A Fair Share: The Scots Whay Hae! Podcast Talks To Darren McGarvey...
- Alistair Braidwood
- Nov 28, 2025
- 2 min read
For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer, broadcaster and campaigner Darren McGarvey (also known as rapper Loki) to talk about his book and live show, Trauma Industrial Complex, and the album Not Funded By Creative Scotland, which are three central strands of the same multi-media project, and the two discuss how they work together, but also stand alone.
Darren talks about the challenges of taking the show to the Fringe, but why it was important to do so, before talking about the differences, and similitude, in writing the book, album, and for a live performance, and the responses to each.
The two then discuss each strand in detail - how the album was recorded, the research behind the book, the difference between committing words to the page, and saying them on stage, and where his love of language comes from.
Darren explains what the Trauma Industrial Complex is, talks about the contradiction at the heart of the book, the difference between sharing and oversharing, the freedom that his music brings, and why. He also reflects on the changes in Scotland's hip-hop community over the years, and what being nominated for Best Hip Hop artist for this year's Scottish Alternative Music Awards means.
It was a privilege and a pleasure to be able to sit down with Darren and talk about not only his current work, but also to reflect on his varied and rightly celebrated past, and to consider the future. SWH! consider him one of Scotland's most thoughtful, reflective, and necessary, cultural figures, and we hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as we did recording it.
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Click here to learn more about this year's SAMAs Click here for our back catalogue of over 390 interviews with some of the most interesting names in and around Scottish culture.
The section on how Darren McGarvey balances the book, album, and live show as standalone yet interconnected works makes me want to check out all three. For anyone working on similar multimedia projects and handling subtitle files, VTT to SRT can simplify getting everything into a consistent format across platforms.
This podcast sounds fascinating, Ali! The way Darren weaves his projects together is really clever. Speaking of clever wordplay, have you tried the jeffgoldblum wordle game ? It's a fun daily challenge!
I loved how Darren McGarvey navigated such complex issues with authenticity! It reminded me of my own journey in confronting societal expectations. cookie clicker The podcast truly sparks meaningful conversations!
Interesting that Darren McGarvey discusses the differences between writing for a book, an album, and a live performance, as each format requires a distinct approach. For anyone working with media files, knowing how to convert srt to vtt can be similarly useful when moving between platforms. It's a small technical detail that makes a big difference in accessibility.
Great interview with Darren! I love how he explores the same themes across the book, album, and live show — each medium really does bring something different to the conversation. His reflection on sharing versus oversharing in the Trauma Industrial Complex feels especially vital today. Well worth a listen!
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