ABZ

Dons Half-Way Review

2011-12-21T18:48:00.001Z

Martyn Simpson looks at Aberdeen FC's performance throughout the first half of this year's SPL.

With two games left for Aberdeen in the calendar year the (formerly) Dandy Dons have managed to open up a small, yet promising gap between themselves and the dark abyss of the SPL basement.

The Gaffer
It’s been just over a year since Craig Brown and Archie Knox took over an injury plagued rock bottom Dons team with one of the worst discipline records in the league. The only positives Aberdeen fans had at the time were a League Cup Semi-Final to look forward to and the performances from midfield stalwart Paul Hartley.

Skip forward a year and manager Mark McGhee has been replaced due to the situation he had gotten the club, of which he had attained himself legendary status as a player, into. The improvements? On paper there are none. Aberdeen were bottom of the league two games ago, had been knocked out of the cup by SECOND DIVISION East Fife and had no talismanic player to look to with Paul Hartley hanging up his boots.

So understandably a pundit, reporter or football fan looking from the outside at the situation may wonder why Brown and Knox did not meet the same fate as McGhee.

Well as most Aberdeen fans who still support British football's oldest manager will tell you along with many Scottish journalists and pundits is that, while the problems on paper may have remained largely the same, the club as a whole have shown signs of steadying what looked like a sinking ship.

McGhee became unpopular not solely due to the clubs position but due to some of the decisions he made as boss. Examples include getting rid of Legendry Aberdeen and Scotland goalkeeper Jim Leighton from his job as goal keeping coach due to “budget constrictions” which saw a drastic drop in form of keeper Jamie Langfield.

Also, the decision to play Fraser Fyvie in a league cap tie against Alloa at the artificial pitch. Fans were not keen on the pitch to begin with and they felt the decision to start a player whose style of play made him more susceptible to injury on the pitch was a poor one. And so it turned out to be, Fyvie suffered a cruciate ligament injury and both club and country had lost one of its brightest young starlets for almost a year.

And other poor judgements include loaning out player of the season Ricky Foster in favour of an injury-plagued Andrius Velička, who played with about as much passion as a grazing cow. The list goes on.

Brown’s decisions, on the other hand, have been largely popular and the club's position had seemed down more to a mix of poor performances from the players as well as a dreadful streak of bad luck, NOT poor management decisions.

Should things go bad for the Dons, the club need to stop for a second and think. If Craig Brown and Archie Knox can't save this club, maybe the problems go a bit deeper than the management staff?

The matches

Results have been up and down for Aberdeen this season. Ignoring the league cup travesty against East Fife some of the more disappointing results have been draws with St. Mirren and Dunfermline where the Dons threw away comfortable leads. But positives have come from good solid victories to accompany performances. A 4-0 win over Dunfermline and 3-1 win against Dundee United have given hope to the fans.

The “Players”

Aberdeen’s players have been hit and miss this season, but largely there have been signs of promise. New signings Kari Arnason and Isaac Osbourne have proved popular additions to the midfield and Scott Vernon has kept up his respectable goal scoring form.

Fraser Fyvie has returned from injury and appears as good a player as ever and Ryan Jack has given the fans even greater hope for the future with his versatility and ability.

But the star of the team so far this season has to be midfielder Rob Milsom. The name is unlikely to have made any Dons fans jump out of their seats when Craig Brown signed him last January, but this season he seems to have moved up a gear and created a spark in the midfield.

Some mention also has to go to the Dons defence which, while shaky at times, has been considerably more reliable than many other teams in the league.

The Prodigal Son Returns?

Mention the name Russell Anderson to an Aberdeen fan and you will struggle to find anybody with a bad word to say about the former skipper. The Aberdonian born and bred spent ten years with the club and captained the side into Europe during his last season, when he was nominated for SPL player of the year. He then moved to Sunderland for £1million, with the blessings of most Dons fans.

Anderson’s time in England was injury-plagued at Sunderland, Derby, Plymouth and Burnley. But now the fan favourite is back training with the club and, if he can prove his fitness, will no doubt be welcomed back to Pittodrie with open arms.

The Future

With two more games this year away to Inverness and at home to Hearts (who have more off-field problems than Robbie Kean’s had clubs) the Reds have the opportunity to climb the table. Six points would almost certainly be enough to see them end 2011 in the top half of the table, but offer me and many other fans 4 points right now and you’d probably be saying goodbye to your hand.

Motherwell are running away with 3^rd spot this year and will most likely take that spot. But for Aberdeen, a decent target should be a top half finish and, as always, a cup final. And if the team can take some good results from the next two games, that should be a good platform to finally launch the season fully.

S.T.A.G Studio Comes Back to Aberdeen

2011-11-26T12:49:00.003Z

Fashion means something different to everybody and provides an outlet to let you express yourself freely without the worry of being judged.Right now the fashion industry is so vast; it covers a range of styles there is definitely something for everyone.

Everybody can add their own spin to existing styles. The fashion industry’s success is due to how accessible it is. It is constantly changing which keeps styles fresh. In a society where appearance is growing steadily more and more important and influential on our lives it is easy to see why many people flock to the fashion industry to kick start their careers.

On 12th November, S.T.A.G studio hosted a pop up fashion shop in Aberdeen’s Korova Club. They really covered every angle of fashion and beauty. As soon as you walked in you could tell what kind of fashion they were going to display. Rows of mannequins lined the walls dressed in paper dresses, all posing in a different shape. It created quite an artistic aura yet with the stone walls and underground beats it made the scene quite eerie.

Established by two fourth year fashion students from Gray’s School of Art, Emma Noble and Toni Roddie, the company stands for Scottish Talent and Graduates and is a unique group dedicated to help promote Scottish fashion. We chatted to some of the designers there and many had taken part in other pop up shops.

One shop created by Kevin Andrew has participated in conventions in Glasgow. They make and sell Perspex and copper ornaments which have a completely classic feel. While you browse, the subversive house music plays away in the background and you get lost in a world of quirky fashion which you would be hard put to find on the high street. Many of the items were for sale and completely hand crafted and one of a kind. Each stall brought its own flavour and one particular stall had a theme of autumn. Heather Grant’s label Wolf in Geek’s Clothing’s original concept was facts about mental illness. She said: “Everyone is looking for a place to play and be completely themselves. You need to make a room in your own mind to express yourself and be creative.”

The event also had urban decay make artists and nail technicians ready to give free samples and Aberdeen’s own Profile hairdressers were available to give your hair a make-over. The event featured a broad range of designers including clothing, jewellery, ornaments and gifts and also cupcakes.

To many of these designers fashion comes naturally to them. They all have the same aim to make vintage and slightly eccentric looks wearable. This period yet modern approach can be seen throughout fashion the past few seasons. Bringing back old styles with a twist is highly popular and has proven to be very successful. It is clear the main word on the scene just now is vintage.

Click the image below to view our S.T.A.G. Studio gallery. Photographs by Laura Young.

Aberdeen bloggers release second local music compilation

2011-10-27T19:09:00.001+01:00

A free sampler album featuring some of the best Aberdeen music is to be released tomorrow.
The 12-track album will be available from October 28 on the Aberdeen-based website Hercules Moments.

The release of "Hercules Moments: Vol. 2" is a sequel to 2010's successful sampler which followed a similar theme of the best in Aberdeen.

Café Drummond, on the top corner of Belmont Street, will also be hosting a sample of the sampler - if you can comprehend such a thing - from 8pm on the date of release.

Katerwaul, The Deportees and Mark Riley (frontman of Glassman), who are included on the sampler, will be performing at the album's launch party.

Other acts featured on "Hercules Moments: Vol. 2" range from the already established (The Xcerts, The Little Kicks) to newcomers such as Min Diesel, Foxhunting and Seas, Starry.

The line-up is completed by other local favourites Carson Wells, The Shakedown Project, Turning 13 and Outbox.

Hercules Moments co-founder Eoin Smith said: "We were overwhelmed by the positive reaction we received after last year’s sampler so there was really no question as to whether we would release a second one.

"We have an even more diverse range of talent this year, and everyone involved is really very excited to get it out there for people to hear."

Russell Thom, the site’s other co-founder, said: "We were lucky to get award-winning producer Iain Macpherson to look over the tracks, which has made the whole thing fit together really well.

"The sampler really is an awesome mix of tracks and best of all it’s free! If you ever wanted an introduction to a selection of the best music in Aberdeen, then this is your chance to hear it."

Music festival to rock Aberdeen next week

2011-10-27T15:33:00.000+01:00

Imagine if Woodstock was squeezed into one day, one venue, and by just one organiser...

Well Aberdeen's Jamie Rodden is doing exactly that on November 5 at the city's Beach Ballroom.

The imaginatively named Jimstock festival will feature artists based in and around Aberdeen who have all made big waves on the local music circuit.

The tantilising line-up features both award-winning bands - such as Kittiwake Records' Stanley and folk-rock maestros The Lorelei - and solo performers including country singer Amy Sawers and Jim himself.

The event is all to raise money for the wards of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, the staff of which helped Jamie's father Jim recover from a heart attack earlier this year.

Jamie said: "They got him through a very difficult time. The proceeds from the event will go to those wards as a thank you gesture."

His father had initially been diagnosed with muscle injuries, but in May he was admitted to hospital to have immediate triple-bypass surgery.

Jim, who is a father of three, said: "I met a tremendous group of people at the hospital who made my time there much easier. I’m still friends with many of them."

He has recovered dramatically, and has even managed to land a solo slot on the talent-packed bill along with his son's band, Shy James.

Jamie is tight-lipped about a mysterious headliner, only going as far as to say they are "making a great name for themselves at the moment" - the band's name will be revealed on the Monday before the event.

He added: "The support I’ve had so far has been fantastic, and I am truly grateful to everyone involved."

Tickets for Jimstock, which takes place November 5, cost £15 and are available from One Up, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. More information is available at the event's page on Facebook.

Gig Review: Noah and the Whale

2011-10-24T23:31:00.000+01:00

Short but sweet. That seems to be best way to describe Radio 1's student tour. Short queues (although that will never be a complaint) and short sets.

The evening was rather enthusiastically kicked off by a DJ set from Radio 1's very own Zane Lowe. It was as if the audience had one collective personality as it decided that dancing was not such a bad idea and neither was looking like you were enjoying yourself.

Support came from the very "normal" Ben Howard. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed and seemed refreshingly grateful to be there. Then he sang. It was incredible. Somebody so unassuming, masking such an incredible talent.

After much fussing with instruments and amps, a second DJ set from Zane Lowe and the apparent placing of a rug on the floor of the stage, Noah and the Whale took the stage.

They seemed so calm and collected in their matching suits as the crowd went crazy. The lead singer, Charlie Fink, says very little as the band rattle off song after song, not even when a cable becomes detached from his guitar does he break the façade of complete professionalism.

The band finish their broadcasted set with "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." and bid all Radio 1 listeners farewell before announcing that they have a few more songs for fans in the room. They played an extra five songs including “First Days of Spring” and bid Aberdeen a final goodbye.

Noah and the Whale played Aberdeen Music Hall on October 24, 2011.

Foxhunting's debut album: A track-by-track guide

2011-10-21T19:52:00.002+01:00

We get a track-by-track guide to Foxhunting's debut album.

Foxhunting (AKA Joe) only played his first gig in November 2010, at Aberdeen's Musa and, since then, has self-released several singles and an EP.

And after spending some time with a local music producer, his debut album was recorded just in time for him to relocate to Australia for a year.

But we managed to get hold of him for a track-by-track guide to" Come On Sweetheart, Take My Hand".

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://buy.huntingfox.es/album/come-on-sweetheart-take-my-hand"&amp;gt;Come On Sweetheart, Take My Hand by FOXHUNTING&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Track One: Know
"Stop being so hard on yourself / I know / I still know"

Foxhunting: Know was one of the two tracks I wrote while I was actually in the studio and recording other stuff. It was just something we came up with while messing around and waiting for other things to work, and eventually decided to play about with loops and little bits and pieces. The resulting mishmash of stuff sounded quite nice, so with a bit of tweaking it was crafted into the opener. The lyrics over the top were put in afterwards with a Mac microphone on a bed in Perth.

ABZ: The song is very instrumental, with only one line running through it. Why did you choose to keep it light on the lyrics?

Foxhunting: The song's very loopy, since we decided that the album would be "bookended" by two instrumentals. "Now" [Track 10] is much the same, if I'm honest. This was originally due to not having enough time to do as many songs as I had planned.

Track Two: December
"Never thought that we'd get this far"

Foxhunting: To be honest, I wrote the song so long ago I don't recall how it came about. It's a song about going for a walk with someone you love, and being so disinterested with life as you knew it before that walk and before meeting that person that you just walk for as long as you are able. It hasn't changed too much, since most of my basic songwriting gets fixed up as I'm writing it; it's difficult to alter stuff you have written in the past, in a certain mindset. The only real differences between the new recording and my demo is that it's to a beat, it's a little slower and has a more electronic influence.

ABZ: What's your favourite line in the song?

Foxhunting: I really like singing "But I won't wake you yet!" live. Has a sort of pent-up, urgent quality that's fun to just lose yourself with.

Track Three: Little Song, or, Outer Space
"We're so far away / It's like we're in outer space"

Foxhunting: Little Song wasn't a very difficult song to write, which was odd as it came following a long period of writer's block. The original was very slow, then I sped it up for playing live, before it got slow again during recording - a lot of the album is at a lower tempo than I was expecting it to be. The song itself is pretty simple, about being trapped in a certain scenario and not being able to get yourself out of it or to tell anyone about it. The effect Iain [MacPherson, who produced the album at Bedford Records] applied to the guitar was too good not to put in - a swirling mesh of reverb-soaked strumming, while the vocals, too, got the echo treatment. It helps aid the feeling of distance the song is trying to convey.

ABZ: Several of the songs on the album have alternate titles, where did the two for this song come from?

Foxhunting: I gave the song an alternate title as "Little Song" was just something I came up with in five minutes. "Outer Space" suits the sound of the song a lot better, but it's up to the listener which they prefer.

Track Four: Damocles
"Come on sweetheart, take my hand"

Foxhunting: Damocles is one of the songs not really written from a personal point of view, rather channeling the view of a lot of people my age. It's basically a song about wanting to progress a relationship faster than one really should, and being considered too "young" to do so. It's using the mythical thing as a metaphor, in that sense, of time being against you.

ABZ: And just for those who don't know, what is the mythical "Damocles"?

Foxhunting: Damocles (or rather, the Sword of Damocles) is a phrase coined in Greek times and in modern-day English it alludes to mounting pressure - a sword hanging over one's head - on those in power. For instance, Shakespeare made use of it: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"

ABZ: The album's title comes from a line in this song, why did you decide these words were the best fit for your work?

Foxhunting: I won't lie to you, the words just jumped out at me as something to name the album. I could have picked any other lyric, but that one was the best, in my opinion.

Track Five: Blood, or, And I Was Right
"I look up at the trees, the leaves have all turned red / The sun rises behind them, summer isn't dead"

ABZ: Blood is a track you've played to a lot of audiences in Aberdeen, is it one of your favourites to perform live?

Foxhunting: Not to play, no - I more enjoy the more active, strumming songs as opposed to the slower, finger-picked ones. The meaning of the song is very cryptic and came to me during a charity walk aged around 15, but I think most interpretations will be able to transfer the hopeful nature of the song.

ABZ: This is another song where you've given the listeners the choice of two titles, which of them do you prefer?

Foxhunting: I personally prefer "Blood", since that's the one I used when first writing the song. "And I Was Right" is purely to convey the hopeful nature of the song in a more clear-cut way that "Blood" doesn't.

Track Six: La chasse, or, The Hunt, or, Echo! Echo!
"Always have and I always will / Loved you then and I love you still"

Foxhunting: La chasse has been around for a while now, in reality. It was written as an attempt to bridge two different songs together during a guitar lesson I had a few years ago. This new recording is a completely different kettle of fish to the demo, and to be honest I much prefer the faster, demo version. The song itself is using the metaphor of a fox hunt ("la chasse" being French for "the hunt") to present a couple unable to escape persecution for being together.

ABZ: So why did you decide to include this slower version of the song on the album?

Foxhunting: It's professionally recorded, and as such it falls in line with the album's flow. The demo version would see a lo-fi spike on the album, which would be good if it were all lo-fi; it isn't, really, so it wouldn't fit. Which is a shame.

ABZ: I can see why you included the English translation of "La chasse" as an alternate title, but where did "Echo! Echo!" come from?

Foxhunting: That's a lyric from the end section, referencing the bells of a cathedral. I won't lie, I just wanted to put an exclamation mark on the back of the album.

Track Seven: Cuervito
"If it's such a bore then why are you so still on the ocean floor?"

Foxhunting: This is another song written during the month I spent in the studio. The piano part came about from me mucking around on Garageband on the laptop, experimenting with sub bass and overlaying piano. Iain got a hold of it and added the rattling drum loop and just gave the song a bit more oomph. The lyrics are the best on the album, as far as I'm concerned, and are more imagery-based than meaning-based. I'm just really proud of them, and I think they really fit the mood of the song.

Track Eight: National Park, or, Yellowstone
"Who's laughing now? / Who's laughing now? / On my knees by your feet, I gain a better view somehow"

ABZ: Some of your song titles are quite obscure, is this song actually about Yellowstone?

Foxhunting: In a sense, yes. The song was written hypothetically from the point of view of someone inside Yellowstone National Park, but it was written a long time ago - some of the lyrics are just there to hold rhymes together, and so on, and they sort of stuck. One verse I wrote while waiting to perform the song at a talent show, in those five nerve-wracking minutes. Musically, the song's ending is longer than it maybe should be, but the overlay at the end I really like.

Track Nine: Wolverines, or, This Isn't Happening!
"I wanted to take every one of your dreams / And through each one in turn to the wolverines"

Foxhunting: "Wolverines" is probably the only song on there written in a bad mood, and it probably shows. It's basically a vent directed at some anonymous person, but done in an overly metaphorical and imagery-based way, not truly a personal take. This, cleaner version of the song doesn't really have the visceral edge the original demo had (which is true of all songs, I suppose) which is a shame, but the verse riff is far more pronounced and almost - almost - balances it out.

ABZ: Why did you choose to write about wolverines in this song?

Foxhunting: Wolverines came to me while working. They're able to - and regularly do - take on beasts well out of their league and win due to sheer determination and viciousness.

Track Ten: Now

ABZ: You mentioned that the first and last tracks on the album act as bookends, how does "Now" compliment "Know"?

Foxhunting: Both are instrumental for the most part. "Now" definitely takes a lot more from tribal vocals and things with lots of strange percussion and stuff. It came about from messing around with a loop pedal and my laptop at about 1am one bored morning, and we decided to try and replicate the sound again through Ableton. The result was odd, but seems to work.

"Come On Sweetheart, Take My Hand" by Foxhunting is released on Foxhunting's Bandcamp on October 22.

Scotland's most famous talking cactus returns

2011-10-20T23:26:00.003+01:00

What's green, has one eye and sleeps for thirteen years at a time? Scotland's most famous talking cactus.

The member of the cactaceae family, or "Spike" to his 885 Facebook friends, lives in the David Welch Winter Gardens in Aberdeen’s Duthie Park, but has only recently re-found his voice.

And this weekend, hundreds of excited Aberdonians will get the chance to chat to Spike, who will be popping up to say hi to those passing through the Arid Room area of the gardens.

But before Spike warms up his vocal spines another time, his operator, Andy Gibson, had a quick chat with us about his second life as a cactus.

After creating a Facebook fan page campaigning to bring back Spike the Cactus, Andy spotted a comment from "Dave" saying that everyone's spiny friend would soon be returning and that they looking for a voice.

Andy jokingly replied asking where he can he sign up, only to be told that the park had been contacted by Dave and they were waiting to speak to Andy about this opportunity.

"I was thinking it was an elaborate joke but when someone from the BBC messaged my Facebook, I was like: "This is really happening". The BBC interviewer wanted to talk to me so I went down to the Duthie Park to meet her and get to grips with my new spiky friend.

"It was like being reunited with an old friend. I felt like a kid again as he was a huge part of my childhood growing up."

And even though it was daunting to get into the driver's seat and pilot the cactus, he was surprisingly easy to operate: "Spike is operated with two levers and a microphone, it's not complicated at all. If it was, I'd be stumped. If I can manage it, anyone can."

But while the controls appear to be fairly easy to master, it would seem most people would find "becoming" Spike the difficult part: "I'm quite witty, so comebacks are never an issue, I get my inspiration from comedians and the radio.

"Before I spike it up I just sit with a cup of tea and before that mic gets switched on, one deep breath [in] and out then I'm in action mode."

So many Aberdonians of a certain age can remember visiting Spike when they were younger, and this seems set to continue with a new generation of youngsters ready to befriend the cactus.

"Some kids may be seeing him for the first time at the weekend. I hope they enjoy it. I do both enjoy it but I'm a tad scared because kids these days can be quite brutal. I just hope I'm doing the spike originals proud."

Spike the Cactus will be operating from noon until 4pm this Saturday October 22 and Sunday October 23.