With musicians everywhere blindsided by the Covid crisis, Edinburgh five-piece Future Get Down at least exhibited some unintentional pandemic preparedness in their choice of band garb when they opted for the utilitarian spaceman look. But even their own personal supply of PPE stage wear can’t mitigate against enforced separation. “We’ve not been in a room together since March and it’s tough to know when that’s likely to change,” says frontman Oliver Kass. “Everything band-wise is on hold.”

At least their Scotsman Session has provided an opportunity to reconnect remotely, with each member – including bassist Ally Dennis, drummer Sam Bidgood and synth players Jeanne Laidlaw and Brian Pokora - recording their part of the performance in their various homes around Edinburgh and East Lothian to produce a characteristically quirky rendition of their former single When It Works. “I fear cinematography and editing Oscars are some way off,” quips Kass.

The group formed in 2016 and have released two EPs en route to the arrival of their debut album, Here We Go, Wonder, in September. On one track, Kass deadpans “if this music hurts your ears, it’s doing something right” but there is something weirdly danceable about the fidgety funky post-punk, bendy bassline and synth drone of When It Works. And there’s hopefully more where that came from.

“It feels to me like a good time to start writing again although where that leads I don’t quite know,” says Kass. “I did a bunch of writing at the start of all this but shelved it to work on releasing the album. Now that’s out I’m back into it again. It’s good for the soul. Weirdly it appears to be steering itself in an optimistic direction. I think my subconscious needs an antidote to some of this darkness….”

Here We Go, Wonder is out now and available from https://futuregetdown.bandcamp.com/album/here-we-go-wonder

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The Scotsman Sessions #131: Future Get Down