Radar weekly: The latest from the Scottish music scene

First SAMAs 2013 nominees announced

The Scottish Alternative Music Awards last night announced their first nominees, in the Best Rock and Best Metal categories. Culann, Baby Strange, Duke, Fat Goth, Cleavers and Madison are in the running for Best Rock / Alternative, while Best Metal / Hardcore will be contested by What The Blood Revealed, Bear Arms, Lords of Bastard, Prelude to the Hunt, Sectioned and Trial & Error.

Richy Muirhead, the founder and creative director of the SAMAs, said: “I am thrilled with the short list of acts for 2013′s awards. I think this is a great opportunity for new and old music fans to hear an eclectic bill of artists from all over Scotland. Its an exciting time for the SAMAs going into year 4, the music scene here is very much alive!”

Look out for the nominees in the Electronic and Live categories tonight at 7pm.

There is a free-entry launch party on Thursday at Bar Bloc in Glasgow with live music from The Little Kicks and a DJ set from TeKlo, and the awards themselves are on Friday 8 March at Glasgow’s Garage.

Scottish bands picked for club nights

London club night This Feeling moves to Scotland this weekend to showcase six up-and-coming bands. The Merrylees, who have been working with The Coral’s Bill Ryder-Jones on their debut album, will top the bill at shows at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh on Friday (8 Feb) and at Maggie May’s in Glasgow on Saturday (9 Feb).

Support at the Edinburgh night comes from The 10:04’s, Blindfolds, Davey Horne and The Holy Ghosts (DJ set), while in Glasgow Horne returns along with Selective Service, The Hollows and The Boston Tea Party. More info at thisfeeling.co.uk.

Punk on screen at GFT

Those who like their music angry, primal and a little bit loud should check out The Punk Syndrome, a new documentary about a group of adults with learning difficulties in Finland who use punk to make their voices heard. A scheduled Q&A and gig has been cancelled, but the film is still playing at the Glasgow Film Theatre from Wednesday until Sunday.

Free Song By Toad sampler

Song By Toad Records in Edinburgh are giving you the chance to hear some of the sounds they have brewing for 2013 – as well as a few cuts from late 2012. The label is giving away a sampler that features familiar names like Meursault, Yusuf Azak and Rob St John, alongside new signings Adam Stafford and Sparrow and the Workshop. Have a listen and download the compilation over on Bandcamp.

Vigo Thieves turn to Leslie for new video

Ever wondered what John Leslie is up to these days? Answer: starring in a new video from Wishaw band Vigo Thieves. The former host of Blue Peter, Wheel of Fortune and This Morning, who filmed the video to ‘Ghosts’ in a Glasgow pub, said:

“To be honest I have always wanted to be in my own music video so when Vigo Thieves asked me to star in their new video it was a no brainer. A great song from a band destined to be big and Scottish to boot. I had seen their previous video ‘Forever’ and thought it was excellent so I knew the benchmark was high. I hope I didn’t let the boys down and their fans will like what we were trying to achieve. I had a great day in Glasgow filming the video and I hope it shows.”

‘Ghosts’ is the second single from the band’s Heart & Soul Pt II EP, and Vigo Thieves play King Tut’s in Glasgow on Friday and Saturday this week (more info and ticket details on wow247.co.uk).

Watch the video here

New music…

• Last year Radar interviewed Edinburgh trio Magic Eye, so we were intrigued to hear from the band’s Alex Johnston about his new musical outlet, NAKED. It’s not the most Google-safe bandname, so you might just want to click directly to their website naked-naked-naked.com to have a listen. They were played on Vic Galloway’s Radio Scotland show this week, and we’re looking forward to hearing more.

• Stanley Odd performed a unique concert with the Electric String Orchestra at Celtic Connections recently (read the review). The Scottish hip-hop group have just released a video recorded on the night, and will be at Dirty Hearts Club at Snafu in Aberdeen this Friday (8 Feb).

Stanley Odd and the Electric String Orchestra

• Fife jazz/funk outfit Das Contras have just released a new album called Highest Low through iTunes and various other digital outlets (have a preview listen on SoundCloud). They’ve also posted a video for the song ‘Time to Decide’.

• Rose Parade have their self-titled debut album out this month. Here’s a taster in the form of the video for the track ‘Grace’:

’Grace’, by Rose Parade.

• The Girobabies have a new video for their song ‘Drip Effect’. It is taken from their album Bus Stop Apocalypse, which is available on Bandcamp.

Watch the video for ‘Drip Effect’.

• Aberdeen band Marionettes have a new single out this week. ‘Teaparties’ is available from their Big Cartel page and is streaming on SoundCloud.

Gig picks

• Frightened Rabbit in-store | Tuesday @ HMV, Edinburgh (6pm)

• Galoshins album launch | Friday @ Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow

• Vigo Thieves | Friday & Saturday @ King Tut’s, Glasgow

• Limbo: Edinburgh School For the Deaf , Battery Face, Plastic Animals | Saturday 9 February @ The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

• Cut Loose feat. Bear Arms + The King Hats + True Arcadian | Saturday @ Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow

• Song By Toad’s Bad Fun: The Black Tambourines, Honeyblood, North American War | Saturday @ Henry’s Cellar Bar, Edinburgh

• NME Awards Tour 2013: Django Django, Miles Kane, Palma Violets, Peace | Monday @ O2 Academy, Glasgow

• Dan Deacon | Monday @ Stereo, Glasgow