The excellent independent Scottish festival Doune The Rabbit Hole is back for its fourth edition this year, taking place at Cardross Estate, Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire from August 22-25. The line-up includes Clinic, Bo Ningen, Alasdair Roberts & Friends, The Pastels, Robyn Hitchcock, The Monochrome Set, Stealing Sheep and stacks more, so we asked the festival’s organisers to pick out a few videos by their highlights – have a look below and head to the festival’s website for further details and tickets:
1. The Pastels – ‘Check Your Heart’
"It’s been a long time coming but you can’t rush perfection, and their new album Slow Summits was worth the wait – The Pastels join us on Saturday, August 24. Here’s a lovely Glasgow scenester video for ‘Check Your Heart’. We’ve got a similar cosy community indie disco feel, except we’re in a field."
2. PAWS – ‘Jellyfish’
"They’re also playing on Saturday and are kind of at the other end of the Glasgow indie spectrum. They’ve toured almost constantly this year and they’re so great live, we can’t wait to see what they do with a festival audience."
3. Bo Ningen – ‘Henkan’
"We’ve got a really diverse selection of acts on the bill this year and are really keen to introduce people to bands that they might otherwise miss. We love anything psychedelic at Doune, and Bo Ningen are doing some imaginative things with guitars – right up our alley."
4. Rick Redbeard – ‘Now We’re Dancing’
"The Phantom Band headlined for us last year and it was a perfect fusion of music and place, the hills in the distance and their very peculiarly Scottish sound made for a great set. This year Rick Redbeard is playing solo, drawing on his album No Selfish Heart, which is a different beast, but full of genuinely lovely moments like this song."
5. Stealing Sheep – ‘Rearrange’
"Stealing Sheep come out of Liverpool’s psychedelic scene but that just shows you what an elastic term that can be. We’re really looking forward to this set."
6. Hector Bizerk – ‘Bury The Hatchet’
"Proving that Scottish hip hop can really work on its own terms, Hector Bizerk are a two piece from Glasgow with the motto: ‘Drums. Rap. Yes.’ Once you’ve heard them, that’s pretty much all you need to know. They’re playing on our dance-oriented stage, Low End, on Friday August 23."
7. Alasdair Roberts & Friends – ‘Scandal & Trance’
"Alasdair Roberts takes Scottish folk music to some interesting places – his current project Wonder Working Stone, with his band, is original compositions. The Quietus review noted an Incredible String Band vibe, and we’d concur with that."
8. Trembling Bells – ‘Waltz Of The New Moon’
"Trembling Bells played for us with Mike Heron (of the Incredible String Band) a couple of years ago. They’ve made albums with Bonnie Prince Billy too. They’re coming back on the Friday this year, and have elements of folk, rock, psychedelia and improvisation so they’ll fit right in."
9. Clinic – ‘Miss You’
"Clinic are one of those bands that have been ploughing their own furrow for a while and that really strikes a chord with us. The giant eyeballs in this video look like some of the artwork we’ve got to decorate the festival site, so it’s all going to make perfect sense when we get there!"
10. Colonel Mustard And The Dijon 5 – ‘Ginger Girl’
"One of the most indescribable acts at last year’s festival are returning – they seem to have spent the intervening year making videos at demolitions of flats around Glasgow… sure to bring the house down (ahem)."
