Leith Records

RESHAPED by FOUND

Question: What better way to say Happy Friday than with in an invasion of bongos and some dangerous electro? Answer: none.

To establish the factual basis behind the above statement, listen to ‘Found’ and all will be proved. The Edinburgh band sound as if Vampire Weekend were successful in escaping from Cape Cod, set up shop in Scotland (their accents instantaneously morphing into the Scottish tongue), after kidnapping the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (with the trixy Karen O masterfully escaping en route, hence the lack of female vocals), then borrowing a heavier, angrier LCD Soundsystem and running rampant on the land with their instruments.

Despite this sounding like a lot of effort, if you chuck in a bongo, the result is splendid. To make Fridays even better, Found are playing in Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms a week today, check out myspace for more details http://www.myspace.com/foundtheband

Happy Bloody Friday indeed.

SMOKE & MIRRORS by THE 10:04s (@the1004s)

This’ll pick up your Wednesday pm, a tasty slice of indie punk injection from the 10:04s.

Somebody somewhere probably said they’re a band to watch for 2010. And if they haven’t, you heard it here first.

Get stuck in to some pogo, wherever you may be.

And make sure you check em out live and on MySpace, Facebook and Twatter.

BIRDS OF PREY by ARCHITEQ -

A bit of a dark venture into electronic beats and dubstep for us, but it seemed only right that Fife/Dundee-based Architeq - aka 23 yr-old Sam Annand - had some playtime on Leith Records this week.

Recording for Tirk Records, the recent Gold + Green has been making the right twidly noises in the right places, with props from Laurent Garnier and Groove Armada. As the label blurb puts it, the ”album lands at a point in the end of a decade when disco, dub, R’n’B and electronics are engaged in a full blown future-f*ck, inviting any style interesting enough to join in for a rhythmic climax, attempting to produce shiny disco babies for a next generation.” Couldn’t have put it better.

There’s even a MaryAnne Hobbes experimental breezeblock mix kicking about for download, or get the album (or tracks) over on iTunes.

Architeq on MySpace

THE WILL by SCI-FI

So fresh out the box you can still smell the vinyl, we’re honoured, proud and excited to feature this new single from Scotland-born, Edinburgh-based hip hop supremo Sci Fi. Endorsed by highly regarded New York hip hop radio veteran DJ Ready Cee, Sci-Fi has recruited MC Vast Aire of the classic underground hip hop crew Cannibal Ox to head up rhyming duty. The track also features 4th Place of respected New Jersey rap group Ill Poetix and emerging LA rapper Jonwayne.

Growing up in the 1990s, Sci-Fi enjoyed the ‘golden era’ hip hop sound and has taken those classic elements and added his own twist to this track. The second track on the single is The Touch which has been featured on mixtapes and radio shows around the world and its production has been compared to the 1990s Wu-Tang sound.

THE WILL is a taste of the Sci Fi sound, with an album set to follow in early 2010 on Domination Recordings and Sci-Fi’s own Advantage Music Group imprint. The long-player will feature a cast of US and UK hip hop talent assembled by Sci Fi, including Remarkable Mayor, Tha Connection, Ill Poetix, (Beat Fanatic) Spon, 7even:Thirty, Prolifical, Sound 0, Jon Wayne and many more.

Go ahead and get the track on iTunes, give it a 5-star rating and support Scottish hip-hop.

More on Sci-Fi on his Domination Recordings profile and MySpace page

BABY WHEN I SEE YOUR EYES by A BAND CALLED QUINN (@ABCQuinn)

Legend has it that A Band Called Quinn was formed when singer/songwriter Louise Quinn met drummer Bal Cooke whilst busking on the streets of Toulouse after running away from convent school. With Bal, she produced music using computer and pieces of bark. The line up of the band was completed by bassist Steven Westwater, a promising footballer whose career at Preston North End was tragically cut short by a cartilage shortcoming; and trumpetist Robert Henderson - heir to the family forune of a well-known Scottish confectionery company; whose independent means have allowed him to devote his life to studying bebop and growing facial hair.

They’ve got a beautifully, rich sound that’ll carry you out of deepest, darkest winter on a magic carpet headed for warmer climes. Enjoy more over at their Myspace page.

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Generously submitted by Claire Wood.

Submit your track at http://leithrecords.com/submit

LEITH WALK by @FOXGANG

It seems only right for our first track of 2010 to feature a song about Leith, and you can’t get much better than one that involves getting showered in Red Bull.

From Leith, Glasgow and Poland, Foxgang have got the kind of upbeat, rockabilly style that can kickstart any year. Quirky lyrics, funky rhythms and Buckfast-fuelled live gigs make them a great excuse to dig yourself out the snow and see them in the flesh this January.

Check out live dates etc at the Foxgang MySpace page and download their music over at Foxgang on TenTracks.

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Kindly submitted by Ivonne Glowinska.

“The way the play is outstanding, really brilliant music and always seem to have something different… The track ‘Leith Walk’ is quirky and lyrically strong. Foxgang is really a band for the future!”

UNTITLED #27 by THE TWILIGHT SAD

Well, if you’re not into jingle bells and crap advent calendar chocolate, this song is apt for the mist and darkness that plagues these Winter months. Possibly a track for a melancholy Grinch pondering the meaning of existence, and concluding that there is none. As he is alone. All alone.

The Twilight Sad are as glorious as their woebegone name. Check out their myspace for a platter of December Scottish gigs http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad

Far better than Slade for the Christmas months.

DON’T LOSE YOUR MIND by THE BANANA SESSIONS (@bananasessions)

Everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn’t we? Yes, our first ever Christmas track featured on Leith Records. Cue sleigh bells, jingling and indigestion. The Pogues, eat your heart out!

And this track does the gravity of the occasion justice. Imagine Alice walking into Wonderland and slotting a coin into the jukebox, and you’re almost there when it comes to describing The Banana Sessions’ musical style. This gypsy-jazz-folk band (with a hint of comedy thrown in for good measure) take their audiences and listeners on an adventure courtesy of their musical tales of tea-swilling, swimming through rivers of Buckfast, swashbuckling with rum-addled pirates and chasing pesky rabbits. And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s the treat of hearing ’90s techno classics being performed in the style of a medley featuring a flute and a tuba.

This Edinburgh-based five-piece enjoyed a sizzling and successful summer playing all over the UK at various festivals such as Wickerman, Knockengorroch and Beatherder. The last Edinburgh gig they played was a sell-out at The Jazz Bar on Chambers Street, and they now return with an intimate gig at the unique Bowery venue on December 10th as well as being invited to see in 2010 onstage at Departure Lounge Hogmanay.

Forthcoming gigs include:

Thursday 10th December, The Bowery, 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh. 7-11pm, £5.

Thursday 31st December - Departure Lounge Hogmanay, The Caves, Edinburgh. 10pm-5am. Tix £24.

Follow them in all the usual places: MySpace, Twitter

Both Ends Burning by Come On Gang! (@comeongang via @jonoellis)

Come On Gang! play music you can dance to. Forget the rain for a moment, turn it up loud and make your Wednesday at least 18% better.

They’ve played all over Edinburgh, and in places a bit further afield like Austin Texas for SXSW plus The Great Escape and Rockness. And if you happen to be in Washington DC on the 2nd December you can catch them at the Ronald Regan building. Their next live show closer to home is Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on December 5th.

More details on upcoming gigs are over on their MySpace page, you can follow them on Twitter for regular updates and buy this track and others on iTunes. Happy listening.

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Band kindly submitted by Jono Ellis

To submit a favourite Scottish band or track, give us a tip over at http://leithrecords.com/submit