Sennen
+ Cathedrals and Cars
Wednesday 16 May : 8pm
£6.00 adv : £8.00 door

Album launch

Sometimes a name is a coded signal, a camouflaged statement of intent. With SENNEN’s third album, Lost Harmony, it’s a cunning pointer towards the record’s unexpected musical contents as well as an indication of its songs’ subjects and the circumstances around their recording. But in the case of the name SENNEN, the facts are rather more prosaic: an early member of the band chose it as a tribute to his heroes Ride, who’d released a B-side with the title in 1991.

The name was never meant to define their sound: its connotations weren’t entirely relevant as the rest of the band’s interest in the ‘shoegazing’ scene was limited, and the musician himself soon moved on anyway. But the name stuck, people made assumptions, and in truth there were comparisons to make: even the band concede that, “we’d turn on the pedals to cover our sloppy playing”. Yet, to those who listened closely, SENNEN were always more adventurous than the shorthand their name suggested, and Lost Harmony drives that point home: it’s the record upon which SENNEN lift their gaze up to blue horizons and beyond.

SENNEN are older and wiser these days. The four-piece – originally from Norwich, though three of them are now based in London and one in Nottingham – approached their third album with a pleasing disregard for what was expected. “One of the benefits of being a little band is you can do what you like,” Larry Holmes (vocals, guitar, keyboards) laughs modestly, so when he started writing songs that didn’t fit in with “what SENNEN do”, he brought them to the band anyway purely for the joy of playing. The tracks were more lo-fi, tinged with hints of country, and the idea of not having to fulfill expectations was liberating for all involved. What emerged, moreover, turned out to be the finest collection of songs SENNEN have ever created. Lost Harmony is a mature, crafted album of subtle shades and lingering melodies, imaginative arrangements and sweet melancholy. It wasn’t the record they’d anticipated making, and it’s all the better for that.

“I guess if we were savvier we would have changed our name as it was a bit misleading,” Holmes now admits. “We started out quite post-rock, then decided to try and write some tunes, covered them in our usual guitar noise and sung harmonies on top. We’ve never been that savvy when it comes to ‘packaging’ our music. Even within the little niches that we get thrown in, we’ve never really quite fit in anywhere. And we never set out to ‘be’ or ‘do’ anything, if you know what I mean. We never think, ‘Let’s write a song that sounds like this genre, or this band’. We just do what we get a buzz from. So we didn’t decide to make a ‘quiet’ record. It was more a natural evolution of material.”

It’s hard to imagine from its almost beatific sounds, but Lost Harmony was recorded in Harlesden during the London riots with David M. Allen (The Cure, Depeche Mode). Holmes recalls how “during recording we would often stand on the fire exit out the back of the studio overlooking a massive graveyard. We could see smoke rising across the city”. It’s a pertinent metaphor for an album that offers a striking mix of the turbulent and the tranquil. ‘Vultures’, for instance, is wrapped around a simple motorik riff that builds calmly but relentlessly, while ‘St. Jude’ occupies a similar space to Yo La Tengo, poised between peace and dissonance. But elsewhere the band revel in their new-found freedom, noise merely a distant ghost hovering at the edge of their vision, their focus – even if the lyrics dwell heavily on the disappointments life forces upon us – a much lighter, airier set of compositions.

Inspirations – including Neil Young’s Comes A Time for its mastery of melody, Galaxie 500 for their mastery of atmosphere, Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse, Elliott Smith – are discernable, but SENNEN have made a record that rises well above mere influences. So ‘Learn To Love The Dark’ is a beautiful, understated gem of almost Byrdsian qualities, the achingly sad ‘Wasted Heart’ and ‘Standing Still’ push their previously underplayed close harmonies to the fore, ‘Not Coming Back’ could almost be an acoustic jam by Slint, and closer ‘I Watched The End With You’ is the kind of sparse, mournful and yet uplifting magic in which Red House Painters once specialised. But still each and every tune is distinctly, gratifyingly SENNEN.

“This record was very much us at peace with ourselves,” Holmes reflects. “We’ve been around a while and, when you’re a band like us, who knows if this will be your last record? But that just made the whole time we were recording a joy. I think it’s probably the happiest we’ve been as a band. There was nothing forced or difficult musically. I don’t think we’ve ever grown out of noise but, at the same time, we’ve gotten more open to our love of popular song. The Carpenters used to be a guilty pleasure. Now they’re just a pleasure.”

So, too, are SENNEN. At the heart of Lost Harmony lies an undeniable sadness, but there’s comfort and communion too. Distinguished by a revitalised delight in what they do and a fresh perspective on the world they see around them, every song repays repeated listens, revealing subtleties newly embraced by a band that have triumphantly come of age. SENNEN have at last claimed their name as their own by surpassing themselves and their peers. Lost Harmony is, quite simply, forty minutes of bliss waiting to be discovered…

SENNEN ARE:

Larry Holmes (guitar, keys, vocals), Rich Kelleway (guitar, vocals), James Brown (drums, keys) Tim Kelleway (bass).

Cathedrals and Cars are a Suffolk-based three piece who have taken East Anglia by storm. Their music has been described as both beautiful and mesmerising with haunting vocals and profoundly honest lyrics. Their debut EP Sky Lanterns was released in November 2011, with their first single ‘Feathers’ being released in January. They are currently working on their new album, set for release in July this year.

Sennen website

Cathedrals and Cars Facebook

Norwich Sound & Vision presents
Holy State
+ Tenebrous Liar + Reno Dakota
Friday 18 May : 8pm
£5.00 adv : £7.00 door

“an absolute masterclass in how to combine pace, power and groove to produce a stunningly consistent, utterly immersive listening experience” – Rock Sound

Three years after the release of their first demo, Holy State are ready to unleash their second single entitled Dial ‘M’ For Monolith from their upcoming debut album. Recorded at Lightship95 moored on the River Thames, produced by Ben Phillips and mastered by John Golden (at Golden Mastering), it is an energetic exploration of all their tone and intent. A sonically-inspired vision, it is an example of their passion to create honest, driving songs.
Praise for Electric Picture Palace and its singles:

“An absolute masterclass” – Rock Sound

“Perfect for speeding through a blazing desert” – Artrocker

“Unique” – Rock A Rolla

“Concise alt-rock tunes with bite” – Shout 4 Music

Holy State Facebook

Tenebrous Liar website

Reno Dakota Facebook

Norwich Sound & Vision website

Norfolk & Norwich Festival website

Make Monthly
Saturday 19 May : 10.30am- 2.30pm
£25.00 : materials provided : ages 16+

Get creative with the tutors from Pins and Needles*

Theme:

Hand Made Paper

Recycle your junk mail and other paper stock into beautiful hand made paper using a range of decorative techniques including layering, incorporating fibres, threads and textures, embossing and watermarking techniques. You will achieve a collection of papers that can be used for card making, scrap booking, textile projects or art pieces in their own right!

Materials and equipment provided but please bring fine delicate items to incorporate such as special threads, leaf skeletons, pressed herbs and flowers, glitter if you have them.

 Please note, most courses require a minimum of four participants to run. If we do not receive enough bookings the course will be cancelled a few days before it is due to start, and your money will be refunded. Refunds cannot otherwise be given unless the course has a waiting list and your place can be filled.

twee OFF! presents Death Grips
+ support
Tuesday 22 May : 8pm
£10.00 adv : £12.00 door

CANCELLED

Unfortunately all of the UK shows has been cancelled by the band. For a refund please contact the NAC box office on 01603 660352. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Death Grips ranked at Number 2 in Pitchfork’s albums of the year

Death Grips aggressive, dark, experimental hip hop has been garnering much praise for it’s raw power and punk attitude. “Beyond raw,” says producer and visual artist Flatlander, the project’s mastermind. “Our sound is post-Satanic, post-Christian.” Expect their debut album to redefine hip-hop in 2012.

Hailing from Sacramento, California, in 2010, the band dropped the highly acclaimed mix tape Exmilitary featuring the standout track “Guillotine”, Time Out NY’s #1 single of 2011. The release garnered critical praise from tastemakers such as Pitchfork, NME, Spin, The New Yorker, and more, with many call outs on year end best of lists.

“What with a name like that, a vocal style that’s modelled on an aggressive drill sergeant and an interest in industrial noise, you could be forgiven for imagining that Death Grips are a hardcore hip-hop act designed to unsettle. And you’d be right. But not all right, because what lies alongside the songs about making your own guillotine make this album intriguing. Moments like 5D, a spacy reworking of the Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls. It lasts 43 seconds and cues straight into hard baile funk and MC Ride shouting about smashing up your apartment. Elsewhere there are Link Wray samples and loops of Bowie, glitches and switches of tempo. After it all, you come away thinking, despite all the aggro, these Death Grips guys must be an awful lot of fun”- Paul MacInnes for guardian.co.uk .

This year, Death Grips will bring their sonic intensity to Coachella, Primavera Sound, All Tomorrow’s Parties and Field Day Music Festival London, with tour dates throughout 2012 to be announced. The live setup consists of Burnett on vocals, Morin on keyboards and Hill on drums.

“Death Grips appeals to the knuckle-dragging troglodyte and the smirking smart kid in us: thick-headed goonery and bookish, viscera-free nerdiness, making beautifully misanthropic music together.” – Pitchfork (Best New Music, 8.7)

“Like a searing art-rap road-rash, Death Grips masterfully combine bellowing slow-flow rhymes, screechy Black Flag samples, and the lunatic genius from Hella going buck fuckin’ wild on drums.” – SPIN

“Unlike any of the other cool groups on the Coachella bill… The result was rap with the frenzied energy of a hardcore punk show” – Los Angeles Times

Death Grips Facebook

Death Grips website

The Neutrinos preview The Butcher Of Common Sense
‘Stories from the Sonic Basement’
Wednesday 23 May : 7pm
All tickets £5.00

A site specific show for Westlegate House
Influenced by their work in Berlin created in a derelict ex-GDR radio station, this show will involve extremes of sound, space and energy. The first in a series of events previewing elements
from the book and album ‘The Butcher of Common Sense’.

‘The Neutrinos are a force of nature’.- Torontowide

‘Throbbing art-punk noise and sexy urgent energy’.- Time Out New York

‘A Neutrinos show will leave you dazed, shocked, maybe scared, but certainly thrilled’.- World of Gigs USA

The Neutrinos website

The Neutrinos Facebook

Zun Zun Egui
+ support + Ill Murray
Friday 25 May : 8pm
All tickets £5.00

‘LIKE’ our Facebook page for special Speed Up! offers

ZUN ZUN EGUI

From Bristol, UK, everywhere and nowhere comes the wildfire sound of Zun Zun Egui, blazing a trail on tour and toting their debut album ‘Katang’ – out now on Bella Union.

Formed in the libertine and verdant undergrowth of Bristol’s cultural side streets (members Kushal Gaya and Yoshino Shigihara first met at an improv session at notorious DIY cinema The Cube Microplex), Zun Zun Egui started out playing up and down the UK to hardcore and party crowds ready to be let loose by music. They self-released a limited editon CD-R and then, on the back of a snowballing word-of-mouth live reputation, started to invited to play shows all over the world from festivals, squat cafes, hotel lobbies and vast art centres and other unlikely spaces.

Zun Zun Egui – ‘Cowboy in Vietnam’ from QU JUNKTIONS on Vimeo.

Meanwhile they recorded two white-hot slabs of 12” vinyl at their Bristol based studio lair for Blank Tapes. Always with a desire to connect, ZZE and Qu Junktions cooked up their own colourful club night called “How Come…” in Bristol and had tour mates like The Ex and Sun Araw pull up and play as well as Micachu And The Shapes, Bass Clef, Krar Collective and AJ Holmes. Now Zun Zun Egui have  dreamt up their debut album proper, and it’s one to savour. Recorded in the Welsh wilds, ‘Katang’ was released on Bella Union in autumn 2011 with singles in advance.

Everything about “Katang”, from its 50 minutes of freerange rock music to the wonderful fifth-world visual feel conjured up by keyboard player/singer Yoshino Shigihara, emits a weird, kinetic and contagious energy that could only have come from these four individuals coalescing as personalities and players, carving out an intuitive musical lexicon that, whilst far removed from rock’s lingua franca, finds its own way to connect on a direct and universal level. Away from the tribal sprawl of modern music culture and what they call “the realm of ideas”, “Katang” finds Zun Zun zoning in on the heart of the matter.

Having toured Europe around Katang’s release, Zun Zun blew a storm into Vietnam in November, playing two killer shows in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. This is a band with a penchant for rocking the outer reaches… now their wheels are greased for their biggest year of live actions yet in 2012.

Live ZZE tune in and then explode, all angles, taking the audience with them. Wild multi-lingual vocal incantations and splenetic, world-wise guitar licks mingle with zig-zag splashes of keyboard colour, while heavy, heavy bass and drums offer the crucial undertow that commits any foot with feeling to the dance. Sometimes the songs never end, sometime they are short and sweet.

Zun Zun Egui are:
Kushal Gaya – vocals/guitar
Matthew Jones – drums
Yoshino Shigihara – keyboards/backing vocals/artwork
Dave Johnston – bass/backing vocals

PRESS QUOTES

“This Anglo-Mauritian-Japanese “tropical thrash” four-piece feel like a real one-off – crossing scenes as well as genres, sucking in everything from Fugazi to Fela Kuti to the Boredoms, and arriving at some kind of arty-party psych-punk Shangri-La” The Guardian

“An explosive abundance of ideas … an alluringly wonky new style of free-form party rock” – Uncut

“Strikingly original… These frenetic Bristolians push the envelope of even their home city’s cosmopolitan musical heritage. And when Katang’s exotic jazz-thrash attack suddenly coalesces into more traditional pop and rock song-structures the effect is truly thrilling”.- MOJO – 4 Stars ****

“On stage and at their best, Zun Zun Egui combine the fury and speedy neurosis of a metal band with a sense of contagious fun. Although they’re after working the audience into a state of something approaching trance, their method and madness are light rather than dark, elevating the spirits rather than plunging them into iron-clad doom.” – The Arts Desk

Zun Zun Egui website

Ill Murray website

Norfolk & Norwich Festival website

Unfortunately TV Buddhas are no longer able to perform as joint headliners. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Admiral Fallow
+ Matthew P
Sunday 27 May : 8pm
£8.00 adv : £10.00 door

Listen to the brand new Admiral Fallow album (released on 21st May) here

“Devastatingly downtrodden and wonderfully uplifting. . . surprising and enthralling. . . finely crafted material played superbly well” (Mike Diver, BBC Album Reviews Editor)

“Anthemic yet understated. Big and bold, but avoiding theatrical cheese. Every note serves a purpose and has its place, nothing is wasted and nothing is missed.” (Music-News.com)

The toast of 2011′s South By Southwest festival (tipped in advance by NPR’s influential All Songs Considered; ranked as a highlight by US indie bible Paste magazine), Scotland’s Admiral Fallow continue their seemingly unstoppable mission to capture hearts and minds. They steal the former with beautiful melodies, sumptuous orchestration and bittersweet boy/girl vocals, while unforgettably colonising the latter thanks to lead singer/guitarist Louis Abbott’s exquisitely observed, hauntingly candid lyrics.

Completed by fellow vocalist Sarah Hayes (also flute, piano), Kevin Brolly (clarinet, keyboards, backing vocals), Joe Rattray (bass, double bass, backing vocals) and Philip Hague (drums, vibraphone, backing vocals), Admiral Fallow’s richly distinctive mesh of acoustic and electric textures with multilayered harmonies has gained a fast-expanding fanbase either side of the Pond, prominently including Guillemots’ Fyfe Dangerfield, Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Radio 1′s Huw Stephens and BBC2′s ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris.

Having met while studying at university in Glasgow, Admiral Fallow formed in 2007 (as the Brother Louis Collective: the name-change came in early 2010), through a shared love of such left-field luminaries as Tom Waits, Low, Midlake, Elbow, King Creosote and Bruce Springsteen – all filtered through Abbott’s unflinchingly personal, resolutely Scottish sensibility.

As well as support slots with the Futureheads, Paolo Nutini, King Creosote, the Felice Brothers and Frightened Rabbit, highlights among their own headline gigs included a triumphant London show in September, of which editor Paul Kramer wrote in The Hit Sheet: “The award for the best of the new acts we have seen perform recently goes to Admiral Fallow. Their excellent set at the Lexington had publishers and A&R out in force. We expect them to be huge. Led by the engaging and captivating future star that is frontman Louis Abbott, they will soon have the world at their feet.”

The diversity of musical contexts in which they’ve featured points directly to the breadth of Admiral Fallow’s appeal and their genre-spanning calibre of musicianship. Abbott has worked those childhood and adolescent memories, with their attendant soul-searching, into songs which strike a universal chord, across the full emotional register from euphoria to anguish, often articulating the complex, ambivalent overlap between the two. His reticently guarded, soulfully vulnerable vocals are vibrantly complemented by his bandmates’ alternately lush and sparing contributions, highlighted in the fragile, barely-accompanied ‘Delivered’ and the epic, distorted orchestral finale of  ‘Bomb Through the Town’.

As the band continue to attract admiring comparisons to Arcade Fire and Frightened Rabbit, while forging a sound that brims with originality, now is the time to catch them – before they’re huge.

“The perfect musical storm: depth, strength of feeling and technical skill in one sublime package.” (Stereokill.net)

“A veritable masterclass in dark-hued yet uplifting, catchily literate roots-pop” (The Herald)

“So good, so dark, so beautiful” (Daniel P. Carter, BBC Radio 1)

Admiral Fallow website

Matthew P Facebook

Gemma Hayes
+ Sons of Caliber
Wednesday 30 May : 8pm
£10.00 adv : £12.00 door

Listen to an exclusive play of “Shock To My System” on Janice Long’s Radio 2 show (approximately 1 hour 21 minutes in)

Let It Break – The Acoustic Tour

Gemma Hayes’ much anticipated fourth studio album, Let it Break, will be released on 2nd April and is an evolution of Gemma’s unique style of music, combining prog rock, folk and electronica.

The album is a collaboration with producer David Odlum, and features Paul Noonan of Bell X1 and Ann Scott.

Keep Running is the first single to be taken from the album. Over the years, Gemma’s songs have appeared in countless TV programmes and films from Grey’s Anatomy to One Tree Hill and most recently The Vampire Diaries and the upcoming Abigail Breslin movie, Janie Jones.

Her debut LP, Night on My Side, received much critical acclaim from all corners, garnering a UK Mercury Prize nomination and earning her an award as Ireland’s best female artist. Gemma’s subsequent release, The Roads Don’t Love You, earned her yet another best female artist nod.

Gemma recorded the album in Blackbox Studios, France and Westland Studios, Dublin. Produced by David Odlum and Gemma Hayes, Let It Break was recorded and mixed by David Odlum and mastered by John Golden at Golden Mastering Los Angeles.

Let It Break will be released on Fullfill via Universal with a special edition boxset including  a bonus CD and postcards.

Gemma Hayes website

Sons of Caliber Facebook

Tipitina
Friday 1 June : 8.30pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions

Tipitina perform their own take on the blues, barrelhouse, boogie, funk and gospel of New Orleans in the manner of Professor Longhair, The Meters, Dr John, Tom Waits and Allen Toussaint.

“To capture the spirit of New Orleans so fully, is a spectacular achievement” [The Guardian]

Suddenly everyone is talking about Tipitina and their new CD.

“Debbie Jones sings superbly on this sizzling collection of blues-tinged songs. A tipped jazz outfit, Jools Holland will love them” [What’s On].

“Debbie Jones is as sultry as a night downtown, Justin boogies like there’s no tomorrow. An album with its heart and soul deep in New Orleans. Glorious” [The Mail]

“Instantly recognisable, Tipitina are really on to something” [Paul, Jones, BBC Radio 2].

“New Orleans music is like an underground stream that rises to the surface every now and then. It happened for Fats Domino in the 50s, Dr John in the 70s, The Neville Brothers and The Meters in the 70s and 80s and for our own Jools Holland. I bet that Tipitina will be the next”. [The Guardian].

“A remarkable CD which conveys the steam-heat of a New Orleans night, a Bourbon Street bar. An exceptional singer, a tremendous blues, boogie and rhythm & blues pianist. A spectacular achievement.” [The Jazz Rag].

“I found the album hugely entertaining and I would hope that Tipitina do very well out of it.” – Paul Jones, BBC Radio 2

“Vocalist Debbie Jones is as sultry as a night downtown, while Justin Randall’s piano boogies like there’s no tomorrow.” – JD, Sunday Mercury Newspaper.

“Debbie Jones, has a rich, soulful and very expressive voice, well suited to the material. The authentic-sounding soloing of Justin Randall shows a mastery of the various New Orleans piano styles and there is also invigorating solo input from the saxist and guitarist.” Bob Weir, Jazz Journal

“…the striking voice of Debbie Jones dominates, but special mention must be made too of moments such as Justin Randall’s boogie tour de force on the fast rocking Breaking Up The House.” Chris Yates, Jazz Rag Magazine

The band are…
Justin Randall
Debbie Jones
John Hicks
Andrew Dalton
Andrew Jones
Pat Flood

Tipitina Facebook

Tipitina Myspace

Music & Ale
Saturday 2 June : 1- 11pm
FREE

In conjunction with The Plough and part of the City of Ale Festival, NAC is proud to present a day of great music, fine local ale and a BBQ.

Our Darling Punch
1pm The Plough
4pm NAC

Pat Falgate
3pm The Plough
8pm NAC

Ian Elson Duo
2pm NAC
5pm The Plough

Nobodaddies
6pm NAC
9pm The Plough

plus TBC
7pm The Plough
10pm NAC

My Little Eye Company presents
Ghosts From Childhood
Wednesday 6 June : 8pm
All tickets £5.00

My Little Eye Co. explores lost childhood and memory in a sensory journey of poetry, drama and music. Ghosts from Childhood showcases original work from a fun company of emerging writers, actors and musicians based in Norwich. Featuring George Szirtes & band ‘The Pat Falgate Trio.’

Drawing on multimedia, old schools of thought and current trends, MLE wish to provide a platform on which East Anglian artists can collaborate and find their audience. If you are interested in supporting My Little Eye Co. find us at http://www.mylittleeye.org.uk/

Blunderbus Theatre presents
The Selfish Crocodile
Friday 8 June : 2pm
£7.00 : £5.00 concessions : £20 family ticket : seated

Based on the best-selling book by Faustin Charles and Mike Terry, the funny tale of a brave little mouse and a very snappy crocodile.

Deep in the forest, by the banks of a great river, lived a very selfish crocodile who wouldn’t share his river with any of the other creatures. So, the animals stayed away.  But one day the crocodile had a toothache. Nobody dared to help him, until a brave little mouse found a clever way to solve this snappy dilemma!  This is a funny, heart-warming take with a very happy ending which reminds us all that the smallest act of kindness often has the greatest impact.

A must-see for 3 – 7 year olds, their grown-up’s, and of course, anybody with a pet crocodile.

Low Volume Eclectif
Saturday 9 June : 1- 4pm
FREE : Cafe bar

African Drumming Workshop
Saturday 9 June : 10.30am- 12.30pm
£10.00 : £8.00 concessions
Anna Mudeka will be leading this 2 hour drumming workshops for all age groups with rhythms from Southern and Western regions of Africa. The drumming will be in three and four parts accompanied with singing. This workshop is designed to give those who attend an insight into the culture of Sub-Saharan Africa and their rituals.

Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.

Luis Lema !Latinissimo! Salsa Band
+ Rabo De Foguete
Saturday 9 June : 7.30pm
£10.00 adv : £7.00 adv concessions
£12.00 door : £9.00 door concessions

Chilli Con Salsa presents Luis Lema !Latinissimo! Salsa Band.

Luis Lema Myspace

Rabo De Foguete website

Website Design with Dreamweaver Introduction
Thursday 14 June : 6.30- 9pm
£75.00 : £65.00 concessions : 4 week course

A practical and fun guide to creating your own website from scratch using Dreamweaver CS3, the industry standard application for web designers world-wide. Plan your site and learn how to put together the pages and add images, text, and links, and explore the possibility of including suitably sized video or sound. Find out how to transfer the final website onto the internet.

What level is the course?

This is an introductory course suitable for beginners to website design. Basic computer skills are desirable i.e. word processing.

What will the course cover?

•    The structure of a website.
•    Planning your site.
•    Preparing suitable resources.
•    Creating and linking pages.
•    Working with colour.
•    Adding text and images.
•    Creating tables.
•    Exploring further developments; video and sound.
•    Transferring the website to the internet.

What can I expect to achieve?

By the end of this course you will have made a functional website and transferred it to the internet. You will have a good understanding of the structure of a website and how to prepare suitable resources for inclusion.

How will I be taught?

The computers are Apple Macintosh G5s with Dreamweaver CS3. PC users note: the software Dreamweaver is identical to the PC version and all files created on the course will be PC compatible. The course structure consists of a programme of structured practical exercises, demonstrations and discussions. The small group numbers ensure that one to one help and advice is given throughout.

What should I bring?

All resources are provided, although you may prefer to bring along 5-6 photos or images to include in your website.

Please note, most courses require a minimum of four participants to run. If we do not receive enough bookings the course will be cancelled a few days before it is due to start, and your money will be refunded. Refunds cannot otherwise be given unless the course has a waiting list and your place can be filled.

Saturday 16 June : 1pm – 4pm

FREE: Cafe Bar

Highlighting the best of the local acoustic music scene in the Café Bar.

The Acoustic Showcase at Norwich Arts Centre was originally run by Black Cat Music, who established it as one of Norwich’s most well known monthly acoustic events.

Now being run by Play The Music, the showcases are being taken forward into a new era and are offering acoustic musicians of all styles the opportunity to perform in one of the best venues in Norwich, if not the East of England.

Before taking up the reins of the Acoustic Showcase, Jason R. Burgess was involved with organising the original Go Acoustic monthly all day showcases in Horsford, and helped to launch and organise the weekly Go Acoustic events at the Hog In Armour. Jason is a performer (known as Lefty) as well as an organiser, so prides himself in understanding that musicians just want the chance to play, hence the reason for the Play The Music branding.

Play The Music are proud to offer top class acoustic music and with the Norwich Arts Centre Café Bar we have a venue where the patrons really want to hear music, whilst enjoying something to eat or drink.

presents Patience Agbabi
+ Hannah Walker + Liz Bentley
Wednesday 20 June : 8pm
£7.00 : £5.00 concessions : seated

Luke Wright, host and co-curator of Latitude’s Poetry Arena, brings a bit of the Latitude magic to Norwich Arts Centre for this new monthly club. Our second show features Patience Agbabi, a “next generation” poet, whose poems have been broadcast on television and radio all over the world, the London Underground and human skin. She’ll be debuting some of her rewritten Canterbury Tales for us. Support comes from Fringe First Winner Hannah Jane Walker and the Ivor Cutler-esque Liz Bentley. Supported by Apples & Snakes.

Patience Agbabi website

Hannah Walker website

Liz Bentley website

Luke Wright website

Latitude website

wombatwombat presents Yeti Lane
+ collider (single launch)
Friday 22 June : 8pm
£7.00 adv : £9.00 door : Late bar

“General rule of thumb: if Sonic Cathedral says something is f*cking incredible, believe them,” notes thelineofbestfit.com of the Parisian psych-pop multi-instrumental duo Yeti Lane, whose second album The Echo Show was released in March to critical acclaim.

So wombatwombat is delighted, honoured and very lucky to host Yeti Lane as they visit Norwich for the first time to play one of only a few UK dates.

As adored by BBC 6 Music and Radio 1’s Rob da Bank, among many other influential taste-makers, the spectacular wall of sound created by Ben Pleng (vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboards) and Charlie B (drums, keyboards, programming) – previously half of Cyann and Ben – cannot be ignored and is not to be missed.

“Incredible,” says piccadillyrecords.com in its promotional blurb, adding: “For fans of Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Broadcast, Stereolab, Can, Pavement and LCD Soundsystem.”

“Everything is considered and carefully put together… Layers of bubbling synths build on top of krautrock-leaning rhythms and some otherworldly guitar sounds. The end result is stunning – like Grandaddy’s ‘The Sophtware Slump’ reimagined by Kraftwerk and Kevin Shields.” (NME)

“Could we be looking at the next band to make the transition from lovable indie curiosity to critically acclaimed heroes? I’d stick a fiver on ‘The Echo Show’ making an appearance in a few end of year lists… If you can imagine some kind of collaboration between [the aforementioned] Animal Collective, The Horrors and Beach House then you’ll get a pretty good idea what we’re dealing with. 2012 could well be their year.” (soundsxp.com)

“Reminiscent of an era when Spacemen 3 were permitted to switch on their synths and head off into a mindfuckspacetrance, ‘Sparkling Sunbeam’ is all woozy electronics, blissed out vocals and loose limbed drumming. Epic.” (clashmusic.com)

“‘The Echo show’ wraps you up in drowsy warmth and doesn’t want to let you go until it transports you to another state of mind. You’ll be pretty pushed to hear a better album this year, all music should sound like this.” (withguitars.com)

“It’s unclear whether the record-buying public are desperate to hear a shoegaze-informed version of Grandaddy’s ‘The Sophtware Slump’ that takes in everything from Scritti Politti to The Left Banke via Ultra Vivid Scene and Jean-Claude Vannier. If they’re not, it’s their loss.” (The Stool Pigeon)

You may have caught Norwich’s experimental/post-rockers collider – users of Max/MSP and monome along with the usual vocals, guitar, bass, drums, combo – supporting I Like Trains or Mimas at NAC. But if you missed out on those treats, you can make up for it by joining them for tonight’s launch of Treehouse, their second single on Ziggurat Creative.

Ahead of the release, they’re running a competition to provide a remix of Treehouse for the B-side: email contact [at] collider [dot] org [dot] uk for more info! The closing date is Friday 25 May.

“Radiohead gun it down the slipway as Mogwai fail to hit their breaks [sic] at the junction and Sigur Ros plough straight into the whole shebang.” (bugbearbookings.com)

“collider sound a bit like the end of this world, or the start of the next one – a subtle mixes of low-fi and incredible electronic wizardry. Much of the band’s equipment has been created, and programs written by the band to create their own truly unique sound that pays homage to the idea of really original music! Really exciting stuff!” (Socialicious)

Plus Howlback Hum in the bar: line-up TBC.

Yeti Lane website

Yeti Lane live session for Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music

Yeti Lane Facebook

collider Soundcloud

collider Tumblr

collider Twitter

collider Facebook

Ziggurat Creative website

wombatwombat website

wombatwombat Facebook

Howlback Hum Myspace

Warsaw Village Band
Saturday 23 June : 8.30pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions

NORD is a meeting of musicians in search of  common elements between  the Slavs, the Scandinavians and the aboriginal peoples of the North.
The Warsaw Village Band hosts this musical summit as a tribute to the heroes and mystics, the Viking warriors, and the poets of the Saami and Inuit peoples.

Music strangely familiar; harsh, but dignified, cold, rough – deep and strong, with a hint of nostalgia and with a piercing thrill of truth.

The relationships of the countries of the North have a long history. The Vikings invaded Polish lands in the Middle Ages and had considerable influence on the Polish state. They also explored deeply into the continent of North America, establishing settlements in present-day Canada.

During the Polish – Swedish wars of the 17th century, along with other spoils, Sweden also imported the Polish dance  Kujawiak, which to this day, is known in Sweden by the name Polska.

All of these diverse but related musical influences meet for the first time ever in the Warsaw Village Band Nord project.

Guests in Warsaw Village Band´s Nord include the Swedish cult band “Hedningarna”, considered a seminal precursor of world music.  “Hedningarna”, whose music has long been admired by Warsaw Village Band, come to return the stolen Kujawiak!

The Nord project is also graced by the presence of Sandy Scofield – one of the greatest Canadian singer/songwriters, with roots deep in her Indian past.

Nord is the collective result of this unique encounter between artistes;  a return to the wild, tribal trance notes, as well as lyrical songs and pulsating dance.

In between the band performs at Vancouvers Chutspah Fesitval „ The Blessing on the Moon“ a new operatic/theatre production based on the book of the same name by Joseph Skirbell with music composed by Andy Terstein at the Norman& Annette Rothstein Theatre.

The band will present their new album Live May 2012 in Poland, England, Netherlands, Germany and Turkey!

Warsaw Village Band website

Unhappy Birthday
Friday 29 June : 8pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions : seated

Plus The Smiths & Morrissey disco in the cafe bar.

Amy Lamé invites you share her birthday. Morrissey- icon for the bookish, bespectacled weirdos of the world- is invited too. A seat is reserved for him… will he arrive clutching a bunch of flowers and a gift? Will he turn up at all?

Cake, quiffs and craziness collide in a flurry of balloons and beer, against a soundtrack of nostalgic teenage obsession.

“Witty, kooky & frequently shocking”-  THE STAGE (click here for the full review)

“…a performer/writer who knows how to do the slapstick and pathos that give comedy its bite”- BROADWAYWORLD.COM (click here for the full review)

Unhappy Birthday cracks open the cult of celebrity and fandom; flays fat, faith and sexual identity; probes the pains of growing up; and cross examines a curious nostalgia for a time that may never have existed except in the bedroom of our imagination.

Huffington Post:
“a fantastically entertaining, retro throwback of a knees up”
“raucous, ridiculous and insanely affable”

The Londonist:
“CRAZY”
“I hope she’s not expecting any presents”

Time Out: 4 ****
“stylish and engaging”

Whatsonthefringe.com: 5 *****
“truly immersive…effortlessly cool humour”

The Stage:
“Witty, kooky and frequently shocking”

Broadwayworld.com:
“a performer/writer who knows how to do the slapstick and pathos that give comedy its bite”

Read Maddy Costa’s feature in the Guardian

Co-founder and hostess of the infamous club/collective Duckie, Amy creates a culture clash of party, performance and poncing about in her new show.

Check out special promo videos for the show by Chris Difford of Squeeze, Tony Blackburn, US TV sensation Margaret Cho and Peter Kay

Unhappy Birthday website

Created and performed by Amy Lamé
Devised with and Directed by Scottee
Running time: 1hr 20mins
Supported by Contact and BAC
Photo credit Tom Sheehan

Amy Lamé website

Amy Lamé Twitter

The Monster Ceilidh Band
Monday 2 July : 8.30pm
£10.00 : £8.00 concessions

“Outrageously foot-stomping tunes from this Newcastle based five-piece who mix quirky tunes with beats and attitude. Elegant traditional playing versus raucous rave-like rhythms reveals arrangements to ignite the dance floor”- Womex.

2011 started with a bang for Monster Ceilidh Band with the release of their second album in the SageGateshed. Called Mechanical Monster it featured two CDs; one acoustic, the other featuring electronic beats programming and percussion. Critics described it as “simply stunning… a monstrous success” (Songlines), “truly thrilling…make sure your curtains don’t catch on fire!” (R2), “A leap into the future… a success of monstrous proportions” (fRoots). Their music, “brilliant and exhilarating”, has its roots in tradition, but the combination of their talents has produced something innovative, contemporary, fresh and dynamic.

Monster Ceilidh Band have toured Russia and had appearances at Warwick Folk Festival, Rainforest World Music Festival (Malaysia), Eden, Sunrise Celebration, Hay-on-Wye Festival (How The Light Gets In), Towersey, Priddy Folk Festival, the SageGateshead, The Acoustic Festival of Great Britain, London King’s Place Festival and Grassington Festival. A complete list of confirmed appearances is available on the Monsters’ website along with quotes from many of the organisers of these events.

As the Monsters come to the attention of more people, the plaudits continue to come, but when the credentials of the band members are considered, their success comes as little surprise.

Amy Thatcher is rightly considered one of the most talented folk accordionists of recent years. She has outstanding collaborations to her credit from Sting to Kathryn Tickell. Her powerful delivery of the tunes is complimented by the fiery and passionate fiddle of Carly Blain from the Borders region of Scotland. The two of them contribute their own very distinctive compositions to the repertoire.

The unique rhythm style of Kieran Szifris on mandocello blends with the fluid bass guitar of David de la Haye (Jez Lowe’s Bad Pennies). Both have extensive experience in performance across the UK and share an experimental approach to chord progressions, counter rhythms and harmony.

Joining the foursome on drums, now permanently, is percussionist and Drum and Bass producer Joseph Truswell (aka the Touch). Joseph deftly mixes unique programming with live drumming providing the beating heart of the live electronic sound.

The Monster Ceilidh Band is on something of a crusade to bring a powerfully modern and un-patronising approach to ceilidh music – dance music which has its feet in the heritage and tradition of the British Isles. The monsters are equally adept at playing for dancers and for concert audiences.

“An unbeatable live experience” (R2)

The Snail and the Whale
Saturday 7 July : 1pm
£7.00 : £5.00 concessions : £20 family ticket
Seated

The sea snail slithered all over the rock
And gazed at the sea and the ships in the dock.
And as she gazed she sniffed and sighed.
“The sea is deep and the world is wide!
How I long to sail,”
Said the tiny snail

Tall Stories (creators of the Gruffalo and Room on the Broom stage shows) are proud to present their latest collaboration with Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

A tiny snail longs to see the world, so she hitches a lift on the tail of a huge humpback whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, experiencing sharks and penguins, icebergs and volcanoes. The little snail is amazed by it all, but starts feeling very small in the vastness of the world…

Then disaster strikes – the whale becomes beached in a bay… Can the tiny snail save the day?

Created in Tall Stories’ unique style, The Snail and the Whale combines physical storytelling, live music and lots of laughs – for everyone aged 4 and up

Duration: 50 mins

Tall Stories Website

Eve Selis Band
+ Berkley Hart
Monday 9 July : 8pm
£10.00 adv : £12.00 door

San Diego Music Award Winner, Americana artist Eve Selis will debut her new CD Family Tree. Deeply versed in folk, country, and blues traditions, Selis and her band dug deep to create a towering opus of interconnected musical branches, all dripping with Selis’s indelible “honey chipotle” voice.

As winner of Best Americana at the 2010 San Diego Music Awards, Eve Selis is no stranger to Roots music. Family Tree features 14 sturdy tracks drawn from the dark, rich soil of American music. From the swamp-rock of “Rubber and Glue” to the plaintive country heartbreaker “Don’t You Feel Lonesome” to Leonard Cohen’s majestic masterpiece “Hallelujah,” “this CD sums it all up for me,” Selis explains.

“I got to explore all the different styles of music I love; I got to co-write with all my favorite songwriters (Marc Intravaia, Kim McLean, Calman Hart, Rich Wiley, Doug Crider); I got to sing wonderful songs about the things that mean the most to me — loss and love, sadness and joy, hardship and triumph, faith and family; I got to record with the best band in San Diego, with the best studio team I’ve ever worked with…I couldn’t be happier about this CD.”

Family Tree was recorded at San Diego’s premiere recording facility, Big Fish Studio in Encinitas, under the guidance of GRAMMY® winning producer, Steve Churchyard. Recording  “old school” to 2-inch analog tape, Churchyard captured the warmth of Selis’s unique style, both explosive and tender, allowing him to recreate the natural sound of her live performance.  Musical partner, Marc “Twang” Intravaia remarked: “…we hadn’t recorded to tape in 20 years.”

After final takes, the tracks were then brought into the digital world by transferring them to ProTools on a Mac for overdubs, where Churchyard took advantage of all the latest digital tools to create a 21st-century record that sounds like it could have been recorded in the musical heyday of the ‘70s.

The recording of the CD was financed entirely by fans of the Eve Selis band via the crowdfunding web sites Kickstarter and PledgeMusic. A video appeal on both sites asking everyone to be a part of her “record label” brought in donations from $10 to $10,000.
This allowed Selis to not only record at Big Fish with Churchyard but to hire renowned musician Albert Lee, described by Eric Clapton as “…the greatest guitarist in the world.” She also brought in acclaimed sidemen, Dennis Caplinger on fiddle, mandolin, dobro and banjo and Rick Schmidt on pedal steel guitar.

Eve Selis Band website

Berkley Hart website

Molly Naylor & The Middle Ones
Wednesday 11 July : 8pm
All tickets £7.00

Molly Naylor (writer of BBC Radio 4′s Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You) and the band perform a work-in-progress preview of their collaborative Edinburgh show, My Robot Heart. With special musical and poetic guests including John Osborne and Ross Sutherland.

Molly Naylor website

The Middle Ones bandcamp

Ross Sutherland website

Saturday 14 July : 1pm – 4pm

FREE: Cafe Bar

Highlighting the best of the local acoustic music scene in the Café Bar.

The Acoustic Showcase at Norwich Arts Centre was originally run by Black Cat Music, who established it as one of Norwich’s most well known monthly acoustic events.

Now being run by Play The Music, the showcases are being taken forward into a new era and are offering acoustic musicians of all styles the opportunity to perform in one of the best venues in Norwich, if not the East of England.

Before taking up the reins of the Acoustic Showcase, Jason R. Burgess was involved with organising the original Go Acoustic monthly all day showcases in Horsford, and helped to launch and organise the weekly Go Acoustic events at the Hog In Armour. Jason is a performer (known as Lefty) as well as an organiser, so prides himself in understanding that musicians just want the chance to play, hence the reason for the Play The Music branding.

Play The Music are proud to offer top class acoustic music and with the Norwich Arts Centre Café Bar we have a venue where the patrons really want to hear music, whilst enjoying something to eat or drink.

Low Volume Eclectif
Saturday 21 July : 1- 4pm
FREE : Cafe bar

Fingerstyle Collective
In association with Ayers Guitars
Monday 23 July : 8pm
£10.00 : £8.00 concessions : seated

Four of the world’s finest acoustic guitarists from Canada, the US and the UK take to the stage in a small number of not-to-be-missed UK shows!

Don Alder is a modern-day Acoustic Guitar Renaissance Man. He’s won the International Fingerstyle Competition; Guitar Player Magazine’s Guitar Superstar Champion 2010; and, recently, the 2011 Guitar Idol competition. Don’s phenomenal fingerstyle playing and rich voice captivate and he brings an unparalleled dynamic intensity to the stage.

Dan LaVoie is one of the few musicians in the world actively composing and performing on the rare harp guitar, bringing a unique sound and texture to fans of acoustic music. In 2010, Dan released his highly anticipated second CD entitled “Cause and Effect” featuring duets with Andy Mckee and Michael Manring.

Justin King is a musician and artist from Eugene, Oregon, recognised as a pioneering guitarist for his percussive “tapping” playing style, consisting of a variety of influences ranging from Flamenco to Celtic music. His latest record is a solo effort and features King on a broad range of instruments, including cello, drums, keyboard, bass, and guitar.

Stuart Masters combines Western and Indian Classical, Folk, and Celtic influences to create a unique, hybrid style, with pure, haunting vocals.. His self-produced debut album came out in 2010, and 2012 sees the release of his cross-cultural collaboration with renowned Sarode and Rebab player, Rishi Ranjan.

Don Alder website

Dan Lavoie website

Justin King website

Stuart Masters website

We Are Scientists
Monday 30 July : 8pm
£13.50 adv : £16.00 door

We Are Scientists website

Ned Evett Band
Thursday 2 August : 8.30pm
£8.00 : £6.00 concessions

Ned Evett is one of the world’s foremost fretless guitarists, creating music that both celebrates and transcends the novelty of his instrument.

“The world’s first fretless guitar rockstar “ -Guitar Player Magazine

At age 11, Ned started playing ukelele, graduating to his first guitar at 15. At 16, Ned got his first classical guitar and gave his first professional performance as a guitarist. Around that time, Ned saw King Crimson Live in Japan, and was mesmerized by the fretless guitar wielded by Adrian Belew.

Ned won a full college scholarship to study classical guitar, but a Michael Hedges performance changed the course of his life; he dropped out of college to pursue songwriting and electric guitar full time. He spent the next five years traveling across the US playing six nights a week with numerous bands.

New years eve 1990, Ned had had enough of cover bands. He smashed his strat onstage and built his first fretless guitar from the neck which survived intact. Ned hasn’t looked back since. The first Ned Evett fretless guitar had a wood/epoxy fingerboard. He appeared with his fretless acoustic in the May 1993 issue of Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine, then on record with Warner recording artists Built To Spill in 1994.

Prior to his first European tour in 1997 backing Austin Singer/Songwriter Dirk Hamilton, he switched to a glass fingerboard; in part to him wearing out numerous ebony fingerboards. Ned has used glass and aluminum fingerboards ever since.

Ned has drawn a catalogue of critical acclaim from such major national publications as USA Today, writing, “Ned Evett is the perfectly sane, and vastly entertaining master of the fretless glass-necked guitar.”

Ned made waves in 2000 with the groundbreaking release, An Introduction to Fretless Guitar. That album, along with successful albums Circus Liquor (2003), iStole (2004), Middle of the Middle (2007), and Afraid4U (2010) led to his widespread success in Europe, while also kick-starting the beginning of a loyal fan following in the U.S.
His touring history includes concerts performed in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, and Australia as well as most of the countries in western Europe.

In 2003, Ned entered and won the North American Rock Guitar Competition. In 2004 PBS Television broadcast the documentary “Driven To Play “, a film about the event which aired in all US states and parts of Canada.

Following the film’s premier, Ned began a series of tours with artists such as Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, George Thorogood, and Robert Cray. From October 2010 through January 2011, Ned embarked on a world tour with Grammy nominated artist Joe Satriani who says, “Ned Evett is a monster player/writer/performer. I’ve had him on tour as a solo act, as well as with his different band lineups, and he always puts on a great performance. He has a good time with the audience, as he uses his unique personality to guide them through his music and his one-of-a-kind guitar style.”

Ned’s five solo releases run the gamut from instrumental beauties to hard-rocking blues, and everything in between. Ned’s upcoming sixth solo album, “Treehouse” is a 14 song diary of love, loss, redemption, and the future told in Ned’s mesmerizing voice, accompanied by Ned’s trademark fretless mirrored glass and steel resonator, the “Globro” and his glass-necked electrics. The album, produced by legendary musician Adrian Belew, is scheduled for an Autumn release

Ned Evett website

Paul Kelly
(solo acoustic show)
+ support
Thursday 23 August : 8pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions : seated

Tickets on sale from Friday 2 March.

For anyone growing up in Australia between 1970 and the present, Paul Kelly is an institution, often dubbed the Australian version of Bob Dylan.

Paul Kelly has recorded seventeen studio albums as well as several film soundtracks (Lantana and the Cannes 2006 highlight, Jindabyne) and live albums, in an influential career spanning more than thirty years.

He has received the honour of being inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame, and in 1997 and 2001 two of Paul’s songs were included in the Australasian Performing Rights Association top 30 Australian songs of all time.

He continues to cross musical boundaries. Recent albums include the bluegrass-inspired Foggy Highway, the wide ranging double set, Ways & Means and Stolen Apples. The Triple J tribute album Before Too Long, released earlier this year, featuring John Butler, Missy Higgins, Megan Washington, Paul Dempsey, Ozi Batla and many others is evidence of his influence on generations of musicians.

Paul Kelly website

Cedric Watson Trio
Monday 17 September : 8pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions : seated

Spearheading the emerging generation of Cajun and Creole musicians, Cedric Watson is a fiddler, vocalist, accordionist and songwriter of enormous talent and potential. Injecting a healthy dose of his own personality and ingenuity, Cedric has been exciting an ever-broadening audience with his unique take on traditional Creole music, and with his new compositions that expand the genre while still respecting its roots. In the few years since he assumed the role of bandleader, all three of his albums have been nominated for Grammy’s.

Cedric Watson has played with some of the great family names in the idiom, including Dexter Ardoin and the Creole Ramblers and Jeffrey Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, and most recently was a featured member of the Pine Leaf Boys. He has performed across the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, Canada, and the Caribbean, where he has developed a keen interest in connecting Louisiana Creole music to other Creole cultures.

Moving with ease between fiddle and accordion, and adding his strong blues-inflected vocals, Cedric’s creative style and obvious joy in playing make him an engaging and exciting performer.

Originally from San Felipe, Texas (population 868), young Cedric made his first appearance at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston. Two years later, he moved to south Louisiana and quickly immersed himself in French music and language.

Over the next several years, Cedric performed French music in seventeen countries and on seven full-length albums with various groups, including the Pine Leaf Boys, Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and now with his own group, Bijou Creole.

Cedric Watson website

Claudia Aurora
Monday 24 September : 8pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions : seated

With a following to rival flamenco, the haunting melodies of Portuguese fado have always held listeners spellbound; Claudia Aurora is its powerful new voice. Claudia Aurora sings fado – traditional Portuguese folk-blues – like no one else. The singer-songwriter’s debut album, “Silêncio” (released in the UK by World Village/Harmonia Mundi on 31 October 2011), is the first collection of original fado songs to be recorded in the UK since the great Portuguese Fado diva Amália Rodrigues recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1952.

Claudia Aurora is a fadista and songwriter from Oporto, Portugal. She is based in Bristol, UK since 2003 and has built a reputation as a stunning live performer. Claudia has sung fado at numerous venues in the UK, including the prestigious Kings Place, Queen Elizabeth Hall (Southbank Centre), Momo and Heaven, in London, Royal Theatre in Norwich, and St George’s in Bristol. Her shows have been recorded and broadcasted by BBC Radio 3.

“Silêncio” is a showcase of both her powerful voice and her unique original songs. The first fados to be written in the UK, these songs deal with the traditional Fado themes of life, destiny, longing and despair.
“A beguiling voice! And her instrumentalists are superb!” Michael Church, The Scotsman

“An exquisite foray into jazz-inflected contemporary fado” fRoots

“Haunting Portuguese fado from this rising star of the scene here performing heartbreakingly poignant material from her widely acclaimed 2011 album ‘Silêncio’” Time Out London

“Spine-tingling” Alex Denney, NME

“Drenched in emotion and drama” Lucy Duran, BBC Radio 3

Claudia Aurora website

John Cooper Clarke
Saturday 29 September : 8pm
£16.00 : £14.00 concessions : seated

What can you say about our John?

Born in 1949 to George, an engineer and Hilda, an unpublished poet, John spent his childhood growing up in Salford, Lancashire.

After teenage years as a Mod, John served a few jobs including an apprentice engineer, a tailors assistant, a lab technician at Salford Tech, where he was interviewed by another Manchester hero Tony Wilson, for Granada TV and also a lead type compositor. After a stint living in Dorset, John returned to Manchester and started properly on the path for which he would become most famous for, his poetry, working at cabaret clubs and tough venues around the city.

His biting, satirical, political and very funny verse delivered in his rapid-fire performance style resonated with the punk movement that had begin to pick up speed in the late 70s and saw him begin to draw huge crowds in his own right after touring with most of punk’s seminal and ground breaking bands including Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Fall, Elvis Costello to name but a few. Joy Division were proud to open for JCC on numerous occasions. (New Order later supported him on their first joint Australian tour).

A figurehead for the movement and all that it encompassed, he became the “Punk Poet”, “The Bard of Salford” who found himself as one of the leading voices of punk and youth culture of the late 70s. Live, he would find himself performing to thousands across the UK, crowds gathered with open eyes and ears gazing up at his distinctive, and now iconic visual appearance (tall and thin with a mess of black hair, black sunglasses, drainpipe trousers and cuban-heeled boots) all transfixed as he worked through a catalogue of work taken from his four studio albums and numerous singles.

The decline of punk also saw a decline in John the man. He spent most of the 80s with a serious heroin addiction which saw his output wane dramatically. A tough battle that thankfully saw him kick the habit in the early 90s.

So what of John now? Aside from being a key component of the punk movement that has shaped countless bands since and being a key orator of British society during this time, his mark is indelibly seen in today’s pop culture. Aside from his fashion style spawning a number of copy-cats that stroll past you in pubs and clubs all over the country, his effect on modern music has been huge.

His influence needs only to be heard in the satirical and keen social observations of the songs of bands like The Arctic Monkeys (Alex Turner cites JCC as a huge inspiration and John’s work appears in the sleeve of one of their singles as well as Turner apparently having a JCC tattoo), Reverend and The Makers (John duetted with lead man John McClure on the b-side of the band’s huge hit single ‘Heavyweight Champion Of The World’) as well as platinum selling Plan B (another keen fan, asking John personally to appear in his directional film debut “Ill Manors“, which is out in May 2012, as well as appearing on the soundtrack).

Clarke’s recording of “Evidently Chickentown’ was also used in the penultimate closing scene of one of modern TV’s most famous and respected television shows, The Sopranos. JCC featured on BBC Radio 4’s Chain Reaction in August 2011 being interviewed by none other than New Order’s Peter Hook, John then interviewed Kevin Eldon a week later. Classic radio.

The revival of the 70s punk phenomenon over the last few years has seen a whole new generation clamouring over John’s work and watched his star rocket once again. Continuing to write new work from his Colchester home, He has a plethora of new poems and monologues that he performs solo, alongside his best known works such as Beasley Street and Evidently Chickentown. His shows are always packed and his audience always leave ecstatic.

At the time of writing John has just finished a successful tour of New Zealand and Australia. Proving that his words transfer world wide.

He hopes to produce his first new book for over 25 years in 2012. The perennial best seller, Ten Years In An Open Necked Shirt.

JCC has his own film Evidently John Cooper Clarke on BBC 4 TV in the UK in June 2012. He continues to present shows on the UKs leading digital new music station BBC 6 Music (Upcoming every Sunday through May 2012.) He appeared as his younger self in the award winning Ian Curtis biopic Control. He has made a multitude of recent UK and Irish festival appearances including Glastonbury, Latitude, The Green Man, Electric Picnic and many others. He also tours throughout Europe and Australasia.

No bigger accolade and platitude of his work is that 3 of his poems are now in the GCSE syllabus, including the remarkable Twat. He is studied by many A level students and his poetry is prolific within UK and Irish University courses, all ensuring that he will be forever ingrained in the psyche of Britain’s new youth.

One of Britain’s best loved and most important poets and performers, John is as vital now as he was then; He’s not going anywhere. Catch him live coming to your town soon…

John Cooper Clarke website

The Skints
+ support
Wednesday 10 October : 7.30pm
£10.00 adv : £12.00 door

London-based reggae & dub upstarts The Skints will embark on a long-awaited headline tour of the UK in October this year. Josh from the band has the following to say about The Skints’ excitement at announcing the run –

“We’re extremely pleased and proud to announce that we’ll be headlining our own tour this October in support of our new album “Part & Parcel”! These are easily the biggest headline slots we’ve ever done and we’re so stoked to be doing a headline run after doing so many support slots with artists like Gym Class Heroes, Reel Big Fish, You Me at Six, Gogol Bordello… the list goes on! We can’t wait to see what kinds of crazy cats will be at the shows to hang out, and after a few months of our record being out, this is gonna be a no holds barred, all singing, ALL dancing punky-reggae party! We’re hitting all of our favourite UK cities, the other artists will be incredible, did I mention we’re excited?”

The Skints will also be playing at Passing Clouds in London on 2nd March. The band release their second album ‘Part & Parcel’ on 9th April, 2012. Produced by Prince Fatty, the album mixes Jamaican styles with pop hooks, grimey raps, filthy basslines and a punk rock work ethic to create a sound familiar to newcomers, yet unique below the surface. The Skints’ first album ‘Live, Breathe, Build, Believe’ crossed the boundaries between the punk scene they grew up in and distinct reggae grooves, providing them with an underground hit.

Jon Doyle – Bass
Jamie Kyriakides- Drums/Vocals
Josh Waters Rudge – Guitar/Vocals
Marcia Richards- Keys/Sax/Flute/Melodica/Vocals

The Skints Facebook

Norwich Sound & Vision 2012 Conference
Thursday 11 – Saturday 13 October
Individual Friday ticket
£35.00

Norwich Sound & Vision returns for its third year from 11th – 13th October 2012.

Norwich Sound & Vision is a place for companies, individuals, bands/musicians, record labels, filmmakers, writers and anyone with an interest in the music, film and multi media industries to network, reach new markets, forge new partnerships, learn, be inspired and have a fantastic time in one of England’s most charming cities.

The 4800 people who came to last year’s event got to see 76 local and international bands and engaged with 54 expert speakers from around the world.

Norwich Sound & Vision website

Francesca Martinez
Sunday 28 October : 8pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions : seated

Fresh from winning a Fringe Media Network Award at the Edinburgh Festival, ‘wobbly’ comedian, Francesca Martinez, brings her hit show to ……………….!

What happens when you’re branded ‘abnormal’, in a world obsessed with normality? This show is Francesca’s defiant, insightful and fascinating answer…

Intrigued by the power that a six-letter word has over so many people, Francesca shares her own life-changing journey of growing up as ‘abnormal’, being rescued from High-School-Hell by ‘Grange Hill’, letting Ricky Gervais take the piss out of her walk in ‘Extras’ and working out what to say to the BBC after being offered the role of a, ahem, vegetable.

Whatever body you’re born into, it seems that most people share the universal desire to be ‘normal’. This show is for anyone who’s ever struggled to fit in, felt ‘different’ or wondered what the **** normal means?
Apart from a cycle on a washing machine, of course.

In her 2010-2011 tours Francesca garnered awards and rave-reviews in Australia and South East Asia. She has played sell-out performances in Hollywood, New York, Cape Town and at the World Economic Forum, alongside Emma Thompson.

“Hilarious and deeply moving… By the end of the hour, everyone is a little bit wobbly, rocking back and forth in their seats, some choking back tears at an exquisitely judged final flourish that proves she is not only one of the best performers on the circuit but also a writer of rare candour.” 5 Stars Metro (Edinburgh)

Press for What The **** Is Normal?!
“Hilarious and deeply moving… one of the finest pieces of writing on the Fringe’- 5 stars- Metro (Edinburgh)

“Wonderfully challenging… brilliantly busts myths about normality”- 4 Stars- The Scotsman

“Observant wit… an intelligent, charismatic comic”- 4 stars- The Skinny

“The fastest-rising female comic in the country”- The Observer

“Has changed the face of British Comedy”- The Sunday Times

“Exceptional wit. Her star quality is breathtaking”- The Daily Telegraph

“A five-star act”- The Guardian Guide

“Hilarious!”- bbc.co.uk

“A comic sensation”- The Daily Mirror

“The electricity she generated through her act was near palpable. An electrifying act. Stand-up with extra bite”- The Independent

“She may be wobbly but never the jokes. The sweetest face in the business”- The Stage

“Inspiring. A winning combination of charm and talent”- The Evening Standard

“A challenging and hilarious act. She is intelligent, insightful, immensely likeable and charmingly dangerous”- The Sunday Herald * * * *

“Absolutely hilarious you don’t want it to end”- Paramount Comedy * * * * *

“Perfect stand-up, Brilliant and beautiful”- The Daily Mail * * * *

“Very funny. Her comic timing is perfect”- Metro * * * *

“She is enormously charismatic… Absolutely hilarious”- Standup.com * * * *

“Simply very, very funny”- The List * * * *

“Wise and witty. She is one of the most self-assured comedians on the circuit”- The Scotsman * * * **

“Gut-wrenching laughter – an hour of her time is indeed a privilege”- The Observer

“Tremendously engaging… an irresistibly charming performer. She has mastered the two-liner leading a willing audience as though she’d got them on a leash. She had me in the palm of her wobbly hand. Go
see her now”- National Students Magazine *****

“Go to see this show for big laughs, lots of observation and biographical material and maybe the chance to examine your own attitudes and perceptions”- Laugh Riot ****

“Her grasp of politics is impressive and she digs at Bush, Blair and the right-wing with insight and humour. Whereas her cp might once have made her a novelty, Martinez has now proven she’s just actually very good at making people laugh. Very funny”- Metro ****

“A fast-paced show with lots of laughs. No taboo is left intact as she cracks joke after joke… Hilarious”- Three Weeks ****

“Her ability to properly combine politics and comedy was first class and rich with gags. She is confident and sharp – her show was up to date, thought providing and very, very funny”- Scotsgay ****

“It is refreshing to see a comedian with convictions, all the more so when that comedian has so much charm and energy.”- Guardian ****

“Tackles serious points with conviction and still rings belly laughs”- Fest ****

“Martinez is selling out fast. Get a ticket or miss out”- One4review ****

Francesca Martinez website

Gong
+ support
Wednesday 7 November : 8pm
£16.00 adv : £18.00 door

Gong 99%#Tour2012

TECHNICALLY
Gong is not so much a band as a voluble cluster of curious musicians, Gilli and Daevid are both very old indeed,  some of whom mysteriously find themselves in the gong tour bus as each tour begins.

POLITICALLY
Born in late -sixties revolutionary Paris, Gong represented a faerie tale chill-out tent for activists, errorists and disappointed idealists, Gilli and Daevid are both very 99%#, where brilliant new ideas spiraled out of control and were stored in some corporate label’s freezer in the chill-o-sphere.

URBAN SHAMANISMO
Gilli and Daevid are both very 99% indeed.
Meanwhile we had discovered GONG was an actual planet and taught how to visit it in the middle of a gig. From then on, every time we made that pilgrimage, we made your toenails twinkle.

KULTUREJAMJAH
Gilli and Daevid are 1% very old indeed
Now the OCCUPY crew have busted the lock on the corporate freezer. When those brilliant ideas from the sixties escaped we realised that, despite the cold, they had already gone forth and now occupied 99%.

We are Gong99%#2012

GONG is 99% very odd indeed

Gong 99%#2012

Born from the revolutionary late sixties, GONG as a band never stays still.
In 2012 rather than taking the obvious route of the popular “classic Gong” lineup, the band has radically changed with a fresh young band ready to think outside the box without losing touch with the gong vibe.
Inspired by the many revolutions brewing in the world right now, Gilli and Daevid, original founders of the band, are drawing on their revolutionary past to support the youth-driven world-wide peace movements sweeping the world.

With the emergence of the Occupy Movement, Wiki Leaks and Anonymous, it is to be expected that Gong return to its origins to tour at a basic grass roots level, disabling the corporate theft of their music by engaging directly with a worldwide gong fan-base expanding steadily over 40 years.

This tour is also a milestone as it marks the introduction of Orlando Allen, son of Gilli and Daevid, as a driving force on drums, making this the first time that three members of the family have played together on the same tour.

 LINE-UP

Daevid Allen
guitar/vocals
aka: dada ali yon, dingo virgin, bebert camembert etc
Gong originator & composer & host to multiple identities, the Alien Australian as court jester always has a banana up his sleeve.
http://daevidallen.net/

Gilli Smyth
spacewhisper
aka: Shakti Yoni
Gong Visionary, Space Whisperer, mystic, Madame and mother there is no other seer than the mysterious spirit that rises thru the poetree of Shakti Yoni.
She is a Witch.
http://users.swing.be/gillismyth/

Orlando Allen
drums/vocals
aka the Flamedog
The Flamedog can flame or protect, transform or enlighten. His influences are from Jazz to Power Drumming, with Pierre Moerlin being a particulary inspiration with this material, a big presence with a powerful touch. A wild card with deep funk finesse. He smiles wide.
http://flamedogrecords.com/
http://www.facebook.com/orlandomonday/

Ian East
Horns-A-Plenty
aka: multi-adaptorananda
An extravagant new woodwind talent recommended by Theo Travis acknowledged by Didier Malherbe and blessed by Bloomdido Bad de Grasse, Mr Ian East is here to put wings to your heart and offer a fresh new contextual relationship with your thinking box.
http://www.myspace.com/ianeastsax/

Fabio Golfetti
guitar/vocals
aka: violeta de outono
Parallel galactic translator for the Invisible Opera Company codex, Fabio is a Gong Family Original with additional antennas.
Fabio is in daevid’s estimation, the best glissando guitarist in the world. He is hot. He is cool. He is driven. He thinks in unsung melodies.
Come watch him fly.
http://www.fabiogolfetti.com/
http://www.myspace.com/fabiogolfetti/

Dave Sturt
bass/vocals
aka: Arch-Deacon Unicorn-Strut
Fluid yet vertical, passionate yet whimsical, Dave Sturt
delivers a Pataphysical panache and a startlingly sexy
hormonal literacy to (insert your name here).
http://www.session-bass-guy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/davesturt/

Gong website

University Of Errors website

Flame Dog Records website

Hot Club of Cowtown
Wednesday 14 November : 8.30pm
£15.00 : £12.50 concessions

Please note, this is a standing show.

Whit Smith * Guitar and Vocals
Elana James * Violin and Vocals
Jake Erwin * Bass and Vocals

From the bright lights of the Grand Ol’ Opry to the UK’s Glastonbury and Cambridge Festivals, regular appearances on Prairie Home Companion, the BBC’s ‘Later…with Jools Holland’ and festival stages worldwide, The Hot Club of Cowtown has ascended from its unlikely beginnings in NYC’s East Village more than a decade ago, to become the premier ambassador of Hot
Jazz and Western Swing through sheer tenacity, virtuosity and the unstoppable power of their breathtaking live show.

On Wishful Thinking, HCCT’s last album released in May 2009, the combustible ‘Can’t Go on this Way’, by Texas swing master Bob Wills, hinted at yet another milestone for the band, a precursor to their next project: ‘What Makes Bob Holler’ (Proper Records, 18th October 2010).

It is in fact, a return to the band’s Hot Jazz and Western Swing best. Elana’s spring-fingered violin solos and Whit’s effortless, liquid guitar lines are propelled by Jake’s driving percussive upright bass.

Naturally when live and in the flesh, there remain glimpses into Romany music and culture, capturing the musical sophistication and sizzle of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt’s Quintette du Hot Club de France.

Lauded on NPR, darlings of international stages from Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival to Stagecoach and all points in between, HCCT began as a young and gutsy trio playing traditional music but began to develop its own sound through invitations to collaborate, tour with and work alongside more contemporary artists. The trio was hired (and survived) tours with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, first opening for them then playing with them: Elana, a classically trained violinist and the legitimate heir to the great tradition of Western Swing which she learned firsthand horse wrangling and working with Texas fiddle masters (and a few stolen encounters with traveling Romany fiddlers), became the first dedicated female instrumentalist to tour in Bob Dylan’s
band in over 30 years.

An invitation from Bryan Ferry for HCCT to reinterpret his material coaxed the band into the modern mainstream. Rachel Ray put them in her cookbook! Their appearances at mega-festivals from Byron Bay (Australia) to Fuji Rock (Japan), Glastonbury and Cambridge (UK) and performances on the BBCTV show, ‘Later…with Jools Holland’, have brought the band international acclaim. The music is blazing, modern, and has more energy than ever.

HCCT understand that the beauty and danger that makes great music lies not only in the notes that are played, but from secrets that are held close to one’s heart. They are true proponents of the old adage less is more; never sacrificing taste and simplicity for mere dazzle. “Bob Dylan taught me that you have to keep some mystery,” confesses Elana. “Don’t give it all away. The power’s in holding some things back.”

In 2009, HCCT commanded a plethora of international 4-star reviews for both its live shows and the album, ‘Wishful Thinking’. Now, we brace ourselves, for the imminent release of a much anticipated return to their roots; ‘What Makes Bob Holler’ (18th October 2010), with the band once more in worldwide demand.

Press quotes

“I first saw them at SXSW in 1999, continuing the tradition of the great Texan Western bands.  Their recent session on ‘Bob Harris Country’ (BBC Radio 2) was a sensation.”-Bob Harris, BBC TV and Radio, 2009.

“The world’s most engaging Western Swing band – their shows are all about energy and joie de vivre – the devil-may-care style that combined the rigour of Jazz with the down-home sentiment of Country and earthiness of the Blues – it is as a live act that they have made their greatest impact.”
“The new album, ‘Wishful Thinking’, is one of their most polished efforts so far, but to catch the Hot Club at full temperature, you really need to see the group in the flesh.”-The Sunday Times (London), 12/07/09

“Ten Best Gigs – The Texas Trio stand at that crossroads where Country meets Jazz and chases the Blues away!”-The Independent (London), 02/05/09

“Hot Club have spirit, originality and skill that would surely have impressed Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt back in the 1930’s.”-Robin Denselow, The Guardian (London), 01/05/09

“Could any other night of Hot Jazz and Western Swing be as satisfyingly entertaining as this, minimally outfitted (there are but three of them), the party band par excellence?”-Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), 2009.

“Working in such tradition, the Hot Club of Cowtown can burn, playing fast and furious driving rhythms at break-neck pace and the wild abandon of Whit’s fleet-fingered solos, improvised over dangerous changes, can leave a listener slack-jawed and winded.”-Baker Rorick, Guitar Magazine

“Their sly mix of hot licks and cool vocals remains equally driven by the twang of Texas roadhouses as the Gypsy string Jazz of Reinhardt and Grappelli.”-Eli Messenger, Country Standard Time

“…Infusing classic Pop and Jazz tunes with plenty of String-Band verve.”-Mike Joyce, Washington Post

Hot Club of Cowtown website

Andrew Lawrence
Monday 3 December : 8pm
£15.00 : £13.00 concessions : seated

Andrew Lawrence is Coming to Get You

As seen on BBC 1’s Live at the Apollo, now a regular on Channel 4’s Stand Up For the Week, Andrew Lawrence is back on the road following a sell-out fifty date tour of the UK.
Twice nominated Best UK Headline Act at the Chortle Awards 2010/11, also a former double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, audiences can expect Lawrence to deliver an evening of top class stand-up.

‘He discharges kamikaze philosophies a-hundred-to-the-dozen.  And it is outstanding.’- The List
‘His almost Victorian blend of rage and good grammar is still a delight.’- Sunday Times

Andrew Lawrence website