Under the Radar guest blogger: Rob St John

Published on Friday 12 June 2009 17:35

With bands sprawled across every inch of its rugged landscape, Scotland's music scene is practically bursting at the seams. And making up this amply endowed trove is a microcosm of scenes fizzing with ingenuity, activity and, most importantly, great music.

Play: 'Rob St John - Like Alchemy' >>>

So far we've introduced you to an array of tunesmiths at the fulcrum of this creative hive, but we've ventured one step further and bartered you the inside line straight from the main players themselves. Once a month (or twice if things go to plan), a prominent artist will offer you a unique insight into what makes their scene seen; musing over the minutiae and pondering the possibilities.

For our inaugural feature, UtR could think of no one it would rather have wax lyrical about Edinburgh's anthill-like DIY scene than the ever-brilliant Rob St. John. So without further ado, we'll leave you in the more than capable hands of this exquisite local songwriter...

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When asked to write this piece, my initial feeling was that I'm not nearly qualified enough to describe what's happening in Edinburgh right now. But maybe that illustrates how healthy things are at the moment.

Compared to when I arrived in the city five years ago, there's now such a wealth and diversity of music happening that what I see as the 'Edinburgh music scene' will undoubtedly be different to what others see it as. To me, it's the independent, creative and DIY ethos adopted by a lot of Edinburgh musicians that's currently inspiring and uniting a raft of exciting music.

I suppose it depends where your ambitions lie, but to book and play shows and tours you're proud of - independently of booking agents, managers and the rest - is a liberating experience. Independence seems to spark a whole seam of creativity in many bands, like My Kappa Roots' overlap between film and music; Withered Hand's comics and drawings; and the whole cottage industry created by FOUND.

Along with My Kappa Roots, eagleowl, Randan Discotheque, The Great Bear and The Wee Rogue we began putting records out under the Fife Kills: label in 2006. Again, I think having full independent control of your recording, packaging and distribution (with no one else taking a cut!), yet to be associated with a bunch of people successfully doing the same thing, is really healthy and creative– even it does mean a hell of a lot of stamping CDs and trips to the Post Office!

The influence of Tracer Trails promotions on what's happening in Edinburgh can't be underestimated. From 2006 they brought a succession of acts such as Viking Moses, Jeff Lewis, Diane Cluck, David Thomas Broughton, Tiss Lake and a lot more to play interesting venues in Edinburgh (disused churches, galleries, etc). It really demystified the process of booking and playing gigs, showing how both the band and promoter can successfully operate on a DIY basis.

It showed that it could be as simple as if your band played well and were decent enough to be around, then you'd be invited back. To see how touring bands used this to keep a friendly promoter or venue contact in most towns was inspiring. It also brought together a whole bunch of similarly minded people who were living under that hackneyed clich of a year or two ago that 'Edinburgh has no music scene'.

I and a lot of others would look to Fence, and at people like K and Marriage Records in the USA (people I was getting increasingly exposed to through Tracer Trails) and see that to have a cohesiveness, overlap and interchange of ideas between bands and promoters - what Dan Withered Hand calls his'support network - could only be a healthy thing. And so it has proved - the success of Withered Hand, Meursault, FOUND and Broken Records is both well-deserved and exciting.

But, whilst overground success is excellent, I wouldn't point to it alone as the barometer of how healthy things are just now. Instead, I think it's telling that so many small, independent shows are being well-attended by an appreciative audience; that there's an abundance of creative new bands regularly being started, and new venues like the wonderful Bowery opening to accommodate it all.

Crucially, there's a real sense of openness, co-operation and goodwill between everyone involved, making Edinburgh a really exciting and creative place to be a musician.

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