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is almost upon us again and while you were fighting your way to the front of the queue for the wackiest costume, we were asking some of Scotland's finest bands and DJs to get into the spirit of things, musically speaking. The challenge was:

Pick One...killer tune for a Hallowe'en DJ set

They dug deep into the darkest depths of their nefarious record collections and came up with the following. Feel free to join the fun by entering your own suggestions in the comments section.

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This Sunday sees the clan gather for a mammoth at Stereo in Glasgow. Amongst the 20 strong collective of artists performing is James Yorkston. He'll be taking to the stage early on Sunday afternoon and by way of a warm up, we've dug out this brilliant clip of him in our wee camper van at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖgame 2009.

It was our first venture to the festival and over the course of a very busy afternoon we managed to capture Emma Pollock, Malcolm Middleton, The Burns Unit, FOUND, Meursault, Foxface and the brilliantly eccentric Men Diamler.

Here's James alongside The Athletes performing Tortoise Regrets Hare.

While not playing guitar in The Treacherous Orchestra, Barry Reid produces solo material with an electronic tinge as . His latest work sees him remix 's track Lament for Mr Thomas Grant. There's also a nice summery video by Glasgow VJ and filmmaker which should help wash away the winter blues.

from on .

Donald Runnicles with his assistant conductor, RSAMD Conducting Fellow Jessica Cottis

Earlier this year the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO and the cemented a unique partnership that gives Academy students opportunities to learn within the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO and work alongside one of the world's top conductors, .

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Over the next few months on a Friday afternoon we'll be mining the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ archives, unearthing hidden gems to ease you into the weekend with a smile on your face. This week we have Glasgow band Camera Obscura, filmed at the Hydro Connect Festival in August 2008.

At the time they were testing out material from their 2009 album My Maudlin Career, playing at the second (and sadly perhaps the last?) instalment of the late summer Inveraray festival. Our camper van was parked a very long way from the artist area, but luckily we managed to persuade the band to make the hazardous journey through the mud and rain to perform a trio of songs in that most intimate of spaces.

And what a treat was in store: a wry cover of Rod Stewart's Some Guys Have All The Luck, an early taster of their album with the track Swans, and Teenager (a favourite from their second album).

Watch the session below and head on over to our Hydro Connect site for more footage from the festival.

*** Latest *** - Tom Jones has been added to the bill for Mon 17th January, going back to his roots singing songs from his album.

This morning at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall artistic director Donald Shaw unveiled the line-up for next January's folk and roots music extravaganza.

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ will be there of course, featuring a selection of the most exciting artists on television and radio - all of which, plus many online exclusives, will also grace our website.

1500 homegrown and international artists are set to descend on the city for the 18th instalment of the annual festival.

Some headlines for Celtic Connections 2011:

• a concert for Bob Dylan's 70th birthday featuring Justin Townes Earle, Thea Gilmore and more...


• Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain graces the opening gig


• a focus on the power of gospel, with the legendary Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bettye LaVette and more


• The Waterboys appear with a tribute to W B Yeats


• plenty of Scottish folk scenesters and festival favourites like The Unusual Suspects, the Treacherous Orchestra, Fiddlers' Bid and Lau


• an international roster of stars including Paul Brady, Richard Thompson, Seth Lakeman, Jah Wobble, Crooked Still...


• and a focus on future folk with a Celtronika concert.

Roll on the new year!

Soprano Heidi Melton and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO Chief Conductor Donald Runnicles rehearsing for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO's opening concert of the new season

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor began their 75th Anniversary season with concerts in Glasgow, Perth, Aberdeen and Edinburgh and the reviews are coming in...

Week One

The first concert of the new season was at City Halls with the orchestra playing Wagner's famous . Ken Walton was there to and gave it a maximum five stars, commenting that "Season openers don't come much more thrilling than this."

, saying that "The entire experience was gobsmackingly wonderful...Everybody involved in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SSO's opening concert on Thursday night gets five stars, a metaphorical bottle of champagne and thunderous applause such as can resound only in the City Hall."

was at City Halls to award the concert four stars.

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Edinburgh trio recently signed to and the first fruit of their collaborative labours will land in the shape of their third album in March 2011.

To celebrate the occasion and to share some of the love around, FOUND have kindly decided to give away a free track every Friday from today until the album's release.

The first offering is a chunky electronica remix of "Let Fidelity Break" by boss . Keep an eye on for weekly updates.