The Luminaire Events for January 2008

05 January - NAPOLEON IIIrd + Thomas Truax + Abdoujaparov

2008-01-05

Maps Magazine presents
NAPOLEON IIIrd
+ Thomas Truax
+ Abdoujaparov
+ Do It For A Drink DJs

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets
£7 door

A one-man pop machine and his reel to reel, Napoleon IIIrd sometimes conducts his live experiments in surround sound and other times, does not. Sounds like The Beach boys in Mr Wilson\'s sandpit, wrestling with John Cage\'s baby boy who is currently learning to play the trumpet.
\"One of the most visionary artists in the world today.\" - Drowned In Sound

There\'s a fine line between the unique and the insane, and it\'s a line which New Yorker Thomas Truax (pronounced troo-aks) straddles with his chin held high and \'The Hornicator\' firmly glued to his left ear. His collection of home made instruments look as though plucked straight from the mind of Tim Burton and are combined with loop pedals, guitars and lashings of imagination to create one of the most unusual and entertaining live shows you will ever see. Splendid magazine calls him \"one of the five or ten best singer/songwriters in the world that you\'ve never heard of... an exceptional talent, unique and resistant to comparison, yet fairly accessible even to casual listeners.\" His \'Wowtown News\' radio show airs on Resonance FM in London.

Formed on October 19th 1998 by ex-Carter USM guitarist Les Carter (aka Fruitbat). Abdoujaparov\'s musical foundations are the joyous and shambolic influences of 1977 punk rock. The music is raucous, fast and sometimes a bit country. The lyrics are rude, tender, funny and frequently a little unwell.

So far eight EPs, and an album have been released on Spinach Records. A compilation CD featuring tracks from the first 3 EPc was released by Pop Gun in Australia. The band has toured the UK, Germany, Australia and America.

The band features a constantly changing line-up depending on where and when they are playing. Recently they have been touring under the guise of iDou, which is a cut-down line-up featuring Les, Richie and an iPod Shuffle. This has enabled them to do many support slots, some headlines and even a wedding this year.

08 January - THE CLIENTELE

2008-01-08

The Track & Field organisation presents
The Track & Field Winter Sprinter - Year 9
THE CLIENTELE
+ Guests

Doors 7.30
£5 via Ticketweb

The Clientele are a four piece who formed in Hampshire in 1997, with a sound combining the melody of \'60s pop-psych heroes The Monkees, Love and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and the later, magical strangeness of Felt, Television and Galaxie 500.

They immediately set about releasing 7-inch singles through different labels in the UK, Spain, Japan and USA, compiling these to produce the cinematic, soft-focus beauty of their debut album \'Suburban Light\', released in 2000. The NME was quick to say that \"those who like their art-pop espresso laced with gentle Surrealism will swoon to the sounds of the Clientele\". This release saw them sign a deal with Merge Records in the USA, where they quickly gained a cult following.

The follow up, \'The Violet Hour\' was released two years later to rave reviews, described by Uncut Magazine as \"one of the most magical pop albums of 2003\". But the latest album \'Strange Geometry\' was their breakthrough in the USA and Europe, produced by Brian O\'Shaughnessy (My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream), and with string arrangements by the legendary El records artiste Louis Philippe. At this point Hollywood began to take notice, and one of the loveliest songs from the record scores the opening scenes of the recent Keanu Reeves / Sandra Bullock weepie \'The Lake House\'.

Sold out tours of the USA and Europe followed, along with UK support slots with Lambchop and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The band have just returned from Nashville, Tennessee where they made a record with producer Mark Nevers (Candi Statton, Lambchop, Bonnie Prince Billy). They are currently previewing songs from this album, which will be entitled \'God Save the Clientele\' and promises to be their biggest and best yet. Go to Merge Records online to hear more tracks, order a copy, and find out about upcoming shows and special events!

09 January - THE BROKEN FAMILY BAND

2008-01-09

The Track & Field organisation presents
The Track & Field Winter Sprinter - Year 9
THE BROKEN FAMILY BAND
+ Guests

SOLD OUT

Doors 7.30
SOLD OUT

10 January - CLUB 8 + The Would-Be-Goods + The School + Tack! Tack! Tack! DJs

2008-01-10

Fortuna Pop! presents
CLUB 8
+ The Would-Be-Goods
+ The School

Doors 7.30
£8 WeGotTickets | £10 door

Initially inspired by a love of The Smiths and Sarah Records Karolina Komstedt (vocals) and Johan Angergård (all instruments) released their debut album as Club 8, \'Nouvelle\', on Spanish label Siesta. However, it was with their more dance-orientated next album \'The Friend I Once Had\' and its beguiling mix of bossa nova, glittery guitars and shiny pop melodies that they took their first big step forward, the single \'Missing You\' becoming a club and radio hit in Spain and a college radio favourite in North America.

Constantly changing, the self-titled follow-up was both darker and slower, labelled as both trip-hop and chill-out, before the band diversified again with the semi-electronic, slightly experimental but intensely emotional \'Spring Came, Rain Fell\' (2002) and the more guitar-based \'Strangely Beautiful\' (2004). During this time the bands reputation spread, with live shows across Europe, USA and South East Asia. Signed to Johans own Labrador label in Sweden, the band release their new album \'The Boy Who Couldnt Stop Dreaming\' through Fortuna POP! in the UK on January 7th.

From Sarah Records-inspired guitar-pop to St. Etienne-tinged dance music and delicate dream-pop indie pop bliss. [Pitchfork]

Would-Be-Goods explore eccentric and evocative guitar pop helmed by Jessica Griffin, enigmatic star of cult label él, with her crew of elegant rascals - Peter Momtchiloff, guitarist (Talulah Gosh, Razorcuts, Heavenly, Scarlet\'s Well) and occasional songsmith; Debbie Green, drummer and darling of the London nineties garage scene (Thee Headcoatees); and ex-Adam and the Ant and Monochrome Set bassist Andy Warren.

Since their reactivation in 2002, the Would-Be-Goods have released two albums on Fortuna POP! full of melancholy charm and wit coupled with a classic guitar pop sound ranging from new folk, tango to garage rock. Love songs to lions, frolics in the Garden of Eden, French Casanovas and personal demons await you. Let the Would-Be-Goods be your guides.

Elegantly melancholy indie from a dapper London band. [Word]

Formed by Liz Hunt of The Loves as a side-project, The School have turned into genuine contenders, inking a 2-album deal with Spains Elefant records, home of Camera Obscura. Indiepop with a strong 1960\'s influence, The School have just finished recording their debut single with producer Ian Catt (Saint Etienne, The Field Mice, Trembling Blue Stars) for release early next year.

A swoonsome waltz through the best bits of Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, and \'60s girl groups. [How Does It Feel To Be Loved]

Tack! Tack! Tack! DJs fill in the gaps.

12 January - BUEN CHICO + The Zetland Players + Man and the Vertebrates

2008-01-12

GigsReviewsNews.com, Tuck Shop Community Radio, David Goo and Ugly Nephew Records presents
Lonesome No More with
BUEN CHICO
+ The Zetland Players
+ Man And the Vertebrates
+ Tuck Shop Radio DJs

Doors 7.30
£3 via WeGotTickets soon
£5 door

An amalgamation of great things, the night is headlined by Leeds-bred three-piece wunderkinds Buen Chico whose upbeat University-slacker-rock has taken them across Britain in support of bands such as The Long Blondes, Good Shoes, The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs and !Forward, Russia!

\'Quintessentially English indie\' - Q Magazine
\'Like jumping on a fat man dressed in a tight white suit\' - NME

Playing Hutch to Buen Chicos Starsky tonight are Londons own cavalcading four-piece The Zetland Players. Having spent 2007 pouring forth a seemingly endless wealth of wry and catchy indie-folk-pop The Zetland Players will take their first gig of 2008 as an opportunity to state their intentions for the coming year.

\'An eye pokingly ramshackle and finitely crooked fun filled sidestepping haze of furious folk and moments of tranquil mellowness.\' - Losing Today
\'They are more jaunty than a net full of haddock.\' - Music News

With the fine folks from GigsReviewsNews.coms In Your Bass Podcast and Tuck Shop Radio spinning the wheels of musical appeal this nights going to be a late one. [Click here for late night transport options.] Weve also put our names down to have the stage graced by punk \'n roll ragamuffins Man and the Vertebrates.

16 January - STORY ONE + Bridgette Amofah + Kojo + Gold Sounds

2008-01-16

Curious Generation presents
STORY ONE
+ Bridgette Amofah
+ Kojo
+ Gold Sounds

Doors 7.45
£6 via WeGotTickets | £7 door

Story One write with intelligence that puts them in a league of their own, the arrangements and structures are not formulaic or obvious yet the songs are full of quality hooks and a platinum-selling accessibility that anyone will be conquered by the band\'s incredible writing craft.\' Spill

Formed in late 2006 at the heart of the london session scene, KOJO are a melting pot of scintillating 80s pop, funk, soul & rock.
In a music scene saturated with Indie bands, Kojo are fast becoming the pioneers of a fresh new sound for 2007. London TV

Bridgette Amofa is on second. With a string of forthcoming solo shows planned and further touring with Oi Va Voi, make sure you catch a glimpse of one of the most innovative, charming and warm singer/song-writers youre ever like to hear.

More info on Gold Sounds soon.

18 January - PERICO & THE PAPER CINEMA + LAUTREC + AYU

2008-01-18

Don\'t You Wonder Sometimes presents
PERICO & THE PAPER CINEMA
+ Lautrec
+ Ayu

Doors 8.00
Entry free

Welcome to the third instalment of audio-visual / band night \'Don\'t You Wonder Sometimes\' at The Luminaire.
This month sees the return of the mighty Perico (with the Paper Cinema in tow) to a London stage.

It has taken three years for Perico to plunder their way through antique shops and musical styles to bring you the flamboyant display of moods, sounds and instruments you see today. While they most definitely hark from the UK, with ironic ballads of break-up suburban drudgery and drunken misadventure abounding, Perico at the same time offer and antidote to this world.

And they have found a worthy soul-mate in the Paper Cinema - the brainchild of artist Nic Beard - a stange contraption of paper puppets that rattles to life before each gig, projecting its bizarre cast behind leaping silhouttes of Perico\'s musicians. Like Perico, The Paper Cinema is a world at odds with itself, trapped between ancient myth and modern day fable.

\"Radiohead meets Morricone. Love the instrumentation.\" [David Holmes, producer/film composer]

\"Utterly uniquea singer and his pocket-orchestra that swing between debauched cabaret and profound melancholy\" [The Guardian]

\"It\'s hard to pin down, but Perico have hit upon quite a unique sound that echoes an unscripted cabaret. An animation show performed by the Paper Cinema, displayed on a big screen in unison, compliments the songs with romantic images of revellers caught up in a dark but sweet world of their own making.\" [Battersea Arts Centre, London]

\"Imagine a musical landscape full of romance, with flamenco-style acoustic guitars and trumpets; with sudden bursts of passion and slow interludes of implicit tragedy. The only other British indie band I can think of who likewise cultivate their fertile garden without a care for a world of fashionable facsimiles is The Tindersticks.\" [Neil Scott, The Mind\'s Construction]

\"Climatic finishes that wouldnt sound out of place in a Tarantino movie.\" [Maxim Fernandez, Glasswerk]

The evening begins with a support set by video-art / electronica band Lautrec and Japanese alt.solo artist Ayu, both featuring visuals by Davide Maione.

19 January - SCANNERS + The Vitamins + White Collar Weapons + Pamflet DJs

2008-01-19

OnTheTV presents
GIRLS!GIRLS!GIRLS! with
SCANNERS
+ The Vitamins
+ White Collar Weapons
+ DJs Pamflet

Doors 8.00 til late
£6 door
£4 if you pre-register at myspace.com/onthetv

After forming in London in 2005 and being signed to American label DimMak a year later (the same label responsible for Bloc Party, Klaxons, Mystery Jets and Rakes in the States) Scanners subsequently recorded Violence is Golden in the summer of 2006. This is now being re-released in the UK on the 4th February 2008, through DimMak/Influx, and will be preceded by the single Lowlife, released on 28 January 2008. Thetripwire call them straight-ahead rock that moves between stage-dive-worthy tracks to wrist slitting epitaphs about life. Even when a song rhythmically bounces with a poppy sound it retains a grimy feel. We recommend you check them out before any terminal self-harm kicks in.

A Kilburn-based female fronted band who play the boys at their own game with their blues influenced rock, The Vitamins released \'Later Will Be Better\' in September 2007, accessorising it nicely with a video featuring the UKs own filmic ingénue, Samantha Morton.

Recently featured on recordoftheday.com and Icasts Best of Myspace podcast, White Collar Weapons are a severely talented four-piece playing a medley of elegant new-wave and disruptive folk, in firm collaboration with the click \'n\' drag commuter life.

And the Pamflet girls are back on the decks - Pamflet are Anna-Marie & Phoebe, self-styled girl-editors of alternative style-zine Pamflet, and also know how to turn a tune on the table to make the people dance.

21 January - STEPHEN FRETWELL + Dawn Kinnard

2008-01-21

The Luminaire presents
STEPHEN FRETWELL
+ Dawn Kinnard

Doors 7.30
£12.50 via TicketWeb and WeGotTickets
£15 door

In a year where the fairer sex dominated the headlines, Stephen Fretwell has quietly been picking up stellar review after stellar review for his second album Man on The Roof. It may not be front page news that a wry-witted, irreverent northern lad has released an exceptional album, but Fretwell has chalked up an impressive wodge of praise for his second solo outing. Man on The Roof is a sophisticated, timeless gem.

Single Now, a melancholic beauty with a sky-scraping melody, is released on 14th January 2008 followed by dates in the UK and Ireland.

One of Britains finest new singer-songwriters **** Q
**** Sunday Times Culture
**** Mojo
4.5/5 The Sun
**** Q Magazine (live review)
****Observer Music Monthly
Perfect song-writing The Word

Dawn Kinnard supports.

23 January - THE REBEL + Socrates That Practices Music + DJ Jerome

2008-01-23

Junior Aspirin Records present
THE REBEL
+ Socrates That Practices Music
+ DJ Jerome

Doors 8.00
£5

Due to unforseen forces of destiny, Skill 7 Stamina 12 and Man Aubergine will not be performing on Wednesday. All the more room for the mighty sounds of The Rebel and Socrates that Practices Music, brought to you by London-based label Junior Aspirin.

and of course.... Maidenheads acid house DJ legend DJ Jerome comes out of retirement to bring us once more the gospel according to DJ Deeon, Nitro Deluxe and Karlheinz Stockhausen R.I.P.

According to Plan B magazine, Socrates That Practices Music gabble and scratch, something akin to a brittle but dancable 1979 band (Glaxo Babies) being fronted by a self-consciously literate wordsmith (Mark E Smith or David Thomas). Melodies are taunted then spat out, loop around themselves in rhythmic abandon; hibernate in bearded acclaim. Socrates debut album Conclusions Against an Italian version will be available at the foot of a silver birch tree somewhere in Hampshire upon its completion.

24 January - REVERE + Wojtek Godzisz + Kaiko

2008-01-24

The Luminaire presents
REVERE + Wojtek Godzisz
+ Kaiko

Doors 7.30
£6 via TicketWeb and WeGotTickets
£7 door

\"Beautifully unpredictable.\" [Mojo]

\"Stuff this special and so uninterfered with doesn\'t come along often.\" [Manchester Music]

An ensemble of supremely talented individuals make up the group and musical tour de force which is Revere. Depending on the gig there can be anything from ten of them on stage, all the way down to one. Think Radiohead meets Ben Christophers meets Muse meets Arcade Fire.

\"A bold and beguiling mix of klezmer, post-rock, gospel and soundtracks.\" [Time Out]

\"One of the most intriguing bands on the circuit...\" [Glasswerk.co.uk]

Main support is Wojtek Godzisz. evt desc: Formerly the main songwriter and a founding member of late 90s teen punk tearaways Symposium, Wojtek Godzisz (pronounced Voytek Godzish for those of you unfamiliar with the Polish language) returned from self-imposed exile with a critically acclaimed collection of bedroom recordings, the Burning Ideals EP, in April this year. Since then, Wojtek has assembled a power trio, taken to the stage and built up a loyal live following.

Opening proceedings is Kaiko, their live performances characterised by the fusing together of soaring melodies, layered guitars and infectious drumming. Their recent \'Euthymic\' EP, recorded at Abbey Road studios, was released with a sell out launch party at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen last year.

25 January - SOUTHERN TENANT FOLK UNION + Indigo Moss + Grantura + Laura Stark

2008-01-25

Nashville Babylon presents
SOUTHERN TENANT FOLK UNION
+ Indigo Moss
+ Grantura
+ Laura Stark
+ Nashville Babylon DJs

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets or Ticketweb, and in person at All Ages Records, Pure Groove, Rough Trade West and J B Records. £8 door

After a sold out floor shaking re-launch of Nashville Babylon last November with The Felice Brothers, Loose Records and Not The Same Old Blues Crap are delighted to announce the first Nashville Babylon of 2008 at The Luminaire on Friday 25 January with Southern Tenant Folk Union, Indigo Moss, Grantura and Laura Stark. Again, Nashville Babylon stretches the country genre to breaking point...

Formed by Belfast born five-string banjo player Pat McGarvey and taking their name from the ground breaking multi-racial union of sharecroppers and non-landowning tenant farmers founded in Arkansas in the 1930s, the Southern Tenant Folk Union are an explosive London based folk and bluegrass outfit.

Writing and performing their own unique brand of Old-Time, Bluegrass, Gospel and Celtic Folk, Southern Tenant Folk Union appropriate the themes, ideas and metaphors from traditional folk songs and 20th century Americana music to document and reflect modern life through styles popularised by musicians such as The Carter Family, The Stanley Brothers and even Dillard & Clark.
\"Bar hopping ballads stuffed with fiddles and banjos.\" Uncut Magazine
y\"This work deserves to escape the niche into which it has been born as it is a piece which contains both soul and beauty.\" Americana-UK
Indigo Moss is the partnership of Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou. Currently residing in South East London they have been crafting and travelling together with their country folk inspired songs since the summer of 2003.

Indigo Moss were discovered by The Good, The Bad & The Queens Simon Tong (The Verve, Blur, Gorillaz) playing in Londons longest running cult acoustic club The Easycome in Nunhead, South East London. A creative relationship was forged, resulting in Indigo Moss signing to his Butterfly Recordings Label, co owned with Tong by legendary producer and Killing Joke bassist Youth. Simon Tong would go on to produce their self-titled debut album, recorded at Damon Albarns 13 studio. Indigo Moss was released in April 2007 to wide critical acclaim.

Indigo Moss will play Nashville Babylon as a stripped down acoustic duo.

Tipping a nod and a wink to The Band, The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Elliot Smith, Grantura sepia-wash alt-country with lush harmonies, warm kindly guitars and understated honest vocals that are evocative of a sound that is unmistakably British and 21st century.
A solid foundation of acoustic guitars and mandolin, monstrous tunes and delirious vocal harmonies Music Week
Absolutely gorgeous Shaun Keaveney, BBC 6Music

\"Cool and austere like lemon ice, yet warm and rich like melted chocolate\" is how this emerging singer-songwriter\'s sound has been described. Imagine Emmylou Harris and kd lang were on a lonesome desert highway and picked up a couple of hitchhikers named Peggy Lee and Julie London along the way, then you might come close to what its like to listen to the voice of Laura Stark.

26 January - THE MARCIA BLAINE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS + Village Orchestra + Fisk Industries + Mandlebrot

2008-01-26

Highpoint Lowlife Records presents
THE MARCIA BLAINE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
+ Village Orchestra
+ Fisk Industries
+ Mandlebrot
+ Marcia Blaine High School for Girls DJs

Doors 8.00
£6 via WeGotTickets

Please note: this show will be late-running; Village Orchestra will play last, from 11.15 until midnight. If you planned to get home via Silverlink from Brondesbury, please make other arrangements, as the last trains are at 11.19 [eastbound] and 11.45 [westbound]. More info here.

Highpoint Lowlife Records showcases some of its artists with a bass heavy party and DJ action. With Marcia Blaine School For Girls headlining and DJing the night away, and with Fisk Industries and Mandlebrot rounding out the lineup, expect some serious beat driven distorted and skewed performances to warp your mind.

27 January - SILJE NES + Emma Tricca + Natty + Sixtoes + Madam + The Chinamen + Denis Jones + Ed Laurie + Fanni Risberg + Mariee Sioux + Freakflag + The Slow Life + Men Diamler + Freddie Keen

2008-01-27

Knom Music presents
Shhh! with
SILJE NES
+ Emma Tricca
+ Natty
+ Sixtoes
+ Madam
+ The Chinamen
+ Denis Jones
+ Ed Laurie
+ Fanni Risberg
+ Mariee Sioux
+ Freakflag
+ The Slow Life
+ Men Diamler
+ Freddie Keen

Doors midday
First 50 tickets £4 from WeGotTickets
Then £6 via WeGotTickets
£7 door

\'Brimful of character, Silje Nes\' \'Ames Room\' drifts from upbeat dream pop to more introspective and abstract numbers, recalling the homespun beauty of The Pastels and Pram.\' - Stool Pigeon
\'Similarities to the lo fi recordings of CocoRosie and the beautiful, textured atmospherics of Colleen are clear, but Ness distinctive vocals and intuitive methods of composition are spiked with her own character.\' - The Wire
\'Songs such as Drown, built around a basic guitar arpeggio, the sleepy, pretty Dizzy Street and the unexpectedly limber Giant Disguise are like half-dreamt Polly Harvey demos. Her refreshingly unconcerned style is the ideal antidote to the current fashion for setting diaries to music.\' - Times Online

Fresh from recording her new album, \'Good Morning Diner\', the follow-up to \'Gypsies And Red Chairs\', Emma performs brand new material as well as the occasional classic re-arranged. A delicate, seductive blend of English and American roots, inspired by the people and places that touched her soul on her extraordinary journey.
\'A genuine folk singer with a sensibility that flies us arrow-straight to the 60\'s streets of Greenwich Village or Soho.\' - Joey Webb - Bucketfull Of Brains
\'Pure seductive voice\' - Time Out London

In Natty\'s own words - \'I started out my musical journey as a tiny yout playin my elders records, continued it when I left school(after goin throu a few phases), blagged my way into studios sayin I was an engineer when all I wanted was to use the studio for free. Did that... made beats, wrote tunes an learned a few lessons in life an music on the way. Quit the studio life in search of a dream... so here I am. Just tryin a ting... watch out for de long shot ;-)\'.

Sixtoes excel in \'Scruffy, sinister folk rock. Something like Antony and the Johnsons singing the scariest words of Aleister Crowley. In hell.\' - NME

Music for outlaws, cowboys and glamour girls who won\'t give up on their idea of perfect love, Madam is the music project of singer/songwriter Sukie Smith.
\'Fragile voiced chanteuse\' - Time Out
\'With its sultry vocals, lounge guitar, and spiralling melodica this is a mesmerising example of music that doesn\'t so much hold your attention as hypnotise you.\' - Lobster Quadrille

The Chinamen first met working in a live music venue. Rather than to start a band the idea was to create a loose recording project without set roles, or a set style of music, and where vocal and lead parts could be interchanged constantly and freely. The band continues to meet regularly about once every three months to engage in two weeks or so of intense creativity. Because all songs are written, performed and recorded simultaneously the usual problems of longterm musical collaborations are avoided so the ideas stay fresh and different each time.

\'There is no surprise that Denis Jones keeps being invited back to play wherever he goes...he\'s quite simply one of the most exciting, engaging, inventive and purely entertaining performers you will see this year or next.\' - Humble Soul
\'Denis\' charming voice lends this release the feeling of a stripped-down male version of a CocoRosie record, if CocoRosie weren\'t so disappointingly pretentious.\' - Warprecords

Ed Laurie is \'a singer-songwriter with a similar emotional warmth as such legendary troubadours as Leonard Cohen... A sweet offering if ever we\'ve heard one!\' - The Stool Pigeon
\'A modern classic. Outstanding.\' - Play Louder

Originally from Sweden but now residing in Brighton, Fanni Risberg started off at drama school in Stockholm when she was 18. Since becoming a household name in Sweden for her acting, she met two music producers in Brighton, Alan Scott and Mark Flannary, who helped her get the first demos recorded in the summer of 2006.
Since then she has been collaborating with a number of co-writers and will start recordings for her first album project in the spring of 2008.

\'Nevada City-based songwriter Mariee Sioux spits piney rhymes over oaken-tuned acoustic plucking. Her twilight narratives detail encounters with ghosts, myriad woodland creatures, and her mom. But with a voice that bends around the branches with more flexibility than her fellow folk-nymphs, you couldn\'t pick a better guide for your night-hike.\' - Jennifer Maerz, SF Weekly
\'Mariee Sioux was a delight, an amazingly poetic and telling lyricist, and she seemed to be the den mother of the pack, delicately plucking and strumming an acoustic with her eyes closed.\' - LA Record

Freakflag produce Celtic-tinged pastoral blues-folk.

The Slow Life are four Londoners dedicated to distilling maximum beauty from Drums, Guitars, Voice and the occasional laptop flourish. Influenced by and taking references from the likes of Talk Talk, Low, Rufus Wainwright and even Swans, TSL are building their sound slowly and carefully, as only they know how. Darren Bancrofts wonderful, plaintive voice pins down the music, occasionally breaking free to drift away, but without the false charm and bathos of many post-Buckley singer types.

Dan Baker and Crawford Blair build a lexicon of beautiful near-silences, scorched earth string samples, unearthly drones/howls and suspended, reverberating guitar. Ben Jones takes the slo-core imprint of his last band Fourth Quartet and decorates the songs with his drifting, trademark beats.

Men Diamler is soon to release a pair of new albums. The first, \"Sea Shanties For The Far Inland\", is set to be released on the sweet little Bristol label \"Dulcet Thud\". The second \"Lon Chaney Vs. Dandelion Batman\", will be self released and sold at gigs.

Freddie Keen is a joy to behold on stage. With a sound that is as original as it is brilliant, he performs a master-class in combing technical ability with melodic songwriting.

28 January - THE JOHNNY PARRY TRIO + Show Without Punch + The Grubby Mitts

2008-01-28

Lost Toys Records presents...
THE JOHNNY PARRY TRIO
+ Show Without Punch
+ The Grubby Mitts

\"A piano led thing of beauty.\" [Timeout]

\"Beautifully orchestrated.\" [Plan B]

The Johnny Parry Trio celebrate the release of part one of three limited edition EPs.

Doors 7.30
£4 door

The Johnny Parry Trio are a piano trio. As Johnny growls and whispers over his piano, Ben Milway plays his drums like a one-man orchestral percussion section and Dave Lynch manages to make his fretless bass twist between burlesque jazz to the effect of melodic cello. All this is coupled with a laptop which occasionally unleashes large orchesteral flourishes and visuals form artist Andy Holden.

Songs Without A Purpose is one of the most beautiful records ever made. [Daily Vault]

\"Bizarrey Definitely. Beautifuly Absolutely.\" [The Big Takeover]

Show Without Punch are also a piano-led trio, sitting somewhere between Tom Waits and Regina Spektor, creating a somehow homogenous mix of bitter tongue-in-cheek perfect pop-ballads, funk, skiffle and even a little drum \'n\' bass. Roger Illingworth provides gruff vocals over percussive piano lines, backed by Adam Jarvis on upright and electric bass, and Raph Saib on drums.

Opening the evening are The Grubby Mitts; an electronica outfit incorporating live instruments recently described as \"like some clumsy balloon animal - maybe a dog, maybe a monkey - floating around a music room bumping into things, with beards.\" Samplers, sax, piano, drums, guitar, bass and many other musical trinkets weave though the spiraling compositions. The result bends between moments of intimate sound collage to the joyous roar of the live musicians.

30 January - MEG BAIRD + David A Jaycock + Sharon Van Etten + Dean McPhee

2008-01-30

Miles of Smiles presents
MEG BAIRD [of Espers]
+ David A Jaycock
+ Sharon Van Etten
+ Dean Mcphee

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets
£7 door

Tonight sees Meg Baird, better know for her work in Philadelphia\'s psych-folk troupe Espers, perform an intimate collection of re-worked traditional folk and homespun originals from her acclaimed debut solo album \'Dear Companion\' [Drag City/Wichita]. Baird\'s beautiful and clear-toned vocals firmly stake a claim in the folk lineage alongside such 60s-era artists as Shirley Collins or Anne Briggs.

[Bairds] voice adorned only with acoustic guitar and dulcimer, brims with warmth and displays her gift for gorgeous, understated melancholy. (The Guardian)

Support comes from David A Jaycock, Sharon Van Etten and Dean McPhee.

31 January - ELLIOTT SHARP with CHRISTIAN MARCLAY

2008-01-31

spnm & Luminaire presents
THE SOUND SOURCE, featuring
ELLIOTT SHARP, guitar
with special guest CHRISTIAN MARCLAY, turntables

Doors 7.30
Performance from 7.45
£6 via TicketWeb
£8 door
£5 for SPNM card holders at door

spnm\'s ground-breaking music night The Sound Source has its second date at the Luminaire, with two of the of the worlds most influential experimental practitioners and emerging British artists exploring the convergence of the roles of composer, improviser and performer.

The night features New York-based multi-instrumentalist Elliot Sharp with special guest, Swiss-American artist and turntablist, Christian Marclay.

The event begins with Open Source in association with Music Orbit, an experimental slot showcasing up-and-coming British artists, which will be recorded, and a free CD of the results will be given to audience members at the end of the night. In addition, experimental films curated by the Kilburn-based collective no.w.here will be screened during the night.

A pioneer and leading light of New York\'s downtown scene for over 30 years, Elliot Sharp is a brilliantly gifted performer, composer and producer. Tonights event sees him perform The Velocity of Hue, a jaw-dropping solo guitar work inspired by country blues guitar and Central Asian musics. The programme also includes works for laptop interfaced with acoustic guitar during which Sharp will process guitar sounds and manipulate samples and grooves.

Since the early 1970s Sharp has been creating innovative and visionary music, drawing upon chaos theory and fractals and reinventing a variety of traditional instruments. When these did not suffice, Sharp created his own: slabs, pantars, violinoids, doubleneck guitarbasses, octars. He used computers and later samplers to design new sounds and virtual instruments. Sharp has released over sixty-five recordings spanning the musical spectrum from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock, and techno music. He performs regularly both as a soloist and with a number of ensembles he has formed over the years, including the blues-oriented Terraplane and Orchestra Carbon.

Christian Marclay\'s trailblazing turntable experiments have led him to be described as the most influential [turntable] figure outside hip hop. He explores the fusion of fine art and audio cultures, transforming sounds and music into a visible, physical form through performance, collage, sculpture, installation, photography and video. Marclay was born in California in 1955, raised in Switzerland and now lives in New York. He has exhibited widely, including solo exhibitions at the Barbican and Tate Modern.

spnm\'s The Sound Source is the UK\'s leading out-of concert-hall new music night, bringing cutting-edge composition to new audiences and venues. The series showcases multimedia work and collaborations that cross art-forms. The Sound Source is a regular, bi-monthly night at the Luminaire.