Billy Hamilton: My band of 2009

UtR co-editor Billy Hamilton has been a vocal champion of his band of the year, both in our podcasts and in their profile feature back in June. Here he explains their (sometimes divisive) appeal...


2009 has been a dichotomous beast in terms of my musical fancy.

I started the year immersed in rich melodic folk. Now, at the end of the turkey-gorging season, I find myself cocooned by lightning-whipped electronica – a retreat I’m growing rather fond of, it must be said.

With this resting partially in mind then, my band of choice for the past 365 days has to be Edinburgh duo Dead Boy Robotics (DBR).

But it’s not because they’re the outfit I consider to be the most complete or impressive. No, quite simply, I cannot think of one act that has transformed quite so astonishingly in the space of just 12 months as DBR.

This time last year DBR were, in my mind at least, a plastecine-cast pairing exuding the obligatory pastiche of the hipster mass. I'd say Nick [Mitchell, UtR’s editor-in-chief] perfectly surmised DBR circa-2008 when he described them as “synth prodding wankery” (a pull quote that became their ironic MySpace strap line).

Yet, with 2010 on the horizon DBR are a band with one foot in the future. Tooled up with gun-totting synth and a penchant for pulsing tribal rhythm, Mike and Gregor are flying the flag for the criminally overlooked half of Auld Reekie’s creative undercurrent.

Their chaotic asylum-dwelling sound is founded on a throb of electro-bending and prolonged dog-like yelping. Live, it’s exhilarating: The duo meticulously build gigantic soundstacks that pierce the eardrums like the wrong side of a pneumatic pin-cushion.

On record, they're yet to do themselves justice, but that’s what makes DBR such an exciting proposition. It’s not what they can do that matters. It’s what they could do that really counts.

Words: Billy Hamilton

DBR: As Children We Fear The Dark (part 1)


DBR: We Drown Ourselves (Cartographer Exhales)


Who was your artist or band of 2009? Let us know below...

Billy Hamilton: My gig of 2009

Versus, The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
10 September

To put forward the inaugural Voodoo Rooms-based Versus as my gig of 2009 is doing the night little justice.

You see, this wasn’t just your bog-standard three band soirée that underpins gigs the length and breadth of this country. No, this was a spectacle – a loud one at that.

With Dead Boy Robotics, Foundling Wheel and Meursault taking up the leading roles, the three-pronged stage invasion had melody mingling with discord and folk frolicking with noise.

A pre-show natter with the man behind the concept, Ted Koterwas, revealed a desire to engage the polarized factions of Edinburgh’s music scene in a battle royale of sound that would open up doors and knock down walls.

But it wasn’t about indulging in a spot of musical peacekeeping, it was much, much more. Sounds blasted from the stage as if igniting from a Kennedy Space Center launch pad, while a roll-call of Auld Reekie luminaries took turns in complementing the starring trio’s kaleidoscopic mash up.

Bulging instrumentation frothed with all the frenzy of a rabid dog chasing its tail, leaving the senses of the punters ragged, frayed and, most of all, alive.

By the time the finale of tumbling percussion and electrified synth crushed solar plexuses, you knew what had unravelled was something very special indeed.

A night to remember? Perhaps. A night not to be forgotten. Definitely.

The next Versus night features eagleowl, Found and Oates Field, and takes place at the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh on 21 January.

What was your gig of 2009? Let us know below...