The Skinny Mixtape: 20 Years of Scottish Music

A lot can happen in 20 years. Since The Skinny first hit the shelves in 2005, Scotland’s music scene has kept reinventing itself – giving us chart-toppers, cult icons, underground pioneers and a fair share of unexpected moments. To celebrate two decades of the magazine, we’ve picked out a glut of artists who capture that story, one for each year.

This isn’t necessarily all about the biggest names or the best albums – it’s about the artists and bands who’ve helped shape Scotland’s music culture as it continues to unfold. From grassroots DIY collectives to festival headliners, breakthrough debuts to boundary-pushing experiments, each of these names tells us something about where we’ve been and where we’re heading.

2005: KT Tunstall

A year before the magazine arrived, KT Tunstall burst onto the scene with Eye to the Telescope and an unforgettable Later... with Jools Holland performance, leading to the album's re-release in 2005 and a Mercury Prize nod that same year. Suddenly, a Fife singer-songwriter was bothering the charts worldwide. Tunstall balanced folk roots with pop ambition, showing how one moment could spark a career, and inspire a generation.

2006: Belle and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian’s seventh album The Life Pursuit landed in 2006, affirming them as indie-pop royalty. Quirky yet heartfelt, the album showcased their knack for literate songwriting and sonic evolution. That year we reviewed one of their shows, linking the band’s storytelling charm to Scotland’s broader indie boom. Their legacy continues to shape the sound of Scottish indie today.

2007: Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris exploded onto the scene with I Created Disco (four stars, The Skinny), turning Dumfries into the epicentre of electronic pop. With infectious beats and cheeky lyrics, he showed that Scottish artists could dominate charts worldwide. His early work laid the foundations for a global pop career and redefined what electronic music from Scotland could achieve.

2008: Frightened Rabbit

Released in 2008, Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight remains a cornerstone of Scottish indie. Its raw emotion and unflinching honesty struck a chord well beyond Scotland, winning the coveted top spot in our end of year poll that year, while Scott Hutchison helped us celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2018. The album has been a lifeline for fans worldwide, setting a gold standard for confessional songwriting.

2009: Franz Ferdinand

By 2009, Franz Ferdinand were firmly cemented as Glasgow art-rock icons. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand added a darker, more electronic edge to their trademark riffs, earning them The Skinny’s October cover. Their sharp suits, sharper hooks and swaggering ambition made them emblematic of Scotland’s indie cool. Since then we celebrated their 20th anniversary with Alex Kapranos in 2022 and the band are still going strong.

2010: Biffy Clyro

This was the year Biffy Clyro stopped being Scotland’s best-kept secret and became main stage mainstays. Their fifth studio album Only Revolutions secured the band a Mercury Prize nomination and the year culminated in them headlining Edinburgh's Hogmanay. The Skinny’s December cover featured the Ayrshire trio at their peak as the band that made prog-pop singalongs mainstream, never losing the grit of their earlier chaos.

2011: Mogwai

Mogwai entered their third decade in 2011 with Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. Their hypnotic post-rock instrumentals continued to soundtrack both films and political moods. By this point, Mogwai weren’t just a band – they were a movement, their influence woven deep into Scotland’s experimental scene. Few groups embody endurance and evolution like Mogwai, and since then they've been nominated for the Mercury Prize and won Scottish Album of the Year in 2021.

2012: The Twilight Sad

The Twilight Sad’s brooding No One Can Ever Know set a new course in 2012, trading shoegaze walls for industrial bite. They were The Skinny’s January cover stars that year, representing a band unafraid to evolve while staying rooted in emotional truth. Their sonic bleakness felt like catharsis, mirroring the stark realities of the era. The band went on to find a fan in Robert Smith and have joined The Cure on tour across Europe and North America.

2013: CHVRCHES

CHVRCHES’ The Bones of What You Believe exploded into 2013, catapulting the Glasgow trio from SoundCloud demos to global tours. Sleek synthpop fused big hooks with DIY spirit, setting a template for countless acts that followed. They embodied the new wave of Scottish electronic music: glossy, fiercely independent, and always a step ahead of the curve.

2014: Young Fathers

This was the year Young Fathers rewrote the rules. Winning both the Mercury Prize (Dead) and SAY Award (Tape Two), they broke barriers with their genre-defying sound. The Edinburgh trio refused to fit into boxes, instead fusing hip-hop, gospel, noise and pop into something radical, and became one of Scotland’s most vital and politically charged voices. Releasing Heavy Heavy (their third SAY winner) in 2023, they did a full-blown takeover of these pages.

2015: Kathryn Joseph

In 2015, Kathryn Joseph’s haunting debut Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled earned her The SAY Award – making her the first woman to win the national prize. Minimal yet devastating, her voice carried both fragility and power. She embodies how Scotland’s grassroots can nurture singular artistry into national acclaim.

2016: Anna Meredith

Anna Meredith’s Varmints showcased her fearless genre-blending in 2016. Her debut album won the Scottish Album of the Year Award, highlighting her innovative approach that blended classical composition with electronic experimentation. Meredith demonstrated that Scottish artists could be cerebral, adventurous and thrilling, pushing the boundaries of what contemporary music could be.

2017: Idlewild

Idlewild's breakthrough album The Remote Part was released before our time, in 2002, so we're celebrating the fact they marked its 15th anniversary with two special Christmas shows at Glasgow’s ABC, playing the album in full. Both gigs sold out within a day, a reminder of their enduring appeal. Their mix of passion, energy, and consistency reaffirmed their status as one of Scotland’s most influential and beloved indie acts whose tenth album arrives this month.

2018: SOPHIE

SOPHIE’s Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides transformed pop in 2018. Emerging from Glasgow labels Huntleys + Palmers and Numbers, she mixed futuristic electronic production with bold explorations of identity. While there’s been debate over her Scottish roots, her radical approach left an indelible mark on electronic and pop music both in Scotland and worldwide.

2019: Sacred Paws

Sacred Paws' Afrobeat-infused indie-rock landed them a SAY Award for Strike a Match in 2017, but it was the release of 2019's Run Around the Sun that saw them feature on our June cover. The duo’s rhythmic guitar interplay and infectious energy highlights the diversity of Scotland’s music scene, while their inventive, genre-blending approach proved Scottish music could be bold, joyful, and internationally compelling.

2020: Joesef

Joesef’s bittersweet bedroom soul turned heads in 2020 with a feature on the BBC Sound of 2020 longlist, while his EP from that year, Does It Make You Feel Good?, received a nomination for the 2021 SAY Award, establishing him as one of Scotland’s brightest new storytellers. With lyrics that wear vulnerability on their sleeve, he captured intimacy and loss in uncertain times, and carved out a sound that feels both timeless and utterly now.

2021: Brooke Combe

While the pandemic froze live music, Brooke Combe showcased her soulful voice and effortless charisma online, releasing her debut single Are You With Me? in 2021. Blending R'n'B, pop and classic soul influences, she embodied a new generation rising online before stages reopened. Combe showed that even in quiet years, Scotland was incubating voices set to shape the next era, her 2025 debut album going on to receive critical acclaim.

2022: Bemz

Bemz emerged as one of Scotland’s most exciting rap voices in 2022, winning the BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year. Mixing raw honesty with sharp flows, he represents the growing strength of Scotland’s hip-hop scene. His music speaks to lived experiences often left outside the ordinary – making him a vital new presence. He first featured in The Skinny in 2020 and has since received three SAY Award nominations.

2023: Barry Can’t Swim

Barry Can’t Swim’s breakthrough came in 2023 with his debut album When Will We Land? and a growing international profile. Blending jazz, house and euphoric electronics, he brought a distinct Scottish flavour to global dancefloors. The record won BBC Radio 1’s Dance Award for Best Album, was shortlisted for both the 2024 Mercury Prize and The SAY Award. Club-ready yet deeply emotive, Barry Can’t Swim proves Scotland’s producers are still shaping the future.

2024: corto.alto

In 2024, Liam Shortall’s project corto.alto took Scotland’s thriving nu-jazz movement to new heights. Nominated for both the Mercury Prize and SAY Award for his debut album Bad With Names, Shortall's brass-driven, genre-hopping compositions continue to draw global attention – this summer, alongside his bandmates, he opened Glastonbury's iconic West Holts stage and has recently signed to Ninja Tune.

2025: Jacob Alon

Following a gorgeous appearance on Later... with Jools Holland at the end of last year, 2025 belongs to Jacob Alon who graced our April cover earlier this year. The free-spirited artist's stunning blend of introspection and striking visuals captured imaginations on their debut album In Limerance in May, with a Mercury Prize and SAY Award nomination now firmly in the bag. Alon represents where Scottish music is headed – boundaryless, self-defined, and unafraid to challenge expectations.

Of course, these pages can’t cover everything. Scotland’s music over the last two decades has been huge, messy, diverse and brilliant – from global success stories like Lewis Capaldi and Amy Macdonald, to artists like TAAHLIAH, Auntie Flo, Rustie, rEDOLENT, Fergus McCreadie, Hamish Hawk, Free Love, Honeyblood and Niteworks carving their own paths in Scotland's thriving scene. Think of this list less as a definitive canon and more as a mixtape: a snapshot of the sounds and stories that have defined the last 20 years.