Cafe Thing are based at Antenna Studios (Bowyers Yard, Haynes Lane, Crystal Palace, SE19 3AN London) and are an event led café whose name – “café thing” can be traced to Iceland, where the first democratic public meeting places were formed. With no political (or religious) affiliations, the café centres offers somewhere for the local community and beyond to eat, drink, talk, relax, work and play.
This Friday 14th June (from 20:00) sees a great event featuring Folk Radio UK favourites: The Great Park along with Nathaniel Robin Mann (Dead Rat Orchestra) & Dubious Caesar…
The Great Park
THE GREAT PARK is Stephen Burch, an English songwriter currently based in Germany.
He began making music whilst living on a remote farm in rural Ireland – using acoustic guitars, the family’s piano, brooms and chains. His lyrical, narrative songs bear the influence of the fields of County Cork and the old streets of Berlin. Images of persecution abound, songs of urgent travel and a search for home – the unifying theme is that of grave drama within ‘The Great Park’.
Stephen has played over 150 concerts each year for the past several years – touring Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Denmark and the UK. He has released over 12 albums on the DIY label Woodland Recordings, a compilation through the German label Timezone, has provided music for several films and his songs have been covered on releases by Liz Green, The Sons of Noel And Adrian, Thirty Pounds of Bone and others.
He likes rooms with echo, train journeys, trams and girls on bicycles.
Nathaniel Robin Mann
Nathaniel Mann aka Animateddog is perhaps better know as one third of the UK’s finest performance outfit Dead Rat Orchestra. Described as ‘unconventional, traditional, highly liberal and subversive’ (Sam Lee ‘Nest Collective’) his solo explorations chart diverse realms; from of the folk vernacular to the best of disney show tunes. Tipping his cap along the way from to everyone from Jacques Brel to Saul Williams, Mike Waterson to Nina Simone. From her darkest dirges to her lighter shades of puerile pop.
Nathaniel’s first performance at the Café Thing last year was complete with a tree trunk, meat cleaver and a beautiful cover of The Owl & The Pussy Cat. They’re super excited to have him back.
Dubious Caesar
Straight out of Crystal Palace & Brixton, Dubious Caesar (Alex & Evan) describe their sound as ‘Heart of Darkness Nuclear Folk,’ a traditional folk sound merged with rhythms inspired by contemporary dance music.
Facebook Event Page
http://cafething.tumblr.com/
www.thegreatpark.co.uk
nathanielmann.co.uk
dubiouscaesar.bandcamp.com