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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

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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

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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

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BLACK TRAIN by The Stantons

Not only are The Stantons our first featured “nonet” (that’s a nine piece band apparently), but they also write songs about drowning children, evil clowns, hormonal teens and hallucinating murderers. Not your average country rockers.

They mix’n’match five vocals, lap steel, guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin, bass, drums and various other odds and sods, and since 2006, they’ve played with the likes of Monica Queen, Southern Tenant Folk Union, The Gillyflowers, Le Reno Amps, Meursault and many more. This year they’ve also played Kelburn Garden Party, Tigerfest, Linkylea, The Mill, Medina at the Fringe and various other events, and have had airplay and praise from the likes of Radio 1’s Vic Galloway, Three From Leith, Leith FM, Is This Music? The Daily Record and The Skinny. They’ve been busy.

Download more tracks from the Stanton site, hear more at their MySpace page, or fan them on Facebook. Y’all.

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Whisky! by The Last Battle - Live at the Pond (via @beatentracks and @thelastbattle)

Those clever folks at Off The Beaten Tracks have a live version of today’s track posting, filmed as a build up to the brilliant Oxjam in Edinburgh event recently.

Check out more of the Oxjam previews, including previous Leith Records feature Mersault.

And see the full Off The Beaten Tracks back catalogue on their lovely Vimeo page.

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The Last Battle - Whisky!

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WHISKY! by THE LAST BATTLE - @thelastbattle -

It was only a mere 3 months ago that edinburghs THE LAST BATTLE began writing, recording and rehearsing in each other’s front rooms. With some of them having never even played an instrument before let alone take to a stage, the 8-piece alt folksters have already played a handful of shows and are busy putting the finishing touches to their as-of-yet-untitled debut album. Recently drawing comparisons to a sweeter sounding Belle and Sebastian or Velvet Underground, through their boy/girl duets, sweeping cello and well arranged use of traditional instruments they create songs of death, love and longing.  

And they’re also right here from Leith which earns them valuable bonus points.

Hear more at myspace.com/thelastbattleuk and follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/thelastbattle.

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KEEP YOURSELF WARM by FRIGHTENED RABBIT (@frabbits)

If you don’t already know and love this band you should. That sounds mildly aggressive, but all I’m saying is you are dead inside if you don’t.

Go and see them, and then set free a plague of petrified cuniculi in their honour (yes I looked up the Latin name for rabbit, such is my enthusiasm for this band).

Look http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit, listen and enjoy. End of.

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