NU-FOLK COCOROSIE
Oran Mor, Glasgow, Fri 2 Dec
Whoever says there are no true eccentrics in modern music just isn’t looking hard enough. In a year that has seen the growing success of such strange sorts as Patrick Wolf, Antony and the Johnsons, Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart, another peculiar pair have been steadily working their way up from the sidelines, building on the cult status they achieved from the sublime 2004 debut La Maison de Mon Réve, with the release in September of second effort Noah’s Ark, an evocative blend of dark, image-laden lyrics and kooky melodies.
There is an air of mystery about the music made by these Brooklyn-based sisters, and it is no surprise to find they are just as hard to pin down as people. A number of calls to Bianca Casady’s home ring out unanswered, until she finally agrees to answer questions mid-tour by email, firing back a few one-line responses which, despite their shortness, manage to paint an even more intriguing picture of the 22-year-old and her 25- year-old counterpart Sierra. The offspring of New Age hippies, the neo-folk duo grew up in various places
JAZZ JD ALLEN The Lot, Edinburgh, Sat 3 Dec; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Sun 4 Dec
around the US, citing such bizarre listening habits as the Rolling Stones, ABC and New Kids on the Block, before separating when Sierra was sent away to private school at 13, not to be reunited until 2003 in Paris where they formed CocoRosie. Asked about the split, Bianca explains: ‘We just hated each other like sisters do sometimes. And then God brought us together again.’ So does she find it difficult to be in a band with her sibling? ‘lt’s hard but I think if we were just friends we would have walked away a long time ago.’
When they’re not cross-dressing on stage and creating dreamy lo-fi ballads, the twosome fill their time by working on record label Voodooeros and Sierra’s side project the Metallic Falcons, and are dreaming of starting their own store/gallery in NYC and collaborating with William Basinski and Algerian hip hop outfit Kamakazi. Before then, however, they have a Scottish show to play, for which Bianca advises us to expect the unexpected. ‘We might be drunk and doing the worm across stage. Or we might break down and cry. Last night I closed my eyes while we were playing and couldn’t get them to open again for the rest of the show.’ As wonderful as they are weird? We’ll just have to wait and see. (Camilla Pia)
American saxophonist JD Allen will make his first appearance in Edinburgh when he performs at the new Jazz Centre at the Lot. but it is not the first time the Detroit-born saxman has played in Scotland. Allen was at the Glasgow Jazz Festival last year in a quartet led by drummer Cindy Blackman, and he caught the ear with his thoughtful, beautifully controlled and notably melodic soloing on tenor saxophone. Unusually these days. he made little or no recourse to the extreme registers of the instrument. focusing instead on creating a richly burnished sound on the horn that sat equally well on up-tempo and slower material.
The saxophonist has worked with an impressive range of musicians. spanning bop to free jazz. In addition to Blackman, they include Betty Carter, Winard Harper, Wallace Roney, the Frank Foster Big Band and the radically contrasting David Murray Big Band. Russell Gunn, Duane Eubanks and Butch Morris. He doesn't shirk from ambitious and musically challenging undertakings. either; his projects this year included playing the music of Butch Morris with a trio and quartet as part of Black February 2005. a celebration of 20 years of Conduction (the system of conducted interpretation-improvisation devised by Morris).
More recently, Allen launched a monthly residence for his latest brainchild, the Vision Fugitive Orchestra for Improvisers 8. Composers at Mo Pitkin's, an East Village venue in New York. These gigs will be on a more modest scale. but expect plenty of creative interchange when he links up with a trio led by Glaswegian drummer Paddy Flaherty, featuring Steve Hamilton on piano. (Kenny Mathieson)
MSPs are talking up Scottish music, but there are worrying signs that they shouldn’t ignore, says Vic Galloway.
It’s a strange but exciting time for music just now. There's so much talk of a Scottish renaissance with massive success stories such as Franz Ferdinand. Mylo, KT Tunstall, Snow Patrol, Belle & Sebastian etc that even the politicians have jumped on board. I recently attended the launch of the ‘Manifesto of the Cross Party Group on Contemporary Music’ at the Scottish Parliament to watch Idlewild, Mull Historical Society and My Latest Novel play to the suits and scenesters. Speeches were made about hopes and expectations. but we all wait with baited breath to see if the MSPs will actually help the next generation and enable some real financial backing. The fact they're talking about it is encouraging.
However, with every yin, there comes a yang. Edinburgh citizens mourn the imminent closure of the Venue, the possible disappearance of Studio 24 and now the news that the Cameo Cinema's Screen One may be turned into a bar (OK, not strictly music related but hugely important). There is the welcome appearance of Gig. the new city centre venue which specialises in local bands and indie DJs. but watching these three cornerstones of alternative culture being brushed aside in favour of more flats and pubs is very sad indeed.
Glasgow is buzzing though. I can't think of a city anywhere in the world (with the exception of Austin) with as many happening outlets for live music and the arts and the capital could learn a thing or two. I know there are two sides to every story. but it'd be nice to hear the creative point of view. Edinburgh is a wonderful place to live. Let‘s hope it doesn't turn into a theme-park for the rich and drunk.
VIC Galloway presents BBC Radio Scotland's ‘Air’ at 8. 05— 70. 00pm on Mondays and BBC Radio 7 at 7. 30—9pm on Thursdays.
1—15 Dec 2005 THE LIST 69