Highs and Lows: 2023 in Scottish Music

As festival lineups start getting announced for 2024 – some more palatable than others, ofc – it’s time for us to reflect on 2023 as it comes to a close. January brought a plethora of local shows to The Hug & Pint and King Tut’s in Glasgow, as is tradition, with another successful year for the UNESCO city of music’s flagship Celtic Connections festival, which saw the likes of Amadou & Mariam, Rozi Plain and Hen Hoose all take to the stage. January also saw community radio station Radio Buena Vida move into their new space on Victoria Road, and Joesef released his soulful debut album, Permanent Damage, which has landed in The Skinny’s top ten Scottish albums of the year, as selected by our writers. Here’s what we said about it earlier in the year: “Permanent Damage is a thoroughly impressive and self-aware debut from an artist who is unafraid to wrestle with feelings of loneliness, alienation, and self-destructive tendencies out in the open.”

While January was ticking away, we were already working on our February issue, which was an ambitious one as it featured a takeover from Leith trio Young Fathers. Ahead of releasing Heavy Heavy, we joined them in their studio and rehearsal spaces for a photoshoot and interview, and then had them help curate other features in our themed pages. We explored Tanzania’s underground Singeli music scene, got their former manager Tim London to write a deeply personal account of working with the band, extensively covered the trio’s influences on Heavy Heavy, they selected an artist for our monthly free poster, and we got their live band member and forever live support act Callum Easter to take on that month's Q&A. In the same month, there were also exceptional releases from two other Scottish acts – Hamish Hawk released the sublime Angel Numbers, and husband and wife duo Free Love released INSIDE of which we said: “Scotland’s premier electronic synth-pop and guided meditation duo still have plenty of surprises up their sleeves.”

After a very exciting and intimate performance in La Belle Angele from Young Fathers in February, thanks to Assai Records, March then saw the trio play two nights in Glasgow at the O2 Academy, a month that also brought Self Esteem, Lizzo and Death Cab For Cutie north of the border. April was another busy release month for albums that have featured in our Scottish end of year list. Bemz released his third record, Nova’s Dad, on the 5th, Brìghde Chaimbeul released Carry Them With Us (14 Apr), her collaborative record with avant-garde musician Colin Stetson, while the end of the month brought us Music For First Contact (28 Apr) from Post Coal Prom Queen, a record that came to light after writing their choose-your-own-ending space opera of the same name for 2022’s Hidden Door festival. Here’s what we said: “The sound of Music For First Contact juxtaposes the chilling emptiness of space, with the terrifying prospect of a galaxy bursting with life [...] PCPQ’s ruminations on our extraterrestrial opportunities are just as prescient and visionary as their avant-garde capabilities.”

In May, two pairs of Glasgow siblings brought us exquisite second records, with Cloth releasing Secret Measure and comfort What’s Bad Enough?, an electronic punk record with a sociopolitical bent. In an interview with comfort, frontwoman Natalie McGhee told us: “I guess it's really angry in a lot of ways, but also defiant because it's about knowing that you are worth more than that. And it's about the struggle of accepting your worth. It’s about accepting that if you've got breath in your lungs, you are worth it. And that should be enough.”

The month also brought with it some absolute titans of pop music to Edinburgh, with both Harry Styles and actual BEYONCÉ playing Murrayfield Stadium. Beyoncé’s impending visit led to one of our big music issues of the year – the POP issue – where we got to spotlight and showcase local forward-thinking collective Popgirlz. And of course May was the true start of festival season. Radio 1’s Big Weekend made its triumphant return to Dundee with whinging rock duo Royal Blood leaving a lasting impression for all the wrong reasons, while Knockengorroch World Ceilidh celebrated their 25th year in the Carsphairn Hills of Kirkcudbrightshire.

June brought more festivals to Scottish fields, and at the end of the month we returned to curate The Pyramid Stage at our beloved Kelburn Garden Party, with AiiTee, comfort and Sacred Paws our respective headliners, while further afield Young Fathers continued to dominate on the world stage as they took Glastonbury by storm. It wasn’t, of course, all rosy for festivals this summer, and following months of controversy, Doune the Rabbit Hole finally pulled the plug on their 2023 edition, claiming its cancellation to be “a result of the call for a boycott of the event by BECTU.” But by this point, many bands had already spoken out on socials about not having been paid for playing the Port of Menteith festival in the past, so when they announced their cancellation, it felt like it had been in the post for some time.

The Scottish musical landscape was further soured in July with the unfortunate last minute cancellation of the Tiree Music Festival due to extreme weather conditions. And deeper in the month there was further controversy as The 13th Note announced its sudden closure on the 19th following a dispute “over fair pay and improved working conditions which led to historic industrial action: the first strike by hospitality staff in Scotland in over 20 years.” 

The Edinburgh International Festival returned to the Capital in August with new director Nicola Benedetti, and we’re sad to say this, but the contemporary music programme just wasn’t what it used to be, feeling more like an afterthought than an integral part of the programming. But, there were successful outings once more for Connect at the Royal Highland Showgrounds in Edinburgh, and new celebration of noise festival Core. in Glasgow.

September was a very big month for the Scottish music scene. The Scottish Awards for New Music were dished out at the CCA on the 1st, while the 7th saw Young Fathers beamed into our living rooms as they were once again up for the Mercury Prize. On the 8th, Monorail Music launched their new series The Glasgow School, with The Way of the Vaselines available for the first time on vinyl. The 16th saw Dundee’s V&A celebrate five years with a big party featuring live music from Andrew Wasylyk and Be Charlotte, and on the 21st, Arusa Qureshi was announced as the new Music Programme Manager for Edinburgh’s Summerhall arts venue. 

October was similarly chocka. At the start of the month, corto.alto released his highly anticipated debut album Bad With Names, which we crowned Album of the Month. Here’s what we said: “Forward-thinking, cohesive, complete... Bad With Names marks a new high point for Scottish jazz music.” On the 7th, community radio station EHFM celebrated five years of broadcasting with a party at Sneaky Pete’s, while Sneaky Pete’s later celebrated its 15th birthday with a huge party in Fruitmarket’s Warehouse space. Towards the end of the month, Young Fathers were crowned third time winners of the Scottish Album of the Year Award for their fourth album, Heavy Heavy, Paolo Nutini took home the Modern Scottish Classic Award for his debut, 2006’s These Streets, and Edinburgh duo No Windows won the Sound of Young Scotland Award.

The 25th Specsavers Scottish Music Awards then came in November with awards for Bemz, Joesef, Rebecca Vasmant, Dead Pony and Katie Gregson-MacLeod, whose star continues to rise, while BBC 6 Music brought their New Music Fix Live to Glasgow, with a live performance for broadcast from corto.alto, rounding out what’s been an exceptional year for the talented musician and composer. And as we write this before December arrives, here’s what you should look out for in the month of our dear lord and saviour, Santa. The winners of the Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMAs) will be announced in a ceremony at Saint Luke's on 1 December, the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards take place at Dundee’s Caird Hall on the 2nd, while back in Glasgow the 2023 Scottish Jazz Awards will take place on the 7th.

The Skinny's Scottish Albums of the Year

#1 Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
[Ninja Tune, 3 Feb]

#2 Hamish Hawk – Angel Numbers
[Post Electric, 3 Feb]

#3 Cloth – Secret Measure
[Rock Action, 5 May]

#4 Bemz – Nova’s Dad
[Self-release, 5 Apr]

#5 Brighde Chaimbeul – Carry Them With Us
[tak:til/ Glitterbeat, 14 Apr]

#6 Joesef – Permanent Damage
[AWAL, 13 Jan]

#7 Post Coal Prom Queen – Music For First Contact
[Self-released, 28 Apr]

#8 corto.alto – Bad With Names
[New Soil x Bridge The Gap, 6 Oct]

#9 comfort – What’s Bad Enough?
[FatCat Records, 5 May]

#10 Free Love – INSIDE
[Lost Map, 24 Feb]