Interview: "We like writing stuff that's hard for us to play, we just get really annoyed when it's boring!" Glasgow's Insider Trading on reforming after an hiatus, moving cities, future plans, new material, the writing process and petty theft
It's early March and I'm on a train to Manchester Piccadilly, listening to old Hot Snakes albums and watching the world fly by. This is a journey I've done hundreds of times over the years and I can't help but recall those times I would go to gigs, clubs and bars with various friends. There's that time I went out dressed as a drag zombie after a Sunn 0))) gig around Halloween, and girls kept running away from me screaming. Then that time I had nowhere to sleep after an all nighter in Salford, so I ended up finding a bench and hoping for the best. Neither are recommended for a comfortable experience. I'm much older now and don't make such stupid choices
As I saunter into the station and start to head toward the Northern Quarter, I notice a very long line of young women looking excited, laughing and joking. Netflix are in town to promote the Harry Styles special being recorded that night at CO-OP live, and the ladies are here to write messages of love to Harry on a big old board. Forlorn boyfriends and husbands look on bored from the sidelines. A sight to behold.
I'm in Manchester to see a band that produced one of our favourite E.Ps of 2025 who are playing at the Night & Day; an old haunt that still remains as important as ever to Manchester's gig circuit. Glasgow's Insider Trading bought out their From Leith to New York E.P to little fanfare in April 2025, but as the year wore on, it refused to stay away from our speakers here at NNWNF. The quality and passion of the tracks really stood out and repeated listens revealed a band with a depth of ideas and intelligence. So we decided to see if they fancied a bit of a natter.
The band are made up of Cameron Bilsland (guitar, lead vocals), Sam Jolley (guitar), Eve Gibbons (bass, backing vocals) and Tom Wood (drums) and formed at university in Edinburgh. Feeling alienated and frustrated with the lack of interesting music scene in the city, they joined a society to put on gigs and create a social life revolving around the music they love. Cameron takes up the story:
"We joined the society and met there. I ended up President of it and Eve ended up Secretary and subsequently President after I graduated. It started as a social group, but then as it grew and so many people were coming to the pub to talk about music, we decided to start putting on gigs. We formed the band and decided to put our first gig on. Someone in the group jokingly said "Surely that's a bit of Insider Trading!". We didn't put ourselves on again after that, because that would be far too on the nose."
The band released some early singles after building a small, dedicated fan base in the city, before University finished and the project was put on hold to let the dust of post-Uni life settle. Bilsland moved away to do a Masters in Oxford and returned with new inspiration and invigoration for the band. From Leith to New York followed and soon it became apparent they needed to put more time and effort into this. A move to Glasgow was touted, but not all was smooth sailing, Eve explains more:
" There were some good bands in Edinburgh, but not so much of a community there. Three Quarters of us moved to Glasgow. Cameron is from there and I'm from the West Coast of Scotland, so it's always somewhere I wanted to go to - I knew the scene, I knew the venues. It seemed inevitable, but it was just a case of who ended up in the right place at the right time when we graduated."
There's an elephant in the room though at this point. It's a little tense in the Night & Day dressing room, as prior to the interview one of Eve's pedal boards has gone missing and not turned up, delaying their soundcheck and subsequently, the interview:
"We're not attaching any blame to anyone, but something's disappeared." says Bilsland barely containing his frustration. Eve: "It's my pedal board, it seems like someone saw someone carrying something round tucked under their jumper. We don't know for sure though."
Sam chimes in sounding equally as frustrated: "We have more gigs to play, we've got Leeds tomorrow and it's going to be a scramble to get something for that. The sound guy here helped us out, luckily he has the same pedal and lives nearby, so went and got it for us to use tonight. I know it's just a pedal board, but there's sentimental AND monetary value attached. These things are expensive. It's worth a lot more than we're being paid for these gigs."
The cost of being an independent band is a reality that many artists find beyond their means in 2026, but the band know that it's not just going to come to them and some losses will have to be absorbed.
Sam: "This tour now is just the point where we're beginning to break even, we're doing this because it's 'FUN'; I don't think we were ever doing it to be a professional band. We can afford to do it, but we're still staying at mate's places."
Cameron: "It's just a shame the reality of the music industry these days, it's fucking brutal. We break even if you don't count the nights out after the gig; but we never count them, it's our coping mechanism! It's a barrier to entry though, there's a big issue with working-class musicians having access and so many just fall by the wayside early."
New single 'Porcelain' is out now, the first before the release of an as-yet-untitled E.P later in the year. It's perhaps as close as the band have managed to a more streamlined route, but being over six minutes long, still has plenty of the twists and turns that the band excel in. The song explores power dynamics and secret flings with rage, wit, frustration and acceptance. You can listen to the track above. Cameron elaborates more on what the song is about:
"As a working-class Scot, I was naturally alienated from the polished halls of Oxford where I went to do my Masters. It's essentially a diss track on my type; aloof, wealthy, intellectual boys pursuing some obtuse artistic field."
The song was the first written after their post Uni hiatus and their gig calendar only started taking shape at the start of 2026 again. To fit in with an increasingly busy schedule, the band have been writing more frequently too, to ensure they have more material to release and play live. This writing process has become a bit part of the band's routine, but what is that routine?
Cameron: " Most of the songs we do, I'll write the initial part; the chord progression or a riff and the vocal part to go along with it. The rule of thumb we go by, 9 times out 10 - unless someone writes something that's brilliant - is that everyone writes their own part. The drum part is Tom, the bass part is Eve. Sometimes we will suggest subtle tweaks to each other and try a different twist on it and we figure it out together. "
Tom: "Playing the song live together helps us iron out the kinks and help the song come together."
Sam: "We like to keep it interesting though. We like writing stuff that's hard for us to play, we just get really annoyed when it's boring! "
Later in the year the band play renowned taste maker showcase festival Left of the Dial in Rotterdam, which has seen bands like English Teacher, Home Counties, Chalk and Man/Woman/Chainsaw cut their teeth in Europe for the first time. It's a great opportunity to put themselves in front of industry professionals and make new connections that could take them to the next level.
Eve: "I don't think we applied for this one, we just got offered it. We applied for a couple of others though. "
Tom: "I think behind the scenes our booking agent has been pushing us to some European festivals, but we can't remember who or if we even filled in the form for that! We're very grateful though."
Well, usually."
With that I leave them to it. They play a killer set and go into the night to do what exciting, young bands should do; go from breaking even to no longer breaking even via the medium of alcohol.
An ironic band name if ever there was one.
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