Drowned In Edinburgh #1

There's more than enough locally sourced arts/shows to keep you interested throughout the entire festival month - obviously the vast majority of these won't be as well publicised as the big hitters, but then this isn't what the festival's supposed to be about. It's an event showcasing the best comedians, thespians etc, from around the world and as such is something that the city is, and should be, wonderfully proud of.

this was a good read

..so I have no idea what the Festival has done for other areas of the arts. But the music program on the Fringe has been so patchy, in terms of supporting local bands, that Tracer Trails felt compelled to set up the Retreat Festival as an alternative just so local bands could actually get some stage time during the month of August.

It's really inconsistent though. Seeing Broken Records sell out the Queen's Hall last year was great, but there are years when not a single Edinburgh band gets booked at all.

So maybe I was over-cooking it a bit - like most people from Edinburgh I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Festival, and it depends a bit what day you catch me on - but particularly good for the local music scene it generally is not.

"And it's pretty questionable saying it swamps the local arts, I'm pretty sure it's helped the Traverse establish its name as one of the leading theatres in the country."

Indeed, the Traverse Theatre started as a club during the Festival in the early 1960s and brought much international avant-garde material to Scotland. Hats off to the legendary Jim Haynes for co-founding it. The Festivals have always offered a fantastic opportunity to Scottish artists.

Good overview of the indie scene, but where's the underground weird stuff? Wounded Knee really deserves a mention, being just as accessible as the indie folk stuff, and far more interesting. Also gotta give it up for junk slobberers Usurper and noisy freaks Jazzfinger.

Because the biggest problem is it allows Edinburgh Council to maintain a veneer of being friendly towards the arts by basking in an explosion for a few weeks at the end of summer and doing nothing for the rest of the year.

Part of the reason the scene is so fragile in Edinburgh is that the council is actively hostile to venues, nothing being done to replace La Belle Angel (by far the best venue Edinburgh ever had) since it burnt down years ago and the recent closure of The Venue due to developers cutting corners on the soundproofing of flats they built next to it are cases in point. Edinburgh Council actively makes it difficult for live music venues in the city because "low arts" do not fit in with the monied elite that it wishes the place to be populated by. Hence the reason that plenty of opera and classical music can be found in the festival and very little contemporary stuff.

Admittedly these are the thoughts of someone who moved from Edinburgh three years ago, but friends who still live there tell me not much has changed.

Reckoning, what you're saying should be true but very frequently isn't. It's so inconsistent it's hard to pin down, and obviously some years are better than others, but since I've been here it's not been unusual for not one of those potential support slots to go to local bands, and local promoters have basically warned me never to put anything on during the festival because advertising it is all but impossible in amongst all the hubbub, and people just don't come because the out of town stuff is seen as more of a one-off, hence more urgent.

Although you're also right about the Festival not really being about music anyway, but Cherry Ghost pretty well explains how it can be frustrating for those not involved in the kind of arts which fit with its remit.

And as for the band choices, well Wounded Knee is very well respected amongst people I know and trust, but I've not seen him often enough to quite get into it yet, to be honest. Accessible is not the first term to spring to mind though. I'm not saying it's no good for a second, but it certainly isn't exactly what I'd play to someone if I didn't have a lot of confidence in their being open-minded.

But in any case, the only stuff I mentioned up there is the stuff I'm personally into, so it's by no means an exhaustive list. Rather ridiculously I didn't even mention Jesus H. Foxx, who are actually on our label, and also working on a new album hopefully due for release later in the year.

I didn't mention The Skinny either, who are based here, or Tentracks, which is under the Skinny umbrella, or the local student radio station Fresh Air, which is full of really enthusiastic people, and all sorts of other things.

Oh, and Frightened Rabbit are from Selkirk, which is closer to England than it is to Glasgow.

Hello!

I enjoyed reading your article , it was a good read. However I do have some point's that I'd like to raise for discussion;
The Edinburgh festival is of course an international stage, as we all know creative minds decend from all over the globe for one month. Muscially we get the Edge Festival which ranges from larger gigs at the corn exchange with the likes of Biffy Clyro, to Sneaky Pete's for emerging local talent. The whole Edge festival does indeed get swamped by the rest of the festival, however I think it's better to have it than not at all.
Perhaps ideas to make the Edge festival better would to have something similar to the Edinburgh Film festival. The Edinburgh Music festival could showcase top Edinburgh acts old and new over a few days. On that note if Haddow Fest was renamed The Edinburgh Music Festival and spread over say 3 days with inclusions of music seminars, and industry musos all gathering together etc then I think it could have the potential to be a success. Not saying Haddow fest won't be! Then again that's maybe a bit like GoNorth. Maybe a GoEdinburgh could be the answer?
There seems to be an Edinburgh bias to a certain part of the scene. Wether it be media coverage, hype or even over hype, and general support, this scene seem to be the ones making any progress. I agree that the likes of Mersault and Broken Records are good at what the do, I find it hard to describe what I'd call this genre, maybe the Frabbit generation. However the point I am trying to make is that yes it might be lovely lovely nicey nicey Edinburgh music, but there is much more talent out there that aren't getting the recognition, coverage, or support that they deserve. Why?
The Edinburgh scene is 'stuck up','arty farty', 'stubbon' and 'snobby'. These are some of the criticisms I have had from certain bands who have played in Edinburgh. I don't fully agree with them, but on some issues I can see their point. People in Edinburgh seem to stick to one 'scene' and ignore or instantly put down another 'scene'. It's as though there is a class system in place. Should people open up to other genres of music and do the criticisms above sound familiar?
For the Edinburgh 'Scene' to become something more, in my opinion people need to give 'it' up. Give up that '' I'm not listening to that shit'' attiude. Unsigned bands need people to open their ears and give them a chance, who knows you might actually enjoy it. I know this might all sound a bit insulting, it's not meant. I know there are thousands in the UK who are happy to 'get mad ferrit' with the likes of Oasis and Kasabian and the whole Lady GaGa and JLC pish or what ever the fuck they are called crew. Things could be much worse. All I am trying to put over is we that we should all just open our ears and give other 'scenes' a chance.
What do you think would make the Edinburgh scene more 'as one'?
Below I have listed a few Edinburgh(ish) bands that you may or may not have heard, and which you may or may not enjoy. Don't be shy, give it a try!

North Atlantic Oscillation - http://www.myspace.com/naoband

The Gothenburg Address - http://www.myspace.com/thegothenburgaddress

Penguins Kill Polar Bears - http://www.myspace.com/penguinskillpolarbearsuk

The Void - http://www.myspace.com/thevoidband

OK Social Club - http://www.myspace.com/theoksocialclub

CryOverBillionaires - http://www.myspace.com/cryoverbillionaires

Sebastian Dangerfield - http://www.myspace.com/dangerfieldtunes

1004's -http:// www.myspace.com/the1004s

Black International - http://www.myspace.com/blackinternational

There are of course lots more, and a shit load of talent outwith Edinburgh. I will list them later on if anyone wishes.

MankyBastard

i'm being naughty - I appreciate you probably visited form out of town.

I'd also argue that Edinburgh's 'decent' live music venues are as numerous as they've been for a long time. Sure, the Venue disappeared but in recent times we've seen the likes of the ELectric Circus, Sneaky Petes, The Bowery, GRV, Voodoo Rooms all come to the fore as superb live music joints...

Also, your points re: opera and classical music are surely evidence of the festival's value as an arts event (although it's worth pointing out that this is probably the International Festival you're referring to rather than the Fringe). How often can you see decent opera/classical music in Edinburgh (aside from at the Usher Hall)? The support of such genres during one month of the year at the slight expense of another which occurs far more prominently the rest of the time is surely a good thing for an Arts festival to be doing, objectively speaking...?

Hi Mr Toad, firstly I just want to say I am not criticising the article. Mersault might have more electric sounds to them but are in my opinion from the same alt folk scene as Broken Records.

It's all down to personal tastes, however I think your personal tastes have came over pretty strongly in the article, missing out some other very good Edinburgh acts, and even venues such as Studio 24, Bongo Club, Murrayfield, Corn Exchange, and the burnt down Liquid Rooms.

I agree that everyone obviously can't like the same music, however I do think people should be less stubborn and this whole silly 'class system' should be thrown to fuck. I'm sure that'd get momentum going.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this post and the responses. I moved to Edinburgh a few years ago because I was in love with the city, and was not aware of there being any particular music scene at the time. Coming from Angus, my live music fix would be from venues such as the Doghouse or the usual Glasgow suspects such as King Tuts with the Summer festivals ranging from Homegame to T in the Park. No mention of Edinburgh..

I wholeheartedly agree with Matthew's comments re the internet, I don't think anyone could underestimate the contribution the internet has made in giving people a forum to share their idea and publicise their bands/radio shows/ gigs at no cost. The national print media is undoubtedly London/Englandcentric and so a forum was required for everyone else.

However, as far as this "scene" goes, may I respectfully suggest that the article itself really only covers one section of the musical "scene" currently taking Edinburgh by storm? Venues such as Sneaky Pete's; Cab Vol; Voodoo Rooms - even the Royal Mile Tavern etc don't seem to have received a mention, and there is definitely a community linked to these venues where you can pitch up and share music and chat in the good old fashioned personal way!

I think Edinburgh will continue to go from strength to strength, we've got new prmoters coming through like Manky Bastard himself, who work tirelessly (and I understand often at a loss financially?!?) to bring us some very exciting bands. Penguins Kill Polar Bears, The Void, 10:04s being only a handful of examples. A lot of the people in these bands are barely 20 years old and already making music that kicks the nonsense in the charts right out of the water.

I am very very excited about the future for Edinburgh's music and grateful to every single person involved in making it so fabulous

Agreed, I tend to be more into new young up n coming acts. My gigs don't do too badly Dryden, never been in it for making money, that's what a day job's for!