THE MULES + Suitable Case for Treatment + Elysian Quartet + Johnny Flynn + One Imaginary Girl [DJ]

Sat 1st Jul 2006

Organ Grinder presents
THE MULES
+ Suitable Case for Treatment
+ Elysian Quartet
+ Johnny Flynn
+ Organ Grinder DJs
+ One Imaginary Girl [DJ]

Doors 8.00
£3

The Mules will celebrate the imminent arrival of their debut album ‘Save Your Face’ with a party that will feature, among its many diversions, a headline set from the band themselves. They will also be joined by a few of their favourite bands and DJs.
First on the invitation list were Oxford’s finest purveyors of avant-metal, Suitable Case For Treatment who, due to the chemically enhanced and artificially preserved 21st Century diet, suffer from Attention Deficit hyperactivity Disorder, preventing them from holding a straight thought for longer than a few bars. As a result they produce blocks of solid noise that split in two to form scouring heavy staccato metal riffs and in turn spiral down into gypsy jazz or country waltzes, with singer Liam howling like a furious preacher sending our souls to damnation only to then spew out the gibbers of a perverted primate or quietly mutter like a malcontent old timer.
"Tom Waits getting stroppy with Sepultura and Sun-Ra." [NME]
"They’re incredible!" [Kerrang!]
Before that, we've The Elysian Quartet, an innovative young string quartet that plays music that is frightening, beautiful and exhilarating. Their range of skills and eclectic tastes are exemplified by the artists they have played with recently who include Killa Kela, Hot Chip, jazz pianist Keith Tippett and experimental electronic composer Simon Fisher-Turner. This is fine company indeed but it does not overshadow what the quartet do on their own. Their adaptations of and improvisations around the works of composers such as Gabriel Prokofiev and Dai Fujikura are compelling in their intensity and utterly refreshing to listen to. If this all sounds rather formal then perhaps it’s also worth bearing in mind the quartet’s own description of their sound as "a cat fucking a bag of nails". Either way – their performance will be a rare pleasure.
"Feisty boundary pushers, four supremely talented classical musicians." [Metro]
First on is Johnny Flynn, who sings folk songs that are as beautiful and true as they should be. His voice is very much his own and his music, whilst referencing the past, is not at all stuck there. Tonight he’ll be joined by some friends who’ll sing, bang and strum along with him. His shows are always a treat
And so to our headliners and party-throwers, The Mules.
The Mules mix country, punk, electro and even some klezmer into a sound that is coherent and distinctly their own. They call it electrobilly and it’s made up of surf guitar and barrelhouse piano, soaring fiddle and fuzz bass, with vocals whispered and hollered over frantic drums.
"Neither quite post-punt, rockabilly nor skiffle, but wholly excellent." [Time Out]
"This is perfect dance music… electro, polka, rockabilly, country, waltz, synth pop and math rock are expertly woven around a backbone of death-tinged songs." [Artrocker]
"The Oxford five-piece twist and turn recognisable sounds and melodies into something that screams “This is the future!"" [Gigwise.com]
"Incendiary live shows..." [Dazed and Confused]

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