Free download – Kathryn Tickell ‘The Fiddle’

To coincide with the release of her latest record ‘Northumbrian Voices’ , Kathryn Tickell is on tour and reaches London’s Southbank Centre on Friday.

‘I had been worried about how it would be, touring with a band whose ages spanned three generations, but it’s lovely. We are the only band I know who tour with an armchair; it’s for my dad to sit in on stage…he’s in his seventies and we want him to be comfy!’ Read the full interview here.

Have a listen to this free download

Catch Kathryn Tickell with Northumbrian Voices at Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall on Friday 21 September. Get tickets here. 

KATHRYN TICKELL WITH NORTHUMBRIAN VOICES

Kathryn Tickell is the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, a composer, performer and successful recording artist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria.

Kathryn also works collaboratively across many genres, making her work contemporary and exciting. She first took up the Northumbrian smallpipes at the age of nine, learning in the traditional way from shepherd musicians in outlying hill farms near her home. All the elements of landscape, weather and stories of the people that lived and worked there were part of her childhood. Kathryn’s personal evocation of this is heard through the traditional tunes and songs that she brings to audiences all over the world. She has released 14 of her own albums to date and has also recorded and performed with Sting, The Chieftains, The Penguin Café Orchestra, Evelyn Glennie, Andy Sheppard and many others.

Catch Kathryn Tickell with Northumbrian Voices at Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall on Friday 21 September. Get tickets here. 

IMAGINED VILLAGE AND AIDAN O’ROURKE FOLK DOUBLE BILL

Listen to Sheema Mukherjee talking about her  New Music 20×12 commission from Imagined Village – ‘Bending the Dark.’

Also check out Aidan O’Rourke talking about his New Music 20×12 commission from An Tobar – ‘TAT-1’

See sets from both in a folk double-bill on Saturday 14 of July, 8pm at Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Find out more / Book Tickets 

Watch a film of the New Music 20×12 composers talking about their commissions

You can experience all 20 commissions across one weekend at Southbank Centre from 13-15 July. Don’t miss your chance to get involved in talks, debates and workshops, as well as a unique opportunity to book a one-to-one composer surgery with one of the New Music 20×12 composers.

Find out more / book tickets

PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music 20×12 is a UK-wide commissioning programme initiated by Jillian Barker and David Cohen, and delivered in partnership with the BBC, LOCOG and NMC Recordings.

Caught By The River – Blog Series – #1 Chris Yates

Popular nature and culture website Caught By The River celebrates it’s 5th year at Southbank Centre with a fantastic line-up of writers and musicians.

Caught By The River began in summer 2007 as a website based solely on a handful of passions shared by the people behind it. Angling, music, books, films, nature and pubs to name a few.

We’ll be posting passages, reviews, competitions and music over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the show.

Chris Yates – an angler, photographer and acclaimed writer will be reading from his new book Nightwalk, raises his gaze from his beloved rivers and ponds and takes us on a mesmerizing tour of the British countryside.

You can read an extract from Nightwalk on the Caught By The River website.

To buy tickets for this events and check out the full line-up, click here.

Low at Royal Festival Hall – exclusive track, video and Guardian webcast

American indie legends, Low perform at Royal Festival Hall next week Tuesday 3 April. The Minnesota three-piece comprise of band founders – the husband and wife songwirting team of  singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk and drummer Mimi Parker – and bass player Steve Garrington, who joined in 2008.

Low’s most recent record C’mon was released in April last year, and garnered positive reviews across the board with Drowned In Sound praising it’s ‘impossible beauty and spellbinding drama’, while The Observer‘s 5 star review describes the band as ‘exquisite’.

Their last outing in London was a sell out show at Barbican Hall in April 2011, and was deemed a triumph by critics and fans alike, see Music OMH‘s 4.5 star review for proof.

You can hear a beautiful acoustic rendition of C’mon opener ‘Try to Sleep’ on the Soundcloud link below, exclusive to Southbank Centre.

Low also performed ‘Witches’ for The Guardian‘s ‘How I Wrote’ series, with Alan Sparhawk discussing the inspiration behind the lyrics and the instrumentation used in the song. Click here to watch now.

And if that’s not enough for your ears and eyes, here is a video of Alan and Mimi performing ‘Point of Disgust’ at Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth, Minnesota.

 

Low perform at Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday 3 April, with support from Lanterns On The Lake. Click through to the website to buy tickets.

 

 

WIN WIN WIN! Petra Jean Phillipson Competition

As part of Death: Southbank Centre’s Festival for the Living, one of the latest stars on the indie-folk scene, Petra Jean Phillipson, launches her new LP Notes On: Death at Purcell Room on 30 January, and we have FIVE pairs to give away.

Phillipson, is currently garnering much attention ahead of the release, including The Guardian’s very positive preview. She’s previously collaborated with artists as diverse as Martina Topley-Bird, David Holmes and Marianne Faithful, and Notes On: Death is set to mark her breakthrough.

To be in with a chance to win Notes On: Death on CD, Simply answer this question:

What was the name of Petra Jean Phillipson’s first album, released in 2005?

Send your answers to competitions@southbankcentre.co.uk with the subject line ‘Petra’ by midday on 30 January

You can hear a few tracks from Notes On: Death, and buy tickets for the show here.

Here is a live version of Petra covering Nick Cave’s Into My Arms

Southbank Centre’s New Year’s Eve Party – Profile #5 The Nest Collective Stage

We Were Evergreen

We Were Evergreen recently supported Little Dragon at The Great Escape, Soko and The Wombats at Lovebox,  as well as tour supports for Charlie Simpson, Michael Kiwanuka and Ed Sheeran at The Q Awards.

The Parisian trio were born in 2008, after a new year’s resolution that, for once, actually stuck. Brought together by a shared fondness for all kinds of pop music and nursery rhymes, they tell stories of small trees growing too fast, of yodelling yaks and children flying south for the winter: stories of adolescence, of things lost, then found –then lost again.

The Krar Collective

Ethiopian desert band in the same vein as Group Doueh, The Krar Collective bring you dynamic sounds from different parts of Ethiopia and tribal traditions with a contemporary edge.

“I never expected to find this Ethiopian music gem hidden…the right balance between the rawness of their roots and the subtleties of their innovative spirit…I was really impressed.” Andy Morgan, manager of Tinariwen

Maia

Maia, formed in Autumn 2009, is a 4 piece alternative, acoustic band from Huddersfield playing all sorts of disco sci-fi folk pop on ukulele, cajon, trumpet, banjo, mandolin or whatever else is lying around! In 2010 they   supported Anais Mitchell, played their first festival, saw the M1, M2, M3, M4 and M62 what seemed like a million times, released an album in a wooden sleeve and got played on the Radio!

Highpoints this year include playing at the Unthanks end of tour Party in Hebden Bridge and being asked to play at the Cambridge Folk Festival. The Band are currently in the studio recording their second album for release in Autumn 2011.

You can buy tickets for New Year’s Eve Party at Royal Festival Hall by visiting our website.

Southbank Centre’s New Year’s Eve Party – Profile #4 Rachel Rose Reid’s Library Takeover

Other than being a huge party with loads of live music and DJs, Southbank Centre is also bringing you a lighter touch this New Year’s Eve.

Dubbed the Queen of the New Wave of storytellers by Ian McMillan, Rachel Rose Reid curates a spokenword takeover of the Poetry Library, swapping study desks and reading lists for comfy cushions and a feast of words.

RRR’s writing is well known for crossing genres, from rock festivals to theatre tours, from Burning Man to the BBC, so we’re delighted that her eclectic taste walks us through a handpicked selection of veterans and fresh faces of spokenword.

Rachel Rose Reid

Here is some more info about the artists performing at Rachel Rose Reid’s Library Takeover:

Anthony Anaxagorou has written and published several poetry books, toured the UK with MOBO award winning artist Akala, and worked closely with The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company

Nia Barge is a performance artist from Washington, D.C., now based in London. Her dynamic theatrical performances, dry wit and captivating storytelling never fail to make a mark.

Dizraeli, the hit of the UK Festival circuit with his band, The Small Gods, will be downstairs later in the evening with the incredible Bellatrix, but joins us in the library first for a little intimate unplugged poetry.

Katrice Horsley will become the UK’s Storytelling Laureate in 2012. She has over 300 worldtales in her repertoire, performing everywhere from folk festival fields to burlesque clubs with equal relish.

Adam Kammerling does rap. Adam does poetry. Often the two forms mesh together to create a monstrous and beautiful hybrid, like a Toxic Crusader.

Femi Martin is a Flash Fiction writer and performer from London. Through stories of 1000 words or less, she explores themes of love, loss, and need, on stages across the UK.

Jacob Sam-la Rose is published by Bloodaxe and Penguin. His poetry is bright, concise and full of fire. Ubiquitous on the scene; his passion for education and performance has taken him to the US, Malaysia, Finland and all over the UK.

Naomi Woddis‘ passionate and insightful work has been published by Flipped Eye, and she’s performed at National Gallery, O2 Wireless Festival and Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Stephanie Dogfoot has been a performance poet ever since she walked into the Vancouver Poetry Slam on a whim and got sucked in. Currently a Londoner, she is the winner of the 2010 Singapore National Slam Championship.

You can buy tickets for New Year’s Eve Party at Royal Festival Hall by visiting our website.

It is free to join the Saison Poetry Library, the loveliest literary hideaway in London.

Southbank Centre’s New Year’s Eve Party – And This Year’s Fancy Dress Theme Is…

Gods and Goddesses… Hollywood Glamour Across The Ages

It’s time to get your fancy-dress-head and start thinking of your costume ideas for this year’s New Year’s Eve Party. Get inspirations  from Marylin Monroe and Poseidon to Aphrodite and Ryan Gosling.

Or Marylin Monroe dressed as Aphrodite…

We can recommend Vintage clothes store Rokit, who are suitably equipped to cater for this year’s theme, they have stores across London and will be on hand for style tips and costume ideas in the lead-up to New Year’s Eve.

Share your ideas and join the conversation on our Facebook Page

Marylin Monroe & Arthur Miller