The FudBlog: kraut-rock

Showing posts with label kraut-rock. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2025

DUNBAR MUSIC FESTIVAL, SEPTEMBER 26/27 2025

In which I sample some of the goods on offer a lot closer to home than usual. A bit like North Berwick's FRINGE BY THE SEA, but just music. And not in North Berwick.

FRIDAY VENUE: HARBOUR CHAPEL Formerly the DUNBAR METHODIST CHURCH, it's not much to look at from outside. Plain and utilitarian, painted a rather fleshy shade of pink. Right across the road from a big free car park.

But inside it's lovely. Original features include fancy tiled floors, stained glass windows, wooden pulpit, exposed stonework, and so on. Oddly, though, the pews (on wheels) are all set perpendicular to the stage, so we all have to twist around to see the action.

Line-up:

GAZE IS GHOST: East Lothian based Northern Irish solo pianist and singer LAURA McGARRIGLE, now with added guitarist for the first time(Luke Sutherland, frequent MOGWAI collaborator). Classically trained, with roots deep in folk territory, her music is absolutely gorgeous. Also the first time I've ever seen her pick up a guitar. Wearing a suit apparently made of William Morris floral pattern curtains.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/GazeisGhost

DARA DUBH/HARRY HIGGS: Another young Irish lady, Dara Dubh (Government name D. WATSON) and her lovely harp. She was here last year as a solo artist, but she's back with jazz guitarist HARRY HIGGS, playing a mix of her stuff, his stuff, collab. stuff and covers. Even a mash-up of one of Dara's songs and Cher's 'Bang Bang', which you can see below if it takes your fancy.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/darawatsonharpist https://www.facebook.com/harry.higgs.31

SATURDAY VENUE: ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Down a dark little close off the High Street, you'd find it easy to miss. Recently re-modelled, it's a standard social club inside. Clean, bright and functional.

Line-up:

THE SOUND RAYS: Hypnotic psych/kraut-rock guitar/bass duo with a drum machine. I THINK I like them, but they're quiet and hard to hear over the VERY chatty audience.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/thesoundrays https://www.instagram.com/the_sound_rays/?hl=en

SCARRED LIP: Edinburgh based alt-rock folks, doing their best to drown out the background conversation and, mostly, succeeding. They draw a pretty big and enthusiastic crowd, and there is some dancing. They play a mix of old stuff, current stuff and some rather fine new stuff.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/-xAZf_-4dRg https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093419917600 https://www.instagram.com/scarredlipband/

RACECAR: I know nothing of these folks, but research would suggest that RACECAR are a trio. Clearly this is not the case. There are EIGHT of them. They do a nice line in perky alt-pop. And they appear to share a drummer with SCARRED LIP.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/racecarband https://www.instagram.com/racecar.band/

There's plenty more to see at the Festival, and a whole third day, but that's all for me. It's a nice wee thing, very mixed and very friendly. And very free! Anyway, now that I know it happens I'll look out for it next year and try to see a bit more.

Sunday, July 7, 2024

FUTURE GET DOWN, SUMMERHALL OLD LAB, EDINBURGH, JULY 5 2024

An unexpected gig, but not unwelcome. It's Friday 5th July and the Tories have been routed at the general election. TheFudlip has been active for about 13 years, so this is the VERY FIRST gig I am covering under a non-Tory government, and I am happy. How long that'll last remains to be seen.

Anyway, I am invited along to make a video for the QUIET, THE ART, the only band tonight I have seen before, in a venue I've never been in before and which might not exist much longer.

VENUE: THE OLD LAB, SUMMERHALL, EDINBURGH

Line-up:

BOARDGAME : Local duo, making chilled ambient electronica at a table covered in knobs and things with wires. Nice swirly visuals to complete the experience.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/fj_mJuzGVTw

QUIET, THE ART: The lads I'm here to see, another duo, doing a lovely, mostly instrumental post-rock/indie kind of thing, for fans of Mogwai/Aereogramme/Twilight Sad. There aren't any pics here, because I'm recording the full set and I can only hold one camera at a time. Sadly, however, things don't go according to plan when my camera has a 'moment' and stops working halfway through the third song, and then fails to save anything prior to that. I start it up again, but I only get the last 20-odd minutes of the set. The lads are nice about it, but I'm annoyed. They're back in September, so I shall try again. In the meantime, here's a song from the stuff I DID manage to save.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/C9Lcpa2X__o https://www.facebook.com/quiettheart

FUTURE GET DOWN: An entire festival line-up in one band. They're psych, kraut rock, desert rock, post-punk, noise and groovy pop, sometimes all together at once. I know nothing about them, so I check out their Bandcamp page afterwards and, take my word for it, they go much harder live. Great stuff.

Apparently, they lost some momentum as a band when Covid hit and haven't done much recently. Hopefully, this gig will give them a boost and they'll be back for more soon.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/sB89aRi9X_I https://www.facebook.com/futuregetdown

So, the venue. Summerhall in Edinburgh is a multi-venue mixed arts hub, the former Dick vet school, and is currently up for sale. If/when it sells, it will probably be turned into another hotel, or student flats, and a valuable local asset will be lost. The Old Lab is an excellent small space and one I will miss after it's gone. I'll be back there in October, but it's future is currently uncertain.