Off The Beaten Tracks HD

Episode #24.2: Rob St John - "An Empty House"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:54:19 +0000

See the full session at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #24.1: Rob St John - "The Acid Test"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:11:41 +0000

See the full session at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #23.2: James Yorkston & Adrian Crowley - "Take The Skinheads Bowling" (by Camper Van Beethoven)

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:18:36 +0000

The second of two songs from the collaboration between James Yorkston and Adrian Crowley. You can see the full session at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #23.1: James Yorkston & Adrian Crowley - "True Love WIll Find You In The End" (by Daniel Johnston)

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:12:25 +0000

The first of two songs from the collaboration between James Yorkston and Adrian Crowley. You can see the full session at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #22.2: Glissando - "Venus"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:48:46 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #22.1: Glissando - "The World Without Us"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:59:57 +0000

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Episode #21.2 - Trespassers William - "Surrounded"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:39:41 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #21.1 - Trespassers William - "Appointments"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:39:14 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #20.2: Amazing Baby - "Black And White" (by The dBs)

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:14:43 +0000

The second track from our session with Brooklyn psyche-rockers Amazing Baby. See the rest at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #20.1: "Amazing Baby" - Headdress

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:52:56 +0000

The first of our session tracks with Brooklyn psyche-rockers Amazing Baby. See the rest at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #19.3: Jeffrey lewis - Wings (by The Fall)

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:42:20 +0000

The third of three acapella session tracks with Jeffrey Lewis - see them all at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #19.2: Jeffrey lewis - Untitled Mosquito Rap

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:06:31 +0000

The second of three acapella session tracks from Jeffrey Lewis - see them all at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #19.1: Jeffrey Lewis

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:38:44 +0000

The first of three acapella session tracks from Jeffrey Lewis. See them all at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #18.2: Moustache of Insanity - "Cheese and Freckles"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:42:07 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #18.1: Moustache of Insanity - "Email"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:28:05 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #17.3: Frightened Rabbit vs Meursault - Joy (by Desc)

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:36:32 +0000

The third of the tracks caught at the one-off Oxjam Edinburgh show, done one afternoon in the Oxfam shop on Edinburgh's Royal Mile featuring Scott from Frightened Rabbit and Neil from Meursault. We were drooling with anticipation for this one, and it's come out great - see the rest of the tracks at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #17.2: Frightened Rabbit vs Meursault - Untitled

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:47:25 +0000

The second of the tracks caught at the one-off Oxjam Edinburgh show, done one afternoon in the Oxfam shop on Edinburgh's Royal Mile featuring Scott from Frightened Rabbit and Neil from Meursault. We were drooling with anticipation for this one, and it's come out great - see the rest of the tracks at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #17.1: Frightened Rabbit vs Meursault - Old Old Fashioned

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:05:06 +0000

The first of the tracks caught at the one-off Oxjam Edinburgh show, done one afternoon in the Oxfam shop on Edinburgh's Royal Mile featuring Scott from Frightened Rabbit and Neil from Meursault. We were drooling with anticipation for this one, and it's come out great - see the rest of the tracks at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #16.2: Allo Darlin - Kiss Your Lips

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:57:28 +0000

The second track from our super-sunny, super-cheery, super-pop session with Allo Darlin. Read all about it and remember a time when it wasn't f**ing raining at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #16.1: Allo Darlin - Henry Rollins Don't Dance

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:06:23 +0000

The first track from our super-sunny, super-cheery, super-pop session with Allo Darlin. Read all about it and remember a time when it wasn't f**ing raining at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #15.2: The Xcerts - "Do You Feel Safe?"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:57:40 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #15.1: The Xcerts - "Aberdeen 1987"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:26:51 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #14.2: Julia & The Doogans - Come Home

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:22:39 +0000

This is the second track of our frankly unplanned (and enormously unprofessional) session with Julia & The Doogans.

Watch the rest of the tracks, and read all about our many, many failings at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #14.1: Julia & The Doogans - Collide

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:22:12 +0000

This is the first track of our frankly unplanned (and enormously unprofessional) session with Julia & The Doogans.

Watch the rest of the tracks, and read all about our many, many failings at offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #13.4: The Occasional Flickers - "Home Is A Four-Letter Word"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:30:55 +0000

For those of you who know us in real life, this may come as a surprise, but we here at Off The Beaten Tracks are - honestly - good-natured souls really. So when the folk behind Oxjam Edinburgh came asking, we didn't even draw breath. What started out as a genuine attempt to join in with a group of folk who were (and are) genuinely trying to make a difference in the world we all live in, ended up on one Sunday in Leith as a collection of sessions that we are slightly miffed we didn't come up with on our own.

The Oxjam Edinburgh event is going off on 23rd October across many venues in Edinburgh, and is going to be brilliant from top to bottom, so if you haven't got your ticket yet, you should do that right now - but in the meantime, we're delighted to have been a part of the build-up, and to have spent the afternoon in the company of all these bands, and to have caught them all live and in real time.

First up were The Last Battle, who showed up with more babies than were necessary, but with less instruments than they needed. Not only that, but they'd never - not once - played in front of any crowd at all. We think you'll agree, given that this is a record of their first ever live outing, that this outfit have promise beyond nomal expectations. Great things beckon, we think, great things.

The second act up here, Meursault, on the other hand, have no need at all to prove anything to anyone. All this session does is prove that they may well be peerless amongst the capital's super-dense and super-talented music scene. Even if Neil's voice threatened to destroy our microphones.

Meanwhile, Adam from the ever-attention-grabbing Y'All Is Fantasy Island joined in the fun with a set of songs that quite patently should have been electrified, but that - acoustically - still demonstrated how scared you should all be of plugging him in. The man's a force of nature, and no mistake.

To finish up, there may be no more loveable, no more admirable, no more understatedly musical outfit at work today in Scotland than The Occasional Flickers, who managed to drop in a truly cuddly set of unbearably grabbable songs, almost without anyone noticing how knockout they were. Just magic.

It was a really great day for us to be a part of, and we're delighted we got to share it - all we ask in return is that you support the bands you see here, and buy your ticket to Oxjam Edinburgh.

Episode #13.3: Adam from Y'all Is Fantasy Island - "Consider Yrself Swallowed"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:19:03 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #13.2: Meursault - "Crank Resolution"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:26:56 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #13.1: The Last Battle - "Whisky"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:07:19 +0000

Episode #12.2: Blue Roses - "Coast"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:31:49 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #12.1: Blue Roses - "Doubtful Comforts"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:52:31 +0000

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #11.2: The Stormy Seas - "Bird In A Cage"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:43:51 +0000

We spoke to The Stormy Seas a really long time ago, but life got in the way for us and them, and it took us till recently to organise a session. So on a very windy, sunny day, The Stormy Seas took us up the back woods for some fun. Please pardon the bad wordplay. There’s more of it to come.

The Stormy Seas are 5 boys based around Newhaven, and have been playing their particular brand of dirty, folky, dare-we-say sea shanties around Edinburgh since the end of last year. Unfortunately the band were a man down on the day, but we think you’ll agree that the boys put on a marvellous show without him.

The day was super windy, or stormy, you might say. We set up in the woods up the back of Newhaven, surrounded by dogwalkers and kids on bikes, and we got a few songs while the trees shook around us.

The two songs here are ‘Apple Tree’ and ‘Bird In A Cage’, both gloriously forlorn pieces of folk, modern but with plenty of tradition. While the accompaniment is warm and inviting, the urgent vocals bring a different dimension to the songs, not least a tinge of sadness.

Find out more about The Stormy Seas at their Myspace. They’re playing plenty around the place over the next few months, so make sure you catch them live.

Find out more about The Stormy Seas at http://www.myspace/thestormyseasmusic

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #11.1: The Stormy Seas - "Apple Tree"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:12:59 +0000

We spoke to Stormy Seas a really long time ago, but life got in the way for us and them, and it took us till recently to organise a session. So on a very windy, sunny day, Stormy Seas took us up the back woods for some fun. Please pardon the bad wordplay. There’s more of it to come.

Stormy Seas are 5 boys based around Newhaven, and have been playing their particular brand of dirty, folky, dare-we-say sea shanties around Edinburgh since the end of last year. Unfortunately the band were a man down on the day, but we think you’ll agree that the boys put on a marvellous show without him.

The day was super windy, or stormy, you might say. We set up in the woods up the back of Newhaven, surrounded by dogwalkers and kids on bikes, and we got a few songs while the trees shook around us.

The two songs here are ‘Apple Tree’ and ‘Bird In A Cage’, both gloriously forlorn pieces of folk, modern but with plenty of tradition. While the accompaniment is warm and inviting, the urgent vocals bring a different dimension to the songs, not least a tinge of sadness.

Find out more about The Stormy Seas at their Myspace. They’re playing plenty around the place over the next few months, so make sure you catch them live.

Find out more about the Stormy Seas at http://myspace.com/thestormyseasmusic

See more sessions at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Episode #10.3: FOUND - Anti-Climb Paint

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:06:07 +0000

For our tenth session, we managed to get something a little bit special, the first performance of FOUND using their latest art installation, the Cybraphon, as a backing band. Cybraphon is - by some distance - the barmiest object ever conceived by anyone, anywhere. Tommy from FOUND describes it as 'a musical cupboard with a personality that's attached to the internet'. Bear with us - this could take some time...

FOUND aren't just a band, y'see, they're an art collective, and quite a bonkers one at that. What they've spent over six months conceiving, designing, engineering and constructing is a collection of acoustic instruments, housed in an antique wardrobe, engineered to be mechanical and then electrified it so it can be controlled externally as well as programmed. It's also connected to the internet.

When we met up with them, the Cybraphon was only just operational, not yet the finished article, like C3P0 in The Phantom Menace - works fine, just not decorated yet. This in no way takes away from the astonshing impact of the thing. It looks like something out of Jules Verne, chock full of Victoriana, rare and antique instruments and the equipment used in early experiments with electricity, but attached - preposterously - to an Apple laptop.

It's going to be installed over August in the Inspace Gallery in Edinburgh, where it will spend its time scanning the internet for references to itself, scanning the contents and dependent on whether discussion of it is positive or negative, will play music that reflects online discussion. If someone says it's a stupid idea, Cybraphon will be sad, and clicky little dirges will spew forth; if we all cheer madly, and applaud its genius, it will be deliriously happy and we'll get the soundtrack accordingly.

FOUND themselves have composed various pieces for Cybraphon, but today we were treated to three of their own songs, while the cupboard gleefully clicked and whirred and droned and pinged away in the background.

For the third track of the day though, we left the Cybraphon to cool off, ventured outdoors for a bit, and gathered the band round the discarded skeleton of an unused sculpture for a foot-stomping version of 'Anti-Climb Paint'. Any band who can pull off all the good bits of the Violent Femmes, without sounding dated or plagiarised deserves your love - a cracking version of a great track, and a grinning full-stop to by far and away the oddest but artiest session we've done yet.

FOUND will be unveiling Cybraphon from 5th August at Edinburgh's Inspace Gallery, where they'll also be doing a live performance on the 13th. Entry is free, but ticketed, and available at cybraphon.eventbrite.com.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about FOUND at foundtheband.com

Find out more about Cybraphon at cybraphon.com

Episode #10.2: FOUND (feat. Cybraphon) - Admission Number Two

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:38:20 +0000

The treats just kept on coming during the session, with the second track of the day being a version of 'Admission Number Two', taken from the 2007 LP 'This Mess We Keep Reshaping'. The Cybraphon here takes the dixie-narco stompiness out of the original and replaces a clicky sense of mischief. Cracking stuff.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about FOUND at foundtheband.com

Find out more about Cybraphon at cybraphon.com

Episode #10.1: FOUND (feat. Cybraphon) - You're No Vincent Gallo

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:24:16 +0000

Filming inside the heart of the Cybraphon project (really just a Portacabin, which is why the light's so bad, sorry), we got 'You're No Vincent Gallo' up first, with the full band's throbbing, rolling bass replaced with Ziggy's banjo and the Cybraphon's glitchy tinkling. FOUND will be unveiling Cybraphon from 5th August at Edinburgh's Inspace Gallery, where they'll also be doing a live performance on the 13th. Tickets are free, but ticketed, and available at cybraphon.eventbrite.com.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about FOUND at foundtheband.com

Find out more about Cybraphon at cybraphon.com

Episode #9.2: Randan Discotheque - "Let's Call It Dirt"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:01:03 +0000

We met Randan Discotheque three months ago to record this session. Due to some scheduling problems and technical difficulties it's taken us till now to get it on the site. Forgive us. It's been worth the wait though.

We met singer and guitarist Craig, percussionist Doug and mandolin/guitar player Olly at the Edinburgh College of Art, where by some miracle we got access to a couple of places we really shouldn't have. We got two songs, both stripped down to bare bones folk songs, completely changing the tone from their electric versions which the band play at gigs.

Heading back downstairs to less wind and less vertigo, we were taken to the Sculpture Court in the main building. The sculpture court is a lovely, echoing chamber of light, where casts of the friezes from the Parthenon line the walls of the corridor. With art school types wandering past, barely noticing that a band was bellowing out songs in the midst of this otherwise quiet hall, we recorded "Let's Call It Dirt". Actually untitled at the time, this song, even more than the last, is a very different take from the version that can be seen at normal Randan gigs. The echo chamber effect of the hall adds a totally different dimension to the song, and we feel lucky to have caught it.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about Randan Discotheque at http://myspace.com/randandisco

Episode #9.1: Randan Discotheque - "Heather The Weather"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:35:49 +0000

We met Randan Discotheque three months ago to record this session. Due to some scheduling problems and technical difficulties it’s taken us till now to get it on the site. Forgive us. It’s been worth the wait though.

We met singer and guitarist Craig, percussionist Doug and mandolin/guitar player Olly at the Edinburgh College of Art, where by some miracle we got access to a couple of places we really shouldn’t have. We got two songs, both stripped down to bare bones folk songs, completely changing the tone from their electric versions which the band play at gigs.

The first song, “Heather The Weather” was recorded on a balcony near the top of the new Art School Building, giving us a lovely view of Edinburgh Castle from an angle which most people don’t get to see. We were told a story about shady businessmen and buildings changing hands, but we won’t go into it here. “Heather…” is tribute to cheery Heather Reid who presents weather reports on BBC Scotland. Fittingly, the Scottish weather showed its true colours, with rain looming and wind causing us to worry about the recordings. Poor Doug looked a little crestfallen as his percussion setup was stripped down to the quietest possible to avoid it drowning out everything else.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about randan Discotheque at http://myspace.com/randandisco

Episode #8.3: The Thermals - "I Let It Go"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:46:41 +0000

Wow, we were excited about this one. For our first ever non-UK act, we managed to somehow persuade none less than The Thermals, Portland OR’s finest, to join us for some evening sunshine, some fairly daft banter and three cracking acoustic tracks.

The band had been delayed at sound check, so we’d ended up waiting around for a lot longer than we’d planned. Our new friends from the My Old Kentucky blog were also over from the US to watch us record the Thermals and in between drinking and telling tall tales about Edinburgh, it occurred to us that we could carry this theme of hanging around for stuff we like on into the session. So, naturally, we snuck into the graveyard of Greyfriars Kirk to find our spot for the evening.

The story goes that this very churchyard is where one daft little dog guarded over its dead owners grave for fourteen years, in an actual parable of loyalty beyond death. It’s pretty popular with tourists, as you’d imagine. The churchyard itself though is actually chock full of notables other than just the dog guy, though, with the architects who built the city and the politicians who ran it all interred in sometimes astonishing tombs, all covered in skulls and bones and other weird-looking sculpture.

With the evening sun nice and low – and having roped our new friends in to do the glamorous job of keeping the branches out of the bands faces (thanks Wendles) – we got three acoustic corkers from the new album.

Final track of the evening was I Let It Go – all rumbunctious and pogo-ing when plugged in, here it’s stripped back and gets taken from the garage to the grassland. It’s still got the energy of the record, and Hutch’s voice cuts through like a foghorn, but with the flavour of a Sunday morning, rather than a Saturday night – cracking stuff.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about The Thermals at http://thethermals.com

Episode #8.2: The Thermals - "How We Fade"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:24:34 +0000

Wow, we were excited about this one. For our first ever non-UK act, we managed to somehow persuade none less than The Thermals, Portland OR's finest, to join us for some evening sunshine, some fairly daft banter and three cracking acoustic tracks.

The band had been delayed at sound check, so we'd ended up waiting around for a lot longer than we'd planned. Our new friends from the My Old Kentucky blog were also over from the US to watch us record the Thermals and in between drinking and telling tall tales about Edinburgh, it occurred to us that we could carry this theme of hanging around for stuff we like on into the session. So, naturally, we snuck into the graveyard of Greyfriars Kirk to find our spot for the evening.

The story goes that this very churchyard is where one daft little dog guarded over its dead owners grave for fourteen years, in an actual parable of loyalty beyond death. It's pretty popular with tourists, as you'd imagine. The churchyard itself though is actually chock full of notables other than just the dog guy, though, with the architects who built the city and the politicians who ran it all interred in sometimes astonishing tombs, all covered in skulls and bones and other weird-looking sculpture.

For our second track of the session the band put together one of their slower ones, How We Fade. Head-nodding and toe-tapping, it manages to retain the menacing sonic undercurrent without it seeming weird among the sunshine and the evening birdsong.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about The Thermals at http://thethermals.com

Episode #8.1: The Thermals - "Now We Can See"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:59:25 +0000

With the evening sun nice and low - and having roped our new friends in to do the glamorous job of keeping the branches out of the bands faces (thanks Wendles) - we got three acoustic corkers from the new album, with the first up being the title track and single 'Now We Can See'. Live and on record, it's a full-on anthemic belter, a shouty, sweaty, grinning lunatic of a song - stripped down to just Hutch's guitar, the band's voices and a bunch of handclaps, it's just as powerful and just as insistent, a lesson in how a punk rock band with good songs don't need distortion and volume to prove a point.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about The Thermals at http://thethermals.com

Episode #7.3: Jesus H Foxx - "I'm Half The Man You Were"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:35:38 +0000

The barmy and brilliant Jesus H Foxx first ran into each other in 2007, as a four-piece. While the current count of band members now sits at an unwieldy seven, they've somehow tamed the early ramshackle sound into a glorious racket that manages to stay true to their original scruffbag roots but with added pop goodness. High time we got them in for a session, then.

We meet them all in the reading room at Edinburgh's Bowery, a small room off the basement of what used to be Lady Glenorchy's Parish Church. Lady Glenorchy herself was the daughter of wealthy parents, who married one of 18th century Scotland's wealthiest landowners. After he died, the good Lady went about spannering the inheritance, not on hats, but on chapels, ones that were designed to allow preaching by, and education for, those who could not be accommodated in existing parish church buildings. She built loads, including this one, which originally had a school in it. Given the oddball directions and many layers to the Jesus H Foxx way of doing stuff, we figured that felt about right.

For the final track, we moved outside to The Pleasance, for the view of Arthur's Seat and for a jumpy, grinning version of 'I'm Half The Man You Were'. The band's love of American acts shines through, and few of their songs sound so like early Pavement as this one. It's not a criticism - after all, if you're going to sound like any band, Pavement is hardly a poor choice, plus it's a very difficult trick to pull off. It lopes along with chirrupping guitars, slacker vocals and moments of pure pop glory - a fine way to round off the day.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about Jesus H Foxx at myspace.com/jesushfoxx

Episode #7.2: Jesus H Foxx - "Matter"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:09:42 +0000

Matter closes out both the EP and their live shows, but we ended up with it second here. Very different in tone from much of the rest of their set, it's almost hymnal in parts, with the bare minimum of instrumentation suddenly joined by soaring voices and swooping harmonies.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about Jesus H Foxx at myspace.com/jesushfoxx

Episode #7.1: Jesus H Foxx - "Oh Messy Life"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:37:50 +0000

For starters we got a verson of 'Oh Messy Life', the first track on their EP, as well as the opening salvo live. In full-on electric glory, it moves From its grand folk choir opening, and descends into pure sttaccato, early-Pavement riffs and refrains - stripped down here, it becomes a more shuffling and friendly beast.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

Find out more about Jesus H Foxx at myspace.com/jesushfoxx

Episode #6.3: Honeytrap - "Mussolini's Son"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:44:51 +0000

Uncharacteristically blazing sun and the soft rolling Water Of Leith provided the backdrop to our latest excursion into the fresh air, this time accompanied by the delightful Honeytrap. Fresh(ish) from a rousing appearance in the capital the night before – with the apres-gig entertainings ending brief hours before we met up – we dragged them down to the river to play.

Before we all died of heatstroke, we retreated back into the slightly less fierce Lord Mayor’s garden where we were treated to the final track of the day ‘Mussolini’s Son’. To be frank, by this point the sun had clearly gotten to everyone a bit, which should become apparent in the video. Sorry about that. See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Honeytrap at myspace.com/honeytraponmyspace

Episode #6.2: Honeytrap - "Marit WIth Children"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:48:55 +0000

For seconds, we got a song they wrote in Norway called ‘Marit With Children’, which we needed to record without drummer Brendan, for fear that he’d burst into flames in the searing heat.

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Honeytrap at myspace.com/honeytraponmyspace

Episode #6.1: Honeytrap - "To America"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:33:59 +0000

To start the day off right, we got ‘To America’, a shimmering pearl of gypsy indie, a Jarvis-fronting-Beirut, tempo-changing balalaika of a song, with an exhortation to move to America that may or may not be entirely serious.

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More about Honeytrap at myspace.com/honeytraponmyspace

Episode #5.3: Frightened Rabbit - "Song Against Sex"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:53:25 +0000

Something old, something new, something borrowed... well, okay, we didn't get anything blue, but in our latest session with the utterly marvellous Scott from Frightened Rabbit, we got the classic 'Be Less Rude', a brand new track 'Swim Until You Can't See Land' and a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's 'Song Against Sex'. Not a lot's better than that, if we're honest.

We sat Scott down in Edinburgh's Dunbar Close, a little-known public space off the Royal Mile laid out in the style of a 17th-Century garden. Which, as far as we can tell, means 'gravelly floors, uncomfortable stone benches, a madman with a toy flute, and some hungry looking plants, all set underneath a damn helicopter festival'. Still, none other than Robbie Burns used to go drinking and whoring at Mrs.Love's Oyster Bar which used to be nearby back then, so who are we to complain?

As a full-stop to the day, Scott gave us a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s ‘Song Against Sex’. A tumbling, relentless stream of word and melody, it’s made even better than the original by his uncanny impression of Chewbacca in the more excitable vocal bits.

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More about Frightened Rabbit at myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

Episode #5.2: Frightened Rabbit - "Swim Until You Can't See Land"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:21:52 +0000

The second-track filling in our three-track Frightened Rabbit session sandwich sent us a bit giddy – a brand new track (unreleased, and so-far virtually unheard outside of a couple of low-key gigs) called ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’. Taken from the recording sessions currently going on in deepest, darkest Fife, it’s one of the possibles for the new album, due next year. We like, lots – even if he almost gets drowned out by the bloody helicopters.

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More about Frightened Rabbit at myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

Episode #5.1: Frightened Rabbit - "Be Less Rude"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:59:53 +0000

‘Be Less Rude’ might be getting on a bit these days, but it’s easy to forget how much of a little gem it is, taken from the debut LP Sing The Greys. The reason we like this song so much is because it’s a bit like being taught manners by your indie mum. That, and the judicious use of the word ‘shite’ halfway through.

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More about Frightened Rabbit at myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

Episode #4.2: Slow Club - "Christmas TV"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:42:11 +0000

Our second Homegame session comes from Slow Club, Moshi Moshi signings and nicest-people-ever. Charles and Rebecca braved the icy Fife winds to record two songs for us at the end of the pier in Anstruther, and didn't complain once.

Slow Club seem to unfairly suffer from identity confusion. Many people we spoke to wondered why they would be playing Homegame, having put the Moshi Moshi signing and appearances together and assumed they're hipster indie kids. Others see the acoustic guitar and the lack of other band members and peg them as folkies. The truth is they have a little of both, but lots of neither. A bit folky, a bit indie, a fair bit rockabilly, the songs are pretty, joyful ditties with plenty of heartache and a little wide-eyed naivety.

The second track is "Christmas TV", a Christmas single with a difference: it's good, and doesn't sound Christmasy. With lines like "Its okay that I pray you will miss your flight and stay with me another night" it focuses on the extra emotional strain that the festive season brings. If you've ever been alone at Christmas, it's guaranteed to break your heart.

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More about Slow Club at http://www.myspace.com/slowclub

Episode #4.1: Slow Club - "Wild Blue Milk"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:31:30 +0000

The first track the pair were nice enough to play for us is Wild Blue Milk. To be released with "It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful" in June, it's a perfect showcase for the beautiful vocal harmonies whick Slow Club use to such great effect Everyone we've shown this song to has been instantly converted. Watch for Rebecca slowly losing the use of her hands from the cold.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Slow Club at http://www.myspace.com/slowclub

Episode #3.2: Malcolm Middleton - "Returning"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:09:57 +0000

It's amazing the stuff you see when you get out of the city for a day. Open spaces, for example; birds of prey, epic views, rolling hills and clearer skies; and Malcolm Middleton in the loft of the Fisheries Museum in Anstruther.

It was Matthew from Song, by Toad who asked us to pitch up with him to Homegame and record a couple of sessions. And why not? The annual festival run by Fence Records takes place in picturesque Anstruther, in Fife over 3 days, and features most of the artists involved with Fence, as well as other pals and guests.

We met up with Malcolm on the Saturday afternoon, and took him down to the uber-quaint Scottish Fisheries Museum. In the dark loft amongst old fishing baskets, stuffed bunnies and a frankly disconcerting model of a man in a hat, Mr. Middleton was nice enough to do two tracks for us – both of which have still to be released.

We got something a bit different for the second track. An instrumental acoustic track, “Returning” is taken from a still-in-progress album of instrumentals – with the Waxing Gibbous album imminent and the touring and publicity which that entails, don’t expect this to see the light of day any time soon. But it’s as impressive a display of guitar virtuosity as you’ll ever realistically need to hear.

Unfortunately our first camera malfunctioned after half a minute without us knowing, so you'll have to put up with some less than amazing visuals. We still thinks it's good though.

You can see an interview from the same session and some live footage at Song, By Toad

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Malcolm Middleton at malcolmmiddleton.co.uk

Episode #3.1: Malcolm Middleton - "Made Up Your Mind"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:57:40 +0000

For the first track, we got a version of “Made Up Your Mind”, the last track on his new album Waxing Gibbous, which is due for a June 1st release. It’s (relatively for Malcolm, anyway) musically chirpy and sweet, with trademark Middleton lyrics full of lost love and depression. It’s great. The loft was pretty dark, and the somber mood suits the subject matter as you would expect.

You can see an interview from the same session and some live footage at Song, By Toad

See more at offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Malcolm Middleton at malcolmmiddleton.co.uk

Episode #2.2: Team Turnip - "This City Life"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:28:25 +0000

For our latest session we took the many boys and girls of Team Turnip, gave them some fresh air and sunshine and watched their folky chamber pop blossom in the Edinburgh spring sun.

From there we moved from the high walls of Advocates Close to the open spaces of Regent Road. With one of the richest backdrops in all of Edinburgh, featuring views to Arthurs Seat, the new Parliament at Holyrood and the Royal Palace itself, it’s also right next to the Robbie Burns monument and opposite the gargantuan old Royal High School building. Just right for a buzzing, string-laden version of This City Life, with its soaring chorus perfect for the wide open space.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Team Turnip at http://www.myspace.com/teamturnip

Episode #2.1: Team Turnip - "Scramble Eggs"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:54:03 +0000

For our latest session we took the many boys and girls of Team Turnip, gave them some fresh air and sunshine and watched their folky chamber pop blossom in the Edinburgh spring sun.

We picked Advocates Close as our first spot, which jinks down from The Royal Mile and emerges on Cockburn Street. One of the oldest remaining closes in Edinburgh, it dates from the mid-sixteenth century and takes its name from one Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees, the last Advocate Of Scotland in office during the time of the Restoration, Revolution and Union. It’s also got a nice little sunlit platform halfway down that can fit a band that features drums, two violins, a glockenspiel, an omnichord and a mandolin.

We got a (ahem) cracking version of ‘Scramble Eggs’ here, a cheery, jolly-sounding slice of chamber folk that’s actually about the futility of war and the death of a friend - Sir James Stewart of Goodtree might even have approved.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Team Turnip at http://www.myspace.com/teamturnip

Episode #1.2: Come On Gang - "The Wood For The Trees"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:55:15 +0000

Welcome to Off The Beaten Tracks, a musical project set in unusual surroundings. In our first ever outing, we're thrilled to show off the fizzing art-pop of one of Edinburgh's finest new bands Come On Gang, made all acoustic and velvety. Yum, yum, yum.

We did two tracks here, but - opting to avoid hypothermia - retired to bass player Trev's flat, which in the fine tradition of Edinburgh's tenements (and of course, Shallow Grave) has a huge bay window commanding views over the Firth Of Forth to Fife. We got a really stripped-down and slightly haunting version of Wood For The Trees for our efforts.

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More about Come On Gang at http://www.myspace.com/comeongangmusic

Episode #1.1: Come On Gang - "So Good Hold My Hand"

hello@offthebeatentracks.tv (OffTheBeatenTracks) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:37:44 +0000

Welcome to Off The Beaten Tracks, a musical project set in unusual surroundings. In our first ever outing, we're thrilled to show off the fizzing art-pop of one of Edinburgh’s finest new bands Come On Gang, made all acoustic and velvety. Yum, yum, yum.

The first track, So Good Hold My Hand, was played outside The Deacon's Cafe down Brodie’s Close, just off The Royal Mile. The site was once owned by Deacon Brodie - who we like for the fact that he invented a type of gallows on which he was eventually hanged - and was also formerly a barracks, a cut in the stone step where soldiers would sharpen their swords still remains. It is now a tearoom, run by the supernaturally patient Ivor, who graciously let us muck about outside and generally bring the tone down.

See more at http://offthebeatentracks.tv

More about Come On Gang at http://www.myspace.com/comeongangmusic