The Edinburgh International Festival’s move towards embracing pop, rock, electronic and experimental music under the stewardship of new director Fergus Linehan is an encouraging sign for fans of those genres who feel a bit locked out from the cultural bonanza that overtakes the city every August. Particularly in light of how much these genres have struggled to gain a footing at the Edinburgh festivals over the years, from DF Concerts’ long since abandoned gig series T on the Fringe and its short-lived successor The Edge, to discontinued independent events with a more local focus such as Tigerfest and Retreat.
That all said, there has been a lone exception to the rule bubbling away quietly in a basement venue for the last few years in the form of Pale Imitation, an annual concert series organised by Matthew Young from Edinburgh independent record label and blog Song, By Toad. Back this August for a run of dates mainly at Henry’s Cellar Bar, this lo-fi, low-cost, self-styled 'antidote to the avalanche of over-priced, imported rubbish of the Edinburgh festival' again presents a quality cross-section of underground Scottish music. It’s ridiculously good value – just £5 for a ticket to each individual show, or £25 for a season ticket to all of them (that works out at roughly £1 per band). Here’s a round-up of all the Pale Imitation shows happening this August, together with a few picks of choice tracks to be listening out for.
Numbers Are Futile, Beam & DTHPDL
A fitting start to proceedings at Pale Imitation is headlined by an Edinburgh outfit who describe themselves as an 'electronic duo with no sonic comfort zone' and who hail – or rather are impossible to hail – by the non-de-plumes Δ ☼ ❍ (synths, vocals, samples) and Δ Π Δ (drums and percussion). Numbers are Futile’s debut album ‘Sunlight on Black Horizon’ was released by Song, By Toad earlier this year. Support comes from Beam AKA dreamy singer, songwriter and composer Amy MacDougall, and DTHPDL, who make us think of Battles, and who also make us wonder why everything is so hard to pronounce in music these days.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Sat Aug 1, 7.30pm
Garden of Elks, Bat Bike & Passion Pusher
Earplugs are a must as a triumvirate of bands stripping it right down to raw, noisy, trashy basics take over the Henry’s basement. Garden of Elks are a thrash pop accidental supergroup of sorts, being as each of their three members play in other well-regarded Scottish bands (Bronto Skylift, PAWS and Lady North). They released their debut album ‘A Distorted Sigh’ on Song, By Toad earlier this year (there’s a theme developing here, isn’t there?). They’re joined by London-Leith experimental guitar-crunching crew Bat-Bike, and Passion Pusher who call what they do 'slop pop/wuss rock/dingus rock' and we can’t think of anything else to add to that really.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Thu Aug 6, 7.30pm
Sharptooth, Lush Purr & Breakfast Muff
Three Glasgow bands come east. Sharptooth are four women with guitars influenced by women with guitars – PJ Harvey, Hole, The Breeders and their ilk. You could have picked up their debut single ‘Sister’ on cassette from Glasgow indie label Fuzzkill Records if you’d been fast enough, but it’s all sold-out. Lush Purr have an enjoyably self-descriptive name, judging by the song ‘Rut’ (listen below). Breakfast Muff are two girls and a guy who write tumbledown punk songs with names like ‘Pizza’, ‘Dishes’ and ‘Cock’ and we’ll say no more about that.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Fri Aug 7, 7.30pm
Spinning Coin & Min Diesel
A self-styled 'new boyband from Glasgow', Spinning Coin feature members of groups past and present which you probably haven’t heard of but probably should have (heard of) such as Passion Pusher, Breakfast Muff (see above), Smack Wizards, The Yawns, Eternal Fags, Plaaydoh and more. We didn’t make any of those names up, honest. They’re part of the local lo-fi collective Winning Sperm Party, which tends to be a mark of quality when it comes to scuzzy homespun sounds. Min Diesel hail from all the way up in that there Aberdeen and have a fondness for slacker-y American indie-rock.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Thu Aug 13, 7.30pm
Save As Collective - featuring Jonnie Common, MC Almond Milk, River of Slime & Glamour Muscle
The Save As massive take over for a night of electronic beats and blips and distinctly Scottish rapping. A Glasgow-based collective pooling the talents of a variety of under-the-radar musicians, producers and DJs, Save As present four of their best in the form of instrumental hip-hop beat-crafter River of Slime AKA Kev Sim from FOUND, the man with 'the fiercest flow in Pollokshaws’ MC Almond Milk (AKA James Scott that used to be in Conquering Animal Sound), Glamour Muscle AKA ex-Findo Gask and Flying Matchstick Men member turned solo electro wonk maestro Gavin Thomson, and as a headliner, off-kilter electro-pop wizard Jonnie Common (pictured up top), AKA nothing because that’s actually his real name.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Sat Aug 15, 7.30pm
eagleowl, Now Wakes the Sea & Faith Eliott
eagleowl have been bringing lush, mournful slowcore sounds to the Edinburgh and Scottish indie scene for over 10 years, although being as their work rate is about as slow as their music, they’ve only made one album in that time, 2013’s superb 'this silent year' (available on Lost Map Records). They’re joined by a couple of newer artists in the form of ambient noiseniks Now Wakes the Sea and solo singer-songwriter Faith Elliott.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Thu Aug 20, 7.30pm
Adam Stafford, WOLF & Tryptamines
Formerly a member of well-respected Falkirk band Y’all Is Fantasy Island, and also a critically-acclaimed and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker (who often uses his own music in his films), creative polymath Adam Stafford continues to build on an increasingly impressive solo career in loops-based alt-folk, Americana and indie melding songwriting. His second album under his own name 2014’s ‘Imaginary Walls Collapse’ was long-listed for the Scottish Album of the Year Award; a few months ago he released his first new material in some time in the shape of the single ‘Atheist Money’ (listen below). Support comes from similarly loopy ambient electro chanteuse WOLF (formerly of Zoey van Goey), and Aberdonian newcomers Tryptamines.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Sat Aug 22, 7.30pm
Supermoon & Rob St. John
Pale Imitation’s 'big posh one' is the only show to take place not at Henry’s but rather Summerhall, in collaboration with that venue’s resident concert series Nothing Ever Happens Here. Headlining is Supermoon, which is the new alias of Neil Pennycook, who made a string of much-loved bellowing alt-folk albums as Meursault before reinventing himself under a different name and releasing the album ‘Oh Supermoon, Vol. 1’ earlier this year (with the help of, you guessed it, Song, By Toad Records). Opening for Pennycook will be Rob St. John, who as well as being a member of eagleowl (see above), is also an acclaimed solo singer-songwriter and a visual artist jointly responsible for the Concrete Antenna sound installation at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
Summerhall, Thu Aug 27, 8.30pm
Happy Meals, Apostille & Clip Art
The finale of Pale Imitation features two leading lights from the roster of London-based label Night School Records plus a solo side-project by a member of one of Scotland’s finest electronic bands. Apostille, AKA Night School’s Glaswegian founder and manager Michael Kasparis, released his debut album of crepuscular electronica ‘Powerless’ earlier this year. Cosmic disco duo Happy Meals were shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award for their debut album ‘Apéro’. Clip Art is the work of Steve Livingston from Errors, an adventure in distinctly stoned-sounding jacking 80s pop which produced a first-class self-titled debut mini-album last year. If you don’t own it yet already then you really should.
Henry’s Cellar Bar, Sat Aug 29, 7.30pm
Pale Imitation, Henry's Celler Bar & Summerhall, Aug 1-29.
Check out more music highlights at the Edinburgh Festivals.