GFF reunites members of Glasgow's 90s music scene
The musicians featured in Niall McCann's acclaimed documentary Lost in France – including members of Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai and The Delgados – reunite for a live show at Glasgow Film Festival
The upcoming Glasgow Film Festival (15-26 Feb) will play host to a very special gig celebrating legendary Glasgow label Chemikal Underground and other musicians who emerged during Glasgow's vibrant music scene in the 90s. On 21 Feb at Glasgow's ABC, the live gig, which will be simulcast across the UK, will feature the likes of Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Emma Pollock, Paul Savage (The Delgados) and RM Hubbert.
The special gig follows a screening of Niall McCann's acclaimed film Lost in France, a documentary exploring the rise of Scotland's independent music scene in the 90s, which screens at GFF ahead of its general release by Curzon Artificial Eye on 24 Feb.
These type of music-film crossover events have become a cornerstone of Glasgow Film Festival over the last few years. At the festival's most recent edition, a highlight was the world premiere screening of Scottish folk music doc Where You’re Meant To Be, featuring Chemikal Underground alumnus Aidan Moffat, followed by a concert at Barrowland that was "full of bawdy limericks and bittersweet comic punch."
Lost in France: a who's-who of Glasgow musicians reunite
Lost in France is described as “an intimate film exploring creativity, friendship and music.” It retells the little known story of how, in 1997, a busload of Scottish musicians took a roadtrip to the small French town of Mauron to perform at a festival. Among the entourage were The Delgados, founders of the legendary Chemikal Underground, some of the label’s signings like Mogwai and Arab Strap, and a pre-Franz Ferdinand Alex Kapranos, who was the booker at the 13th Note at the time.
The centrepiece of McCann's film sees a handful of these musicians retrace their steps to the site of the event and a re-staging of the festival, reconnecting these artists in life and on stage. When we spoke to Kapranos about the making of the film earlier in the year, he had fond memories of being involved. “The atmosphere when we went over to France was great,” said the Franz Ferdinand frontman. “It felt good because all the people there in France hadn't been in a room together like that for years. Obviously everyone's still in touch with each other, but for us to be congregating together is pretty rare.”
As Kapranos says, sightings of this who’s-who of Glasgow’s music scene together on one bill is scarce – don’t miss out!
Tickets for the screening and one-off performance will go on sale at 10am Wed 30 Nov at glasgowfilm.org/festival; £16 (£14 concessions)
Read news of the first GFF 2017 announcements here, including details of a femme fatale retrospective and a focus on Canadian cinema
Glasgow Film Festival runs 15-26 Feb; keep an eye on theskinny.co.uk/film for more programme announcements