Who Needs SXSW?

When you can witness.....

The Second Coming of christ. tonight at the 13th Note for tronic (preview from Miso)

christ. - initially involved in the hexagon sun project with michael sandison and marcus eoin (Boards of Canada), christopher horne has moved on to produce music under the moniker christ. (easily offended christians please note its short for christopher, not the son of god). producing the 'pylonesque ep' in 2002 and following this up with the superb metamorphic reproduction miracle album the next year, christ. made a massive impact on the electronic scene both in scotland and on the international stage. taking his live set as far a-field as japan, switzerland, france, finland and the sonar festival (barcelona, spain). christ has also been one of the select group of artists to play for john peel at maida vale (twice due to mr peels rare request for an encore). playing out his material from his new album (blue shift emissions) at tronic, you will hear electronica straight out the top drawer this march. mr horne will be taking the stage at approx. 10:00 pm and if you see anyone this month at tronic, this is the act.



edge of the map - an electronic artist that was surrounded in mystery, when he took to the stage, for the tronic album launch last year. a talented musician, who swapped guitar strings for that of synth strings, had never played live under the name 'eotm' before and really stunned everyone that witnessed his live set that night. instantly you can't help being drawn to the warm, deep ambience he creates and driving layered beats, keep his sound flowing, mapping out synthscapes and beautiful musical patterns. influences from the likes of steve reich to underworld are apparent in this electronic wizard's style, thus being the perfect opening act on a great night of electronic music.



keser - have recently had their debut album 'esoteric escape' released by edinburgh based label 'alex tronic records', to which many good things have been said. "there is something rarefied about this ambitious beauty" comparisons made to 'boards of canada' and 'mogwai' are justified, as keser's sound has a beautiful, ethereal depth to it, taking the listener on a hypnotic flight through their utopian world. the escapism starts with delicate ambient strings washed over faint vocals and samples. when live, keser have a dynamic energy full of distorted guitar and crunchy beats backed by some imposing visuals, in all promising to be the perfect support to christ. proving yet again, what exceptional eletronica is out there in scotland waiting to be heard.



dee mond - works under his own label 'pyrate music' and has been at the forefront of the techno/electro scene in edinburgh for many years. an influential dj, normally mixing and mashing up all various styles of dance music - forming his own unique blend of elektrotech. dee mond has fine tuned all musical knowledge and production skills into his music and energetic live sets. having also previously released two albums and just recently his new 12" ep 'dee mond', this electronic producer will undoubtedly get the exposure he deserves.
dee mond will end the night, quite fittingly we feel as this electronic demon is sure to leave his mark on the tronic scene

christ. Live @ Tronic

Tronic have pulled off a major coup in getting christ. to perform at the next installment on March 16th at the 13th Note.

Also joining him is the fantastic Keser, Edge of the Map and Deemond

Points of Interest...

1. If there any aspiring writers or anyone with some opinions on musical, political or artistic issues. Ask for a inivite to the Hidden Shoal Recordings project FluxusTV. There is an ever-growing band of like-minded individuals posting their thoughs and sharing their interests at this intriguing venture. I've joined up and it looks very good fun.

2. Arclight Communications have confirmed that they will release Romance of Young Tigers self-titled ep via 10" vinyl this year and it will feature a bonus track. It will be limited to just 400 copies.

3. Mark 6/02/07 in your diaries, because n5md will issue their latest batch of "emotional experiments in music". Albums by Sweden's Tobias Lilja and Canadians SubtractiveLAD and Arc Lab will be released on this day.

4. Two of my tips for 2007 will be releasing new material very soon. iLiKETRAiNS will have a new single, "Spencer Perceval" out on 26/03/07. While, Slow Dancing Society officially releases "The Sound of Lights When Turned Dim" this coming Monday. Order it here

5. Keser will return to Glasgow on 23/01/07 to play a free gig at everyone's favourite late night bar, Bloc. ÅsA are also due to play at what should be an excellent night for contemporary Scottish music.

Another New Solipsism Track and Keser Live In Glasgow

Some information on some Scottish-based artists here....

Solipsism have put another track up for preview on myspace and continues the collaboration with Lyricist and vocalist Neil Carlill of Vedette. "Come In From The Cold" continues the experimentation with ambient and folk music.

Keser, meanwhile, will be performing at Glasgow's (in)famous Nice n'Sleazy's venue on Tuesday 9th of January, details can be read here

Top 5 Albums of the Year : Keser

A late submission for the top 5 Albums of the Year, and it comes from Edinburgh post-rockers, Keser. The band's mainman, Kevan, provides and interesting read, especially those Scottish words which I have decided to leave in. Here is what he thought was the best 0f 2006. He also finds time to mention the recently departed, James Brown, too.
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5. Various Artisits - "CHEM087CD + DVD" (Chemikal Underground Records)

When I first saw this, I felt like Principal Skinner from The Simpsons uncovering Ralph Wiggum's Star Wars toy collection in their original unopened packaged condition: "Han, Luke, Chewie - they're all here!". This compilation CD has everything, all the bands who have worked with Chemikalover the years (Arab Strap, De Rosa, Interpol, Malcolm Middleton, Magoo,Suckle, Mother & the Addicts, Aereogramme, Bis, the Delgados, Mogwai, Radar Bros and more). To top it off, it comes with a DVD of videos from some of the Chemikal bands. Perfect.


4. Thom Yorke - "The Eraser" (XL)

Thom Yorke once said "I'm not afraid of computers taking over the world,they're just sitting there. I can hit them with a two by four." Radiohead proved they were the masters of the machines since "Kid A" and Thom Yorke continues this route into minimalist electronica mixed with some guitars,keyboards and great vocals. My favourite song on the album is 'Black Swan' where he sings "I'm your black swan, black swan, but I made it tothe top, made it to the top. This is fucked up, fucked up!". The wee genius has done it again! Fantastic album.


3. Boards of Canada - "Trans Canada Highway"/ Múm - "The Peel Session"

I'll roll these two EP's into one 'album' entry. The Boards of Canada EP includes Dayvan Cowboy from "The Campfire Headphase" album and 5 other tracks. Brilliant laid back electronica as always. I haven't had a chance to see Múm live yet but this Peel session (recorded in 2002, released Dec06) is as close as I'll get for now. The songs are slightly different to the album versions and feel even warmer sounding. The tracks stand out from all other melodic electronica even now but this was originally done 4 years ago which tell us something!


2. Arab Strap - "10 Years of Tears" - (Chemikal Underground Records)

Arab Strap's final album gathers together live tracks, re-mixes and otherrare and unreleased songs in a fitting cross-sectioned tribute to their 10 year career. "(Afternoon) soaps" is outstanding as is "The Clearing (Version2)". The original 1995 demo Islands is on here as well as a recording oftheir first ever King Tuts show. It's a bit of a Seamus that they are finished now but Aiden and Malcolm's solo releases are unsurprisingly breathtaking and will ensure they are here to stay for good. Farewell dudes, it's been emotional!


1. Mogwai - "Mr Beast" (Rock Action)

On their 5th studio LP release, these so called 'Mogwai' definitely went for the chips & cheese well after midnight to unleash a monster of analbum straight from the Castle of Doom. They tend to enjoy playing thefaster, heavier songs live and set out to make a record of that kind. My favourite tracks are "Auto Rock", "Glasgow Mega Snake", "Travel is Dangerous" and "Emergency Trap". The latter being a perfect song where they somehowmanage to evoke a hundred emotions at once. It also comes with aninteresting DVD of the making of the album at their own studio. The hardworking Young Team even donned their away kit and recorded "Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait" movie soundtrack to round off a hugely successful 2006 for the guys. It's a more subtle and beautiful album and re-affirms their musical standing as the Godfathers of James Brown. Or something like that.

Keser Live In Scandinavia

Keser have decided to take their live show to Scandinavia, with Denmark and Norway being treated to some shows. Firstly, they will play with ÅsA, at Blå in Oslo Norway on the 3/12. This will be followed by an instore appearence at 12 Tonar Record Store in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 7/12. Later that night, Keser will be part of the Beatless Propaganda night at Christianshavns Beboerhus, with the excellent Stafrænn Hákon, more info on this one can be found here. Finally, Keser will return to Norway on the 9/12, this time Cementen in Stavanger to round things off.

Just in case the above is quite confusing here is a condensed list...


3/12 9pm Blå Oslo
7/12 6pm 12 Tónar Record Shop Copenhagen
7/12 9pm Christianshavns Beboerhus Copenhagen
9/12 10pm Cementen