Newsflash: T Break 2010 open for entries

It's that time of year again. Following last month's announcement of the headliners and big-hitters, T in the Park now wants to fill out the smaller stages, starting with the long-running T Break.

Today the organisers launch the hunt for 16 unsigned bands to play the Balado festival, chosen by a panel of industry experts.

Want to get involved? Here's the spiel:

"T Break is open to any unsigned musical act resident in Scotland, provided they are over the age of 18, and performing original material.

To be in with a chance of performing in one of the highly coveted slots on the T Break Stage unsigned bands should go to www.tennents.com/tbreak for full details on how to submit their work. They will be invited to upload a link to their myspace page (or alternatively they will find instruction on how to make a postal submission.) The deadline for submissions is 16th April 2009.

The 16 bands who have been invited to showcase on the T Break Stage at T in the Park will be announced in May."

Newsbits: Scottish Alt. Awards, Aberdeen protest album, Haiti appeal and more...

If ducking a handshake constitutes a front page splash, then god knows where that puts our weekly round-up of press releases and music related titbits. At a guess, we’d say page four. You know, just behind that elegant snap of a scantily clad female who’s putting the world to rights in the shape of two mountainous mammary glands.

Anyway, as this is a website there’s no need to concern ourselves with trivial matters like page numbers or, sadly, topless models. Instead, you can rest assured that what you’re reading right now will probably stay at the top of the page for the next 24 hours without subjecting you to nudity of any form.

Trapped in Kansas scoop alternative gong
UtR favourites Trapped in Kansas scooped the ‘Best Rock/Alternative’ prize at last week’s Scottish Alternatve Music Awards (SAMA). The Glasgow based quartet fought off fierce competition from Make Sparks and This Familiar Smile to be crowned the most rocking alternative act in the land (or something). Other winners included As Darkness Falls (Best Newcomer), Promised Only Lies (Best Metal) and The LaFontaines (Best Live Act). Bronto Skylift bafflingly walked away with nada, but that’s that nature of open-vote awards for you.

SAMA organiser Richy Muirhead said: “The past seven months have been an amazing and great learning experience for myself. The music scene in Scotland is forever growing, and I hope everyone involved can now appreciate it more from this event. It's been a real blast, and I've already started brainstorming for next years festival.”

A heartfelt protest
Remember the (often abysmal) vehicle for social change that was the protest song? We don't, but that's mainly because we were born in a time when Thatcher’s Conservatives crushed the voice of opposition. But up in Aberdeen a collective of local musicians do. To voice their disdain towards the City Square Project – a planned £50m facelift of Aberdeen’s city centre which includes the uprooting of Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) – 20 Aberdeen acts have come together to produce the ‘We heart UTG’ record. Encompassing a spectrum of genres from modern bluegrass to funky house, the download-only record can be acquired on a ‘pay what you like’ basis, with all proceeds going to the UTG campaign. To get your mitts on it, click here.

Scots bands put out for Haiti
Four Scottish acts have donned their philanthropist capes and donated tracks to a Haiti benefit compilation. There Will Be Fireworks, Lions.Chase.Tigers, Farewell Singapore and Three Blind Wolves have forwarded cuts to New Jersey-based Dromedary Records for inclusion in the digitial-only release of Make The Load Lighter - Indie Rock for Haiti. All proceeds for the record will benefit the victims of the Haitian earthquake through an all-volunteer organisation called Vwa Ayiti (Voice Of Haiti). Label owner Al Crisafulli said of each band’s input: “It’s been great communicating with all four bands - this collection really has been a ton of fun, and it’s awesome to be able to do something quickly to raise money.” You can download the album here or, in a move which seems to be against the point of the record, you can listen to it here for free.

Selling out has never been so easy
Last week’s announcement of ‘the best T in the Park line up ever’ resulted in the festival selling out in less time than it takes Inverness Caley Thistle to put four goals past Raith Rovers (less of that please - ed). Unable to resist a roll call of Eminem, Muse, Jay-Z and The Black Eyed ‘why don’t they split’ Peas, Scottish punters snapped up 85,000 tickets in 90 minutes. We’d like to think this record breaking frenzy was in some way aided by the inclusion of Dirty Projectors and Broken Social Scene but, let’s face it, we’d just be deluding ourselves. For the latest line-up news all you need to do is click here.

Chewing the festival cud
In harder-than-it-looks news, chewing gum company Trident are seeking to exchange £30,000 for someone to visit 30 music festivals over 30 weeks. Taking in festivals around the globe, all you need to do is document the experience via Trident's festival website, through tweets, blogs, photos and videos, with reviews, gossip and celebrity interviews. Sounds easy, huh? Well, the challenge is actually getting the job, which will involve an online application, a face to face interview and, if you get that far, an all-day assessment in front of a panel that includes having to meet the insanely irritating George Lamb. See, told you it was tough. More info can be found here.

Twilights get a room
The Twilight Sad get back to the campaign trail for last year's still-growing-on-us album Forget the Night Ahead by releasing new single 'The Room'. Rife with the usual clash of miserabilism and voluptuous arrangement, the track offers the added bonus of My Latest Novel's Laura McFarlance guesting on violin. And for you for your aural/visual enjoyment, you can watch the fancy new video of said track below:



Got news for us? Let us know at utr.scotsman@gmail.com or tweet us @under_the_radar

Drumroll, please... It's the Scottish music photo of 2009

We want to take this opportunity to congratulate photographer Su Anderson, who yesterday won The Pop Cop's second annual Scottish music photo competition.

Su covered the the BBC Introducing and T Break stages at T in the Park for Under the Radar last year, and it was this image of a typically wild Dananananaykroyd show which judge Harry Benson (Scotland's most famous living photographer, no less) picked out as the best of 2009.



Su describes how the photo came to be: "It was my first time seeing Dananananaykroyd live. I knew they were an an enthusiastic band, to put it mildly, but I didn't realise it would be quite so energetic. The two singers really played up to the crowd, taking turns flinging themselves around the stage and jumping into the pit area - one almost landing on my camera gear. The barricade between the stage and the throng of sunburned festival-goers had a ledge around it wide enough for someone to stand on. The singer climbed onto it and so did I, and I shot several frames, but this was the only one where his face was visible. They really were one of the funnest bands I've ever shot, giving me a wealth of options, but this one is my favourite."

Harry Benson said: "The photograph is real and not altered in Photoshop, and I like that straightforward approach. The photographer is right in the middle of the action, which is where the photographer should be."

Read The Pop Cop's article in full and see the runners-up here.

As a bonus here is the slideshow of some of Su's T in the Park pictures which we published last July (with music by Findo Gask) ...

In pictures: T in the Park 2009

To round off our T in the Park coverage we say farewell to the unique delights of Balado for another year with a special picture feature of our weekend of madness and music. Warning: some viewers may find images of extreme Scottish sunburn disturbing.




Pictures: Su Anderson
Music: Tango in the Attic

Findo Gask at T in the Park

[Findo Gask singer Gerard Black at TitP. Picture: Su Anderson]

After being thoroughly impressed with Findo Gask's early afternoon show on the BBC Introducing stage on Sunday at T in the Park (see below for review), Billy Hamilton and Nick Mitchell sneaked backstage for a pint and a chat with the band, where they gave us an insight into all things Findo...

Audio: Findo Gask interview, after their T in the Park set


Findo Gask's T in the Park diary

Wake up at 8am, in the van by 9, taps aff by 10. It's the T way. The seatbelts quickly become all slippery with Findo anticipation. We're drinking whisky out of a coke bottle in the staff car park long before the afternoon has started. Not too much mind, I have indigestion from nerves, no breakfast and the sickly stench of urine fogging the atmosphere. We load in and set up with maximum ease – there are stage hands and engineers swamping the floor of the BBC Introducing stage. You could get used to this sort of treatment.

The show isn't perfect but we still leave the stage buoyed by our performance. There's a couple of interviews to conduct afterward, each executed with a respectably small amount of nervy self-consciousness.

It's still very early in the afternoon by the time we head out to watch some music. The clouds disperse and the sun peeps out, radiating unreservedly as we share familiar patter with familiar faces.

The highlights come towards the end of the day. The Pet Shop Boys really are spectacular. Their stage show is unparalleled, it is one of the most cleverly designed and choreographed shows I've ever seen. It's also surely one of the gayest things ever performed. Brilliant. We grin like idiots and gulp down sangria. Mogwai are on afterwards. The tent is much quieter but every individual there seems locked-in to the stage. The sound is awesome, their sound is awesome. It is a renewal of vows for me, a reminder of why I used to wet my pants over their records, a promise that I'll do it again.

We're back at the van as the fireworks go off, taps well and truly on. Kincardine, Cumbernauld, finally Glasgow and bed. Only 363 days to go till next year.

T in the Park review: Sunday

[Sunday in pictures, by Su Anderson; music by Findo Gask]

Saturday was a hard act to follow with great shows from Broken Records, Bronto Skylift and Young Fathers, but Sunday did not disappoint as UtR returned to an over-populated airfield in Balado. If only we could work the waterproof poncho look...

Findo Gask
BBC Introducing Stage, 12.30pm

Sunday’s opening act on the BBC Introducing stage is a sight for sore eyes and a sound for cold ears. Led to the fore by luminously attired frontman Gerard Black, Findo Gask’s melody-stained motifs brilliantly shake away the day’s rain-sopped inception.

The zig-zagging splendour of Korg and percussion emanating from this nerdish quartet has a bulging crowd jigging from the off; with tracks like 'Go Faster Stripe' and 'Va Va Va' revisiting the gleeful slurps of jangle-friendly vanguards Orange Juice.

But where Edwyn and co glossed up a distinctly New Pop finish, Findo Gask fashion out demented sonic lightning bolts that sound equally at home on the moshpit of a muddy field as they do an indiekid’s darkened bedroom.

Pirouetting across the stage one final time, Black bows his head to a bluster of clapped hands. If they maintain this heady momentum, there’ll be much, much more to follow. [BH]

Barn Owl
T Break Stage, 12.50pm

Barn Owl's shimmering, melancholic indie rock is the perfect accompaniment to a dreary and hungover Sunday afternoon at T in the Park. That said, with the heavens pouring down outside, it's not entirely clear which is the bigger draw: the band themselves or the sheltered confines of the T Break Tent.

Either way, Barn Owl take it in their stride, delivering a dreamy and gentle set to a chilled out crowd. Occasionally, the Glasgow five-piece meander into a soaring chorus, slightly reminiscent of latter-day Idlewild, but calm is soon restored and we return to emotive minor chord progressions, accompanied by rich and resonant percussion.

Indeed, Barn Owl's elaborate percussion ensemble is one the more intriguing aspects of the performance, a collection of bells, chimes and xylophones adding a wistful, ethereal dimension to their sound. As the set draws to a close, the clouds outside finally break, revealing a thin crack of blue sky.

But, even as the sun makes a fleeting appearance, still the punters try to push their way inside the packed tent. It seems Barn Owl don't need the Scottish weather's help to fill the canvas arena after all. [JM]


Tango in the Attic
T Break Stage, 1.30pm

Every year there is one T Break band who do the pre-show legwork to ensure they're not playing to a wind-whipped, half-empty tent. Judging by the discarded flyers that litter the ground, the makeshift banners held aloft and the fans clad in branded t-shirts, this year that band is Tango in the Attic.

But at least the chirpy Fifers repay the sizeable crowd they have amassed with an energetic performance of their sun-flecked guitar pop grooves. Embellishing the standard garage rock set-up with an antique organ and sax, the smiling quintet belie their band-next-door image with tightly-coiled, sonically distinctive jams.

When they kick into the double-speed, Vampire Weekend-esque beat of 'Blunderground', their branded fans go wild with the kind of enthusiasm that no exhaustive marketing could inspire. [NM]


The Twilight Sad
BBC Introducing Stage, 2pm

It's slightly ironic that the sun breaks out over Balado and the rain finally stops as The Twilight Sad begin their show at the BBC's Introducing stage. The hyped Kilsyth band make the kind of brooding rock that's more apt to soundtrack rolling thunderclouds than blazing sunrays.

But any contextual niggles are soon rendered irrelevant as the band launch into one of their best, albeit briefest, live shows in recent memory.

In a half-hour set it seems daft to select highlights, but 'I Became a Prostitute', the disturbingly primal new single from their upcoming album, is undoubtedly it, closely followed by traditional set-closer 'And She Would Darken the Memory'.

Before they leave singer James Graham jokes, "What the f*** are ye daein' here? The Saturdays are on!" Evidently some T in the Parkers still value good music over good looks. [NM]


We Were Promised Jetpacks
T Break Stage, 6.40pm

It can be a challenge for bands in the T Break tent to do anything more than give the audience a taster of their burgeoning opus in the alloted 30 minute slot. But when fast-rising Edinburgh-via-Glasgow band We Were Promised Jetpacks inspire a mass of sweaty kineticism and unprovoked clapping, it feels like an occasion.

It's not that the cherub-faced four-piece do anything special to rouse the 1,000-odd folk in attendance. But then they don't need to, because their rough-edged, propulsive indie-rock is performed with such effortless gusto and untamed aggression that you can't help but be taken along for the ride.

Like most of the tracks from recent debut album These Four Walls, 'Thunder and Lightning' has added drama today, and when they launch into 'Quiet Little Voices', it really does feel like a T in the Park moment that will live long in the memory. [NM]


Dananananaykroyd
BBC Introducing, 8pm

Scotland's most ridiculously named band need little introduction to native audiences after blazing a path across the country with their anarchic gigs over the past few years. But to anyone stumbling across them for the first time, this was a fitting first encounter.

Boasting two drummers, two guitarists and two singers at various points in their set, the now all-male Glasgow group (having dropped bassist Laura) are an assault on the senses, albeit a non-threatening one.

Because when they ask two halves of the audience to part and run towards each other, the goal is not a 'Wall of Death' but a 'Wall of Cuddles'. Perhaps unaccustomed to trying this out on such a tightly packed crowd, this time it results in half the onlookers falling like dominos before laughingly helping each other up.

While their debut album Hey Everyone can be a trying listen, Dananana... are designed to be experienced up, close and personal, and with their endless crowdsurfing and cuddling, it doesn't get much more personal than this. [NM]

Words: Nick Mitchell, Billy Hamilton, Jodi Mullen

T in the Park review: Saturday

[Broken Records on stage at T. Picture: Su Anderson]

The Radar-mobile raced up the M90 on Saturday morning (without breaking the speed limit, officer) to scope out the best new music at T in the Park this year. Already a bit miffed that we'd missed sets by Ming Ming & the Ching Chings and Dead Boy Robotics the previous night, we were determined to make amends over the two days by going where the tabloid hacks fear to tread. And what a day Saturday turned out to be ...


The French Quarter
T Break Stage, 1.40pm

With rumours that the band had broken up floating around Balado earlier in the day, it's both a pleasure and a relief to see Stirling's The French Quarter take to the stage.

Awash in swathes of blue light and shimmering guitars, the band play a sublime set, taking the emergent song structures of post-rock and adding melancholic vocals and elaborate layers of instrumentation, from keyboards to xylophones. The brave decision to play new material, recorded with members of Mogwai, whets appetites for what will surely be great things to come from the band.

The majestic 'Time to Leave' closes the set, its ethereal keyboard and slide guitar intro gradually giving way to a steady, pulsating rhythm and leaving no doubt as to why The French Quarter are regarded as one of Scotland's premier unsigned acts. [JM]


Sucioperro
T Break Stage, 2.30pm

Having secured a timeslot clashing with Lady Gaga on the main stage, Sucioperro were always going to prove a draw for punters hungry for substance over spectacle, but the Ayrshire alt rock outfit have surpassed all expectations by packing the T Break tent to capacity.

The band's enthusiasm is somehow surpassed by the crowd's, with a circle pit forming within seconds of the first chord of opener 'Tem V Com' ringing out, in spite of the baking heat. Though somewhat hampered by muddy sound, Sucioperro's eight-song set delivers choice cuts from new album Pain Agency as well as a sprinkling of older material, with penultimate song 'The Final Confessions of Mabel Stark' a particular highlight. [JM]


Unicorn Kid
BBC Introducing Stage, 3.30pm

Just 17, Unicorn Kid (AKA Oliver Sabin) isn’t even old enough to sip the nectar that sponsors the Balado shindig. But that doesn’t stop the electro-bending prodigy kicking up one hell of a storm on the BBC Introducing stage.

Adorning his obligatory lion-shaped headgear, the Leith-born prodigy blurts out reams of Gameboy-inspired bleeps and wonky synth notes to an insatiable contingent of similarly aged hip-flingers. Teasing the crowd into a Haribo-induced frenzy, Sabin struts his hyperactive stuff as if playing to a house party of Skins worshipping teens and not one of the UK’s largest music festivals.

Once the last deranged beat drops into the ether, a sweat-soaked Sabin greets his adoring masses with full moonbeam smile and a triumphant shake of the fist. Perhaps next year he can celebrate with something a little stronger than Orange Juice? [BH]


Young Fathers
BBC Introducing Stage, 5pm

Lauded throughout the blogosphere’s hype-driving microcosm, Edinburgh’s Young Fathers have a right to feel disappointed in the sparse turnout for their TitP showing. Maybe it was a question of scheduling or perhaps their glam-hop fare just didn’t fit with Balado’s alcohol-intense disposition, but as the psychedelically garbed trio took to the stage the polite smattering of applause was telling.

Yet what ensued over the next half-hour was worthy of a more illustrious and appreciative platform. By battling the initial ambivalence with a spate of Outkast-like beats and tongue-knotting rhymes, the band’s party-time ethos rose to the fore; stirring the attention of curious waifs and strays making their way back from the Main Stage

And if their hook-heavy tunes weren’t enough to convince that this is an act on an upward trajectory, their perfectly choreographed dance routines and pistol-quick quips, surely, remove all doubt.

Today’s TitP show might have been lightly-attended, but this time next year Young Fathers should be preparing for much, much bigger things. [BH]


Broken Records
BBC Introducing Stage, 7.45pm

It’s been a tumultuous 18 months for Edinburgh’s Broken Records. After an inaugural baptism of praise, the instrumentally-endowed septet’s debut LP, Until the Earth Begins to Part, was shredded by the sharpened claws of the UK’s music press core.

Champing at the bit to prove they’re more than just a flash in TitP’s airfield-sized pan, the group storm through a set brimming with the same feral intensity that made the early day showings such breathless propositions.

Breakneck renditions of live favourites ‘If the News Makes You Sad...’ and ‘A Good Reason’ fizz the crowd into a sea of flailing limbs and sweaty torsos that verges on utter discord. Thankfully, closing candle-burner ‘Slow Parade’ restores order; uniting punters and band via the glory of heart-struck song.

The slog’s been troubled, but on this performance Broken Records prove they’re more than up to the challenge. [BH]


Bronto Skylift
T Break Stage, 8.20pm

Confounding all logic, Glasgow two-piece noise rockers Bronto Skylift somehow manage to be the loudest band to grace the T Break tent all weekend. On stage, the secrets behind Bronto's massive wall of sound are revealed quickly enough, with frontman Niall Strachan jacking into no less than four amps at the same time and wielding an impressive array of pedals.

It's all too much for some people to take, with a few casualties staggering out clutching their ears as Iain Stewart's snare drum hits reached ear-splitting levels. Those who do stay, however, are rewarded with a breathtaking set and an impromptu jam session with the band, as Strachan takes his guitar into the crowd to close the show, paying no heed to minor details like instrument cables and panicking stewards. [JM]


Trapped in Kansas
T Break Stage, 9.10pm

After only a year in existence, Trapped in Kansas are headlining the T Break stage. That’s no small feat, but could the West Coast band back up their billing? At least they don’t seem nervous, cheekily announcing themselves as The Killers.

Aside from a few sound problems early on, the aplomb with which they take such complex musical wares to the live table casts any doubt aside.

An enthusiastically vocal crowd – most of whom seem to be cheering on guitarist Gregor – obviously appreciate their brand of yearning, icily melodic post-rock, and by the end of set-closer 'The Idiot' they have grown into their headliner status, delivering a set that turns out to be much more killer than filler. [NM]

Words: Billy Hamilton, Jodi Mullen, Nick Mitchell

Our verdict on Sunday will be online later this week...

TitP video: Trapped in Kansas

We featured Ayr/Glasgow band Trapped in Kansas on the blog last week, and we're happy to report that they played a superb set at the T Break stage at T in the Park on Saturday night.

Before our review round-up of the festival, here's a short interview we filmed with three quarters of the band...

Under the Radar @ TitP

A few of us are at T in the Park this year. Why not join us through the magic of Twitter?

The TV coverage will be focusing on the tired old rock behemoths, but we'll be 'down with the kids' at the T Break and BBC Introducing stages.

So follow our updates here, and post your own comments too. This is web 2.0 stuff after all...




Who's Tweeting?

Nick Mitchell
Billy Hamilton
Jodi Mullen
Stephen Emerson

T in the Park: 10 essential acts

[Findo Gask: BBC Introducing Stage, Sunday]

It's that time of year again. The time when 80,000 singing, drinking, welly-booted, fluorescent, sunburnt, hat wearing punters - and perhaps even a few music fans - converge on a disused airstrip near Kinross.

And while it's not everyone's cup of T, Scotland's biggest music festival is so - well - big, that even the most discerning muso can plot an entertaining path through the line-up. You just have to know where to look.

This week we've introduced you to four bands who we'll be watching at Balado: Barn Owl, Tango in the Attic, Trapped in Kansas and Bronto Skylift. But that barely scratches the surface, so while you're dusting down your tent and packing your wet wipes, have a listen to a few more must-see acts...

Dead Boy Robotics
T Break Stage, Friday

"Bound by the idea of making guitars squeal like Gameboys, the duo have rapidly escalated from late night drone to melody laced avant-gardism and cemented themselves as one of the capital's most alluring live spectacles."

Ming Ming & The Ching Chings
T Break Stage, Friday

"Orchestrated by Craig Wilson’s howling shrill, Ming Ming fuse the visceral horror-schlock stomping of The Cramps with Josef K’s iconoclastic rumbling to produce a sound that’s rawer than an acid burn laceration."

Broken Records
BBC Introducing, Saturday

"Bastions of Edinburgh's bulbous music scene, the baroque-swaying Broken Records get back to the nitty gritty of the live domain, tautening up new numbers and bellowing out old faithfuls."

Sucioperro
T Break Stage, Saturday

"Heavy rock with a melodic sensibility, this band are starting to make waves in Scotland's hardcore rock community"

Paper Planes
T Break Stage, Sunday

"Their style draws heavily on a wide spectrum of Yankee sounds, from the elemental pop of the 1960s to wild alt-rock via drawling outlaw country, all energised with propulsive rhythms."

Unicorn Kid
BBC Introducing Stage, Saturday

"17-year-old Oliver Sabin is the epitome of the bedroom DJ, except he also has a nationwide and American tour lined up and is fast becoming a worldwide hit with his ringtone-friendly electro-pop."

Findo Gask
BBC Introducing Stage, Sunday

"Formed just two years ago, the band have indented the Scottish music scene with smoulders of zigzagging electronica and Indie-Pop melodies."

The Twilight Sad
BBC Introducing Stage, Sunday

"...chasmal atmospherics reverberating to the shrill of ruminative guitars and James Graham’s strangulating crow."

We Were Promised Jetpacks
T Break Stage, Sunday

"Formed in Edinburgh but switching to Glasgow, they blend post-rock with folk-flecked tendencies and even the jagged angst of Biffy Clyro to create a full-on noise best experienced live."

My Cousin I Bid You Farewell
T Break Stage, Sunday

"Reminiscent of Arcade Fire with undertones of Bruce Springsteen, MCIBYF's haunting darkness adds to these influences and it just works."

A few of us Under the Radar bloggers will be at T in the Park this weekend, trying our best to fit in some live music between all the interview chasing, video editing and bar queueing. You can keep up with all the coverage on the blog or at scotsman.com/tinthepark09.

And if you've not got a ticket and all this preview stuff is driving you mad, we'll have a wee guide of what brave souls have dared to stage a gig elsewhere in Scotland this weekend...

On the radar: Bronto Skylift

Play: Danny Glover Isn't Dead


Rockstars aren't known for having a firm grasp of mathematics. Perhaps that's why, every now and then, one of the simple equations of music fails to balance: to get a bigger sound, you need more musicians, right?

Wrong. Over the last few years, a succession of two-piece acts, from Rhode Island's Lightning Bolt to venerable Norwegian black metal crust punks (no, really) Darkthrone, have defied convention to prove that a drumkit and a single guitar can make all the noise you'll ever need.

Bronto Skylift, Glasgow's own two-pronged noisemongers, are reluctant to shed light on the eldritch mysteries surrounding how such a small ensemble manages to create such a huge racket. "We could never reveal our secrets!" laughs guitarist and vocalist Niall Strachan. "I think it's a combination of Iain hitting the drums really hard and me hitting my guitar really hard and brushing our teeth three times a day!"

Originally hailing from the north - Strachan is from Inverness while drummer Iain Stewart has roots in Orkney - Bronto Skylift formed in Glasgow in early 2007, quickly earning a reputation as energetic live perfomers. Though the band originally featured a bassist, three soon became two, and Strachan and Stewart have carried on as a duo ever since.

The Bronto Skylift sound is difficult to pinpoint, but there's nothing wrong with that, the band say. "The music maybe sounds familiar," says Strachan, sagely, "but at the same time you can't put your finger on it."

Falling somewhere in the nexus between grunge, sludge and noise rock, Bronto's songs are laden with driving, jagged riffs with plenty of opportunity for Stewart to demonstrate his virtuoso drumming skills. A comparison with Lightning Bolt is certainly valid, though Bronto's brand of noise is perhaps a little less chaotic and a bit more focused.

Like a few of UtR's recent favourites, including Hey Vampires and The Whisky Works, Bronto Skylift are full of praise for Glasgow's emerging punk and grunge scene. "There's a great community of bands at the moment, giving each other help and support but all ploughing their own paths," enthuses Strachan, who also acknowledges a musical sea-change in a city previously dominated by indie and acoustic acts. "There seems to be a move away from the twee stuff going about the past few years towards a heavier, more crunchy type of music," he muses.

Summer 2009 is set to be very busy indeed for Bronto Skylift. As well as landing a prestigious Saturday night slot on the T Break stage at T in the Park, the guys will also play at the Wickerman Festival in Dumfries at the end of July and have a spate of other shows lined up across Scotland. They're also recording new material when the opportunity arises and may just be seeking a label to release it on in the near future.

Proving once again that maths and music make for uneasy bedfellows, Bronto Skylift are definitely more than the sum of their parts.

Intrigued? Catch Bronto Skylift live at the following dates:

9 Jul @ Bloc, Glasgow
11 Jul @ T Break Stage, T in the Park
16 Jul @ The Mill (Oran Mor), Glasgow
25 Jul @ Solus Tent, Wickerman Festival, Dundrennan
31 Jul @ Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh
1 Aug @ Captain's Rest, Glasgow

Play: Eagle Falcon


Words: Jodi Mullen

Would you get in a lift with this band? Discuss...

On the radar: Tango in the Attic

[Tango in the Attic: fans of abstract expressionism]

Play: Jackanory


It's one of those amateurish, college newspaper expressions that instantly causes eyeballs to roll upwards: 'They don't take themselves too seriously'. And while this normally translates in the mind of the reader as 'they don't take themselves too seriously because their music is semi-listenable pap and they're going nowhere fast', it doesn't apply in all cases.

Take Tango in the Attic [TitA] for example. From the paint-splattered picture portrait (see above) to the daytime TV influenced name (a blend of ‘Tango and Cash’ and ‘Cash in the Attic’, if the rumour is to be believed), this Fife five-piece employ a giddy, ramshackle attitude that even extends to their musical hardware.

"We like to mix up the instrumentation a lot," says guitarist Jordan Craig. "Guitars, saxophones, trumpets, electric organs, synths, a weird and wonderful collection of percussion, including a hybrid instrument named ‘SHELBY’ which comprises a traffic cone, a road bollard we knocked over when we crashed our van, and a cowbell which we stuck to the top of it for good measure! We use all this but try to stick to writing straightforward pop songs. We try not to make our music too alienating or self-involved, and we try to keep it upbeat."

Such prankish behaviour usually equates to immature sounds, but the difference here is that this band's music is worth listening to. Together for a little over a year, TitA have managed to forge a tight, bright indie-pop sound that seems a world away from Scotland's current reputation for introspective, skull-rattling post-rock. Our featured track, 'Jackanory', is an instant rush of coiled pop energy, with singer Daniel Craig (no, not that one) veering from off-beat cynicism to impassioned chanting, over a backing track that sounds like Vampire Weekend without the string section.

And Vampire Weekend aren't the only Manhattan-dwelling music-makers to play a part in TitA's kaleidoscopic pop vision. "We seem to like a lot of bands from New York like The Strokes, The Walkmen, The Velvet Underground etc," says Jordan. "But then loads of other random stuff like Bombay Bicycle Club, Paul Simon, Radiohead and The Pogues."

But TitA hail from Glenrothes in Fife, a post-war new town of roundabouts and giant daffodil sculptures that is thousands of miles from the Big Apple, both in distance and vitality. Or is there a thriving music scene across the Forth Bridge that's still undersold in the national media?

"Fife has a strong music background and a good reputation for live music," Jordan argues. "Because of the state of things just now, everyone's a bit strapped for cash and local crowd attendances have dropped a tad, but there’s always people up for it - folk around here have that kind of mentality. You have to appreciate the effort people are still making to support local music. Dunfermline and Glenrothes are constantly producing bands of a very high standard which is always exciting and encouraging."

TitA are still enmeshed in the scene from which they've sprung: they practice in the basement of a vintage clothes shop in Kirkcaldy, they drive their die-hard fans to gigs in an old mini-bus called the 'Tango Tank', and they try to keep the price of tickets as low as possible. But do they think this grassroots approach will pay dividends in the long run?

"It’s not that cool to say it, but we work really hard at this, despite being a pretty light-hearted bunch," Jordan replies. "We know when to get the business heads on, but we know when to have a laugh as well I guess. We never make compromises when writing our songs or preparing for gigs. The ‘luck’ factor always plays a big part in a band's success, but we're very confident in our music and ourselves. Hopefully this gets us into a career where we can make album after album ‘til we’ve got massive grey beards."

They may not take themselves too seriously, but we predict a hirsute future for Tango in the Attic.

Intrigued? Watch TitA live at the following dates:
12 Jul @ T Break Stage, T in the Park (1pm)
21 Jul @ King Tuts, Glasgow
22 Jul @ Electric Circus, Edinburgh
1 Aug @ The Greenside, Glenrothes
8 Aug @ QMU, Glasgow
21 Aug @ Captains Rest, Glasgow

Words: Nick Mitchell

Tango and Cash or Cash in the Attic? Which is better? Discuss...

Under the Radar podcast #2

Last month the famously provocative former NME writer Steven 'Swells' Wells died aged 49 after a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma disease. His passing has led many to comment on the present state of music journalism and lament its apparent lack of authority and credibility, as a legion of bloggers threaten to swipe away the mantle of influence.

For our second podcast we investigate the situation in depth, enlisting viewpoints from both sides of the journos vs bloggers divide.

Billy has spoken to Mike Diver, former Drowned in Sound reviewer-in-chief and now online editor at Clash Magazine, and Matthew Young, the passionate blogger behind the influential, Edinburgh-based Song by Toad. Their answers make for a fascinating dissection of the future of music writing.

What's more, we have tracks by a fine array of UtR-tipped bands, including There Will Be Fireworks and Cancel the Astronauts, and we look forward to T in the Park with music from My Cousin I Bid You Farewell, Dead Boy Robotics and Tango in the Attic.

Enjoy, and let us know where you stand on the journo/blogger debate below...

Play: Podcast #2


Under the Radar podcast #2
(Right click and choose 'Save Target As' to save to your computer)

You can subscribe to the Under the Radar podcast at this link.

Running order:
01:20: There Will Be Fireworks - Foreign Thoughts
05:49: Cancel the Astronauts - Late in the City
10:34: Special report: music journalism v blogging (Mike Diver / Matthew Young)
20:18: Second Hand Marching Band - A Dance to Half Death
26:37: My Cousin I Bid You Farewell - The Contented Hearts
30:00: Dead Boy Robotics - We Drown Ourselves
32:59: Tango in the Attic - Jackanory

Words and Podcast: Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell

More T Break bands announced

[Balado-bound: The Phantom Band]

T in the Park organisers today announced further additions to this year's T Break stage, which aims to give a boost to unsigned and up and coming music.

The newbies on the bill are:

General Fiasco
Pearl & The Puppets
The Phantom Band
Sucioperro
Jill Jackson
Priscilla Ahn
Healthy Minds Collapse
Hip Parade
Wallis Bird
1990s
Bronto Skylift
Paper Planes
Pulled Apart By Horses
Cassidy
The Big Pink
Iain Archer
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Tommy Reilly

Eyebrows will no doubt be raised at the inclusion of more established bands like the Jetpacks and 1990s, but this kind of thing is nothing new if you recall last year, when both The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit were chosen to play at T Break.

Already announced for T Break were: Barn Owl, Brother Louis, Collective, Dead Boy Robotics, G1ft, Gong Fei, Homework, Little Eskimos, Maple Leaves, Mike Nisbet, Ming Ming and the Ching Chings, My Cousin I Bid You Farewell, Punch and the Apostles, Tango in the Attic, The French Quarter, We Are Trapped in Kansas.

Words: Nick Mitchell

What do you think of the new additions? Tell us below...

Revealed: T Break '09 winners

When it comes to getting yourself noticed, few showcases are as effective for Scotland's unsigned musical talent as T Break. Every year at T in the Park, Scotland's biggest music bash, the winning bands are rewarded with a set in the T Break tent, in front of a whole host of potential new fans, music writers and industry scouts.

Almost 1,400 entries have been whittled down to just 16 by the judging panel, so here we reveal each winning act, with a few words on where they're from, what's been said so far, what they sound like, and how many MySpace hits they have (just as an at-a-glance indication of their current status).



Tango in the Attic

From? Glenrothes, Fife
Hype? "The more I hear from them, the higher I rate them" - Vic Galloway, Radio 1
Sound? Vampire Weekend with Fife accents
MySpace hits: 68,244

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Little Eskimos

From? Alloa/Yetts O Muckhart/Stirling
Hype? "We haven't stopped listening to the music since we've been off tour" - MySpace comment
Sound? Brash, wide-eyed indie-rock songs
MySpace hits: 23,434

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Mike Nisbet

From? Oban, now Glasgow
Hype? "Your set was ace last night" - MySpace comment
Sound? Wearily uplifting singer-songwriter in the Stephen Fretwell mould
MySpace hits: 13,308

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My Cousin I Bid You Farewell

From? Glasgow
Hype? "You can already imagine crowds singing with drunken glee" - Us
Sound? Unashamedly huge rock music with a delicate heart
MySpace hits: 39,639

Play: The Contented Hearts

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The French Quarter

From? Stirling
Hype? "This band create the big sonic soundscapes loved by later Radiohead albums" - Daily Record
Sound? Brooding, ambitious post-rock of the quiet-loud-quiet variety
MySpace hits: 37,131

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Punch and the Apostles

From? Glasgow
Hype? "One of the best live bands in the world right now" - Jim Gellatly, Radio Scotland
Sound? Stomping olde-world blues and folk, with sax and accordion
MySpace hits: 44,857

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Ming Ming and the Ching Chings

From? Glasgow
Hype? "Ming Ming fuse the visceral horror-schlock stomping of The Cramps with Josef K's iconoclastic rumbling" - Us
Sound? See above, with added adrenalin
MySpace hits: 20,285

Play: Show Off

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Dead Boy Robotics

From? Edinburgh
Hype? "Two fellas construct something wonderful out of the dance/ noise/punk/electro sound they’ve been building" - The List
Sound? Synth-fuelled electro for the XBox generation
MySpace hits: 12,133

Play: Cloud Sequence Animals

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Barn Owl

From? Glasgow
Hype? "You write lovely songs" - MySpace comment [And we've been meaning to feature them on the blog for ages - Ed]
Sound? Indie for grown-ups, with handclaps and stirring crescendos
MySpace hits: 35,342

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We Are Trapped in Kansas

From? Ayr
Hype? "Scotland's most accomplished math rock act" - Us
Sound? Intricate, spindly guitars underscore yearning vocals
MySpace hits: 74,458

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G1ft

From? Glasgow
Hype? "Shimmy Shake is big bro, like the eastern vibe" - MySpace comment
Sound? Ballsy hip hop with an exotic edge
MySpace hits: 14,294

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Maple Leaves

From? Glasgow
Hype? "Nice harmonies you've got" - MySpace comment
Sound? Achingly sweet indie-pop with girl-boy harmonies
MySpace hits: 7,080

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Gong Fei

From? Dundee
Hype? "Punky indie nonsense, for fans of Mclusky, Shellac, Hot Club De Paris" - Promoter
Sound? Skewed, propulsive indie-punk
MySpace hits: 5,177

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Homework

From? Edinburgh
Hype? "Great gig there lads" - MySpace comment
Sound? Bass-heavy electro-rock crossover
MySpace hits: 3,273

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Brother Louis Collective

From? Glasgow
Hype? "Louis and his collective are surely destined for a larger stage" - Sunday Mail
Sound? Polished indie with a Scottish accent, flute and piano
MySpace hits: 47,746

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Popolo

From? Dundee/Glasgow/St. Andrews
Hype? "Incorporate dance music theory with rock practice to create concise blasts of breakneck pop" - TenTracks.co.uk
Sound? Math rock ambitions meet off-kilter guitars
MySpace hits: 36,145


T in the Park takes place at Balado, near Kinross, 10-12 July

Words: Nick Mitchell

What do you make of the T Break winners? Discuss...