Scotland’s Triptych Festival just ended (25-27 April), in a whirlwind of rap, electric feedback and the David Shrigley DJ set. From Mogwai and The RZA to Dirty Projectors and Mungo’s Hi Fi, it was a truly awesome year for this low-key, yet seriously rich, 3-day fest.
Now in its eighth year, the Tennents-sponsored extravaganza has made it its manifesto to celebrate global icons, sonic iconoclasts, seminal cinema and auspicious local talent. Though Shrigley’s fluorescent sign insists ‘IT’S JUST NOISE’, the noise itself is a vital part of Scotland’s arts scene. Triptych’s online radio station also deserves props – it is a happy evolution in festival build-up that the websites provide a constant mix of songs by artists scheduled to play a gig. My favourite one of these at the moment is Primavera Sound ’s ‘Primavera Radio’ (right now broadcasting the twisted St Petersburg genius of Messer Chups ).
My Triptych attendance was actually limited to just one thing this year. It was great, and over far too fast. Buraka Som Sistema started spinning in Glasgow’s Sub Club around 1.30am last Friday night, and Edinburghers without a Glasgow crash pad had to tear themselves away an hour later to catch the last bus home – but it was a magic hour of extreme loudness, repetitive electronic beats and a euphoric emcee who could not keep still. Some call it kuduro , though I just vaguely classify it as foreign dance music. The Sub Club has gotten much more degraded since the smoking ban; now a smoke machine generates cloudiness so that dancers don’t see the surroundings, the bar or each other too distinctly, which is probably for the best. But it was packed with people who couldn’t get enough of the music, and the sounds of Portugal and Luanda were ringing in my ears for the next 48 hours. Next stop: the underground dancing dens of Lisboa . . .
