Sunday, July 29, 2007

Yes, Beard #6 is out!

That's right, the brand new, long awaited Beard #6 has been unleashed! It's been out since late May in fact. I just don't keep this blog updated much now that we have fallen for the evil corporate charms of myspace. Anyway...



Vashti Bunyan
The folk-pop legend brews up a cuppa and tells Beard about her remarkable life, from working with Andrew Loog-Oldham to the Animal Collective, and travelling through the Scottish Highlands and Ireland in between.
Silver Jews
David Berman on poetry, faith and happiness.
Howe Gelb
The Giant Sand major domo on the power of gospel and how Keanu nearly joined the band.
Nina Nastasia
Peel's favourite songstress sheds light on Steve Albini's culinary skillz.
Jeffrey Lewis
The anti-folk comic book hero communes with the Beard.
BMX Bandits
Duglas T Stewart looks back on 20 years of ultra-romantic pop.
Gay Against You
Armed with laptops, a keytar and skimpy gymn shorts, Glasgow noise/pop/breakcore/gabba mentalists bring the ruckus.
Danananaykroyd
"You bastards, you've brought slam-dancing back to Glasgow" complained their friend. "Good!" they replied.
Kaz!
Underground comics hero and Spongebob writer sicks it up.


We're at large at all the best festivals - ATP, Green Man, Instal and Triptych - and have been reviewing a plethora of gigs and records.

Follow the saga of Beatnik Whaling Comix!

It's our best issue yet! A bumper, jam packed edition for only £2.50

Mail order from beardmag@yahoo.co.uk

Or buy from (so far) Monorail and Missing Records, Glasgow, Analogue Books, Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, the next issue is beginning to take shape - due in the Autumn.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Win TrocaBrahma tickets!!!



We at Beard are huge fans of Os Mutantes, Tropicalia and Brasilian music in general. So we're super stoked that the TrocaBrahma festival is pulling into town, bringing together UK and Brasilian acts for a colourful musical jamboree. What's more, we've teamed up with Trocabrahma to give away five pairs of tickets to a show of your choice! You can pick from the legendary Os Mutantes, truly one of the greatest, most inspiring bands of all time, getting down and dirty with Optimo, Diplo and Bonde Do Role bringing the Baile Funk, Tony De Gatora with his headbands and homemade guitar/drum machine contraption, Maher Shalal Hash Baz loving choristers Open Field Church, as well as UK Beard faves like Four Tet, Gruff Rhys and King Creosote... Ach, you know it's gonna be amazing already. For a chance to win, simple answer the following question...

Os Mutantes is Portuguese for...

(a) Australian Mutton
(b) The Mutants
(c) The Mutt Aunts

Answers to beardmag@yahoo.co.uk or message us via www.myspace.com/beardmag

TrocaBrahma 07: July 26 – 29: London, Liverpool, Glasgow

* Brasilian psych-rock superstars Os Mutantes to play first-ever live shows in Scotland & Liverpool (plus rare London date): they’ll collaborate with JD Twitch (Optimo) on exclusive new music.

* Also: exclusive live collaborations and brand-new material from Gruff Rhys, King Creosote, Bonde Do Role, Four Tet, Diplo, Ben Westbeech, Radioclit and many more at TrocaBrahma.

Brahma invites you to celebrate the spirit of Brasil this summer with TrocaBrahma.

TrocaBrahma 07 will synthesise the finest in established and emerging UK and Brasilian music talent for an incandescent series of must-see live shows, urban art and truly exclusive collaborations. It runs through London, Liverpool and Glasgow from July 26-29.

Converging a fiery cast of UK stars – including champion rhapsodist King Creosote, electronic alchemist Four Tet, wily Welsh pop warlock Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), global groove maharishi Gilles Peterson, clamouring party-starter JD Twitch (Optimo) and urban jungle wunderkind Ben Westbeech; and a blazing range of Brasilian luminaries – such as psych-rock behemoths Os Mutantes, incendiary genre-benders Bonde do Role, counter-cultural superstar Tony da Gatorra, exquisite pop collective Open Field Church, celestial samba bard Romulo Froes, (and Favela sonic archivist Diplo), TrocaBrahma 07 is set to deliver an exhilarating culture jam of UK and Brasilian talent.

Much of the carnival's fruit will be borne from the TrocaBrahma Exchange: a project during which the aforementioned UK acts will visit Brasil in May to engage and create with like minded – and unlikely – indigenous counterparts.

Thus, expect an impassioned alliance of oddball arias and post-punk clatter from Gruff Rhys meets Tony da Gatorra; kaleidoscopic ghetto-pop chaos from Bonde do Role meet Radioclit / Amanda Blank; sublime Scottish folk and balmy bossa nova from King Creosote meets Romulo Froes; electronic wizardry and choral serenades from Four Tet meets Open Field Church; downtown samba-jazz and inner-city soul from Tita Lima meets Ben Westbeech; and ground-breaking mayhem from Tropicalia lodestars Os Mutantes with club-land tearaway JD Twitch (Optimo).

All of the participating artists (full details below) will re-converge in the UK to perform their unique collaborations live for the first time at TrocaBrahma. All artists will also perform full live sets during July’s chromatic festivities – after which a related series of exclusive podcasts will be unveiled.

Last year’s inaugural TrocaBrahma gala ran through London, Edinburgh and Manchester, and included sell-out shows and one-off aural alliances from the likes of Seu Jorge, Sway, 1990s, Soweto Kinch, Instituto and Gilles Peterson.

TrocaBrahma is now an annual event and a vital highlight on the global music calendar.

TrocaBrahma continues Brahma’s celebration of Brasilian art and music. First brewed in Brasil in 1888, Brahma is the country’s most famous and best-selling beer and is synonymous with Brasil’s distinctive and verdant cultural legacy.

For further information on Brahma and TrocaBrahma: www.trocabrahma.com

GLASGOW

TrocaBrahma: Four Tet meets Open Field Church
Friday 27th July
Glasgow, The Classic Grand, 18 Jamaica St
Tickets £10
Doors 10.00pm
www.trocabrahma.com

TrocaBrahma: King Creosote meets Romulo Froes; Gruff Rhys meets Tony da Gatorra
Saturday 28th July
Glasgow, Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs
Tickets £14
Doors 7.00pm
www.trocabrahma.com

TrocaBrahma: Ben Westbeech meets Tita Lima – hosted by Gilles Peterson.
Saturday 28th July
Glasgow, The Classic Grand, 18 Jamaica St
Tickets £10
Doors 10.00pm
www.trocabrahma.com

TrocaBrahma: Os Mutantes meet JD Twitch (Optimo); Bonde Do Role meets Radioclit / Amanda Blank – hosted by Diplo
Sunday 29th July
Glasgow, Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs
Tickets £14
Doors 7.00pm
www.trocabrahma.com