HAVE you ever discovered a great new band, only for your dad to tell you they remind him of a group he used to bop along to in the 1980s?

It’s annoying, but it’s not surprising because music is all about influences and borrowing from different styles.

The Gallagher brothers make no efforts to hide the impact The Beatles have had upon their Manchester twang, while not one reggae artist could look you straight in the eye and claim Bob Marley didn’t have even the slightest bearing upon their career choice.

Closer to home, if Scottish musicians had been unwilling to open their eyes and ears to the skills of their foreign counterparts then our music scene would comprise only fiddlers and red-cheeked pipers. No offence to said sounds, but instead we have a rich and diverse mix, concocted from musical influences worldwide.

And it is not just in music where embracing other cultures can pay dividends for Scotland. As more people from Africa, Asia and the rest of the world look to settle in Bonnie Scotland, the opportunity to become a proud multi-cultural Scot has never been greater.

Just ask fresh’s very own Young Scot of the Year award winner Amy Macdonald. The 20-year-old is fiercely proud to be part of modern Scotland: “I’m Scottish to the core and I love the fact our country has evolved and grown with many different cultural influences. And music is a great way of communicating with people and cutting across all kinds of preconceptions.”

The preconceptions to which she refers relate to the ongoing problem of racism, which is holding Scotland back from its full potential. Last year, there were around 5000 reported incidents of racism but anecdotal evidence suggests the real figure is likely to be much higher.

It’s a shaming fact, but Amy isn’t about to wallow in self-pity. Instead, she has signed up to play the second Rock against Racism (RoAR) gig of the year. The four concerts, which bring together a headline act and top new talent, are out to tackle racism and have a rocking great time in the process.

After its stunning debut in 2006, with performances from Paisley boy Paolo Nutini and the anthemic Embrace to name but two acts, RoAR is back in style in 2008.

Hard-Fi got the ball rolling in February when they played the Edinburgh Liquidrooms, and Amy is set to pick up the torch at Troon Concert Hall on April 3.

She says: “Both as a musician and as a proud Scot, I’m delighted to be taking part. I was asked by the organisers if I’d like to play a gig for RoAR and it’s such a great cause, so it was easy to say yes. To be honest, I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve never really encountered any racism, though I know it certainly exists. I think in this day and age people should realise we’re all equals.”

Unfortunately some people still don’t grasp this and carry on abusing others simply because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.

Fresh from his Edinburgh performance, Hard-Fi lead singer Richard Archer reckons now more than ever the issue needs to be addressed. “It’s not just an issue from the 1980s,” says Richard, “this is a problem right now and probably in the future so we all need to address it.
“It is important for current bands to shout about this message and put forward a different argument to the ones coming from extremist groups. Music is a great way of doing this as by its very nature it is about discovering things, celebrating them, mixing things together and coming up with something even more amazing.”

One very talented musical mixer is Ghanian-born Gameli Tordzro. The 49-year-old has been living in Scotland since 2003, working as the artistic director for Pan African Arts Scotland, a cultural group who visit Glasgow schools promoting the wide-ranging art forms Africa has to offer.

Tordzro plays the kora (an African harp), the gyl xylophone (from the north of Ghana), bamboo flutes, various types of African drums and, ever so modestly “a little bit of guitar”.

His school workshop visits have impressed upon him both the potential music can have in tackling racism, and the persistent problems.

“Racism’s main root is where people are afraid of what they don’t know,” comments Tordzro.
“Sometimes I get people who come along to the workshops, and rather than talk to me they speak to the white person I am with even though I am the one teaching them. Though personally it doesn’t bother me, other people might take it in a different way.

“I’ve done a lot of programmes that involve music and other art forms and what I realise is that it doesn’t matter where in the world it is, music has a very strong capacity to pull people together and create a good environment for them to break the barriers that may exist, be it people of different cultures or the same culture living in different communities and misunderstanding each other.

“It is important to acknowledge that people are different and that difference is not negative.

“It is possible to bring together the various different values that people have in a way that you can have a rich diverse culture which contributes to everybody’s lives.

"People may appear different, but their fears, hopes and aspirations are all basically the same.”
Feeling fearful is something a band named The Debuts could be forgiven for in recent weeks. The Edinburgh four-piece won an online vote to open for Hard-Fi in the first RoAR gig, stepping onto the stage to face some 700 people in front of their home crowd.

“I got a call to say we’d received 2500 votes or something ridiculous like that and we’d be up on stage,” beams lead singer Michael Lambert, who explains their name was chosen because “we needed a name quickly” (the band have actually been around since 2006).

He adds: “When we first went on stage we tried not to do too much chatting, just let the music speak for itself.

“But at the end of it we handed out some free CDs and we’ve had a massive response with people emailing and messaging to ask about our next gig.”

The young pretenders, who say their influences include The Killers, Elvis Costello and Boy Kill Boy, feel their chance in the limelight has not gone to waste. Lambert adds: “We really didn’t know what to expect but it was a great night and I’ve never met a nicer bunch of guys than Hard-Fi.

“They have been in touch since and are going to come and see us in London, so who knows where it might lead.”

The online vote is set to start for the next RoAR gig in Troon and Amy Macdonald is delighted to help promote cultural diversity and help another band on the rocky road to stardom at the same time.

She says: “I had the opportunity to support some great, well-known bands when I was starting out and it’s a real boost – you learn so much about playing to bigger audiences and people get a chance to hear you that might not know about you otherwise.

“It’s really inspiring and quite a buzz, so I’m really pleased that a new band will be supporting me at the RoAR gig. Anything that helps new music and tackles racism gets my vote.”

RoAR tickets are available via radio competitions and through the website www.RockAgainstRacism.info where you can also have your say on the problems of racism.