Hauf Jaiket

Mystery Bob is a genius on the old ukulele. I would go as far to say the best ukulele player in Falkirk. Oh yes. There, I've said it. He also loves robots and is a bit of a web wizard too, as you can see from his latest internut project, Spirokeet!. Half of Whyte and Mackay (coming soon to the Edinburgh Festival, comedy fans) has a soundtrack of the online novel, 666 Great Junction Street, out soon and here's a wee taster from it. I'm not one for long-winded guitar solos, but there's a pretty damn good one on this track from Dundee alt-rockers, Spyamp.

Mystery Bob's Ukulele Singers - California Uber Alles
Tommy Mackay - 666 Great Junction Street
Spyamp - Megaman

The truly special Whyte & Mackay are a rare treat in the world of Scottish music. Their mission statement is to murder the pop classics by drowning them in alcoholic references. Here, Kate Bush is given a good seeing to as the boys recount late evenings in the chain store ambience of their local Wetherspoons. Marmaduke Duke are apparently the new project from Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil and a school pal. And very bouncily melodic they are too. No shouting, surprisingly. The Eagle Owls are a distinctive Edinburgh duo who play violin and fuzzy guitar to produce a noise like this. Kooky combos are the future I tells ya.

Whyte & Mackay - Wetherspoons Nights
Marmaduke Duke - An Egyptian and an Imposter
Eagle Owls - Into the Fold

Reograd are from what has been described rather quaintly elsewhere as "the burgeoning Perth scene". Heavily vocoded electro is surely big in those parts, then. Tantrum, on the other fist, play, to quote their own publicity, "sort of hot rock ambient lofi guitar music, sometimes with vocals, sometimes not, with quite a lot of other recorded sounds from tv, radio, out the window and stuff". Meanwhile, Iona Marshall writes plaintive and haunting acoustic songs accompanied by varied exotic and ethnic musical instruments to produce a sort of neo-traditionalism if you will.

Reograd - We Are Electronic
Tantrum - Lift Off
Iona Marshall - Lost Without

Apologies for the lack of postage lately, but it's a combination of stupidly busy work stuff and also interweb problems. I don't seem to be able to store the mp3s in the usual place anymore. It's a bit of a pain the arse, so I might just give it up. While I'm here though, if you're in the Edinburgh area, make sure you catch the stunning Whyte & Mackay at the Caledonian Backpackers on Queensferry Street tomorrow night (Saturday 9th July). 9pm. Entry £4. Also playing - The Remnant Kings and Findo Gask.

Another Fire Engines gem unearthed over at The Perfumed Garden from the 1981John Peel session. My, they'd grown by then. Followed by the electronic bleepery of Salon Boris and a gorgeous wee number from acoustic songstress, Lyndsay Sugden. It's all gone a bit stupidly busy over here, but I'm trying to keep up. Lots of G8 alternative shenanigans abound in town. Check out Songs For Change for details if you're in the Edinburgh area. I'm playing The Royal Oak tonight. So be warned.

Fire Engines - Big Wrong Time
Salon Boris - Freak Show
Lyndsay Sugden - Existence Erased