Tune Up Podcast

For the 2007 to 2008 season we featured 12 tours: Brebach, Optical Identity, Shooglenifty and Tanya Tagaq Gillis, Roddy Hart and Leeroy Stagger, Fraser Fifield Band with Nedyalko Nedyalkov Quartet, Eska Mtungwazi Band, Reinventing The Reel, Aye, An Affirmation of Martyn Bennett, Club Tromolo, Burnsong and Differences in Demolitions.

"Differences in Demolitions" presents a powerful story of conflict, greed and desire in a world surrounded by destruction and demolition. Hassan, a building worker, cherishes a secret love for Sevda. His family Han (an inn) is cursed. A mythical woman embroiders love, life and fate into a scarf which becomes torn. Sevda begins her journey which unravels, like the scarf, to reveal a tale of love, longing and revenge.

Burnsong is a national project dedicated to promoting, encouraging and nurturing songwriting in Scotland. Established writers from a variety of genres are invited to live and write together for 5 days in the beautiful Dumfries and Galloway Countryside. The brave writers this time included: Karine Polwart, Emma Pollock, Sushil K Dade (Future Pilot AKA), MC Soom T, Kenny Anderson (King Creosote), Chris Difford, and Michael Johnston (all the way from Canada).

Club Tromolo takes its brand of wonky cabaret, music and dancing on the road around Scotland. The List dubbed it 'The most original club night in years'.

Witness amazing acts such as eccentric trombone-playing toff Sir Clifton Sainsbury who amazes with his cabaret within a cabaret and recitals of horror theme tunes on trombone; Miss Leggy Pee who charms her audience with easy listening classics and fashion circa 1933 and star pupil of Cirque du twattes scarey Belgium mime artiste Le Coq Sorbonne.

The cabaret is hosted by Frank Percy OBE who got lost in Glasgow on a day trip from Macclesfield and decided to start the night off with his contacts in the ferret juggling world.

Foul mouthed usherette Dierdre will be on hand and you can get your fortune told by the Govan Seer (a psychic from Govan); mingle with Malcolm the thespian gorilla and Jazzbadger (a badger who plays jazz).

Semi-forgotten folk combo, Fairpak Convention (Kozmik Colin & Hamper Van Wicklow) will be on hand to sing their 1971 no 41 pipe-smoking hit, 'A Finger Of Rough Shag'.

After the cabaret, Glasgow band A Band Called Quinn play. According to The Scotland On Sunday they might be "Glasgow's greatest band". This year sees the release of their album 'Sun, Moon, Star' which is hotly tipped.

To round the night off DJ Isambard Kingdom Brunel will spin some discs for people to dance to...

Mr McFall's Chamber is a flexible ensemble of mostly classical players for whom the lure of other musical styles has proved irresistible. They are well known for their eclectic mix of musical genres, programming classical and contemporary composers alongside rock, tango, klezmer and jazz.

This effortless blurring of music's pigeonholes makes for an ideal partnership with gifted composer and multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield, who successfully combines traditional music with Scottish folk and jazz.

Joining the musicians are percussionists Tom Bancroft and James Mackintosh. Together they perform a programme celebrating the legacy of the late lamented Martyn Bennett, who was one of Scotland's most feted young musicians for his bold musical synthesis of traditional tunes, dance music and classical sensibility.

The programme highlights Bennett's profound understanding of the Scottish folk tradition, featuring well known Bennett works e.g Cuillin Music alongside Piece for String Quartet, Percussion and Scottish Small Pipes in C, an early work thought to have been lost until a copy turned up in the Arts Council's files. The Scottish flavour is further enhanced with music by Fraser Fifield and a reworking of Eddie Maguire's Nocturnes. A Latin – American component in the typical McFall's style completes the programme including music by Alvares and Piazzolla.

Reinventing the Reel brings together an explosive mix of talent from Scotland's current wealth of world class traditional musicians. As well the unique repertoire of these two thrilling trios they will join as one magnificent ensemble to perform some brand new music with a contemporary slant on Scottish traditional music.

Lau are Kris Drever (guitar and vocals), Aidan O'Rourke (fiddle) and Martin Green (accordion). They have quickly established themselves as a major force in modern traditional music. Their debut album "Lightweights and Gentlemen" was released in March 2007 to great critical acclaim and they have already secured major festival bookings across Europe and North America in 2007 and 2008.

The Ross Ainslie/ Jarlath Henderson Trio are Ross Ainslie (Scottish Small Pipes), Jarlath Henderson (Uilleann Pipes) and Ali Hutton (Guitar and Bodhran)

The trio are "high energy pipe fiends from Scotland and Ireland". Their debut album is out on Vertical Records later this year.

Eska Mtungwazi brought her acclaimed band to Scotland for a series of performances around the country. Merging the boundaries between soul, jazz, folk and world music, Eska's unique vocal style and impeccable musicianship has guaranteed her fans around the globe after collaborations with artists as diverse as Nitin Sawhney, Tony Allen, Ty, Cinematic Orchestra and Courtney Pine.

Her band consists of some of the most in demand players in the UK: Julian Ferraretto (Violin), Anselmo Netto (Mandolin and Percussion), Robin Malarkey (Bass), David Okumo (Electric Guitar) and Tom Skinner (Drums). Previous performances include the North Sea Jazz Festival, London's Jazz Cafè, Barbados Jazz Festival and the Montreaux Jazz Festival.

Fraser Fifield Band is one of the most distinctive sounding groups working in Scotland today and comprises: Fraser Fifield on low whistle, soprano sax and bagpipes, Graeme Stephen on guitar, David Robertson on percussion and Guy Nicholson also on percussion. The band grew out of the successful earlier line-up, The Fraser Fifield Trio which had been performing since March 2003 headlining concerts at important music festivals such as Celtic Connections, The Highland Festival, Rootin Aboot at the Lemon Tree, Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Islay Jazz Festival and Big Big World Festival and further afield at Baku Jazz Festival.

Nedyalko Nedyalkov Quartet comprises four of the most talented and respected musicians in Bulgaria today, frequently described as 'Master Musicians'. The band features Nedyalko Nedylakov on kaval, Georgi Petrov on gadulka, Angel Dimitrov on tamboura and Stoimenka Nedyalkova on vocals. All are great improvisers, at home in a number of musical styles, whilst having the strongest traditional music roots.

In a relatively short time, Roddy Hart has established himself as an important and influential emerging talent on the Scottish musical scene. At only 26, and with his eyes fixed firmly on re-igniting the merits of classic songwriting, his already prolific work has generated a substantial fan base. Following in the wake of artists like Dylan, Springsteen, Browne, Young and Finn, his guitar, harmonica and piano-driven songs impact on all who hear them and have subsequently earned him much respect from fans and critics alike. A run of sold-out shows and great reviews have him earmarked as one of Scotland's best kept secrets and destined for great things.

Shooglenifty and Tanya were first thrown together at during a workshop in Yellowknife Music Festival, Yukon territory, Northern Canada. Since then they have collaborated onstage and on record, at The Salmon Arm Blues and Roots Festival, and during Celtic Connections 2007, where Tanya and the band stunned a capacity audience at the Old Fruitmarket. As well as recording two television shows, one for the BBC and the other for Mac TV, Tanya also features on Shooglenifty's latest CD Troots.

Shooglenifty and Tanya Tagaq Gillis toured between the 14th and 24th of November, playing dates in Findhorn, Orkney, Cromarty, Glenuig, Aberdeen, Mull, Edinburgh, Langholm, Drumnadrochit and Dundee.