Seven Things I Daren't Express

Scotland has a great music scene that makes it almost impossible to restrict yourself to one style. There is a wealth on offer, ranging from the traditional to the funky, to those tried and trusted genres warped, stretched and flanged into oblivion.

So as well as the five major festivals around the country that offer unparalleled ways of exploring the musical spectrum, there is a new service that can bring the journey right to your desktop. A subscription to the enigmatically named Seven Things I Daren't Express, is somewhat like having your own personal radio station, or a private record label, or a chaperone to escort you through some of the most exciting music available right now.

"Downloads are going up and up, and something like iTunes offers pretty straightforward downloads, you look for a song or artist, and you can download it," says Seven Things founder John Harris. "But our idea was to create something that can actually show you things you might not have come across before."

Each month, on the 14th, Seven Things will release an album length live show or commissioned piece online, available for high-quality download.
Every performance will be completely unique to Seven Things, and each will be accompanied by an indepth profile and introduction to the artist.
"Everybody's got their experimental edge that needs feeding every now and again," Harris says. "There is a hell of a lot more of an audience for this sort of stuff than people realise."

The programming will be broad in scope and vision, encompassing classical based experimental composition to violent Japanese noise explosions.
"You can encounter other kinds of experimental music in a fairly low risk and inexpensive way. Over a year you'll get a whole pile of interesting stuff, have a chance to make your mind up about what you like and don't like."

The creative minds behind Seven Things scour festivals around the country for acts to 'release', and already have recordings from Instal.06 and The Music Lover's Field Companion at the ready.

"Being an online service means that to try the music is a lot cheaper than it otherwise could be," Harris continues. "So it's easier to try things out you've not heard before." And with pieces from Charlemagne Palestine, Koji Asano and Zo" Irvine already in the bag, Seven Things should quickly establish itself as a formidable force.

"I could never do this in London," he considers. "There's a much more interesting scene up here. People are much more open, more prepared to try new stuff out." So if you're ever over what to listen to, log on, and you may very well never look back.