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ELECTRONIC ROCK THREE TRAPPED TIGERS Stag & Dagger at the Art School, Glasgow, Sat 21 May
The tune-packed annual stumble around Glasgow’s streets and venues Stag & Dagger is back, and with it come some of the most voguish local and national bands of the moment. The List will be looking forward to seeing Clinic, Warpaint, Yuck, Sons & Daughters, Admiral Fallow and Tall Ships either again or for the first time, while south-east London- based trio Three Trapped Tigers (named after the English translation of Cuban author Guillermo Infante’s experimental 1966 novel Tres tristes tigres) have grabbed our attention with a sound which takes some unlikely electronic influences and applies them to dramatic Mogwai-style instrumentals. ‘Our musical tastes meet on the electronic side of
things, like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher,’ says Tom Rogerson, referring to his bandmates Adam Betts and Matt Calvert. ‘Otherwise I’m a classical
geek originally. Matt and I share some jazz influences – amazing people on the Norwegian scene like Thomas Stronen and Humcrush – and those guys have their own tastes. They’ve known each other for donkeys’ years, they were in all sorts of bands playing jazz, funk, hardcore and rock together. Originally we wanted to be like those Warp guys, though, but we’ve moved on a bit since then.’ At the end of May their first LP Route One or Die (Blood and Biscuits) will be out, a deft collection of angular instrumentals which display energy and invention that just about manages to tie all the above influences together. Until that date, though, the highlights of a five-year career which Rogerson admits has been snail-paced until now include ‘getting to play with our heroes. Like, last year we got to meet and hang out with Autechre at a festival on a disused coalfield in Poland. They’re our all-time heroes, and we also played with Moderat in Dresden. Our agent gets us great gigs.’ Just like this one, hopefully. (David Pollock)
ELECTRONICA EMERALDS The Arches, Glasgow, Mon 23 May The American underground has fallen in love with the crystalline textures of vintage synthesisers. Like their friend James Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never, Emeralds drink deep from the kosmische fountain – the DNA of Ashra, Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream is imprinted on their circuits – but, as last year’s Does It Look Like I’m Here? attests, their sound
takes in elements from 90s techno (particularly the sub- aquatic fantasies of Drexciya), post-rock and even American primitive acoustic guitar music. The List’s first encounter with Emeralds live was at
Glasgow’s CCA a couple of years ago, where the trio played a set of tranced-out synth drone (their 2008 album Solar Bridge being a good reference point). Mark McGuire’s clean guitar lines blended into the warm flow of Moog and Korg bliss, as we were set adrift into space in an analogue bubblebath. Perhaps it was a result of having to follow an apocalyptic set by Japanese underground legend Keiji Haino, but Emeralds had changed their game by the time of December’s Godspeed-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties. The building vibrated to the kind of sub-bass frequencies more readily associated with dubstep or techno than noise or drone. John Elliott and Steve Hauschildt moshed over their banks of gear, the pristine sequences and arpreggios of their synths dirtied up with white noise and McGuire’s guitar pyrotechnics. ‘You’ve blown the PA,’ shouted out one crowd member between tracks. ‘Sounds alright to us,’ replied a grinning McGuire. It was, as they say, banging. (Stewart Smith)
Music PREVIEWS
EXPOSURE
PAWS Over the past 12 months, Glasgow trio PAWS have gone from ambitious bedroom jams to supporting damn near every cult US indie export to grace our fair shores (Dum Dum Girls, Wavves, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti amongst others). Combining Dinosaur Jr-esque melodic noisemongery with colourful imagery, restless energy and an ear for a good hook, PAWS are fast carving their own name into the local live scene, and having the most fun in the process. Intrigued? Here’s vocalist Phil
Taylor to tell you more.
For anyone as yet unaware of PAWS, can you tell us a bit about the band? PAWS are Phillip [Taylor, on drums and vocals], Josh [Swinney, on drums] and Matt [Scott, bass and vocals]. We live in Glasgow. Two of us went to school together in the Highlands. We write and record our own music and we all share great enthusiasm for punk rock and cute animals.
What inspires you/gets you going? A lot of things I guess, but the biggie has been just going to shows, collecting records and stuff like that. The idea that you can just make music with some friends because it’s fun and then record your little inventions to share them with everyone. Making loud noises just feels really, really natural.
What would you like people to take away from your music? Anything they want. It’s totally up to them. We just have fun making it and if anyone likes it, or even doesn’t like it for that matter, that’s totally cool. We are flattered if anyone takes anything from it. Good or bad. Send us your love/hate mail. (Ryan Drever)
■ PAWS’ self-released EP ‘My Parents Said We Can’t See Each Other Anymore’ is out now. Check for upcoming gig details at myspace.com/ pawspawspawspaws or follow them on wehavepaws.tumblr.com
28 Apr–26 May 2011 THE LIST 71