satire The King of Comedy to riotous music-filled comedy The Blues Brothers

e at The Skinny love Filmhouse’s House Guest initiative, the ongoing season where the Edinburgh cinema invite some of the most interesting artists working in Scotland to curate their own mini film programmes, giving us a fascinating insight into the films that have moved and thrilled them. Previous House Guests have included filmmaker Mark Cousins, author Irvine Welsh, playwright Jo Clifford and the mighty Young Fathers. We love House Guests so much, in fact, that we’ve been asking Filmhouse to programme our own set of films as part of the season. After cornering some of the Filmhouse team at the opening of Edinburgh International Film Festival, they finally acquiesced, and as a result The Skinny will be presenting a selection of six movies close to our heart at the cinema throughout February. Each film is chosen by a different section editor at The Skinny and their brief was simply this: choose a film that you love that also connects to your section. Some of our editors were more literal than others with their choices, but the final six we settled on are an eclectic bunch that take us from the ideological battlegrounds of future New York to a madcap Japanese noodle joint via the backstabbing (both literal and figurative) of London’s theatre scene and the tawdry sleaze of LA’s film underworld. Below, our section editors explain their choices:

like a documentary. When onstage, comedians are self-effacing and genial. But this film lets us in to an offstage world. A world where comedy is a serious pursuit that requires a singularly focussed madness to make it.” [Ben Venables] Screens Wed 6 Feb, 8.30pm

Tampopo

Tampopo (Juzo Itami, 1985) “Soup training montages, etiquette satire, a young Ken Watanabe – Juzo Itami’s ‘ramen western’ has it all. Seriously, this thing’s stuffed to bursting with fourth-wall breaks, comic vignettes and saucy asides. At its heart it’s a tale about striving for culinary perfection, but the comically circuitous route it takes to get there is a treat.” [Peter Simpson] Screens Mon 11 Feb, 6.05pm

Born in Flames

Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden, 1983) “Radical. Furious. Provocative. Director Lizzie Borden came of age when American feminist, Black Power, and socialist movements were at their height, and she poured everything she saw into her 1983 feature Born in Flames, a kaleidoscopic, dystopian sci-fi where everything from genre to politics to filmmaking itself intersects. “In Intersections we aim to not only reflect the current cultural climate, but mould it, lead it, and most importantly challenge it. The uncomfortable is embraced, so leave convention at the door and come rage with us. Born in Flames is punk rock filmmaking at its finest.” [Katie Goh] Screens Tue 5 Feb, 8.40pm The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1982) “For many The King of Comedy is a farsighted look towards our age of instant celebrity. For anyone who’s worked with comedians it is more

never change. While the days of critics living luxurious lifestyles may have gone the way of Price’s Edward Lionheart’s career, we remain, as needed but as (un)popular as ever. Sure, Lionheart’s twisted plan of bloody, theatrical revenge against London’s media establishment is far-fetched, but it’s a deliciously hammy cinematic dish served ice cold.” [Amy Taylor] Screens Mon 18 Feb, 8.25pm

Body Double

Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984) “If aliens landed on Earth tomorrow and asked to see the ‘moviest’ movie, I’d show them this self-reflexive thriller about a claustrophobic Z-list actor whose voyeuristic tendencies get him in a whole lot of trouble. With its gleeful perversion and baroque murder scene (death by giant drill), the film acted in 1984 as writer-director Brian De Palma’s thinly-veiled provocation to the critics who clutch their pearls at his previous films like Dressed to Kill and Scarface (“OK, you want to see violence? You want to see sex? Then I’ll show it to you,” said De Palma at the time). But it’s also a paean to filmmaking, from its winking film-within-film opening (and its porn film-within-film middle) to De Palma’s feverish set pieces paying homage to Hitchcock. Cinema has never been so trashy and so intelligent all at once.” [Jamie Dunn] Screens Mon 25 Feb, 8.45pm

Theatre of Blood

Theatre of Blood (Douglas Hickox, 1973) “I should probably say that choosing a film about theatre and theatre criticism for this screening was hard. But Theatre of Blood was the first film that I thought of, and in many ways, it was the only film that I wanted to screen. Why? Aside from fantastic turns from the likes of Vincent Price and Dame Diana Rigg, and a multitude of hilarious and over-the-top deaths, this film is a love song to theatre as much as it is to horror comedy. “Theatre can be a huge source of good, but it can also be pompous, self-important and exclusive, much like some of the critics that review it. As gatekeepers of sorts, critics hold theatre to account as much as theatre holds us to account, and that should

The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980) “This 1980s classic from John Landis was a favourite in my house growing up, and likely a major catalyst for my love of soul, blues and rock’n’roll music. Featuring guest performances from Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway and John Lee Hooker, join Jake and Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) on their mission from God as they attempt to get the band back together in order to save the orphanage where they were raised. Cue outrageous car chases, synchronised dancing in the street, a guest turn from a bazooka-toting Carrie Fisher and one heck of a soundtrack; I can’t wait to see and hear this on the big screen.” [Tallah Brash] Screens Thu 28 Feb, 8.25pm filmhousecinema.com/season/house-guest-skinny theskinny.co.uk/film

The King of Comedy

Review

FILM

THE SKINNY

Choose Life Bandersnatch, the latest edition of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, has a twist: you get to choose the path the character takes through the narrative, Fighting Fantasy style

PROLOGUE Black Mirror has always reveled in playing with the formats and conventions of TV and cinema, and its four series it has frequently served up episodes that see narrative and form make direct comment on one another. So it seems obvious in hindsight that when the series elected to tell the story of a video game programmer trying to adapt a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’-style book, the chosen form was that of an adventure through which you – the audience – select your own path. But just how successful was the ploy? Read on to find out.

PART ONE You are about to read an interactive review of the Black Mirror story Bandersnatch, the first interactive film from streaming giant Netflix. The show is a piece of accurately observed 80s nostalgia, from an appearance of CRASH magazine to the colour scheme of WH Smiths. Writer Charlie Brooker’s background as a video game journalist is also vital here. But how do you approach this review – do you read about how the film works (head to part three)? Or do you read about how Netflix is destroying cinema (part five)?

PART TWO In 1982, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson published Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the first book in the Fighting Fantasy series. Titles such as the Citadel of Chaos and Forest of Doom saw Puffin sell 20 million copies over two decades. The books promise to give YOU the chance to be the hero, with a character and some dice rolling as you fight enemies and find your way through the adventure. The advent and popularity of video games saw a decline in the popularity of the series. They were also deeply uncool; something forgotten in the age of The Big Bang Theory and Stranger Things where the nerds have been granted retroactive cachet. If you want to read more about narrative, head to part six of this review. If you want to find out what computers were like in the 80s, head to part four.

PART THREE Bandersnatch is split into 250 segments. At certain moments, the viewer/player is given ten seconds to decide between two possible options, influencing the outcome. It isn’t exactly clear whether you are supposed to be actually trying to make Stefan (Fionn Whitehead from Dunkirk) achieve something or if you are just in it for the most interesting story. In fact, this is where playing a game and enjoying a story can be incompatible. A story often depends on a character making some bad decisions along the way. There are supposed to be around 12 possible endings, though hidden easter eggs are also planted to be discovered. If you think it sounds like a Fighting Fantasy book, head over to part two. If you want to read more about how narrative and gaming don’t quite match, jump to part six.

PART FOUR Stefan is designing a new computer game which he is selling to a company that looks very much like Ocean. He writes on a Sinclair computer, a ZX Spectrum 48K to be precise. I had one myself. You hooked it up to the portable TV and loaded games via an audio cassette recorder. I used my tape that came as part of my Bush radio alarm clock. The games screeched for four minutes and crashed so frequently that it became the name of the magazine for enthusiasts. The Spectrum was the rival of the Commodore 64. The kind of game that Colin (Will Poulter) designed looked pretty basic – also the name of the computer language used to code the games at that point. Unfortunately for you, this review has crashed – best go back to the beginning.

PART FIVE You lose. Maybe you should go back to the start and try again?

PART SIX With video games now becoming so cinematic – see the most recent example in Red Dead Redemption 2 – it seems only fitting that cinema – or Netflix, or narrative film – becomes more like a game. But there are problems here. The first is practical. The code needed to alter a choice in a computer game can mark changes throughout a long narrative, and there are no limits to space. At least not in the way there is to the pages of a book or the amount of footage a film company is going to feel comfortable about filming, much of which won’t be seen by some of the audience. But Charlie Brooker isn’t really interested in creating a game. The idea behind the episode is

February 2019

Words: John Bleasdale

consistent with the grimly pessimistic fun we usually get with Black Mirror. As with The Truman Show, we find ourselves guilty participants in a system of control. The choices we are given only show us how little choice we have, both in controlling the story and controlling our lives. What freedom comes with choosing when we can’t choose what our choices will be? Confusing? I mean, we can choose between two options but we don’t get to choose which options. The system is closed. And sometimes we only get one. Head over to part five to find out what that option is... Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is streaming now on Netflix theskinny.co.uk/tv-radio

FILM

Review

The Last By Hanna Jameson

The Hunting Party By Lucy Foley

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Rhyme Watch Our monthly poetry column returns to recommend the newest collections and events to get you through the final wintery weeks of the season Words: Beth Cochrane

efore breezing into February, let’s take a minute to recognise and congratulate some of poetry’s biggest successes of the year thus far. Much deservedly, Edinburgh-born J. O. Morgan has been announced as the winner of the Costa Poetry Award with his book-length poem Assurances. In addition, London-based Hannah Sullivan has been awarded the T. S. Eliot prize for her first collection, Three Poems. Sullivan is only the third awardee in the prize’s 25 year history to be awarded the prize for a debut collection – truly an outstanding accomplishment. And rounding up January’s poetic wins: huge congratulations to Scotland’s new Slam Champion, Calum Rodger, who will be representing Scotland in the International Slam Championship in Paris later this year. Let’s hope he wins, shall we? Now, to February. Carcanet will be releasing Alison Brackenbury’s newest book Gallop on 28 Feb. The poetic works in Gallop have been collected from Brackenbury’s lengthy career which spans across three decades. Previously her poetry has been awarded an Eric Gregory Award, as well as a Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors. Gillian Clarke, former National Poet of Wales, comments that Brackenbury "loves, lives, hymns and rhymes the natural world and its people like no other poet." On 21 Feb, Picador Poetry will be releasing John Kinsella’s Insomnia. Kinsella, an Australian poet, is the author of over 30 books and is a Fellow of Churchill College at the University of

Remembered

By Yvonne Battle-Felton

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Remembered opens in Philadelphia in 1910, and Spring, an emancipated slave, is once again visited by the ghost of her dead sister, Tempe, whose appearance usually means bad news.

Review

Cambridge. Poetically praising the natural world and our human connection to it and ourselves, Insomnia should really be on your to-read list. Are you a poet yourself, looking to pay your way with your work, event promoting or spoken word theatre making? Jenny Lindsay of Flint & Pitch Productions may well have the course for you. The weekend-long masterclass, But… How Do You Pay the Rent? Building a Career in Spoken Word and Live Literature, will take place on 9 and 10 February at The Saltire Society in Edinburgh. At only £45 for both days, this event is absolutely unmissable for those of you looking to forge a freelance career in spoken word performing and promoting. The University of Edinburgh will be hosting queer artist, activist and performer Travis Alabanza in the David Hume Tower on 8 February at 7pm. They will be presenting a talk on poetry as a source of personal and political power before performing their poetry. Following this, there will be a short discussion with PhD researcher Jessica Brough on liberation and transformation as found through poetics. And finally, publisher Speculative Books launched its new weekly poetry night at The Parlour in Glasgow’s West End on 3 February. Entry is free and there will be an open mic section each week too, so remember to bring a poem along with you. Chris McQueer, Leyla Josephine and Iona Lee are set to be the featured acts for the next three dates on 10, 17 and 24 February.

Jon Keller is in Switzerland for a conference when a series of nuclear detonations end the world. His wife, Nadia, and their two children are still in the US, and he has no way of knowing if they are alive. Twenty people now remain in Jon’s hotel, hoping to survive the end of the world far from the nearest city. When the body of a girl is found, Jon becomes obsessed with finding the killer, convinced that they could still be among the group. Though The Last provides an interesting combination of genres – murder mystery, apocalyptic dystopian, psychological thriller – it fails to really follow through on any of the three. The focus soon shifts from the young girl’s murder to the survival of the group, and any dystopian elements, though frighteningly plausible, feel like one-dimensional scene-setting rather than a thoroughly prepared framework. The conclusion of Jon’s investigation is unexpected and abrupt and does little to tie all the loose threads together. However, the novel does well in its exploration of the human psychology under duress, with Jameson’s writing hugely perceptive. Whilst Jameson’s debut is presented as Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None meets The Shining, the reality is it’s a little less murder mystery, and a little more nuclear war dystopia. Though it is an intelligent and enjoyable read, The Last ultimately falls short by failing to provide that longed-for sense of intrigue, or an enigmatic ‘whodunit’. [Mika Cook] Viking, 31 Jan, £12.99

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It’s not an unfamiliar set-up: remote Scottish wilderness, a group of friends who all secretly despise each other, a mysterious gamekeeper, multiple murder attempts. And, for some time, Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party does follow a cookie-cutter plot. A troupe of couples and one single friend meet up to ring in the new year, but old issues rise to the fore and practically everyone has a dark secret that’s hinted at, then frustratingly whisked away. None of the main group is particularly likeable and it can prove difficult to care about the poor little rich kids and their superficial issues. A beautiful thing about Foley’s writing is her description of the wild scenery; it’s an intense, ponderous character in its own right. The night sky broods, the weather – vast expanses of unnavigable snow – is scheming and deliberate. And, in much the same way as the storm rapidly absorbs the Highland countryside, the final third of the book blossoms from pedestrian to utterly intriguing. A wheen of plotlines explode into being, most of them entirely unguessable. While this nimbly transforms the book into a page-turner, the reader could use some firmer plot points earlier on. It’s the lurking of the storm that keeps the book engaging, and there are a few red herrings to boggle the brain. However, Foley’s ability to blow plots out of the water saves the day. [Kirstyn Smith] HarperCollins, out now, £12.99 harpercollins.co.uk

penguin.co.uk/books

Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia By Tracey Thorn

Muscle By Alan Trotter

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theskinny.co.uk/books

Spring, expecting her own death to be imminent, instead faces the news that her son is in hospital; accusations that he drove a streetcar into a shop window led to a racially-motivated beating. Watching her son’s life slip away, Spring is compelled to tell him the history of his birth and family during slavery, using a blend of reconstructed memories from a scrapbook, newspaper clippings and Tempe’s ghostly input. Remembered is a story of the importance of memory and of individual stories; of how past events affect and influence the future through generations; and perhaps most importantly, of how it is crucial to never forget. Remembered is not an easy read, but it is not meant to be. Battle-Felton asks us to bear witness to rape, violence and racial atrocities, to truly understand slavery and its lasting implications on people’s lives. Battle-Felton’s prose is captivating and powerful, leading us through the harrowing and brutal events that shaped Spring and her family’s life. Remembered is a vital read, and one that won’t be forgotten any time soon. [Rebecca Wojturska] Dialogue Books, 7 Feb, £14.99 littlebrown.co.uk/books

In Another Planet, Tracey Thorn explores her life growing up in a 1970s commuter town, just outside London, long before she successfully worked as a musician and writer. Utilising her teenage diary entries, personal recollections and a recent visit back to her childhood town, Thorn describes early life in suburbia and how it shaped her, both as a woman and musician. Thorn explores longing and belonging, and feeling both welcome and a stranger, in an honest and approachable way: her writing feels familiar, providing a cosy and ultimately enjoyable read. At times this slips into the overly descriptive and repetitive, the point of certain passages becoming unclear. With some clichéd phrasing peppered throughout, Another Planet at times feels hazy and suggestive, rather than definitive, which slows down the pace considerably and is reminiscent of the sluggish life in suburbia she describes. However, Thorn skilfully turns her attention at times to the discrepancies between the lives we commit to diary and lived experience, which diarists and those in the spotlight will immediately recognise. Another Planet is a comfortable read that many people will identify with, but, much like the selective diary entries, something is missing. [Rebecca Wojturska]

Meet Box and _____, a pair of tough guys who get the job done first and ask questions later, if at all. As they cross paths with a pulp writer over the poker table, and an unscrupulous private detective, it springboards what could be a classic, straightforward mystery. But straightforward it is not. Muscle requires attention, pressing at the far corners of the imagination, daring readers to let go and follow the ride as its turns become increasingly surprising, leaving destruction in its wake and corpses piling high at the side of the rails. Trotter’s writing is witty and fascinating all at once, taking the noir genre and twisting it in directions often unseen and certainly unexpected. Dry laughs will escape, toes will curl, ears may or may not be cut off, the mind will run in circles in search of the answers. Each step goes deeper into a world of delirium; even at its most uncertain times, Muscle proves difficult to step away from. A dark and addictive fever dream. [Heather McDaid] Faber & Faber, 7 Feb, £10.89 faber.co.uk

Canongate, 7 Feb, £14.99 canongate.co.uk/books

BOOKS

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Girls King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

Les Misérables Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

In 2005, a group of 15 and 16-year-old schoolgirls at Glasgow’s Drumchapel High School banded together to protest in support of their classmate, Agnesa Murselaj, an asylum seeker from Kosovo, whose family faced imminent deportation. Their campaign soon gained unprecedented traction, attracting national attention and the support of then-First Minister Jack McConnell, ultimately resulting in the Murselaj family being granted permanent leave to remain. Their story, truly a David and Goliath tale for our times, is the somewhat unlikely premise for Cora Bissett’s musical Glasgow Girls. Since its debut in 2012, it seems that the show has become more relevant, and the current production, with its message of perseverance and hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity, could not feel more timely in 2019. Glasgow Girls is naturally a deeply political and profoundly intersectional piece, presenting the girls’ experiences as inextricably linked not only to ethnicity but also to gender and social class. While not necessarily subtle in its approach to these ideas, the production somehow manages to avoid feeling heavy-handed or preachy, and is ultimately a vibrant and joyful piece of musical theatre. Evidence of the influence of the Music Hall tradition on the performance helps create levity, despite the serious subject matter. So too does the keen wit of David Greig’s script, which relies heavily on Glasgow vernacular and typically Scottish self-deprecating humour, yet manages to never veer into being patronising, reductive or staid. The musical numbers charmingly blend disparate styles, reflecting the different cultures and ethnicities represented in the group of protesters. Natasha Gilmore’s choreography is similarly varied and effective, acknowledging not only the girls’ heritage and identities, but also channelling the shameless bravado of the girl bands that dominated late nineties and early noughties pop culture. In less capable hands, Glasgow Girls could be saccharine and potentially cringe-worthy. However, the incredible energy of this performance is invigorating and saves the production from the ever-looming threat of over-sentimentality. The principal performers are universally compelling, but standout vocal performances by Shannon Swan as Jennifer, and Kara Swinney in a dual role as Scottish valedictorian-type Emma and as Iraqi refugee Roza’s mother, lend the production added gravitas and emotional power. [Kirsty McGrory]

In an era dominated by hyperbole, it’s satisfying to encounter a production which matches the hype surrounding it. Boubil and Schonberg’s musical Les Misérables, based on the 1861 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, originally opened at London’s Barbican Theatre in 1985 and received a lukewarm reception. Fast-forward three decades and the show is a worldwide phenomenon, leaving eager attendees scrambling for returns weeks before theatres open their doors. This new production, directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, which debuted at the Wales Millennium Centre in 2009, and is nothing short of breathtaking. We begin in 19th century France, where the streets are thick with poverty, and hungry mouths force peasants to have light fingers. Jean Valjean, played superbly by the talented Killian Donnelly, has just been released from prison following a lengthy 19 years of hard labour for stealing some bread for his sister’s starving child. When he encounters kindness and generosity from the local bishop he sets to turning his life around. Meanwhile, the gifted Nic Greenshields in the role of police inspector Javert is every inch the worthy adversary who haunts Valjean’s every step and remains determined to catch the thief who has evaded him for years. Against the backdrop of this intense game of cat-and-mouse, the excitement of revolution seeps through the gutters of the streets of France and rises in backrooms, as a group of youths attempt to overthrow the government. The scenery is inspired by Victor Hugo’s paintings, with Matt Kinley’s detailed set and image design effectively immersing the audience. From the floor-to-ceiling buildings from which balconies emerge above the city streets, to the arresting homespun barricade of furniture upon which the revolutionaries rise and stand to fight, the set changes swiftly and smoothly. With an unforgettable musical score from the rousing Do You Hear the People Sing and Look Down to the fun frolics of Master of the House, the entire cast radiate talent. Particularly worthy of note is Katie Hall as Fantine, who holds the audience transfixed with her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream and is gone from the stage too soon, while Martin Ball as Thenardier is wonderfully animated as the cheeky rogue innkeeper. With increasing political uncertainty dogging our thoughts today, the image of revolution, of spirit and of hope is a tonic our hearts are thirsty for. Drink up, dream; this is an exceptional and captivating production. [Elaine Reid]

Tour continues at Eden Court, Inverness (7-9 Feb)

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until 16 Feb, times vary

rawmaterialarts.com

capitaltheatres.com/whats-on/lesmiserables

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There’s something about Touching the Void. Maybe it’s the impossible story. Maybe it’s the setting. Maybe it’s the screaming. Whatever it is, Tom Morris’ production of Joe Simpson’s unforgettable memoir is a special iteration of this terrifying true tale of survival. Adapted for the stage by David Greig, Simpson’s (Josh Williams) tale of survival against unbelievable odds in The Peruvian Andes has captivated and bewildered the public since it was first published in 1988. By now Simpson and Yates’ (Edward Hayter) near-fatal expedition to Siula Grande is a familiar tale of endurance; after their descent from the summit went horribly wrong, an inevitable error left Simpson alone in a crevasse with a badly broken leg. But this adaptation of the tale, featuring their basecamp manager Richard (Patrick McNamee), takes place in two worlds – the unforgiving reality of the mountain, and within Joe’s fracturing mind. As each hour passes, the two become more skewed and a fourth character, Simpson’s sister Sarah (Fiona Hampton), acts as a conduit between the two, becoming a stubborn guide to Simpson in his darkest moments. In Greig’s adaptation, although the journey made is the seemingly impossible trip from crevasse to basecamp, the focus is on the mind and psychological strength that someone would need to possess in order to succeed in such circumstances. It’s not an understatement to say that Touching the Void should be a difficult play to stage; Morris himself states in the programme notes that it’s an “impossible theatrical project”. But it’s a challenge that the creative team have clearly relished, and the resulting production is quite simply stunning. Ti Green’s set combines simple props with complicated creations; pub chairs become rock formations, a real climbing wall evolves from mountain, to ice cliff, and finally, the crevasse. Chris Davey’s lighting and Jon Nicholls’ sound design give the set that chilling edge, but it’s the sequences directed by Sasha Milavic Davies that somehow make the climbing scenes with Hayter and Williams effortless and believable. Greig is clearly fixated on the mental side of Simpson’s ordeal, and Williams soars in the lead role, but at times, McNamee and Hampton veer dangerously close to stealing the stage. Perhaps Touching the Void isn’t just popular because it’s a great story of sheer determination and the will to survive; perhaps the universal fascination lies in its quiet, unforgettable celebration of the unbroken human spirit. [Amy Taylor]

Glasgow Girls

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until 16 Feb, times vary Les Misérables

lyceum.org.uk/whats-on/production/touching-the-void

February 2019

THEATRE

Review

Photo: Niall Walker

Touching the Void Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

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Photo: Michael Le Poer Trench

Touching The Void

Photo: Geraint Lewis

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Stage Directions Musicals, touring opera, returning shows, and the first ever LGBTQI+ playwright festival? Sounds like it’s just another month for theatre in Scotland t’s another exciting and busy month in Scottish theatre this February, with premieres, tours and a few familiar faces gracing stages across the country. While there is a lot going on with so many exciting projects to choose from, here is an extremely small selection of some of the shows, tours and revivals that may have gone under the radar. They may have just opened their latest big production, Anthropocene, but Scottish Opera never rest, and are touring around Scotland this month with a new production of Opera Highlights from 5 February. Kicking off at the Village Theatre in East Kilbride, four singers and one pianist will visit 18 venues across the country, from Barra to Benbecula and beyond, and will play a selection of works by composers including Handel, Mozart, Verdi and Bernstein. Meanwhile, the Edinburgh Playhouse will play host to American Idiot, the Tony award-

winning rock musical featuring music by Green Day from 5-9 February. Leading the cast is Waterloo Road’s Tom Milner as Johnny, joined by 2013’s X Factor third place runner-up Luke Friend as St Jimmy and 2016 X Factor finalist Sam Lavery as Whatsername. Winner of two Tony Awards and the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, American Idiot is the story of three boyhood friends searching for meaning in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Songs include Boulevard of Broken Dreams, 21 Guns, Wake Me Up When September Ends, Holiday and, of course, American Idiot. In Aberdeen, Club Tropicana, a brand-new 80s musical, is set to tread the boards at His Majesty’s Theatre. Running from 11-16 February, and from the same producers of the hit UK tour of Hairspray, the show stars another X Factor alum, Joe McElderry, and former Sugababe Amelle

Baby Face

Photo: Daniel Hughes

The Dark

Berrabah, who makes her musical theatre debut. Set in the vibrant Club Tropicana Hotel, the drinks are free, the nostalgia is flowing, and everyone’s invited to celebrate their love of the decade that fashion forgot. There’s a double whammy of almost alarmingly prescient plays at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow this month, including Katy Dye’s hit Fringe show Baby Face, which examines the infantilisation of women and runs from 7-9 February. Then there’s The Dark, Nick Makoha’s tale of a country divided by brutal dictatorship and war. The story is told from the point of view of a young boy and his mother as they flee the conflict in 1970s Uganda. Looking at loss, displacement and escape, the play opens on 15 February and runs for two nights only. After the manipulate festivities wrap up at the Traverse Theatre, the venue is home to another festival: Pride Plays, Scotland’s first LGBTQI+ play-

Photo: Akiya Henry

Words: Amy Taylor

wright festival. It takes place from 21-23 February and features three nights of original plays by LGBTQI+ writers as part of LGBT History Month Scotland. Giving the stage to voices of an underrepresented community in Scottish theatre, each play will be performed as a rehearsed reading, with two plays per night followed by a post-show discussion led by the director and playwright. Joan Clevillé Dance return to Edinburgh after their acclaimed debut, Plan 9 for Utopia, with a new show, The North. Performed for one night only on 28 February at Assembly Roxy, this is a bleak yet whimsical story of a young man who finds himself lost in the wilderness of the North with two eccentric northerners and no memory of who he is or where he comes from. Blending dance, physical theatre and puppetry elements, the show features original music by Luke Sutherland and a soundtrack featuring everything from Wagner to Frank Sinatra.

The Write Stuff Two of the three women behind one of Scottish theatre’s newest writing collectives chat to The Skinny about why they decided to go their own way

“T

he catalyst was basically, I’ve got these pieces that I would love to try out, but nowhere to do it, let’s work together.” That, according to playwright Mhairi Quinn, was the spark that led to the creation of Tandem Writing Collective, who create bold and eclectic short plays and are about to make their first appearance at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow later this month. The collective, which she formed in 2016 with fellow playwrights Jennifer Adam and Amy Hawes, writes and stages new work at Edinburgh’s The Canons’ Gait pub and DRAM! in Glasgow, and was set up to perform short “taster pieces” of theatre written by the three playwrights. The pieces are performed script in hand by local actors and emerging directors, as part of their so-called scratch nights, which also feature live music. “I always think it’s like a wee multipack of crisps,” Quinn continues. “If you don’t like one thing, there’s always something that you can enjoy!” This theatrical night of treat-size new writing came about from a sense of frustration; as emerging playwrights, Quinn, Amy Hawes and Jennifer

Review

Adam wanted to get their work on stage and seen by people in the industry. So, they did what other emerging playwrights in Scotland would do – write plays and apply for funding, prizes and schemes. However, because everyone else was doing it, getting noticed was difficult. “It’s like having control over your own destiny,” begins Hawes. “For emerging writers you can sometimes feel like you’re scribbling into the void, and it can feel completely soul destroying.” Tandem is designed to be a welcoming and informal evening, where the audience can head to the pub to watch a night of new writing for no charge. Because there is no funding in the collective, everyone involved in the evening does it for no fee, and as they aren’t taking money at the door, the pubs they work with allow them to rent the space for free. Because there’s no funding in the collective, the three playwrights – as well as the actors and directors they work with – are doing it for the love of theatre. But it’s also a reciprocal arrangement: the playwrights get their work staged in a safe

Interview: Amy Taylor space; the actors get to work with a director, who in turn, gets to direct a new play. As Quinn explains: “It’s giving actors [the chance] to be seen by directors, so it’s a wee bit of a showcase if you like.”

“ For emerging writers you can sometimes feel like you’re scribbling into the void” Amy Hawes

The preparation for this showcase always takes place over one day where they workshop the script with the director, and the collective have very few rehearsals so that everyone can be

THEATRE

involved in their spare time. “It’s quite by the seat of your pants,” says Hawes, “it is really fast. It’s usually about an hour to prepare for on the day; it’s quite bold, and our audiences know that and they respond well to it.” This ‘by the seat of your pants’ approach has won them support, not just from audiences but also from actors such as Stephen Greenhorn. Crucially, it gave them the confidence to, as Quinn puts it, “chance their arm” by approaching Andy Arnold at The Tron about staging an event at the venue. He agreed, giving them one evening in February, before having to add an extra date after the first one sold out. The collective hope to be able to grow in the future, but for now they’re concentrating on continuing to build a community, and hope to make Scottish theatre more accessible to new and emerging artists. “It’s what theatre should be,” says Quinn of the collective. “It’s theatre for everybody.” Tandem Writing Collective, Tron Theatre, Glasgow, 5-6 Feb tron.co.uk/event/tandem-writing-collective-69/

THE SKINNY

ICYMI Mara Joy of The Spontaneous Players delves into the ridiculous world of Toast of London. Are we excited? “Yes. Yes. Yeeeeeessss.” Words: Mara Joy Illustration: Julija Straizyte

or years I’ve been confused by who exactly Clem Fandango is, and why it was so important to hear him. I knew he had something to do with the Channel 4 sitcom Toast of London, but as much as people went on about it, and even though I knew it had people I loved in it, I never got round to watching. Most of my sitcom content is American these days (The Good Place, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, etc.) so I had missed it until I had this excuse to binge series one. It was somehow both exactly and not-at-all what I expected. I’ve been a fan of Matt Berry since Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and Arthur Mathews gets a lot of my respect as the non-transphobic writer of Father Ted, so I really shouldn’t have been surprised by how utterly mad the whole thing is. Berry plays egotistical jobbing actor Steven Toast and it’s quite clearly the role of his career. His deadpan reactions followed by over-the-top mania as he finds himself in absurd situation after absurd situation is perfectly pitched. Recounting the plots would sound like some kind of fever dream as he goes from an electrified fencing match with a crazed director, to being hunted by a tuxedo-clad Michael Ball, to sharing a flat with a Nigerian woman who has had bad plastic surgery that makes her look exactly like Bruce Forsyth. It is surreal slapstick of the strangest sort and that’s even before we get to the musical break of every episode, featuring Berry’s crooning voice and at least one child dressed as Toast playing a saxophone solo. If I’m honest, it’s a bit much at times. Watching the Pilot episode (episode one on Netflix) I was left completely cold, except for one scene at a voiceover recording studio (featuring the aforementioned Clem Fandango) that’s repeated in a later episode. I kept watching and was slowly drawn into the bizarre rhythm of the dialogue, the moments of pure fantasy and the ridiculous running jokes. It’s a show where everyone from Toast’s agent – played by the inestimable Doon Mackichan – to the bizarrely attired extras that populate Toast’s London

February 2019

are allowed to be as cartoonish as possible. The fantastically-monikered side characters like Ray Purchase, Jane Plough, Susan Random, Hamilton Meathouse and, of course, Clem Fandango fill out a world where anything is possible and you really can’t ever guess what’s going to happen next.

“ Recounting Toast of London’s plots would sound like some kind of fever dream” Steven Toast joins a long line of classic sitcom buffoons that you can’t help but root for, even with their boorish behaviour and many obvious flaws. Deep in the heart of all the pantomime silliness, Berry is able to imbue the terrible actor with genuine pathos unexpected in this toybox land. Skip the Pilot and dive right in, I say. Yes, I can finally hear you, Clem Fandango! If you want more nonsense with occasional unexpected depth, I recommend checking out the Edinburgh International Improv Festival running from 7-10 February at Assembly Roxy and the Scottish Storytelling Centre (the festival launch event is headlined by Abandoman), and come see my group performing an improvised Harry Potter or Sherlock Holmes comedy play every Thursday at Monkey Barrel. Edinburgh International Improv Festival, Scottish Storytelling Centre & Assembly Roxy, 7-10 Feb. The Spontaneous Players present Spontaneous Sherlock and Spontaneous Potter, Monkey Barrel, Thursdays, £5 event.bookitbee.com/spontaneous

COMEDY

Review

Cécile B. Evans Tramway rrrrr

The suite of films by Margaret Tait currently showing in the Gallery of Modern Art (to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the filmmaker’s birth) demonstrates the subtlety of her idiosyncratic, thoughtfully-paced and atmospheric works. Also showing are works by the winners of the Margaret Tait Award, which began in 2010. As a film poet, Tait worked across poetry, art and filmmaking, and the films themselves are tightly punctuated. During a quick run-off that nears the end of Place of Work (1976), cuts feel like commas in a list, going between leaves moving on the ground, the dog, the cat. Rhymes are made between the person walking on the street and the bee crawling between failed flights, trapped behind a window. The gaze of Tait’s films goes between garden greenery and the wind passing through the leaves; the grey houses of Orkney, and the shadowy inside of her own house there; passers-by, animals and insects. Then there is footage of old Edinburgh, cranes and construction. At points, there’s field recording, then pop music or a warbling pibroch. ‘Ultimately there’s only movement, nothing else’ says a line of Tait’s poetry split over the two pages of the book left open amongst the archival materials. The camera scans along, sometimes following a moving animal, or slides over a view to record the papers or buildings there. Fixed shots come like a photograph: the plants on a Roman windowsill. Throughout the works there’s an analytic eye that resists the expectation of a comforting homeliness as Tait films her bedroom or living room. No easy prettiness either in the garden. Each shot points at an object, or lists a grouping of things, charging the select imageries with communicative intention and a composed intrigue. [Adam Benmakhlouf]

In Cécile B. Evans’ Tramway show, a complicated narrative is spread across three cinema-scale projection screens. There are large viewing structures that parallel an ambitious building that is at the centre of the film, AMOS’ WORLD. The paradox is set out that Amos as a single architectural genius attempts individually to mastermind the conditions for community, and most of the characters reside in the resultant building. It becomes clear that the many different architectural flourishes of the building have failed grotesquely. For example, the Solarium is full of bird corpses that have burned up over the solar panels. The building is thus to be demolished. These plans are then frustrated in part by the machinations of four computer-animated daffodils that join a resistance force/terrorist organisation, The Rainbow Connection. This summary is a reduction of the narrative and visual embellishments that have surprising effects on the more conventionally cinematic elements of the film. Take the puppet that plays Amos, for instance. He is rendered and operated with delicacy and care; his microgestures giving an insight into his agitation. There is also the formal decision to dub the entire film, and the daring of the final formal upheaval that reduces the film set to a sparse stage. Without the narrative separation of walled setpieces, and in a climax of poignant simultaneity, in the final scene the camera pans from a tense exchange of judgment and justification to a long tender stare shared by two characters who are enjoying the rapport of newfound empathy, as the dubbed audio from the initial exchange continues to play. The formal experimentations here combine to draw out a moment of filmic expression of one of the final key principles: community that can survive and thrive from radical difference. [Adam Benmakhlouf]

Cécile B. Evans, AMOS' WORLD, Tramway 2019

Until 5 May

Photo: Keith Hunter

Margaret Tait, Portrait of Ga, 1952

Photo: Courtesy of the Margaret Tait estate and LUX

Margaret Tait Gallery of Modern Art rrrrr

Until 16 March at Tramway, Glasgow

Where Art Now? For February, there is a new programme of performance from Fruitmarket, as well as a very politically relevant show by Talbot Rice, and an exhibition on the nature of creativity in Tramway. There are also some exciting international residencies, too

Exhibition Highlights This month, the Fruitmarket Gallery presents Open Out – a week of performance, film, installation and music aimed at exploring new ways of collaborative, cross-artform working. Highlights will include an installation by artist Marco Giordano, and a selection of artists’ moving image works by members of Spilt Milk, a social enterprise promoting the work of artists who are mothers. Also in Edinburgh, Talbot Rice Gallery will be opening their latest exhibition exploring the concept of borders at the end of February. Conceived to coincide with the UK’s exit from the EU, Borderlines is covered in more detail elsewhere in this month’s magazine, including interviews with the curator and artists. Dundee Contemporary Arts are exploring new work by Glasgow-based artist Margaret Salmon. At the heart of this exhibition is a new

Review

16mm work that uses a female erotic gaze to look for places where love might be found in contemporary life and to explore what might constitute supporting, loving relationships today. This highly charged exhibition is open until 24 February. The Tramway have already opened their spring exhibition, Extreme Imagination: inside the mind’s eye. It’s a cross-disciplinary exhibition which explores looking forward, recollecting, yearning, regretting, day-dreaming and how this leads to the creation of ‘things’. On until the start of March, this exhibition goes about exploring the easily-missed and potentially startling differences between how individuals go about their inner lives.

Margaret Salmon, Hole

Photo: Ruth Clark

et’s not pretend that January wasn’t a complete mess. The Brexit bonanza just kept on bringing bizarre images of Theresa May onto every screen in sight, and we were all holding our breath as to what on earth was going on. So before Brexit starts banging at our door and we see our arts funding dry up like the Christmas cake you’ve forgotten at the back of the cupboard, dive into our latest round-up of visual arts opportunities.

Residencies, Awards and Calls for Entries What better way to escape your Brexit woes than applying for a residency in Portugal? Curiosa are offering an intensive residential course bringing together visual artists and musicians to work collaboratively over ten days, creating new works combining photography, moving image, music, and sound art. The deadline is a way away, but still a nice thought to warm yourself to? Deadline: 25 July Another residency which could see you getting a much needed vitamin D boost as well as a creative one comes from Terra Vivente: for three weeks, a group of artists interested in the theme

ART

Words: Rosie Priest of ‘neighbourhoods’ will have the opportunity to explore the island of Sardinia. Deadline: 20 February Scottish Portrait Awards are back and looking for submissions for their 2019 season. The Awards are open to anyone over 16 years, born, living or studying in Scotland. Deadline: 30 June Attention all moving image makers or performance artists: Syn Festival is inviting UK-based artists to participate with short films, moving image work and performance pieces that explore the theme of Utopia or Dystopia in the Short Film Night of Syn Festival 2019 that will take place in early spring at Summerhall. Deadline: 20 February There’s even more opportunities for moving image makers with Barcelona International Short Film and Video Festival 2019. There’s plenty of time to submit your entries, as the deadline isn’t until early June. Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival are also on the search for submissions, including installation works, by the start of April. Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada have two residency opportunities, one in the spring and another in the summer which are designed for visual artists exploring selfdirected research themes, experimenting with production techniques, and cultivating new directions in their work. Deadline: 6 February (spring), 6 March (summer) theskinny.co.uk/art

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Music Fri 01 Feb JIGJAM (EABHAL)

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £14

JigJam are a multi-award winning quartet from the heart of the midlands in Ireland. JOHN GRANT

THE KING’S THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £13 - £31.25

The American singer/songwriter (and onetime The Czars frontman) gets back on the road. SWEARIN’ (HAPPY SPENDY)

THE LAST DONUTS

LATE NIGHT SESSIONS

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £5

DRYGATE BREWING CO., FROM 23:00, £7.50

The Last Donuts re-imagine hip-hop classics through curated arrangements, led by guitarist John Patton.

Sat 02 Feb

THE DEAD SOUTH (PRETTY ARCHIE)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:30, £18

“Mumford & Sons’ evil twins” play a blend of bluegrass, folk and rock.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £9

FISKUR (LIZZIE REID + NOAH AND THE WEST RIVER BAND)

ROSS AINSLIE & ALI HUTTON’S SYMBIOSIS (ANXO LORENZO BAND)

A new collaborative project formed by Glasgow singer/songwriter Ross Clark and Frightened Rabbit multi-instrumentalist Andy Monaghan.

Philadelphia-based band back making music following a brief hiatus.

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 19:30, £16

Multi-instrumentalists and longtime friends Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton dynamically underpin their recent two-album project, 2016’s Symbiosis and 2018’s Symbiosis II. HAYLEY KIYOKO (NAAZ)

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £22

LA-born singer dubbed by her fans as the “lesbian Jesus”. VERSATILE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

Dublin rappers, who have a song called Ketamine, if that sways you either way. MESSTHETICS

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

The rhythm section of Fugazi – bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty – team up with experimental guitarist Anthony Pirog. RIVAL SONS (THE SHEEPDOGS)

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:30, £20

Long Beach-hailin’ Californian band of heavyweight rock’n’rollers.

DECIBEL FREAKS (RAMROD + CONSTANT FEAR)

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £7

Decibel Freaks launch their new album, Zitternd, at Stereo. NICKI BLUHM (CHANCE MCCOY + PRETTY ARCHIE)

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:30, £16

After six years fronting countryrock combo the Gramblers, singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm has gone solo. ANDRES PENABAD (GRAINNE BRADY)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, FROM 20:00, £7.70

Andres Penabad is a multiawarded accordion player whose passion for music started considerably young being a part of several bands.

CREEPING BENT: ‘THINGS ARE TOUGH, BUT WE CAN STILL PICNIC’

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £14

Marking 25 years of Glasgow’s Creeping Bent Organisation, tonight’s event features new projects from label veterans together with freshly-signed talent. GALICIAN FIESTA FEATURING XABIER DIAZ AND GUESTS

DRYGATE BREWING CO., FROM 20:00, £20

A celebration of Galicia’s partnership in Showcase Scotland 2019, which sees top Galician talent performing throughout Celtic Connections’ final weekend. LATE NIGHT SESSIONS

DRYGATE BREWING CO., FROM 23:00, £7.50

Late night music under the Seven Peaks as part of Celtic Connections 2019. SON OF DAVE

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £15

A modern funky solo, bringing a bluesy, eruption of harmonica and beatboxing to the central belt. DJ POPPY AMBER ROSE (EMMA MURDOCH)

PIE & BREW, FROM 17:00, FREE

Ease yourself into the weekend with some deep-rooted nu-jazz, sounds of soul and some downright dirty funk. ANDREW WASYLYK (STEPHEN PASTEL DJ)

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £11

Also known as Andrew Mitchell, this Idlewilder multi-instrumentalist launches his new album, The Paralian.

February 2019

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £11

CHRIS STOUT AND CATRIONA MCKAY

THE KING’S THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £17.25 - £26.25

One-time members of Fiddlers’ Bid, Catriona McKay (on Scottish harp) and Chris Stout (on Shetland fiddle) continue with their inspired take on traditional music-making. LYLO

MONO, FROM 20:00, FREE

Late night music under the Seven Peaks as part of Celtic Connections 2019. OLIVE GROVE RECORDS: THE ARCHIPELAGO EPS

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £11

As part of the launch of Olive Grove Records’ the Archipelago EPs, the label will be showcasing the talents of some of the artists featured. CHRIS CLARK JAZZ & MIC CLARK ACOUSTIC BUTTERFLY

PIE & BREW, FROM 19:00, FREE

Joint show from Chris and Mic Clark. JERRY PAPER

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £8

The musical guise of LA-born synth-pop artist Lucas W. Nathan. CHANCE MCCOY

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £13

The Grammy Award-winning indie folk musician plays a special Old Crow Medicine late show.

Sun 03 Feb

MIKE YUNG (CHARLOTTE)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £16.50

Glasgow’s purveyors of wonky pop magic.

Former New York subway singer and America’s Got Talent contestant.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £6

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 19:30, £13

BRATAKUS (HEADLESS KROSS + FIVE THOUSAND + TURGID MAUS)

Riot grrrl punk duo made up of sisters Onnagh and Breagha Cuinn.

TOM MCGUIRE & THE BRASSHOLES

BOKANTÉ (DUNCAN LYALL)

Eight-piece funk/soul powerhouse from Glasgow, making moves in the Scottish scene.

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 19:30, £20

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8

Led by Snarky Puppy’s Michael League and sensational Guadeloupian vocalist Malika Tirolien, Bokanté unites musicians from four continents. DRUG CHURCH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £10

Hardcore punk band from Albany, New York. THE LUCID DREAM (VALKARYS)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £9

Fusing layered, heavily affected guitar sounds with the futuristic punk awareness of Vanishing Point and general nonchalance of 70s art rockers Suicide, TLD have an incendiary and occasionally visceral take on psychedelia.

IVW 2019: RASCALTON + STRANGE BONES

BROADCAST, FROM 23:30, £11

The most turbo band of Glasgow’s new wave, Rascalton are paired with their southern compatriots Strange Bones. FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £28.13

Huey Lewis and his NYC hip-hop/ rock ensemble head our way, hopefully minus the mugsmashing. FREE LOVE (BOSSY LOVE)

STEREO, FROM 20:00, £11

Glasgow synthpop duo (and Skinny favourites), FKA Happy Meals. KARINE POLWART’S SCOTTISH SONGBOOK

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, FROM 20:00, £20

Karine Polwart selects and performs some of her favourite Scottish pop songs, from Chvrches to the Proclaimers to The Blue Nile. RURA (TALABARTE)

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:30, £16

Scottish five-piece who won Live Act of the Year at the 2015 Scots Trad Music awards for their unique blend of fiddle, Highland pipes, whistle, flute, bodhran, guitar and voice. YOU TELL ME (ODETTA HARTMAN)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £13

The new musical venture of Admiral Fallow’s Sarah Hayes and Field Music’ Peter Brewis. MAIREARAD GREEN & ANNA MASSIE (JAMIE MACDONALD & CHRISTIAN GAMAUF)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., FROM 19:30, £14

Now approaching the tenth anniversary of their self-titled first album, Mairearad Green and Anna Massie released their fourth, Farran, in 2018.

PUBLIC PRACTICE

NYC band, with members of the recently disbanded WALL.

IVW 2019: HOLY BOUNCER (SNACK VILLAIN + INDOORSMAN)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

Mixing 70s sounds with more current stuff, the Barcelona five-piece have achieved a mix of psychedelic rock that they name hippie rock. AIDAN MOFFAT & RM HUBBERT (MARRY WATERSON & EMILY BARKER) OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, FROM 20:00, £16

The two Scots team up for music and good times. DAVID KEENAN (SAINT SISTER)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £13

Dundalk-born David Keenan’s compelling songcraft draws equally on poetic forebears and musical heroes. ALABASTER DEPLUME (FAITH ELIOTT)

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £11

Lost Map signee, delivering experimental pop music and Eastern-influenced anthems.

Mon 04 Feb

SHVPES (THE FIVE HUNDRED + DEATH BLOOMS)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £8.80

Fresh-faced metal lot from Birmingham who’ve been enjoying a fair amount of buzz. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free. ANOTHER SKY

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8

Another Sky vocalist Catrin Vincent’s voice is a weapon – peculiar, androgynous, lurching and defiant – that she wields to beautiful, evocative effect. ALLUSINLOVE (SHREDD + BLACK KING COBRA)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £8

Leeds-based band formerly known as Allusondrugs.

Tue 05 Feb

WREKMEISTER HARMONIES

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Duo made up of JR Robinson and Esther Shaw creating expansive and ambitious soundscapes.

THE FAIM (CHAPEL + HALFLIVES) KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £11

Current Rock Sound Breakout band, whose debut single was co-written by Pete Wentz. Remember him? KHANA BIERBOOD (NEKKURO HANA)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, FREE

Thai beat group with 60s psych leanings. WHITE LIES

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 19:00, £29

London-based indie-rockers who started life as Fear Of Flying. FERRIS & SYLVESTER

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8

Folk and blues duo Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester. AVERSIONS CROWN

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £15

Four-piece Death-core outfit from Brisbane. VNV NATION

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 18:30, £23

Alternative electronica duo of Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson, combining elements of electroindustrial, trance, synthpop and EBM into one danceable whole.

Wed 06 Feb THE RESIDENTS

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:30, £25

Alternately seen as a rock band, an arts collective, and a spirit, The Residents are regarded as iconic in the world of experimental music. BASTILLE (LEWIS CAPALDI)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £39

Dan Smith-led indie ensemble who may or may not have their faces painted as skulls. JIMOTHY LACOSTE

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £13.20

No longer just an internet meme, people have started taking Camden artist Jimothy Lacoste seriously. Make up your own mind. AL LOVER (DOUBLE DISCONE)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £7

The psych-fest legend brings the groove to Sleazy’s. INGLORIOUS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £15

The especially flaxen five-piece that is Inglorious hit Glasgow with a dose of rock. VUKOVI

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £11

Kilwinning experimental rockers headed by the rather magnificent (at screaming) Janine Shilstone. GANGSTAGRASS (KATY HURT)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £14

A mixture of bluegrass and hiphop that might repel some purists on either side of the country and rap divide, but might take your fancy if you’re open-minded.

Thu 07 Feb

BASTILLE (LEWIS CAPALDI)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £39

Dan Smith-led indie ensemble who may or may not have their faces painted as skulls. LEMON DRINK (A MONTH OF SUNDAYS + STATIC SUNS)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

Glasgow-based indie duo consisting of Sophie Bartholomew and Kirstie ‘KC’ Cunningham. AMAZONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £6

Born and raised Reading locals, Matt, Joe, Elliot and Chris take the aggression of grunge and punk and attempt to splice it with melody and harmony. THE MURDER CAPITAL

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £7

Hailing from all corners of Ireland, The Murder Capital are a postpunk band driven by the desire to affect cultural change. THE MURLOCS

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

Australian five-piece playing distorted soulful R’n’B.

... AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 19:00, £22

The alternative rock veterans return, defined as ever by the push and pull of Conrad Keely’s epic mysticism and Jason Reece’s primal punk surge. ONE BIG FUSE

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £5

One Big Fuse hail from the Outer Hebrides and specialise in alt rock.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

Fri 08 Feb

DRUNK GODS (BLACK CLYDE & THE TUBE DISASTERS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

Dark and visceral pre-post-punk rock music. MOTORHEADACHE

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £15

Motorhead tribute act.

KAGOULE (DO NOTHING + YUNG KP)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £8

Nottingham-based rock troupe picking up stateside guitar crunch to balance out their melodic songwriting. BEANS ON TOAST

STEREO, FROM 19:30, £15

Politically-charged one man folkmachine from London, via Essex. ROCK IT! FOR CHARITY: BATTLE ROCK! (AUDIODRIVER + AWOL + THE VIEW FROM AUGUST)

BOX, FROM 20:00, FREE

A Battle of the Bands fundraiser for Common Wheel. CARSON MCHONE

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8.50

Rule-breaking roots musician and Austin, Texas native who went from playing weeknights in local bars to gaining praise from Rolling Stone. DJ POPPY AMBER ROSE (EMMA MURDOCH)

PIE & BREW, FROM 17:00, FREE

Ease yourself into the weekend with some deep-rooted nu-jazz, sounds of soul and some downright dirty funk.

Sat 09 Feb MATT BIANCO

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £25

Group named after an imaginary Sixties super-spy in the 1980s, adored around the world for hits such as Half A Minute and Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed. THE TESKEY BROTHERS (GEO)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £11

A raw combination of soul and blues. MECHANICAL HEART (ROB KILMURRY)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

THE LIMINANAS (PAULITICAL (DJ)) BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £12.10

Hailing from Perpignan, the duo straddles the boundary between psych, shoegaze, and ye-ye. NIGHT BEATS

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Experimental psych-rock/ garage/soul trio from Seattle, led by guitarist and vocalist Lee Blackwell. GRAHAM COSTELLO’S STRATA

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £8 - £14

One of the most exciting and innovative bands on the scene, STRATA play original music fusing jazz, rock and classical minimalism.

Mon 11 Feb GIODYNAMICS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, £10

Improvised open mic with Jer Reid. BEHEMOTH (AT THE GATES + WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM)

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 18:00, £27.50

Polish death metal outfit, as blackened as you like.

Hip-hop artist from Connecticut. FUR (HONEY MOON + DARIA)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £8

Soak up some jangling, sepiatinged and 60s-inflected bop from this Brighton quartet.

TEARS FOR FEARS (ALISON MOYET)

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £39.75 - £62.45

The 80s electronic duo are back to win you over all over again. MAL BLUM (PUPPY FAT + MEGAN D)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7

New York-born musician signed to Don Giovanni Records.

Tue 12 Feb

THE JOY FORMIDABLE (ADWAITH)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £22

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, FREE

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £19.50

Evan Dando et al return. KERO KERO BONITO

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £11

The South London synth-popsters provide the dancing tunes. STONE BROKEN

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £15

Hard-rock four-piece fronted by Rich Moss. CSC: FIENDZ & FRIENDS

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £5.50

A showcase to launch new buzz band Fiendz’s highly anticipated debut single Tesco Elvis. MICAH P. HINSON

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £15

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Micah P. Hinson is an old fashioned trouble man for whom music was a saviour. RAPID TAN

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 20:00, £5

Live performance from one of the most exciting bands in Glasgow right now. IAN SWEET (PORRIDGE RADIO)

SURFBORT

The wildest band to come out of NYC in recent years. Think of a female fronted Black Lips and we’re getting somewhere. SPIELBERGS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

The Oslo duo who topped the Hype Machine most blogged about band in the world list following the release of their debut single, We Are All Going to Die. BOYZONE

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £48.25 - £56.75

Ronan, Shane, Keith and Mikey continue proceedings, some 20 years on since they first stormed the pop world.

Wed 13 Feb UKEBOX

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Five-piece ukulele ensemble, delivering fresh arrangements of anyone from The Beach Boys to Beyonce. ANDY BURROWS (ROSS JAMES STEWART + ALI ROBERTSON)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £14

The former Razorlight drummer (and sometime guest drummer for We Are Scientists) plays solo.

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

BUCKCHERRY + HOOBASTANK (ADELITAS WAY)

MARK MORRISS

A co-headline tour from Buckcherry and Hoobastank. Someone might care.

Indie rock project led by LA-based musician Jilian Medford. PIE & BREW, FROM 20:00, FREE

Mark Morriss is a singer-songwriter who famously made his name fronting English indie outfit The Bluetones. EVELYN LAURIE

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8

Paisley-born musician, who made her first singing appearance on stage at the age of four at a talent show in Arbroath.

Sun 10 Feb BALTHAZAR

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Belgian pop outfit infusing their sound with rock, electro and hip-hop influences.

CLUB LATE

A live band’s interpretation of Jeff Buckley’s 1994 debut album Grace, played in full from start to end.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £2 - £8

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £15

Simplistic electronic beats and paint-by-numbers rapping is the order of the day, as the Prof attempts to entertain the yoof.

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £25

GLASS CAVES

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £10

Glass Caves are “a word of mouth phenomenon” four-piece with lots of hair. LULUC

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

Australian duo, made up by Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett, who have collaborated with the likes of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner (The National).

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £15

GEORGE MICHAEL TRIBUTE

An inclusive club night, with changing monthly Djs and performers.

Brendan J Carr performs the hits of George Michael and Wham.

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £13.50

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £25.85

WILD NOTHING

The Virginia dream-pop project of musician Jack Tatum touring in support of his latest album. URVANOVIC (MITCHELL MUSEUM + STORM THE PALACE)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Over-staffed chamber-pop ensemble Urvanovic kick off their UK/EU tour with this hometown show. LONELY HEARTS CLUB (AWKWARD FAMILY PORTRAITS + WHOLLY CATS)

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 19:30, £10

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 19:00, £20

THE LEMONHEADS

START TO END: JEFF BUCKLEY’S GRACE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £16.50

WITT LOWRY

Sat 16 Feb

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £15

London-via-Dublin indie pop trio, who count Bono as a mentor.

WHENYOUNG

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £9

Hardworking female-fronted Welsh trio and their atmospheric indie rock, heavy on melody but with plenty of driving, sinewy riffs.

Dodgy will play their album Homegrown in full plus other hits on a huge UK tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release.

PROFESSOR GREEN

Live music from Awkward Family Portraits and Wholly Cats with DJ sets from The Wild West Wonders and John’s Wean.

Special stripped back and full band performances celebrating ten years of music.

DODGY: 25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR (BABYBIRD + TONY WRIGHT)

Thu 14 Feb

KEVIN KRAUTER

An insightful songwriter with a lyrical style that is both economical and evocative, Kevin Krauter crafts unique soundscapes that scramble a range of influences.

Fri 15 Feb CAEZAR

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Joe Donnelly and JJ Gilmour, formerly of The Silencers, touring with their new band Caezar. BABEHEAVEN

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £11

West London band touring the UK. NOVEMBER LIGHTS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £4

Bleeding elements of American pop and Americana from November Lights. HIPPO CAMPUS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £17

Fast-rising indie pop-rock band, who’ve been putting in the graft on the festival circuit over the past few years. VEIN

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £14

Swiss jazz trio return to the UK. THE CLAUSE (DOGTOOTH)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

One of those rare indie bands influenced by the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian. Who’d have thunk it?! STEVE AOKI

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £26.25

Two-time Grammy-nominated DJ Steve Aoki returns to the UK for more headline shows, more cake throwing and even more champagne.

THE SONGS OF SWELL MAPS & TVPS (THOSE UNFORTUNATES + DJ LAURA LUREX)

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £10

Jowe Head & The Teenage Filmstars perform the songs of Swell Maps & TVPs.

SOUND THOUGHT PRE-PARTY (EVIL MEDVED + TRUDAT SOUND & LIGHT + THE REVERSE ENGINEER + ALESSIO WAGNER + LINDA BUCKLEY) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Launch party for the Sound Thought Festival featuring sound art, audio visual performance, live 303 jams and spatialised synthetic shakedowns. BODEGA

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 19:00, £12.50 - £15

Brooklyn art rock unit, with wild minimalism and sharp wit. DJ POPPY AMBER ROSE (EMMA MURDOCH)

PIE & BREW, FROM 17:00, FREE

Ease yourself into the weekend with some deep-rooted nu-jazz, sounds of soul and some downright dirty funk. THE KATET

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £10

Imagine a classical conductor who leaves his score, baton and concert hall for a sweaty, underground funk dungeon. This is, essentially, how Mike Kearney founded The Katet, Edinburgh’s seven-piece soul-funk monster.

MAYDAY PARADE + THE WONDER YEARS (MOVEMENTS + PRONOUN)

Mayday Parade and The Wonder Years are teaming up for a tour full of emo, pop-punk dreams. TOY (NASARI + DAS PLASTIXX)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £13.75

Korg Delta led five-piece fueled on a chugging motorik rhythm. GRINGO STAR (THE TEST)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £7

Spidery 60s garage with lots of sunshine vibes.

INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

New disco project from The Moonlandingz founders. BEN MONTEITH

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £15

Sounds like the result of putting Newton Faulkner, José González and OneRepublic in a blender. Make of that what you will. HAKEN

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £18.56

London progressive metal types bringing the heavy to their expansive song structures. CHVRCHES

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £26.65 - £31.20

Electro-pop trio from G-town, currently embarking on a mammoth world tour.

OHMME (MOONSOUP + GIFT HORSE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8.50

OHMME are celebrated as the “Heart of Chicago’s Music Community” by both fans and tastemakers alike. THE SELL OUT BAND

PIE & BREW, FROM 17:00, FREE

The Sell Out give The Who’s legendary body of work a new perspective and a different energy. POPPY ACKROYD

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £12

A classically trained pianist, violinist, producer and composer, Poppy Ackroyd has turned heads in the neo-classical world. THE BLUE ARROW HOUSE BAND

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £5

The Blue Arrow House Band is a new live jazz collective featuring a rotating line-up of some of the finest young musicians in Glasgow.

Sun 17 Feb

KING KING (SARI SCHORR)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £23

British bluesbreakers and multiaward winners at the British Blues Awards. THE PAPER KITES (CRAWFORD MACK)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £12.10

Melbourne natives peddling tender folk-rock.

BASSFACE (SAMBAYABAMBA)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £9

Bass music bangers all night long for students to lose their shit to. SLASH FEAT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS

SEC, FROM 18:30, £53.90

The former Guns ‘N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver guitar wielder and big hat enthusiast tours with material old and new. WHITE DENIM

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £19.50

Genre-spanning Texans, omnivorously squeezing as many diverse influences as possible into every track. MAGGIE ROGERS

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £16.50

Former NYU student and ELLE intern turned Pharrell-approved pop star. DOE

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £8

Badass London three-piece bringing ragey pop tracks to a live setting.

Listings

POST MALONE THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £51.10 - £73.80

Justin Bieber’s pal and “rockstar” inexplicably earning hit singles and Grammy noms for his less-thanaverage pop-rap stylings.

Mon 18 Feb REELS & JIGGZY W/ NEIL MCDERMOTT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, £5

Trad, roots and folk open mic. FKJ

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £17.60

In case you couldn’t already guess, FKJ stands for French Kiwi Juice (duh), and is the musical project of Vincent Fenton. LALA LALA (HUSSY)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £9

The Chicago-based musical project of Lillie West. THE RISING

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8 - £10

The Rising can best be described as blending fresh-faced pop/rock with modern country stylings fresh from Nashville.

Tue 19 Feb

ROLLAND SQUARE (QUOTES OF THE DEAD)

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Four-piece indie rock/pop band based in Glasgow writing fresh, upbeat tunes with Scottish vocals and catchy melodies. THE STRUTS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £17

Indie rock four-piece hailing from Derby, casually strutting on to the scene much as their name would suggest. AVI BUFFALO (LOWPINES)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £8

Alternative-styled Long Beach ensemble founded by singer/ songwriter and guitarist, Avi Zahner-Isenberg. BREATHE PANEL (HOME$LICE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £9

Breathe Panel have crafted their own sound based around the intuitive songwriting partnership of Josh Tyler and Nick Green.

Glasgow-based band who deal with words and tunes, often at the same time.

Glasgow-based melodic hard rock band.

The Sheffield metalcore troops bring their usual racket.

Edinburgh Music

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £9

The Björk, Sigur Rós and Depeche Mode remixers return.

IVW 2019: BLOKE MUSIC

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £17.50

Dynamic five-piece from Reading ready to take 2019 by storm.

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £25

FATBOY SLIM (EATS EVERYTHING + COUSN)

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £13.50

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £31.20 - £48.25

Bloke Music is an unforgiving band of men who like nothing better than taking things apart and putting them back together again.

DECLAN WELSH & THE DECADENT WEST

UPROAR (NESHIIMA + DARKNESS DIVINE)

WHILE SHE SLEEPS (STRAY FROM THE PATH + LANDMVRKS)

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £11

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £10

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £20

AMINE

Portland rapper championing upbeat, positive rap in the ilk of Chance the Rapper and Lil Yachty. CHRISTOPHER RYAN

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, TBC

Creating unique sounds with his cigar box guitar, djembe, Tahitian ukulele, vocal harmonizer, acoustic guitar and live looper. BLUE OCTOBER

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £27

Shimmering rock lot hailing from Texas.

OUR HOLLOW, OUR HOME (THECITYISOURS + THE UNCHARTED) BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

Melodic metalcore from the south coast of the UK. ART BRUT

STEREO, FROM 19:30, £15

Berlin-based indie-rock lot, all rambunctious energy and endearingly ramshackle vocal arrangements.

VALERAS (FREAKWAVE + WYLDE)

THE SENSATIONAL DAVID BOWIE BAND

David Bowie tribute act. MOTHERS

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

Originally formed as the solo project of frontwoman Kristine Leschper, Mothers are an Athensborn (Georgia, not Greece) fourpiece specialising in indie rock. MOTOWN MOMENTS

PIE & BREW, FROM 19:00, FREE

On the last Saturday of every month, Glaswegian starlet Kitty and her hand-picked band play everything from old school Motown and soul, to neo-soul jams. DOUNE THE RABBIT HOLE WARM-UP PARTY

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £7 - £10

Fri 22 Feb

Warm-up party for Scotland’s favourite wee music festival, with a brilliant line-up of artists, bands and Djs.

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £16.50

Sun 24 Feb

JON FRATELLI (RAYMOND MEADE)

Rowdy songmanship from the Fratellis frontman. SHE DREW THE GUN

MONO, FROM 19:30, £11

The latest in a long line of brilliant bands from Liverpool’s The Wirral. TOMORROW SYNDICATE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Glasgow’s kraut masters of vintage synth-driven rock. SCOPYONS

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £11.50

Scorpions tribute make a welcome return to Rock You Like A Hurricane. RUTS DC

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £19.80

Formerly known as The Ruts – a much loved band of the punk rock era.

WHOLLY CATS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, £5

Glasgow cowboy jazz, boogie rock’n’roll trio. LEIF ERIKSON

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £7

London-based group sharing a name with the 11th century Norse explorer who, as legend has it, discovered North America long before Christopher Columbus. THE PALE WHITE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8

Newcastle-based alternative rock band, comprising of brothers Adam and Jack Hope, and long-time friend Tom Booth. SEAN MCGOWAN

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

Irish trio blending folk, hip-hop, rock and R’n’B through their glorious vocal harmonies.

Rock and roll band from Glasgow.

Southampton-born musician raised on a diet of The Clash, The Jam, Specials, Billy Bragg and other such politically-charged, punkignited British pop.

Wed 20 Feb

Psychedelic duo from Edinburgh.

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £8

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8

WYVERN LINGO

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £8

NEKKURO HANNA (SLY AT LAST + GELATINE)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, FREE

Glasgow four-piece who need to be seen live to be believed. QUEEN ZEE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

A flamboyant glittery punk-pop band from Liverpool who formed in 2016, bringing much-needed pandemonium with their ferocious live shows. DU BLONDE

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

Newcastle singer/songwriter Beth Jeans Houghton in her new Du Blonde guise.

PONTANGZ (LONG DISTANCE + PRIMES)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

MAN OF MOON

THE LEMON TWIGS

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £16.50

Pop rock fresh from the shores of Long Island, NYC.

Mon 25 Feb

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 21:00, TBC

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £22

Live performance from Samson Sounds. BIG JOANIE

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Self-described as “like The Ronettes filtered through 80s DIY and riot grrrl with a sprinkling of dashikis.” In other words, yes please.

DANCE WITH THE DEAD (LE BROCK)

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £16.50

PIE & BREW, FROM 17:00, FREE

RY X

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £19.25

Australian crooner Ry X plays as part of a small tour in which he’s beginning to share some new material from an upcoming solo release. STEELY DAN (STEVE WINWOOD)

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £56.75 £107.85

Grammy Award-winning jazz rock band Steely Dan are back.

Ease yourself into the weekend with some deep-rooted nu-jazz, sounds of soul and some downright dirty funk. THE VINTAGE EXPLOSION

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £10

Glasgow natives touting fast’n’hard riffs and lashings of swag.

THE BLEEDERS (FAUNA + THE VEGAN LEATHER (DJ SET))

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

Hardcore band from New Zealand, who have delighted us with tracks like Out of Time, Nightmares and She Screamed She Loved Me. Lovely.

Listings

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free. BISHOP GUNN

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £11

Southern-rock revivalists, whose music is rooted in the history and sounds of their home in Natchez, Mississippi.

Tue 26 Feb

INDIGO VELVET

New York-based band creating brass protest music.

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

THE RED LITE DISTRICT ( THE PERFORMANCE ENHANCING SUPPOSITORIES + DEATH TO NOODLES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, TBC

Psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll quartet from Santa Cruz, California. LARKINS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £11

Classic indie rock’n’roll from Manchester.

PETAL (TONGUE TRAP + HANDSOME GIRL)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Petal’s Kiley Lotz draws equal influence from 70s powerhouses like Queen and Nina Simone as it does modern vocalists like Solange, Margaret Glaspy and Mitski. BRONCHO

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £13

High-energy Oklahoman quartet who first found fame in the closing credits of Lena Dunham’s HBO series, Girls.

BIG NOWHERE (THE POACHERS + ARE.U.REALLY.ALIVE)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, FREE

BRASS AGAINST

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £19.60

GANG + INEVITABLE DREAM

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 19:30, £5

The two Margate bands dealing in mind-boggling psych rock and trippy pop weirdness team up for a co-headline UK tour. CONOR SMITH AND THOMAS GIBBS

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5

Conor Smith and Thomas Gibbs collaborate to present this throwback Thursday of swinging jazz.

Wed 27 Feb

SUMMIT (PROBABLY TAKEN + GRAVELLE + GREAT RED SHARK)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

Four-piece rock band based in Paisley/Glasgow.

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £5

IVW 2019: WITHERED HAND (SOLO ACOUSTIC SHOW) (HAILEY BEAVIS + JASON RIDDELL)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

Cult legend Withered Hand plays an intimate gig as part of Independent Venue Week.

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £34.25

Vintage reworks of contemporary pop hits courtesy of pianist and arranger Scott Bradlee.

A night of Celtic/folk punk.

ANTI-CLOCKWISE (RSDB + HAPPY SPASTICS + CRITIKILL)

BURNING LAZY (THE STREAMS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £8

Burning Lazy are four guys from Greenock growing up on the Clyde, where the weather is raw just like their music. BILLIE EILISH

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £15

Viral sensation, whose debut single Ocean Eyes was originally written for a dance class. PRESS TO MECO

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8

The alternative-styled progressive rock thugs go heavy duty on the guitars, as per. KEVIN MCGUIRE

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £9

Young pop hopeful playing a local show following the release of his successful single 3AM. THE COMET IS COMING

STEREO, FROM 19:30, £15.50

Experimental cosmic funk inspired by everything from Sun Ra and Funkadelic to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. LAURA GIBSON

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £13

Multi-instrumentalist and singersongwriter hailing from Coquille, Oregon.

Fri 01 Feb LET MAN LOOSE

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, FREE

Four-piece rock ‘n’ roll band from Hull. GENEVA

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, TBC

Aberdonian rockers who found fame in the mid-90s.

FRESH PRODUCE PRESENTS: FERAL FAMILY (THE ROQUES + THIRD PARTY)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £5

Sheffield punk four-piece Feral Family are joined by two Scottish acts sure to make waves of their own, The Roques and Third Party.

NEHH PRESENTS… THE VASELINES (CARLA J. EASTON)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 19:30, £26.50 - £36.50

HEAVY RAPIDS (PUBLIC PRACTICE)

A post-punk double headliner, with hotly-tipped Glaswegian young team Heavy Rapids and sardonic New Yorkers Public Practice. START TO END PRESENTS: CAROLE KING – TAPESTRY

SUMMERHALL, FROM 19:30, £13

KAZABIAN

Kazabian are the official and number one tribute act to the mighty Kasabian, endorsed by the real thing and touring extensively around Britain and Europe.

IVW 2019: ANOTHER SKY (L-SPACE + MILKD) THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £9

Another Sky vocalist, Catrin Vincent’s voice is a weapon – peculiar, androgynous, lurching and defiant – that she wields to beautiful, evocative effect. IVW 2019: HOLY SAVAGE (MISS THE OCCUPIER)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

Angry, intense, foul-mouthed social commentators Holy Savage play the Depot’s penultimate gig for Independent Venue Week 2019.

Sun 03 Feb JOHN CORABI

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £15 - £18

The Dead Daisies frontman returns after a few years for an acoustic night of songs and stories. ALLUSINLOVE (FABRIC BEAR + SHREDD)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £7

Leeds-based band formerly known as Allusondrugs. NEHH PRESENTS… GYÐA VALTÝSDOTTIR

SUMMERHALL, FROM 20:00, £14

Gyða Valtýsdottir brings her new project Epicycle to The Dissection Room. ANOTHER SKY

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £9 - £11

Another Sky vocalist, Catrin Vincent’s voice is a weapon – peculiar, androgynous, lurching and defiant – that she wields to beautiful, evocative effect. AMOR (LUKE FOWLER + MICHAEL FRANCIS DUCH + PAUL THOMSON + RICHARD YOUNGS + MANY ANIMALS DJS (FRANK + DAVIE MILLER))

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 19:00, FREE

AMOR are the analogue supergroup quartet from Glasgow, channeling leftfield disco, early house euphoria and open-hearted vocal transcendence. IVW 2019: CALLUM EASTER

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £17

Mon 04 Feb

Cancer Bats are now truly ready to take on the entire world with their new album The Spark That Moves.

Sun 10 Feb OPEN MIC

BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

Free music all day from acoustic to blues and rock. JED POTTS & THE HILLMAN HUNTERS

BANNERMANS, FROM 21:00, FREE

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:00, FREE

Callum Easter will be performing and curating a special night with friends at Leith Depot for Independent Venue Week.

CANCER BATS

A selection of excellent bands for City of Glass’ final show.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £5

Iconic, playful and totally catchy, The Vaselines play Summerhall for Independent Venue Week.

SUMMERHALL, FROM 20:00, £15

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £6

THE CLASSIC ROCK SHOW

Harcore punk from France.

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £14

Sonic Bothy Ensemble launch their debut album, Fields,

USHER HALL, FROM 19:00, £27.50

CITY OF GLASS (FAST APPROACHES + ME LOST ME + SUPER INUIT + GAZE IS GHOST)

More intimate and electric blues from Potts and his merry band.

MONO, FROM 19:30, TBC

SONIC BOTHY – ALBUM LAUNCH

AN EVENING WITH BRIAN FALLON: SONGS FROM THE HYMNAL

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, FREE

Edinburgh-based punk EDM group Krow bring their unique and theatrical brand of music to Sneaks.

The Gaslight Anthem frontman paving his own solo career.

Electronic trio hailing from Perth, Australia.

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £12.10

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £16

KROW (MOTHER EAT MOTH)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 18:45, £6

Start to End and leading Scottish vocalist Rachel Lightbody team up once more for a night celebrating Carole King’s classic 1971 album, Tapestry.

CROOKED COLOURS

HOMEBOY SANDMAN & EDAN (LIVE) (SOLENOID + FBC + DJ FREEHARDY + SKOOP TAKEOVER + LOKI THE SCOTTISH RAPPER)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:00, £13 - £15

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £12

Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) returns with his punk outfit.

Wed 06 Feb

RUMJACKS (MATILDA’S SCOUNDEL’S + MICK O’TOOLE + SKAGHOORS)

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £13

Beinn Lee are a six-piece band from Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

OLD FIRM CASUALS (ON FILE + BRASSKNUCKLE + PANIC ATTAK)

Sat 02 Feb

Thu 28 Feb

MOD GHLASCHU WITH BEINN LEE AND DLU

Tue 05 Feb

Both formidable solo artists in their own right and now an even more potent hip-hop duo signed to legendary US label Stones Throw.

A live juke box of classic rock sounds, from Eric Clapton and The Eagles to Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top.

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £13

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £27.50

TROYE SIVAN

The Brighton-based DJ and producer (aka Norman Cook) aiming to turn massive arenas into unique night club experiences on his In the Round Show tour.

CORY WONG

Glasgow band continuing to earn plaudits over two albums and three EPs.

Thu 21 Feb

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £8.80

ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC NIGHT W/ GERRY LYONS

Sat 23 Feb

Tropical-pop quartet from Edinburgh.

THE NAKED FEEDBACK (LUCID HOUND + DROP THE BABY)

Pennsylvania-born singer/songwriter, now based in Nashville.

Cory Wong of US funk sensation Vulfpeck heads out on a UK tour.

South African-born Aussie, who’s a singer-songwriter and, yep, a ‘YouTube personality’.

Fife-based funk troupe play another monster set.

MEGAN DAVIES

The Vintage Explosion are a sevenpiece band authentically recreating the sounds from the golden era of entertainment.

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8

BOHEMIAN MONK MACHINE

Tenement Jazz band are a traditional jazz band brought together by their shared love of New Orleans music.

FRIDAY REGGAE SHACK (SAMSON SOUNDS)

DJ POPPY AMBER ROSE (EMMA MURDOCH)

Californian duo blending metal and synths inspired by 80s John Carpenter horror.

TENEMENT JAZZ BAND

GUSGUS

IMPERIAL AGE (SERPENTYNE)

ONE BIG FUSE

One Big Fuse hail from the Outer Hebrides and specialise in alt rock.

Thu 07 Feb OHNOVA

MISS LEADING

Covers band, throwing in a few original tracks here and there.

STONE SOUP (JAY LAFFERTY + LOS MASCAROS + DAVESNEWBIKE)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £6 - £8

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £5

Warm your cockles at February’s Stone Soup winter warmer.

STONE BROKEN (ANCHOR LANE + THOSE DAMN CROWS)

Mon 11 Feb

Alternative desert rock trio.

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £15

Hard-rock four-piece fronted by Rich Moss. JIMOTHY LACOSTE

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £13.20

No longer just an internet meme, people have started taking Camden artist Jimothy Lacoste seriously. Make up your own mind. TUFLAMENCO PRESENTS: AGUSTITOS GRANDES CARAPAPAS NIGHT (SERGIO PRAZERES + CHEEKYRRIKIS FLAMENCO POWER + TUFLAMENCO + THE RELIABLES)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Bossa-nova, Flamenco, Scottish traditional folk and a little bit of everything in between.

Fri 08 Feb

VIGIL OF WAR (WILD THORN)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £8 - £10

Hollywood newcomers with star credentials making their Scottish debut. THE RAMONAS

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:00, £11.50

The Ramones tribute act.

CLOUDBUSTING: THE MUSIC OF KATE BUSH

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 20:00, £19

Cloudbusting have been championed by BBC One as one of the most authentic tributes in the world. SMASHING PATRIARCHY (LOUD SOUTH LADIES + ELECTRIC ALPACAS + FISTYMUFFS) WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £5

Feminist fundraising gig for the organisation of a street demonstration for International Women’s Day. MURDER CAPITAL (LAZY ANGEL)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

Hailing from all corners of Ireland, The Murder Capital are a post-punk band driven by the desire to affect cultural change. SAFER BY SOUND FUNDRAISER

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

A fabulous 80s night raising funds for Safer by Sound.

Sat 09 Feb

CHRIS GLEN & THE OUTFIT

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £13 - £15

SAHB and MSG bass playing legend brings his solo band back for a killer show. MATT BIANCO

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £25

KAMCHATKA

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:45, £7 - £9

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £10

The Edinburgh-formed noiseniks celebrate their latest release with the usual feedback-fuelled set. ALASDAIR ROBERTS (AMBLE SKUSE + DAVID MCGUINNESS) SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

Drag City artist Alasdair Roberts presents his new collaborative project What News, probably his best work to date, joined by fellow collaborators Amble Skuse and David McGuinness. START TO END PRESENTS: JEFF BUCKLEY – GRACE

SUMMERHALL, FROM 19:30, £15 - £17

Start to End celebrate Jeff Buckley’s magnificent 1994 album, Grace. THE CUREHEADS + SIOUXSIE AND THE BUDGIES

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £15 - £18

The Cure & Siouxsie and the Banshees tributes. ODDITY ROAD

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £8

Oddity Road defy their young age to deliver heavy riffs and tight infectious songs. THE MILK LIZARDS + MARIACHI DEATH SQUAD + SECRET ADMIRER

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

Sat 16 Feb

BRODIE JARVIE & FUENSANTA MÉNDEZ

Fuensanta Méndez and Brodie Jarvie are two musicians and friends who decided it was time to combine their love for music and present it together. WHITE LIES

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £29

London-based indie-rockers who started life as Fear Of Flying.

Tue 12 Feb

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 17:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke. PETER ANDRE

USHER HALL, FROM 18:00, £27.50 - £36.75

The mysterious girl, sorry, we mean Peter Andre, brings his tropical sounds back to Scotland on his new tour. UKEBOX

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £5

Five-piece ukulele ensemble, delivering fresh arrangements of anyone from The Beach Boys to beyonce.

Wed 13 Feb

ENUFF Z’ NUFF (LAST GREAT DREAMERS)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £15 - £18

The Chicago legends return to promote their new album. LIAM T. CLAYTON

THE CAVES, FROM 19:00, £5

Liam T. Clayton performs an acoustic set of songs from his latest album, as well as previous releases and covers. JUST BEATLES

BURNT OUT WRECK (SCARLETT REBELS)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £13

Ex-Heavy Pettin drummer takes on the frontman role with his latest band.

JASON MANNS AND PAUL CARELLA

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:45, £15

Singer-songwriter/producer Jason Manns and award-winning Americana artist Paul Carella head out on their first ever joint tour of the UK. COLOURS CLASSICAL

USHER HALL, FROM 18:00, £38.50 - £41.80

A classical music and club night synthesis, featuring the Scottish Festival Orchestra, guest DJs and a selection of vocalists. SERIOUS SAM BARRETT (IAN HUMBERSTONE + BURNT PAW)

WAVERLEY BAR, FROM 20:00, £6

Founder of a punk-style D.I.Y. label to document his local folk scene, “Serious” Sam Barrett combines American Delta blues and country with English traditional music in a direct, heartfelt fashion. JOWE HEAD (THOS UNFORTUNATES + THE JEFF SNIPER GROUP) WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £10

Jowe Head and The Teenage Filmstars return for an evening of TVP’s and Swell Maps classics. MEDITERRANEO: CARNEVALE 2019! (THE BADWILLS + SWAMPFOG + BRISTOL BRANCH) SUMMERHALL, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

A wild night of Italian Pizzica, New Orleans Brass, Brazilian Forró, and masks... lots of masks!

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £15

MACTALLICA + LIVE UNDEAD + MEGADETH UK + ARRANTHRAX

BILL RYDER-JONES

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 16:00, £20

The Beatles tribute.

SUMMERHALL, FROM 19:30, £15 - £18

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, string-arranger and composer Bill Ryder-Jones has had a career spanning 15 years, a rarity in a world that so often looks to the new. FUZZ BAT XII (GIFT HORSE + COLOURED WATER)

THE SAFARI LOUNGE, FROM 19:30, £0 - £4

Alloa boys keeping Britpop alive, for some inexplicable reason.

WOZNIAK (FUZZYSTAR)

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £5

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

WEE RED BAR, FROM 18:00, £15

VIDA

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:30, £5

A gig/club event from new promoters OK PAL.

Wild ride with vintage vibes, surf beats and retro twang. California Nightmarin’.

Experimental noise riff rock madness.

A conscious dance event for people who love to dance, offering an authentic clubbing experience with quality underground dance music.

OK PAL PRESENTS MY BIG DAY (KITS + HOUSEKIND + FAITH ELLIOTT + LATE!)

Swedish hard blues rock trio.

Group named after an imaginary Sixties super-spy in the 1980s, adored around the world for hits such as Half A Minute and Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed. STARDANCER

Fri 15 Feb

Thu 14 Feb THE KATET

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax tributes. FAKES + FISTYMUFFS + IMOGEN STIRLING

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

A mix of loud and quiet noises.

Sun 17 Feb BOOTS FOR DANCING

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:00, £10

This punk-funk combo began life in the capital as a post-pub piece of bravado and rolled through three years of existence with a constantly changing line-up around frontman Dave Carson. ULTIMATE EAGLES

USHER HALL, FROM 19:30, £27.50

The Hotel California hit-makers touch down in Edinburgh.

INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

New disco project from The Moonlandingz founders.

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

Powerful symphonic metal.

THE SKINNY

BILGE PUMP (PILOTCAN + SONS OF DESCENT) LEITH DEPOT, FROM 14:00, £5

Post-punk/noise rock legends Bilge Pump release their new album via Gringo Records in February. WYLDE + BETTY & THE BASS

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, FREE

A weird variety of punk, grunge, country and shoegaze. A night for the bands and the music lovers.

Mon 18 Feb WE ARE THE CATALYST

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:00, TBC

Thought-provoking, inspiring and empowering rock/alternative metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. LORI WATSON: YARROW

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

Yarrow is an evolving collection of traditional and original songs and new music by Lori Watson.

Tue 19 Feb

OTEP (PSYCHOVILLAGE + MY OWN GHOST + THOLA)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £17 - £20

Debut Scottish show from Otep Shamaya and her metal outfit. THE VIRGINMARYS (FLORENCE BLACK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £13

ROB HERON AND THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £12

Ones to watch on the UK’s growing Americana scene; playing an eclectic mix of Western Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Hokum Blues, Ragtime, Cajun and Country. FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £19.80

Former Gallows and Pure Love frontman takes to the road with his latest project – expect somewhat of a ruckus. LUNA THE PROFESSOR

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

Teenage indie-rockers from Wishaw. CLIMAX BLUES BAND

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £18

Climax Blues Band are alive and well, flying the British blues flag in 2019.

Sat 23 Feb GODTHRYMM

An antirepression night.

SHE DREW THE GUN (MAN & THE ECHO)

An evening of post-punk psychedelic instrumentals.

BELL LUNGS EP LAUNCH (RAIMENTS + CLAQUER) HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:00, TBC

Prolific experimental vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from Scotland. ART BRUT

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £15

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

SEVENPENNY NIGHTMARE + DREAM TOBACCO

OPEN MIC

BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

Free music all day from acoustic to blues and rock. CRANACHAN

BANNERMANS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Classic rock covers from the 60s to present day. BASS FACE & HARBINGERS BRING YOU DRUMS & BASS (LIVE)

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5 - £7

Berlin-based indie-rock lot, all rambunctious energy and endearingly ramshackle vocal arrangements.

Jump about with two of Edinburgh’s finest drum-based crews.

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £8

Reggae-influenced punk-rockers who reformed in 2012.

WYVERN LINGO

Irish trio blending folk, hip-hop, rock and R’n’B through their glorious vocal harmonies.

THE RUTS

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £19.80

VALERAS

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Thu 21 Feb

Dynamic five-piece from Reading ready to take 2019 by storm.

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £8 - £10

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

SKAM

UK rock trio back to blow the roof off.

EDINBURGH BLUES CLUB (KYLA BROX + BLUE MILK)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £16

Edinburgh Blues Club is a Social Enterprise established to harness popular support for regular blues events in Edinburgh to ensure that the city and surrounding areas do not miss out on quality touring blues acts. RAZORLIGHT

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £26.75

Johnny Borrell and his band of merry men are back with their first album in over 10 years. WILLIE J HEALEY (HOLY LOAF)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Brilliant folky slacker rock from Oxfordshire. Willie J Healey has just come off tour with Slaves and has recently released on Maccabees’ guitarist Felix White’s label, Yala! PALACE

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £11

London-based three piece comprising school friends Leo Wyndham, Matt Hodges and Rupert Turner. BORROWED BOOKS

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

A night of rock, folk and more.

Fri 22 Feb

THE PROPHECY (VULTURIC EYE)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, TBC

Progressive doom metal band from Yorkshire. FUZZ BAT XII (TABLET + UNWAVERING)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 20:00, £0 - £5

Experimental noise riff rock madness.

NIAVENT

A fantastic night with Niavent, one of the long-established Edinburgh-based Greek bands.

MIKE AND THE MECHANICS

USHER HALL, FROM 19:30, £38.50 - £44

Genesis founding member Mike Rutherford and his new generation of ‘The Mechanics’ take to the road to play the hits. FORGETTING THE FUTURE (THE RIOT VANS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £5

BRIX AND THE EXTRICATED

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

Tue 26 Feb

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 17:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke. DEMOB HAPPY

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

This Brighton-based psych threepiece are just off tour with Jack White. Music for those who like their riffs chunky and their vocals screaming. OVERLAPS

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Experimental jam session.

Wed 27 Feb SEA GIRLS

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £11

BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens picked this band in his Ones To Watch For 2018 and here’s a chance to watch them. No actual girls in the band though.

Sun 17 Feb CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 15:00, £8 - £10

Wed 20 Feb ALASKA

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, £20 - £35

Alaska returns to the UK with her fantastic brand new one woman show, An Evening With Alaska.

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £6

Psychedelic duo from Edinburgh.

FRESH (ME REX + TEA LEAF)

London emo-punks Fresh (Specialist Subject Records) return to Edinburgh.

MAN OF MOON

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 19:00, £7

Fri 22 Feb

BAD HOMBRES (THE MORNING RETAKES + THE MEDINAS)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £5

Dundee Music Fri 01 Feb

THE CLASSIC ROCK SHOW

CAIRD HALL, FROM 19:30, £26.50 - £36.50

A live juke box of classic rock sounds, from Eric Clapton and The Eagles to Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top.

Sat 02 Feb

AFTER THE END + EEZILY LED

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, £12

Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin tributes. RASCALTON + STRANGE BONES

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £10

The most turbo band of Glasgow’s new wave, Rascalton are paired with their southern compatriots Strange Bones.

Tue 05 Feb

SPARE SNARE (DE ROSA + BROKEN CHANTER)

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £10

Sat 09 Feb

Southampton-born musician raised on a diet of The Clash, The Jam, Specials, Billy Bragg and other such politically-charged, punkignited British pop.

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £6

Thu 21 Feb

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

SEAN MCGOWAN

SAVAGE MANSION (HOLY SNAKES + BUFFALO HEART)

Live band unit featuring none other than former Fall member Brix Smith-Start.

Mon 25 Feb One of Scotland’s foremost musicians brings his remarkable new song cycle to Edinburgh for the first time.

Rapturous surf-pop with rock swagger balanced by sugar-pop harmonies.

THE KATET

SEAFRET

The much-loved Dundee group return to showcase their new Albini-produced album.

MIKE VASS

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 19:30, £6

THE CAVES, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Hailing from the small town of Bridlington, Jack Sedman and Harry Draper serve up acoustic soul-food that’s easy on the ears.

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Sun 24 Feb

THE VAN T’S (BLACK DOVE + THE LOVE AFFAIR + NOVELLA)

Lost Map slacker pop.

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £19.80

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 21:00, TBC

Sat 16 Feb

Thu 28 Feb

ANTIREPRESSION FORUM: BENEFIT GIG

Former members of My Dying Bride and Anathema’s new project.

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £20 - £35

Wed 20 Feb

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

USHER HALL, FROM 19:30, £27.50 - £30.25

A tribute to Tina Turner.

Killer local line-up featuring two bright young indie rock acts.

The latest in a long line of brilliant bands from The Wirral.

SLAY PRESENTS ALASKA

Andy Barbour has brought together a selection of fine Scottish musicians to bring you an evening of original music, along with carefully selected covers.

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £8 - £10

The Virginmarys make honest, hard-hitting indie rock and their sophomore LP Northern Sun Session has received widespread acclaim from the likes of Clash, CoS and even the Wall Street Journal. Alaska returns to the UK with her fantastic brand new one woman show, An Evening With Alaska.

THE SILVER ARROW COLLECTIVE THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £8

SHAM 69

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £20

Classic Seventies band Sham 69, back by popular demand with the original 1977 line-up.

THE OVERBITES (THE KIMBERLY STEAKS + GOODBYE BLUE MONDAY + CHUBBY TUBBY FUNSTER)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £5

Non-apologetic, confrontational, politically-driven punk.

Sun 24 Feb FRANKLY, THE SMITHS

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 15:00, £12

Prepare for an eclectic mix of Smiths classics and fan favourites, courtesy of this highly acclaimed tribute act.

Mon 25 Feb

HEAVY HEART (QUENTIN SAUVÉ + THE MARX + DOG EARED)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £6

Incredible uplifting super melodic punk rockers from Nantes, France.

Tue 26 Feb

FRESH (ME REX + TEA LEAF + OPUS FLUKE)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £6

London emo-punks Fresh (Specialist Subject Records) return to Edinburgh.

Wed 27 Feb NERINA PALLOT

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 19:30, £15

After starting out as a singersongwriter, who traversed the lands of piano ballads and big-time grooves, Pallot entered new territory with her fifth album and continues to do so.

Thu 28 Feb

HEYUP (A MONTH OF SUNDAYS + SPLENDID SUNS)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £6

HEYUP play Conroy’s Basement for their debut headline show.

East coast punk rock.

Sun 10 Feb

Fri 01 Feb

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 15:00, £5

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Mon 11 Feb

MOTHER EAT MOTH (SECRET ADMIRER + HEAVY DUTY BOX COMPANY)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £5

HARSH TUG

OG Kush + hip-hop bangers with Notorious B.A.G. DOJO

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £5 - £7

Get your fill of house and techno. GREASE – SUMMER NIGHTS

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 22:00, £5

A club night celebrating the 40th anniversary of Grease. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

Mother Eat Moth are a fuzzy, noisy, rocky trio, with lots of distortion, lots of power and lots of energy.

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style.

Thu 14 Feb

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

KARMA FOR VANDALS (VANSLEEP + THE MARX)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £5

Groovy post-rock heroes Karma For Vandals entertain us with their harmonically beautiful and texturally delicious brand of instrumental music.

FRESH BEAT

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. AN ORANGE CONSPIRACY (PING PONG WARRIOR + THE SHORES + CRATER COVE)

BROADCAST, FROM 23:00, £6.60

Band of brothers, literally, from Perth, Scotland.

February 2019

SOUTHSIDE SOLIDARITY: A FAMILY AFFAIR THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 23:00, £5

Raising funds for The Against Malaria Foundation.

WORMHOLE WITH OBJEKT PT. 1 (OBJEKT + ERIS DREW) LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

Objekt begins his 2019 La Cheetah residency with Chicago/Smart Bar resident Eris Drew. I AM X SUB CLUB: DJ EZ (SKILLIS)

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £15 - £18

An artist whose following regard him as one of the true pioneers of garage.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 22:30, £10

Late night music at The Art School as part of Celtic Connections 2019. MAGIC CITY – ACRYLIC (AMY BECKER + P-RALLEL)

THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £7 - £9

Magic City bring the Acrylic tour to Glasgow, with London DJ Amy Becker and P-rallel, alongside residents Too Gallus, King keoma and Mullen. STEVE BARKER ON THE WIRE (SUNUN (LIVE) + RIBEKA) THE RUM SHACK, FROM 20:00, £10

Renowned journalist and radio presenter Steve Barker is joined by Sunun (Bokeh Versions), playing a live dub set complete with synths, harp and effects, and Rubadub/ So Low/Liberation Technologies’ Ribeka.

Sat 02 Feb GLITTERBANG

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Disco divas and Euro-pop anthems for those ready to sweat. COLOURS 24TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 20:00, £34.50

Colours celebrate 24 years of events with a huge line-up of legendary acts, including Headhunterz and Roger Sanchez. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Garage by name, but not by musical nature. DJ Darren Donnelly carousels through chart, dance and classics, the Desperados bar is filled with funk, G2 keeps things urban and the Attic gets all indie on you. LEZURE (ALESSANDRO ADRIANI )

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5-£8

Mannequin Records boss and Berghain resident Alessandro Adriani joins Lezure. SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 22:30, £10

Late night music at The Art School as part of Celtic Connections 2019.

A VALENTINE’S CELEBRATION WITH THE VINTAGE GIRLS

The Vintage Girls are a trio based in Dundee, performing close harmony songs from the 1940s right up to the present day with a vintage twist.

Glasgow Clubs

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

SUPERMAX

THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £9

DJ Billy Woods, start to finish, open to close.

Sun 03 Feb

NULL / VOID (PULL RANK (LIVE))

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Industrial goth rock disco. HELLBENT

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

Mon 04 Feb

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS… (MUMDANCE + JOSEY REBELLE )

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

A rare Friday night slot from La Cheetah residents Wardy & Dom D’Sylva, playing all night long.

BARE MONDAYS

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no?

Tue 05 Feb CRATER COVE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Funk, disco, boogie and house. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

Late night music at The Art School as part of Celtic Connections 2019.

BOB MARLEY BIRTHDAY PARTY (BASS WARRIOR SOUND SYSTEM) THE RUM SHACK, FROM 21:00, £5

ANNA & HOLLY’S DANCE PARTY

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, this time joined by British DJ/producer George FitzGerald.

Wed 06 Feb IT’S NOT A PHASE, MOM!

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Nu-metal, pop-punk, emo and early 00s tunes. CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night. SUNNY SIDE UP

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

A charity club night raising funds for sustainable energy in remote villages.

FEED YOUR HEAD W/ SUNIL SHARPE (RYAN WASON) THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £4 - £6

Feed Your Head bring one of the most energetic and relentless DJs on the techno scene, Sunil Sharpe, to The Berkeley Suite.

Thu 07 Feb

CLUB KIDZ STAR SIGNZ (RUBY WATERS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

A flamboyant disco feast. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up. ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.

FOUNDRY (DJ SMOKER + SEBASTIAN SWARM )

Sat 09 Feb

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Rock’n’roll, garage and soul. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 21:00, £4

A night with a focus on electronic, experimental, fun and weird music, featuring the best DJs and live acts from Glasgow and further afield. ELECTRIC SALSA (JENSEN INTERCEPTOR)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

An Aussie debut in the form of electro/techno/everything maestro Jensen Interceptor. SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. INTERROBANG (PURPLE PHANTOM)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, FROM 21:00, £5

Purple Phantom join Interrobang for their party at The Old Hairdressers, with eclectic DJ sets featuring Yoko Ono, Nicola Roberts, The Fall and Lethal Bizzle. LOOSEN UP (CHARLIE MCCANN + FERGUS CLARK + DAVID BARBAROSSA) THE RUM SHACK, FROM 22:00, £3

Afro, disco and fun times. SAMEDIA SHEBEEN

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £4

Foundry invite down local boys from the Lunar Module and the Missing Persons Club boss man.

As always Samedia play music spanning Afrobeat, Latin, kuduru, dancehall, samba, soca, cumbia and beyond.

Fri 08 Feb

Sun 10 Feb

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5

SHAKA LOVES YOU

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Hip-hop and live percussion flanked by wicked visuals.

SENSU PRESENTS MALL GRAB AND NITE FLEIT: LOOKING FOR TROUBLE TOUR

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £18

Aussie DJ Mall Grab celebrates the launch of his new Looking for Trouble label with an extensive tour and joining him on his UK dates is fellow Aussie Nite Fleit. THE BIRTH OF BELLY TREE

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 22:00, £4

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

Monthly night from Soma Records, with special guests Amotik and Edit Select.

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

I AM: GEORGE FITZGERALD

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 22:30, £10

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

Annual celebration of the musical legacy of Bob Marley from his own tracks to releases on Tuff Gong.

A new club night, mixing cheesy pop, serious pop, disco, house and techno.

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

RETURN TO MONO: AMOTIK + EDIT SELECT

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence.

From the fab fierce family that brought you Catty Pride comes Cathouse Rock Club’s new monthly alternative drag show. SESH

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore.

CRY HARD, DANCE HARDER

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £5

A charity club night. SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

Mon 11 Feb BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night.

ARCADE (BOBBY ANALOG + ADLER B2B KEO)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

Belfast DJ, producer and label owner Bobby Analog returns to Glasgow for a night of quality disco, house and Italo.

RARE: BIG MIZ + ELLIOT ADAMSON

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £10

Subbie’s Wednesday night crew, joined this time by Big Miz and Elliot Adamson.

Thu 14 Feb SCIENCE FICTION

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

The Queens of the Glasgow disco scene, FKA Drugstore Glamour. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up.

MILK PRESENTS POP PUNK KARAOKE

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5

Belt yer heart out to everything from American Hi Fi to Alien Ant Farm, Blink 182 to Bowling for Soup, Catatonia to Coheed? All suggestions and all singers welcome, with lyrics projected on stage so folks can sing along all night long. ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.

AFLOAT (ANIMISTIC BELIEFS (LIVE))

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Rotterdam electro duo Animistic Beliefs bring over their live show to initiate Afloat’s first birthday celebrations.

Fri 15 Feb

THE LANCE VANCE DANCE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Exotic dreamy disco.

BRING IT ALL BACK – HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL PARTY

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 22:00, £8

Bring It All Back celebrate 13 years since the release of the Disney Channel hit musical, High School Musical. EXAMPLE

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 22:00, £16.50

The English electronic singersongwriter (aka Elliot John Gleave) back to kickstart that love. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore.

PARTIAL & LUNACY PRESENTS (IDENTIFIED PATIENT + SEBASTIAN SWARM + ADLER & UBO) LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £12

A joint party with Partial and local late night freaks Lunacy, with Dutch powerhouse, fellow Job, and all round nice guy Identified Patient.

DOPPELBANGER: BLASHA & ALLATT (LEZZER QUEST) SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £10

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no?

New queer night by Glasgow duo LEZZER QUEST, joined for their first party by Meat Free co-founders Blasha & Allatt.

Tue 12 Feb

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 22:00, £5 - £8

ISSA VIBE W/ OBZRV MUSIC

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Trap, grime and UK Garage. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence.

Wed 13 Feb

RETRONIC (FRANKIE ELYSE)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Rock’n’roll, and 50s and 60s bangers.

FUSE

FUSE is a project created by the Glasgow-based duo VAJ.Power, representing live electronic musicians, DJs and animators, especially those who identify as queer, trans, POC, BAME, womxn and femme.

Sat 16 Feb DAYTIME

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 12:00, £5

Under 18’s LGBTQ+ disco with live acts. NIGHTTIME: SINGLES NIGHT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Celebrating the 7” single.

Listings

ULTIMATE 80S

PALA

I AM: MELLA DEE (ALL NIGHT LONG)

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 17:00, £34.50

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

Glasgow’s biggest ever 80s charity event, in support of Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. ARMIN VAN BUUREN

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 22:00, £32.70 - £43.70

Grammy-nominated, Netherlandsborn DJ Armin Van Buuren CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

The inimitable Leon Vynehall’s DJ-Kicks release and this show will have you lost in a musical paradise. SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. MOJO WORKIN (FELONIOUS MUNK)

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 21:00, £2

Monthly soul club playing Motown, Northern, ska and more.

Sun 17 Feb

Pala residents play all night long.

Fri 22 Feb EASY PEELERS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Bangers ripe and ready for your enjoyment.

Wed 27 Feb

SWG3 GLASGOW, FROM 22:00, £5

Soul, hip-hop and funk.

JACKSON 5 DISCO WONDERLAND

Celebrating the Jackson siblings’ early work in the Jackson 5 and music from each of their solo careers. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS… (WARDY & DOM D’SYLVA)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

A rare Friday night slot from La Cheetah residents Wardy & Dom D’Sylva, playing all night long. ANIMAL FARM: KOBOSIL

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £12

Glasgow’s techno specialists, frequently bringing in the big guns. This time, they’ve brought along Berghain resident Kobosil. SYMBIOSIS (LIQUID FUNKTION + HEX + CALACO JACK + YELLOW BENZENE + ALCANE) AUDIO, FROM 23:00, FREE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Liquid Funktion residents join the Symbiosis crew.

CHEERS FOR THIRD SUNDAY

Sat 23 Feb

DANK

Post Malone afterparty. CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

DJ Kelmosh takes you through Mid-Southwestern emo, rock, new metal, nostalgia and 90s and 00s tunes. SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

Mon 18 Feb BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no?

Tue 19 Feb #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence. I AM: TRANCE CLASSICS

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, this time joined by Mella Dee.

SHAKA LOVES YOU

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Hip-hop and live percussion flanked by wicked visuals. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 22:00, £9

World class groove merchant DJ Format graces the Go Funk Yer Soul team with a stint behind the decks to launch their funk night. ELISCO (OOFT & THE REVENGE + CRAIG MOOG)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £10

FREAK LIKE ME

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night.

EUTONY (MISSING PERSONS CLUB)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

Two techno squads join forces for a night of mayhem.

Thu 28 Feb

BREAKFAST CLUB W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

80s themed party extravaganza. UNHOLY

Rush is back to give you hard techno all night long.

Fri 01 Feb FLY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. OVERGROUND: THE FUTURE SOUND OF TRANCE (JD JD + WRISK + JACQUES TORRANCE + ROWAN)

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £2 - £6

Overground present a special edition of the club night celebrating all things trance. FLIP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. WHO RUN THE WORLD?

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

A night celebrating female artists. BEN NICKY

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £12 - £24

GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night. ATTENTION PLEASE: HYPNOTIC TANGO

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

A residents night with a subtle Italo theme.

Thu 21 Feb PRAY 4 LOVE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

All love songs + all bangers. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up. ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.

Listings

SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

Mon 25 Feb BARE MONDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no?

Tue 26 Feb NEURODANCE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, TBC

Charity club night. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence.

THE EDINBURGH SOUL TRAIN

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £10

SAMEDIA SHEBEEN (RU ROBINSON)

JACUZZI GENERAL

NIGHT TUBE: OPENING PARTY

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4 - £8

RIVIERA PARAISO (ANDREA MONTALTO + HANGARELLA)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Riviera Paraiso marks the return of the mysterious mythological selector Hangarella. Expect a smooth blend of synth-funk, oddball boogie, fake reggae, italo, Balearic and more.

Sat 02 Feb PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. BETAMAX

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 23:00, £5

New wave, post punk, power pop, dark wave and 80s synth.

HOTLINE: VALENTINE’S SPECIAL (EMILY GRIEVE + JANA & JULIA + FI) THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Smashin’ cloob, ‘run by women, for everyone. R’n’B, disco, funk and dancing.

A new weekly night with a danceable mix of music made by bands, cutting across genre, age and nation.

CREEP: THE WORM RETURN (ELLIE BEALE + MICHELLE WOLODARSKY)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

An evening of entertainment where cabaret and performance meets art show plus DJs. Brought to you by Creature Collective: Michelle Wolodarsky and Ellie Beale.

Fri 08 Feb FLY (MELLA DEE)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. HEADSET

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday. COALITION (RYAN FYVIE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion.

Mon 04 Feb MONDAY MIXTAPE

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £6

Liquorice Papers, Big Teeth, Dinosaur 94 and Capri Collective unite with the sole intention of creating the best night of moovin’ and groovin’ Scotland has to offer. MIXED UP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. HECTOR’S HOUSE

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage. TRASH

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. BANGIN’ RAVE

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Old skool warehouse rave classics from 1990-1995.

Wed 06 Feb WILD ONES

THE CAVES, FROM 22:30, £12

FLIP

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. HOT MESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £6

Hot Mess is a hot and messy queer rave. Non-stop bangers and mash, selected and sequenced with love by Simonotron.

LIQUID FUNKTION X HIJACK (CHIMPO + MC FOX + NEED FOR MIRRORS) LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £12

Liquid Funktion & Hijack, two of the most exciting Edinburgh D&B nights, have combined forces to bring a show of serious fire.

EVOLVE 1ST BIRTHDAY (OC VERDE + RONNIE SPITERI)

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill.

AMBIDEXTROUS (DJ BILL SPICE)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 20:00, TBC

Bringing the funky house vibes to Leith Depot.

Sun 10 Feb SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

COALITION (ALDO)

Krill Music label boss Espen Lauritzen joins Powerhouse for another night of hedonism, unity and freedom. SHAPEWORK: BENEATH

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £9

No Symbols and Mistry label boss Beneath brings his barebones system shaking dance music to Edinburgh. MAIRI B

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Get funked up with Mairi B disco stylee for her four hour first time stomp in the lounge.

Sat 09 Feb PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. DR NO’S SKA CLUB

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Baz and Dave spin out some belters under a strictly vinyl-only policy. SOULSVILLE (ANDREA MONTALTO)

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

BUBBLEGUM

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. DISTRACTED PRESENTS JON MANCINI

WEE RED BAR, FROM 22:30, £10

The producer and Colours resident drops by the Wee Red for an intimate set.

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4 - £7

A night of disco, house and techno at The Mash House. FLY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. SKIN TIGHT: VALENTINE’S SPECIAL FEAT. NO SCRUBS CLUB

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

An occasional dance party from the people behind Headset and Soul Jam. FLIP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. CONVOLVE

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5

A club night of RnG, Bashment, Afrobeats and Wifey riddims. ATHENS OF THE NORTH

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Discogs shattering reissue diggers Athens Of The North always bring the best time with rare selections for heads and feet, including selections from their own 50-release strong label. CONTENTS TBC

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion.

Mon 11 Feb

Sat 16 Feb

MIXED UP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. BRAZILIAN WAX

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £3

Expect the best in Brazilian Disco, MPB, Afro-Brazilian and sizzling samba.

Tue 12 Feb HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

POWERHOUSE: ESPEN LAURITZEN

EYEANGLE RECORDS X GROOVERS: CHOOSE LIFE

C-Shaman steps up to provide his take on Paradise. A four hour escapade for those who like to get down.

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £8

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Thu 07 Feb

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Donald Dust takes you on a four hour journey of Latin freestyle, oddball post disco, electro rap and Italo punchers.

Tech House stars OC Verde headline a massive night with Ronnie Spiteri supporting.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

The fast emerging Edinburgh crew bring their wide-ranging collection of dance music and oddities to Sneaky Pete’s for the first time.

OTHER THUMPERS

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage.

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £12

Perfect blend of modern club chart, and 90s and 00s guilty pleasures. HEATERS: PLANT CITY

OVERGROUND X PULSE: JOEFARR

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5.50 - £7

Recent productions on his own label, User Experience, and past releases on DSNT, Leisure System and Power Vacuum have proven JoeFarr an artist to be reckoned with.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Residents Cameron Mason and Calum Evans spin the finest cuts of deep funk, Latin rhythms and rare groove into the early hours.

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

The Pickle Factory London resident, Coolant Bowser returns to TEESH.

KNOCKENGORROCH NIGHT WITH A TRIBE CALLED RED (A TRIBE CALLED RED)

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

SUNDAY CLUB

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £6

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

Sun 03 Feb THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

TEESH (DJ CHEERS + COOLANT BOWSER)

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Skillis and friends playing garage, techno, house and bass, with special guests often joining in.

Knockengorroch’s annual city session will smash it again with the international ground-breaking A Tribe Called Red.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

PULSE WITH DAX J

POPULAR MUSIC

The General brings an evening of musical exploration, dance therapy and perhaps even some tub accompanying towels.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

MISS WORLD: PEACH

Bringing the best from London’s underground garage and house scenes to Scotland.

Classic rock through the ages from DJ Nicola Walker.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £7

Firecracker host Cardiff-based producer DJ Guy, who has seen releases on Hypercolour and All Caps.

Tue 05 Feb

Sun 24 Feb SLIDE IT IN

FIRECRACKER RECORDINGS PRESENT HEAL YOURSELF & MOVE #19 (DJ GUY)

DJ/Producer Ben Nicky stirs up the trance.

Pulse welcome back one of the most in demand DJ’s around their our third instalment, Dax J.

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

Monthly party night celebrating the best in soul, disco, rock and pop with music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and current bangers.

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

RUSH

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests.

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

REWIND

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, TBC

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5

Wed 20 Feb

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop.

Funk, disco and oh-so-soulful house.

As always Samedia play music spanning Afrobeat, Latin, kuduru, dancehall, samba, soca, cumbia and beyond.

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £10 - £15

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

PLEASUREDOME

Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8

Nefarious beats for dangerous times.

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

ELEMENT

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

NTS host and ultimate party DJ, Peach steps into Miss World’s musical beauty pageant.

DON’T BE GUTTED

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

TASTY

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

Cathouse’s Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up.

Craig Moog invites good pals and one of Glasgow’s finest pairings to the booth for a disco spectacular.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

BUBBLEGUM

Welcome aboard The Edinburgh Soul Train. Funk, soul, disco and Motown extravaganza at La Belle.

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, this time in a trance special.

SUBCULTURE

Edinburgh Clubs

Fri 15 Feb

TRASH

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

Wed 13 Feb WILD ONES

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Perfect blend of modern club chart, and 90s and 00s guilty pleasures.

HEATERS LEON VYNEHALL (ALL NIGHT LONG)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £10

The inimitable Leon Vynehall’s DJ-Kicks release and this show will have you lost in a musical paradise.

Thu 14 Feb

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill. TASTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour. XOXO VALENTINES

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5

The popular queer night returns to the Wee Red. POPULAR MUSIC

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

A new weekly night with a danceable mix of music made by bands, cutting across genre, age and nation. CHURCH 3.5: SPECIAL REQUEST

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £12

Inspired by the unruly conventions of UK pirate radio stations, Special Request captures the raw energy and diversity of the illegal airwaves.

PLEASURE

Mon 18 Feb MIXED UP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. OVERGROUND: FREE RAVE

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

The place to discover a new breed of lo-fi, raw house and techno.

Tue 19 Feb HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage. TRASH

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. BANGIN’ R&B

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Classic and contemporary hip-hop and R’n’B club music.

Wed 20 Feb WILD ONES

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Perfect blend of modern club chart, and 90s and 00s guilty pleasures.

HEATERS: SHAPEWORK + PAR AVION

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Edinburgh heavyweights Shapework join forces with stand-out new London label Par Avion for an all night techno extravaganza.

MESSENGER: BOB MARLEY’S BIRTHDAY

Thu 21 Feb

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy Messenger Sound System.

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill.

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

BUBBLEGUM

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. HEART OF GLASS

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5

Glamourous, glittery, flamboyant, feathery, ostentatious and rock ‘n’ roll, Heart of Glass plays only the best music from the 70s and beyond.

NIGHTVISION PRESENTS MY BLOODY VALENTINE (SKREAM + KRYSTAL KLEAR + HAMMER)

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £16.50 - £24.95

An audio/visual experience to remember with a heavy line-up of talent. 12TH ISLE

ARTIISAN (TSVI)

New Edinburgh club night with an eclectic range of music from local DJs combined with visuals from talented local artists. TASTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour. POPULAR MUSIC

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

A new weekly night with a danceable mix of music made by bands, cutting across genre, age and nation.

Fri 22 Feb FLY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

DECADE: POP PUNK TIME MACHINE

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

Label running DJ mavericks with outer limit vinyl selections of dub, wave, jungle, house and erratic synth sounds.

ELECTRIKAL

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Soundsystem party-starters, part of a music and art collective specialising in all things bass.

PALIDRONE: ERRORSMITH (PROC FISKAL + FROST + TEXTURE)

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

A night of nostalgic jams from the inception of punk rock and pop punk all the way to current day. THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5.50 - £10

A stalwart of the electronic music scene and creator of the Razor synth, Errorsmith plays a rare Scottish date for Palidrone’s first birthday. ME & THE DEVIL (LYSIMACHOS ZOGRAFOS)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

FLIP

Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. HEY QT

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Sweaty dance disco for queer folk and their pals. LEFTFIELD (DJ SET) (CO-ACCUSED + LIAM DOC) THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £16.75

Danceable oddities and intriguing sounds from across and beyond the space-time continuum.

Dance your face off with a dose of prog house, electronica, and trip-hop.

Sun 17 Feb

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £6 - £8

SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday. COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion.

LIONOIL: ERIS DREW & DJ VOICES

The high priestess of the motherbeat, Eris Drew joins forces with DJ Voices for a very special Chi-town/ NYC combo not to be forgotten. SPICE!

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

SPICE! play all the Spice Girl hits and 90s pop. Expect the music of B*Witched, Destiny’s Child, All Saints, TLC, Steps, Sugababes and more.

THE SKINNY

NIKNAK (TRIASSIC TUSK DJS)

GUCCI GANG

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

NikNak ken how to bring the party and this time they’re bringing Triassic Tusk along for a mad genre-defying dancing party with lots of records dug out from the depths of the cosmos.

After sold out events all around the country, the UK’s biggest trap/hiphop night comes to Edinburgh.

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill.

REGGAE GOT SOUL

A night of reggae, dub, ska and soul. AGORA: BRUCE

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

Hessle Audio and Timedance affiliate Larry McCarthy, AKA Bruce, joins Agora for a three-hour set for their first party.

Sat 23 Feb PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. MUMBO JUMBO W/ THE GOGO

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £7

Funk, soul, beats and bumps from the Mumbo Jumbo gang and room two residents The GoGo. TORTURE GARDEN

THE CAVES, FROM 21:00, £21

Infamous fetish club spread over three dungeon-themed playrooms. Dress code: all the PVC you can slither into. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. RIDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

Live fast die yung, Ride gals do it well. Teacha El and CheckyerStrides play 00s R’n’B and 90s hip-hop and put their lighters up. JUNGLE MAGIK

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

Jungle and drum’n’bass with DJ Kid, G-Mac and more. MANY ANIMALS (JUSTIN ROBERTSON)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

It’s hard to find a succinct way to describe a man with over 25 years experience as an innovator and restless proponent of fascinating forward-thinking music; let’s use 'legend'.

Sun 24 Feb SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday. COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion.

Mon 25 Feb MIXED UP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

Tue 26 Feb HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage. TRASH

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. BANGIN’ 80S

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Everything from Frankie Goes to Hollywood to Erasure to Madonna.

Wed 27 Feb WILD ONES

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Perfect blend of modern club chart, and 90s and 00s guilty pleasures. HEATERS: HAAI

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £8

Aussie superstar HAAi goes open to close at Heaters, rolling hot off the back of her essential mix of the year and an intense touring schedule.

February 2019

Theatre

Thu 28 Feb

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: A RESPECTABLE WIDOW TAKES TO VULGARITY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

18 FEB, 1:00PM, £10 - £14

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

TASTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour. POPULAR MUSIC

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

A new weekly night with a danceable mix of music made by bands, cutting across genre, age and nation.

WE DO DISCO: THE SYNDICATE (GAV MILLER + MEZZO)

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £7 - £8

We Do Disco returns to host The Official Lords of the Rings After Party, featuring The Syndicate.

Annabelle strikes up an unlikely relationship with her dead husband’s potty-mouthed employee, Jim.

A spectacular new dance show from the Olivier Award-winner Kim Brandstrup, the choreographer behind Rambert’s Transfigured Night.

25 FEB, 1:00PM, £10 - £14

Tramway

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: SPUDS

A freak occurrence, involving mouldy chips and Iron Brew, leads to David MacGonigle’s discovery of a new designer drug, Spuds.

Platform THE TROJANS

8-9 FEB, TIMES VARY, £4 - £8.50

A brand new, haunting and uplifting adaptation of Euripides’ great anti-war tragedy, written and acted by a cast of Syrian refugees living in Glasgow. MAN ON THE MOON

27 FEB, 7:00PM, £5 - £8.50

Dundee Clubs

Keisha communicates with her reclusive dad through books, letters and symbols, but when the letters stop coming she is forced to venture into his world.

Fri 01 Feb

WAR HORSE

ALL GOOD PRESENTS: KRYSTAL KLEAR

READING ROOMS, FROM 23:00, £8 - £15

The Irish producer brings the sparkling neo new jack swing vibe as only he knows how, on the back of notes of love from Hudson Mohawke, Cooly G and Benji B et al.

Sat 02 Feb T.N.T CLUBNIGHT

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 23:00, TBC

A rock, metal and alternative night to fill the void left by Kage.

Fri 08 Feb

BOOK CLUB: DAN SHAKE

READING ROOMS, FROM 22:30, £5 - £12

The first non-native of Detroit ever to be signed to Moodymann’s label, Dan Shake joins the Book Club crew.

SEC

1-2 FEB, TIMES VARY, £14.20 - £69.25

War Horse continues to tour the UK, telling the story of Albert and his beloved horse Joey, adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s novel. You may as well just start weeping now...

The King’s Theatre VAMPIRES ROCK

3 FEB, 7:30PM, £33.90 - £38.90

Steve Steinman plays the undead Baron Von Rockula, owner of the Live and Let Die nightclub, as he searches for a bride and generally growls his way through some classic rock anthems. BEYOND THE BARRICADE

24 FEB, 7:30PM, £13 - £25.50

Sat 16 Feb

A selection of West End/Broadway tunes, brought to the stage in a variety-style performance.

CHURCH, FROM 22:00, £10 - £15

8-25 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

CASCADA

Don’t pretend you didn’t blast your dodgy Limewire rip of Cascada’s Everytime We Touch at every house party in your teens, we see you.

MENOPAUSE: THE MUSICAL

Four women bond over the menopause in a department store in this musical. We’re as confused and bewildered as you are. 9-10 FEB, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

READING ROOMS, FROM 22:30, £8 - £14

4-9 FEB, TIMES VARY, £15 - £54.50

Derry-born Or:la makes a stop in Dundee as part of her constantly packed touring schedule.

Celebrating the music of the world’s greatest icon. BENIDORM

Smash hit ITV comedy Benidorm makes its stage debut in this production of the hugely popular TV show. TRIAL BY LAUGHTER

Glasgow Theatre

11-16 FEB, TIMES VARY, £13.90 - £40.90

CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art

19-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, £16.90 - £26.90

2 FEB, 7:30PM, £8 - £10

A tribute to Sir Elton John.

IMOGEN STIRLING: #HYPOCRISY

Through examining who is tying our blindfolds and questioning why we let them, #Hypocrisy reminds us that in complacency lies the most heart-stopping terror. BUZZCUT DOUBLE THRILLS: DR CARNESKY’S INCREDIBLE BLEEDING WOMAN

13 FEB, 7:00PM, £5 - £20

Putting the magic back into menstruation, showwoman and artist Dr Marisa Carnesky breaks the last unmentionable taboo in order to reinvent menstrual rituals for a new era.

Oran Mor

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: TARTUFFE

11 FEB, 1:00PM, £10 - £14

Liz Lochhead’s Scots translation and adaptation of Moliere’s famous comedy.

THE DARK CARNIVAL

19 FEB-2 MAR, TIMES VARY, £15 - £26.50

The Dark Carnival will transport audiences into an unexpected vision of the afterlife full of longlost lovers, half-hearted ghosts, and songs.

Tron Theatre TESTROOM

4-12 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Testroom will bring together the ideas of four groups of selected Scottish-based theatre artists, who have been meeting monthly since November. THE DARK

12-16 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Set in 1978 under the rule of Idi Amin, following the journey taken by a four-year-old boy and his mother to escape a city divided by dictatorship and consumed by conflict. GIGANTIC LYING MOUTH

15 FEB, 8:00PM, £8.50 - £11

A reflexive solo performance exploring the human desire to lie and the damage it does, combining contemporary spoken word with monologues, multimedia and comedy. CONFESSIONALS

16 FEB, 8:00PM, £8.50 - £11

Confessionals is hard-hitting solo performance, combining contemporary spoken word with traditional theatre. BERKOFF’S WOMEN

21-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, £8.50 - £11

A theatrical exploration of sensuality, revenge, pathos, heartbreaking loneliness and riotous humour. COLONEL MUSTARD AND THE BIG BAD WOLF

22-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, £5

Glasgow singer-songwriter Colonel Mustard brings a show for all the family with comedy, storytelling and plenty of Colonel Mustard songs.

BOWIE EXPERIENCE

Fri 22 Feb

ALL GOOD: OR:LA (VAN D + ETHAN BELL)

RAMBERT: LIFE IS A DREAM

14-16 FEB, 7:30PM, £13 - £33.40

Ian Hislop and Nick Newman have once again taken inspiration from real life events for their new play, Trial by Laughter.

MY FAIR LADY PRESENTED BY PMOS

Paisley Music and Operatic Society present a revival of My Fair Lady. THE ROCKET MAN

27 FEB, 7:30PM, £25.15 - £30.15

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT

28 FEB, 7:30PM, £25 - £37.90

A tribute to Tina Turner.

Theatre Royal MACBETH

7-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

The National Theatre bring this epic and visually daring production of Shakespeare’s most intense tragedy on a tour of the UK and Ireland. ABIGAIL’S PARTY

4-9 FEB, TIMES VARY, £13 - £41.25

Mike Leigh’s iconic Abigail’s Party is one of Britain’s most celebrated comedies; beloved by audiences, it thrills and delights in equal measure. SOMEONE LIKE YOU – THE ADELE SONGBOOK

12 FEB, 7:30PM, £13 - £23.50

Hand-picked by Adele herself, Katie Markham has the showstopping voice and captivating charisma to deliver all your favourite Adele hits in an enthralling concert performance.

Edinburgh Theatre Assembly Roxy

JOAN CLEVILLÉ DANCE: THE NORTH

28 FEB, 7:30PM, £10 - £12

Blending elements of dance, physical theatre and puppetry, The North features cinematic visual and sound design, with original music by Luke Sutherland. TENSILE STRENGTH (OR HOW TO SURVIVE AT YOUR WIT’S END)

20 FEB, 7:30PM, £8 - £12

A performance about stress, and figuring out why so many of us feel it to an unhealthy degree. JOCK TAMSON’S BAIRNS

6-21 FEB, 8:00PM, PRICES VARY

During LGBT History Month 2019, Jock Tamson’s Bairns will explore the universal issues of equality, belonging and finding your tribe.

Festival Theatre LES MISERABLES

1-16 FEB, TIMES VARY, £23 - £65

After nearly a decade since the last sell-out UK tour, Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed Broadway production of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical Les Misérables comes to Edinburgh. JASMIN VARDIMON’S MEDUSA

21 FEB, 7:30PM, £16 - £25.50

A reflection on the powerful feminine symbol of Medusa, the myth and its various connotations in our contemporary life. BALLETBOYZ: THEM/US

23 FEB, 7:30PM, £17 - £26.50

BalletBoyz are back with two brand new works, both set to original scores by world-class composers.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

GHOST THE MUSICAL

SALT

26 FEB-2 MAR, TIMES VARY, £22.50 £42.50

7 FEB, 9:00PM, £6 - £8

Musical based on the 1990 film, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg.

King’s Theatre Edinburgh

SCOTTISH OPERA: ANTHROPOCENE

2 FEB, 7:15PM, £16.50 - £32

This fourth collaboration between composer Stuart MacRae and librettist Louise Welsh promises a night of unrelenting dramatic tension and superb storytelling. ART

11-16 FEB, TIMES VARY, £10 - £35

Yasmina Reza’s dazzling study of friendship, prejudice and tolerance is a phenomenon and one of the most successful plays ever.

Royal Lyceum Theatre TOUCHING THE VOID

5-9 FEB, TIMES VARY, £10 - £32

The Lyceum’s Artistic Director David Greig brings his awardwinning writing skills to the first stage adaptation of Joe Simpson’s memoir.

The Edinburgh Dungeon

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS – HEADS WILL ROLL!

1 FEB-31 MAR, 11:00AM, £14 - £24

8 February, 1587. An executioner’s scaffold, draped in black cloth awaits Mary, the fallen Queen of Scots. Condemned as a traitor by her own family, accused of adultery and murder, hear her sorry tale before the final axe blow.

The Edinburgh Playhouse AMERICAN IDIOT

5-9 FEB, TIMES VARY, £17.90 - £53.90

In an age where almost anything is prime fodder for musical-making, Green Day’s in on the action with American Idiot. JERSEY BOYS

19 FEB-2 MAR, TIMES VARY, £18 - £82.50

True life story of multiplebucketload selling group The Four Seasons, from their beginnings to their extended run along the hit parade. MENOPAUSE: THE MUSICAL

8-25 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Four women bond over the menopause in a department store in this musical. We’re as confused and bewildered as you are. A COUNTRY NIGHT IN NASHVILLE

1 FEB-2 MAR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

A Country Night In Nashville recreates the scene of a buzzing Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville, perfectly capturing the energy and atmosphere of an evening in the home of Country Music. SPIRIT OF THE DANCE

15 FEB, 7:30PM, £13 - £28

Hit dance show combining Irish dance with the sensual Latino rhythms of flamenco, salsa and more.

Traverse Theatre MACBETH

7-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

The National Theatre bring this epic and visually daring production of Shakespeare’s most intense tragedy on a tour of the UK and Ireland. SLEEPING BEAUTY

8 FEB, 7:30PM, £9 - £15

A personal interpretation of the darker elements of the Briar Rose fairy tale, created and performed by Compagnie Akselere’s Artistic Director, Colette Garrigan. VOID

6 FEB, 9:00PM, £9 - £15

JG Ballard’s cult novel Concrete Island is reimagined through the lens of a black female protagonist. TESTROOM

4-12 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Testroom will bring together the ideas of four groups of selected Scottish-based theatre artists, who have been meeting monthly since November. GOOD DOG

14-16 FEB, 7:30PM, £5 - £15

Set in the early 00s, spanning multiple characters, families and years, telling the story of growing up in a multi-cultural community.

This new solo performance piece explores domestic violence and how everyday objects can be both tools of control and oppression, and of resistance, freedom and escape.

EXTREMELY PEDESTRIAN CHORALES

4 FEB, 7:30PM, £9 - £15

A quartet of dancers and a beguiling mix of high and low art, exploring the multifarious roles and movement language of the pedestrian. WUNDERKAMMER

4 FEB, 9:00PM, £9 - £15

A cabinet of curiosities, an ancient and meditative place of wonder where rare artefacts and intriguing objects can transport you with their inimitable allure and unsettling beauty INTRONAUTS

5 FEB, 7:30PM, £9 - £15

A madcap tale of rapidly advancing technology, very big syringes and a very small submarine. SNAPSHOTS 1

5 FEB, 6:00PM, £3

Creative work in progress sharings by Alumdena Calvo, Elspeth Chapman & Borbàla Mezõ, and Flawed Mandrake Theatre. VU

5 FEB, 9:00PM, £9 - £15

A delicate, wordless show about the small obsessions of life. NINO

6 FEB, 6:00PM, £6 - £8

Nino is a darkly comic performance inspired by one woman’s experience of living in poverty and grappling with the benefits system. INVISIBLE LANDS

6 FEB, TIMES VARY, £9 - £15

A unique meeting between puppetry, physicality, choreography and video projections. SURGE: PITCH EVENT

7 FEB, 4:00PM, £9 - £15

Dundee Theatre Caird Hall

MENOPAUSE: THE MUSICAL

8-25 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Four women bond over the menopause in a department store in this musical. We’re as confused and bewildered as you are.

Dundee Rep ALL MY SONS

19 FEB-9 MAR, TIMES VARY, £10 - £25

Sun 03 Feb

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD + JORDAN WISTUBA)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out. GLASGOW KIDS COMEDY CLUB (MR FIBBERS + JAY LAFFERTY + THE WEE MAN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 15:00, £4

The Stand Comedy Club presents a live stand-up show for younger fans every month, with three top comedians at every show.

YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

Arthur Miller’s first commercial and critical success, based on a true story about a successful self-made businessman whose factory supplied the US military during the war.

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School.

4-9 FEB, TIMES VARY, £9 - £16

Mon 04 Feb

THE MIDDLE O’ NOWHERE – A BOTHY HAUNTING

Seven characters from diverse backgrounds are brought together through different circumstances for a weekend stay, which turns increasingly dark and chilling.

The Gardyne Theatre GIRLS NIGHT OOT

23 FEB, 7:30PM, £17.75

Sequel to feel-good production I Will Survive, featuring songs from the 60s right through to modern hits. Frothy as it comes.

BALLET WEST SCOTLAND PRESENTS THE NUTCRACKER

5 FEB, 7:30PM, £15.75 - £17.75

Ballet West’s Touring Company present their production of the ever-popular ballet, The Nutcracker.

Whitehall Theatre BOWIE EXPERIENCE

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV (BILLY KIRKWOOD + STU MURPHY + GARRY DOBSON)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Fab comedian improv battle.

KOMEDY (AMELIA BAYLER + HANNAH CRUICKSHANK + PAUL MCDANIEL + MARTIN BEARNE + ANNA MATEROWSKA + ROBYN PROBERT + DARCY LEWIS + LEIGH BUTLER)

YESBAR, FROM 20:30, £0 - £3

Komedy is back with a bunch of kool kids doing material on the theme: ‘kalm.’

FERN BRADY: POWER AND CHAOS (WORK IN PROGRESS) (SCOTT GIBSON) THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Join Fern Brady as she tries out some new material ahead of her Australian tour.

Tue 05 Feb

RED RAW (MARC JENNINGS + JOSH HOWIE)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Artists perform new or in-development performance pieces using physicality, circus skills, comedy, clowning, drama and music.

9-10 FEB, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts.

SWEET CAROLINE

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, FROM 20:00, FREE

7 FEB, 6:00PM, £3

Tribute to Neil Diamond.

SNAPSHOTS 2

Creative work in progress sharings by Beth Godfrey, Jim Mangenello and Lucy Ireland, and Freda O’Byrne. 99+

7 FEB, 10:00PM, £6 - £8

A visceral and unblinking examination of the trauma of abuse – emotional, physical, sexual.

Celebrating the music of the world’s greatest icon. 15 FEB, 8:00PM, £26

CIRCUS OF HORRORS: PSYCHO ASYLUM

22 FEB, 7:30PM, £24.50 - £28.50

Prepare thyself for a whirlwind of contortionists, flying aerialists, demon dwarfs, sword swallowers, and any other weird thing you can think of – yep, it could only be the Circus of Horrors.

BEGUILED

8 FEB, TIMES VARY, £9 - £15

Two intimate one-act table-top puppetry pieces from one of the UK’s leading experimental puppetry companies.

Glasgow Comedy

8 FEB, 9:30PM, £6 - £8

Fri 01 Feb

TRANSMOGRAPHILES

A new collaboration between three artists from different countries, brought together by a shared desire to create surprising new puppet shows. FOOLIGAN

8 FEB, 10:15PM, £9 - £15

A modular, musical cabaret act presented by grotesque 18th century characters who form a merry band, The Bridges of Madness. SNAPSHOTS 3

9 FEB, 10:30AM, £3

Creative work in progress sharings by Lewis Sherlock, Selina Mallè, and Iain McClure. CLOWN CABARET SPECIAL EDITION

9 FEB, 9:00PM, £9 - £15

A mischievous melange of contemporary clowning and physical comedy with a dark delicious dash of bouffon. THE DARK

12-16 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Set in 1978 under the rule of Idi Amin, following the journey taken by a four-year-old boy and his mother to escape a city divided by dictatorship and consumed by conflict. LITTLE GIFT

15-16 FEB, TIMES VARY, £8 - £10

A brand new story for children from the multi-award-winning M6 Theatre and Andy Manley about a surprise visitor to an old man planting ‘a little seed of hope’.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (DAVE JOHNS + SILKY + JULIA SUTHERLAND + LIAM FARRELLY + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit. LAUNCH WEEKEND: FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (GARY LITTLE + GEOFF NORCOTT + JAY LAFFERTY+SEAN LOCK)

GLASGOW HAROLD NIGHT

One hilarious show, completely improvised by two teams, based off an audience suggestion. Improv comedy at its finest.

Wed 06 Feb

COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES (THE WEE MAN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £4 - £6

Comedy and rap collide.

NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

Thu 07 Feb

THE THURSDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + BRENNAN REECE + LISA CASEY + JORDAN WISTUBA + JO CAULFIELD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. YESBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 08 Feb

THE FRIDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + BRENNAN REECE + LISA CASEY + JORDAN WISTUBA + JO CAULFIELD) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £11

The big weekend show with five comedians.

Sat 02 Feb

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

The perfect way to end the working week, with four superb stand-up comedians. THE SATURDAY SHOW (DAVE JOHNS + SILKY + JULIA SUTHERLAND + LIAM FARRELLY + BRUCE DEVLIN) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit. LAUNCH WEEKEND: SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (GARY LITTLE + GEOFF NORCOTT + JAY LAFFERTY+SEAN LOCK) GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (ADAM ROWE + DAN NIGHTINGALE + CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD) GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £11

The perfect way to end the working week, with four superb stand-up comedians.

Sat 09 Feb

THE SATURDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + BRENNAN REECE + LISA CASEY + JORDAN WISTUBA + JO CAULFIELD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Listings

Comedy

Sun 24 Feb

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (ADAM ROWE + DAN NIGHTINGALE + CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Sun 10 Feb

YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School. JIM SMITH: BACK TO THE TEUCHTER

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 16:55, £10

The Perthshire farmer returns with another trailer load of tales of rural life and how country people view the outside world. TOM STADE: I SWEAR TO…

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The Canadian comedy legend is back with a new show, I Swear To…, picking up just where he left off as an hour simply wasn’t long enough.

Mon 11 Feb

GLENN WOOL: WOOL’S GOLD II (THE IRON PIRATE)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £14

Comfortably in his forties, award-winning comedian and new dad Wool delves into his back catalogue of material spanning 25 years to perform some of his more subversive routines.

Tue 12 Feb

RED RAW (JULIAN SUTHERLAND + MORGAN REES)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts. LIGHT BULB

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, FROM 20:00, FREE

Stand-up, characters and sketches for fans of weird and silly things.

Wed 13 Feb

ANTI-VALENTINE’S DAY (ASHLEY STORRIE + CHRISTOPHER MACAURTHUR-BOYD + CHRISTOPHER KC + JORDAN WISTUBA + LARRY DEAN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Defiant singleton or smug-ass couple, head to The Stand for the mid-Feb laughs. NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

Thu 14 Feb

THE THURSDAY SHOW (MARK NELSON + RYAN MCDONNELL + ZAHRA BARRI + BRYAN GHOSH + FRED MACAULAY)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. YESBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

THE EARLY SHOW YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (MARLON DAVIS + ANDREW STANLEY + LIAM WITHNAIL + JOJO SUTHERLAND)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Sun 17 Feb

YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School. TOM STADE: I SWEAR TO…

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The Canadian comedy legend is back with a new show, I Swear To…, picking up just where he left off as an hour simply wasn’t long enough. ANDREW BIRD: HA HA TIME

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £10

Andrew Bird is the funniest comedian you’ve never heard of.

Tue 19 Feb

RED RAW (CHRIS FORBES + MARK NELSON)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts.

Wed 20 Feb

NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material. BENEFIT IN AID OF ACTION ON HEARING LOSS (CHRIS FORBES + GARETH MUTCH + JOE MCTERNAN + SUSAN RIDDELL)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10

Comedy benefit for Action on Hearing Loss Scotland.

Thu 21 Feb YESBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 22 Feb

THE FRIDAY SHOW (GAVIN WEBSTER + MICHAEL LEGGE + DARREN CONNELL + CHRISTOPHER KC + JAY LAFFERTY)

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (DANA ALEXANDER + BILLY KIRKWOOD + STUART MITCHELL + CRAIG MURRAY)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £11

The perfect way to end the working week, with four superb stand-up comedians.

Fri 15 Feb

Sat 23 Feb

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit. FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (MARLON DAVIS + ANDREW STANLEY + LIAM WITHNAIL + JOJO SUTHERLAND)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £11

The perfect way to end the working week, with four superb stand-up comedians.

Sat 16 Feb

THE SATURDAY SHOW (MARK NELSON + RYAN MCDONNELL + ZAHRA BARRI + BRYAN GHOSH + FRED MACAULAY)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians.

Listings

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out. YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School. FRED AT THE STAND: RADIO 4 RECORDINGS

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 17:00, FREE

Join Fred MacAulay as he introduces a wide range of hand-picked stand-up comedians for the next series of Fred at The Stand.

Tue 26 Feb

RED RAW (JAMIE DALGLEISH + DAVID KAY)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts.

Wed 27 Feb BRIGHT CLUB

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5

The freshest thing in stand-up – straight from the (research) field to funny with a new crop of comedic academics from Scotland’s universities every month. NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

THE SATURDAY SHOW (GAVIN WEBSTER + MICHAEL LEGGE + DARREN CONNELL + CHRISTOPHER KC + JAY LAFFERTY)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. CROSSMYLAFF COMEDY (ELAINE MALCOLMSON + JOHN GAVIN)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £11

An evening of stand-up comedy featuring a hand-picked selection of local up and coming comics. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (DANA ALEXANDER + BILLY KIRKWOOD + STUART MITCHELL + CRAIG MURRAY)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Sun 03 Feb

Sun 10 Feb

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

Legendary free Sunday afternoon improv show. TBC IMPROV COMEDY

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 16:30, £5

The To Be Continued crew return with more sketches, scenes and improvised antics.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + DANNY DEEGAN + AMY MATTHEWS)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Mon 04 Feb

RED RAW (ROSCO MCLELLAND + JAKE HOWIE)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts.

Tue 05 Feb EDINBURGH REVUE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £1-2

The University of Edinburgh’s stand-up and sketch comedy show.

Wed 06 Feb GRASSROOTS COMEDY

THE PLEASANCE, FROM 19:30, £1

Come and see the freshest comedy Edinburgh has to offer, watch acts grow and perform brand new material. VIVA LA SHAMBLES

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £4 - £5

TRON THEATRE, FROM 20:30, £8.50

TOP BANANA (LIAM WITHNAIL + GARETH WAUGH)

RACHEL JACKSON AND FRIENDS

A brand new comedy show hosted by Rachel Jackson, with a changing line-up of comedians.

Thu 28 Feb

THE THURSDAY SHOW (PAUL CURRIE + GARETH WAUGH + CHRIS BETTS + ANNA MATEROWSKA + JOJO SUTHERLAND) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. YESBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. BILL BURR: 50

SEC, FROM 20:00, £48.25

Fans of Breaking Bad unite, as Bill Burr (aka Patrick Kuby in the show) does his stand-up thing – making a rare UK appearance with his dark brand of humour.

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. THE FRIDAY SHOW (MARK NELSON + RYAN MCDONNELL + ZAHRA BARRI + BRYAN GHOSH + FRED MACAULAY)

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (MARK NELSON + RYAN CULLEN + AMY MATTHEWS + ANNA MATEROWSKA)

Edinburgh Comedy Fri 01 Feb

THE FRIDAY SHOW (TOM WRIGGLESWORTH + DAMIAN CLARK + KAI HUMPHRIES + TVONNE CARROLL + STU MURPHY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + PAUL CURRIE + HARRIET KEMSLEY)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + DANNY DEEGAN + AMY MATTHEWS)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Sat 02 Feb

THE SATURDAY SHOW (TOM WRIGGLESWORTH + DAMIAN CLARK + KAI HUMPHRIES + TVONNE CARROLL + STU MURPHY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + DANNY DEEGAN + AMY MATTHEWS)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Anarchic comedy mayhem from Scotland’s finest young acts. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

Thu 07 Feb

THE THURSDAY SHOW (CARL HUTCHINSON + MATT GREEN + ROBIN GRAINGER + MEGAN SHANDLEY + GARETH WAUGH)

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

Legendary free Sunday afternoon improv show. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + MATT REED + ROSS LESLIE)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

GLENN WOOL: WOOL’S GOLD II (THE IRON PIRATE)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £14

Comfortably in his forties, award-winning comedian and new dad Wool delves into his back catalogue of material spanning 25 years to perform some of his more subversive routines. NISH KUMAR: IT’S IN YOUR NATURE TO DESTROY YOURSELVES

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £22.50

Nish Kumar’s latest show, featuring jokes about politics, mankind’s capacity for self-destruction and whether it will lead to the end of days. EIIF: ABSOLUTE IMPROV! FAMILY SHOW

ASSEMBLY ROXY, FROM 14:30, £5 - £10

Edinburgh troupe Absolute Improv! utilize the short-form style of improv, interacting with the audience throughout the performance to create a unique show that truly belongs to everyone.

Mon 11 Feb

RED RAW (MORGAN REES)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts. PETER PANCAKES’ COMEDY EXTRAVAGANZA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Phil O’Shea brings a handpicked selection of riotous lols to Monkey Barrel.

Tue 12 Feb BONA FIDE

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

New material specially written for the night by some of the countries finest comedians.

SPONTANEOUS SHERLOCK

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Start the weekend early with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

An entirely improvised Sherlock Holmes comedy play from Scotland’s hottest improv troupe.

EIIF: ABANDOMAN (SPONTANEOUS POTTER)

ASSEMBLY ROXY, FROM 19:45, £25

Award-winning hip-hop musical improviser, Abandoman headlines the Edinburgh International Improv Festival launch.

Fri 08 Feb

THE FRIDAY SHOW (CARL HUTCHINSON + MATT GREEN + ROBIN GRAINGER + MEGAN SHANDLEY + GARETH WAUGH) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + MATT REED + ROSS LESLIE)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Sat 09 Feb

THE SATURDAY SHOW (CARL HUTCHINSON + MATT GREEN + ROBIN GRAINGER + MEGAN SHANDLEY + GARETH WAUGH) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. JIMEOIN

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 19:30, £20.50

Inspired ramblings from the standup Northern Ireland comedian and actor (aka Jimeoin McKeown). MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + MATT REED + ROSS LESLIE)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

EIIF: SPONTANEOUS POTTER FAMILY SHOW

PROJECT X (IAIN CAMPBELL)

Iain Campbell hosts an experimental and new ideas alternative comedy showcase.

Wed 13 Feb GRASSROOTS COMEDY

THE PLEASANCE, FROM 19:30, £1

Come and see the freshest comedy Edinburgh has to offer, watch acts grow and perform brand new material. ANTI-VALENTINE’S DAY (RACHEL FAIRBURN + KEIR MCALLISTER + ROBIN GRAINGER + WAYNE MAZADZA + GUS LYMBURN)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Defiant singleton or smug-ass couple, head to The Stand for the mid-Feb laughs. TOP BANANA (LIAM WITHNAIL + MARC JENNINGS)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

Thu 14 Feb

THE THURSDAY SHOW (ANDREW RYAN + GUS LYMBURN + RACHEL FAIRBURN + RICHARD BROWN + JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. SPONTANEOUS POTTER

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

A brand new Harry Potter play from some of Edinburgh’s most top notch improv wizards.

Fri 15 Feb

THE FRIDAY SHOW (ANDREW RYAN + GUS LYMBURN + RACHEL FAIRBURN + RICHARD BROWN + JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + EDDY BRIMSON + SARAH CALLAGHAN) MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Sat 16 Feb

THE SATURDAY SHOW (ANDREW RYAN + GUS LYMBURN + RACHEL FAIRBURN + RICHARD BROWN + JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + EDDY BRIMSON + SARAH CALLAGHAN) MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy. COMEDY KIDS

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 14:00, £5

Comedy Kids is a fun-filled show packed with stand-up, sketches and improv performed by the comics of the future.

Sun 17 Feb

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

Legendary free Sunday afternoon improv show. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + EDDY BRIMSON + SARAH CALLAGHAN) MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Mon 18 Feb

RED RAW (GARETH MUTCH + GARY MEIKLE)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts. CABARET FROM ELSEWHERE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

Elsewhere is a troupe of artists, musicians and circus performers. Find them staging shows, telling stories or playing music and games anywhere people gather in celebration.

Tue 19 Feb

BENEFIT IN AID OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (KEIR MCALLISTER + MARC JENNINGS + ROSS LESLIE + KRYSTAL EVANS + GUS LYMBURN) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5

Comedy benefit for Amnesty International, a movement of ordinary people across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.

Fri 22 Feb

THE FRIDAY SHOW (IAN MOORE + JIM SMITH + CALLY BEATON + ANNA MATEROWSKA + JANEY GODLEY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + KEITH CARTER + TWAYNA MAYNE)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Thu 28 Feb

THE THURSDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + MICKY BARTLETT + JAMIE DALGLEISH + WAYNE MAZADZA + SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. SPONTANEOUS POTTER

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

A brand new Harry Potter play from some of Edinburgh’s most top notch improv wizards.

Sat 23 Feb

THE SATURDAY SHOW (IAN MOORE + JIM SMITH + CALLY BEATON + ANNA MATEROWSKA + JANEY GODLEY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + KEITH CARTER + TWAYNA MAYNE)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Sun 24 Feb

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD + WAYNE MAZADZA + RACHEL JACKSON + RICHARD BROWN) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Chilled Sunday night comedy to see out the weekend. STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

Legendary free Sunday afternoon improv show. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW (RICK MOLLAND + KEITH CARTER + TWAYNA MAYNE)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy. JOJO SUTHERLAND & SUSAN MORRISON: FANNY’S AHOY!

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 17:30, £4 - £5

Set sail with the award-winning grand dames of Scottish comedy.

Mon 25 Feb

RED RAW (MEGAN SHANDLEY + ROBIN GRAINGER)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to ten acts. MONKEY NUT LIVE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

A monthly round-up featuring sketch, character, musical and stand-up comedy all from the minds of Joe McTernan, Megan Shandley and Jojo Sutherland.

Glasgow Art CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art LEONTIOS TOUMPOURIS: OF PARTICULAR IMAGES

1-10 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Leontios Toumpouris draws from sixteenth and seventeenthcentury emblems to produce a new series of works that act as self-referential indications of everything physical outside of themselves.

KATHERINE MACBRIDE: HAVING BEEN BREATHED OUT / PATRIARCHY OVER AND OUT

9 FEB-24 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Katherine MacBride’s work explores different forms of hospitality, thinking about how listening and attentiveness can happen in conflicted spaces and times. INTERMEDIA: LOTTE GERTZ – MIGRATING EYE

28 FEB-9 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Lotte Gertz will be presenting a new series of work produced during and since her residency at Cove Park in the spring of 2018, exploring themes of the everyday, typography and personal histories through painting and experimental mark making.

Cass Art Glasgow

VIRTUES OF THE REAL / NECESSITY OF THE IMAGINARY

9-22 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

The exhibition is a two-person show, by current PhD Painting students at the Glasgow School of Art, that explores the space between the tangible and imaginative elements of experience.

Cyril Gerber Fine Art

Wed 20 Feb

Tue 26 Feb

THE PLEASANCE, FROM 19:30, £1

MARGOT SANDEMAN SSA (19222009) – THE PAINTINGS OF MARGOT SANDEMAN

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5

2-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

GRASSROOTS COMEDY

BRIGHT CLUB

Come and see the freshest comedy Edinburgh has to offer, watch acts grow and perform brand new material.

The freshest thing in stand-up – straight from the (research) field to funny with a new crop of comedic academics from Scotland’s universities every month.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

TOP BANANA (LIAM WITHNAIL + MARC JENNINGS)

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

THE END OF THE WORLD SHOW (STU MURPHY + VLADIMIR MCTAVISH + KEIR MCALLISTER)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £7

PROJECT X (IAIN CAMPBELL)

Iain Campbell hosts an experimental and new ideas alternative comedy showcase.

Wed 27 Feb GRASSROOTS COMEDY

Armageddon is not so much nigh as teabagging the world in the face. So now that we’ve bought the tickets to Hell in a handcart and this really is the end of civilisation, surely we can still find the time to trivialise it?

Come and see the freshest comedy Edinburgh has to offer, watch acts grow and perform brand new material.

Thu 21 Feb

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

THE THURSDAY SHOW (IAN MOORE + JIM SMITH + CALLY BEATON + ANNA MATEROWSKA + JANEY GODLEY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. SPONTANEOUS SHERLOCK

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

An entirely improvised Sherlock Holmes comedy play from Scotland’s hottest improv troupe.

THE PLEASANCE, FROM 19:30, £1

TOP BANANA (LIAM WITHNAIL + MARC JENNINGS)

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene. BENEFIT IN AID OF WOMEN’S AID (LARRY DEAN + CHRISTOPHER KC + WIS JANTARASORN + AMY MATTHEWS + JOJO SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £12

Comedy benefit for Edinburgh Women’s Aid, an organisation supporting women and children affected by domestic abuse.

A second solo exhibition of works by Margot Sandeman.

Glasgow Print Studio ROSALIND LAWLESS & HETTY HAXWORTH

8 FEB-31 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

A two-woman show featuring abstract works inspired by their surrounding environments, both architectural and rural. FEATURED ARTIST: FIONNUALA MCGOWAN

8 FEB-3 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

GSA graduate, and recipient of the Glasgow Print Studio Prize 2014, Fionnuala McGowan is February’s featured artist at GPS.

Glasgow School of Art AMBI

2 FEB-14 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

A series of new commissions by Rabiya Choudhry, Fiona Jardine and Hanneline Visnes tracks the diverse histories of the pieces they have chosen from the Textiles and Fashion holdings at the Glasgow School of Art Archives & Collections, in order to present new stories and artwork from it.

ASSEMBLY ROXY, FROM 14:30, £5 - £10

Fringe favourite and sell out show of the Fringe 2018, Spontaneous Potter bring you an entirely improvised Harry Potter play, with live musical accompaniment.

THE SKINNY

Art

POPPY NASH: CARE 1 FEB-17 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Poppy Nash presents textiles telling stories of free labour and the economy of care.

Collective Gallery

DINEO SESHEE BOPAPE 〰️ [WHEN SPIRITUALITY WAS A BABY]

Glasgow The Old Women’s Library Hairdressers RUTH BARKER & HANNAH

1-10 FEB, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

1 FEB-22 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

JAMES N HUTCHINSON: RUMOURS OF A NEW PLANET

LEIGHTON-BOYCE

The exhibition includes specially commissioned works by Ruth Barker and Hannah LeightonBoyce, with some works being shown for the first time.

GoMA

STALKING THE IMAGE: MARGARET TAIT AND HER LEGACY

1 FEB-5 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

This exhibition provides an opportunity to honour Tait’s achievements in her centenary year alongside work by nine contemporary artists and filmmakers, many of whom have been inspired by Tait. QUEER TIMES SCHOOL PRINTS

1 FEB-10 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition exploring aspects of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Polysexual, Queer, Intersex + Allies (LGBTPQI+A) histories and experiences in Scotland from the past 50 years.

Mary Mary

GERDA SCHEEPERS: ROOMS

9 FEB-30 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

South African artist Gerda Scheepers presents her fourth solo exhibition at Mary Mary, drawing on various bodies of work spanning the last 15 years.

New Glasgow Society WAYFINDING

2-9 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of tactile, audio and visual art navigating Glasgow past and present through the creativity of its older residents. With work by Glasgow As I See It and Castlemilk Senior Centre developed and facilitated with Luke Shaw and Joanna Peace.

Platform SEA AT PLATFORM

26 FEB-9 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Now in its 8th year, SEA is the annual exhibition by selected 4th year students from the Sculpture and Environmental Art department at The Glasgow School of Art.

RGI Kelly Gallery ALLUSION IV

1-23 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Allusion group is comprised of elected RGIs who work in what might loosely be described as a “narrative” tradition. The artwork in Allusion invites a personal response, with clues sometimes being found in the title of the work.

Street Level Photoworks ARPITA SHAH: NALINI

9 FEB-7 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Arpita Shah’s Nalini is an ongoing series of work that focuses on her mother, her grandmother and herself. It explores the intimacy between the three of them and how their histories, memories and physical bodies are entangled and connected to one another. D. WIAFE / MARK AITKEN

1 FEB-3 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

A collaboration between Street Level Photoworks and Photofusion, London sees an exhibition of work by Derek Wiafe and Mark Aitken in Glasgow, and work by Arpita Shah and Chris Leslie in London.

The Lighthouse STILL LIFE

1 FEB-31 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Over the course of their sixmonth residency in Gallery 2a, Aaron Ziggy and Will Jenkinson will investigate plastics, its potential uses and shortcomings. BEST USE OF TIMBER AWARDS 2018

1 FEB-24 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Best Use of Timber Awards 2018 exhibition showcases the winner and shortlisted entries to the annual RIAS Awards scheme.

February 2019

NEW POLISH POSTER EXHIBITION 2019: POLAND IS QUEER! 17-24 FEB, 6:00PM – 12:00AM, FREE

The second edition of the annual New Polish Poster Exhibition will focus on social posters and the LGBT community, with an emphasis on current conditions in Poland.

Tramway

LUCY BEECH: REPRODUCTIVE EXILE

1-10 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

A documentary fiction on the theme of transnational assisted conception, focusing on the movement of bodies and bio-genetic substances across borders in what has come to be known as ‘reproductive exile’. CÉCILE B. EVANS: AMOS’ WORLD

1 FEB-17 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

This exhibition represents Cécile B. Evans most ambitious installation to date and constitutes the culmination of a three-part installation and video work titled AMOS’ WORLD (2017-ongoing). EXTREME IMAGINATION: INSIDE THE MIND’S EYE

1 FEB-3 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Extreme Imagination: inside the mind’s eye considers the impact of aphantasia and hyperphantasia on making art.

iota @ Unlimited Studios LEWIS WAUGH: EAST-WEST:WESTEAST

15 FEB-2 MAR, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

Inspired by experiences in the Skye Cuillins and Moroccan High Atlas, this exhibition centres on a collaboration between Lewis Waugh, two calligraphers and Iyad Hayatleh – Glasgow/Palestinian poet.

Edinburgh Art Arusha Gallery KATE WALTERS: SHETLAND NOTEBOOKS

28 FEB-17 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Walters’ delicate watercolours are arresting in their simplicity and power. Her most recent body of work is inspired by residencies on Shetland.

City Art Centre

IN FOCUS: SCOTTISH PHOTOGRAPHY

1 FEB-12 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

In Focus: Scottish Photography showcases the City Art Centre’s photographic collections, charting the development of fine art photography in Scotland from the 19th century to present day. EDWIN G. LUCAS: AN INDIVIDUAL EYE

1-10 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

The first major exhibition to focus on this unusual and enigmatic artist and one of the most unique Scottish painters of the 20th century, featuring over sixty artworks from public and private collections. ROBERT BLOMFIELD: EDINBURGH STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

1 FEB-17 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

The exhibition displays a selection of Robert Blomfield’s stunning private archive, documenting the dramatic shifts taking place in Scotland’s urban landscape during the 1960s. ANOTHER COUNTRY

1 FEB-17 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Another Country examines contemporary immigration to Scotland, exploring themes of integration, nationality and identity.

Dineo Seshee Bopape’s expansive multi-media practice explores memory, narration, and representation as contingent forms. 1 FEB-31 MAR, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

For his research project Rumours of a New Planet, Glasgow-based artist James N Hutchinson has investigated the life, work and travels of historical figures connected to Calton Hill. EMMIE MCLUSKEY: THESE WERE THE THINGS THAT MADE THE STEP FAMILIAR

1 FEB-10 MAR, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Emmie McLuskey’s project explores interactions in and between bodies, considering the systems that control and record them.

Dovecot Studios ORLA KIELY: A LIFE IN PATTERN

7-28 FEB, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, £4.50 - £9

This exhibition offers a privileged insight into the Orla Kiely’s world, and explores the story of pattern and how some designs can come to epitomise the style of their time.

Embassy Gallery MAKING GROUND

15 FEB-24 MAR, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

EMBASSY presents new video, installation and performance work by Rosa Johan Uddoh, Ebun Sodipo and Zoë Zo, Zoë Tumika and Zoë Guthrie in an exploration of futurity, utopias, world building, and the intersection between place and identity formation.

Ingleby Gallery SOMETIMES I DISAPPEAR

2 FEB-13 APR, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of photography by four artists who use selfportraiture as a kind of challenge to both confront, and yet avoid, the viewer’s gaze.

Museum of Edinburgh

100 YEARS OF SCOTTISH POTTERY 1740-1840 1-24 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Featuring examples of 18th and early 19th century Scottish East Coast pottery from Scotland’s foremost private collection.

National Museum of Scotland

NEW TO THE NATIONAL COLLECTION

1-24 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition highlighting some of National Museums Scotland’s recent acquisitions, several of which will be on display for the first time. ROBOTS

1 FEB-5 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £10

From early mechanised human forms to today’s cutting-edge technology, this major exhibition reveals our 500-year quest to make machines human, featuring more than 100 objects.

Open Eye Gallery

ADRIAN WISZNIEWSKI RSA: NOT NOW

1 FEB-4 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of new paintings and works on paper from the Glasgow-based artist. Since achieving instant fame in the 1980s as one of the ‘New Glasgow Boys’, Wiszniewski has become one of the best-known artists working in Scotland. RUTH NICOL: LEITH IN SPRING

1 FEB-4 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

New paintings and drawings from the Edinburgh-based artist, Leith In Spring reflects on the ever evolving historic port of Leith in Edinburgh.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA AVIARY

1-17 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of Royal Scottish Academicians reflecting on the significance of birds as a motif in contemporary Scottish art.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

NOW: MONSTER CHETWYND, MOYNA FLANNIGAN, HENRY COOMBES, BETYE SAAR, WAEL SHAWKY

1 FEB-28 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

At the centre of the fourth instalment of the NOW series of contemporary art exhibitions at Modern One is a major survey of work by the Turner Prize nominated artist Monster Chetwynd.

ANDY WARHOL AND EDUARDO PAOLOZZI: I WANT TO BE A MACHINE

1 FEB-2 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Taking its theme from a muchquoted remark by Andy Warhol, this exhibition examines Warhol’s and Paolozzi’s work, showing how they captured images from photography and advertisements. HAPPYHERE

1-24 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

HappyHere is a participatory, immersive light installation, created for Pig Rock Bothy, which uses colour and light to visualise thoughts and feelings.

CONTEMPORARY PAINTERS: MICHAEL ARMITAGE, GEORG BASELITZ, PETER DOIG, CHRIS OFILI, RAQIB SHAW

1 FEB-17 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

This room brings together five artists whose work critically engages with and expands the field of contemporary painting.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery SCOTS IN ITALY

1 FEB-5 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

A showcase of the Scottish experience of Italy in the eighteenth century, a time when artistic, entrepreneurial and aristocratic fascination with the country was reaching boiling point. THE MODERN PORTRAIT

1 FEB-27 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

A display collating paintings, sculptures and works from the Portrait Gallery’s twentiethcentury collection, feat. a variety of well-known faces, from Ramsay Macdonald to Alan Cumming, Tilda Swinton to Danny McGrain. REFORMATION TO REVOLUTION

1 FEB-1 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition examining the cultural consequences of the national religion becoming Protestantism in 16th century Scotland.

BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2018 1 FEB-10 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

The most prestigious portrait painting competition in the world, representing the very best in contemporary portrait painting. Over the years, this has attracted over 40,000 entries from more than 100 countries. BEINGS

2 FEB-28 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

In this interactive exhibition addressing well-being, young people explore their feelings by creating new art in direct response to particular works of art from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

Stills

ANDRES SERRANO: TORTURE

1 FEB-3 MAR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

A curated exhibition of work by controversial artist Andres Serrano, featuring a selection of recent photographs from Serrano’s Torture series, commissioned by socio-political arts organization a/ political in 2015.

Summerhall

SYLWIA KOWALCZYK: LETHE

1 FEB-17 MAR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Lethe is a collection of collages, portraits, objects and landscapes and drawn from Sylwia Kowalczyk’s own images, where these loose prints from her past grow into new entities. THE SAME TENDENCY

1 FEB-3 MAR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

The Same Tendency brings together a collection of Royal College of Art graduates to Summerhall’s Basement Galleries and Library Gallery for a month residency in 2019. 369 REVISITED: THE MEN

9 FEB-17 MAR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Following the success of 369 Remembered: The Women last year at Summerhall, the 40th anniversary celebration continues with an exhibition of work by male artists associated with the gallery over the last four decades.

The McManus

ARTIST ROOMS: LAWRENCE WEINER

1-17 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

This exhibition will bring together a cycle of wall texts from ARTIST ROOMS with a later wall piece and a selection of posters, drawings, artist books and ephemera from the Tate and The University of Dundee. LINKS WITH THE PAST

1 FEB-31 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

A partnership project between The McManus and the University of Edinburgh’s Unit for Forensic Anthropology Research has uncovered new details about a Pictish man’s life and death, which are revealed in a new display.

V&A Dundee MAEVE REDMOND

1 FEB-15 SEP 20, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A compelling piece of graphic design that unpacks the wider context around a 19th century trade catalogue by cast iron manufacturers Walter MacFarlane & Co. CIARA PHILLIPS

1 FEB-15 SEP 20, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A new commission, championing the often-unseen process of making by evoking a moment suspended in time where vital decisions about materials and their composition are made. SCOTTISH DESIGN GALLERIES

1 FEB-15 SEP 20, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Explore the everyday relevance of design and how it improves our lives, experience the processes that underpin it and discover little-known stories of Scottish design with international impact. OCEAN LINERS: SPEED AND STYLE

1-24 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £6 - £12

Discover how ocean liners became one of the most powerful and admired symbols of 20th century modernity.

Talbot Rice Gallery BORDERLINES

23 FEB-4 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Borderlines is a group exhibition that gives form to the conceptual, geo-political, economic and cultural impacts of borders.

HEROES AND HEROINES

1 FEB-31 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

A re-examination of major Scottish figures which questions our habit of framing history around individuals and idols.

ART AND ANALYSIS: TWO NETHERLANDISH PAINTERS WORKING IN JACOBEAN SCOTLAND

1 FEB-26 JAN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

A small exhibition focusing on two 17th century artists, Adrian Vanson and Adam de Colone, showcasing a group of paintings which have been examined by paintings conservator Dr Caroline Rae, along with the findings from her research. IN FOCUS: THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I

1 FEB-26 JAN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition centred around a painting of the execution of Charles I – based on eye-witness accounts and contemporary engravings – by an unknown Dutch artist. THE REMAKING OF SCOTLAND | NATION, MIGRATION, GLOBALISATION 1760-1860

1 FEB-21 JUN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition exploring the lives and careers of the Scots behind the period of dramatic change between 1760 and 1860, when Scotland rapidly attained a central role in European cultural life and in Britain’s industrial and imperial expansion. It documents the material and artistic benefits of their achievements, while also confronting the darker shadows they cast.

Dundee Art Cooper Gallery PHIL COLLINS: CEREMONY

1-16 FEB, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Reflecting on the work and legacy of Friedrich Engels, co-author of the Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx, Ceremony is a nuanced and timely exploration of Engels’ ideas within the context of the social conditions in contemporary Britain.

DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts MARGARET SALMON: HOLE

1-24 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow-based American artist and filmmaker, Margaret Salmon will present a new moving image work and installation commissioned specifically for Gallery 1 at DCA.

LORNA MACINTYRE: PIECES OF YOU ARE HERE

1-24 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Scottish artist Lorna Macintyre’s first solo exhibition in a major UK institution will debut a new body of work commissioned specifically for Gallery 2 at DCA.

Generator Projects

GENERATORPROJECTS MEMBERS’ SHOW 2019

8 FEB-3 MAR, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

The Generator Projects annual Members’ Show is an exciting and inclusive showcase of local creative talent in the heart of the city of discovery that aims to celebrate artistic diversity across a range of disciplines and mediums.

Listings

Competition

Win tickets to Homecoming 2: The Return of Mackay’s Memoirs at The Queen’s Hall

Martyn Bennett with City of Edinburgh Music School students

It’s been 20 years since Martyn Bennett – who died in 2005, aged just 33 – was commissioned to write a special piece of music to commemorate the centenary of his alma mater, Broughton High School. The piece, titled Mackay’s Memoirs, was used to help open the new Scottish Parliament in 1999 and recording was completed on the day Bennett died. It is his final, and many would say, best work. On 4 March, join some of the City of Edinburgh Music School alumni (Maeve Gilchrist, clarsach; Ben Duncan, pipes; David Lloyd, beats and loops; Lissa Robertson, vocals and keys) as they perform the piece alongside solo and ensemble work from the school’s current students. This show is part of The Queen’s Hall’s 40th anniversary celebrations. To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets to the event, simply head over to

theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question: How many years is it since Martyn Bennett wrote Mackay’s Memoirs? a) 15 b) 20 c) 25 Competition closes Mon 25 Feb. Entrants must be 16 or over. The prize consists of two tickets to attend Homecoming 2: The Return of Mackay’s Memoirs on 4 March and is not transferable. Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Tickets will be available to collect at The Queen’s Hall Box Office up until the event starts and proof of identity will be requested on collection. Our T&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms For more information about what’s on at The Queen’s Hall visit www.thequeenshall.net

THE SKINNY

Watch the Thrones Two films with queer protagonists – Bohemian Rhapsody and The Favourite – are in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars and Bafta awards. Only one, however, treats their character’s sexuality with both the casualness and respect they deserve

Words: Conor Marlborough

n recent years, films with LGBTQ+ characters have carved out a prominent place for themselves in mainstream cinema. Awards and accolades are never far behind the critical and commercial success that these works have enjoyed, and this year is no different. Inheriting the mantle from films like Carol, Moonlight and Call Me by Your Name, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite and Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody look set to pick up awards at both the Baftas and the Oscars after a string of early victories at the Golden Globes. But while both are biopics of queer figures, the way these two films handle sexuality as a theme is strikingly different – and Bohemian Rhapsody does not fare well from the comparison. “I want you to fuck me,” Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) tells her lover and confidante, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), one night in The Favourite. The whole film ripples with this matter-of-factness, and while the women’s affair is kept secret from the rest of the court, it is portrayed in a refreshingly straightforward manner for the audience. It is this bluntness that allows Lanthimos to do interesting things with the theme of sex and sexuality; a prickly love triangle plays out as the upstart Abigail, played by Emma Stone, begins to interfere with the balance of power between Weisz’s Lady Sarah and Coleman’s ailing Queen Anne. For all three characters, their sexuality is a weapon to be wielded skilfully and brutally, turning something historically associated with the suppression of women into a force for their political dominance. All the deliciously twisted machinations that play out between the queen and her favourites are rooted in the film’s refusal to shy away from its queer themes. Bohemian Rhapsody, by this standard, is nothing short of a betrayal of its LGBTQ+ credentials and of the queer icon at the centre of the film. There is nothing matter-of-fact about its handling of Freddie Mercury’s complicated sexuality, which is almost always filtered through innuendo. In one scene, while Mercury (played by Rami Malek) is on tour in Middle America, he makes a call back to his girlfriend, Mary Austin, at a service station. While on the phone his eyes fall on a beefy American trucker as he wanders furtively into a public bathroom. Later, when Queen’s manager wakes Mercury in his hotel room after the band’s epic Rock in Rio concert, a

The Favourite

young male fan asleep on a sofa in Mercury’s suite scrambles to get dressed and scarpers out the door. When not watered down by cheap suggestion, the homosexual theme is played for laughs instead. When Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor (played in the film by Ben Hardy), has a creative tantrum during a recording session, Mercury quips, “there’s only room in this band for one hysterical queen”. It is abundantly clear that Bohemian Rhapsody’s creators would much prefer to focus solely on Queen’s music – a fact that is evident even in the structure of the film itself. Instead of charting the meteoric rise and tragic fall of a complex musical prodigy, the plot is crafted to end on the climax of Queen’s most iconic performance – the 1985 Live Aid concert. The filmmakers do not seem particularly interested in Mercury’s seven-year long relationship with Jim

Bohemian Rhapsody

February 2019

Hutton (played by Aaron McCusker), who, in the film’s version of the story, begins dating the singer on the morning of the Live Aid concert. Nor do the filmmakers seem particularly interested in the fact that Mercury lived for another six years after Live Aid, dying of Aids-related pneumonia in 1991 – why bother with the downbeat third act when you can cover all that with a few sentences before the end credits? Perhaps the greatest betrayal of its supposed LGBT+ theme is this handling of Mercury’s HIV and Aids. One tweet summed up just how superficial the film’s engagement is with the disease that killed him: “Bohemian Rhapsody taught me that you can contract HIV via a passing glance at a handsome extra.” Mercury’s suffering is demoted to little more than a plot device to increase the tension in the final act: the damage done to his vocal cords by the disease threatens to scupper the band’s triumphant reunion on stage at Wembley. As a big blockbuster film – already the highest grossing musical biopic in history – it is easy to see why Bohemian Rhapsody only skirts around the edges of Mercury’s sexuality. But it is also easy to see how big an opportunity was missed. The film will always seem like a shameless cash-grab because of its refusal to be straightforward about sexuality. This, of course, is not the same as being explicitly sexual; it simply means being honest about the relationships and desires of characters, and not relegating them to euphemism or shockingly ill-judged plot devices. Audiences deserved more than an adequately-put-together medley of Queen’s greatest hits, as did the legacy of Freddie Mercury himself. Ultimately, it is because of this failure to engage maturely with LGBTQ+ sexuality, that although there will be two queens vying for dominance at the Baftas and Oscars in 2019, only one of them deserves the crown. The Favourite and Bohemian Rhapsody are in cinemas now; the Bafta Awards take place in London on 10 Feb; the Oscars take place in Los Angeles on 25 Feb

FILM

THE CINESKINNY

Eighth Grade

Got your tickets to a Glasgow Film Festival screening this month, or keen to find out more about this year's line-up? Look out for The CineSkinny, The Skinny's free guide to the very best of GFF. Our Preview issue (out 13 Feb) features a day-by-day calendar of the screenings to catch in this year's programme, as well as interviews with Eighth Grade director Bo Burnham and Romanian iconoclast Radu Jude. In our two festival issues (out on 21 and 25 Feb), you'll find a host of interviews, reviews and highlights; we'll also be keeping you updated on the best of GFF on theskinny. co.uk/cineskinny and across our various social media platforms. Pick up a copy of The CineSkinny at Glasgow Film Theatre, Cineworld Renfrew Street, the Centre for Contemporary Arts and other GFF venues from 13 Feb. The CineSkinny is sponsored by the Glasgow School of Art's School of Simulation and Visualisation

Last Word