Scottish New Music Round-up: February 2026

January was made all the better with new music from The Twilight Sad, KuleeAngee, comfort, Sonotto, Post Coal Prom Queen, Wave of the Flood, Joe Hearty and more helping us get through a month that felt like it might never end. In February, the variety of new music coming out of Scotland has us excited for the year ahead.

To ease you in, we’ll start with Olympia-5 (Sonder House, 20 Feb) from Edinburgh-based pianist Adrian Leung, aka Drexler. As a way to process the possibility of loss, Olympia-5 is deeply personal to Leung and the memories of his relationship with his father. Song titles give the album a feeling akin to flicking through an old family photo album with snapshots of his dad’s favourite ties, his childhood growing up in a busy house in Hong Kong, the life he’s made for himself in Sydney, holidays in Prague, interspersed with tracks that explore his experiences of lymphoma, from the clinical trial he was meant to undertake (Olympia-5), to recovery and a doctor’s report buried low in the mix of album closer Quarry Bay. A gorgeous ode to his dad, providing a way to connect with him while living so far apart, Olympia-5 is a beautifully intimate album of improvisational piano pieces, given warmth and hopefulness via subtle ambient electronics.

On 13 February, Lou Mclean releases her debut album, Outline of a Girl. Produced by Carla J. Easton, the album reflects the lived experiences of women and girls across history, finding a lot of inspiration from the working lives and culture of the Newhaven fishwives. Based on Mclean’s Masters project (‘Women’s Work: using songwriting to explore gender, labour and community in contemporary Scotland’), she explores the tradition of work songs across ten tracks that mine influences from traditional waulking songs, 1960s girl bands, Jefferson Airplane, No Doubt and Chappell Roan. With some supremely catchy moments on tracks like Newhaven, Peace and Good Content, Outline of a Girl is a pop record at its core, and although personal to Mclean, it will be relatable to many.

On the same day, Highland sisters Brèagha and Onnagh Cuinn, aka Bratakus, release their latest record Hagridden via Venn Records, their first to favour live drums over a drum machine. While most were recorded by producer Tommy Duffin, Turnstile's drums are courtesy of The Hives’ Chris Dangerous. The resulting record’s 27-minute runtime is raw, snarling and unfiltered as they tackle feminism, animal rights, media brainwashing and more over thrashing instrumentation. To find out more, read our full interview in the February issue.

A rich glut of influences form the backbone of Glasgow-based coloratura soprano Stephanie Lamprea’s latest body of work, Ecstatic Visions (Neuma Records, 20 Feb). An album released alongside electronic musician Alistair MacDonald, Ecstatic Visions sees the pair stitch together the works of five different composers like a complex patchwork quilt. Adorned with the poetry of 17th century Spanish writer Juana Inés de la Cruz, Glasgow Cathedral’s bell, the writing of Hildegard von Bingen, ancient traditions of lunar mythology, the poetry of Anne Sexton and even texts generated by AI, this is an experimental record at its core. A challenging listen at points, there are beautiful moments to be found, and if nothing else you'll be stunned by the sheer malleability and expressiveness of Lamprea’s voice.

Back at the start of the month, Glasgow-based artist and DJ KAVARI releases PLAGUE MUSIC (6 Feb), her debut EP for XL Recordings. Across its four tracks, KAVARI pulls together facets of D’n’B, dubstep and noise making for a dark record that is both unnerving and uncompromising. Our Clubs editor Myrtle Boot chats in more depth with KAVARI in our February issue; read that chat here. On 8 February, two unique talents – Isa Gordon and Tony Morris – come together on Wake Up Baby, a 12" dance record coming via Huntleys + Palmers. Featuring two collaborative songs – Wake Up Baby and Syringe Moustache – the record also features Auntie Flo and 100% Positive Feedback on remix duty, with the latter’s take on Syringe Moustache particularly joyful as Morris’s cabaret delivery is cut up… ‘like a moustache’...

On 14 February, self-professed ‘Mayor of Glasgow’ Stephen McLeod releases Pick and Dry, his debut album as Allmyfriendsaresynths. Twelve tracks of tripped-out electronica, it combines electro with jungle, D’n’B, breakbeat and more, studded throughout with robotic vocal motifs that give it bags full of character. On the 20th, Anna Realta (who you might know better as DJ Anna Gram), the founder of a free music programme called The Right Track, celebrates last summer’s cohorts with a VA release. Following the course that taught them how to produce their own music using Ableton, its 11 tracks were created by 16-25 year olds and the results are fantastic, with a whole glut of genres explored, from mx burnout's dystopian drone and Marie Dipnarine's fizzy, gurgling electronica to a dark techno chugger from Shedcat and bouncing ghettotech from work coach.

Also this month, check out albums from Helicon (ft. AI Lover) and Microwave 60, with singles due from Pippa Blundell, heavyskint, Brontës, Megan Black, Megalichen, wojtek the bear, Moody Moody and The Foot & Leg Clinic (fka The Wife Guys of Reddit). Happy listening!