The New Wave Generators are an Edinburgh-based band performing eclectic Scottish rock hits from throughout the decades. From new wave classics like Big Country, Simple Minds, Aztec Camera and Proclaimers, through to modern greats like Paolo Nutini, Primal Scream and Franz Ferdinand, as well as classic folk rock songs like Loch Lomond and Wild Mountain Thyme. They even stretch the boundaries and unapologetically play songs from the Scottish diaspora including AC/DC, Talking Heads and Dire Straits.
The band's name is inspired by their shared passion for 80s rock and renewable energy, both of which are key to empowering a better future for all.
The band
Scott Wind - vocals and guitar. As a passionate physicist, he frequently references his academic background in his lyrics and on stage banter. This scientific bent extends to the band's music, which often incorporates synthesizers and electronic instruments alongside more traditional rock instrumentation.
Jam of All Trades - guitar and synth. Following a particularly carb-heavy meal, he bought himself a Casio synthesiser for his 33rd birthday, and said it was the greatest gift he had ever received.
Matthias Andersen - bass guitar and vocals. Claims after years of training that he is the only human capable of withstanding the brown note. Nobody has taken him up on his frequent offers to prove it.
The Human Metronome - percussion. With his HND from the University of the Highlands and Islands, he is the third pillar of the Fife economic holy trinity, standing alongside the great thinkers of Smith and Brown. In 2011 he was diagnosed with a rare form of OCD where the time he spends on tasks must be divisible by 4. It is an affliction he carries with great dignity.
Origins
Some bands form overnight. The New Wave Generators are a super group 20 years in the making.
Scott Wind, Jam of All Trades and Matthias Andersen grew up together in a remote rural backwater in northern Scotland. Despite having had very little else to do, they never actually thought about jamming together. However, in separate bands, they cut their teeth in the surprisingly healthy underground teenage alt rock Highland music scene of the mid '00s. Exploring genres and creating music now lost to time.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Fife, at the age 15 the fourth piece of the jigsaw was learning to count to 4 and beginning to hit things with sticks. He would soon come to be known as The Human Metronome.
In search of something more, at 18, the boys all went their separate ways. One reached the golden pavements of London; another the wild forests of British Columbia; another a different town somewhere else in Fife.
Like monks in training, here they patiently spent the next decade honing their musical skills. Preparing for battles yet to be fought. And waiting for the signal to return home and fulfil their destiny.
And so it was, in 2022, that they all ended up living and working near each other in Edinburgh. Was this coincidence? Probably, yes. The capital had a very buoyant job market, and they had all recently accepted very healthy relocation compensation packages.
But perhaps it can also be seen as fate. A fate 20 years in the making. Bringing together old friends, with a renewed passion for the most righteous of purposes. The music of rock. Scottish rock.