BLOODY SCOTLAND REVEALS 10th ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMME
Stirling 15-18 September 2022
We are very exciting to announce our 10th anniversary programme!
Ten years on from the first Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival the run has extended to four days, the number of events has doubled and the authors are more diverse than ever.
2022 sees the return of several Bloody Scotland favourites that we haven’t seen since the pre-pandemic days of 2019. Our dramatic torchlit procession through Stirling historic old town led by the pipes and drums of the Royal Burgh of Stirling Pipe Band and Stirling and District Schools Pipe Band encourages locals who don’t normally attend literary events to get involved. Scotland tackle England in our crime writers’ football match at the new venue of King’s Park, a free fun event which is also aimed at breaking down barriers. There will be a return of the ever-popular Crime at the Coo cabaret featuring an array of crime writers showing off their musical talents and the much-loved Quiz this year takes the form of Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee’s ‘Red Hot Night of a Million Games’ in which they steal the best bits from the game shows of yesteryear and mash them up into something truly remarkable.
Val McDermid has described Bloody Scotland as a ‘dizzying weekend of pleasure’, Jake Kerridge talking on BBC Radio 4 praised Bloody Scotland for ‘thinking outside the box’ creating ‘a sort of fringe’ and William McIlvanney spoke fondly of it being ‘so friendly, so welcoming’. It is with great delight that we look forward to putting on that sort of inclusive, imaginative festival again to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.
In addition to the headliners we are welcoming to Stirling such as Sir Ian Rankin, Anthony Horowitz, Lisa Unger, Jeffrey Archer, Ann Cleeves and Frankie Boyle, debuts are at the heart of what Bloody Scotland is all about. The very first festival featured a ‘Fresh Blood Panel’ and this year in addition to the ‘Bloody Scotland Debut Prize Panel’ we have ‘Alex Gray’s New Crimes Panel’ plus debut authors appearing in various events throughout the programme and twenty new authors appearing ‘In the Spotlight’ on stage ahead of the established names.
We continue our commitment to bring the festival to the wider world and those who can’t make it to Stirling can buy digital passes for individual events or the whole weekend. Val McDermid, David Baldacci, Sara Paretsky, Donna Leon and Irvine Welsh will all join us live for digital sessions. More information about which events will be available to watch on-line can be found at bloodyscotland.com/digital-pass
Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland said:
‘Much has changed in the decade since Bloody Scotland launched their first festival, in terms of Scottish crime writing and literature festivals more generally. This 10th anniversary programme is not only the biggest, it also embraces a hybrid model that means a wider audience can engage with authors either on stage or on screen. Bloody Scotland continues to promote the highly popular genre of Scottish crime writing to the world, while also connecting Scottish readers to the work of both new and much loved authors.’
James Crawford, Chair of Bloody Scotland said:
‘It’s fantastic to be able to mark the 10th anniversary of the festival with a full, four-day programme of in-person events - along with a brilliant selection of digital offerings - featuring the best that crime writing has to offer. Bloody Scotland was established a decade ago to shine a spotlight on crime writing and to help develop a whole new generation of writers. Debut authors have always been central to this, and to the vibrant community that has grown up around the festival. Along with the excitement of seeing familiar faces comes the thrill of finding your new favourite writer. Bloody Scotland 2022 is a festival full of possibilities and discovery.’
Stirling Councillor Leader, Councillor Chris Kane said:
‘The fact that Bloody Scotland is now enjoying its 10th Anniversary is a welcome plot development for a festival that has grown into one of Stirling’s most loved events. Bloody Scotland has brought a wide range of visitors into Stirling over the years while making sure Stirling residents are an integral part of the occasion, such as the spectacular torchlit procession that lights up our city centre.’
Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, providing a showcase for the best crime writing from Scotland and the world, unique in that it was set up by a group of Scottish crime writers in 2012.
The festival takes place in various venues (including The Albert Halls, The Tollbooth and the social hub of the festival, The Golden Lion Hotel) in the historic town of Stirling from 15-18 September 2022.
The Bloody Scotland Prize for Scottish Crime Writing first awarded in 2012 was renamed The McIlvanney Prize in 2016. The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize was introduced in 2019 and won by Claire Askew who this year made the McIlvanney longlist along with Deborah Masson who won the Debut Prize in 2020.
In 2018 Bloody Scotland began a partnership with Harvill Secker to encourage new crime writers of colour. The winner of the inaugural prize was Ajay Chowdhury and in December 2021 it was won by Dettie Gould with The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin.
In order to maintain a year-round presence Bloody Scotland set up the Bloody Scotland Book Club in Spring 2021. The panel rotates every month and those on the panel take responsibility for choosing the three books which are discussed.
In 2017 Bloody Scotland partnered with Historic Environment Scotland to produce the Bloody Scotland book of short stories which has been reprinted for the 10th Anniversary and will be distributed free of charge throughout Stirling and the surrounding areas to encourage more engagement with Scottish crime fiction within the local community.
Bloody Scotland recently resurrected the short story competition which took place in the first year. The latest incarnation, sponsored by The Glencairn Glass with media support from The Scottish Field received over 132 entries from all over the world. Many previously unpublished. The winner was from Australia and was published in the Scottish Field Magazine.
To make the festival more affordable for everyone and mark our 10th Anniversary we’re offering a limited number of tickets at £5 each for 10 of our events (see bloodyscotland.com/10-at-5).
A 10% discount is available for all events in Stirling to people residing in the Stirling Council area. (see bloodyscotland.com/localdiscount)
In addition free standby tickets will be offered to the unemployed or those on low income on the day of the event if there is good availability (see bloodyscotland.com/standby)
We are committed to making Bloody Scotland an accessible festival. All of the venues are accessible by wheelchair and BSL interpretation is available at events on request. Email info@bloodyscotland.com A free shuttle bus between venues is available for those who need it. Seating is unreserved so please advise at time of booking if you require a wheelchair space or have any specific needs and we will do our best to accommodate them.
The Bloody Scotland board is made up of crime writers Lin Anderson, Craig Robertson, Gordon Brown and Abir Mukherjee, James Crawford (chair), Muriel Robertson (finance) and Catriona Reynolds (governance). PR, Marketing & Sponsorship is handled by Fiona Brownlee and Tim Donald of Brownlee Donald Associates. Social Media and the website is handled by Dawn Geddes.
Bloody Scotland receives vital funding from Creative Scotland, Stirling Council and Culture and Business Fund Scotland. We are also grateful to our many sponsors and supported including The Glencairn Glass, H W Fisher, Stirling Castle, Literary Tours in Egypt, Waterstones, The Open University in Scotland and Go Forth Stirling along with a wide range of publishers.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
McIlvanney Prize 2022 Longlist Announced!
We are delighted to announce the longlist for the McIlvanney Prize 2022. In Bloody Scotland’s 10th Anniversary year, it seems very fitting that a clear longlist of ten books emerged after the prize readers scores were tallied. Six years ago, the Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award was renamed the McIlvanney Prize in memory of William McIlvanney. The Prize recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing, and includes a prize of £1,000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones.
The longlisted titles are:
May God Forgive, Alan Parks (Canongate)
The Second Cut, Louise Welsh (Canongate)
A Rattle of Bones, Douglas Skelton (Polygon)
From the Ashes, Deborah Masson (Transworld)
A Matter of Time, Claire Askew (Hodder)
A Corruption of Blood, Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
The Heretic, Liam McIlvanney (Harpercollins)
Rizzio, Denise Mina (Polygon)
The Sound of Sirens, Ewan Gault (Leamington Books)
The Blood Tide, Neil Lancaster (Harpercollins)
The McIlvanney Prize will be judged by Ayo Onatade, winner of the CWA Red Herring Award and freelance crime fiction critic, Janice Forsyth, presenter of the Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Scotland and Ewan Wilson, crime fiction buyer from Waterstones Glasgow. The Glencairn Glass, the world’s favourite whisky glass, is again sponsoring both The McIlvanney Prize and The Bloody Scotland Debut Crime Novel of the Year for 2022.
Finalists for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed at the beginning of September. The winner will be revealed in Stirling on Thursday 15 September.
The McIlvanney Prize recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing, includes a prize of £1000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones. Previous winners are Craig Russell with Hyde in 2021, Francine Toon with Pine in 2020, Manda Scott with A Treachery of Spies in 2019 (who chose to share her prize with all the finalists), Liam McIlvanney with The Quaker in 2018, Denise Mina with The Long Drop 2017, Chris Brookmyre with Black Widow 2016, Craig Russell with The Ghosts of Altona in 2015, Peter May with Entry Island in 2014, Malcolm Mackay with How A Gunman Says Goodbye in 2013 and Charles Cumming with A Foreign Country in 2012.
The initial longlisting is handled by over 100 crime fiction readers from all over Scotland including booksellers, bloggers, librarians and festival-goers and the longlist is then handed to the high-profile team of judges to decide on the eventual winner.
We have also revealed our Scottish Crime Debut of the Year 2022.
You can find out more about each longlisted book here.
McIlvanney Prize 2017 judges!
We're excited to reveal the McIlvanney Prize 2017 judges as Susan Calman and Craig Sisterson, chaired by Lee Randall.
Susan said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be on the judging panel for the McIlvanney Prize this year. I’m an avid fan of Scottish Crime fiction and this is less a chore and more a dream come true. I can’t wait to get stuck in, reading the wonderful books produced this year.’
She joins Lee Randall, last year a judge, now promoted to chair: ‘I was honoured to be asked to chair the judging panel for this year’s McIlvanney Prize. I’ve always known — and it was reinforced when I programmed this year's first Granite Noir festival, for Aberdeen — that crime writers and their readers are a special breed. I relish the opportunity to dive into a longlist created by these same readers. I suspect that this year’s panel will have tough choices to make, given the abundance of talent out there, but look forward to the challenge.’
They are joined by Craig Sisterson, founder of New Zealand’s Ngaio Marsh Awards who said: ‘William McIlvanney raised the crime writing bar for Scottish writers and those further afield. It's an absolute honour to be a judge for this year's McIlvanney Prize, which celebrates his outstanding legacy - as evidenced by the strength and quality of modern Scottish crime writing. I'm looking forward to some excellent reading and vigorous debate with my fellow judges.’
The prize is open for submissions until April 28th and full info can be found here: https://bloodyscotlstg.wpenginepowered.com/mcilvanney-prize-entry/
Tartan Noir in Kolkata
This month crime writers Lin Anderson and Doug Johnstone with Bloody Scotland chair Jenny Brown travelled to Kolkata to take part in the Literature Festival. We met writers, talked about translated literature and discussed the differences between Scottish and Indian crime fiction. The Festival is part of the huge Book Fair which attracts 2.5 million visitors. Big thanks to Esha Chatterjee of BEE Books and Artistic Director Sujata Sen for inviting us, and to British Council for making the visit possible.
For more about the visit, read Lin's blog and Doug’s blog.
Doug Johnstone's top 5 crime writers
McIlvanney Prize longlister Doug Johnstone told us his top 5 crime writers.
1. Megan Abbott
I think Abbott is just the best writer around at the moment. She writes dark, tense, atmospheric novels about the secrets and lies that hide in American suburbia. These are brilliant psychological thrillers, often revolving around teenage girls as they struggle to understand their place and power in the world.
2. James Sallis
Sallis’s Turner trilogy is the finest crime trilogy of all time, wonderfully laidback smalltown Americana with a dark underbelly. He’s also written amazing detective novels and some of the finest standalones around, including Drive, which got made into the movie with Ryan Gosling in the lead role. His latest, Willnot, is as good as anything he’s written.
3. Sara Gran
Gran writes really oddball crime novels, from the historical junkie book Dope to the psychological horror of Come Closer. Her Claire De Witt series is an existential detective masterclass, with the strongest female central character. She’s been writing for television recently, but I hope she gets back to books soon.
4. James M. Cain
I think Double Indemnity is my favourite ever novel. Such amazing dialogue, plot, character, setting, attitude, all crammed into a hundred pages! Just a grade A, classy writer. The Postman Always Rings Twice and Mildred Pierce are up there with the best ever novels too.
5. Don Winslow
Winslow’s The Power of the Dog and The Cartel are extraordinary examinations of the Mexican drug cartels, brutal and unforgiving in their bleakness. But he also writes poetically about crime and its repercussions, like in the wonderful Savages and The Kings of Cool.
Doug Johnstone will be appearing at Bloody Scotland in Writing Orkney on Sunday 11th Sept, 1:30pm and at our Scotland vs England football match.
Chris Brookmyre: Top Five Scots Whose Dark Secrets Will Inspire Future Crime Novels
Chris Brookmyre believes he has sussed the five Scots whose dark secrets will shape the future crime bestsellers.
Lorraine Kelly
Nobody is telling me that woman doesn't have a head in her fridge and a blood- spattered altar where she makes horrific sacrifices to a grotesque effigy of Paul Sturrock.
Nicola Sturgeon
Only bloodlines riven with true evil emerge from Dreghorn. She pursued a path to high office to ensure she had the power to suppress the truth about Ayrshire's hellmouth.
Ian Rankin
All that vinyl he buys is actually for melting down and coating his victims, House of Wax style.
Val McDermid
Workmen have to sign an NDA before they're allowed into her basement. It's a redundant measure as none of them ever recovers the power of speech.
Judith Ralston
The Scottish weather is HER FAULT. She has the power to control it but prefers to watch us suffer.
Chris will be at Bloody Scotland 2016 at the following events:
Mark Billingham and Chris Brookmyre, Friday 9th September, 8:30pm
Crime Writers Football Match: Scotland v England, Saturday 10th September, 2pm
Chris Brookmyre and Stuart Neville, Saturday 10th September, 5:30pm
How tartan is the new noir?
Think of things associated with Scotland and of course tartan is near the top of the list. But now there’s a new pattern being woven into the landscape. One that you don’t wear as a kilt or a shawl but a proud badge of honour on your bookshelves. Tartan Noir is of course something that anyone who loves Scottish crime writers and crime fiction set in Scotland will already know about. But did you know just how intricate the pattern of this tartan actually is?
If Tartan Noir were a picnic rug, it would be rich, intricately woven with dark threads running through it that you can’t always see immediately. It might look lovely but get closer and it’s coarse and unforgiving, with ragged edges that draw you in. Spend a time on the rug and before you know it, it’s wrapped itself around you, nice and tight. That’s it. Tartan Noir has got you in its grasp.
Enjoy your picnic…
Something quirky and tasty?
Matt Bendoris - Glasgow (on Booktrails)
If you like your quirky cities, then Matt Bendoris’ Glasgow is THE place to go. Matt knows the city like the back of his hand in his role of an award winning Scottish Sun journalist. Latest novel Wicked Leaks, inspired by WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden revelations is the sequel to DM for Murder, a twitter inspired murder fest. He even wrote it on his Blackberry for goodness sake. Art imitating life etc. Genius really. It’s the Scottish wit which also packs a side splitting punch.
Glasgow grit in your sandwiches?
Bill Daly - Glasgow (on Booktrails)
Bill Daly’s Character Charlie Anderson is Glasgow Personified. He’s gritty, hard core and takes no nonsense. I would have said prisoners but then that’s his job as DCI. From his patch centered around Pitt Street station, he knows his city and you feel every footstep as he pounds the streets looking for the bad guys. Glasgow is his stomping ground but he does get a bit further afield when an investigation takes him across to Port Glasgow.
But whilst you can take the guy out of Glasgow, you can’t take Glasgow out of the guy. Not that I’d want to, role on book four!
A taste for heights?
Neil Broadfoot - Edinburgh (on Booktrails)
The Scott Monument in the middle of the city is famous for being a top tourist attraction and literary heritage marker. It’s the largest monument to a writer in the world and commemorates Sir Walter Scott.
However, if you go with Neil Broadfoot, it takes on a much more sinister appearance in Falling Fast. The city is awash with politicians and tourists - two of the very aspects Edinburgh is known for. Edinburgh’s position as capital city where national newspapers are based is brought into key relief as a city of bustling excitement so by the time they get to Skye in The Storm, Neil’s taken us on quite a journey.
A wee dram to finish?
Aline Templeton - Dumfries and Galloway (on Booktrails)
This is the woman who has not only Dumfries and Galloway on the literary map but her unique version of it. The village of Kirckluce is fictional but there is a Glenluce and plenty other villages in and around the area which have more than a starring role. And it’s the essence of the place which is infused onto each and every page.
Aline writes about small town Scotland - local development in Lamb to the Slaughter and Scottish folklore in the Third Sin. It’s this picture of a rich and varied landscape and cultural landscape that she paints so well.
So you see, Tartan Noir is a rich and varied tapestry with something for everyone. Four iconic writers in this panel alone but imagine what you find when you start digging into their back catalogue? Probably a body or two knowing this lot. Well it is Tartan Noir at Bloody Scotland after all!
Get your tickets to How Tartan Is Your Noir?: September 11th, 10am
This is the second post of the Booktrail blog takeover for a series of posts exploring where setting shapes a number of novels from authors attending Bloody Scotland this year.
Visit the booktrail for maps, travel guides and reviews for the books featuring in Bloody Scotland.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebooktrailer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebooktrail
Russel D McLean: Top 5 pulp novelists you (probably) haven’t read...but should
In our series of '5' themed blogs celebrating Bloody Scotland's fifth year, Russel D McLean reveals his top 5 pulp novelists that you probably haven't read but should.
5 – Robert Bloch
Appearing at number 5 because chances are you’ll know his name, and you might even have read his classic, Psycho (far darker than the movie) – and until recently that was all I knew, too. But a 2008 re-release by Hard Case Crime of two of his novels back to back (Shooting Star and Spider Web) showed that Bloch was a master of the pulp novel, with a mean line in prose and an eye for the seedier side of life.
4 – Ernest Tidyman
Even if you don’t know Tidyman, you’ll know his most famous creation, the black private dick, who was a sex machine to all the chicks: John Shaft. As well as writing the screen adaptation of Shaft and its first sequel, Shaft’s Big Score, Tidyman also wrote the script for The French Connection, and one of Chuck Norris’s earliest films, A Force of One. He only wrote seven novels, but when one of them’s Shaft, you have to tip your pulp hat to the man.
3 – Elleston Trevor
A prolific British pulp novelist, screenwriter, playwright (and quite possibly insomniac), Trevor wrote under several pseudonyms, including Simon Rattray, Caesar Smith and Lesley Smith, but was best known for his spy thrillers written under the name Adam Hall. I’ve only read one of Trevor’s books so far – The Runaway Man (1958) – which, as the back cover promised, had a “strange end” in which the protagonist lies “prone and chilled on the rotting hulk of a barge”, and I’m definitely on the lookout for more!
2 – Wade Miller
Branded Woman by Wade Miller (1952) has one of my favourite femme fatales in the enticing smuggler Cat Morgan, seeking revenge on the man who branded her. Miller is the pen name for Robert Wade and Bill Miller, who wrote a number of novels together, including Badge of Evil, which eventually became better known in movie form as Touch of Evil (1956).
1 – Richard S Prather
Prather was the author who started me collecting pulp novels many years ago, when I first stumbled across the beautiful Gold Medal edition of Always Leave ‘Em Dying. “Gals, guns, guys go round and around as SHELL SCOTT spins the wheel!” yelled the strapline, and right there I was hooked. Although Prather did some brilliant standalone novels (1952’s The Peddler comes to mind), it was Shell Scott with his white-blonde hair, steely gaze and snappy one liners who really captured the reader’s imaginations.
Russel D McLean will be appearing at Bloody Scotland this year in Scotland the Grave on Saturday 10th September at 12:15pm.
And When I Die is out on Kindle now and in paperback on September 8th.
The Booktrail comes to Bloody Scotland
The Booktrail takes over the Bloody Scotland blog for a series of posts exploring where setting shapes a number of novels from authors attending Bloody Scotland this year.
Bloody Scotland is one of the crime writing, literary festivals of the year and this year, more than ever, The Booktrail is investigating some of the best crime fiction celebrated at the three day event.
The Booktrail is all about books set in various cities and countries across the world but there’s nothing like some gritty crime fiction set in Scotland. For every book on the site, there’s a travel guide and map so you see the country through the eyes of the author as well as their characters. It’s a Bloody (Scotland) good way to travel! (Visit Scotland via fiction: http://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/?pg=1&location=Scotland)
This year, we’re collaborating with Bloody Scotland and I will be reporting on events, Scottish fiction and the wealth of crime fiction that’s on display up in Stirling. I even got to sit on the rather nice and cosy Judges Sofa as the crime book of the year, now the McIlvanney Prize longlist was drawn up. The winner will be announced on 9th September. Hush, but my favourite is on there so fingers and tartan covered trouser legs will be crossed. Sworn to secrecy about who I voted for though!
Tartan Noir: Crime fiction set here even has its own name - Tartan Noir. It’s a stamp, an identity for the type of crime writing that uses the rough and rugged Scottish landscape as a character in itself.
To use a Craig Robertson turn of phrase, there is a lot that is ‘Gallus’ about this Tartan Land. I have found more out about Scotland via fiction than anything else, despite having holidayed from John O’Groats via the Scottish islands and down to the Scottish borders over the years. And I’ve grown to love my adopted country even more because of it.
From Aberdeen to Edinburgh: No need to visit the Tourist Centre if it’s the literary Scotland you want to see. Aberdeen is known as the Granite City, famous for its stone as well as its oil, but just wait until Stuart McBride shows you the sights and crime underbelly of the docks!
If it’s Glasgow you fancy visiting, then I can assure you that if you allow Douglas Skelton to guide you around, there’s a experience you’ll never forget. He writes of the Glasgow underbelly where gangsters and gritty Scottish banter will not only show you the city but introduce you to the ahem ‘unique’ Scottish vernacular.
From the modern day, Scotland has always had that allure of times gone by and its supernatural, folklore element. Of course this has been incorporated into its crime fiction in more ways than one. Edinburgh’s ghostly gothic tones are as much a character in James Oswald and Oscar de Muriel novels than anywhere else. And just wait until you head up to Orkney. There’s something endlessly ethereal about these islands and this more than comes across via fiction set there.
Oh, but let’s not forget deadly Dundee under the hand of Russel D McLean or the often theatrical Galloway of Catriona McPherson. Scotland is such a diverse country, small but perfectly formed and some of the most stunning landscape in the world. And the home to some of the most memorable characters in crime fiction.
I’ll be writing about these and more in future posts. How writers showcase their part of Scotland on the map and how Scottish greats have come to the fore with their writing no matter where they write about - Val McDermid has even invented her own city of Bradfield in England. The Scottish/English divide no more.
But let’s not forget the lovely Stirling itself - home to the very festival of crime writing greatness. A city where for three days, the finest of the fine will be gathering to talk crime, murder and more. Scotland has never looked so bloody.
Scotland be brave...
Susan, TheBooktrail.com
Visit the booktrail for maps, travel guides and reviews for the books featuring in Bloody Scotland.
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Doug Johnstone: 5 albums to write crime by
McIlvanney Prize longlister Doug Johnstone told us his top 5 albums that he listens to while writing.
I mostly listen to instrumental music when writing, as I find it hard to concentrate if there are vocals and lyrics. I like to listen to stuff that’s maybe a wee bit unsettling or offbeat too, just to set the vibe for the nasty things in the books.
Boards of Canada, ‘The Campfire Headphase’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBA9yqhH57I
Two Scottish brothers who make electronica that sounds like a false memory from the 1970s. Retro but also futuristic, somehow comforting but also unnerving. I love all their music, but this is their best album.
Mogwai, ‘Les Revenants’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP9evk0f7Qg
Again, I love all of Mogwai’s music, but I find myself returning to this record over and over again. It’s their soundtrack to the melancholic French drama of the same name, beautifully understated, but still disturbing.
Jon Hopkins, ‘Late Night Tales’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIXVb4WVM-k&list=PLZqsyBiYZFQ2Fv77R87Ovd6bxZ2DLW5D8
Hopkins is a brilliant producer and soundtrack composer, and this is a mix album of other people’s music that he’s weaved together. It’s a beautiful example of how to evoke mood through sounds, so skillfully put together, it’s a real journey from start to finish.
LCD Soundsystem, ‘45.33’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72-ebRSMJdE
LCD Soundsystem are an amazing punk-dance outfit from NYC. Their regular music is full of poignant lyrics and vocals by frontman James Murphy, but this continuous mix is one of the finest and funkiest soundtracks to life imaginable.
The Avalanches, ‘Since I Left You’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfAuFAgHpzc&list=PL0oWJhzmgVQds4gQodCzgovSntMpJ0_M2
This album was allegedly made up entirely of samples from other records, and I could believe it. A leftfield Australian collective, they disappeared after this amazing album, which is a patchwork of wobbly beats and scratchy mash-ups.
Doug Johnstone will be appearing at Bloody Scotland in Writing Orkney on Sunday 11th Sept, 1:30pm and at our Scotland vs England football match.