SCOTTISH BANDS
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The Delgados
When not busy running (‘hemikal L'nderground records. (ilasgow‘s Delgados make their own incredible tnusic. This year's l’e/ntmi album. an intriguing list—light between classical instru- mentation and left-field rock. deservedly tnade the music press end-of—year polls. lixpcct anew lil’ around March. and the next album. reported to be ‘more expansive and ambitious’. in October. Look out for harp. piano and slide gui— tar on there somewhere. Also in the pipeline is a split—single with Six By Seven on which the bands will cover each others' songs. In March. The Delgados will featttre in John Peel's Sound ()f The Suburbs; a new series on (‘hannel 4. (PR)
Finle ua e
w it
After a summer of hiin profile festival gigs. the redoubtable .\lr Quaye would seem to have gone to ground. Rumours have it that he has gone to Jamaica (l) to lay down some tracks. that he is nipping in and out of a studio in London or that he is spending time at home with his recently born child. So. the follow-up to the retnarkably successful .llm‘vrick A SIN/w album might turn up next year. bttt who knows'.’ The only definite fact is that he has contributed a cover of (iershwin‘s ‘lt Ain't Necessarily So‘ to a charity tribute album. (JT)
Future Pilot AKA
Although yet to make a commercial splash. l‘uture Pilot AKA is one of the tnost inventive prospects to emerge from Scotland in the last couple of years. The project is essentially ex- Soup Dragons and BMX Bandit Sushil K. l)ade in collaboration with an array of other artists
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(most recently jazz arranger Bill Wells). pro- ducing a hybrid sound which encompasses retro electronica. Asian beats and (Ms soundtrack moods. By day a driving instructor. by night a bedroom boffm. Dade has a couple of split sin— gles lined tip for January release to be followed by an album. A Galaxy (If-Sound. on Scanncr's Sulphur label in March. which features collabo- rations with the likes of(‘ornershop. Brix Smith and Two l.one Swordsmen. (l’S)
Garbage
We all know there are lies. damned lies and statistics. but this one rings true: apparently. (larbage‘s second album. H'l'.\‘i()tt 2.0. is the best selling (‘D in liurope this year and the sixth biggest album worldwide. Which is all the more impressive given that not too many years ago. lidinburgh-based singer Shirley Manson was contemplating taking a job in (lregg's selling pies Perfect for MTV". (iarbage‘s update on goth rock is slaying them all over the world. At the moment the band are on a seemingly endless global tottr which stops off at Glasgow's Sli(‘(‘ on Saturday 23 January. (JT)
James MacMilIan
It is no long ‘1' possible to speak of James MacMillan as a rising star ~ his position as a major voice in contemporary composition is now secure. Retrospectives of his work at the lidinburgh Festival and in London have con— firmed that standing. while livelyn (ilennie has taken his percussion concerto l’vm’. \E'm'. limmumu‘l around the world. racking tip a for- midable performance tally for a contemporary work. MacMillan‘s music will feature twice in (‘cltic Connections. his opera Ines De ('us'lm
Clockwise from top left: Shushil K. Dade of Future Pilot AKA, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Finley Quaye, James MacMillan, The Delgados, Mogwai and Primal Scream
is scheduled for performances by Scottish Opera in June. and his packed schedule of commissions includes a large—scale work for the BBC Proms in August. (KM)
Mogwai
Despite being named after that furry creature from (item/ins. .\logwai aren't cute. Influenced by the seminal American band Slint. Mogwai’s elongated. mainly instrumental passages and atmospheric guitar lines lull the listener into a false sense of security before scaring them half to death with great slabs of noise. (‘heck ottt .llogtmi lining 'Ii’um for evidence. The new album is due in March or April. having been recorded by Mercury Rev producer Dave liridmann at his studios in upstate New York. l‘ridmann is said to have added a new dimen- sion to their sound. .\logwai play an .\'.lll:' Premier show at London‘s W('2 Astoria on Saturday 33 January. (PR)
Primal Scream
At one time written off as retro losers. the Primals were subsequently disparagcd as indie traitors when they released ‘l.oaded‘. It all seems silly in the light of l‘)()l's .S'crmmm/e/it'u. a visionary work mixing gen- res to glorious effect and defining the eclectic 90s sound into the bargain. Since then. they have been less roundly praised. but tinny/1mg Point. a strange brew of psychedelia and para- noia. proved a grower. You can expect a new album in 199‘): the l’rimals have been working with My Bloody Valentine‘s Kevin Shields and descriptions of the new stttff range from ‘extreme' to ‘fairly out there'. Be afraid. (PR)
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