We reviewed a great little venue a while back called The Rude Shipyard, which can be found tucked away in Sheffield. They have a great gig lined up for this Wednesday 22nd September featuring Rowan Coupland and Animal Magic Tricks.
Rowan Coupland’s Thorns, brambles, white water and Black Oak is the latest in Willkommen Records’ sterling roster of esoteric alt-folk. Coupland, a former clarinettist in Sons of Noel and Adrian, marks his debut with a swirling mixture of violins, woodwind, rasping gospel choirs and guitars like the desert. Coupland’s impressive vocals dominate the first three tracks, a suite of songs that run around the repeated motif ‘we will not run up to heaven’. On the second half of the record he shares the microphone in a series of duets. It is appropriate that the record be sung in tandem as really all the songs are imagined dialogues- with the sky, death, birth, the depths of winter, murderous lovers by the water, prisoners and newly born babies.
The record was conceived in the Sussex woodland and much of it was sung out, then and there, in the woods, only to be remembered and recorded later. The results are a wonderful and schizophrenically melodious offering which jumps from place to place like a mountain goat only slowing down to linger over a dusty lyric. As such, Thorns, brambles, white water and Black Oak is an extension of Coupland’s personality in the way that all the best art should be. A nomadic creative, Coupland follows his restless muse wherever it takes him both literally and philosophically. This is a very Modernist take on the troubadour tradition and brings to mind the deep spirituals of Robbie Basho or Panda Bear’s Young Prayer album mainlined through a magical, pastoral Albion.
BIO : ROWAN COUPLAND
Rowan Coupland is a multi instrumentalist borne out of Brighton’s thriving alt. folk scene. Aside from playing with the acclaimed Sons of Noel and Adrian and Mary Hampton, he has built a reputation as a stunning solo performer- jutting between guitar, harp, and his soaring gospel voice. September sees the release of his debut CD on Willkommen Records, Thorns, Brambles, white water and Black Oak; after having been involved with the Collective for over three years, Coupland flouted the convention for sharing musicians by playing everything on the record himself. The UK tour with Animal Magic Tricks, in support of Rowan’s EP, follows a Europe-wide tour during the summer months.
BIO : ANIMAL MAGIC TRICKS
Animal Magic Tricks a.k.a Frances Laura Donnelly is an experimental artist currently living in Brighton. Her performances mesh samples, electric guitar, singing, found sound and keyboard into a bewitching bridge between improvisation and the pop standard. Frances’ textural and joyful music has gained her much attention from both the Fence and Willkommen Collectives, and following the release of a split LP with King Creosote she completed exciting tours of France and Germany. More recently, Frances has been working on a commissioned piece for Brighton’s Early Music Choir, and the recording of a new LP, ‘Sex Acts’ to be released in November on Edinburgh’s Song By Toad label.
Venue details and tickets:
Date: Wed 22 Sept @ 8.00pm
89 Abbeydale Road, S7 1FE, 0114 2589653
tickets £5 advance from www.wegottickets.com and The Rude Shipyard
Rowan Coupland:
www.myspace.com/rowancoupland/
Animal Magic Tricks:
www.myspace.com/animalmagictricks