The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 13 February

NEW MUSIC: CHVRCHES, BATHS & COKIYU, !!!, COLIN STETSON
More new music now, this time from deservedly-hyped electro-pop trio CHVRCHES, currently Glasgow's most talked-about export. They unveiled a new track last week, Recover, taken from an EP of the same name, out 25 March. The EP will feature two more songs, Recover, and two remixes by Cid Rim and Curxes. They play The Arches on 2 March with Young Fathers.

Anticon's Baths has teamed up with experimental pop artist Cokiyu for a track from the Japanese artist's new EP, Haku, out 18 February. The collaboration is a dreamy electronic shoegaze offering with Baths' customary intricate production and beat-work complimenting Cokiyu's delicate, reverb-swathed vocals.

New York punk-funk outfit !!! (y'know, Chk-Chk-Chk) have unveiled the first track from their hotly-anticipated fifth studio album, entitled THR!!!ER, out 30 April. The first single, Slyd, is available as a free download from the band's site, and features a cheeky hip-hop hook, with the band's disco influences pushed right to the fore. make no mistake -- this is baby-making music.

Also on our radar this morning is the formidable Colin Stetson of Bon Iver (and touring bass saxophonist with the likes of Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre), who is set to release the follow-up to his acclaimed 2011 album New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (reviewed here) on 29 April. Volume 3, subtitled To See More Light, was recorded live in single takes, and features vocal contributions from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. To whet our appetites for the release, Stetson has shared a track, High Above A Grey Green Sea, which can be streamed and downloaded here. 

FESTIVAL WATCH: KRAFTWERK FOR T-IN-THE-PARK, FATBOY SLIM FOR ROCKNESS, DOUNE THE RABBIT HOLE, THE GREAT ESCAPE, FLOW FESTIVAL
Scotland's biggest festival T in the Park (12-14 July) just got significantly more appealing with the addition of electro-pop legends Kraftwerk to the main stage lineup. The Teutonic synth-botherers will perform a rare live set, following on from their acclaimed installation performances at the Tate Modern. They join a bill which features the stultifying Mumford & Sons, ubiquitous pop princess Rihanna, nightmarish college-rock himbos The Script, Mercury-winning posh boys alt-J, kooky clothes horse Paloma Faith, miniature troubadour Jake Bugg, and Seapunk-pilferer Azealia Banks. Tickets are on sale.

Doune The Rabbit Hole (22-25 Aug) is a more intimate affair, also taking place in the Central Belt. They're offering a plethora of the finest homegrown talent, with appearances from The John Langan Band, Haight Ashbury, Galoshins, Meursault, Bombskare, The Monochrome Set, Robyn Hitchcock, Rozi Plain, Mother Ganga, Horndog Brass Band, Jo Mango, Randolph's Leap, Bo Ningen and Rachel Sermanni. That's basically a who's who of up-and-coming and established Scottish artists, and a few classic crowd-pleasers to boot. It's kid-friendly as well, with under-12s going free. Rockin' mums and dads take note! Tickets are on sale.

Staying with Scottish festivals, the second-biggest outing on the calendar is undoubtedly RockNess (7-9 June). They've just added Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, to the main stage lineup. Cook, who is due to become the first DJ ever to play the House of Commons on 6 March, will be welcomed as a returning hero by the main stage crowd -- it was his idea to recreate the legendary Brighton Beach party on the shores of Loch ness back in 2006. Also added to the dance stages are a few names worthy of mention: French electro star Madeon, Booka Shade, dubstep dons Benga and Skream, Numbers star Jackmaster, SubCulture residents Harri & Domenic and Hans Bouffmmyhre will all be dropping beats and kicking ass when the festival opens its gates. Tickets are on sale.

The Great Escape (16-18 May) in Brighton is sometimes known as 'Europe's answer to South By Southwest,' with its focus on new music and emerging artists. As well as a whole host of live performances, there are industry workshops and seminars to attend -- for bands and artists, it is a networking opportunity as well as a showcase. This year's lineup is a mixture of new faces and established names, featuring sets from the aforementioned CHVRCHES, AlunaGeorge, Ed Harcourt, How To Dress Well, Phosphorescent and a whole slew of bleeding-edge talent. The festival has previously seen breakout performances from the likes of Adele, Bat For Lashes, The XX, Foals, and Django Django. Tickets are on sale.

Looking for something further afield? Why not try the Flow Festival (7-11 August) in Helsinki? They've got Kraftwerk too, alongsde Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tensnake, Todd Terje, Maya-Jane Coles, Solange, Mykki Bianco and Karenn, among others. Tickets are on sale.

NEW VIDEOS: CADENCE WEAPON, STEVEN WILSON, HARPER SIMON, PISSED JEANS
A quick run-through of the new videos out this week gives us a nice cross-genre selection - first up is Canadian hip-hop star Cadence Weapon, who has unveiled the video for his witty attack on the much-maligned 'hype men' of hip-hop -- those MCs who stand beside the ain rapper, instructing you to wave your hands in the air like you just don't care. Cadence Weapon, whose new album Hope In Dirt City is out now, doesn't need one, apparently.

Steven Wilson, founder of psych master Porcupine Tree has released a short to coincide with his forthcoming third solo album The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories), bound for release on 25 February. It's an enchanting animated feature from director Simon Cartwright and animator Jessica Cope. The album is available for pre-order now. 

Harper Simon joins the Lennon offspring, Jeff Buckley, Liam Finn and the junior Wainwrights his parents into the music biz. The son of Paul Simon (though it's well worth judging this talent on his own steam) releases his second album Division Street next month. Lead single, Bonnie Brae, combines some Simon & Garfunkel-esque melodic pop with fuzzy indie guitars, and bodes well for the LP.

Much to our delight, Pennsylvanian hardcore/post-grunge poet laureates of the mundane, Pissed Jeans, have released a video for the standout track from their latest album, Honeys. Bathroom Laughter is a fabulously paranoid and unpleasant track about scene kids and their cruel tribalism (or at least that's what we think!). Read our review of the album here -- it's released on 25 February. The band will be answering questions from fans live today at 5pm on the YouTube comments for the video.

STREAM NITZER EBB FOUNDER DOUGLAS J. MCCARTHY'S NEW ALBUM
Nitzer Ebb were seminal figures in the 1980s synth-pop scene, and were a formative influence on early techno music. Front-man Douglas J. McCarthy, who has previously collaborated on work with producer Terence Fixmer, is set to release his full-length solo debut on 18 Feb. An album two years in the making, it is the fruit of McCarthy's collaboration with producer Mark Bell, who has worked with techno stars like Felix Da Housecat. Combining upfront, techno-oriented production with McCarthy's signature dark, brooding, emotive songwriting, it's an album that Nitzer Ebb fans have been looking forward to for some time. Kill Your Friends is now available for pre-order, and you can stream the entire album below. McCarthy cites Kraftwerk, Bowie and Cabaraet Voltaire as influences, and describes the album as: "a cross section of my musical history from my teens till now."

KICKSTARTER NEWS: LEE SCRATCH PERRY'S VISIONS OF PARADISE
A new Kickstarter has been launched to raise funds to complete a film about legendary oddball and seminal reggae and dub pioneer Lee 'Scratch' Perry. The film, to be titled Visions of Paradise, has been 14 years in the making -- film-maker Volker Schaner has toured with Perry, gaining insight into his spiritual, musical and personal philosophy, and discussing in detail his work with legendary reggae stars such as Bob Marley and Max Romeo, not to mention modern musicians such as The Orb, The Beastie Boys, George Clinton and David Lynch. Svhaner needs to raise $20,000 to finish the film. You can contribute and get involved here.

PHILANTHROBEATS: ONE BILLION RISING FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
Looking for somewhere to bump and grind the night away on Valentine's day tomorrow, and raise awareness of a good cause to boot? Well, look no further than the Philanthrobeats vs Rubix: One Billion Risng party at the Sub Club. Teaming up with Glasgow promoters Rubix, the Philanthrobeats crew hope to raise awareness (and funds) for the One Billion Risng organsiation, on behalf of V-Day, which is concerned with ending violence against women. They've got sets from Fortywinks and Floyd, alongside Toby Nicholas, Bop Gun and HaHaHa. Details here.

EMBASSY GALLERY SEEKS NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Embassy Gallery in Edinburgh is seeking new committee members. The non-profit organisation that runs the gallery, which also provides professional development services to students at Edinburgh's College of Art, is looking for volunteers to help with programming and producing exhibitions, events and projects, fundraising and all other aspects of running the gallery. Committee members serve for up to two years. If you are interested, send a CV and a statement about why you are interested to info@embassygallery.org. previous committee members have included Craig Coulthard, whose Forest Pitch artwork caused quite a stir last year, and members of Django Django. 

CREATIVE SCOTLAND: PUBLIC CONSULTATION TO FIND NEW CEO
It has emerged that Creative Scotland's Chief Executive post will be advertised later this month, with an appointment eventually being decided by an interview panel including former NTS director Vicky Featherstone, musician Fiona Dalgetty, executive Chris van der Kuyl, and author Janice Galloway. Next week, a series of public consultations will be announced for March and April, allowing Scotland's artists and art enthusiasts of all stripes to have their say on the kind of candidate the board should be appointing. These public consultations are sure to cause controversy and consternation, with Scotand's art community still skeptical about the scope of the changes being undertaken at the funding body. Full details of the announcement can be read here. The announcement comes in the wake of further cuts to arts budgets in some regions of Scotland, with Moray Council recently taking the decision to get rid of their sole arts co-ordinator -- a move which is effectively a 100% cut to the budget for art in the region.