It is a bumper week for Scottish bands on tour internationally this week with 18 bands playing across the world. Highlights include Camera Obscura and A-Lix in South America, Codeine Velvet Club in Romania and the mighty Bis at the Primavera Festival. Vic has more on Bis alongside the full listings below:

As a side note, Manda Rin from Bis was kind enough to provide Dear Scotland with our first ever interview, for which we remain eternally grateful.

Bis in Barcelona

by Vic Galloway

Reputedly the first ‘unsigned’ band ever to play Top of The Pops back in 1995, Bis were the band that almost broke through but didn’t quite. Well, not in the UK anyway. They did get ‘big in Japan’ and America and I believe they still are… and why not?!

It was a crime somehow, as anyone who saw them or bought the records at the time wished they would corrupt the charts with their subversive, sugar-coated teenage anthems. With their roots formly in the riot grrl, indie and punk scenes of the early 90’s, they combined lightspeed tempos, abrasive girly-boy shrieks with a knowing new-wave songwriting suss and synth-pop production that went on to influence a million bands worldwide.

Due to their influencial status and the indie-public’s love of nostalgia, they’ve newly reformed after stints as the renamed Data Panik and some successful hometown reunion gigs. Because their sound is so steeped in teenage exuberance, it’s hard to think they will sound anything but utterly urgent and life-affirming! If you’re near Barca, check ’em oot!

More info at www.planetmanda.com

Also on tour this week: Alex Smoke, Average White Band, A-Lix, Paolo Nutini, Mungo’s Hi Fi,  Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad, Hudson Mohawke, Camera Obscura, Biffy Clyro, Kassidy, Snow Patrol, Three Blind Wolves, Mogwai, Codeine Velvet Club, We Were Promised Jetpacks,  and Teenage Fanclub.

Vic

Check out Vic on BBC Radio every week:

Monday Night 8.05pm-10pm, BBC Radio Scotland
Vic has Edinburgh’s Meursault in session.

Wednesday Night Midnight-2am, BBC Radio 1 in Scotland
Vic has Glasgow’s We’re Only Afraid of NYC in session.

Follow Vic on Twitter at www.twitter.com/vicgalloway and at www.myspace.com/vicgallowayr1

Buy Bis on itunes
Bis

Bis – Kandy Pop on Top of the Pops

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvXwm1DxY_A

Bis Warm-Up Gig, Sunday May 23, 2010

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KD0LvjeofY

Scotland on Tour this week

[scotlandontour_thisweek startdate=”20100524″ enddate=”20100530″]

Photo Credit: Planet Manda