Each week we feature a different Scottish artist on the blog including premieres and Q&A’s. Please check out some of the amazing Scottish talent we have discovered over the years.

If you would like to submit a track please get in touch 4 weeks in advance of the release - resonatescot@gmail.com

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Q&A: The Rosellas
Q&A: The Rosellas

“I've had hours of conversations after the set with locals, talking all about the importance of Scotland to my family, and in turn learning more and more about the heritage of the country and its importance to them. I find it very soul affirming and will spend hours more continuing to do so.”

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Q&A: Aylee
Q&A: Aylee

“I hope that if anyone listens to Dressed Up and relates to the lyrics, they take it as a sign to step  back and reflect on why it resonates with them. I want to help anyone who’s caught in a similarly  toxic situation feel less alone and isolated. While yes, “I hate that all my friends were right” about my previous relationship, I’m incredibly grateful to be so far removed from it now, and able to look  back and see that they absolutely were.”

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Q&A: Spyres
Q&A: Spyres

“Touring is definitely one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of being in a band, so we’re absolutely buzzing to get back on the road. A lot of the cities on this run are totally new to us, which makes it even more special. We can’t wait to meet new faces and play in venues we’ve never stepped foot in.”

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Q&A: The Zebecks
Q&A: The Zebecks

“‘Persona’ is the closest we’ve ever gotten to merging the worlds of my poetry and songwriting as I am literally performing spoken word at the end. The vulnerability I tried to express in this song has definitely developed our songwriting as I now feel a lot more open within the band dynamic and this has led to more directed songwriting sessions where we all play a part in the construction of lyrics - knowing that The Zebecks is a really safe space surrounded by my best friends means I feel comfortable bouncing ideas directly off them in real time.”

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Q&A: Former Champ
Q&A: Former Champ

“Many of the songs on this album are about feeling displaced and some are even more directly about Irish Diaspora and Irish Politics. I think anyone who has moved away from their hometown can probably relate to a curiosity about the alternate life they could be leading. The larger concept of sliding doors and endless paths has been a key theme on the album and even informed its title.”

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Q&A: Dylan Winters & The Posterity
Q&A: Dylan Winters & The Posterity

“At first, I was quite particular with arrangements—I had a strong vision and the band helped me bring it to life. Lately though, I’ve been stepping back and letting everyone put more of themselves into the songs, and it’s honestly made everything better. Turns out if you let talented musicians do their thing, the music’s better for it.”

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Q&A: Maz & The Phantasms
Q&A: Maz & The Phantasms

“I think people love the freedom and the warm nature of these grassroots events. Glasgow especially is extremely kind and respectful, and it feels amazing to be able to throw a big party for your community where everyone can be themselves.”

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Q&A: Saint Sappho
Q&A: Saint Sappho

“I was listening through old demos and there was a melody Tammy had been singing along with the piano, she heard me playing it out loud and said "Wait. There's something in that" at first I didn't agree but she was persistent. That melody eventually became the verse of Floating. The moment we began writing the verse was what set the whole song in motion, and everything afterwards naturally progressed into a full song.”

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Q&A: Cowboy Hunters
Q&A: Cowboy Hunters

“One time someone told us that we reminded them of when Lady Gaga and Beyonce collaborated and we've been living off that high ever since. ”

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Q&A: Kirsteen Harvey
Q&A: Kirsteen Harvey

“Oh it’s absolutely amazing! I can’t believe it to be honest! I always find putting on headline shows a little scary, and I get quite nervous on the run up- but the response for the shows, and in particular the Glasgow date has been totally mind blowing! I think it’s going to be pretty special seeing so many people in the one room, who are there to see myself and my wonderful band, play tunes that I just wrote at home!”

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Q&A: racecar
Q&A: racecar

“By the time we came to write and record Pink Car, we were very fortunate to have raised enough money through a successful Crowdfunder campaign (thanks everyone!) to make some of the musical dreams we had for our songs come true. Graham, Lissa, Claire and Kenny (not to mention Aaron Morrison/ Catriona Price/ Gracie Brill!) are all fantastic musicians. It is always a joy to collaborate, most of all when people’s blend of skill and creativity means both realising an original vision and new, exciting elements appearing during sessions".”

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Q&A: PG Ciarletta
Q&A: PG Ciarletta

“For me there is a lot of hard work ahead, but a lot of things to be buzzing about. I would just say taking the music to the people and playing as many places as possible across Scotland and beyond. I just want to go and do what I am meant to do, which is release music, play shows, make content, be nice to folk and work hard.“

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Q&A: Katie Nicoll
Q&A: Katie Nicoll

“My emotions over my Poetry Club gig didn’t fully hit me until Sunday afternoon whilst watching back videos on Instagram. IT WAS AMAZING! The realisation that I’d packed out a room two hours away from where I grew up filled me with a new sense of pride over my music. I feel proud & soooo beyond grateful of the people that made time to come down and support, grateful of the boys in my band, and grateful of all my family and friends.”

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Q&A: Calum Baird
Q&A: Calum Baird

“Playing at the Biennial was superb.  The energy and buzz in the city was infectious and the support from the audiences and fellow musicians at my shows, even though we didn’t always share a language, was so important and helped me feel right at home. “

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Scottish Artists To Watch In 2025
Scottish Artists To Watch In 2025

New year, new bands, new obsessions. Scotland’s music scene is a constantly morphing beast, spitting out fresh talent, combing boundary-defying genres, with the raw energy that keeps the Scottish music scene constantly evolving. Whether you’re into massive indie anthems, left-field electronic experiments, or something that defies categorisation entirely, 2025 is shaping up to be another huge year for grassroots Scottish Music.

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Q&A: Pedalo
Q&A: Pedalo

“I was hyper aware that this was going to be a song that literally anyone can hear, forever, which was honestly a bit scary when it’s such a personal topic. But then the reaction to it has been really touching—I’ve had a fair few people say to me how much they relate to Lighter. Now I’d say it’s the song that I’m the most proud of”

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Q&A: Former Champ
Q&A: Former Champ

“Sometimes stuff just feels right, sounds right. But the mission statement for this band in a writing sense was definitely like Paul Westerberg and all the pathos in the Replacements tunes. These are pop songs first and foremost—they are never going to be perfect short stories like Raymond Carver or whatever—but they do start from that place.”

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Q&A: Odd Luke
Q&A: Odd Luke

“I think it hit me one day a long time ago that I was the only person who hadn’t heard my own voice, you know? It’s one thing to back other people and hide behind that, but I had all these weird little stories building up that just needed out, if nothing else just for me!”

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Q&A: Thundermoon
Q&A: Thundermoon

“It’s epic! We’re so grateful for the support. We’ve worked hard from the roots up, and every bit of recognition feels like a big achievement. Working with a local, musician-run project like New Teeth has helped us stay true to our values. Growing from here feels like a huge positive, especially knowing that these platforms resonate with our music.”

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Q&A: Nü Cros
Q&A: Nü Cros

" This year’s been an amazing year in terms of the shows we’ve been blessed to play, that includes Supersonic in Paris which was a fairytale in its own right. We’ve come a huge way as a band through it all."

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Check out our Resonate Artist of the Week Spotify Playlist here

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Q&A - NANI

Our artist of the week this week is NANI. A fantastic singer-songwriter-artist from Edinburgh. In the last 12 months, NANI has been spending time refining her sound and expanding her live shows. Although this is her first release since her single Darling (2021), NANI has been incredibly busy this past year: a feature on BBC 6 Music’s Friday evening show, accompanying SAMA to a showcase at Liverpool Sound City, festivals and gigs all around Scotland (most recently Celtic Connections in January), as well as plenty of airplay across national radio stations such as BBC Radio Scotland - NANI has been growing her audience, and gaining momentum in the Scottish scene and beyond. Following the release of their stunning brand new single ‘Search Bar’ we caught up to talk inspirations, live & local music and the perfect meal.

Welcome Nani to our Artist Of The Week feature. Your new single ’Search Bar’ was released last week - a collaboration with Edinburgh based producer Sweet Philly. Tell us a bit about how that relationship came about

Philly and I went to university together actually! We both studied Sound Design in Edinburgh and at some point along the line of becoming friends we decided to see if we could make some music together. We booked one of the university’s studios and just messed around with some chords. The whole song sparked from a note on Philly’s phone that said, “you’re always in my search bar”. We left the idea hanging in the air for a bit and a few weeks after our initial session, I sat down with the material we had and the whole song just came together in a few minutes.


Touching on the modern day impact of social media and our often obsessive compulsions, Search Bar is a superbly written tale akin to the likes of Maggie Rogers & Mitski. Who/what has inspired your sound and your songwriting? 

Maggie Rogers & Mitski are certainly amongst the songwriters I look up to. I think some of the artists that have shaped my approach to songwriting and creating music the most are probably The Japanese House, Bon Iver, Beach House, HAIM and Oehl. 

And as for what inspires me, most of my songs spark from personal experiences. But equally also the realisation that none of these experiences are individual to me. They all centre around emotions that everyone experiences. I try to take those feelings and describe them in a way others can relate to. And I think specifically with “Search Bar”, this constant need to be online is something so many of us have found ourselves guilty of.


What are your thoughts on the Edinburgh music scene? Things you love and things you think could be improved

 

After initially coming to Edinburgh, it took me a wee while to connect with the scene, and just as I was finally starting to play live shows at the end of 2019, Covid hit soon after. But especially since the return of live music, I’ve felt like there’s a fantastic collective of artists in Edinburgh who are really supportive of one another, and I’ve made some great friends through playing music and actively engaging with the scene. There’s a lot of overlap between the Edinburgh and Glasgow scene also. And I’ve got a lot of love for the independent venues and the people who run them in both these cities (Shoutout to Sneaky Pete’s especially). From my perspective, something that could be improved a bit in the Scottish scene in general is inclusivity and opening up this mysterious inner circle of the industry to smaller artists.

 

You’ve got a few live dates coming up including Stag & Dagger on April 29th. Three words to describe a NANI live show are…

Queer, emotional rollercoaster.

 

 Your perfect lunch? 

Honestly I’m pretty easily pleased when it comes to food but give me a pizza in the meadows with a can of Tennents on a sunny summers day and I’m as happy as can be.

You can check out the brand new single ‘Search Bar’ by NANI below.

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Q&A - Lo Rays

This week we caught up with Glasgow four-piece group Lo Rays after the release of their new single ‘Algorithm Gods’; A pulsing, energetic track that addresses the highs and lows of social media use. Inspired by the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Enter Shikari, and Grimes, the song offers a post-apocalyptic pop vision of a future society.

Speaking about the new single, the band said: “‘Algorithm Gods’ is about getting addicted to outside validation on social media, comparing your own life to everyone else’s and feeling bad about your own. I think we’ve all been there. Social media is supposed to be ‘social’ but it can be very isolating, especially when you’re in a bad mental space.”

The release of ‘Algorithm Gods’ marks the beginning of a promising year for the Glasgow group. In 2022, Lo Rays’ profile grew thanks to their self-produced single ‘Event Horizon’, which received support on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Introducing Rock on Radio 1. A cyberpunk collaboration ‘Take You Down’ with producer Papa Sob was also chosen for a Track of the Week on BBC Introducing Scotland.

Check out our Q&A with Lo Rays & watch their music video below:

Q&A WITH LO RAYS

  • You describe your sound as ‘Post-apocalyptic Rebel Pop’. Tell us more about that and the inspiration behind it?

Our music is a mix of synth-pop and alt-rock. Algorithm Gods is the first single from our upcoming concept EP, which is written about rising against an oppressive power in a future dystopia. This is where the description comes from. 

  • tell us more about the band members & the team behind Lo Rays?

I’m Laura, the singer. I’m from Finland and I moved to Glasgow 5 years ago. I met Jonesy (bass) at a music course in college and he has been in the band longest. Scott (guitar) and Murray (drums) used to be in a band called Karma for Vandals that actually played a gig with a former line-up of Lo Rays in Aberdeen. Scott is an amazing producer and during lockdown he asked if I’m interested in collaborating on one of his songs. We discovered that we have a very similar music taste and ended up writing quite a few tunes together, which is why I asked him to join the band. 

I write and produce our music and Scott helps me to finalise them as well as mixes and masters. I’m so happy to have a band that supports my vision and gets me. Our team is just us at the moment, which is sometimes overwhelming because you need to wear so many different hats!

  • You’ve recently had support from BBC Radio 1 and played live on the BBC Introducing show. Tell us more about that experience & any advice for other artists looking for these opportunities?

It was amazing!! I felt like years of hard work culminated into that moment. My heroes Biffy Clyro have played the same room so it was a fangirl moment too. I’m so grateful for the support we have received from the BBC.

I think persistence is key, these things take time. I believe that when you stay true to your vision and get really good at your craft, people will eventually start listening.

The music world can be tough on your mental health so developing a healthy mindset has been vital for me.

  • Coming up on the 31st March you are playing in the Hug & Pint with support from ‘Altered’ & ‘Sacul’. What can we expect from the live show?

An energetic rock show! At our last headline show I covered myself in paint, so expect more theatrics. We’ve asked two acts that we love to play with us, so it will be a fun night filled with good music. Our last headline show was before the pandemic, so we are very excited to play!

  • Your new single ‘Algorithm Gods’ is out now. It's a raw synthpop anthem! Do you have anything else lined up on the horizon?

Algorithm Gods is the first chapter of the post-apocalyptic rebel story and chapter 2 is coming soon…
From the throbbing, synth-propelled opening to the soaring, distorted guitar driven chorus, ‘Algorithm Gods’ is an electrifying showcase of the band’s unique take on electro-rock.

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