Track By Track: Black International - In Debt

One of my favourite albums of last year, Black International's In Debt, has been picked up by Spiralchords Records, and was re-released on Friday. For those that missed it first time round here's a repeat from last year, when Black International's Stewart Allen shared some behinds the scenes secrets about the songs on the album.

Thanks to the magic of Bandcamp embeds you can listen to the whole album as you read. If you like it, buy it. Now, read on to learn about the mysteries of the Brazilian Trilogy, and other things.

A Million Mouths

This song probably had the longest gestation period of anything we’ve written, as I was terrified that I couldn't think of any lyrics for it, and always felt ill whenever I contemplated doing them. I think we started rehearsing this in 2008 before temporarily abandoning it, but the general chord sequence may have been kicking around for two or three years before that. We finished it a week before recording started. Nail biting, etc.

Destruct-o-

I can’t remember much about the process of writing this one, but the basic structure was finished before I took it to the rest of the band, which is quite unusual for us these days. Believe it or not, we had a sort of Sly & the Family Stone thing in mind when we were arranging it, which I think shows in the rhythm section. Imagine there are trumpets and grunts on it and you’ll see what I mean.

Dread (Excerpt)

The ‘excerpt’ in the title refers to the introduction, which was originally a complete song but wasn't very good, so we binned most of it and bolted it onto another song. The first of what I’ll call the Brazilian Trilogy, as it was written on a little Spanish classical guitar I got from a charity shop while I sat around trying to copy Jorge Ben.

The lyric idea owes a little bit to McCarthy’s Charles Windsor, but doesn’t have quite the same level of joyous nose thumbing. I’d say it was supposed to be ‘darkly comic’, if I were a bit more of a twat.

Word Virus

Imagine my disappointment upon finding out that the title was subconsciously pinched from a William Burroughs book. I thought I’d struck gold, but alas, he’d beaten me to it. Still, at least it was Burroughs and not Enid fucking Blyton.

This one was written extremely quickly in rehearsal, and I finished off the lyrics at work the next day when I was supposed to be doing some dull task or other. If my former boss is reading (doubtful), I’m sure he’ll be pleased.

Know You Exist

Originally this had the somewhat childish working title of ‘Sonic Urethra’ when I first started it, as it sounded a bit like… actually, do I even have to explain that? It doesn't sound like Sonic Youth anymore. Musically it was very much a collaborative effort, if it’d been left up to me it would have been a shapeless twenty-minute drone. Luckily Craig has a good ear for structuring stuff.

I can’t say for sure, but the “Here’s your hair shirt, son” line was probably cribbed from the title of a Birthday Party song, called (strangely enough) The Hair Shirt. I was in a bit of an odd place when I wrote these lyrics, but it’s ALL FUCKING FINE NOW OK?

Interval

Does what it says in the title. We just fancied having a bit of breathing space and dividing the album in two, so did this one evening near the end of mixing. I could give a proper in-depth description of how it was made, but nobody wants to read that shit.

The City Is Dead

This song dates back to around 2007 along with Monument and You Can Trust Me, so I can’t really remember much about its inception. It’s supposed to be a rockabilly type thing, but has been put through our patented ‘bombastic washing machine’ and the colours have run a little bit.

Lyrically it’s a bit of a jumble, but I suppose it’s about dropping out of repetitive cycles of living and doing something fun instead. We’re deep, man, what can I say?

Monument

Again, it was written a while ago and my memory is hazy… I remember doing some of the lyrics in a bar on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh one Saturday afternoon. Spot the deliberate mistake, metallurgy fans.

Idle Worship

The second of the Brazilian Trilogy, I’d have thought it was quite obvious in this instance. Close your eyes, visualise it slowed down, samba rhythm, acoustic guitar, singing in Portuguese… You could almost be mugging tourists in São Paolo!

Feed Me Rhetoric

Brazilian #3 (sounds like a humiliating waxing routine). I’m doing my best Jim Morrison croon on this one. Should I buy a pair of leather trousers, hmm? Call myself ‘The Crocodile Baron’ or something? Anyway, Lovely Latin drumming from Craig I must proclaim, and it seems to be a firm live favourite with audiences, so we hardly ever play it.

And yes, I know how ‘rhetoric’ should be pronounced, but it doesn’t fit in that way. So fuck off.

You Can Trust Me

This started out as a little folky number but when we began working on it properly we focussed it through a Birthday Party-esque prism and noised it up a bit. Are you still reading this? If I were you I’d have gone home ages ago. You really are a glutton for punishment.

Black International: Website - Facebook -  Bandcamp

Spotlight: Black Jash

It is probably about time I did another interview thing, isn't it?

I can never think up interesting questions, so these don't roll round all that often. I've cheated a bit this time, but we'll get back to that.

Black Jash then. Hailing from Gretna, the first I heard of them was from Vic Galloway, when he picked them when a guest on Glasgow Podcart all the way back in February 2010. An EP was promptly purchased when available (5 Track, which you can get on iTunes) and enjoyed, with a mental note made to go see them sometime. Fate has so far conspired against me on the last count though. One day, one day... There has also been split cassette releases, with Male Pattern Band and If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now.

The interview? Well as i said above, I cheated. Instead of doing it myself I roped in Kate from Charles of the Ritz to interview Bob of Black Jash. What? I'm a lazy man! Here's what happened.

I got asked to interview Black Jash and I shuddered half in nervous anticipation and half in sexual delight. I thought I'd better do my research, and by keeping a weather eye to Gretna's horizon, and my ear to the drum pounding ground, I was able to throw myself into a terrifying world full of sordid games, danger and Crap Alan's. I tried to contact all the members of theJash - the two drummers and the bassist, but all were "unavailable for comments" according to Bob, the lead singer and guitarist, the dirtiest of the bunch. The monarch of the Jash. When I asked him why the others declined to speak to the press, he muttered something about how they don't speak unless he says they can. He slurred his words as if he was the bastard love child of Elvis and Sid Vicious. Live, they are the most filthy, disgusting thing I've ever seen/heard. He pummels you with insults and swinging hips, demanding to know why you even bothered to show up to see them. One of a kind and Black Jash are the band that makes masochists of us all. I bribed Bob with Irn-Bru and a twenty deck of Mayfair for some answers to my questions.

Black Jash in repose, by Mike Griffiths

A lot of your songs are about Gretna. Is it really that much of a hell hole? Does it inspire you?

It's no more of a hell hole than anywhere else, there's good and bad wherever you go. It's not easy dealing with tourists and mildly racist comments from both sides of the border though. All the Deep Fryers think we're in England or may as well be and all the Morris Dancers vent their hatred for the whole country, of which borderers have very little say in, on you. Aye we're surrounded. To my recollection there are no Gretna specifics in our songs, it's more certain types of people that everyone has where they live, and every community has a Crap Alan or Black Jash. I don't hide my Gretna accent, maybe that's causing the confusion?


Who are Black Jash's main influences?

The Stooges, I'm a fan of proper frontmen like Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, GG Allin, Lux Interior and the like. I can't be on with meek tortured souls, I want a pure throbbing phallus. I like ODB, Wu-Tang and The Beastie Boys, I think the ego rappers have, getting on a microphone and telling everyone you're on it and openly saying everyone else is worse than you, is really admirable. It's hard to master doing that and not be hated on for the idiot you're being. Have I nailed it? Some folk say so. I hate myself so you're not going to get a valid answer from me. You'll have to come check me out and decide for yourself. Please give nonviolent criticism.

Who taught you how to dance?

I know you won't believe this but I've never had a lesson! I think my styles are genetic, having seen my Dad's moves at numerous family parties I’d have to say it's not him. My Mam used to go to dance schools and my Sister's in a dance group so I think it's off the good old Fife stock that I get my moves from. Fife for Life. I've always wiggled my hips on stage but in the early days I stopped myself when I realised I was doing it. After seeing Spawny from Big Ned openly does it I thought to myself "Hey, I've got a better arse than that, let’s show the ladies the goods available". I still do wish I was Spawny though.

How do you usually decide who to do the split tapes with? Is it a case of collaboration/admiration or do you just take what you can get?

It's admiration. The 'size' of the band is a factor too. I wouldn't send a gushing email to a band already with a record deal, they have to be unsigned and to my taste. It helps if they're from a different part of the country/world too, broadens each other’s fan bases and trying to shift that many cassettes in one town is sheer idiocy. They're the ideal format for a split. One side each, nobodies 'on top' either.

What are Black Jash’s world domination plans?

The Tortoise from The Tortoise and The Hare saga is a massive inspiration. Myself, Alex and Neill went to see the 'Transatlantic Feedback' film about the Monks at Indie Cinema 'Star & Shadow' in Newcastle and it changed my mind greatly about our imminent world domination. I'd much prefer to be stumbled upon by the next generation of music fans, or the one after that. That's why we release cassettes. Someone that finds one of our cassettes and listens to it hopefully will not know what era we're from and have to do a bit of homework, type the name into Ye Olde Google, to find out what we're about. So the plan is to plod on as we are, get fed up with each other, not talk for years then get a phone call pleading for us to reunite for a one off show, back catalogue reissue box set with mouse mat and usb storage pen in the shape of a pineapple, documentary and hopefully we'll get the Black Jash lighters made we've been saying we are going to for years.

Are you as much of a dick in real life as you are on stage?

Obviously.

What about local bands/musicians that you like? Any that compare to the Jash?

I just realised the other day that I haven't listened too much else but music made at Green Door Studios for about a year. Nothing else gets me going. So anyone that records there I rate everything else I don't. I'd be lying if I said anything other than Black Jash is my favourite, followed closely by Charles of the Ritz, the band I drum for. (If I was reading this I'd hate me too.) Why would I be in a band... nae front a band I didn't think was awesome? I'd be wasting my time and be unhappy. I know it's not the done thing to say it but it's not the done thing to wear bodyform bandit masks and I've done that.

Did you know your bassist looks like Jim Morrison?

His hair did a few years back. He also looks like Mick Jagger, Vernon Kay, Mica and Brian Ferry, he's got one of those faces you really want to punch, wait 'til it's slightly healed then punch again and again, then pay for him to get a new one. He's actually distantly related to Brian Ferry and Neil Armstrong. I couldn't do the frontman thing without Neill to be honest though, he's my rock. I envy how effortlessly cool he is and how I always get asked, before anyone asks how I am, how he is.

How did the idea for the two drummers come about?

After we stopped playing with Liam we went through a few one off shows with drummers. Sam from Casual Sex was my favourite. Brickyard sound technician extraordinaire Nic Jay was the closest we had to a constant drummer at the time. We had a gig in Carlisle where we the only band on the bill and I thought we should make i a bit extra special. Black Manajash Arkastra was created. Black Jash and Manatees combined. The line-up was Pauley, Alex and Nic on drums with Greg Wynne on white noise guitar and Neill and I doing our usual. We sounded massive, the vibrations made drunk girls sick and drunk boys head bang. Nic moved to Newcastle and Pauley and Alex just kept coming back to practises. I'm quite insecure about their presence in the band. Manatees are proper and I don't think we can compare in any way to them. Every time I get a phone call from those guys I think 'oh no here comes the bad news'. I like the primal sound we've got now. Drums are awesome. I've always wanted to be a drummer.

How much better are Charles of the Ritz?

I like that I just have to turn up for Charles of The Ritz. I hate gig promotion and the admin side of Black Jash. Organising one drummer is bad enough but two? Getting in touch with a recluse bass player also proves difficult. The Ritz have catchier choruses and appeal to more people. I think the 'Black' in our name closes more doors than it opens. It's not my fault; I didn't name Black Jash, Black Jash. We took the name from the local 'nutter'. The guy you'd shout stuff at to get a chase off. Everyone's been part of a wee gang that does that for funsies. The best fun I had as a youth were running away from people. It's the best kind of buzz I've ever had. Honestly I'm like shit off a shovel for about a hundred yards. Shouting scathing one liners on your feet is a talent I'm glad I've honed. Growing up is such a bummer.

What's in the future for Black Jash?

General jealousy of other bands that get better support slots and releases than us. Ideally more of the same. Having fun and playing gigs we'd pay to go and see anyways.

Will you buy me a drink? I'm skint.

What are you after? I'm not asking for a Rose Spritzer, Jagerbomb or a half though. (Jim: while you are up, I'll take a Guinness...)

Thanks Kate for doing my work for me, and Bob for answering the questions.

Lothario by * B L A C K ~ J A S H *

Black Jash: Facebook

Spotlight: Loch Awe

Time to get back to the business of blogging, I suppose. Christmas holidays from the blog lasted a wee bit longer than expected, but I'm sure you didn't miss me that much.

Anyway, since it is New Year, we better have a first foot. Enter then Loch Awe's Matthew Healy to tell us a bit about the band.

Who are Loch Awe?

Loch Awe are Jack, Joy, Oliver, Daniel and Matthew; four Edinburgh University students, and one college student, who started a band as a form of procrastination.

What do you sound like?

Imagine the worst band you've ever heard, ever. Good, now that your expectations are suitably lowered, go have a listen to us, and we should definitely sound better than you thought we would.

How did you all get together, and what made you stay together?

Jack and I (Matthew) recorded a few songs together back when I still played solo under the (now-dead) moniker We, the Plural. We asked Joy to sing on a few of the tracks, and Oli to drum and liked the sounds so much we decided to 'make it official'. More recently we added Dan on bass to fatten the sound out nicely.

Debut EP was written and recorded in just two weeks, was the short timescale intentional, or did it just work out that way?

It started out more as a joke than anything. After finishing up 'Lullaby for a Digital Sea' (the first song we recorded) in one afternoon I said to Jack "if we keep going at this rate we'll have an album in two weeks". And lo and behold, we did.

Loch Awe are more popular on Facebook than Keith Chegwin, and the album is amongst the most popular for things tagged Scotland and Edinburgh on Bandcamp. Happy with how things are going then?

Very happy! And, to be honest, surprised. We did the record on my laptop and, as you mentioned, to a very tight deadline, so for so many people to have downloaded it is absoltely fantastic. The Keith Chegwin thing is probably the best part, though.

What or who do you have in your sights to become more popular than next?

Konnie Huq, everybody's favourite ex Blue Peter presenter, only has 434 fans so I think we've got a pretty good shot at being more popular than her within the next few months.

Since we've stumbled into a new year let's go all "year in review" style and ask, although the band was only been around for about half of 2010 what have been Loch Awe's highlights?

Certainly our first (and, until March, only) gig is up there. Reading the reactions to the album so far has been a bit special, too. I think I'll be a bit soppy though, and say the real highlight is the amount of fun we've had hanging out, writing and playing music together

And any moments you'd rather forget about?

Not really, but I guess they've got to come eventually. Maybe we can have a wee update this time next year and I'm certain there'll be something embarassing to go here.

Any other bands around at the moment you'd recommend?

A list of our band-friends: Andrew Lindsay, Reverie, Shambles Miller, So Many Animal Calls. Ooh, alphabetical! (Also, apologies if I missed anyone...)

Any you'd avoid like the plague?

Kings of Leon. I don't know what it is, as there's nothing particularly offensive about their music, but I just get very angry when I hear it...

What do you have planned for the next few months?

We're recording a few demos for our second album within the first week of the new year, and we're doing them IN A STUDIO! We're awfully excited about that. That aside, however, we've got a show with Trapped Mice at Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on March 5th that I think should be rather good, and we're supporting Andrew Lindsay at his EP launch, although we don't have a date for that yet.

Finally, quirky interview questions, fun and harmless, or generally a bit of a waste of time?

It depends if the interviewee gives interesting answers. Ultimately it's for the reader to decide, though, isn't it?

Thanks Matthew for being the first person through the Aye Tunes door this year. If we have an awful 2011 we know who to blame.

Loch Awe's Artificial Life from a Digital Sea was one of our favourite releases last year. If you haven't heard it yet go and get your ears round it. You can listen below and download it for free here.

Loch Awe: Facebook - Bandcamp - Twitter

Spotlight: Mondegreen

Time for another interview.

Having stalked Mondegreen online ever since they were The Covergirls and seen them more than a few times I figured it was finally time to sneak out from the bushes outside their homes and ask them a few questions. Sadly none of them answered "Can I come out, it is freezing in that bush" in the affirmative. Singer & guitarist Matthew was good enough to answer other questions too though, with Allan lending a hand.

Who are Mondegreen?

A three-headed beast with Allan on bass

Fraser on drums

and me (Matthew) on guitar.

What do you sound like?

The short answer is: three guys trying to make the most of a cowbell, a root note and a fuzz pedal.
The longer answer is: Stephen Malkmus trying to cover Pet Sounds with John Densmore on drums and Kim Deal on bass.

How did you all get together, and what made you stay together?

We're a test-tube band, cobbled together from wanted ad respondees. Fraser and I were in a band called The Covergirls and we had an opportunity to record at Chem19 with the Scottish Arts Council. We were short of a bass player and Allan fitted in real fast. By this point I was the only original member of The Covergirls left, and some folk suggested we change the name. I suggested Mondegreen and I think it's finally grown on us a bit.

A mondegreen is, usually at least, a misheard song lyric, do you have a favourite one?

"Even the greatest arse/Live their lives in the looking glass". That's Kraftwerk of course. One of my friends pointed out a mondegreen in one of our songs: "You draw paintings on smelly faeces". It's actually "You draw paintings and smiley faces".

Allan: Myself and Matt went to see Blue Sky Archives in Bloc the other night and I thought their last song had the lyrics "we're right wing to the core" repeated as the outro. I'm guessing that was a mondegreen at least!

The Headless EP was recorded at Chem19, how did that come about, and how was it recording there?

I emailed Chemikal Underground to ask if they'd record and release our concept album about a guy with no head, not expecting a reply. I think they admired my boldness, and they fitted us in on their Arts Council demo fund.
We had two days there with Jamie Savage and the result was an abbreviated version of the initial Headless album idea, so we had a friend draw up some artwork, and we punt it around as an EP. (Jim: which you can download here, and listen to down the bottom)

Chemikal Underground's Stewart Henderson recently said he has "a real soft spot" for the band, so presumably you behaved yourself while in Chem19 at least.

I know, we saw that, and it was very nice of him. We have a lot of fun in this band but we also work very hard, so it's cool to hear people saying nice things about what we're doing. I'll always remember our visit there because it was right at the beginning of that freezing snowy winter, and I thought we were going to get snowed in at Chem19.

Since we are getting alarmingly close to the end of the year let's go all "year in review" style and ask what, if anything, have been highlights for the band this year?

I think the highlight for us was the road trip to Aberdeen in the summer. It was our first and only gig outside Glasgow, and we played at Cellar 35 with Min Diesel and Pensioner. Fraser's car clapped out somewhere near Brechin, and we got a flat tyre not long after. We had a great night and a great show, and some of us had to sleep in the car outside the venue, but it was definitely the highlight of the year.

Allan: Not forgetting that Fraser actually used his cowbell to bash the tire iron when changing the wheel!

Any moments you'd rather forget about?

Really racking my brains here but I can't think of anything that's gone monstrously wrong. The year is not out yet though...

What other bands around at the moment would you recommend?

ULTIMATE THRUSH!

Allan: Quite partial to Fat Goth from Dundee and Min Diesel from Aberdeen. And Ultimate Thrush obviously.

What bands would you avoid like the plague?

We saw this one guy playing 13th Note one night. He had a guitar and a couple of loop pedals and he just made noise for half an hour. I don't have a problem with that but I have tinnitus and I didnae have my ear plugs so I had to be rude and leave.

Allan: I saw a band do an entire 20 minute set where all the did was constantly attempt to tune their guitars. There were no songs, no banter, just tuning for 20 solid minutes. I'm not sure if they did it on purpose or not.

What do you have planned for the next few months?

We're recording our album with Ross McGowan at Chime Studio, so maybe with another couple of visits we could have it all done, and there's a gig at Tut's to look forward to on December 15th. We're planning to host our own nights starting January 13th in Stereo, if that goes well we'll attempt it more often. Apart from that, I think we'll be buttoning up our coats and keeping warm.

Finally, quirky interview questions, fun and harmless, or generally a bit of a waste of time?

Fun and harmless. “It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information” - Oscar Wilde.

Mondegreen: MySpace - Facebook

Spotlight: Black International

Photos by Claire Thomson

Getting a wee bit better at this interviewing lark. This time around Edinburgh three piece Black International join us for the latest Aye Tunes Inquisition.

Who are Black International?

We’re three white males named Gavin Hargin, Stewart Allan and Craig Peebles who’ve all enjoyed reasonably comfortable upbringings and have, relatively speaking, nothing to complain about.

What do you sound like?

Aggressive, primitive, noisy, melodic, nervy... Like dirty broken glass. All the instruments get equal space, it’s democracy in action!

How did you all get together, and what made you stay together?

Craig and I have known each other for years. We were both at art college at the same time, he’d played in loads of bands while I’d generally sat at home pissing about with synths. In 2006 I decided to start a new group, and coincidentally his previous one had just come to an end. He seemed to like the songs I’d demoed, so we took it from there. We booked a gig at the Wee Red Bar, and off we went.
Gavin joined a year ago, he’d been living in New Zealand and we recruited him pretty much as soon as he stepped off the plane. He’s brought stability to the group, something that wasn’t always there before, and we’ve developed a lot since he came on board.

I think ultimately it’s a simple case of belief in the music that’s kept the band together. Not

hating each other helps too.

Your influences are listed as "Glasgow and Edinburgh 1979-81, Manchester 1979-

82, the Pacific Northwest 1988-91", would you like to narrow it down to anyone in

particular, or leave it at that?

To be honest, we always feel a bit awkward when someone asks what our influences are.

We’ve never discussed it with each other, I just don’t think it’s important. I couldn’t even

tell you what the other guys listen to beyond a few things, never mind what influences their

playing.
The stuff you’ve mentioned was just a little tongue in cheek reference to bands that

other people have suggested we have something in common with; Josef K, the Fall, Nirvana,

things like that. We don’t copy other bands, even if we wanted to sound like someone else it

wouldn’t happen. I know it’s handy to have some names out there for potential listeners to get

a taste of where you’re coming from, but I think too much is made of it most of the time.

One thing I noticed when seeing the band live was the high quality of "drummer faces" being pulled by Craig, do you feel this is an important art?

He’s just trying to garner some attention for himself, as he’s a raging egomaniac. Nah, he’s

just pretty excitable. A couple of cartons of Capri Sun before we go onstage and he’s as high

as a kite, bless him.

Craig Peebles demonstrates "drummer face"

Since we are getting alarmingly close to the end of the year let's go all "year in review" style and ask what, if anything, have been highlights for the band this year?

We’ve played a good few gigs beyond the Edinburgh/Glasgow axis for the first time, each one of which was amazing. We drove up to Inverness for GoNorth, zipped down to Dumfriesshire to play the Solus Tent at Wickerman, made a foray over the border to Newcastle, and last month we played our first show in London, which was wonderful. We’ve made lots of new friends and had some laughs. We love playing new places!

And any moments you'd rather forget about?

None that I can think of beyond the occasional “I wish I wasn’t doing this gig with a brain melting hangover”, but I suspect that’s a common occurrence in any band. Rock ‘n’ roll, eh? Once we can afford a coke habit that’ll be a thing of the past.

STREAM: Black International - Idle Worship

Any other bands around at the moment you'd recommend?

Ooh, lots, but I’ll attempt to be frugal with my praise… If you haven’t seen United Fruit yet I suggest you remedy that at the earliest opportunity. They’re one of our favourite bands at the

moment, and they played a jaw dropping set at Wickerman. We also love a Glasgow band called Rollor, they’re absolutely brilliant and are well worth checking out. Verse Metrics are a new group that are doing some good stuff, I expect them to do very well next year. Looking further afield Casa Bonita down in London are staggeringly brutal live, and jolly nice guys to boot. We’re hoping to do another show with them in the springtime.

Any you'd avoid like the plague?

Yes, a couple of bands we’ve played with who’re doing fairly well at the moment but desperately need a collective kick in the nuts. I’ll whisper their names to you…

What do you have planned for the next few months?

Top of the list is finishing our album, we recorded it earlier in the year and have spent a few months mixing it. Our friend Andrew Bush who’s doing it for us has started getting extremely “in demand” as an engineer and has been jet-setting around all over the place, so we just do a bit whenever we can pin him down. We’ll send him emails saying “Make it sound like a wet Tuesday in Doncaster!” or “The reverb isn’t red enough!” which probably gives him headaches but he’s a great engineer and knows how to handle us. It should all be done and dusted by February or March, so we’ll be gearing up for loads of gigs in the springtime, probably an English and Scottish tour, that kind of thing. It’s all terribly exciting! There’s also a single release ready to go, we’re just sorting out the artwork for it at the moment.

Finally, quirky interview questions, fun and harmless, or generally a bit of a waste of time?

Quirky are the best kind. Perhaps your readers will be disappointed we haven’t discussed our

biscuit of choice? Mine’s a garibaldi.

STREAM: Black International - Dread (Excerpt)

Black International: MySpace - Facebook - Twitter - Bandcamp

Spotlight: Let's Talk About Trees

After not running any interviews in ages we have two in a week. I'm as surprised as you dear reader.

A while back I received an email from a band called Let's Talk About Trees, asking me to have a listen to a couple of their songs and possibly do a wee something about them for Aye Tunes. I listened to the songs, loved them, then waited around three months to answer the email. I am not a good blogger.

On the eve of the release of their self titled debut album I finally got around to asking Let's Talk About Trees some questions, which they kindly took time out of hand making those albums to answer.

Who are Let's Talk About Trees?

We are Chris McGarry and Kieran Heather - two men from many bands with a particular fondness for the ridiculous.

What do you sound like?

We WANTED to sound like trees, but I suppose Magnetic Fields, Adam Green and the Beta Band is somewhere to start. Bit of Arab Strap as well.

How did the album come about?

Well, we were in the pub (Captain's Rest, to be precise) and were discussing trees for some reason and we'd been recording music just for fun - thought that trees and music might mix. They did! I suppose it was a bet, but no money has passed hands and in any case if we were betting against each other - we both won.

Are making concept albums after a pub bet the future of the music industry then?

I think the way we do things is made easier by having a concept - we're big fans of Brian Eno and he's well into this kind of voodoo. He made that thing Oblique Strategies, didn't he? Heloves concepts. At least I hope he does, I don't know the man and I don't want to make too many assumptions on his part. Anyway, the answer is probably no.

The album launch is coming up soon, what do you have planned for it, or is it a surprise?

I think the surprise is going to be that it actually happened - a lot of our friends are very angry that we're going ahead with it. It's a very cheeky thing to do - make a silly bet in the pub, have a laugh: "hur hur, we're gonna make an album about trees", then show up one day with CDs filled with songs that are actually about trees - people don't expect you to actually do it. When they see the show it'll be the final straw and we will be lynched.

Any plans to talk about more trees in the future, or perhaps other subjects, or is this a one off?

I think the awareness we have raised with this record will suffice. We do genuinely like trees but you'd really have to try to make a career out of it. Instead, we're hopefully going to move on to make a meta-educational album in the spirit of Look Around You (LOOK IT UP!) (Jim: Look Around You is excellent, if you've never seen it you really should try to watch it) - a television series we did not know about until we made the music video for Lumberjack's Lament and somebody commented on it giving reference to the aforementioned television program which I am clearly not going to repeat the name of. It's a pretty marvelous show.

All I can tell you about it is that we will try to break down the taboos of racism, highlight the dangers of (certain) drugs and that there might be a 'bubble moon octopus' involved. The octopus used to be a knight in Malaysia, apparently.

Let's Talk About Trees release their self titled album with a launch gig at Stereo in Glasgow tomorrow night (that's Saturday 20th November). It is a late starter, with doors at 11pm.

You can watch the lovely video for Lumberjack's Lament down below, and to hear an interview with the band and download a couple of session tracks head over to Pop Goes The Revolution.

Spotlight: Male Pattern Band

Here at Aye Tunes we are a bit crap at getting hold of bands and asking them some questions, which is something we need to work on. With that in mind, I approached Male Pattern Band to see if they'd be willing guinea pigs for an introducing type feature, since I'd caught them supporting French Wives a few weeks ago and really enjoyed them. Happily they were and Singer/Guitarist Chris McCrory answered my incoherent questions for me.

Who are Male Pattern Band?

Male Pattern Band are essentially the result of a bleak, nowhere suburban upbringing and the strong desire to escape to something better, something brighter. Maybe we're trying to change our lives for the better, maybe we're just passing time. I don't really know. But if you want to skip all that wanky crap, we are just three friends who enjoy playing music together; who happen to dislike their current surroundings and write songs about psychotropic-addled girls, boys and the usual late-teen frustrations.

What do you sound like?

"Junkyard Pop" - That's what we sound like, to me anyway. It's something you have to figure out; come and see us live or something then decide. People say we sound like The Modern Lovers, people say we sound like Pavement or, "Like Flies on Sherbet" era Alex Chilton, even Sonic Youth. I say, we sound like "Junkyard Pop".

You've got a couple of sold out CDr's under your belt now, and most recently a tape, can we expect any other releases sometime soon?

We are going to release our first LP in the new year, we recorded it in May at Green Door studio with Emily MacLaren and Stu Evans. Most of it was done in one take very late at night and it is probably the definition of "Junkyard Pop". As a band we've evolved since then, as we only played our first gig in February. However, the record is a moment in time we really enjoyed, and we'd like to share that moment with you.
Other than the album, we are doing a very limited re-issue of the split-cassette on CD in February for folks who don't have a cassette player. And other than that, we just recorded another EP with a good friend containing a mix of new and older tracks. We are kind of experimenting with complete Lo-Fi 4-track cassette Portastudio recordings, Analogue 8 & 16 track Tape recordings and full on Pro Tools HD recordings and just trying to find what works best. We are all very interested in the world of recording and sound production. I have a bit of a studio set up here so we just spend hours screwing around making some cool noises and having fun with it really. There was also talk of a free covers EP later in the year, who knows.

Why a tape anyway, and how did teaming up with Black Jash for it come about?

There isn't really a solid reason for releasing on a cassette tape, it's just kind of cool to us. The first music I ever owned as a child was on cassette tape. Also a lot of the noise and otherwise left-field bands we like on Winning Sperm Party are doing it and we thought it was a pretty cool idea. I think it helps put the value back into owning music - rather than just a faceless mp3, it's something you can hold and look at and if you hate it, I suppose you can make it into a necklace.
As for teaming up with Black Jash, we were introduced to them through Emily and Stu at Green Door and we just really took to them. They play good music and put on a brilliant live show, I wish I could work a crowd and, "banter" like Bob does. We invited them up here for gigs together, got talking and the ball started rolling.

You've been pretty busy gigging, has there been anything that has stood out as particularly good so far?

For me, supporting Thee Oh Sees earlier in the year was a particular highlight as they are a band I've been really into for the past couple of years. In The Red records are a big influence on me in particular. I mean, I literally had to run down Sauchiehall St and on to the stage at Sleazy's out of breath and flustered - but I was playing with Thee Oh Sees, how cool is that?!?! Playing with Astral Planes at Brel in the summer was good too, they were a band I seen supporting the late Jay Reatard (another great In The Red... artist) at King Tuts when Male Pattern Band we're just a proverbial 'twinkle in my eye' and I was rather taken by their set. However, supporting French Wives at Stereo in October was I think the highlight gig for the band as a whole. French Wives to us are probably on the tip of a very large and successful musical iceberg, they are a fantastic band. Plus, we've all wanted to play Stereo for years , so many good bands play there. We were shitting ourselves before we went on, but it was brilliant to play that gig.

Was there anything that hasn't gone so well?

The only gig that didn't go so we'll for us was supporting Sky Larkin at Captains Rest a few months ago. Both my guitars broke in soundcheck, serves me right I suppose for not using cases or whatever - I never had any at the time. However, luckily Katie from Sky Larkin let me borrow one of her guitars for the show. That wasn't the end of our sorrows unfortunately - We err, over-indulged on the bountiful supply of free booze Captains Rest offers it's bands and went on stage rather pissed. My voice then proceeded to almost completely burn itself out halfway through the set. Bit of a disaster from our point of view, but folk seemed to enjoy it and Rokbun gave it a positive review so I'm not sure if it's just us being perfectionists or not. You win some, you lose some, y'know?

Finally, what are your upcoming plans, and what can we look forward to from the band over the next few months?

We'll we now have a website - www.malepatternband.com - that we made. There are lots of hidden secret pages, I bet you can find them. (Jim: I've not found any, I'm rubbish) We'll be using that instead of Myspace now, we still have a very basic page with contact and gig info though if you are a Myspace die hard. But all the updates will be going on the website and our Facebook page.
As for real world plans, just keep doing what we're doing but at a higher gear. Ultimately writing songs, playing gigs and having fun. However, you should definitely look out for more EPs, exclusive releases, one-off and/or otherwise bizarre gigs and maybe even LP number 2 in the near future.

Download: Male Pattern Band - Twee

There's a couple of chances to catch Male Pattern Band coming up soon, the Tut's gig should be particularly good.
Male Pattern Band: Upcoming Gigs

- 11th December @ Flying Duck for the Rancho Picante Christmas Party

- 19th December @ King Tuts supporting St Deluxe (Buy Tickets)

- 12th February @ Gambetta w/ Paws

Photos by Claire Thomson

Male Pattern Band: Website - Facebook

Introducing: The Vitamin Sees

The Vitamin Sees are from Leicester, but they pass the Scottish test enough for me. Singer Stuart Gray is also in Fence Collective band Viva Stereo, while drummer Mick Harrison was a member of Prolapse alongside "Scottish" Mick Derrick. Besides, quoting influences like Suicide, 13th Floor Elevators and Spacemen 3 makes them ok in my book. Plus, I used to really like Prolapse.

A while back I asked them some questions, they answered, and it has taken me ages to get round to posting. Here's the results.

Who are The Vitamin Sees?

The Vitamin Sees are Mick Harrison, Rob Norbury, Sam Walker and Stuart Gray. We are a 4 piece Leicester band who play psychedelic, shoegaze, kraut rock, noise.

You've all been in bands before, or are still in others, what led to forming a new band?

Stuart:
After moving to Leicester in 2006 I was still pretty active with my 'other' band Viva Stereo, we released our third album in 2009. So up until then I was writing and recording, so I wasn’t really looking for a new band in my new hometown…but at the same time I was making mental notes and really just getting to know people who might be able to help in future. On top of that I had a firm idea of what I wanted the band to sound like and the sort of ethos I wanted, that I wasn’t sure a lot of people would go for. I wouldn’t say I’ve ‘been there and done that’ in the music business but I’ve had my own ups and downs after being in Viva Stereo for ten years. To be honest, the thought of starting from scratch and going through all the crap you have to go through as a new band filled me with fear. I just really wanted people who would be up for getting together, playing some music we enjoyed and maybe playing the odd gig here and there. I didn’t want to have to worry about the usual stuff like making sure we practice every week or playing loads of gigs so our name gets known, or making sure we were playing the type of music was ‘cool’ so would get us noticed. I got talking to Rob at a party in July 2009. I’d known him for a few years through a local band he’d been in, The Dirty Backbeats. The Backbeats had disbanded about 6 months previous and I wasn’t sure if Rob had been doing any musical stuff. It’s safe to say we were both quite wasted and we started talking about doing some music together and I had this idea of trying to start a two piece band in a similar vein to Suicide, just with a drum machine, some heavy guitars and a synth. Really primal and basic. We thought about forming a band, doing a couple of gigs and then splitting up. I’d just been made redundant and Rob was also on the dole so we got together a few weeks later at my house one afternoon and tried out some ideas. It was pretty simple stuff. I had a drum loop programme on the pc which I played through my speakers. Rob played along on guitar and I played some synth. It all sounded pretty good…and it was fun, but maybe not something that would transfer to a live environment and I guess it was pretty self-indulgent.

A couple of weeks later I went see a friend’s band called Ambrose Tompkins in Leicester. They announced that night it was their last gig. I knew their bass player Sam to speak to and fuelled by alcohol I cornered him after the gig and asked if he wanted to join the band. At the same time I was texting Rob to tell him my plans so it was pretty much an on the spot decision! Sam was up for it and we were now a three piece.

The next day I sent Sam an email outlining what we planned to do as a band. He replied, mentioning he knew someone who might be up for drumming with us. I had decided that the drum loop approach might not be as easy as first thought and as Viva Stereo use loops and drum machines I wanted to distance myself from them. So I figured it might be a better idea to get a live drummer. Sam mentioned a guy called Mick Harrison whom Sam had spent a bit of time with at a recent local music festival. Mick had played bass with Prolapse who I had been a fan of so I was instantly interested in finding out if he’d be up for it. However despite his past, I think my main thing was to find out if Mick was a decent bloke. I arranged to meet him one afternoon for a pint. I met him in a local boozer and we got on straight away so the band was born.

Do you find it helpful that, without wanting to sound unkind, some of you have already been around the block a bit with bands?

Stuart: In helps in so much that theres certain aspects we don't really want to go through again. Mainly getting to the point where its boring or precious or even other people getting involved to try and take us somewhere we don't want to go. Mick especially had some amazing times in Prolapse but by the sound of things they nearly ended up killing each other in the end. Viva Stereo are still going but we really just exist as a recording band. I think The Vitamin Sees is a bit of a release for us all...our current favourite song is a 10 minute kraut rock jam that we are building up the courage to play live..I watch old footage of Can and it looks ace..but I'm just not sure how well that sort of thing would go down at the local venue! So we take things at our own pace and do what we want really.Theres that old shite expression about 'doing what we do and if anyone else likes it its a bonus' but it really does resonate with us!

How would you describe the music you make, and how are The Vitamin Sees different from the previous bands you have all been part of?

We all listen to different stuff but all have common bands we like and probably influence us. We’re all fans of pretty dark guitar music, bit of kraut-rock, psychedelia, drones, shoegaze, that sort of thing. I guess that’s where we are coming from musically.
Its inevitable to be compared to our respective pasts, but well, for a start, Mick is on drums in The Vitamin Sees and not bass like he was in Prolapse so it’s a new environment for him. Obviously with me being Scottish I guess some people might be really lazy and compare us to Prolapse in that respect even though we sound nothing like them. I guess we both have abit of a Kraut rock influence but they were alot more punkier than us with it.
 I sing with Viva Stereo as well so it’s going to sound similar in places, but I think the music is different enough to tell each band apart. Although in saying that Viva Stereo are starting to sound more like a live band again these days after a few years where it was quite electroinic sounding! I can't speak for Mick with Prolapse but obviously they were a band he did full time and they were pretty much touring a lot with a record deal and the pressures that brings etc We differ from Viva Stereo mainly because we all live in the same city!

You only played your first gig in April, how did it go, and and there more planned?

Our first gig went really well..typical first gig really, all your mates turn up, you are pumped with nervous energy and it seems to go ok because you have no reference point. There were a few mistakes but it was a good night. We played our second gig in June and it wasn't really the best. One of the hottest days of the year added with a free local festival on nearby that we'd all been drinking at before we'd even soundchecked. I think it was a good thing because our debut gig had been pretty good but some of the songs probably were rushed through for it. We had decided when we started that we'd only gig when we were ready. But after a couple of months we needed direction and booked a gig for something to aim for. We didn't have a full set so I guess we just rushed some songs through to fill up time. Maybe the excitment of actually playing a gig took over us. Anyway by the second gig, which was, like I said a bit rough, we realised some of the songs weren't that great so they were axed. We decided not to book any gigs for a while until we sorted our set out..which we've been doing at the moment. We are booked to play in August at a festival in Leicester than I'm putting on with some friends called Lose Your Cool  so looking forward to that. (That festival takes place in Leicester from August 27th till the 29th, visit Lose Your Cool for details)

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010? Any chance we'll see the band up in Scotland any time?

We're hoping to get back into the studio later in the year and record some more stuff. The tunes on our myspace are really just rough demo's too so we'd like to get them properly mixed and make them sound a bit fuller. Plus a couple of other tunes we really want to record. I definitely want to get upto to Scotland for some gigs as I've still got a lot of mates up there ad its always a good laugh, so any promoters out there give us a shout!

Download: The Vitamin Sees - Shot Down (Demo)

The Vitamin Sees: MySpace - Facebook

Words Per Minute

I mentioned this on Monday in the gig guide, but that's no reason not to bring it up again, particularly as organisers Anneliese Mackintosh and Kirstin Innes were kind enough to answer some questions about the event, making them the first ever victims of an Aye Tunes interview in the process.

Would you care to introduce yourself, and tell us a little about yourself?

A – Hello, I’m Anneliese, the German-born/English-raised/Scots-descended half of Words Per Minute. I’m a writer of novels, short stories, plays and short films. I’m currently working on a novel called Watch Yourself, and a short story collection called Dedicated. I get very excited about performing my work, and have done so at Glasgow events DiScOmBoBuLaTe at the Arches, Manifesto and TBC Cabaret at the Tron Theatre, OMG at Offshore, and Edinburgh events A Night In the Gutter at the National Library, Golden Hour at the Forest Café and as support act for musician David Ford at Cabaret Voltaire. At the moment I’m finishing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, and so soon I’m about to get a real, real job. You may see the panic this causes me reflected in my recent (foreboding?) short stories about abusive workplaces.

K- Hello. I’m Kirstin. I write stories and newspaper articles.

A – Oops. Kirstin is also far more modest than I am, it seems.

Tell us a little about Words Per Minute?

K - There’s loads of work being made in Glasgow just now that doesn’t necessarily conform to one genre - it’s not just ‘writing’ or ‘music’ or ‘film’ or ‘theatre’. We wanted to put on an event that showcased that. We’re both writers who perform our own work (Anneliese makes animations, too), so we decided to put together a collection of people who use words in different ways and see what happens. We’re also hoping to introduce audiences to different kinds of work -- spike a literary crowd on some electronica, bring really good writers to a live music audience, screen artist films to theatre-goers. That’s the plan, anyway.

A – We’re also giving people the opportunity to try out something completely new. If, for instance, an established novelist decides he wants to try his hand at animations in an open-minded environment before unleashing it to the wider world (yes, that’s you, Ewan Morrison, at WPM1), then our event is the perfect place to do it. If artists are looking to seek out new collaborators in alternative art forms, we provide an ideal hub for that sort of thing too. In terms of what the audience will get out of it – for very little money they’ll get a snapshot into the artistic scene in Glasgow and beyond – a bit of film, literature, music, theatre and who-knows-what-else at each event, and each one will be exciting, vibrant and unique. What better way to spend your post-roast Sunday afternoon?

The first event is coming up on Sunday, who can we expect to see performing?

K - Martin O’Connor, a playwright and theatre-maker who I’ve been keeping an eye on for yeeears now is going to try out some new work. Ewan Morrison, who’s best known for his deviant and quite frankly filthy novels (Swung, Distance and Menage) has started working on a new short story collection designed for e-books, with embedded animations, and he’s going to be screening and narrating them. Then there’s fast-living rock diva/writer/hurricane Lisa Foad - I met her at a literary festival in Toronto and loved her writing. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to get her over from Canada, but thanks to the miracle of modern technology she can be there in video form.

A – Plus there’s the lovely Colin Begg, whose poems are influenced by the Scottish people and landscape, and feelings of (not) belonging. He recently described his work to me as 'some poems the head wrote about the heart, or vice versa'. He’s also written short screenplays and plays, and is currently co-editor of Gutter, a brilliant new literary magazine, going soon into its third issue. The live music act for the first event is Miaoux Miaoux, an electronica musician listed on BBC Scotland's Vic Galloway's 50 Scottish artists to watch in 2010. His new EP Blooms was launched in March, described on the Ayetunes blog as ‘positively bursting with energy’. (Jim - it's true, check here) It’s Postal Service meets Apparat meets Lali Puna and they all go for a drink with Mogwai and have a nice time. Miaoux Miaoux, aka Julian Corrie, is also going to be WPM’s resident DJ, playing a one-hour set after every event, whilst people chat, mingle and relax.

K - Anneliese and I are also going to do five minute sets of our own stuff, just for the first night. We’re not going to get into the habit of it, though: we’re running this night to celebrate what’s happening in Glasgow just now, not to promote our own work. Too much.

Why did you choose Creation Studios as the venue?

K - I was working on a project in the Trongate and Merchant City, and Roddy (Creation Studios head honcho) approached us looking to be included in that. After going up for a meeting I was really taken by the café/performance space - it’s got a great atmosphere about it, so when Roddy mentioned he was looking for spoken word events, it seemed like a pretty good fit with the night Anneliese and I had been dreaming up for the past few months. It’s a lovely, open space, the staff are ace and interested in everything, and as somewhere that already promotes emergent visual artists and musicians, it felt like the right place to unleash our cross-genre vision on the world!

Words Per Minute is a nonprofit event, do you have any plans for what to do with any money raised?

A – The £2 ticket money will go straight back into promoting the events – we need to buy posters each month in order to give the performers the best possible chance of publicity, but we will also be collecting money for Cancer Research UK on the night. My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer two years ago and I think it’s really important to keep providing money for the much needed equipment and resources for cancer care. Making art is about making a difference, both onstage and off.

Going forward what plans do you have for Words Per Minute, and for yourselves?

K - We’re already planning lineups for WPM2 and 3. We’ve just confirmed Adam Stafford for next month: as I’m sure Ayetunes readers already know, he creates these amazing, slow-building soundscapes with just a loop pedal and his voice, then sings wild-man blues over the top. Sophie Cooke is also performing - she’s a well-established novelist and short story writer, but she’s also a glittering, diamond-hard performer.

A - We’ve also got newcomer Craig Lamont confirmed for WPM2. I saw him perform at the Mitchell Library during the Aye Write festival as part of the University of Strathclyde Creative Showcase, and was blown away by his work. We’ve also had all sorts of interesting submissions for future events - keep them coming, folks!

K - We’ve got a fantasy wishlist of people we want, and we’re already talking to some of them. Everyone from beatboxers and short filmmakers to Booker-nominated novelists and former members of seminal Falkirk-based bands now pursuing their own spoken-word projects. We’d also like to open things up to visual artists a bit more - we’re not sure exactly how, yet, but we’ll take any suggestions going.

A - As for my own plans, I’m hoping to punt my novel around by the end of the year, and I’m in the process of getting a short film made with a production company in London. I’ve also got some music collaborations on the horizon.

K - I’m currently writing a novel and a play, and collaborating with US-based composer Tony Marasco, who’s setting a couple of stories I’ve written to music (I think I’m then going to record myself reading over the top - we’re doing the whole thing over the internet, so haven’t quite worked out the logistics of that bit yet).

A – We’ll probably try and fit in a nice long rest at some point, but not just yet.

Thanks a million to Anneliese and Kirstin for taking time to answer my questions, from the sound of it that long rest will be well deserved. Now, get along there on Sunday!

Words Per Minute takes place on Sunday May 2nd 2010, from 4-6pm, plus a Miaoux Miaoux DJ set from 6-7pm at Creation Studios, 16 Trongate, Glasgow. Tickets: £2 on the door.

For more information on Words Per Minute visit their website, http://www.wordsperminute.org.uk, and say hello on Facebook or Twitter.