Monthly Archives: July 2018

The Magic Lantern: ‘Gorgeous’ Jamie Callum, BBC Radio 2 / Genevieve Dawson: ‘Her songwriting knows no bounds’ Bittersweet Symphonies

Venue: The Green Note, Camden NW1 7AN Ph 020 7485 9899

Doors open 7.00 pm, nearest tube Camden, three mins walk.

Tickets £10.00 adv BUY NOW / £12.00 door

 

 

Music from 8.15 pm. 
Please arrive early to ensure a seat.

New Roots presents a very special double bill…The Magic Lantern and Genevieve Dawson (full band)

THE MAGIC LANTERN is the musical moniker of Jamie Doe, an artist whose career to date has been spent crossing and blurring the boundaries between folk, roots and jazz. For his most recent album ‘To The Islands’ Doe has been working with a new ensemble from London’s thriving genre-bending jazz scene. The work draws on a wide range of sounds and textures, from afro-beat grooves, to solo piano, string quintet lyricism to narcotic late night saxophone jams, all united by Jamie’s instantly recognisable voice and inimitable song-writing style. The first single ‘Holding Hands’ was released on Jamie’s own Hectic Eclectic Records in October 2017 and has been enthusiastically supported by Jacob Collier, Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Jamie Callum (BBC Radio 2), amongst many others. He plays tonight in trio form, with accompaniment from upright bass and additional guitar.

“Gorgeous, beautiful, this stopped me in my tracks. Slightly surreal, in all the right ways” – Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2

“Every now and again you come across a piece of music that will completely take your breath away. It might not be instant, but it will. The Magic Lantern’s ‘Holding Hands’ is one of those pieces of music. 8/10” Fortitude Magazine

“Creating something truly mesmerizing and incredibly unique. Jamie’s ability to combine jazz and folk into something ethereal is undeniably spellbinding. Fans of Grizzly Bear and Chet Baker will feel at home here.” – The Vinyl District

GENEVIEVE DAWSON is a singer-songwriter originally from Edinburgh, now based in South-East London. Bringing together a frank lyrical style with a wonderfully rich and soulful tone, her sophisticated sound, supported by a superbly accomplished five piece band of keys, horns, bass and drums, pulls influence from jazz and folk in equal measure. She has recently completed studies in composition at Goldsmiths University of London, following in the footsteps of James Blake and Rosie Lowe, amongst many other esteemed alumni.

‘ [She] blends folk-roots with spicy infusions of off-kilter improvisation and ambitiously ambiguous harmony. Genevieve’s take is not unlike that of Hejira-era Joni Mitchell- her songwriting knows no upper bounds…see her and her band at any opportunity you get’ Bittersweet Symphonies.

New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves – for this reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones while artists are performing. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.

Website: www.newrootsevents.com
New Roots Radio: https://www.mixcloud.com/RadioNewRoots/

Mike Hastings of Trembling Bells, plus Solveig Askivik (fiddle)

Venue: The Harrison

28 Harrison Street, Kings Cross, London WC1H 8JF, Ph  020 7278 3966

Doors open 7.30 pm, nearest tube Kings Cross, 6 mins walk.

£7.00 Adv BUY NOW/ £8.50 Door

 

 

Mike & Solveig are bedrocks of the Glasgow music scene, much respected players in Scotland’s thriving musical city for the past 17 years. Describing their sound as experimental folk, they play original songs and instrumentals, drawing from the same well as musical adventurers The Incredible String Band, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Moondog, Syd Barrett, Bert Jansch and Ivor Cutler. Mike Hastings sings and plays guitar, banjo and drumstick, and Solveig Askvik sings and plays the fiddle and glockenspiel.

Mike Hastings‘ main band is legendary psychedelic rock act The Trembling Bells. He is also part of Mike Heron‘s band (The incredible String Band), and has played with Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy), Scott Fagan, and Peter Daltrey (Kaleidoscope) . Solveig was previously also part of Mike Heron’s band, before leaving to move back to Bergen in Norway.

“Mike & Solveig[‘s] 2015 album “Here Comes Today” is an understated joy”  Jon Dale, Uncut, March 2018

“[Mike & Solveig] have been key players in the Glasgow psych-folk scene for the past decade or so. […] Mike’s intricate fingerpicked guitar interweaves with Solveig’s sliding fiddle lines in finely-crafted tales recalling the best of the Scottish folk tradition.”  Celtic Music Radio, Glasgow 

Jim McAteer is a guitarist and singer from the musical city of Glasgow in Scotland. Previous gigs include support slots for Martin Carthy, Wiz Jones, Davey Graham, Robin Williamson, Mike Heron and John Renbourn, as well as appearing in his own right at international venues from New York to Kazakhstan. He runs a number of weekly open mics in Glasgow and promotes and comperes many live gigs, showcasing local unsigned musical talent as well as international touring acts.

‘A superior singer/writer “ -No Depression / ‘One of the UK’s best-kept secrets’ – Mojo

Venue: The Harrison

28 Harrison Street, Kings Cross, London WC1H 8JF, Ph  020 7278 3966

Doors open 7.30 pm, nearest tube Kings Cross, 6 mins walk.

£7.00 Adv BUY NOW / £8.50 Door

 

 

Jason McNiff, noted London-based songwriter and guitarist, teams up with At The Helm records for a career defining 6th album, Joy and Independence. Coming hot on the heels of last year’s double compilation, Rain Dries Your Eyes, McNiff strips it back to the essence of the songwriter’s craft; 11 brand new songs, just voice and guitar, live in the studio. In this context, the song is everything, there is no place to hide. From the John Prine-esque title track, to the Rainy-Night-In-Soho vignette of his residency at the fabulous, now gone,12 Bar club (Midnight Shift), McNiff’s inventiveness keeps the listener engaged throughout.

If America forms the background in the McNiff landscape, there is an unmistakable Englishness up close in the work of this 43 year old singer songwriter. Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Jason landed in London in the mid- Nineties in time to catch the Bert Jansch residency at the aforementioned 12 bar. For 6 months, every Wednesday night, McNiff would be in the front row of Soho’s tiny club learning finger style from the master. He would later sign his first record deal with Snowstorm, a label run by Bert’s brother-in-law.

Jason says: “I think in quite a conscious way this new record is intended to be an homage to a golden era of the coffee house Troubadour, a figure that, for me, is summed up in Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. ‘ Sing about something you care about, play a bit of guitar…’ is how Jack characterised his vision. And that’s pretty much it.”

A superior singer/writer “ -No Depression

“A fantastic body of work“ -Shindig!

One of the UK’s best-kept secrets’ -Mojo

Deft finger-picking style against a wonderfully atmospheric vocal“ -Clash

 

 

‘I implore you check him out’ Americana UK / ‘A masterclass in Americana music’ Folking.com

Venue: The Slaughtered Lamb

34-35 Great Sutton St, Clerkenwell,  EC1V 0DX Ph: 020 7253 1516

Nearest tube Farringdon, 6 minutes walk

£7.00 adv BUY  NOW / £8.50 door

 

 

“I implore you check him out, don’t let me down, because this guy is rather special.” Americana UK 9/10

“From the moment he steps on stage, Corcoran perspires authenticity in that fluent way that a hundred record execs have tried and failed to manufacture”. Anne Frankenstein: Jazz FM (UK)

“A masterclass in Americana music…well, Americana with a Dublin accent” Folking.com

Dublin troubadour Rob Corcoran has sailed the high seas of love, heartbreak and excess, and (so far) lives to tell through his gripping, visceral persona. His confessional, yet toe-tappingly catchy songs are further invigorated by the brilliance of his alt-country super-group, the Necessary Evils. After many years as a not-to-be-missed live band they released their debut studio album ‘Inverse Alchemy’ to much acclaim in 2017.

A hugely respected figure on the London folk & roots scene, and leading light of the legendary Lantern Society folk club in Farringdon’s Betsey Trotwood, Simon Stanley Ward is a country singer with a strong streak of the surreal running through his veins. Sounding like the original cowboy crooner – a perfect cross between Neil Young and Charlie Rich, with a high lonesome voice to match- this consummate entertainer’s songs don’t always go where you expect…

“Proper country music delivered with style. The album opener “Monster Song” is quite simply one of the best country songs that this reviewer has heard in many a year. “ – Americana UK

“Home grown talent! It sounded wonderful!” – Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2 

 

Venue: St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Rd, Camden Town NW1 1UL Ph:

Doors open 7.00 pm, nearest tube Kings Cross, seven mins walk.

Tickets £12.00 adv BUY NOW / £14.00 door

 

 

This venue consists of both seated and standing areas. Seats are allocated on a first come first served basis – in order to ensure a seat please arrive early.

Nicki Wells, the exceptionally gifted singer and songwriter behind TURYA, takes inspiration from Indian classical music, which she studied throughout her teenage years in India. The name comes from Turiya, a Sanskrit word, meaning a state of pure consciousness, the silence experienced after sound. This influence is echoed throughout her new Nitin Sawhney produced debut album ‘Ocean’. TURYA’s uniquely original sound fuses elements of Western folk, roots and pop with classical Indian foundations.

T U R Y A describes her unconventional background, and how it impacted on her music “I grew up in Himachal Pradesh between the ages of 6 and 10, and just absorbed the sound, colours and culture of the region,” she explains. “When you’re a kid, I think you have the ability to easily adapt to your environment. The school was academic, but in the morning, we’d also wake up and meditate as part of the curriculum. It was all about kids climbing trees and scratching their knees, with an emphasis on self-expression and not being saturated with materialism.

There was so much beautiful nature, there was jungle and these epic, white mountains, and that’s what you’d wake to see every day. It was also very international – we were with kids from India, America, Australia, Austria, all different parts of the world. Growing up with so many different languages and accents, I became very open to different ways of communicating. That’s how my musical ear began to develop; listening to an array of different sounds and languages. It was all about making connections, sometimes even without words, but just being in the present moment.”