Massie on Doric, Bothy Bass and Gaming

The Skinny: Where did you grow up?
Massie: In the countryside near Fyvie, two farms from the late John Strachan’s, a big Bothy ballad singer. He recorded an album with Alan Lomax, a famous ethnomusicologist, in the 1950s, but turned down an American tour in favour of his family farm. He was a thoroughbred teuchter. I love that, but I’m keen to see the world yi ken?

What’s it been like to tour Bothy Bass?
I love doing Bothy Bass but I’m wary of becoming typecast, so we don’t do the shows too often; around two or three a year, but energy is always mental. We had to slow it down a bunch because people were getting hurt in mosh pits. I was like hud’ the heid min!

You don’t wanna go Limp Bizkit mode.
Exactly, fuckin’ Widstock. It’s nice to see folk so into it, especially such a young audience. Our grandparents were discouraged from speaking Doric by teachers because it was seen as low class, so they’re happy to see it celebrated by bairns now. There’s aye gan ti be mare chunce fer a hoolie – just want to keep it a rare treat. Some days I feel crushed by the weight of new ideas I wish I could make, and if I don’t exercise them I start feeling depressed about it.

Craig Massie (L) and Miles Benzie (R) of Bothy Bass. Image: Bothy Bass.

When did all the ideas begin?
I’ve known Miles – the other half of Bothy Bass – since nursery and made short films since childhood. In early teens, we were on either side of the goth / ned divide respectively… it was the black or Burberry pill. But our mums were pals so we’d get together on weekends, smoke wee hash zoots and create all manner of shite without the pressure of conforming to social groups. I ran a website for homemade 2D games, music and skits that was eventually blocked by school because of our unfinished, direct-to-web classic Finding Emo.

What led you towards electronica?
Drum 'n' bass felt familiar through games like Ape Escape, Rollcage, and Bomberman. I started making music at 15. I’d go to Jungle Nation at Kef – it was cutting-edge. The Minival beach parties were bangin’ too. Also, I was heavy into piracy… you’d be searching for something on LimeWire or Kazaa and stumble upon all this other shit. 

I’ve seen your paper The Pirate Bay Case.
Big up all the torrent trackers. Piracy is having another golden age right now… streaming is the norm, so no one’s policing it. I put all the Truth Hz stuff on Soulseek... I’d rather someone went out and earnestly searched than have it passively absorbed through playlists on low-paying streaming sites. I founded the project with friends through the Boiler Room Crowdsourced series, and then we brought in Parkinson White. He’s mega Soundcloud famous, but unknown back home. Oil-powered money culture often made it uncool to support small independent things but that’s thankfully changing.

How did you get involved with Boiler Room?
I created a compilation of strange Boiler Room moments back in 2013. It blew up  overnight, so they offered me a job. I got pulled onto shows since I could work cameras… of which BR did around 276 throughout 2019. There’s a scene and a setting for every type of music… yes, even electro swing. People talk about culture vulturism but it’s complicated; a lot of shows were subsidised by the company while it lost money every year for a decade. Since DICE bought them over, it’s become more of a machine, so it can survive… It’s just whether you’d rather it die as this underground thing since it can’t exist in a vacuum.

What would you rather?
Difficult question. It seems romantic to go out on a high, but I’m proud of everything we built, even if it sometimes feels that the subsequent livestreaming gold rush is saturating the culture.

Did you enjoy playing in Ullapool?
I was proud of that baile/baile party. Part of my job was going to clubs all over the world… how is it that this remote fishing village hosted one of the best nights I’ve been to? If you can go to the end of the Earth where’s for some random night with a buzz about it, do it. It’s so much better than some Printworks thing where the whole room is shaped like a 9:16 camera you can fit into Instagram stories.

Game screenshot.

Could you explain the VR 360° sets you’ve created?
As with the other ideas this has an origin in parodying club culture. Cercle came out of nowhere with these ostentatious streams at iconic tourist traps. I thought; “where would they not think to do one?” In a video game. I love making 3D sets, but it’s not my property at the end of the day… it’s fan art. You’re a guest in somebody’s house. Most companies are supportive though – Activision reached out to collaborate, and the creator of Tekken reposted us.

I’ve heard there’s an original Truth Hz game in the pipeline?
I’m building an open world in Unreal. You run around and collect samples to make tunes which you can then play in the different clubs. I want to crowdfund it soon so it can be played on PCs and phones. We’re gonna do all our releases for the foreseeable via the game, starting with my own new EP.

---

Bothy Bass play Na Gabh Dragh, Summerhall, 14 Jul