Crash Club at King Tuts

New music in November

Crash Club - live review and interview

Guest review by Gordon Reid

Over the last year or so there has been a lot of talk about Crash Club . A spot at T in the park in the summer , closely followed by winning the best electronic act at the SAMA`s in early October put them in the spotlight and they continue to pick up fans every time they gig . I first came across them at an Everything Shakes event in the Admiral bar at the start of October although I`d heard Murray and a few others talking about them previously. Last Friday they played This Feeling at Tuts along with Our Future Glory , The Trend and The Insomniac Project and at a £5 for 4 bands it is superb value for money. 

Our Future Glory ( Dundee based trio ) were first on and set the tone for the night with a high energy performance. The Trend were decent but looked out of place as a guitar band amongst many synthesisers, not their fault and they still gave it their all . I`d like to see them again in their own show to judge them better. 

The Insomnia Project are relatively new on the scene in terms of playing live as far as I know, last time I spoke to Murray about them he reckoned they hadn`t played more than a handful of gigs but thats twice I`ve seen them in a month and both times they have blown me away. If you were a fan of Johny and the Giro`s ( I was ) then you`ll know a few faces in the band and the addition of Deborah on vocals was a masterstroke. Having watched them in the Admiral last month I had said that I`d like to see them in a bigger venue as her voice would be suited to it. I`m glad to say I was right on this and they had the crowd going wild for the whole of their set. The strobe light added to the atmosphere, sadly they overran and couldn`t get their last song in but it didn`t dampen the spirit in the crowd.

Crowd video from Tut's - Sphinx by The Insomniac Project

To the main event and the trio from Kilwinning didn`t disappoint. The job of lighting the stage was pretty easy as they once again turned the strobe on and let it go from there . Pulsing beats taken to highs and allowed to come back down, just as you thought the tunes were over a roll of the drums and they were off again taking the crowd with them. They hardly stopped bouncing the whole time. Joined by Ian McKinnon of Medicine Men for the epic and euphoric Recondition and by Charotte Brimner (Be Charlotte) for another tune I didn't catch the name of. They ended with Last Dance and smashed it out the park. If you haven't seen them yet then grab the chance with both hands. They are well worth it.

Crowd video from Tut's - Last Dance by Crash Club

Crash Club have smashed everything put in their path through 2015, so I caught up with Neal Mcharg, the energetic bassist and all round good guy - the Glasgow Mani - to see what he was saying to it.

1) It's been quite a year - what have been the highlights for you?

Yeah it's been a proper good year to be fair, loads of different highlights. Festival season with T, Belladrum and Electric Fields is up there and supporting The View was good exposure to a crowd that would never have heard of us. Playing and winning an award at the SAMA's was also great exposure.

Personal highlight for me though is the fact that people have responded positively to what we have been trying to do at the live shows with lights, visuals and guest vocalists.

2) Ian MacKinnon has added a new dimension to your live performances, how did he become involved?

We all love Medicine Men and big Ian's a really good mate so we asked him to to do Recondition and from then on Ian has basically been at every show working the crowd up. Look at theTenement Trail video, I don't think I've ever seen a crowd go as wild at being called mother***kers in my life before!

At one point the bar staff were on the bar raving and big Gino from Vigo Thieves and others were up on shoulders. It was pretty much carnage, trying to get on and off the stage was interesting, never mind the gig itself.

'it was pretty much carnage' - Recondition at Flat 0/1 for the Tenement Trail

3) How much confidence do you and the rest of the band gain from that kind of reaction?

Loads - the stage show definitely gets better when you see a crowd like that, it's hard not to get into it a lot more. Aran even moved a wee bit more than usual!

4) I believe you have some more guest vocalists lined up for future releases?

Yeah, Be Charlotte has been smashing it live as well. We can;t wait to get her into the studio.

5) How far off is an album?

We're recording the EP in Rocket Science studios just now. It is sounding massive, Ross and Michael (producers) have worked wonders on it. The drum and bass sounds are pretty much inspired by the New York scene - LCD, The Rapture, Gossip!, Holy Ghost, but with synth tones of Justice, Chemical Brothers and New Order.

6) Sammy has an incredible ear for a tune. Does he bring the songs fully formed to the band, or do you each add something?

No, basically what happens is Sammy will come up with an idea, recording different sounds based round the same theme. Aran and me will go down, hear all the new noises and start writing parts with Sammy on the synths and then the fun and games of structuring the track begins for us in the hut. So all that has to happen before we even think about what we're going to out down guitar, bass or drum wise. Once we've got all that done then we pick the right singer to collaborate with.

7) Anything left before the end of the year? And what do you hope to achieve in 2016?

We might be doing something else before the end of the year, but can;t say too much for now.

It's probably a bigger year next year for us because I think more will be expected. We'll step it up a level with the live shows, get the EP out. If the demand is there we'll go in and do an album by the end of the year. But as we have seen with 2015, we can plan things, but things you don't expect to happen, happen and your year is completely different.