Friday 23 February 2018

London Violins - A World in London exhibition

London Violins
A World in London exhibition

Menuhin Hall, Cobham Road, Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, KT11 3QQ, February to June 2018

Official launch night 6.30-7.30pm, 6th June 2018 on A World in London at Resonance FM
https://resonancefm.com/ TUNE IN!!! Special guest Alice Barron from the Iyatra Quartet.

Exhibition open for daytime viewing: weekdays 10am-12.30pm & 1pm -3pm.
www.yehudimenuhinschool.co.uk
www.themenuhinhall.co.uk

An exhibition of 24 drawings by artist Alban Low documenting the performances of London violinists. Alban has been sketching the capital’s musicians for ten years, spending his evenings in concert halls and jazz clubs. In 2016 he joined the radio programme A World in London, sketching musicians as they play live in the studio. The drawings you see here are of 8 violinists and the musicians they regularly play with. All the musicians have been featured on A World in London.

The radio programme ‘A World in London’ has been at the heart of the capital’s music scene since 2007. Originally broadcast on the BBC, it is now based at SOAS Radio (University of London) and Resonance FM. Hosted and produced by DJ Ritu, the show has an unrivalled reputation for presenting a rich cultural mix that truly reflects the diverse musical tastes of London and its people. DJ Ritu and Alban Low are producing a series of exhibitions and books that document the ever-changing live music scene in London. London stirs with musicians from all nations, playing in
venues from grand concert halls to vibrant upstairs rooms in pubs. This series aims to capture a moment in those musicians’ lives and tell the story of their favourite venues.


The book ‘London Violins: Part 1’ (A World in London chapbook, ISBN 9781910578773)
accompanies this exhibition.

Alban Low is involved in many creative projects, including album artwork, live performance, making films and maps, conceptual exhibitions, publishing chapbooks and good old-fashioned drawing. He is artist-in-residence at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education at Kingston University and St George's University of London.

DJ Ritu is a pioneering international turntablist & BBC Radio presenter. In the ‘90s she co-founded Outcaste Records, signing Nitin Sawhney and Badmarsh & Shri. Ritu has also broadcast for BBC World Service, Kiss 100 and many others. She manages two London club nights, Kuch Kuch and Club Kali, which are the longest running Bollywood events in the UK.

Musicians featured in the exhibition

James Patrick Gavin and Tad Sargent
Alice Barron and George Sleightholme
Olga Baron and John Macnaughton
Robert Atchison and Olga Dudnik
Agnes Branner and Martin Weightman
Anna Lowenstein and Rey Yusuf
Sarah Montague and Andrew Ryser Szymański
Richard Jones and Christian Miller

A special thank you to Chris Holley, Sofia Gaetani-Morris, Norman Druker and Sophie Darling for supporting this exhibition. 


Thursday 22 February 2018

Pharoah Russell - Air to Breathe E.P. launch


Pharoah Russell
Pharoah Russell - vocals, percussion
Christopher Langley - guitar, vocals
Basile Petite - bass, vocals
Kwesi Yvorra – drums
-
Rachel D'Arcy – vocals
Barbora Bartz - violin

Date - 21st February 2018
Venue - Upstairs at The Ritzy, Brixton, London, UK
New E.P. - Air to Breathe (2018)

Kwesi Yvorra
Pharoah Russell is well known to London music scene lovers and especially to Effra Hall Tavern and Agile Rabbit regulars as a fine and versatile young drummer. Last night at Upstairs at The Ritzy (Brixton) he launched his debut EP Air To Breathe, a four tracker full of creativity and laidback positivity.

Basile Petite

Russell has been part of the London scene for many years, cutting his teeth with Britjazz trio Partikel in the noughties. Past/present collaborations and credits include The Noisettes, Emiliana Torinni, Cirque Du Soleil, Congo Natty, Shabaka Hutchings, Jeremy Warmley, Agaskodo Teliverek, Damo Suzuki, Thidius, Andrew Ashong, Aar Maanta, Mr Jukes, Jack Tyson-Charles, Kokoroko, Ese and the Voodoo People, Errol Linton and more. This EP shows a new side to Russell, a facet that reveals his considerable skills as a multi-instrumentalist and explores a new found talent for singing and song writing. 

Christopher Langley






Thursday 15 February 2018

Giorgos Pafitis - In the Winelight

Giorgos Pafitis
Giorgos Pafitis - guitar
José Canha - bass
Demi Garcia Sabat - drums

Date - 8th February 2018
Venue - Waitrose Kings Cross, Granary Square, London, UK
Giorgos Pafitis EP - Coming Up (2015)

Customers at Waitrose Kings Cross are being treated to a free jazz concert every Thursday night. The London Granary Square store is part of a recent re-development of the area next to the Regent’s Canal. The store (a converted railway engine-shed) already boasted a wine and beer bar and outside patio space.

Words below adapted from Waitrose Wine Notes....

Giorgos Pafitis - Youthful guitar with forward fruity flavours, handsomely bodied with good balance. Blended from a selection of the Cyprus Military Band, London College of Music and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire to give his music that ripe crunchy fruitiness, youthful vibes and harmonious spirit.



José Canha
José Canha - Elegant toasty bass gives his music the perfect frame for a charming and lingering night. A plummy rich talent from Portugal that displays meticulous care in every aspect of creativity







Demi Garcia Sabat


Demi Garcia Sabat - Smooth complex and beautifully aged this percussionist delivers a remarkable intensity on the ears with ripe and smoky complexity. The sound is silky soft with wild moments of spice and toasted tones.




Tuesday 13 February 2018

Albert Man - Say Something Loving - single launch

Albert Man
Albert Man
Dan Johnson
Joe Watt
Rachel George

Date - 7th February 2018
Venue - 1901 Arts Club, Waterloo, London, UK

Single launch Say Something Loving
Watch the video HERE

Rachel George
The award-winning, Manchester-born singer-songwriter Albert Man has established himself as one of the most creative songwriters on the London gig circuit. He performed at 12 festivals over the summer of 2017 including The Great Escape, Camden Rocks, Liverpool Sound City, Reverb Festival, Tramlines and Standon Calling. He also organises his own music festival, Music Makers Festival,
 www.musicmakersfestival.com.

Dan Johnson
Albert Man was featured on Best Of British Unsigned as “one to watch” for 2017 saying they “love Albert's sound”. This was swiftly followed up with him being chosen as their featured artist of the day twice and has been nominated for 'Best Unsigned Male' for their Unsigned Music Awards 2017.
Man had a sold out launch at St Pancras Old Church for his 2017 EP ‘Nothing Of Nothing Much’ (www.albertman.com/nonm) and the live recording has been released as a live album called 'Live At St Pancras Old Church' (www.albertman.com/live). His 2016 self-produced album 'Cheap Suit' (www.albertman.com/cheapsuit) won the 'Best Independent Album' award on the Alternative Friday blog.

Saarloos - 1901 Arts Club

Brian McGovern
Saarloos
Brian McGovern
Craig Gallagher
Gavin James
Andy

Date - 7th February 2018
Venue - 1901 Arts Club, Waterloo, London, UK

Craig Gallagher
Future performance
28th February 2018 - Abner Browns, Dublin, Ireland

Andy
Saarloos a new Irish band consisting of critically acclaimed songwriters, Brian McGovern and Craig Gallagher. Having formed a formidable songwriting partnership they felt a desire to perform their songs together onstage.
Gavin James
Gavin Wigglesworth, known professionally as Gavin James, is an Irish singer-songwriter. He was born in Dublin on 5 July 1991 and grew up in a household surrounded by music. James' great-grandparents were opera singers and his grandfather was a stand-up comedian and whistler. He began playing music in a rock band at the age of 8 and writing his own songs. By the age of 21 he began focusing on his songwriting and playing open mic nights. In 2013, James independently released the single "Say Hello", which won the Meteor Choice Award for Song of the Year. By 2015, James had signed deals with Sony in Europe and Capitol Records in the US.




Hattie Briggs - 1901 Arts Club

Hattie Briggs
Hattie Briggs

Date - 7th February 2018
Venue - 1901 Arts Club, Waterloo, London, UK
Album - Hide EP (2017)

Future performance 2018
Feb 24 - Bournemouth Folk Club Presents John Smith at the Shelley Theatre
Mar 03 - Roundhouse Rising - Round our Place, London, United Kingdom
Apr 07 - The Spring Arts Centre, Havant, United Kingdom
Apr 08 - Twickfolk, London, United Kingdom
Apr 29 - Glad Cafe, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Apr 30 - Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, United Kingdom
May 01 - The Basement, York, United Kingdom
May 02 - The Kings Arms, Manchester, United Kingdom
May 05 - Cafe Kino, Bristol, United Kingdom
May 06 - St James Wine Vaults, Bath, United Kingdom
May 07 - Rough Trade, Nottingham, United Kingdom
May 08 - Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Hattie Briggs
Hattie Briggs is a 24 year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Named Fender Undiscovered Artist of the Year 2017/2018 in November 2017, Hattie won the prize of supporting Lucy Rose at the prestigious O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Since making the decision to drop out of a Russian degree in her second year at Oxford University after being shortlisted for a BBC Radio 2 Young Musician award, she has released several EPs, two albums, had airplay on BBC Radios 1, 2, and 6 Music, and embarked on tours around the UK, the Netherlands and the U.S.

During her travels she has performed at over 400 gigs, house concerts and numerous festivals (both local and nationally renowned) and supported well known bands and artists, including Lucy Rose at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, Ward Thomas at O2 London Brooklyn Bowl, John Smith, Blue Rose Code, Tom Williams, Lauren Aquilina, Stornoway, Jamie N Commons, Seth Lakeman and Grant Nicholas (Feeder).


Tuesday 6 February 2018

Gary Willcox Quartet - The Archduke

Gary Willcox
Gary Willcox Quartet
Gary Willcox - drums
Stephen Main - saxophone
Ross Stanley - piano
Oli Hayhurst - bass

Ross Stanley
Date - 3rd February 2018
Venue - The Archduke, Waterloo, London, UK
Gary Wilcox Qrt on YouTube HERE

Future performance
14th July 2018 - Gary Willcox Qrt. at Swanage Jazz Fest

Oli Hayhurst
The Gary Willcox Quartet has been playing together since 2008. Each member has developed strong individuality and profile through years of experience playing with many of the UK’s leading jazz/folk artists (Iain Ballamy, Gilad Atzmon, Bobby Wellins, Brian Finnegan, Ian Shaw). They play a mixture of original material & material of some of the masters of the idiom (e.g. Charlie Parker / Wayne Shorter) , arranged for the band’s own purposes.

“A versatile band with a rich, emotive sound: three powerful yet thoughtful soloists propelled by a lively, rustling drummer, playing open, attractively airy music imbued with just the right mix of punch and wistfulness.”
Chris Parker


Stephen Main
Born in 1972 and from Shepperton, Middx, Gary Willcox started playing the drums when he was 10 years old, with encouragement from his father, himself a musician. He quickly became fascinated with the great jazz drummers Buddy Rich, Max Roach & Art Blakey and through them discovered the whole world of Jazz. In 1988 Gary started formal drum studies with renowned drum kit teacher Trevor Tomkins. Gary went on to study orchestral percussion at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Gary has been playing around UK & European jazz scene since the mid ’90’s, performing with the likes of Jim Mullen, Ian Shaw, Chris Batchelor, Chris Biscoe, Iain Ballamy, Alex Garnett.

Portico Quartet - Roundhouse, Camden

Duncan Bellamy
Portico Quartet
Duncan Bellamy - drums and electronics
Jack Wyllie - saxophones and keyboards
Milo Fitzpatrick - electric and double-bass
Keir Vine - keyboards

Jack Wyllie
Date - 3rd February 2018
Venue - Roundhouse, Camden, London, UK
Current album - Art in the Age of Automation (Gondwana Records, 2017)

Future performance 2018
Apr 05 - Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
Apr 06 - Sage Gateshead, Gateshead, United Kingdom
Apr 26 – CBE, Cologne, Germany
Apr 27 – Lido, Berlin, Germany
Apr 28 – Mojo, Hamburg, Germany
May 09 – E-Werk, Erlangen, Germany
May 10 – Ampere, Munchen, Germany
May 11 - Grelle Forelle, Vienna, Austria

Milo Fitzpatrick
Part of In the Round at the Roundhouse (Camden) Portico Quartet performed music from their fourth studio album Art in the Age of Automation, as well as luminous classics from their much loved back catalogue, and live debuts of previously unheard new music.

Keir Vine
Mercury Prize-nominated Portico Quartet have always been an impossible band to pin down. Sending out echoes of jazz, electronica, ambient music and minimalism, the group created their own singular, cinematic sound over the course of three studio albums, from their 2007 breakthrough Knee-Deep in the North Sea, and 2010 John Leckie produced Isla, to the self-titled recording Portico Quartet in 2012. Now rebooted as Portico Quartet, with the return of Keir Vine on hangs and keys after a brief spell as the three-piece Portico, the group released their fourth studio album Art In The Age Of Automation on forward thinking indie jazz and electronica label Gondwana Records in August 2017. It’s been hailed as possibly their finest album yet, with the band simultaneously delivering both a return to their mesmeric signature sound and fresh new sonic departures in their new music.





Friday 2 February 2018

Bahla & TootArd - AWIL double-bill


Joseph Costi
A double-bill of sensational bands on this A World in London - Bahla and TootArd!
Click to listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-31st-january-2018/

Tal Janes
Date - 31st January 2018
Venue - A World In London, Resonance FM, London, UK


Ines Loubet
Bahla
Joseph Costi - piano
Tal Janes - guitar
Ines Loubet - vocals
Andrea Di Biase - bass
Ben Brown - drums

Current album - Imprints (2017)


Ben Brown
Future Performance
2nd FEB 2018 - Anteros Arts Foundation, Norwich

14th FEB 2018 - The Holt, Sheffield
15th FEB 2018 - The Basement, York
16th FEB 2018 - Jazz Cafe, Newcastle
18th FEB 2018 - The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh
19th FEB 2018 - Guild Sessions, Lincoln
20th FEB 2018 - The Peer Hat, Manchester
21st FEB 2018 - Speakeasy, Torquay
22nd FEB 2018 - Broomhill Arts, Barnstaple

27th FEB 2018 - Pizza Express Soho, London

Andrea Di Biase
Bahla opened our show with their wonderful atmospheric concoction of cinematic jazz weaved around Jewish folk music. This five-piece group was formed in London just two years ago by Venezuelan pianist Joseph Costi and guitarist Tal Janes. Along with Andrea Di Biase on double-bass, drummer Ben Brown, and the sublime vocals of Ines Loubet Franco from Portugal, they’ve just released their debut album, ‘Imprints’, and you can catch them on tour across the UK from February 2nd. Their London date will be at Pizza Express in Soho’s Dean Street on February 27th! www.bahla.co.uk

Tootard
Hasan Nakhleh
Rami Nakhleh

Current album - Laisser Passer (2017)

Future Performance
2 FEB 2018 - Cobalt Studios, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
3 FEB 2018 - Celtic Connections, Glasgow



Rami Nakhleh
Next up on this AWIL were Hasan and Rami Nakhleh from TootArd, who’d just flown in from Paris and are set to play Rich Mix on February 1st! TootArd’s superb album ‘Laissez Passer’ has stirred up a whole heap of excitement on the international scene since it emerged last year. Their tracks marry rock guitar with classical Arabic sax,  painting in Maqam riffs and Levant-tinted desert blues, filtered through deep dubby Reggae bass lines and compelling Maghreb rhythms. This charged and infectious winning musical formula of traditional meets urban has been handed down from their father and gleaned from YouTube, whilst their lyrical themes centre around the natural world, love, and travel. This latter point is a poignant one for TootArd having grown up in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Their idyllic small village in the Majdal Shams mountains is constrained by borders yet inhabited by people restricted by their ID pass - Laissez Passer - leaving them effectively stateless & without a sense of belonging. But in TootArd’s case, their bold, unique, and inventive sounds qualify them as citizens of the world-class musician community, and fortunately for all of us, a musical passport to freedom. Find out more here: https://www.tootard.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tootard/                                                                      

Hasan Nakhleh
31/1/18 – AWIL 152  Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-31st-january-2018/  Production & pics by Sofia Gaetani-Morris, Norman Druker, Sophie Darling,  and sketches by Alban Low. Also this week non-stop global music at SOAS. Click: https://soasradio.org/music/episodes/a-world-in-london-248  Next week Amanda Noar’s Impact Theatre Co. at SOAS and London’s Night Czar Amy Lamé at Resonance! [http://#AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TWELFTH YEAR! Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4  www.resonancefm.com & 4pm SOAS Radio  mixlr.com/soasradio  ]#AWorldinLondon – IN