The Inside Track: Kid Canaveral
Off the back of being awarded, July album of the month for BBC Radio 1 Introducing In Scotland, indie pop folk debutants, Kid Canaveral, were kind enough to take some timeout, before their upcoming tour, to give us their spiel on: all things fringe related, the release of Shouting At Wildlife, and their involvement with the Inside Track.
Forming their four piece in St Andrews: David MacGregor, Kate Lazda, Rose McConnachie and Scott McMaster, recount how it wasn’t until they moved to Edinburgh that things really started to take shape. Leadman David revealed more: “We were very young when we started out. When we moved to Edinburgh we started to take things much more seriously. We spent some time trying out different sounds and trying to find a direction we were comfortable with.” David also credited the city’s music scene as being instrumental in progressing emerging Scottish talent: “There is a sense that people are more willing to come out to see live shows because Edinburgh has been getting more positive attention recently. The rise of the Blogosphere in Scotland has contributed in a very positive way, too”.
Although clearly a band aware of the ever-changing music industry, with the importance now of the blog and MP3, David reassuringly affirmed that the band had sought to write a record with, Shouting At Wildlife, and not a collection of ten or more songs. “I know it goes against the current 'pick and mix' culture that being able to select what tracks you want from iTunes etc., but we firmly believe that a good album will provide songs that can stand strongly on their own, but make for a more rewarding listen when taken in the context of the whole record”.
Indeed, such a mantra seems to have been used with their contribution to the Inside Track. For although a b side taken from an earlier EP, Stretching The line, delivers in its own right as a moving melodic number. David spoke of their willingness to offer it out; having claimed “it's something extra that people who have the album may not have and will therefore be more inclined to donate. It's one of the songs that we've done that I'm most proud of and I don't really think of it as a b-side, despite that for all intents and purposes, it is.”
Whilst in between the studio and touring, Kid Canaveral have also been busy at the Fringe it seems, as they shared with me some cultural offerings for the month. “We all went to see Josie Long on Saturday. She was brilliant. I have a really loud laugh (that frequently embarrasses those with me) that only comes out when I'm really amused and quite a few heads were turning during Josie's show. I love going to the late night comedy shows, too. They're frequented by some big names and the line ups tend to only be announced on the day.”
Kid Canaveral are about to go up and down the length and breadth of the UK to promote the new album, but before they leave you can catch them on Friday 10th September at The Captain's Rest, Glasgow and on Saturday 18th September at Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh. To check out more on the band, visit their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/kidcanaveral
Joshua Angrave.
Download ‘Stretching The Line’ from ‘Kid Canaveral’ as part of The Inside Track which is available as a 'name your price' download from freshair.bandcamp.com raising money for Waverley Care.
