Auchentoshan, Glasgow & King Tut's Summer Nights

Ahead of this year's King Tut's Summer Nights gig series, we look at Glasgow, live music, and the city's very own whisky, Auchentoshan

Advertorial by The Skinny | 07 Jul 2017
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Cities are interesting places, in that they have a lot of the same stuff in common with one another – the shops, the traffic, the commuting – but each city has its own unique ‘vibe’. Hit Edinburgh, and you’ll find it’s thick with layers of history all piled on top of one another. Go to New York, and it’s all about hustle and bustle, and the constant flow of people, vehicles and ideas around the five boroughs. But head into Glasgow any night of the week, and one thing will immediately come to the fore – sound. Glasgow is a city that’s constantly humming with live music from dozens of venues across the city centre, alongside a whole host of lively bars of all shapes and sizes, and an even livelier welcome from all involved.

It’s a city that was swept up in heavy industry (famously not the quietest thing in the world), and has come out the other side in an explosion of art, music and creativity. Glasgow isn’t exactly a city that stands still, and there's a sense that there's always something going on, or just about to get going, whether it’s a great party, an exciting new gallery to check out, or an interesting bar to add to your rotation. It doesn’t exactly sit on its laurels; after all, why do that when you could keep doing interesting things and bring new stuff to the city?

“Aggressively welcoming” is how Auchentoshan describe Glasgow, and it's also how they describe their triple-distilled whisky that’s been made in the city since the 1820s. It’s a fair shout for a city this vibrant. And that’s not vibrant in the tourist board sense; more ‘this crowd are about to tear this venue to pieces oh wait they’re actually the most enthusiastic group of people ever’. Bands of all stripes – from Metallica to LCD Soundsystem to The Streets – have described Glasgow as one of their favourite cities in which to play; spend two minutes down the front of a gig at the Barrowlands and you'll see why. 

Unlike many whiskies, which hail from the admittedly lovely but very mossy parts of the country that very few people actually live in, Auchentoshan is a modern, urban whisky that reflects life in Scotland’s busiest city. Think about it for a second; which are you more likely to receive on arriving in Glasgow – a loud, gregarious welcome and a big hug, or a quick visit from a deer in a tweed cap? We point out the lack of wild animal on the Auchentoshan bottle, and rest our case.

Fittingly for a city with a proud brewing tradition that stretches back to the 18th century, the story of Auchentoshan starts with beer. Their bespoke Distillers Beer is the base for their whisky, which then takes on a life of its own once the distilling process kicks into gear. Most single malt Scotch whiskies are distilled twice, but the Auchentoshan is a triple-distilled effort. The process takes the 8% ABV beer up to staggering new heights of flavour and aroma. Triple-distilling is unique to Auchentoshan among Scottish distilleries, and the result is a whisky that’s smooth, fruity and packed with citrus oomph.

That oomph is important if you want to stand out in a city as interesting as Glasgow, where a bit of clarity to cut through the noise never goes amiss, but sometimes blending in can be just as positive. Combining the old and new, mixing disciplines and styles together to create something exciting; that's what keeps city life interesting. Fittingly for a city-built whisky, Auchentoshan is not the kind of dram that will draw howls of derision should you try to mix it with another liquid. It suits exciting and interesting twists and serves; it’s a tasty drink to be enjoyed, not an antique to be feared. The Auchentoshan and Ale – lemon, honey and Auchentoshan shaken over ice, then topped with ale – is the perfect example of what to do with the whisky. It’s a recipe that brings out the best elements of Auchentoshan, and combines them with other nice things without going too over-the-top. Shocking, we know, but it works.

King Tut's Summer Nights and Auchentoshan

Glasgow’s mixture of brewing and distilling heritage, incredible hospitality and raucous live crowds comes together in this month’s King Tut’s Summer Nights series, sponsored by Auchentoshan. A string of gigs running from 13-29 July featuring some of the country’s very best up-and-coming bands and musicians, it’s a chance for the next wave of Scottish music to place their stamp on the history of the venerable King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut.

This year's Summer Nights line-up is a doozy – more than 70 acts across 17 days mean that each evening will be packed full of great music, with headliners, support bands, venue DJs and after show parties. We’ve taken a look through this year’s line-up, and pulled out nine acts that we’re looking forward to catching with an Auchentoshan and Ale in hand (remember to always keep at least one hand free for high-fives, clapping and making other supportive noises). Find the full King Tut’s Summer Night’s line-up at www.kingtuts.co.uk

American Clay

American Clay are a four-piece shoegaze band from Glasgow. The band started life as the project of Pronto Mama drummer Martin Johnston, who’s hung up his sticks in favour of stepping up front. The band is completed by Ross Stewart, William Clapperton and Chris McKeown. Since their inception they’ve released two EPs, 2016’s Happenstance and this year’s Sky Hooks which was released by the new label from Glasgow indie record store LP Records.

American Clay play KTSN on 26 Jul; americanclay.bandcamp.com

Ayakara

Hailing from Leith in Edinburgh, Ayakara are five school friends – Max, Callum, Felix, Alex and Jonnie – who have been making their mark with energetic, crowd-bouncing live shows for three years now. Their tunes have an old school vibe, and are laced with a good sense of humour; they’re catchy, cheeky and loads of fun.

Ayakara play KTSN on 22 Jul; facebook.com/ayakaramusic/

EM|ME

Emily Meekel, aka EM|ME is a singer-songwriter originally from Holland who is now based in Glasgow. With her multi-instrumental capability, she’s able to traverse genre, neatly encompassing elements of soul, R’n’B, pop and electronica into her rich sound. All that, combined with Meekel's unique voice, make her one not to miss this month at Tut’s.

EM|ME plays KTSN on 23 Jul; facebook.com/EMMEmusicofficial/

Fauves

Fauves are a Glasgow-based band, formed in February 2016 by Ryan Caldwell after he began recording some demos with the help of drummer (and now bandmate) Ciaran Devlin. The band is completed by Jonny Glass and Rory Bradley. Having released a few self-recorded songs over the past few months with a playful pop sound, we can’t wait to hear more from this four-piece.

Fauves play KTSN on 28 Jul; facebook.com/Fauvesband/

Five Cousins

As far as we know, this Glasgow band aren’t actually cousins. Fronted by singer-songwriter and rhythm guitarist Summer Bain, Five Cousins are an indie-pop band at heart and with Bain’s unique vocal at the forefront, this five-piece are utterly infectious.

Five Cousins play KTSN on 14 Jul; facebook.com/fivecousinsband/

Immi

Immi is a singer-songwriter from Glasgow who is relatively new on the scene, releasing her self-titled debut EP earlier this year. It's a bit of a concept record, as it explores the different stages of a relationship over the course of four songs: Like You, Easy, Brand New and Sober. Immi’s music is perhaps best described as soulful R’n’B with a pop sensibility.

Immi plays KTSN on 13 Jul; facebook.com/ImmiMusicUK/

LUNIR

Originally based in Edinburgh, LUNIR describe their sound as “future soul fusion fun”. They released their debut EP, Flux, last year exploring elements of pop and R’n’B creating a soulful musical landscape across the course of three songs. If you like artists like Ibeyi or Solange, then chances are you’ll be quite into LUNIR. The duo have recently moved to Germany so make sure you catch them at Tut’s while you can.

LUNIR play KTSN on 23 Jul; http://lunir.format.com/

Savage Mansion

Savage Mansion is the new slacker guitar pop project from Craig Angus, the former Poor Things guitarist. Angus is joined by drummer Taylor Stewart and Catholic Action duo Andrew MacPherson and Jamie Dubber, on guitar and bass respectively. Savage Mansion were recently signed to Eigg-based label Lost Map, with their debut release produced by Tuff Love’s Suse Bear. We like them and you should too.

Savage Mansion play KTSN on 26 Jul; facebook.com/savagemansionband/

Sahara

Sahara are a four-piece rock and indie band hailing from Dundee who released their debut self-titled EP last summer with their sights set on bigger things for 2017. They play King Tut’s Summer Night’s following an appearance on the Friday of TRNSMT festival at the start of the month, with more festival appearances lined up later in the year including Dundee’s Carnival 56. Catch their high-energy indie in the intimate surrounds of Tut’s this summer.

Sahara play KTSN on 14 Jul; facebook.com/saharatheband/

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