The Mill Presents: Ross Clark and dBass

Ross Clark & the Scarfs Go Missing

Who are Ross Clark & the Scarfs Go Missing?

With Clark himself hailing from Clydebank (“home to greats like Wet Wet Wet and the Krankies”) and his band-mates coming from South side, it’s fair to say their roots are firmly in the Glasgow area. “A kind glass bottle of Irn Bru band,” Clark poetically offers, far more succinctly than The Skinny could have mustered. Having set out writing songs to escape the Blink 182 leanings of his childhood chums, MySpace offered Clark the window of opportunity to meet his current colleagues. “I wanted to play my songs louder and when I met the guys I soon realised that they were my key to getting the new sound that was going in my head.” They sit now as a quartet: Clark the songwriter on vocals and guitar, backed by a two man rhythm section and an additional axe-man.

What do they sound like and where do they fit in?

Despite admitting that all he wanted to be as a kid was part of Nirvana, the band’s sound is strangely drenched in tones of country and western… or “fucked up, loud, loud country,” to be precise. “I’m a huge Neil Young fan,” the front man admits. Musical influences aside, Clark’s songwriting constitutes fragments of the world at large. “It changes all the time,” he says, “I’m quite an excitable young man and if I hear a band I like or a bit of news, it’ll inspire me to write a song.”

Perhaps logically, Clarke opines that by virtue of being Scottish, they are the scene. “Pretty much all I listen to these days is Scottish music. The likes of Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Twilight Sad, Wooden Box and My Latest Novel all mean a lot to me, but to talk about a scene is bullshit. It’s an excuse for divisions within cities.”

What role does a country rock band from Glasgow have to play in today’s tumultuous society?

Clark is refreshingly more upbeat than some of contemporary music’s more celebrated artists. “Music has always been important, ever since day one,” he explains. “The world isn’t crumbling around us at all. You have look to at the world and just take in what you want to. Look outside: we live in Scotland and there are loads of awesome things to be happy about.” With his happy-go-lucky attitude, it’s unsurprising that the dark realms of modern day politics have yet to infiltrate his music. “I haven’t been following the US election but it all seems to be a bit of a soap opera. We have Take The High Road for that. We’re not a political band at all. We'll let the politicians worry about politics we'll just keep the tunes going.”

Where can we hear the band?

The debut single Silversword was released in June and attracted kind words of praise within these very sheets. “A raucous, joyous, full band with horns blitzkrieg,” it’s available from local record stores and via the band’s MySpace. “We are full time musicians really, we just don’t make any money,” explains Clark. So we can expect plenty of upcoming gigs, beginning with their slot at The Mill in October, which the man is understandably chuffed with. “It’s cool how The Mill is supporting new bands. More organisations should do this. They are giving loads of bands the coverage they deserve.”

 

dBass

Who are dBass?

The artists formerly known as Debass have been active in their current state for some years now. Originally formed for a one-off jazz gig, they soon dropped the 'e' from their name and began a period of sustained productivity. “A new spirit was born,” according to collective founder member, Matt Hall. “From this point we haven't looked back and continue to gain strength, and have fun en route,” he beamed as The Skinny caught up with him recently. With members flung as far afield as New York, London, Berlin and New Zealand, the collective unsurprisingly don’t get to play together as often as they’d like, but the band assure us it just makes them relish it more when they do.

What do they sound like and where do they fit in?

“Pure inspiration is an omnipresent factor in all,” muses Hall rather cryptically, “music, art, design, photography, film, love, life, people....style can be found in everything. Communicating that is the challenge.” As to be expected from a group with such floating clientele, dBass’ inspirations are diverse. Hip hop, jazz, drum n bass and electronica feature heavily in their sound, but Hall is hard pushed to nail down one communal influence. “Special mention to the late J Dilla,” he offers.

The subject of their Scottish peers is a little clearer. “Thankfully more than I can list, and it’s still growing,” Hall enthuses, his gratitude at the healthy diversity of the Scottish scene today evident. “Special shouts to 17th Letter extended crew, Lucky Me family, Boom Monk Ben, Underling, Live Science, Joe Acheson Quartet, Deej Malik, Bluhnt, EOTM, Das Contras, The Remedie.”

Don’t dBass get frustrated at the continued dominance of indie bands on the Scottish scene?

Well, yes and no, it would seem. “I think the diversity and acceptance of all styles is what makes Scotland, well the central belt at least,” says Hall. The industry, itself though, is a different matter. “In a business sense it can become fairly frustrating, yes. Most of the big shows and A+R focus is indie related and with the state of the music industry as it is there has never been a stage where a return on investment is so important. At the same time 'non-indie' outfits, for lack of better term, in Scotland need to better understand the business side and how it works, create fan base as well as return on self-investment or funding before anyone else really takes notice. Glasgow has an unrivalled history of Indie so it’s easy for new bands of that style to know what to do and how to achieve it, 'we' don’t have the luxury of this template, but hopefully the next generation might.”

Where can we hear the band?

Hall has just put the finishing touches to a dBass record, Qoral Reef. The record will be released on Collective Records and features Natasha Nixon, AKA Lady K on vocals. He describes the single as a trip-jazz effort but just to keep us on our toes, “In our collective spirit the next single will be the polar opposite. Stay tuned kids.” dBass will also be playing at The Mill this month, a slot Hall hopes will provide them with a new audience. “Tapping into the well-established demographic of brands and networks of those involved behind the scenes is a definite advantage.”