The James Blackshaw Ensemble
with Frank Fairfield + Ryan Francesconi
(Thu 2nd Sep 2010 / 7.30pm / £9 adv)
Three singular auteurs of guitar-led composition unite for a very special evening of heavenly sounds in the capital.
James Blackshaw launches his brand new album “All Is Falling” (out in August on Michael Gira’s Young God Records) by presenting one of his rare, much-heralded ensemble shows, featuring Current 93's Joolie Wood plus Fran Bury, Charlotte Glasson and Daniel Madav. “All Is Falling” sees Blackshaw go electric, having been previously revered for his transcendental 12-string acoustic work. Think Steve Reich's 'Electric Counterpoint' for comparison … but be prepared for much more besides, as Blackshaw experiments with sonorous feedback drones, multi-tracked piano, measured strings and wind arrangements, heart-wrenching melodies, harmonic shifts and pointillist textures.
Aside from this launch show, Blackshaw is readying himself to be the special guest on October’s comeback tour by The Swans, the legendary New York noise-rock band fronted by his new label boss Michael Gira. It’s another example of the border-dissolving emotional range of James’ music, which finds favour among folk scholars, classical appreciators and drone junkies alike.
Frank Fairfield is a star on our hands. A California based fiddle, guitar and banjo player and ardent 78 collector who was the specially-chosen tour guest of Fleet Foxes, Fairfield sings soaring hillbilly knockouts, arcane rambling songs and murder ballads in a reedy tenor with that irresistible dust to digital quality. Still in his early twenties but steeped in the pre-War Americana of Mississippi John Hurt and Dock Boggs, he cut his teeth as a street performer in LA and has the raw intensity and spellbinding technique to make your hairs stand on end. With fans including Ry Cooder and Greil Marcus and a new reissue label, Pawn Records, passing light over some of the lost marvels amongst his 78 rpm record collection … this boy is gonna go far! Close down your browsers and savour.
Ryan Francesconi’s stock has soared of late as the main man on Joanna Newsom’s stunning triple album “Have One On Me”. He arranged and played all over that stunning opus as well as figuring centrally in its live incarnation and the Ys Street Band of Newsom’s previous record. But Francesconi does his own thing too: 'Parables', the first album under his own name, is also his most personal work to date. Recording the album live and using no overdubs, Francesconi's solo acoustic guitar creates a surprisingly rich sound that hints at his extensive musical interests - American bluegrass, Baroque lute music, traditional Bulgarian folk and jazz improvisation. “An ecstatic and measured reconciliation of West-African/ Balkan/ Baroque/ bluegrass influences, which ultimately resembles nothing I know” reads Ms Newsom’s far-from-faint praise.
James Blackshaw launches his brand new album “All Is Falling” (out in August on Michael Gira’s Young God Records) by presenting one of his rare, much-heralded ensemble shows, featuring Current 93's Joolie Wood plus Fran Bury, Charlotte Glasson and Daniel Madav. “All Is Falling” sees Blackshaw go electric, having been previously revered for his transcendental 12-string acoustic work. Think Steve Reich's 'Electric Counterpoint' for comparison … but be prepared for much more besides, as Blackshaw experiments with sonorous feedback drones, multi-tracked piano, measured strings and wind arrangements, heart-wrenching melodies, harmonic shifts and pointillist textures.
Aside from this launch show, Blackshaw is readying himself to be the special guest on October’s comeback tour by The Swans, the legendary New York noise-rock band fronted by his new label boss Michael Gira. It’s another example of the border-dissolving emotional range of James’ music, which finds favour among folk scholars, classical appreciators and drone junkies alike.
Frank Fairfield is a star on our hands. A California based fiddle, guitar and banjo player and ardent 78 collector who was the specially-chosen tour guest of Fleet Foxes, Fairfield sings soaring hillbilly knockouts, arcane rambling songs and murder ballads in a reedy tenor with that irresistible dust to digital quality. Still in his early twenties but steeped in the pre-War Americana of Mississippi John Hurt and Dock Boggs, he cut his teeth as a street performer in LA and has the raw intensity and spellbinding technique to make your hairs stand on end. With fans including Ry Cooder and Greil Marcus and a new reissue label, Pawn Records, passing light over some of the lost marvels amongst his 78 rpm record collection … this boy is gonna go far! Close down your browsers and savour.
Ryan Francesconi’s stock has soared of late as the main man on Joanna Newsom’s stunning triple album “Have One On Me”. He arranged and played all over that stunning opus as well as figuring centrally in its live incarnation and the Ys Street Band of Newsom’s previous record. But Francesconi does his own thing too: 'Parables', the first album under his own name, is also his most personal work to date. Recording the album live and using no overdubs, Francesconi's solo acoustic guitar creates a surprisingly rich sound that hints at his extensive musical interests - American bluegrass, Baroque lute music, traditional Bulgarian folk and jazz improvisation. “An ecstatic and measured reconciliation of West-African/ Balkan/ Baroque/ bluegrass influences, which ultimately resembles nothing I know” reads Ms Newsom’s far-from-faint praise.