“A perfect conclusion to the night, drawing together elements from the two previous support acts.”
Fourth Daughter brought her brand new EP to life on the Edinburgh stage. She was accompanied by two support acts: Sacul, and BETA WAVES. Each act was entirely complimentary of one another in terms of musical styles and genres. This lineup wasn’t one to miss.
Sacul
First to grace the stage with talent that night was Sacul. This is the artistry project of Lucas Cusik, a Hawaii raised, but Scottish born artist. Alongside Esau Rodriguez on guitar, Zoe young on violin, and the incredibly talented Scott Bathgate on drums, Sacul gave an astonishing performance. Together, they played a beautiful cover of a Bon Iver track as well as gorgeous renditions of his own material.
Telling quick stories detailing the meanings behind some of the songs, Sacul made the crowd feel welcomed into the set. Explaining some of the imagery and passion behind some of the tracks helped the crowd to feel more drawn to each song. This, in turn, helps the tracks resonate with a wider audience. These dreamy indie-pop songs included latest release ‘Bruises‘ as well as another recent single, ‘Symphony‘. The latter track has been recognised and played by BBC Music Introducing for Scotland, which is a massive accolade for Sacul.
Their set was a divine watch, it felt like being pulled into a trance that you didn’t want to leave. Every person on stage alongside Sacul were extremely talented behind their respective crafts, never once undermining or overpowering each other. Sacul is a talent to watch, his captivating creations came to life on the iconic stage. If you ever get the chance to see him, don’t miss it, you’ll leave the venue with another amazing artist to listen to.
BETA WAVES
Scottish electronic duo BETA WAVES were next to take to the stage. The duo consists of vocalist Dale Easson, and Harry Crossan on beats and synth. In July, BETA WAVES released a four-track EP called “All For You: Dance”. This is the first of three productions to be released by the duo, each one focusing on a different genre of music. This first one includes what the title suggests, dance music.
Each of the four tracks on this EP were played in this support slot, as well as a couple of tunes that weren’t included. Three singles were part of this: ‘French Touch’, ‘&Dance’, and ‘Sweat’. The latter of these singles has already amassed an incredible 46,000 Spotify streams, showing just how amazing the tracks are. The final song on the EP to be played was ‘Tripod’. Each song drew the Sneaky Pete’s crowd further and further into their addictive sound.
BETA WAVES are insanely talented and it was really intriguing seeing them bringing their latest releases to life. As someone who has only recently ventured into the genre of electronic and electro-pop, it was really interesting to see the amount of intricate work and effort that is incorporated into it. They’re definitely not a group you would want to miss, they’re amazing fun to watch.
Fourth Daughter
Headlining Sneaky Pete’s for this Central Belters show was Scottish alt-electro pop artist, Fourth Daughter. This headline slot was the perfect opportunity for Fourth Daughter to present her recently released debut EP “HYPERREAL“. The 6 track release contains incredibly catchy and memorable tunes that she brought to life before the audience. The simple set up on the stage made each song, and the construction of them, create more of an impact.
Like with BETA WAVES, I was intrigued to to see just how much work and dedication is put into the electric music genre. Seeing how much they all have to multi-task and focus really sparked more interest and curiosity for me in this music style. To be able to control and create her songs before the crowd, and keep her voice smooth and collected is an amazing talent. Fourth Daughter played tracks from “HYPERREAL” including ‘Take The Fall‘, and ‘Say What You Want‘. The latter of these tunes was the EP’s single and has amassed an incredible 42,000 Spotify streams.
It takes special determination and talent to keep a crowd engaged for the entirety of a set, and she boasted these abilities in this headline slot. This was made clear from the numerous cheers from around the venue. This set from Fourth Daughter was also a perfect conclusion to the night, drawing together elements from the two previous support acts. She was able to combine the effective use of lyricism like Sacul with the upbeat, uplifting melodies that BETA WAVES implemented. However, even with these slight similarities in approaches and styles, she incorporated her own distinct twist.
Fourth Daughter’s set is one I really enjoyed because she made her craft look so effortless, even though it was clear how much work she puts into it.
