Ruth Mills in the Whatever Gets You Through The Night theatre show. Photo: Stephanie Gibson

A huge thank you to everyone who came to see Whatever Gets You Through The Night, the big, sprawling live show we made last month with our friend Cora Bissett, playwright David Greig, The Arches in Glasgow, and lots of other talented people. We had a lot of fun doing it, got to work with some of our favourite musicians, and at one point Swimmer One became Ricky Ross’s backing band, which was great.

The show was very well received. It sold out completely before its opening night, and got four star reviews in The Guardian, The List, The Scotsman and The Herald, as well as widespread media coverage, including a cover feature in The Skinny.

If you missed the live show, you can still experience Whatever Gets You Through The Night in other forms. Our long-term collaborator Daniel Warren has made a film which will be premiered at Summerhall in Edinburgh on 23 August, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. You can buy tickets for the screening now. There will be some live music on the night too. After that we plan to take the film on tour – watch this space for updates.

Whatever Gets You Through The Night also exists as an album, which you can stream or download . There are brand new songs by Withered Hand, Ricky Ross, Emma Pollock, Eugene Kelly, Rachel Sermanni, Swimmer One, Seafieldroad and Laura’s band the Teadance Orchestra. The album is accompanied by a beautiful book featuring all the lyrics from the songs in the show, new writing by David Greig, Kieran Hurley, Alan Bissett, Kirstin Innes and Stef Smith among others, and photos from rehearsals, recording sessions and from Daniel’s film.

Thanks to Creative Scotland for financing the project. Cora is currently in talks with various people in the hope that we can put the live show on again, in the UK or elsewhere.

[Show as slideshow]

Whatever Gets You Through The Night album art. Artwork: Daniel Warren

Whatever Gets You Through The Night, the album, will get a full digital release in November.

The album is a compilation of 16 new songs, all inspired by the hours between midnight and 4am, by Withered Hand, Errors, Meursault, RM Hubbert, Conquering Animal Sound, Ricky Ross, Emma Pollock, Eugene Kelly, Rachel Sermanni, Wounded Knee and Bigg Taj, Cora Bissett, Talkingmakesnosense, Swimmer One, Seafieldroad and Laura Lewis & the Teadance Orchestra. It’ll be available via iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers from Monday 4 November.

The album release is just one part of a much bigger, ongoing project of the same name, created by theatre director Cora Bissett, playwright David Greig, and ourselves. Whatever Gets You Through The Night began with a live show at the Arches in June, which sold out completely before its opening night, and got four star reviews in The Guardian, The List, The Scotsman and The Herald. We are hoping to revive the show next year.

Daniel Warren’s film has also been well received, and will tour in 2013 following its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe. The cover image for the album is taken from Daniel’s film.

Album reviews:
“A terrific pop anthology” – The List ****

“On the evidence of the 15 acts showcased here, the rest of us may have seriously neglected the talent currently thriving north of the border.” – BBC

“a mixture of melancholy, solitude and that lucid dream state that can come with sleeplessness” – The Herald ****

“A breadth of moods as varied as human experience, combining neatly into a vivid nocturnal tapestry.”
– The Skinny ****

“Everyone will recognise themselves in these heightened vignettes of communal joy and urban alienation.” – Mojo ****