The Backline Newsletter - Issue 28

Issue 28

Author

Allan Watson
November 27, 2025

The Backline Newsletter
Issue 28 - Thursday, 27th November 2025

The Backline Newsletter – Issue 28

Thursday, 27th November 2025

Editorial

Some weeks in Scottish music feel busy. This one feels alive.

With the winter gig calendar in full swing, there’s a real sense of momentum across the scene right now with bands releasing new music, venues packed even on weeknights, and a steady flow of artists finding their people. This week’s feature, Nama Kuma, are a perfect example of that energy. They blend jazz, electronic influence, and something uniquely their own, and they speak with clarity about the joys and frustrations of making music in 2025. It’s always encouraging to hear from artists who create because they love it, and not because an algorithm told them to.

Alongside them, there’s a wave of standout shows across Glasgow and Edinburgh this week. From Starsailor taking over the Barrowland to the return of Cast, and rising locals Stop The Suns From Setting gearing up for King Tut’s, it feels like the lead-up to December is stacked with the kind of gigs that remind you why live music matters.

If you’re heading out to anything this week, wrap up warm but hope the rooms are electric.

Artist Q&A - Nama Kuma

1. Who’s in the band, and what do they play?
Hebe - vocals and saxophone
Chris - guitar and backing vocals
Ben - keys
Lewis - bass
Robin - kit

2. Describe your sound in 5 words or less.
Jazz, and other stuff too

3. What was your first gig as a band?
Nama Kuma's first gig was at Bannermans, as part of the Click Clack event run by Steve Kettley. Our first gig with this incarnation of the band (Pete, our first drummer, returned home to Malta) was at a Palestine solidarity event in the Meadows.

4. Biggest show so far and how did it feel?
We played Kelburn Garden Party over the summer, which was definitely a highlight. We also played at Dunbar Harbour Festival last year. It was a nice feeling to look up and see that a pretty big crowd had gathered, despite the weather.

5. Which Scottish venue feels like home?
We played a Fringe gig at Sketch Beats Cafe last August, with Grace & The Flat Boys. It was an intimate atmosphere, everyone was so relaxed, and the audience was right beside us as we played, it felt like jamming in your living room with all your friends and family. Really cosy.

6. If someone’s never heard of you what song should they start with?
Waves, as it's my favourite NK song. But after 14th of November then I'd say Parallel Play, our latest single. It's really energetic, and we've loved playing it at recent gigs as a set-closer. There's a dnb style beat, but the guitar line is inspired by Japanese tsugaru shamisen - it was written to sound like it had been sampled.

7. One band or artist you’d love to open for?
Bonobo. Nujabes, if he was still with us. 

8. What’s one band or artist that shaped you but no one would expect?
For me (Chris, guitarist) it would be my friend from college: he was already a good guitarist but then over the summer he got really into playing jazz and spent those months doing nothing but practice guitar, so he came back after the holidays playing all these chords, progressions and melodic lines that I had never really encountered before in the flesh and it really blew my mind. 

As a band we joke about how twenty years from now we hope producers are chopping up our music to make their beats, so there's definitely a hip hop influence, even if we don't sound overtly like a hip hop band.

9. What advice would you give to a band just starting - without sugar-coating it?
Don't let your artistic worth be dictated by instagram likes, youtube views or spotify streams. The whole music scene is a car crash, and it's easy to feel like you're at the mercy of The Algorithm, You need to do it for the love, not the likes.

10. What songs are your guilty pleasures?
We're all very open and inclusive about our music tastes, so there's nothing we listen to that we'd consider embarrassing, or any artists who we'd feel guilty about enjoying. In terms of songs you might not expect, we recently covered Love at First Sight by Kylie Minogue at Dunbar Music Festival.

New music:
Menagerie EP – out 28 November
Singles: Parallel Play (14 Nov), Aya (25 Nov)

Essential Gear – Electro-Harmonix POG3
The newest version of EHX’s classic polyphonic octave generator, now with expanded tone-shaping and presets while retaining the unmistakable POG character.

Why We Love It
It tracks flawlessly and instantly widens any guitar or bass tone. The POG3 elevates the range and flexibility, making it as suitable for ambient layers as for punchy riffs.

What It Does
Stacks upper and lower octaves with precision, adds organ-like harmonics, shimmer, or synth-style textures, and includes advanced filtering, envelope shaping, and preset storage for fast recall.

Best For
Guitarists and bassists expanding their tonal palette, and keys/synth players wanting harmonics and texture on demand.

Bonus Tip
Blend a subtle upper octave with the dry signal for a natural double-tracked effect that cuts through the mix without raising volume.

Gig of the Week

Starsailor – Friday, 28 November 2025, Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

A band who defined a corner of early 2000s indie return to the legendary Barrowland stage. With their soaring vocals, widescreen melodies, and a crowd ready to sing every chorus its a perfect match of band and venue.

Best of the Rest

Cast – Saturday, 29 November 2025, Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
The Britpop icons are back fresh from the summer Oasis shows and with a confident swagger and melodic punch that’s carried them into the post-britpop era. It should be a night of anthems delivered from the heart.

Stop The Suns From Setting – Wednesday, 3 December 2025, King Tut’s, Glasgow
Friends of The Backline and one of the most quietly impressive rising bands on the circuit. Sharp songwriting, tight performances, and a reputation for heartfelt sets make this one to catch, before the rooms get bigger.

Get Involved

Got a story from the rehearsal room, a feature you would like to see, a gig pick, or a gear review you want to share, or just want to plug some great Scottish music, suggest a band or get featured? Have you attended our gig pick - write a review we may feature it a future issue.

Hit us up at [email protected]

Like what you’ve read? It takes 5 seconds to sign up, it’s totally free, and you’ll get it straight to your inbox every Thursday.

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/backlinenewsletter