Some of Dundee's top musicians have received grants after successful applications to the Dundee Musicians' Award. The awards were established in 2008 to support the work of outstanding Dundee-based musicians and help with the costs involved in creating new work in any genre, research, and professional development.
In 2021/22, funding has been awarded to:
Robert Miles Miller to help with his first proper EP and aid with studio recording costs.
Since his teens, Robert, a Dundonian singer-songwriter, has played in local bands of various shapes and styles. From the raging drum/electric solo vibes of 'Restriction of Liberty' to the country folk twangs of 'Delilah and the Samsons', he is now making space to create in his own unique matured style. Think coy chill acoustic reverb pulling-at-your-heart-strings vibes with catchy hooks, harmonies, and solos mixed-in with hints of his biggest influences like Mark Knofler and James Taylor.
Heather Miranda, for one-to-one lower strings tuition to develop performance and teaching skills.
Heather is a violinist living in Dundee and a strings instructor for Angus Council, teaching within the Arbroath High School cluster. She is a dedicated music educator who loves sharing the joy of music through her work and has always been committed to furthering her skills to, in turn, benefit those she teaches.
PLASMAS, to record and mix the band's first EP. The grant will aid the costs of recording five tracks with an experienced and respected local producer.
PLASMAS began in 2018 and has since grown a strong reputation in the Scottish music scene. Playing in Dundee regularly since forming, they have performed headline shows and supported acclaimed touring bands such as Walt Disco, The Ninth Wave, Man of Moon, and Baby Strange.
Su Shaw (SHHE), to support the research and development of a new creative collaboration between sound artists Su Shaw (SHHE) and Andy Truscott (Kinbrae)
Su Shaw is a Scottish-Portuguese sound artist, musician, and producer who creates and performs under the alias SHHE. Born in the Highlands and now based in Dundee, her artistic practice is deeply influenced and informed by her environment. Her work often explores themes of identity, connection, and the relationship between sound and space. Andy Truscott is a composer and field recordist based in Fife who releases music under the moniker Kinbrae with his twin brother Mike. The Scottish landscape inspires his practice. It features a wide range of field recordings that are manipulated and treated to add organic elements to the electronic and modern classical music he composes. He is a keen digital and film photographer interested in the intersections of sound, place, and image.
2 Stoned Birds, who with Dundee Musicians Award funding, will create a new track about what it means to be diagnosed as autistic in adulthood.
2 Stoned Birds are a spoken word and Scottish hip-hop two-piece formed in 2019, featuring musician Johnny Threshold and spoken word poet Eilidh Morris. Their songs explore mental illness, fantasy, and philosophy, blending contemplative and hopeful words with atmospheric and upbeat music.
Most recently, 2 Stoned Birds were commissioned by the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival in 2021 to create "Vessels", a piece filmed in and around Dundee on the topic of returning to "normality" after the gradual end of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Moira Methven, Chair of Leisure & Culture Dundee, said
"The Dundee Musician's Award has always supported a wide range of projects, and 2021/2022 is no different. From traditional to independent music, awards will support training, professional development, recording, and producing a music video. These awards continue to raise the profile of the excellent and diverse music coming out of Dundee."
Leisure & Culture Dundee stage the Dundee Musicians Award to support projects that look at creative development through collaborations, working with new partners, or new producers. Each of the award winners receives £500. There does not have to be a recording or gig at the end of the process; the creative process is valid enough. Support is given to applications that stimulate new and innovative work and provide musicians time to experiment and explore.