THE STABLES
FOLK & WORLD LISTINGS OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2012
Box Office: 01908 280800 Book online:
www.stables.org
The Stables, Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, MK17 8LU
Mugenkyo
Tuesday 2 October,
8pm
Tickets ?17, ?19
Thundering rhythms on
huge taiko drums interweave with layers of percussive soundscapes and
delicate bamboo flute in a spellbinding display of precise choreography and
sheer athleticism. Through years of rigorous touring as Europe?s leading
taiko drum group, Mugenkyo have developed a gritty passionate style that is
uniquely their own, retaining the traditional spirit of taiko yet creating a
contemporary sound and a modern stage show that has captivated audiences
everywhere?
?Drumming as an almost religious experience? Exhilarating to behold."
The Glasgow Herald
Krar Collective
In association with Making Tracks
Sunday 7 October, 8pm
Tickets ?12.50, students ?9.50
Led by Temesgen
Zeleke, a former star pupil of Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke, Krar
Collective perform a rootsy yet contemporary take on traditional music from
Ethiopia based on other-worldly modes and driven by hypnotic rhythms. The 6-stringed
krar lyre is associated with the azmari minstrel tradition; in the hands of
Zeleke it becomes a gritty, ancient rock guitar. Accompanied just by drums
and fronted by the stunning, soaring voice of Genet Assefa, Krar Collective
create a surprisingly big sound, leading one critic to name them ?The
Ethiopian White Stripes?. With a varied repertoire from gentle ballads to
high-energy dance tunes, Krar Collective are set to surprise and delight.
"Krar Collective rock." fRoots
MEAL DEAL
For and additional ?13 per person you can sample A Taste Of East Africa
(vegetarian options available) served in Caf? in2. Please go to
www.stables.org for menu details. Book in advance through the Box Office to
reserve your table.
Bollywood Brass Band & Rafaqat Ali Khan
Wednesday 17 October,
8pm
Tickets ?16.50
Bollywood meets Brass
meets Bhangra! The Bollywood Brass Band is the UK's pioneering Indian-style
wedding band, playing the great tunes and compulsively danceable rhythms of
the most popular music in the world. Wielding saxophones, tabla, dhol drums
and a colossal sousaphone, the BBB are one of the most colourful, joyful and
exhilarating acts around. Six hot horns and four funky drummers blend the
hottest Hindi film hits with riotous Indian wedding music and Punjabi beats.
The band offer a uniquely London take on the world?s most popular
music, plus video projections from the original Bollywood films, and they?ve
travelled the world, taking their colourful carnivalesque act to over 25
countries along the way.
?A sensory assault that oozed good humour and sent people noisily into the
night.? Evening Standard
MEAL DEAL
For an additional ?13 per person you can enjoy Curry Night here at The
Stables (vegetarian options available) served in Caf? in2. Please go to
www.stables.org for menu details. Book in advance through the Box Office to
reserve your table.
The Old Dance School
Thursday 18 October,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Birmingham's cinematic
septet unleash their duelling fiddles, soaring brass crescendos, wind and
vocal harmonies and earth-shattering grooves in a genre-busting live show
that leaves audiences breathless. Their 2008 debut Based on a True Story was
championed by BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris and five years, 50,000 miles,
many dozen festivals and several trips to A & E later, their breakthrough
album Forecast delivered a startling take on contemporary folk that is both
firmly rooted and unashamedly forward-thinking.
"Classical quality, jazz imagination, folk sensibility, rock/roots
energy... Masterful." The Scotsman
Blair Dunlop
Sunday 21 October,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Initially it looked
like Blair Dunlop would make acting his profession, but music took a hold of
the lad and while still at school he played both the Cheltenham Folk Festival
and the Big Session festival. For the next few years nothing stopped his
progress as he appeared at big festivals in England and abroad. Last summer
his second EP Bags Outside The Door was released, containing a number of fine
songs and instrumentals and in February he appeared at the BBC Folk Awards as
a nominee for the Young Folk Award. Blair is 20 years old.
"A star in the making." Chris While
The Eliza Carthy Band
Supported by Waterson & Oliver
Sunday 28 October,
8pm
Tickets ?18
Musician, singer,
producer, multi-award winner and scion of a UK folk royal family, Eliza
Carthy is one of the UK?s pre-eminent modern musicians. On Eliza?s
latest album Neptune (which Eliza and her band tour tonight) they propose a
new style of modern British music. The style is aggressive and the strings
play hard. Drums, bass, Hammond, accordion, fiddle, guitar, cello, piano? The
performance is visceral, emotional, exciting and full-on.
?Effortlessly confident, wildly varied and almost impossible to
categorise. Magnificent.? The Guardian
Horses Brawl
Tuesday 30 October,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Horses Brawl?s fresh
approach to folk hints at minimalism, free-improvisation and tradition. Unearthing
fragments of lost or forgotten tunes, they reinvigorate them to create
spellbinding new pieces. They?ve toured widely throughout the UK and appeared
on BBC Radio 3?s Late Junction, In Tune and The Early Music Show. Their
latest release Ruminantia has received excellent reviews. Horses Brawl are
Laura Cannell (fiddles and recorders) and Andre Bosman (Indian Harmonium,
guitar and acoustic bass guitar).
?Suffused with a bleak beauty? A powerful and absorbing experience.?
Songlines
Thea Gilmore
Thursday 1 November, 8pm
Tickets ?18.50
We are lucky to have
musicians like Thea Gilmore, musicians that want more from themselves and
more from music than some pre-formed, whistle-friendly cud. Gilmore is that
rare creature, an actual adult with a heart and a soul, a real person
tackling the issues real people deal with every day. Unlike the rest of us,
she tackles those issues with an utterly beautiful voice and songs that touch
on folk, jazz, rock and Americana. Bruce Springsteen buys her records, and
artistes ranging from Martha Wainwright to Mike Scott seek to collaborate
with her.
Antonio Forcione
Saturday 3 November, 8pm
Tickets ?17.50
Multi-award winning,
genre-bending guitarist-composer Antonio Forcione releases his new album
Sketches of Africa in 2012. Inspired by recent tours throughout Africa, the
new album showcases his compositions with local musicians who, together,
evoke a joyous, spiritually beguiling homage to a continent still going
through immense change. His first album in five years, Sketches of Africa is
eagerly awaited by the legion of fans Antonio has built up over twenty years
of composing, performing and thrilling audiences all over the world.
?One of the great acoustic guitarists.? The Guardian
Ralph McTell
Sunday 4 November, 8pm
Tickets ?21
Ralph McTell is an
English singer/songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an
influential figure on the UK folk scene since the 1960s. He is probably best
known for the song Streets of London which has been covered by over a hundred
artists around the world. From Clare to Here has proved almost as popular
during a recording and performing career that?s still evolving.
Melingo
In association with Making Tracks
Wednesday 7 November, 8pm
Tickets ?12.50, students ?9.50
Sad, funny, intense, bizarre,
fascinating? Welcome to Melingo?s wry Bohemian universe - a fabulous, boozy,
theatrical milieu where Tolstoy, Kafka, Piaf, Brecht, Waits and Cohen might
find solace. Melingo walks the streets sniffing out poetry like a bloodhound,
dances like a whip and sings like a scar. He studied at a Conservatoire but
retains little of that institution, having spent the early 80s celebrating
the sex, drugs and rock ?n? roll lifestyle and playing reggae, funk and rock.
In the 90s he discovered the musical roots of his home country - tango. His
deep grouchy voice and vividly sparse music well up from the world of tango
in its early days, conjuring up undiscovered romanticism with the grating,
Dada-like echo of a world stumbling on its last legs. A true tango original!
"The man who makes Tango seriously cool!" The Independent
MEAL DEAL
For an additional ?13 per person you can enjoy A Taste of Argentina
(vegetarian options available) served in Caf? in2. Please go to
www.stables.org for menu details. Book in advance through the Box Office to
reserve your table.
Blackheart
Thursday 15 November,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Blackheart are the
pioneering art-house folk duo that is taking the acoustic scene by storm.
Their music defies categorisation, combining acoustic instruments and the
voice of Chrissy Mostyn with effects, atmospherics and electronica to create
a unique blend of intelligent acoustic rock. They create songs with
piercingly sharp observations, beautifully crafted lyrics and powerfully
driven melodies. In their four years together they have begun making waves
with their songs used on major TV commercials, featuring as Radio 2 Spotlight
Song twice and major tours.
"Taking the acoustic scene by storm." BBC UK
Heliopause
Friday 16 November,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Derived from folk and
singer-songwriter acoustic styles, the music of Heliopause has developed into
the realms of subtle pop, creating epic soundscapes with elements of
electronic backing tracks, soaring ethereal vocals, guitars and catchy
melodies. Their personal, heartfelt style of songwriting constantly evolves.
Sometimes a whispered word can be the loudest sound. The music of Heliopause
reflects the ebb and flow of the tides, as layer upon layer combines to make
a perfect sound forever.
Fred?s House
Saturday 24 November,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Fred's House are an
indie-folk quartet from Cambridge who are influenced by the likes of Simon
and Garfunkel, Dry the River and The Magic Numbers. The band has received
airplay on BBC 6 Music, several live sessions on BBC Radio (Eastern Counties)
and BBC Introducing. Fred?s House are enjoying a busy festival period
including appearances at the Acoustic Festival of Britain, Cambridge Folk
Festival, Secret Garden Party and Bestival to name just a few. Their second
EP Looking Glass is out now.
?One of the brightest sparks on the Cambridgeshire music scene.? Hunts
Post
Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman
Friday 30 November,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Two of the British folk scene?s most accomplished performers, Kathryn and
Sean join us with a new album, Hidden People, bringing their mix of
traditional, self-penned songs and covers back to the stage. They?ve graced
stages the world over in a number of guises, however, the intimacy and
strength of passion shown as a duo, combined with an eclectic repertoire
ensures a rare treat. With a story that includes music making with Seth Lakeman,
Cara Dillon, Levellers, Kate Rusby and Show of Hands, Kathryn and Sea have
established themselves as pillars of modern British folk.
Moulettes
Thursday 6 December,
8.45pm Stage 2
Tickets ?10 in advance, ?12 on the door
Moulettes are an
alt.folk-rock band and have just released their second album, The Bear?s
Revenge. Moulettes? charismatic, idiosyncratic brand of modern folk music
?incorporating elements of prog and alt.rock, pop and classical ? bewitched
the crowds at Glastonbury, Bestival, Larmer Tree and Latitude where they
played the BBC?s Late Junction stage. The album has been garnering
airplay from legends of British broadcasting including Bob Harris, Lauren
Laverne and Cerys Matthews, and has received very good reviews indeed.
?The best music I saw at Latitude was by Moulettes.? The Independent
Koshka - Russian Winter, Gypsy Fire
Wednesday 12 December, 8pm
Tickets ?14.50
Gypsy super-trio
Koshka bring a seasonal flavour from Russia this December. Their
vibrant, enthralling gypsy music, combining conservatoire rigour with sheer,
dazzling gypsy flair (plus more than a touch of wit and innovation) is
interspersed with tales and anecdotes giving an insight into the traditions
of winter and Christmas in their native Russia. Koshka are breathtaking musicians,
with a truly unique sound as their fiddles dance with the utmost precision
and soar with stirring passion.
?Quite simply, this could be the finest violin you ever hear in your
life.? Washington Post
FOLK & WORLD LISTINGS OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2012
Box Office: 01908 280800 Book online: www.stables.org
The Stables, Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, MK17 8LU