VERSUS: Meursault vs The Foundling Wheel vs Dead Boy Robotics

Ground-breaking live music night Versus returns on Thursday 10 September with a trio of our favourite BEAR Scotland noise-mongers – Meursault, The Foundling Wheel and Dead Boy Robotics – gearing up to grapple track-to-track in the Voodoo Rooms’ shadowed cove.

Ted Koterwas, organiser of the first Versus event in March, has joined forces with Dave Cumings, co-creator of Edinburgh’s Limbo, to create a bi-monthly sound explosion that takes three bands and one stage and turns them into a lug-ringing racket.

“Versus capitalises on the notion of conflict, and then subverts it,” explains Koterwas. “It starts with a duelling concept, where bands go track for track, but then evolves. We are encouraging bands to collaborate on songs as well as alternate, so you can expect a number of songs to be played by new configurations of the bands involved."

This triangular tussle juxtaposes UtR’s favourte alt. folk heroes Meursault against the incessant bit-crushing of The Foundling Wheel and Dead Boy Robotics’ robotic discord. As a special treat for eager punters, rumour has it the triad will be joined by a number of esteemed local musical dignitaries throughout the night. That’s just between you and us though, right?

Aimed at appealing to both the competitive and collaborative spirits of bands, Versus is set to produce a bombastic throb of sound that’s a refreshing antidote to the folky whispers often emanating from Auld Reekie’s streets.

As Koterwas puts it: “We aim to curate some truly innovative combinations of bands from different genres and styles and really challenge them to either find common ground or revel in the ensuing conflict - hopefully a bit of both.”

A step into the unknown, Versus really could go either way. And you know what? That's what makes it so very special.

Words: Billy Hamilton

Versus is on at The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh at 8pm, Thursday 10 September. Tickets are £5 on the door.