The Fire and I are an energetic two-piece from Scotland. Formed in January 2007, Gordon and Hooligan have molded a very distinctive and powerful sound, often difficult to comprehend from their two members. Mostly performing in central Scotland, The Fire and I have also enjoyed a tour of Mexico City in March/April 2007. Now, with over 12 months of gigs under their belt, highlights include: Glasgow Barrowland, supporting Amy Macdonald; Selling out King Tuts with We are the Physics; Supporting The Dykeenies and The Young Knives. The Fire and I have received much acclaim for their high energy performances and need to be seen live.

myspace.com/thefireandi




Raucous Edinburgh four-piece with influences ranging from Super Furry Animals and The Pixies to David Bowie, Blondie and Stevie Wonder. It's all about singer __ 's smoky, bluesy voice and the band's primal rock sound - a devastating combination. Check out The Fall And Angel on their myspace for a demonstration of the band at their peak thus far.

Bass lines are fat and distorted, drums are hard and funky, and singer Kirsten Ross (think Catwoman meets Cristina Martinez from 90s garage rockers Boss Hog) can screech and croon with equally devastating effect' (The Daily Record)

A wall of no-frills rock n’ roll that commands full attention immediately, with catchy seventies-styled guitar-licks’ (The Skinny)

myspace.com/littledoses

vikisellotape was last seen at Limbo when she very gracefully stood in for us on the decks in support of The Black Diamond Express and Sara And The Snakes. Prior to that Viki debuted a new line-up with her Sellotape band - inspired largely by the sound of bands around the Ladbroke Grove area of London c. 1978, early releases from that same area's seminal Rough Trade label, Edinburgh's own legendary Postcard label (The Fire Engines et al) and all their post-punk ilk - back in February in support of Glaswegian hot-shots Correcto (Domino). Viki has made a virtue of re-capturing the style of acts such as The Slits, Delta 5 and co, not least because she's a highly spirited, independent woman in an industry dominated by men but also in terms of the nature of the sound, often dissonant and occasionally locating itself in some infectious hooks. And, while this same style has undergone a massive re-appraisal and revival over the last five years, there's something about Viki's sass, style and sheer pluck which is utterly unique and really quite compelling. Quite simply, she's a one-off and, what's more, she's put a decent band together to support the endeavour. She's also got a bit of a thing for Radiohead, which is more obvious when Sellotape perform live than from their myspace. Seeing, as they say, is believing. Pic by www.flickr.com/loujauss.

myspace.com/sellotapemusic




We'd already heard about the Ex Lion Tamer via the notoriously buzzing Edinburgh grape-vine when Viki suggested him as support for her next date. In fact, we worked with the man once before, when we staged his earlier incarnation, Tony Tiger (which was actually a duo, also featuring the original drummer from Limbo favourites XVECTORS), at Limbo fore-runner Dfrnt Drum. Anyway, what's REALLY EXCITING about this new project is how far Tony's come on since then. Tony Tiger was raw and somewhat untamed. Ex Lion Tamer is fresh, polished and more pop than almost anything else in Edinburgh right now. He sounds a bit like Vector Lovers and Daft Punk plus (early) Eighties electro pop such as Gina X, Dominatrix, Chris And Cosey* etc, what with all the synthetic vocals/vocoders and child-like synth melodies. And then he actually hails bands such as Yazoo and Erasure, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Cyndi Lauper on his myspace. At last, an Edinburgh act unashamed to wear his gay pop influences on his sleeve! And Ex Lion Tamer really is that POP too. He also likes odd-looking pedigree dogs. We can't wait.

* check out Andrew Weatherall's awesome Nine O'Clock Drop compilation (Nuphonic) of seminal early Eighties music if you don't know what i'm talking about.

myspace.com/xliontamer