list.co.uk/festival Previews | FESTIVAL BOOKS
P H O T O :
P H O T O :
B O B M C D E V T T
I
I
D A V D S T E W A R T
MUSIC THAT’S HELPING HEAL IRAQ Compelling tale of Scottish-born conductor's time with the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq METAPHROG: THE RED SHOES Edinburgh duo chat about their latest release
KATE TEMPEST Acclaimed playwright-rapper-poet adds novelist to her growing CV
‘I don’t regret any of it and I wouldn’t do any of it again’ says Paul MacAlindin, the Scottish-born conductor who took up the baton of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq and led its remarkable journey from birth in the war-ravaged country to outstanding performances in Germany, France and the UK. From the starting point of MacAlindin picking up a newspaper and reading about the brainchild of Iraqi teenage musician, Zuhal Sultan, while eating fish and chips in Edinburgh’s Barony Bar, his story was always going to need to be told.
In his new book, Upbeat, he’s done it. At the Book Festival, alongside Kurdish-Iraqi musician Tara Jaff, MacAlindin will relive some of the highs and lows of a project which brought together young people from different cultural and religious backgrounds, united by their common passion to make music together against all the odds. From standing ovations and the deep-rooted transformational power of music to heal and rebuild lives, to ‘the worst I’ve ever felt in my life when it fell apart in 2014’, MacAlindin’s story is a compelling one that brings into stark relief the realities of post-war Iraq, particularly for its youth. (Carol Main) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 13 Aug, 8.30pm, £8 (£6).
Comic-creating twosome John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs, also known by their alter ego, Metaphrog, will be appearing at the book festival again this year, to showcase latest graphic novel offering, The Red Shoes. It's a simply illustrated yet sinister retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's classic collection of fairy stories, 'The Red Shoes and Other Tales'. Metaphrog are a stalwart of the Scottish indie
comics scene, producing comics together in Scotland since 1996. Their work has been featured in many prominent comics anthologies and their most well-known release, the Louis series, was nominated for an Eisner award (the highest accolade awarded in comics). More recently, Metaphrog scooped the nod for Best Visual Artist at The Sunday Herald's 2016 Scottish Culture Awards, beating off stiff competition.
Catch them at this festival event (which is particularly aimed at readers aged 10–15 but welcomes all) to learn more about what goes into a producing an independent comic, the art of adaptation and to see some of Sandra's beautiful illustrations come to life. You can also pick up limited edition Red Shoes prints from the festival bookshop. (Sasha de Buyl) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 15 Aug, 5pm, £5.
Kate Tempest’s success is a whirlwind alright. After her epic narrative poem ‘Brand New Ancients’ won the Ted Hughes Award in 2012, she went on to tour the piece as a spoken story, completing sell-out runs in the UK and New York before winning a Herald Angel at the Edinburgh Fringe. In 2014, she released her debut rap album, Everybody Down, which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and this year, she released her much-anticipated debut novel, The Bricks That Built the Houses. The book is a companion piece to her album,
following the same narrative track, and reconnecting with characters originally introduced in song lyrics, all of whom are further explored in this meditation on the highs and lows of modern life. It’s this that brings Tempest back to the Book Festival, after an impressive ‘incantatory’ poetry performance last year. The multi-talented wordsmith will be talking about the novel, which The Guardian recently compared to Eimear McBride’s A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing. As one of the most exciting British writers to emerge in years, Tempest is proving quite the literary storm indeed. (Rebecca Monks) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 13 Aug, 8.15pm, £12 (£10).
BOOK FESTIVAL MUSIC Compelling stories and insights across the Book Festival’s music strand
It’s pleasing to note that none of the music-related events at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival Music & Meaning series are based around cheap cash-ins; across the programme there are recognisable stars with compelling stories to tell and commentators offering new insights into the stories behind the music. Few of these stories will be as riveting as that of Wilko Johnson (23 Aug), wild-eyed guitarist with 1970s Canvey Island blues-rockers Dr Feelgood, who was given ten months to live in 2013 but remains with us and in good health after pioneering cancer surgery. A recent collaborator with Roger Daltrey and actor as the executioner Ser Payne in Game of Thrones, he discusses his memoir Don’t You Leave Me Here. A Dr Feelgood diptych is completed by veteran rock biographer
Zoe Howe (29 Aug), whose Rock’n’Roll Gentleman celebrates the band’s late singer Lee Brilleaux. Elsewhere, Billy Bragg (14 Aug, pictured) talks about A Lover Sings, his book of collected lyrics, while the Charlatans’ lead singer Tim Burgess (18 Aug, hosted by Ian Rankin) has just released his second book Tim Book Two: Vinyl Adventures, which tells of his passion for vinyl records. In The Rise, The Fall and The Rise, fashion writer and musician Brix Smith Start (20 Aug) tells of her time in her ex- husband Mark E Smith’s band, the Fall. Other highlights include commentator Paul Morley (25 Aug) discussing Age of Bowie, his new biography of the late icon; Scots broadcaster, former NME writer and football pundit Stuart Cosgrove (26 Aug) introducing Young Soul Rebels, a blend of musical history and personal memoir focused on the UK northern soul scene; and Daniel Rachel (20 Aug) on his very timely new book Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge. (David Pollock)
11–18 Aug 2016 THE LIST FESTIVAL 35
I
R A L L M S E M A J :
O T O H P