On the radar: My Tiny Robots
Play: Other People Matter
Some bands appear to do everything right but, when the proverbial push comes to shove, fail to light up the stage. Thankfully, Edinburgh trio My Tiny Robots [MTR] are not one of these bands.
Comprised of frontman Dylan Childs and multi-instrumentalists Ryan Marinello (also of Occasional Flickers fame) and Russell Williams, MTR illuminate the ear-sockets with a forever sought but rarely captured trait: charisma.
Underpinned by a playful sense of humour, there’s an astonishing diversity to MTR’s songs. Childs notes: “We always find it reassuring that any comparisons to other bands tend to differ wildly according to the songs that people have heard at any given time."
A trip to the band’s MySpace confirms this, with the punkish shards of live favourite The Haircut Song juxtaposing against a bizarre cover of Greece staple You’re The One That I Want. It’s a contrast that typifies MTR’s refusal to take life too seriously.
So far, the band’s output has consisted of EPs, with their first release, Some of my Best Ideas, put out on their own label Kraken Records. There are plans afoot to release two more EPs in the spring, but the ultimate aim, according to Childs, “is to make an album or two that we are all really proud of”.
He adds: “None of us has aspirations of world domination, but any time someone you don't know comes up to you in the street to tell you they think one of your songs is amazing rates pretty highly.”
MTR typify the DIY scene in Scotland by making much of their music at home, although they admit to problems when it comes to the practicalities:
“Recording is often hampered by trying to cram one normal person and two 6' 5" - but slim - people into a tiny spare room to share one of the two mics without banging their heads on a cabin bed,” says Childs.
Describing the Edinburgh scene of five years ago as “Glasgow's fractious and incoherent cousin”, Childs is keen to hail the impact of bands like Meursault, Withered Hand and Jesus H Foxx in breaking new ground for the east coast.
Going hand in hand with this new-music revolution, Childs attributes “some brilliant independent promoters, three times the decent venues of five years ago and bloggers that people actually read” to the success of the scene.
As one of Auld Reekie’s most popular live acts, MTR are a band that understands the need to entertain. But if there’s any doubt about their musical acumen, one listen to Other People Matter will end the debate. It’s not just Edinburgh that needs bands like this; it’s the whole goddamn country.
Words: Stevie Kearney
My Tiny Robots play Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh on November the 5th
Play: Kenny Rogers (Scent Of A Woman)
Play: l.i.d.l acoustic
Labels: my tiny robots, on the radar
It's been a while 'in development' - or more accurately, 'on the backburner' - but at long last we present our third podcast to new music fans everywhere.
