Richard Dawson & Asiq Nargile & Spires That In The Sunset Rise Live at St. Gabriel’s Church

Sing your song boldly and you will find others who want to share in its spirit. From hearing each other play at the North-East’s TUSK Festival last year, Richard Dawson and Asiq Nargile found a great riddle in one another’s song. Thankfully for us, their fascination for the other’s (and the other’s) music has led to a short, double-bill, UK tour, including a date at St. Gabriel’s Church in Heaton. 

Dawson’s performances have grown more beautiful and peculiar the wider he has travelled. In this House of The Messenger, the characters from his latest album might find their reflections augmented in the stained glass and who knows how they will handle this portrayal? 

Nargile will be visiting from Georgia, via Turkey, to share her tales. She unwraps her songs using a saz, with all its sharp percussive sounds and string rattles. 

Though the aesthetics of two different spoken languages separate our troubadours, a more fundamental expression unites them. In addition, for this Newcastle leg of this tour, the Chicago duo Spires That in the Sunset Rise will also play. Using a multitude of instruments, STITSR will be guided by their songs as they play in improvisation and the unknown. 

[2015.08.06] for NARC Magazine.

The Tempest - Improbable Theatre Company - At Northern Stage, Newcastle

This autumn at Northern Stage, Prospero is, once again, returned to the shores of a remote island where he will torment his brother as an act of revenge for his sibling’s thievery.

Though The Tempest is a classic and has had many interpretations, Improbable’s sense of theatrical urgency, and focus on what they describe as what is ’really happening in the moment,’ will no doubt bring an energised reworking to the moments of this story. 

As a company, Improbable have been invested in creating theatre for over twenty years, keeping improvisation at the heart of their exploration. It is from such a tendency that some truly exciting spectacles have been produced. 

Many of their previous shows have utilised puppetry too, and whether this is the case here or not, it will no doubt be a colourful and visually stimulating stage from start to finish. 

As themes of deception and manipulation play out in the story, rest assured, on and off-stage, Improbable will be working to colour your mind in illusion too.  

Phelim McDermott is taking charge of this tale of magic, and with the great Tyrone Huggins portraying the rightful Duke of Milan, with all his wizardry, this interpretation is set to inspire wonder.

[2015.08.06] for NARC Magazine.

Mouth Of The Tyne Festival 2015 - Preview

In the heart of the summer, the North Tyneside coast will once more be taken over with its ever-blossoming Mouth Of The Tyne Festival. From Wednesday 8th through to Sunday 12th July, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay’s rocky headland, including its historic seventh century architecture, will be the stage to an eclectic set of acts. 

This event will kick-off in style with the majesty of Rufus Wainwright headlining an already sold-out Playhouse Whitley Bay. Fear not those without tickets, there is much more still available to get involved with! 

Local artists are key to the festival too and will revel in celebrating in the home that nurtured their talent. On Thursday night, Whitley Bay’s own Lisbon will be pulsing their pop to the crowd in the Playhouse, supported by North-East-grown acts Gallery Circus, Lord Swans and Immy Williams. 

Whilst Jack Savoretti paints a further mood inside a once-more sold-out theatre, Friday night opens up proceedings at the Priory and Castle, starting with guests from the North-West - firstly the Mancunian melodies of I am Kloot, and then headlining, the songwriting force and sound behind The Beautiful South - Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott.   

Saturday boasts an inspired combination of acts, who both work best in the sunshine. First on, putting the wiggle in your hips with this unique brand of sound-system poetics is Stockwell’s finest, Roots Manuva. He supports The Specials, whose cheer and funk will keep Pheobus in your faces as they play out into the night-time. 

To take you sweetly to the finish, Sunday offers a diverse mix of soulful music, including The Christians and the undeniable drive of Martha Reeves and The Vandellas. With other acts too, this year’s Mouth Of The Tyne is sure to be another memorable instalment; another unforgettable kiss on the coastline.

[2015.06.10] for NARC Magazine.

To Kill A Mocking Bird - Regent’s Park Theatre - At Theatre Royal, Newcastle

Though the beginning of 2015 has brought controversy with the soon-to-be-released sequel to her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, with its theme’s of racial tension and inequality, remains an unblemishable act of bravery, and as vital an allegory today as when it was first published in 1960.
    

After two sold-out seasons in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Christopher Sergel’s award-winning stage adaptation, brought to life through Timothy Sheader’s direction, comes to Newcastle’s Theatre Royal in April. The small Southern town of Maycomb is expertly drawn through Oliver Fenwick’s carefully constructed dusty stage-set, which radically changes mood and shape with the lighting.

Not only will this play explore the possibility of empathy through the lives and feelings of these characters in Alabama, but as the second-half moves the action into the courtroom, it will raise the temperature of your blood too.

Through her empathetic eyes and ears, Harper Lee drew a story which looks at the iceberg beneath the water, and as recent news events show a tragic repetition of prejudice and fear, a reacquaintance with Atticus Finch’s confrontational spirit cannot help but energise a hope in all who witness.

[2015.03.10] for NARC Magazine.

Sebastian Buerkner - ’The Chimera of M.’ - At the Tyneside Cinema

A new year - and with that bright winter sun melting the frost, use this useful annual distinction to energise an ambition to try new things. You won’t regret it! 

To aid you in this nobel endeavour, The Tyneside Cinema are hosting Sebastion Buerkner’s award-winning installation, The Chimera of M., in their newly constructed progressive space on the third floor, The Gallery. 

Take twenty-five minutes from your day, don 3D glasses and step inside the eyes of a mysterious character, tracing two abandoned relationships from their past, in a dreamlike journey. Venturing through the fragmented events, you will be challenged to make sense of relationships and events from the vulnerable position of an accountable character. 

Buerkner takes cinematic techniques that have previously helped to communicate feelings and atmospheres on the big-screen and pushes their possibilities into new areas; incorporating them into an imaginative stereoscopic experience. Such an imaginative use of various digital technology combines to share his character and their story with the most visceral effect.  

Communication has been an eternal ambition. What missing details might this medium expose?

You can immerse yourself in Buerkner’s world daily between 15th - 25th January 2015. Take a chance, and 2015 may gift you an experience that previous years have not. 

[2015.01.12] for NARC Magazine

The Roller Trio 'Fracture' Preview

One of the organic effects of the Northern suburbs of Leeds being populated by a great number of students, is the proliferation of house-parties, and following, house-party bands. When I lived in Headingley in 2006/7, these events would be blessed with various entertainments throughout our hosts abode, with the basements usually being commandeered by a funk-rock band, often sporting brass, or a DJ and various MC’s. The lights and sounds of the carefree and wild at night put light into the dark months, from Hyde Park to Headingley, Chapel Allerton to Chapel Town. With the added dimension of Leeds boasting not only its Universities, but a prestigious College of Music, students naturally blended what was learnt in Music classes with the conditions of this lively party culture and community, resulting in something far greater than the sum. 

When I hear The Roller Trio I am transported back into those emotions. Their eponymous 2012 debut album was instantly brought into the public eye with a Mercury Prize nomination and now, in 2014 we are lucky enough to sample the pre-mixes of their follow up, Fracture. As with the first record, through the ten new instrumentals, The Roller Trio have made a collection of pieces with various moods and tempos. Maximisation is a philosophy apparent in all areas but their number of orchestra members. From the start, with the opening track, Reef Knot breaking quickly from its funky groove into spiralling motifs and frantic percussion breaks, to the finish; there is an abundance of change and no time to loose. 

There is a lot comparable between the compositional areas covered by their debut record and this follow-up, but Fracture is a clear progression and expansion. The guitar now, both through how the parts are composed, and also the tones and effects chosen, adds some deeper sonic ranges in the texture than previously displayed. This exploitation is particularly noticeable in the tracks High Tea and Three Pea. Perhaps this is a creative reaction to noticing a gap in the sound that would traditionally be filled by a bass instrument in an ensemble. The possibilities of the studio are exploited further too, with more peculiar reverbs and delays encompassing the instruments, particularly on the electric guitar, to achieve more diverse atmospheres. In Low Tide the guitar part rattles in delay and slow attack, behaving like a cello for a while.The album finale, Tight Rope, describes a quiet paranoid pulsing journey through its spacious shimmers and sustained drone. 

More, more, more. They grow! The tight parts are tighter, the loose parts looser. The balance of confidence and control is resplendent. This music is an immodest celebration of life, and with these skills at their fingertips, why not. 

[2014.10.16] for NE:MM Online Magazine.

Yellow Creatures 'The Year Of Everything & Nothing' Launch Preview

Yellow Creatures are inventors. These four musicians, combining their talents and very unique styles, unify as a powerful totem standing tall and inseparable for a soul that is both thoughtful and full of action. Every song that they make is built only with the parts necessary to complete its design, no more, no less. This clinical concision in their music provides a clear but unforgiving terrain for which lyrical themes of Orwellian paranoia and pulp-fiction horror are given the perfect stage to cast shadows in the mind of the listener. The worlds painted in Yellow Creatures’ songs are often relayed through repeated captions and incomplete narratives giving just enough information for your imagination to work out what might be happening, but not quite enough detail to be certain.

In 2013, the band released their eery debut EP, ‘Nature Of The Beast,’ and although the four tracks represented Yellow Creatures’ ability to intrigue and create suspense, it did not capture the might and edge of their live sound. Now, many stories later, they are ready to unveil its follow-up ‘The Year Of Everything & Nothing.’ This new EP is a zig-zagging fireball, instantly raising your pulse and keeping you energised until its wonderful and enigmatic conclusion. Though it continues the post-production collaboration between themselves and James Armstrong (Slow Clinic,) this second EP is sonically sharper than this first, and compliments Yellow Creatures catalogue by showing the more fearsome side of their sound.

For every creation you are presently offered by Yellow Creatures, whether it be this new EP or a rattling live performance, rest assured, there will be ten or more surprises already up their sleeve that they have yet to reveal. This is the result of their tremendous work ethic, from prolific songwriting and performance realisation, to seeking out venues, wide and weird, to play to audiences of all kinds. Yellow Creatures’ love for music, and for the freedom it gives everyone involved, destroys any elitist inertia in their wake. The experience is ripe for all to enjoy.

Ultimately, the real power of Yellow Creatures is experienced in their live performances. Through rigorous practice, each of these musicians marry precise and visceral parts into a tightly unified punch of sound which they deliver straight to our chests. All hips and legs become electrically charged and cannot help jerking and twisting around with the music’s angular soul. Marc Bird delivers his lyrics, often short, sharp sentences, with a deep authoritative voice which demands your reverence. Alongside Barton’s fingers moving around the bass fretboard like a hyper-spider, Jacob’s intricate drum patterns constantly evolving, and Gardner playing the synthesiser like he’s summoning spirits from another dimension, the whole stage fights for your attention. Whatever investment you have given to see them, they have earned it and more within the first few bars, but joyously continue to give their all for the duration, set after set, night after night. 

At every level Yellow Creatures use their music to engage and welcome you to engage with them through it. They are humble and friendly people, hugely talented and passionate. With these values at the core, and an uncompromising vision in their work, they are a band you can really fall in love with.

‘The Year Of Everything & Nothing’ EP will be launched at The Star & Shadow on 27th September 2014. All ticket proceeds from this gig will be donated to this exemplary institution, home to many incredible events, with this launch sure to be a faithful addition to its impressive history. Not only will Yellow Creatures vibrate rich sounds to your ears, but the show will be complimented by projections of images captured on glass lantern slides by Grubb Parsons Ltd., courtesy of the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. This spectacle is not to be missed.

[2014.09.15] for NE:MM Online Magazine.