The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 21 November

EXCLUSIVE! STREAM A NEW TRACK BY ST. DELUXE 

Glasgow fuzz-rockers St. Deluxe have been hard at work on their debut album Born Into Flame, due out on 8 Dec. They are preparing for a series of live shows to support the album, including a date at Nice 'N' Sleazy's on 7 Dec. Today, they shared a track, Your Blood, EXCLUSIVELY with readers of the Skinny's Bulletin. The band had this to say: "Your Blood is us exploring a somewhat darker side than anything we’ve done before. It draws from bands like Black Flag and mixes it up with a bit of psychedelic garage to make a slab of hardcore psych mayhem. Even with the more extreme vocals, and on the edge wah wah guitar I think we still manage to keep a pop sensibility with this song." It certainly gets us excited for both the album's launch, and the forthcoming gigs! Check out more by the band at their Bandcamp page.

DEATH GRIPS SPEAK
Yesterday on the Spin website, Death Grips were named the magazine's 'Artists of the Year.' An interview with Zac Hill and the publicity-shy Stefan Burnett (aka MC Ride) followed, shedding some light on the band's departure from Epic, their plans for the future, and the effects of the scandal surrounding the way they chose to release No Love Deep Web. In the interview, recorded at CMJ 2012 a month ago, the band answer questions about why they shut down their Twitter ("It's stupid," Zach Hill is quoted as saying), and despite the lack of an appearance by third member Flatlander, whose status in the band is "undetermined" according to the Spin piece, Hill says the band "...already know what we want to do for the future, and as far as a record, concept, live performance, it doesn't look a lot like anything that's happening right now. We're already existing a year from now." Read the full interview here.

TERRY PRATCHETT & CHARLIE BROOKER WIN AT INTERNATIONAL EMMYS
If you haven't been able to tell by the contentb of recent Bulletins, it's award season. The statuettes just keep on coming, with the latest set of honours going to Sir Terry Pratchett, for his Channel 4 documentary about assisted suicide, and to Charlie Brooker, for his Black Mirror series, also on Channel 4. The BBC confirms that Black Mirror has been comissioned for a second series. At the ceremony, held in New York, awards were also given to producer British producer Norman Lear, and to actor Alan Alda. If you missed Black Mirror on TV, the DVD is out now. Here's the preview:

WINTERSLEEP: NEW VIDEO & MIXTAPE, FREE APP, & TOUR DATES

Wintersleep are one of Canada's leading indie-rock bands, featuring drummer Loel Campbell, who also plays in Holy Fuck. Their latest album, Hello Hum, is a fine piece of work, which saw the band moving in a more experimental direction, and working with producers including Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian). We're pleased that they've been chosen as the support for a series of dates next year with Frightened Rabbit, including dates in Edinburgh (26 Feb, at HMV Picturehouse) and Glasgow (28 Feb, at Barrowlands). They've also launched their own app! To celebrate, we're hosting this mixtape from Wintersleep:
 

We've also got their new video, for the song Nothing Is Anything Without You. Check it out below!

WINTERSLEEP - 'Nothing Is Anything (Without You)' from the album 'Hello Hum' from Triad Publicity on Vimeo.

RATM RELEASE RARE DEMO IN RUN-UP TO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOX-SET
Rage Against The Machine – they were blending rap and punk when Death Grips were weans, and with their overtly political, righteous fury, they pretty much slew a generation of bands, making them all look like weak, feeble-minded yes-men to Rage's daring, idealistic band of rebels. As impossible as it is to believe, their eponymous debut album celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, and the band will be releasing a deluxe box-set entitled XX. Including rarities, demos and unreleased tracks, it looks like a pretty sweet package. It's out Nov 26. You can stream an early demo, Auto Logic, over at Pure Volume.

STANLEY ODD'S SOLAREYE DROPS FREE SOLO EP
Stanley Odd are one of Scotland's most enduring and talented hip-hop bands. Fronted by witty, politically-conscious emcee Solareye, backed by a super-tight band of veteran musicians and singer Veronica Electronica, they've toured relentlessly to support latest album Reject, winning hearts and minds up and down the UK. Solareye is someone who has a long association with The Skinny - his previous band, Disciples Of Panic Earth, played our launch party way back in the mists of time. Today, Solareye dropped a free EP on the Odd Squad's Bandcamp page. With five tracks of head-nodding, thought-provoking beats and rhymes, and featuring guest spots from emcees like Louie of Hector Bizerk, and Tickle, Download the EP from Stanley Odd's Bandcamp, and watch the video for The Pageant below.

LIVESTREAM OF CUTE KITTENS REDUCES OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY

It's the age-old problem - how to get anything done, at all, in the presence of kawaii furry creatures. Aww, look, they're rolling over! Look at their twinkly little eyes! Oh! That one just sneezed - how adorable! Yes, this live stream of The Spice Kittens, as they have come to be known, has laid waste to productivity in The Skinny offices with more devastating effect than a canister of Sarin gas. An anonymous Skinny insider tore herself away from the live stream to speak out about the kittens: "I love the Kittencam," she told us. "I've had to limit my time on it because it's preventing me from carrying out basic tasks both in work and in life. My favourite kitten is probably Pepper, the black and white one. She's the only girl and spends a lot of time getting the shit beaten out of her by her brothers. I've put a lot of time into watching these kittens. It's pretty much what I spent my weekend doing." Have you got hours to waste? Head on over now and - oh look, they're sleeping now... with their little fluffy paws and ears..... d'awwwwwww......