The Luminaire Events for February 2008

01 February - ADAM FRANKLIN AND THE BOLTS OF MELODY + Vessels + Nazca Lines

2008-02-01

Club AC30 presents
ADAM FRANKLIN AND THE BOLTS OF MELODY
+ Vessels
+ Nazca Lines
+ Club AC30 DJs

Doors 8.00
£6 via WeGotTickets
£7 door

Adam Franklin spent the 1990s as singer, guitarist and main songwriter for London-based Swervedriver, Creation Records rock\'n\'roll band. Were they \'dream pop\'y Were they \'shoegrunge\'y Go listen to them playing live and shuffle the words \"dream\", \"grunge\", \"pop\", \"shoe\" and \"merangue\" to your own taste. Certainly their heavy melodies incorporated traces of The Stooges, the Velvet Underground, Husker Du and Sonic Youth. Live shows were known for being loud and hypnotic with soaring, hook-laden tunes about UFOs and driving through the desert in the middle of the night etc blah blah.

Since Swervedriver \'went into orbit\' in 1999, Adam has taken in a number of different stylings on six releases under the name Toshack Highway and one appearance on compilation album as Adam Franklin. Sometimes a full band sound with acoustic/electric guitars, electric keyboards and bubbly moogs played through guitar effects pedals - somebody described the first album as \'Spacefolk\', there\'s a couple more words to throw in the air - sometimes a much more back to basics affair, just Adam on his own playing simple melodic pop songs accompanied by the warm glow of the compression of the tape machine, sometimes a little electronic and sometimes a little bit psychedelic, a little bit country, a little bit rock\'n\'roll. You know, whatever.. Just take a listen. A seventh release, a full-length album called Bolts of Melody, will be released early in the new year - honest!

Experimental/post-rock band Vessels (Martin Teff, Tim Mitchell, Tom Evans, Lee J.Malcolm) formed in 2005, with Peter Wright joining in summer 2007, and have since played at the Leeds and Latitude festivals and with Mono, Jeniferever, The Appleseed Cast, Efterklang & Youthmovies.

More info on Nazca Lines shortly.

04 February - ENON + Ill Ease + Instruments

2008-02-04

The Luminaire presents
ENON
+ Ill Ease
+ Instruments
+ John & Jehn [DJs]

Doors 7.30
£7 via TicketWeb and WeGotTickets
£8 door

Oh shit!

Enon are back with their long-awaited 5th album, and this time they brought the can of whoop ass! Blasting through 12 tunes lodged between your conscience and the red lights, \'Grass GeysersCarbon Clouds\' is chock-full of topics all over the map, and theyre not stopping for border checks either.

Led by former Brainiac guitarist John Schemersal, Enon can mean either cloud or fountain, depending on the context. Its from this sky of opposites that this new record gushes out. By the time youre through listening, what will Enon mean to youy

Enon displays an appreciation for junk noise and off-kilter song structures that makes every song totally unpredictable - you definitely can\'t get comfortable with these guys because they\'re constantly pulling the rug out from under you. Like the Olivia Tremor Control and other Elephant Six bands, Enon is fascinated by the aesthetic possibilities of \"damaging\" pop melodies with strange noise and sound processing.

But unlike E6 bands, whose melodic sensibilities tend to be shaped by the soaring pop of \'60s and \'70s bands like the Beach Boys, Big Star, and Pink Floyd, Enon takes cues from New Wave and \'80s and \'90s indie rock and build the noise on that foundation. In this regard, their rock deconstructions bear some similarities to those of the The Flaming Lips.

\'Dr. Freeze\' is a sci-fi pie in the face about a mad super villain (or heroy) who sets a planet back into an ice age in response to a plea for help with a global climate epidemic. \'Peace of Mind\' recommends a partial lobotomy, or at least trephination, to subdue some brain swelling due to chronic information overload. \'Pigeneration\' rocks all over the effects of free dumb and disposable culture on our lives.

While this record is ever the rollercoaster of moods that characterize much of Enons output, this is their most consistent and striking work yet. It builds you up from Mirror on You before burning you down in Ashish.

John Schmersal (gtr/key) and Toko Yasuda (bass/key) are often singing together on songs instead of independently, and Matt Schulz (drums) pushes up the BPMs on this record for a manic and fast paced punch in the neck.

\'Grass Geysers... Carbon Clouds\' is the kind of record that will be over and on deck again before you can say mirrormirrormirrormirror.

Supporting are Ill Ease

Sounding like an entire band while being a solo artist is one accomplishment, but this hot thing is making bad-ass bluesy rock that would make the whiskey-soaked Jennifer Royal Trux proud! [iD]

Think The Breeders with added funk or an analogue, spikier Peaches smart, gritty and sneakily compulsive. [Kerrang! KKKK]

And first on are Instruments. Here\'s some words about them:
\'Dont be surprised if theyre as recommended by the critics as Johnny Foreigner and Los Campesinos! in 2008.\' - Drowned in Sound

\'Instruments are an absolutely captivating mathy emo band. In a similar vein to Ghosts and Vodka\' - Frink Music

\'Instruments can find themselves supporting more heavyweight acts like Explosions in the Sky and Deerhoof still to find that they aren\'t out of their depths.\' - The-Mag

06 February - MV & EE and THE GOLDEN ROAD + Pekko Kappi + The Doozer + Cath & Phil Tyler

2008-02-06

Upset The Rhythm presents
MV & EE and THE GOLDEN ROAD
+ Pekko Kappi
+ The Doozer
+ Cath & Phil Tyler

Doors 7.30
£8 via WeGotTickets

07 February - JOHNNY FLYNN & THE SUSSEX WIT + Guests

2008-02-07

The Luminaire presents
JOHNNY FLYNN & THE SUSSEX WIT
+ Guests

Doors 7.30
£6 via TicketWeb and WeGotTickets
£7 door

Johnny Flynn is a proper, feature-worthy curio, more so than a modern day indie star has any right to be. One minute hes revealing that his old man was in \'The Avengers\', the next that, as a youngster, he used to work on a fishing boat and then that last night he performed with his band at the Royal Albert Hall. A few moments in his company, then, is enough to know that Master Flynn, 24 years old, will be keeping our attention for quite some time. And that\'s before even hearing his music.

Recently signed to Vertigo and managed by those young upstarts at Transgressive Records, Toby and Tim, Johnny Flynn has already made a name for himself as an actor, touring \'Twelfth Night\' and \'Taming Of The Shrew\' around the world and performing at the Old Vic in front of Kevin Spacey (\'You\'d be in the dressing room and he\'d just walk in. You\'d be in your boxer shorts having to reply to him thinking, \"It\'s Keyser Soze!\"\' recalls Flynn). As a jealousy-making, multifarious talent, Flynn is also, according to The Observer, one of a new breed of British singer-songwriters who are going their own way. New he might be but in the old-timey sounds that course through his music Flynn\'s Americana-leaning fare is already classic-sounding, the result of a driving-force inspiration that isn\'t surface-based like those abused by his peers.

\"If you get to the point of things and find out where they\'re coming from that seems more centered and real to me,\' explains Flynn. \'I like to hear something that has got roots and a sense of past. Ive been reading \"White Bicycle\" [by Joe Boyd] and he says that when Fairport Convention listened to \"Big Pink\" by The Band it was a real call to arms for them because if a band was making music so unashamedly American and rooted in US history, then Fairport could look just as deeply into English history. That\'s what I\'m attempting, but across a few cultures.\"

This culture-collecting takes in the music of his birthplace (Johannesburg) and his parent\'s favourite album, \'Graceland\', to the raga-tending folk-blues of John Fahey and the ceilidh bands and sea shanties that he heard as a teen in the pubs of Pembrokeshire. His band\'s name, The Sussex Wit even comes from a documentary in which it was said that English folk is entwined with a sense of irony that comes from rural counties like Sussex. Going hand-in-hand with this folklorist passion is Flynns obsession with storytelling.

\"It\'s a very present activity that renews our sense of the world, but I think it\'s quite absent in modern Western culture. I had a teacher who impressed on us that stories are bastardizations of sermons from the bible that grow wings and get passed down, so quite modern stories often come from ancient ones.\"

The Bible, ehy How many of our young British musicians are touching on thaty This curiosity of Flynn\'s, not just in Christian texts but also those of Sufi and Buddhism, point to a wizened grasp on mortality, morality and all things existential, something that was forced down his throat when, as a child, he won a scholarship to sing in the Winchester College choir.

\"We had quite heavy religious instruction. They weren\'t just teaching it because it was on the curriculum, they truly believed in it. It was very strange. We all got the impression, at nine-years-old, that we were being bred for something special, you knowy We were called Choristers but the other schoolboys were called Commoners!\"

Rebelling from this segregation and blinded Godliness, Flynn spent some time traveling in Europe and listening to more recent storytellers like Lou Reed, Dylan, The Pixies and Wire, before discovering and injecting his own roughly hewn sound with the honest, punk-spirited songcraft of antifolk pin-ups Langhorne Slim, Jeffrey Lewis and Diane Cluck. He wasn\'t alone. His friends before music include fellow \'nu\' singer-songwriters Jeremy Warmsley, Emmy The Great and Tom Hatred, and in the spirit of antifolk, they all help each other out when they can.

So, with his deep and tender songs about Wayne Rooney, death and the romance of friends getting him signed, Flynn is concentrating on the music for now. Having stirred up interest with two singles released on the hot-as-hell Young & Lost Club label (\'The Epic Tale Of Tom And Sue\' and \'Ode To A Mare Trod Ditch\') and his heartstring-plucking, raucous live shows, his supporters are more numerous and passionate. Flynn\'s music is inventive, evocative and accessible, touching the heart whilst insisting that you move your feet, as anyone who caught his rowdy performances at London\'s Underage Festival, Bestival or Green Man this summer can testify. Next on his itinerary is a UK tour with old friend Jack Peñate, and support dates with Iron and Wine before he and the band head to Seattle to record their debut album with Ryan Hadlock who has previously worked with The Gossip, The Strokes and Regina Spektor.

Flynn\'s mission to rid the singer-songwriter of negative connotations is obviously going well: \"The days of the lonely singer-songwriter wracked with angst and wanking away in his bedroom are dead,\" he claims.

Thank Flynn for that.

08 February - DAS POP + Cobra Dukes + DJs Oscar Fullone + Gill Mills + Tapedeck DJs

2008-02-08

prestel.tv in association with Curious Generation
present Leave the Light On
featuring
DAS POP
+ Cobra Dukes
+ DJs Oscar Fullone (Mish Mash)
+ Gill Mills (iCast)
+ Tapedeck DJs

Doors 9.00
£6 door

Please note: this is a late show, and the headliner will play from 11.30 until 12.15. See here for details of transport options.

Bent Van Looy, Reinhard Vanbergen and Niek Meul have been making music together since high school - though not the kind of music you might expect from a band called Das Pop. At sixteen, we played prog-rock, admits Bent. Bongo-laced, violin-fuelled prog-rock, to be exact It wasnt long, however, before their sound grew into something altogether more accessible and Das Pop was born.

Fool For Love is the first single from their forthcoming eponymous album, produced by the Soulwax brothers, David & Stephen Dewaele. Imagine Franz Ferdinand in the hands of Holland & Dozier and youre getting close to the kind of hot rhythms and classic styling this record has to offer. Bent delivers a killer vocal and the band provide entertainment on the finest level, jam-packed with timeless dancefloor nous.

They are your new favourite band.

The shimmering space-rock of Cobra Dukes has been attracting attention all over the net in recent months. no least from the mighty pop justice who described their recent single Airtight as \"fairly delicious... like a bloke fronting Goldfrapp and doing \'Knock On Wood\'.\"

http://www.myspace.com/tapedeckdjs The Tapedeck DJs\' list of recent remixes sounds like a A&R who\'s who from the past 18 months: Klaxons, Jack Penate, Mystery Jets, Kate Nash have all been touched by the hands of Seb & Alex. Expect bassline house and indie shenanigans from two of London\'s rising stars.

10 February - THE RECORDSTORE.CO.UK JUMBLE SALE

2008-02-10

Recordstore.co.uk presents
THE RECORDSTORE.CO.UK JUMBLE SALE
A rummage like no other

Doors 10.00
20p door

Leading online indie retailer Recordstore.co.uk is taking it back to the streets with its first old-school jumble sale.

Known as the webs leading site for breaking new and essential music, Recordstore.co.uk will be taking over Londons best music venue, The Luminaire in Kilburn, and loading up stalls with all manner of brand-new musical-related goodness at bargain prices, from CDs and vinyl to DVDs, posters, t-shirts and more.

As well as the stalls there will be music from the Recordstore All-Star DJs plus all the stuff youd expect from a proper jumble sale but with a healthy dose of Recordstore spin tombolas, prize draws for cool, limited edition signed goodies, the Punk Rock Cake stall, refreshments and plenty more besides.

Recordstore.co.uk is run by London-based online retail company Digital Stores Ltd. Digital Stores runs over 100 official online stores for high profile personality brands including The Beatles, Queen, Oasis, Jamiroquai, Global Underground, Ministry of Sound, Mute Records and EMI.

12 February - MANO DE DIOS + The Mores + Paul do Sol

2008-02-12

Wexo Music presents
MANO DE DIOS
+ The Mores
+ Paul do Sol

Doors 8.00
£4 via WeGotTickets
£5 door

Mano de Dios - doing for flamenco what The Specials did for ska.

More info on the other artists soon.

13 February - FIGURINES + Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia + The Unbending Trees + Ben Watt (DJ)

2008-02-13

BUZZIN\' FLY vs
STRANGE FEELING presents FIGURINES
+ Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia
+ The Unbending Trees
+ Ben Watt (DJ)

Doors 7.30
£6.50 via WeGotTickets

As far as stripped back guitar-pop goes, this Danish indie quartet do it damn near perfect. This is a lesson in awesomeness. [PlanB]

Ben Watt\'s twin labels, the award-winning house and techno imprint, Buzzin\' Fly, and its alt-indie variant, Strange Feeling, showcase both the live and DJ-based strength of the two rosters.

Copenhagen\'s widely-acclaimed Figurines hype up their brand new Strange Feeling album, \'When The Deer Wore Blue\' (the follow-up to the 5-star \'Skeleton\') with their first UK show of 2008 since headlining the Radio 1 stage at Bestival.

\'When The Deer Wore Blue\' is the latest album from Figurines, the band tipped as Denmarks answer to blogosphere favourites The Shins, Modest Mouse and Tapes n Tapes. Their third album proper, it follows the critically acclaimed Skeleton, which was finally released in the UK in March 2007. Where Skeleton was packed with instantly gratifying tunes, this album, say the band, is a tougher nut to crack, but even more rewarding.

People should have a bit patience with the album, they say. If people can dig out this album in a year from now and still find new stuff in there, we have succeeded in making the album we had hoped for.

Named after a lyric from album track Good Old Friends and co-produced by Chicago-based producer/engineer Jeremy Lemos (Smog, Jim O\'Rourke, Loose Fur), \'When The Deer Wore Blue\' was recorded in Silence - a Swedish studio located in the middle of the woods where the band could capture an old, organic sound on the vintage tape-based recording equipment. Given the constraints of the medium, most of the album is recorded as live.

We wanted the album to sound as if it\'s actually played and not cut and pasted tracks, say the band.

The resulting album is an ambitious whole, full of the kind of quirky, melodic songs weve come to expect from the Great Danes, but, with its ever-changing time signatures, mysterious sounds and epic tracks, it feels like the bands opus. This, quite feasibly, is their Smile. Listen to the majestic, harmony-led The Air We Breath, the pop-tastic former single Lets Head Out and the stomping, staccato Drunkards Dream to hear the full range of this expansive album.

Figurines formed in the mid-90s as the project of childhood friends Christian Hjelm, Claus Salling Johansen and former member Andreas Toft. Like so many small-town bands, they began making music because there was simply nothing else to do. Before long, they hit on a winning sound and released a debut EP in 2001. Chalk another one up to boredom. A move to Copenhagen and some personnel changes followed (the addition of Kristian Volden on drums, Mads Kjærgaard replacing Andreas on bass and Jens Ramon on keys and guitar), resulting in the fully formed Figurines line-up we have today.

Debut album \'Shake A Mountain\' followed two years later, with \'Skeleton\' following two years after that in 2005. On its UK release in 2007, it impressed with its catchy, unconventional melodies. But \'When The Deer Wore Blue\' looks set to start a new chapter for the band.

The Beach Boys in 1966y No, sublime Danes, right here, right now. [Sunday Times]

Mlle Caro and Franck Garcia and their band play the middle set (see above) and Budapest\'s gorgeously gothic The Unbending Trees bring their cathartic slo-core pop to open proceedings in advance of their spring debut album. As if that weren\'t enough, label guru, Ben Watt will be spinning eclectic cuts in the gaps.

14 February - THE HEART STRINGS + Lucky Elephant + Baby Blues

2008-02-14

The Luminaire presents
LOVE IS IN THE LUMINAIRE
with
THE HEART STRINGS
+ Lucky Elephant
+ Baby Blues

Doors 7.30
£5 via WeGotTickets and Ticketweb
£6 door

A grand musical extravaganza featuring the alternative pop tones of The Heart Strings, Lucky Elephant & Baby Blues, plus special Valentines Day drinks and records on the turntable from the likes of Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash and The Beach Boys.

And as it\'s Valentines Day, there\'s some treats and freebies in store.

For the couples:
- free entry to the first 25 hand-holding \'couples\' [we don\'t care if you\'ve never met before. Get into the spirit of things and grab someone in the queue behind you.]
- one \'buy one get one free\' drink token per couple if you demonstrate your love with a kiss.
- two drink tokens if you kiss and declare your love verbally.

And for the singles:
- £4 discount entry + a free cd + a buy-one-get-one-free drinks token the for first 30 single types if you can quote a soppy lyric. Anything about love. We\'re not fussy.

Conjuring up the spirit of a Roald Dahl fairytale, this is a smile inducing adventure set somewhere in the belly of the Yellow Submarine. Now a 7 piece on stage, (including tubas, glockenspiels and trumpets) recent highlights include live sessions on both the Janice Long and the Dermot OLeary Shows on Radio 2. Subba-Cultcha called The Heart Strings\' debut album Try Fly Blue Sky (due out in June) pop music at its most majestic, while BBC Londons website said that the band play a kind of pop so enchanting you\'ll feel like you\'ve been pulled into the centre of the Earth by Alice and woken up in Neverland. Their new single Jose Fernandez is out on March 11th on Grandpa Stan.

With an array of old synths, tape delays, Wurlitzers, harmoniums, drums, ukuleles and guitars on stage, Lucky Elephant come on like Penguin Cafe Orchestra playing nursery rhymes / Sci-Fi Folk / Sufjan Stevens in Paris with King Tubby! The debut EP from the 4 piece is due out on Rob Da Bank\'s Sunday best label in February with an album scheduled for an early summer release.

An angelic slice of string swirling emotion freezing good to be alive grandeur! So said Losing Today Magazine of Baby Blues debut single You dont know what I know. Playing their first live outing since they formed in Autumn 2007, expect to hear lots more from this band over the coming year.

15 February - DEADSTRING BROTHERS + Emit Bloch

2008-02-15

The Luminaire presents
DEADSTRING BROTHERS
+ Emit Bloch

Doors 7.30
£10 via TicketWeb and WeGotTickets
£12 door

\"This is real steel, and plenty else, tooa band who sit uncomfortable and warm.\" [Mojo]

When the Detroit-based Deadstring Brothers released their critically acclaimed U.S. debut \'Starving Winter Report\' in the winter of 2006, they took to the road, touring with sidemen on steel guitar while seeking a permanent collaborator with a shared vision. They found what they were looking for in London, where the Heavy Load club scene was packing in rock \'n roll fans who danced all night to bands like The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes and The Allman Brothers. On meeting Spencer Cullum, a young pedal steel/guitar player with the love of warm, analog rock \'n roll, their mission was accomplished.

Rounding out the line up were Spencers brother Jeff on bass and fellow Brit Patrick Kenneally on piano and organ. This unique set of circumstances forged the band and sound that is now \'Silver Mountain\'.

Imagine Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Gram Parsons in their primes, transplanted to Detroit, laid off from the Ford plant, pissed off and ready to pound longnecks (if not rednecks) at the local saloon, and youll have some idea of the emotional weight and sonic power of Starving Winter Report. There is no best song here; the whole album is great. Its loud, loose, ragged, and not far removed from a stomping, beer-swilling masterpiece. - [Paste Magazine USA]

Recorded in the Deadstring Brothers own recording studio, Silver Mountain boasts the tunesmanship of The Faces and the barroom howl of The Band stewed together in homage to the blues of the American South and dancehalls of the urban factory North - whilst never forgetting the importance of a good tune.

Not unlike Exile-era Stones, Deadstring Brothers deliver a menacing sound that draws equally on the melancholy of country ballads and the abandon of rock and blues. The bands music is deeply rooted in the storytelling and instrumental traditions of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and the American Outlaw Movement, but is also informed by the song structure and understated aggression commonly associated with Detroit bands.

Their haunting melodies reveal the influence of early \'70s rock icons like The Band and Gram Parsons and The Faces. Deadstring Brothers live performances have the energy of guitar rock, but sophisticated arrangements, Hammond Organ and a focus on traditional American music separate them from many of their Detroit contemporaries.

\'Silver Mountain\' is a coming out party for sultry singer Masha Marjieh. Gritty and seductive, reminiscent of sixties-era Tina Turner, Masha steps into the spotlight on eight of the eleven tracks, showcasing her hot-blooded and lustful voice, leaving no doubt that the biggest heart in the room now belongs to this soulful vocalist. Harmonica player Mickey Raphael also took a break from his place alongside the great Willie Nelson, contributing to \'The Light Shines Within\' and \'Slow Down\'.

Raw and feverish, Silver Mountain is the sound of a band working at its peak, synthesizing common influences (regardless of ones birthplace) with a modern edge. Cut from jaws of Michigan steel, East London pubs and honed from months on the never-ending road, the Deadstring Brothers testify to the soul-saving grace of rock \'n roll.

The band has been touring steadily since the 2004 release of their eponymous debut and have shared the stage with acts ranging from Shooter Jennings, Cat Power and Jesse Sykes to Giant Sand, My Morning Jacket, Drive by Truckers and the Mekons.

Supporting this evening is Emit Bloch.

Born on a cattle ranch in Utah and transplanted to Berkeley, California, ground zero for all things beatnik, Emit Bloch has a rich history to draw on when creating his distinct brand of avant-country music.

With a unique guitar picking style and surreal electronic harmonica Emit Bloch fuses pioneer spirit , Woody Allen wit and California transendentalism to create modern bluegrass and country music that still manages to retains the old time values of innovators like Jimmy Rodgers and Hank Williams.

17 February - DAMIEN JURADO + Tiny Vipers - CANCELLED

2008-02-17

The Luminaire presents
DAMIEN JURADO
+ Tiny Vipers

CANCELLED

\"We want to extend sincere apologies to our friends in London, who we were looking forward to seeing in February. We have had to cancel The Luminaire gig due to an issue with the UK work permits. (It was not a passport problem, as previously reported.) We will still be playing the shows in Spain, as the requirements are different. We really regret missing out on this opportunity to play for you in London, and hope to make it back over there later this year with a new record to share with you!

Thanks for your continued support,
Damien, Eric, and Jenna\"

19 February - ANDRE WILLIAMS WITH THE FLASH EXPRESS

2008-02-19

Not The Same Old Blues Crap and The Luminaire present
ANDRE WILLIAMS
with The Flash Express

Doors 7.30
£10 via Ticketweb and WeGotTickets
£12.50 door

Not The Same Old Blues Crap joins forces with The Luminaire to bring you the baddest motherfucker on the planet AKA The Black Godfather, yes Mr Bacon Fat, the one and only Andre Williams!!!! Andre will be crashlanding into The Luminaire on Tuesday 19th February to drop an extremely rare UK set backed up The Flash Express from LA. In a career spanning over 60 years Andre has recorded a catalogue of classics including Bacon Fat, JailBait, Pass The Biscuits and The Greasy Chicken and has worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder, Ike & Tina Turner, George Clinton to Mick Collins from The Dirtbombs and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.....

Andre began recording under various pseudonyms such as The Five Dollars and the Don Juans. He became known as a record producer and songwriter, composing such tunes as: Shake A Tailfeather, Cadillac Jack, Funky Judge and Twine Time. He was hired and fired as staff producer and A&R man numerous times by Barry Gordy at Motown. Mr. Rhythm (as he was nicknamed by Redd Foxx) produced records for Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, The Dramatics, The Chi-Lites, Ike & Tina Turner, and even penned material for George Clinton\'s Funkadelic!

Andre was always a wild man with the ladies and never said no to a party and by the 1980\'s Andre Williams found himself down and out living on the streets and at the end of a crack pipe. In 1996 Andre bounced back in a big way he cleaned up his act and began making music again. His comeback album, \"Greasy\", was recorded for the St. George and Norton labels which put him back on the live performing circuit and back in the conscious of the music buying public. In 1998 Andre released his sleaze-rock masterpiece, \"Silky\", on In The Red Records which proved to be a commercial and critical smash for Andre. Since the release of \"Silky\", Andre has toured the US and Europe numerous times and his following has grown larger and larger. He toured a number of times with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion who wound up recording with Andre as well as crediting him executive producer on their \"Acme\" album.

In 1999 he recorded a country album for the Bloodshot label backed by The Sadies as well as working furiously on his manifesto of macho energy, \"The Black Godfather\" which finds Andre taking his raunchy rock n\' R&B stylings to new extremes. Joining him on this album is a cast of rock n\' roll luminaries that even the most jaded music fan will find impressive: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Countdowns, Mick Collins\' Dirtbombs, The Compulsive Gamblers (formerly know to y\'all as the Oblivians), Cheater Slicks and some truly inspired saxophone wailing from Steve Mackay (sax player on The Stooges legendary \"Funhouse\"). \"Silky\" producer and former Gorie Mick Collins handled production chores on \"The Black Godfather\".

Witnessing Andre Williams is a pre-requisite right of passage for any self respecting rock and soul reprobate so come and bear witness at The Luminaire on Tuesday 19th February to The Black Godfather.

\"Andre Williams makes Little Richard sound like Pat Boone\" - Lux Interior

23 February - ARTUR DYJECINSKI + Sam Hare & Friends + Blabbermouth

2008-02-23

Bottle in the Wall Records presents
ARTUR DYJECINSKI
+ Sam Hare & Friends
+ Blabbermouth

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets
£8 door

The night, a celebration put on by the good folks at Bottle in the Wall Records, sets out to celebrate the release of Artur Dyjecisnkis debut album \'A Year and a Half of Rain\'. Also playing that evening are some of Bottle in the Walls favorite people and musicians including Blabbermouth and Sam Hare & Friends...

Canadian Artur Dyjecinski has developed the voice of a more hardened soul, jaded by the experiences of city life. Yet his music clings to a melody that leads his listeners to a place of inspiration and simplicity evoking his childhood. Dancing unabashedly to the listeners ear with blues/country undertones and simple folk, the debut album A Year and a Half of Rain lends us a glimpse into the heart and soul of this musical talent. Playing an acoustic set, the music gives voice to a contemplative spirit with story as its vice.

His absorption of Canadas rich country and folk heritage help to create a technicolour take on big city life and brings welcome warmth and colour to the grey streets he travels. Artur is a welcome individual in an oversubscribed scene with a great knack for a telling lyric, who will hopefully be around for a while. - Clash Magazine

Sam Hare is the former front man of the recently disbanded London-based band, Hucklebuck, and is one of Londons leading blues talents. Having played with a entourage of talent including Buddy Whittington and Bonnie Bamlett, his guitar style falls somewhere between Jimmie Vaughan and James Burton with a voice echoing that of Gregg Allman. His new project, Sam Hare & Friends, consists of his brother Fergus Hare on bass, Joe Glossop on the Hammond organ, and Mimi Hajime on drums. The chemistry is an appealing slice of blues meets Americana of such authenticity youd be hard gone to find it outside the delta itself.

Hare can comfortably stand in that long distinguished line of Bonnie Bramletts guitar players (that includes Duane Allman, Eric Clapton and George Harrison) Blues in Britain

Steve Thompson aka Blabbermouths newest project his in his signature amusing, sophisticated and poignant anti-folk style, all backlit modestly by the band with bass and percussion, and led by an alteration of banjo and guitar. The sounds reminiscent of Kevin Coyne and Morrissey with humorous songs about death, love and funerals that delivers an emotionally diverse mix of songs. Perfect for the Luminaire.

\"Original, refreshing, off-kilter and talented, Blabbermouth\'s set is by turns hilarious, anthemic, surreal and delightful The Troubadour

25 February - FOY VANCE + Thom Stone

2008-02-25

Mean Fiddler presents
FOY VANCE
+ Thom Stone

Doors 7.30
£10 via WeGotTickets | £12 door

\'An unbelievable voice...in the premier league of British songwriters\' - The Sunday Times
\'The missing link between Richie Havens and Stevie Wonder\' - The Independent
The most important solo musician to emerge from Northern Ireland since Van Morrison - The Belfast Telegraph
Hugely impressive - Uncut
Hope raises expectations and delivers them to an extent that is rare - Maverick

Usual tags such as singer-songwriter, folk-soul, troubadour are perceived with a considerable amount of cynicism these days, especially since the music scene has been saturated with middle of the road artists, marketed as such by traditional record label formulae. Someone with a discerning ear and trust in their own taste should be able to spot whos the real deal and whos not.

Leaving tags aside, Foy Vance operates in his own parallel universe. His music is an evolving journey, a constant search for artistic expression captured in the moment, operating well away from industry standards. Surely youll hear echoes of Otis Redding, Richie Havens, Tom Waits and Van Morrison in Foys music, legends hes already being compared to and definite influences. An ever so modest Foy will laugh at these comparisons, but then again thats what makes him so special. With his distinctive, cracked, soulful voice and a skill to write profound storytelling songs, Foy Vance belongs to a calibre of artists that stand the test of time, irrespective of trends or fads, delivering heartfelt songs about the human condition that everyone can relate to.

Foy Vance arrived into the public consciousness in the summer of \'05 with the release of his widely acclaimed debut EP \'Live Sessions and the Birth Of The Toilet Tour\'. A series of gigs that saw him support such diverse artists as KT Tunstall, Pete Townshend, Joss Stone, The Spinto Band, Tegan & Sara and Taj Mahal, led to two sell out nights at Ronnie Scott\'s, and these amassed a dedicated fanbase and gained the Bangor born Foy support and admiration from his peers, including nine times Grammy Award winning Bonnie Raitt, who invited him to support her on her UK/European tour in 2006.

An overwhelming response from US and Canadian audiences, due to the airing of two of Foy\'s songs (\'Homebird\' and \'Gabriel And The Vagabond\') on the cult networked TV drama series Grey\'s Anatomy and a showcase at SXSW, led to a huge demand for the release of \'Gabriel And The Vagabond\' in the US, and the inclusion of \'Homebird\' on the Grey\'s Anatomy 2 Original Soundtrack album.

Foys debut album Hope was released in August 2007 to wide critical acclaim. The album was written, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by Foy himself. Hope musically flows like a live session and it brings out Foys soul, blues, gospel and jazz influences soaked up while growing up in Oklahoma but also from spending time in Alabama and New Orleans with his preacher father who played an intrinsic part in the way Foy observes the world. Lyrically, Foy has an amazing talent for telling great stories in a song, as is so poignantly demonstrated in Indiscriminate Act of Kindness and Gabriel and the Vagabond. The album has many highlights including the southern-fried funk of album opener Be with Me, the Led Zeppelin meets Donna Summer groove of Hope, Peace & Love and the rhythm & blues of Shed a little light. Heartfelt songs such as Treading Water, I Was Made and First of July complete an eclectic package of beautifully crafted songs.

26 February - FANFARLO + Sleeping States + DJs

2008-02-26

Live Nation presents
FANFARLO
+ Sleeping States
+ DJs

Doors 7.30
£7 via WeGotTickets and Ticketweb

\"Fanfarlo are pretty close to perfection at the moment. Brutally beautiful Great things are coming.\" [Drowned in Sound, 9/10]

This is a party for the launch of Fanfarlo and Sleeping States\' split 7\" single release.

Fanfarlo are a London based six-piece, fronted by Swedish exile Simon Balthazar. After replacing an irritable laptop with real life multi-instrumentalists, Fanfarlo have gone from venturing out of London for the first time on tour in the spring of 2007, approval from a legendary popstar (Bowie), a headline tour of Italy, shows in Sweden, the main stage at Greenman Festival in Wales, to wowing the cool electro kids at Durrr. \"Fanfarlo are one of those bands you wish you discovered. But on this occasion, David Bowie got there first.\" [The Independent, 4/5]

\"Fanfarlo have that particular knack of being able to create uplifting music that\'s blessed with a delicious melancholia at the same time I\'m sure you\'ll be hearing a lot more of them...\" [David Bowie]

Instead of the standard guitar based line-up; they use a whole host of acoustic instruments including violin, mandolin, saw, trumpet, glock, sax and homemade contraptions. They make lush folk-tinged pop songs that sound like the school marching band got lost in the woods and decided to have a disco.

The band have just finished demoing their debut album, mostly in Simons living room. A split 7 with friends Sleeping States will be released on February 25th, followed by a spring appearance at SXSW in Texas.

Sleeping States is the result of one young man, Markland Starkie, working in a format he has sincere reservations about working in: \"When I started Sleeping States I gave myself a set of rules because I had a real problem with singer/songwriters. I find the whole thing cheesy beyond belief.\" Markland told Dazed and Confused. The rules he laid out for himself were simple: no strummed acoustic guitars and only basic instrumentation. The results, heard here on There The Open Spaces, are hypnotic and riveting. Markland\'s voice floats atop modestly virtuosic noisy guitar work, seeking out the harmonies many vocalists avoid. Songs come to life before dissolving into quiet noise sections which still retain a melodic centre.

\"A phenomenally engaging mess and a classic example of how small can sound big.\" [Filter Magazine, 9/10]

\"A low-fi masterpiece that capture the best hazy moods and daydreams\" [Rolling Stone, 4/5]

\"...hands down, one of the most beautiful and gorgeously composed pieces of music Ive heard this year...The crippling fear of the future is what is represented and, joyously, it has never sounded so lush and stunning.\" [Exclaim! Magazine]

29 February - PETE MOLINARI & BAND + Elwood Grace + Tom Baxendale

2008-02-29

Nashville Babylon and the Luminaire present
PETE MOLINARI & BAND
+ Elwood Grace
+ Tom Baxendale

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets and Ticketweb
£8 door

Loose Music and Not The Same Old Blues Crap join forces and stretch the country genre to breaking point while delving deep into the traditional country themes of pathos, humour, women, whiskey, murder, death, disease and destitution.

We are delighted to welcome Mojo magazine\'s rising star Pete Molinari as he makes his Nashville Babylon debut at The Luminaire. Pete will be playing solo and with his band, previewing his forthcoming Liam Watson produced album, \"A Virtual Landslide\". The record has already been flagged up by Mojo as \"An early contender for one of 2008\'s landmark albums\" and will be released on Damaged Goods on 31st March. The fantastic single \"Sweet Louise\" will be released on 17th March.

Pete molinari was born into a large Maltese/ Italian/ Egyptian family in Chatham, Kent, where he was discovered by Billy Childish. Molinari had an odd childhood. While his friends were listening to Nirvana and Oasis he developed a deep infatuation with the Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Leadbelly and Bob Dylan records of his much older brothers.

With a head full of songs and his trusty guitar he went out to New York for a month, which turned into two years travelling round the USA. There he honed his unique vocal style playing the bars and cafes of New York\'s Greenwich Village like the Bitter End, the Gaslight, Cafe Whay, Café Del Artista places where Jack Kerouac and his beat poets read and also the likes of Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Ramblin\' Jack Elliot and Dylan all played.

As Pete says: \"I\'ve travelled a long road to get here. These songs have been on that road. From playing little places in Chatham and London to the late night coffee houses of Greenwich Village, Memphis, New Orleans, San Francisco, LA and Paris. I seem to be drawn to these places. There\'s something more real about them. More close to the earth.\"

When he returned to Chatham the painter/ poet/musician Billy Childish suggested recording an album. \'We made it in a day in Billy\'s kitchen. He got out an old Revox tape machine and recorded it live. That way we got a bit of that old spirit that I love so much about those old records. The ones that were thrown to one side in my house as a child...Hank Williams, Johnny Cash...I can only thank God that they were.\" I was used to people showing interest and doing nothing, but Billy just got on with it. He\'s a huge inspiration.\' The album they recorded together was \'Walking Off The Map\' which stands as one of those rare warm and intimate records where you feel the singer is there performing in front of you.

Now bolstered by the stereo production quality of the legendary Toe Rag Studios and, on many of the songs, a full band, Pete is ready with a brilliant second album \'A Virtual Landslide\'.

\"A Virtual Landslide is an early contender for one of 2008\'s landmark albums\"- Mojo

\"The Soul of American music distilled into the voice of a Cuban-heeled greaser from The Medway Delta\" -The Guardian

Formed in 2005, Elwood Grace reference the swaggering grooves of the melting pot era of the late 60s and early 70s. Looking like poster boys for Oz Magazine and sounding like they got lost on the way to Woodstock, this band remind you that the counterculture is alive and well and that good music can never sound retro \'cause it\'s timeless.

The folk-noir finger-picking troubadour performs his self-penned repertoire of love songs, death songs and post-country sea shanties. Occupying the space between Townes Van Zandt, Nick Cave and Jackson Frank, Tom Baxendale never fails to capture the imagination with his dark, melancholy tales of life, death and everything in-between.