Braw Gigs Presents: Drew McDowall + Guests

Event information

More live action from Braw Gigs in May - and I’m super pleased to announce the return of legendary underground hero Drew McDowall, who some of you may have caught performing (in semi-secret!) at our Puce Mary gig in the Cowgate a few years ago or at Exit last year. Drew McDowall is a Scottish born, NYC based composer and musician. He was a member of Coil in the ‘90s contributing heavily to some of their most respected and influential works and is known for his diverse collaborations, working with Kali Malone, Catarina Barbieri, Varg, Puce Mary and LEYA amongst others.

His backstory reads like a primer of psychedelic fiction woven into statements of the unbelievable, superhuman, and outright insane. Growing up in the gangs of 1970’s Scotland, McDowall-fatigued by years of daily violence and the chaotic madness of that life- sought self-expression and sanctuary in punk and found a home in Glasgow’s rich underground music community.

After a stint with The Poems, a band he started with his then-wife Rose McDowall, he joined the ranks of UK avant-gardists Genesis P-Orridge, David Tibet, Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, John Balance, and countless others who would come to define the industrial music's blossoming experimental vanguard. McDowall eventually collaborated with Psychic TV and became a full-time member of the hugely influential cult outfit Coil, where his influence shaped the group's later output: exercises in magical practice and music-as-psychoactive effect.

Support will come from one of London’s most exciting industrial noise acts, Welsh-born artist and musician Ekstasis began their brutal noise project at 19. Using chains, tape loops and modular synthesis as primary sonic outputs, with a debut release on Industrial Coast in 2024 and with countless shows and appearances in the last couple of years, get down early. One more local support TBC, so stay tuned.