The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 27 February

THE RETURN OF NINE INCH NAILS
Following the release of the debut album (reviewed here) by his band How To Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor has revealed that Nine Inch Nails will be returning to the live circuit this year, with a new all-star lineup featuring Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery, King Crimson guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew, and electronic producer Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv. The band will also include familiar NIN collaborators Alessandro Cortini and Ilan Rubin.

In a statement, Reznor explains that writing sessions with Belew (who was also a notable collaborator with Bowie, Zappa and Talking Heads) "led to some beard-scratching, which (many steps later) led to the decision to re-think the idea of what Nine Inch Nails could be, and the idea of playing a show." More shows were booked, and before Reznor knew it, Nine Inch Nails were ready for a comeback. "The band is reinventing itself from scratch," Reznor goes on to say. Tour dates and more news on Nine Inch Nails 2.0 will be announced soon.

NEW VIDEOS: DAVID BOWIE, A-TRAK FT. JUICY J, JIM JONES, FLATBUSH ZOMBIES & EL-P, BLACK DAVE, HOMEWORK
Today's first new video comes from David Bowie, the second single from his eagerly anticipated new album The Next Day, due out 11 March. The track, The Stars Are Out Tonight, showcases a more rock-oriented sound from Bowie and producer Tony Visconti than was evident on first single, the moody and atmospheric Where Are We Now. The video is less of a lo-fi affair too -- directed by Floria Sigismondi and starring Tilda Swinton and the Thin White Duke himself, playing a mature couple whose lives are transformed by the arrival of their new, famous neighbours. There are numerous 'easter eggs' in the video for Bowie fans, dropping references to key moments and images from his career. It's a playful meditation on fame, age and image, confirming yet again that Bowie's new album should be something really special.

Canadian beatsmith extraordinaire A-Trak has unleashed a new video this week with an all-star cast of emcees, including El-P, Flatbush Zombies and Flosstradamus. The group cut, taken from the Loosies compilation released by Fools Gold in January, is aremix of A-Trak's track Piss Test. Check the rowdy video below.

More hip-hop, this time from New York-based rapper Black Dave, whose website URL proclaims him to be "the black Donald Trump." Although we're not sure how well that will go down in Aberdeen, we've been enjoying the video for his new track Muthafuck! My Enemies immensely. It's taken from his new mixtape, Stay Black, available now as a free download.

Some homegrown musical goodies now courtesy of Homework, an indie/synth-pop combo formed in Edinburgh in 2009. They're hard at work finishing off debut album 13 Towers, out 4 March. They're on tour at the moment with dates coming up in Glasgow (13 March at Milk), Inverness (5 April at Mad Hatters and 4 May at the Brew At The Bog Festival), Aberdeen (3 May at Snafu), and Edinburgh (9 May at Inspace). This week they unveiled the video for It's All Over, the first single from the album. Watch out, you'll be whistling this one for days...

LIVE IN GLASGOW: TENEMENT TRAIL
Glasgow-based website Tenement TV are soon to begin live broadcasts from festivals at home and abroad. Meanwhile, this March, they'll also be hosting the first annual Tenement Trail mini-festival, taking place across Glasgow at venues The Art School, Nice N' Sleazy, Broadcast and The Garage G2. On 9 March, music fans can catch live sets from a broad persuasion of local up and comers, with the likes of ambient synth-poppers Discopolis to hard-hitting hip-hop combo Hector Bizerk, amongst many more, all for just £10. Full lineup and tickets are here. 

ACHEWOOD: THE TV SHOW
Achewood is one of the most revered, iconic webcomics on the 'net, running since 2001. Creator Chris Onstad's tale of talking toys, with its surreal humour and huge cast of characters, has been an online sensation for over a decade, with characters like multi-talented cat Raymond Quentin Smuckles and his gender-neutral best friend Cassandra "Roast Beef" Kazenzakis becoming minor celebrities in their own right. Now, Onstad is hoping to make Achewood into a TV show. On his blog, Onstad writes: "I’ve been working with a team of artists, engineers, and producers to bring Achewood to life. To give it the voices, richness, and opportunities it never had as a comic strip." Onstad is pitchig the show to networks, with hopes of selling it to a major TV network. You can watch an animaton test from the show below. 

Achewood Television Trailer One "Hello, world" from therussians on Vimeo.

NEW MUSIC: COM TRUISE, ALUNAGEORGE, EAGLEOWL, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, HOLY ESQUE
Retro-future beat-maker Com Truise unveiled a new mixtape this week to promote his bi-monthly LA club night Check Yo' Ponytail. It's packed full of analogue electronics and vintage synth tones, as you might expect from a Com Truise mix with tracks by the likes of DMX Krew, Trevor Bastow and Paul Hardcastle. Alright, so your chances of winging it over to LA every two weeks might be slim, but you can stream and download his mix below. 

This week also saw the release online of a new track by alt.R 'n' B duo AlunaGeorge -- they have confirmed that their debut album Body Music will be released on 1 July. The new track, Attracting Flies, will be released as a single on 26 March -- stream it below.

Fence Records' 'lo-fi post-folk' ensemble eagleowl are finally ready to unleash their debut album -- this silent year is slated for 13 May, with the band playing live at Gnomegame on 6-7 April, at Edinburgh's Pleasance Theatre on 10 May, and Glasgow's Glad Cafe on 12 May. Early reports suggest it's a massive leap on from 2010's Into The Fold EP (reviewed here).

Not really new music, but certainly a classic, this week sees the release of a deluxe box-set version of Ghostface Killah's essential debut album, the RZA-produced Ironman. Spanning two discs, and lovingly remastered, the box set comes in a Cherrywood Trophy Box with an Ironman puzzle, and is limited to just 2,000 copies worldwide. Order yours here. Here's a stream of the full album, in case you need reminding how good it still is.

Finally, here's the marvelous new single from Holy Esque, a Glasgow-based band we spoke to back in June of last year. The band make epic, expansive indie rock, made unique by the trembling, unearthly howl of singer Pat Hynes. You can catch Holy Esque live at Broadcast in Glasgow on 1 March, with the single release following on 25 March.

ON TOUR: GHOSTPOET, DAVID BYRNE & ST. VINCENT
Tour news now: we'll be getting a visit from London-based rapper/songwriter Ghostpoet in May -- he brings his live show to Glasgow's Broadcast on 24 May, and Edinburgh's Electric Circus on 25 May. We certainly enjoyed his first visit to Glasgow back in 2011, and his album Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam was a quirky, mercurial highlight of that year, with the follow-up currently slated for a 6 May release. Grab a free download of first single MSI MUSMID below.

Also on tour, but later in the year, are Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and singer-songwriter St.Vincent - their collaborative album Love This Giant (reviewed here) will be getting the full live treatment, featuring horns, strings and the duo's trademark avant garde take on pop, jazz and soul. They play Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall on 29 August.

FESTIVAL WATCH: 2000TREES, BEACONS 2013, KRAFTWERK FOR ROSKILDE, GHOSTFEST, BENICASSIM, V 
Yet more summer festival lineups were announced this week: 2000Trees (11-13 July) takes place at Upcote Fram in Gloucestershire, with a focus on indie, folk and rock. Conceived as an antidote to the mainstream, corporate agenda of many Summer festivals, 2000Trees centres around up-and-coming and underground artsits. The first wave of acts have been announced - festival-goers will see Stornoway, Funeral for a Friend, And So I Watch You From Afar, We Are The Ocean, InMe, Adebisi Shank, Wet Nuns and Stealing Sheep, among others. Full lineup annoucned so far and tickets here.

Beacons Festival (16-18 Aug) have added a few more acts to their impressive bill - Patrick Wolf, Maya Jane Coles and Outfit have been added, joining the likes of Roots Manuva, Junior Boys, Ghostpoet, Errors, Factory Floor and Pearson Sound. Details and tickets here.

An exciting late addition to the Roskilde Festival (29 Jun - 27 Jul) was announced this week - German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk will bring their live show to the Danish music festival giant, joining previously-announced headliners such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Slipknot and Sigur Rós. 

Ghostfest (29-30 June) meanwhile bills itself as the UK'spremier indoor metal and hardcore festival, taking place at Leeds University. They have a lineup of intense, feral, underground music from The Devil Wears Prada, Veil of Maya, Bury Your Dead, Odessa, Departures, Terror, KnuckleDust, Breaking Point, Azriel, Mind X Control and Grader. Details and tickets here.

More acts have been confirmed for Benicassim (18-21 July), one of the biggest Spanish music festivals on the circuit. Headliners The Killers, Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascall will be joined by La Roux, Miles Kane, Everything Everything, CHVRCHES, Toddla T and many, many more. Details and tickets here.

Finally, V Festval (17-18 Aug) have annoucned their headliners - Queen of Pop Beyoncé and US rockers Kings Of Leon head up the bill, ably supported by Calvin Harris, Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines and Basement Jaxx, among others. Tickets go on sale 1 March.

TONIGHT: EDIT POINT @ SOUNDLAB

'Electroacoustic ensemble' Edit-Point's SoundLab programme has involved an innovative series of performances at Glasgow's City Halls this, with ground-breaking new work from avant garde and experimental musicians collaborating with Edit-Point band-leaders Timothy Cooper, Matthew Whiteside and Nicholas Virgo. Tonight's show at the Recital Room, in the City Halls at 7.30pm, features percussionist Glynn Forrest in collaboration with the band, performing seven pieces including new works by Glasgow-based composers Matthew Whiteside and Francesca Le Lohé. If you're looking for some bold, experimental music which engages with the bleeding edge of modern classical and electronic composition, this event should be right up your alley. Tickets are £6.