Dundee DIY Newsletter: September

Derrick Johnston runs DIY institution Make-That-A-Take – he puts out records, puts on shows, and once a year he throws Dundee a whole damn music festival. In his first report for The Skinny, he reframes the city's musical heritage and picks some ace September shows 

DIY punk has a unique position in Dundee, being part of an underground movement that exists outwith the usual indie rock dichotomy in an already marginalised city. Dundee lives in the shadow of its more glamourous east coast neighbours, possessing neither the European cosmopolitanism of Edinburgh nor the industrial/financial attractions of Aberdeen. All three cities live in the shadow of Scotland's cultural capital Glasgow, in the eyes of the media at very least. So perhaps Dundee is fourth, if we judge success in terms of public perceptions of worth, value, output and size.

To many, Dundee is synonymous with The View, Snow Patrol, Average White Band and The Hazey Janes, artists who've enjoyed varying degrees of success, conforming in their own ways to the 'industry' model. These acts can fit easily onto any daytime radio playlist and are examples of mainstream 'success' from the city. This doesn't denigrate their work, but it doesn't illuminate Dundee's musical underground. To greater understand Dundee's underbelly, one should look to the city's longest-running hardcore institution: Kaddish. 

Kaddish: Dundee's hardcore institution

Kaddish are a rare beast; reclusive and mysterious with no huge online presence, they grow in reputation, punk folklore and influence with each enigmatic performance and release.

They are uncrowned kings of Ecossemo, a gritty and open-hearted Scottish sub-genre of screamo/hardcore/emo that takes cue from Dischord Records, early 00s Euroskramz (that is, continental screamo bands such as La Quiete, Raien, Suis La Lune, etc) and black metal, with philosophical/confessional lyricism and intense, enamel-stripping, violent expulsions of darkness and nuanced noise, forceful both live and on record.

Existential anxiety aside, there is a visceral joy in their awe-inspiring performances; front-person Dom channels the collective energy of the basement throng with blood-curdling screams against walls of noise in Fugazi/Converge-esque 7/4 timing. Formed in the late 90s, Kaddish exist primarily to maintain and develop friendships, to purge the psychological detritus from collective experience and to engage cerebrally and emotionally. Success for Kaddish comes not in mainstream terms of online engagement numbers or record sales (although both full-length LPs are long sold out), but by their continued existence alone; a lifetime in hardcore years. Having survived line-up changes, successive governments and an evolving punk scene, their aims and objectives remain the same.

They form the collective conscience of east coast punk; a moral yardstick, humble, a band more influential than they'd dare imagine. Sought after beyond geographic boundaries, Kaddish are a modern hardcore band more anarchist than mall-punk; principled, challenging (musically and ideologically) and culturally-engaged. 2014's Thick Letters To Friends LP is an unheralded Scottish masterpiece, regardless of genre, that far outstrips the perceived limitations of hardcore – one of the greatest Scottish records of the century thus far. 

Modern Dundee may be broadly defined by the waterfront development, the V&A, Duncan and Jordanstone, the universities, DC Thompson and Rockstar Games, but it is Kaddish that best represents the DIY “resistance” (floor shows, 25 minute sets, open conversations), inspiring countless bands in their wake; Bonehouse, Stonethrower, Please Believe, Carson Wells, Mesa Verde, to name a few.

Continuing Dundee's historical tradition of rebellion, Kaddish are peerless in modern hardcore. Their forthcoming third LP, due in early 2017, is the latest chapter in their unfolding narrative, extracting light from darkness to create hope and an end to fear.

Dundee Gig Highlights

Fat Goth, photo: Beth Chalmers

Donovan Wolfington (USA), Caddywhompus (USA), Terrafraid, A Hopeless Cause

The premier league US emo punks on Topshelf Records from New Orleans, Louisiana visit Dundee for the first time as part of their ongoing European tour. 
Conroy's Basement, 19 Sep, 7pm, £5 adv/£7 OTD

Fat Goth, Mondegreen, The Sparrowhawk Orkestral, Kapil Sashasayee

Monolithic riff-rockers Fat Goth play their first hometown show in some time to give their (as-yet-unrecorded) fourth album a full live workout. Expect blood, sweat and riffs.
Fat Sams, 24 Sep, 7pm, £5 adv/£6 OTD

Start At Zero, Salem Street, Shatterhand, Delinquents

Slovenian melodic skate punks Start At Zero tour the UK, bringing their harmony-laden, political skate punk to Dundee for the first time with quality local supports. 
Conroy's Basement, 28 Sep, 7pm, £5 OTD