94 Sacred Paws HAND MAIDENS
The tropical post-punk duo of guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers released their long-awaited debut EP on Mogwai’s Rock Action records in March. They followed it up with a series of great gigs, sweeping audiences onto the dancel oor. (SS)
93 Andrew O’Hagan ILLUMINATING AUTHOR
The Glasgow-born writer earned himself a third career appearance on the Booker longlist with The Illuminations, a moving story which veers between Scotland, Afghanistan and Blackpool to cover war, homecoming and families. (BD)
92 JOAN CLEVILLÉ CLEVILLE BOY
A former dancer with Scottish Dance Theatre, Clevillé made the bold move to start his own Dundee-based company this year. If debut outing Plan B for Utopia is anything to go by, his future in dance theatre is very, very bright. (KA)
91 IRVINE WELSH JOURNEY MAN
Notorious lothario Terry ‘Juice’ Lawson was given a novel of his own in A Decent Ride. Packed with i lthy charm and characters old and new, it was a comic triumph with plenty of depth through its exploitation of celebrity culture and the treatment of sex workers. (RoM)
90 HEATHER LEIGH STEEL WORKS
The Texas-raised, Glasgow-based former Charalambides and Taurpis Tula pedal steel guitarist released her I Abuse Animal album. It proved a favourite with fans of off-the-grid music, while Leigh went on to play with Peter Brötzmann at Tectonics. (DP)
89 DRYGATE BREWERS WHOOP
Host of the Craft Beer Rising festival, the Williams Bros and Tennent’s joint venture, incorporating brewery, beerhall, terrace, events space, shop and Vintage eating options, has established itself as a hip hangout as well as a beacon of dynamic collaborations in Glasgow’s food and drink scene. (DR)
88 JANICE GALLOWAY MOTHER NATURE
Her i rst work of i ction since 2009, Jellyi sh is a superb collection exploring sexual desire and parenthood. The 14 short stories examine insecurities of motherhood, the coping powers of music, and women existing on the fringes of society, all in Galloway’s signature narrative style. (RoM)
87 JOANNA BLYTHMAN REAL FOOD CHAMP
Britain’s foremost investigative food journalist fearlessly digested the murky world of
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processed food in her book Swallow This, exposing the relentless deceit, subterfuge, self-righteousness and, at times, recklessness of the companies who stock our supermarket shelves. (DR) presence on the Scottish dance scene for a while. But now she’s moved into choreography, things are really hotting up, with Hunting Dust one of the most exciting moments at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. (KA)
86 ERRORS NO MISTAKE
Releasing their fourth album on Mogwai’s Rock Action label, the Glasgow trio gave us a new Lease of Life and took a bold new step forward in the process. A Glasgow ABC appearance will usher in their 2016. (BD)
85 NUMBERS FUN FIGURES
Their club dates have been collectors’ items this year, but the Glasgow-founded troupe did manage a Numbers v Optimo special in Barcelona and their 12th birthday boat party in Glasgow in the space of two June days. DJ Deeon, Lory D, Kornél Kovács and Sparky also featured on the label. (DP)
84 JOHANNA BASFORD REBEL INK
Aberdeenshire-born Basford is known for her colouring books for adults, notably Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book. The ‘ink evangelist’ has now sold over one million copies of Secret Garden worldwide, and Staedtler even featured her illustrations on its pens. (RM)
83 TAMSYN RUSSELL DUST BUSTER
As a performer, Russell has been a notable
82 ECLAIR FIFI TRICKSY BELLE
Still one of Scotland’s i nest DJs (and a designer, to boot), Clair Stirling has i lled her year with shows for Rinse FM, a headline European tour, the top spot at LuckyMe’s showcase (she’s a member of the collective) at Amsterdam Dance Event and an upcoming support for Hudson Mohawke at the Warehouse Project. (DP)
81 BEN READE GASTRO GUY
The former head of research and development at the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen marked his return home as part of pop-up restaurant The Scratch Series. Later, he crowdfunded and opened The Edinburgh Food Studio in late October with partner Sashana Zanella. (DR)
80 SOPHIE LAPLANE HIGH FLYER
A company dancer with Scottish Ballet, Laplane created and choreographed ‘Maze’, a powerful new piece chosen to open the Scottish Ballet autumn season. Laplane also collaborated with i lmmaker Eve McConnachie and singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph on the beautiful music video for ‘The Bird’. (RoM)
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SUPPORTED BY S 5 Nov 2015–4 Feb 2016 THE LIST 29