AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS
MUSIC Picked by Claire Sawers, Music editor
‘T here’s tonnes of good music happening in the next few months – plenty of excellent acts coming to town from far and away, plus local venues being used for one-off, exciting things. Anyone who saw Tim Hecker in Leith’s Pilrig Church last year will know he puts on an immersive, foreboding and amazing show; he’s playing the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (Fri 20 Sep, see page 73), a few weeks before putting out a new album Virgins (Mon 14 Oct: get a taster at bit.ly/heck3r).
Things get psychedelic with an appearance from Plankton Wat (The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, Thu 26 Sep, with Ben Reynolds). Hear Mr Wat (real name Dewey Mahood) and his hypno-folk at bit.ly/mrwat. Those who missed this year’s Music Language Festival (see page 78) can catch Music Language Redux up the road in Dundee (DCA, Sat 28 Sep), featuring the ridiculously good beats of Stefan Blomeier & Claire, and the power-chaos of Muscletusk, among others.
I’ve been listening a lot to a cassette by Glasgow’s Instructional Media, called Lithic Grid, which includes stuff from Stefan and Claire (real name Elise Tippins), as well as the brains behind the label, Lewis Cook (Mother Ganga / Flaccid Haus / The Cosmic Dead / Happy Meals), Jamie McNeill (Estaitis / Cru Servers), Rickie McNeill (Fox Gut Daata / Cru Servers), Callum Monteith, and plenty others. Get a listen at bit.ly/InstMedia. Daniel Lopatin (pictured, above), better known as Oneohtrix Point Never, is playing Glasgow (CCA, Tue 1 Oct), and if his new album, R Plus Seven (Mon 30 Sep) is anything to go by – it’s riddled with frenzied synths and celestial chills – that one should be a belter.
Scotland gets a monster-sized new music venue this month with the opening of The Hydro (see page 72), and an appearance from Fleetwood Mac (Thu 3 Oct) might just be the perfect way to christen it.
Glasgow weirdo-pop duo Conquering Animal Sound recently put out a typically loopy-good video, the Lachlann Rattray-directed fantasia ‘No Dream’, from their most recent album, On Floating Bodies (watch the video at bit.ly/casbodies). You can catch them live at the Pleasance, Edinburgh (Thu 24 Oct) and the Glad Café, Glasgow (Fri 25 Oct).
Joe Stannard, Brighton-based putter-on of experimental audiovisual nights The Outer Church, makes his Scottish debut in October (The Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Oct; Kinning Park Complex, Glasgow, Sat 26 Oct). Expect droning, radiophonic live sounds, plus a screening of cult psychedelic campi re horror movie, I Can See You, by Graham Reznick. More than just a straightforward gig, it’s the perfect intermedia night to give you the creeps before Hallowe’en. Keep an eye on list.co.uk where we’ll soon have a specially-made mixtape from Joe. The return of Sonica festival (various venues, Glasgow, Thu 31 Oct–Sun 3 Nov) is always an intriguing prospect, billing itself as ‘sonic art for the visually minded’. It features video installations, interactive phone apps, and a performance at Tramway of ‘sound sculptress’ Maja S K Ratkje (Thu 31 Oct).’
19 Sep–17 Oct 2013 THE LIST 19