Radar podcast #8

Our latest podcast is all about the synths, sequencers and sine waves. By some strange coincidence, when Billy and I were drawing up the tracklisting for our eighth episode we soon realised that there was one common denominater: electronics. But equally, there's a huge range of sounds here, from the pulsating synthetic rock of the opening track 'Good Po-lice', an exclusive teaser of the forthcoming debut EP from LuckyMe-signed trio American Men, to the gleeful Moroder-esque beats of closing track 'Cool Kids', by Glasgow producer Tokyo Knife Attack. Stuffed between these polar extremes we have not one but four exclusive interviews with some of the most convention-crushing artists working in Scotland right now: - Tom Marshallsay of Dam Mantle, who we featured on the blog last week and who has just released a corker of an EP. Combining cut'n'paste sampling with an ear for melody, the Kent native has embraced the buzzing Glasgow electronica scene, without necessarily feeling part of it. - Gregor McMillan of Dead Boy Robotics, the Edinburgh duo who have overhauled their sound in the studio over the past six months and are set to unleash a new clutch of epic tracks on an unsuspecting world with 'The Tale of the Winter Kids' EP. - Johnny Lynch of Silver Columns, the new electro-pop project from The Pictish Trail and Adem. When their identities remained secret a series of leaked tracks and remixes caused a minor earthquake in the blogosphere. With festival slots and a debut album on the way, expect the tremors to spread nationwide. - James Scott of Conquering Animal Sound, the looptastic experimental duo whose debut single recently launched the new Gerry Loves label. Now they're preparing for a UK tour as the word gets out about their beguiling music. This time around we got to the point where we had to reluctantly leave a few tracks on the cutting room floor, so we'll be back soon with Podcast #9. You never know, it might even feature a guitar or two, but we're not promising anything... Running order: 00:02: American Men - Good Po-lice 06:32: Interview: Tom Marshallsay (Dam Mantle) 11:18: Dam Mantle - Rebong 15:48: Interview: Gregor McMillan (Dead Boy Robotics) 21:40: Dead Boy Robotics - Tale of the Winter Kids 26:03: Interview: Johnny Lynch (Silver Columns) 32:29: Silver Columns - Cavalier 37:00: Interview: James Scott (Conquering Animal Sound) 41:44: Conquering Animal Sound - Giant 45:50: Tokyo Knife Attack - Cool Kids We know this is not a comprehensive overview of electronic music in Scotland, but we think it's a decent snapshot.