MUSIC | Previews
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O T O H P 82 THE LIST 2 Jun–1 Sep 2016
SINGER-SONGWRITER JACK GARRATT T in the Park, Sat 9 Jul
As a teenager, Jack Garratt entered the first song he ever wrote in a bid to represent Britain at Junior Eurovision. He came last. Earlier this year, he received the Brit Award for Critics’ Choice and scored a top ten hit with his debut album, Phase. So he’s pretty upbeat now. But in between those milestones were years of social anxiety and deliberate musical isolation for this self-confessed ‘pasty, fat, ginger kid’.
‘I didn’t do myself any favours,’ he says with
disarming candour. ‘I would be resentful of my own ideas, even before I’d said them out loud. But music was always the most consistent and peaceful thing for me. So I taught myself to be my harshest critic rather than just a mean voice in the back of my head.’ Aged 20, he moved to London, where he learned to stop worrying (quite so much) and embrace the freedom of being a 21st-century one-man band, blending digital and analogue, pop, electronic and R’n’B. ‘I’ve always found myself to be most free and
creatively open when I’m on my own,’ he insists. ‘I find myself working ten steps ahead of where I actually am on my laptop or keyboard, but I know what the ten steps are. I just haven’t got to them yet.’ To this day, he practically comes out in hives if it is suggested that he collaborate. ‘But it is something I want to change, I don’t wanna be a recluse forever,’ he declares. How does he feel about sharing a field with 70,000 other folk at T in the Park then? ‘Festivals are the best because you can’t control anything, and for a control freak like me that’s a wonderful experience.’ (Fiona Shepherd)
INDIE COLLECTIVE MINOR VICTORIES Minor Victories is released Fri 3 Jun on Play it Again Sam
An indie supergroup comprising Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Justin Lockey (Editors) and his brother, James, Minor Victories make majestic music bathed in drama and ghostly atmospherics. As they prepare to release their self-titled debut album, we grilled Braithwaite on the creation of this beautiful monster. So how did the project come about?
‘Editors and Slowdive have the same manager, so Justin approached Rachel about doing some music together,’ he explains. ‘I think Justin wanted to do something noisier and a bit more abstract. Once they started working on songs, she suggested me as another guitar player because we’d done a load of gigs together. Plus I can play guitar to Rachel’s standards.’ As the various members reside in different parts of the UK, they initially sent each other demos via email. Inspired by the results, they soon had enough material for an album. ‘James came up to stay with us in Glasgow,’ says Braithwaite. ‘That was the first time I’d met him. Rachel did all her vocals in her house and I think Justin did everything in his garage.’
According to the Mogwai frontman vocalist, Goswell cringes at the supergroup tag: ‘She can’t
deal with it at all! I guess there’s an air of pomposity about it.’ With some live dates in the pipeline, it’s possible that Minor Victories will record again in future. ‘As long as we don’t find out some terrible dark secrets about each other while on tour, I don’t see why not.’ (Paul Whitelaw)
JAZZ & BLUES GLASGOW JAZZ FESTIVAL Various venues, Glasgow, Wed 22 Jun–Sun 3 Jul
Kamasi Washington is jazz’s biggest success story in decades, with his contemporary invocation of spiritual jazz reaching new audiences through his collaborations with hip-hop artists Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus. All this makes the Californian saxophonist a fitting headliner for a Glasgow Jazz Festival that seems revitalised by its commitment to new talent.
The 30 Under 30 strand marks the festival’s 30th anniversary by celebrating Scottish artists who are making waves in the jazz world. Many of them will be performing, including 2015 Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year, saxophonist Helena Kay, the Beat Generation-inspired Howl Quintet, and Glasgow fusioneers Quarks.
There’s also a strong showing of innovative UK acts, including Soweto Kinch, Kit Downes’ Enemy and Mammal Hands. Kinch, an alto saxophonist and rapper, blends hard rhymes and head-noddi ng grooves with hard bop and African-Caribbean influences.
Given the proven Scottish audience for avant-garde jazz, it’s a shame there’s little in that vein beyond English pianist Howard Riley, who shares a bill with Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. He’s a must-see, having played with such luminaries as Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Tony Oxley. GIO saxophonist Sue McKenzie and bassist Emma Smith bring Bitches Brew (their Edinburgh showcase for female musicians) west for the first time and perform their own show as Syntonic. (Stewart Smith)