Left-field talents are being given their fling at Conroy’s Basement this weekend with Kapil Seshasayee the headline act.
The alternative music haven has a classy three-artist gig headed up by Indian-Scots art rock exponent Kapil Seshasayee on Saturday, put together by the increasingly influential Make-That-A-Take Records.
Label chief Derrick Johnston describes the electronic soundsmith as “one of the most important Scottish artists of this generation”.
He says: “One of the most driven, focussed and uncompromising visionaries we’ve ever had the pleasure of hosting, Kapil is a musician, vocalist, singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist, anti-fascist, activist, educator, teacher and friend from the Indian diaspora, writing songs without peer or reference.
A Sacred Bore and Laal
“Having spent the best part of a decade ploughing the underground fields throughout Scotland and the UK, 2018’s A Sacred Bore LP was incendiary and blew the doors open.”
Glasgow-based Kapil Seshasayee, who released his second album Laal in 2019, is being supported by soulful shoe-gazers Greenback, aka Lynn Matthews, as well as folk-tinged emo outfit Little Anchors.
Before then, there’s a high voltage live session to look forward to at Meadowside on Friday featuring Northern Irish pop-punks No Matter, Dundee noiseniks Dog Eared and Arbroath melodic rock four-piece After Party.
Flats and Sharps at Green Hotel
Separately, Cornwall bluegrass outfit Flats And Sharps will be promoting their latest release at the Green Hotel in Kinross on Thursday.
Known for their strong harmonies and stonking solos, the foot-stomping four-piece have been on the go for the best part of a decade, drawing on a wide variety of influences.
Leading tribute bands are also primed to hit the Green, with REM homage Stipe in town on Friday and Queen doppelgangers Flash playing the Backstage venue next Friday.
Meanwhile, a few miles further south in Fife, talented north-east multi-instrumentalist Amy Papiransky is at PJ Molloys next Friday, having just played a live online set for the Dunfermline music mecca on Facebook earlier this week.
Hailing from Banffshire, the former BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year finalist released her debut album Read Me Write in 2019 and opened for KT Tunstall at PJ’s last October.
Amy is being supported next week by Kingdom-based acoustic covers songstress Sophie De Rose Music and breaking Glasgow country popster Robin Ashcroft.
Also live in Courier Country
Also in Courier Country, it’s Morrissey and Marr tribute The Smiths Ltd at Beat Generator Live next Friday, with the Dundee venue gearing up for a slew of gigs in April from acts as diverse as Pictish Trail, The Howl And The Hum and Sham 69.
Ahead of those highlights, the North Lindsay Street venue has home turf covers junkies Cherry Bombz hosting a rock night special on Saturday – with advance tickets selling fast via the band’s Facebook page.
Elsewhere on the live front, there’s a welcome return to Scotland for the ever-enigmatic Paul Draper out west on Sunday.
The former frontman of ’90s alt-rockers Mansun is on the road playing acoustic shows following the recent release of his second solo studio album.
The brilliantly titled Cult Leader Tactics is the follow-up to the songsmith’s acclaimed 2017 debut Spooky Action.
Flintshire-raised Draper, who plays his only Scottish show on his current tour at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, is best known for having penned such hits as Wide Open Space, Legacy and I Can Only Disappoint U.
Number three in the vinyl charts
He recently delivered an in-store guest performance for the Edinburgh branch of Dundee record shop Assai ahead of his latest opus landing at number three in the UK’s vinyl charts last month.
In recent years the prog rocker’s worked with the likes of Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and ex-Simple Minds keyboardist Catherine Anne Davies, aka The Anchoress, and is being accompanied on stage by guitarist Ben Sink.
The support at Glasgow comes from Love Amongst Ruin, who comprise former Placebo drummer Steve Hewitt, ex-Julian Cope stalwart Donald Ross Skinner and one-time Cure bassist Perry Bamonte.
