CAULBEARERS
Archaic funk fables and soul migrations. Bitter sweet songs of the self, soul and society played by an eight-piece, heavy-groove Manchester band.
Originally formed by friends and members of Hulme-based music collective, Single Cell, to bring the songs and ideas of producer/singer Damien Mahoney to the live stage.
Soon joined by Julie Gordon on vocals (RSL, Rae and Christian, Happy Mondays), the band developed a reputation for high-octane, incendiary live performances.
The current line up includes members of acts such as Cherry Ghost, The Earlies and Beats and Pieces Big Band.
Long overdue, and with a wealth of material to work on, Caulbearers are due to start recording their first album this month, with debut EP 'More Lie Deep released in 2011, and earlier contributions to the Single Cell compilation album 'Six Rivers'.
"If Grace Jones and Massive Attack were one being, it would sound like Caulbearers. Stay tuned or be left behind. A great gig followed by a better EP.”
Quenched Music
“Great music, delivered with real power and style”
George Monbiot, The Guardian
“Caulbearers are arguably Manchester’s best kept secret and deserve far more recognition than they currently enjoy. Melding folk, soul, jazz and a host of world music influences into a hypnotic and captivating soundscape; careening between haunting melancholy and upliftingly funky from song to song, we could talk about them all day but the only word that truly applies is mind-blowing”
JAM magazine 2011, issue 2.
“A beguiling, bittersweet soul-funk maelstrom that sweeps through Sly And The Family Stone, The Specials and Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions; a band spinning musical plates with remarkable, dextrous ease: cross-stitching genres, assimilating myriad influences, improvising segments at will” David Sue, Manchester Evening News
ALABASTER DE PLUME
“You know when you’re ugly
You don’t always know you’re stupid”
Alabaster dePlume delights in his own confusion.
He embraces it. It makes him look a bit pretentious, sometimes, but in the end, it is deeply sincere.
He seems to feel he ought to share certain things, just in case everyone else was just too afraid to mention it first.
He’s been described as “Harrowingly funny.”
He works with Debt Records in his hometown Manchester, has toured Germany and France, and performs around the UK in festivals, bars and concert halls, such as Band on the Wall in Manchester.
Alabaster will be accompanied by John Ellis, Ellis Davies and Paddy Steer. "I had to keep laughing or I think my heart would've exploded" - one audience member on Alabaster's full ensemble show.
DENIS JONES AND THE PICKPOCKET NETWORK
Denis Jones is a self-taught guitarist and songwriter from Lancashire, UK. Having begun his musical life as a singer-songwriter in the classic UK mould of the likes of John Martyn, he has over the last three years developed a show-stopping live performance based around the core of his exceptional and unique guitar-playing style and rich, soulful voice. Utilising a loop station and all manner of samplers and effects, Denis creates vast, complex orchestrations of beat-box rhythms, multi-layered vocals and other-wordly sounds which veer from subtle heart-wrenching folk and blues to heavy bass-driven electronica.
Denis has collaborated with many high profile artists from all over Europe. He has worked with John Ellis and Luke Flowers (Cinematic Orchestra), Jon Thorne (Lamb), Matt Halsall (Gondwana Records) and Henry Da Massa (Micah P Hinson), all of whom appear on Denis’s recordings. He has played as far afield as Lithuania, Georgia and Croatia, as well as festival shows in the UK including Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury, End of The Road, Great Escape, Big Chill and Futuresonic. He has supported Amp Fiddler at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Efterklang at Bush Hall, Chris Corsano, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid and many more.
His performance at Futuresonic in May 2008 resulted in an invitation for Denis to be the inaugural member of the new Futuresonic artist development program, FuturesFamily, which culminated in a specially curated performance at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester for 2009’s Futuresonic festival alongside Murcof and Johann Johannsson.
Denis’s debut album, Humdrum Virtue, was released in 2007 in a unique limited edition industrial packaging, designed by Denis himself, selling out rapidly and leading to the re-issue of the album in a slightly more conventional, but still striking packaging. Tracks from the album have been included on compilations in Europe and Canada.
Denis's second album, "Red + Yellow=" is out now, along with a limited edition 10" vinyl EP including remixes by Graham Massey (808 State) and Paddy Steer (Homelife).
Joining Denis for MIX-UP is The Pickpocket Network with who he has been regularly collaborating, writing new material and joining him for many of his more recent live performances.
“Scuzzy Mancunian blues at it’s richest and, most intriguing.”
The Guardian
“Logical, eardrum-massaging, heart-stirring sonic harmony”
Drowned In Sound
“There’s something about his willingness to experiment, his bravery and risk-taking that makes him stand slightly aside from the now dissolving world of folktronica”
Boomkat
ABOUT MIX-UP:
Mix-Up is a monthly night hosted by The Magic Hat Ensemble, which as the name suggests features three musical acts across different styles and forms.
Held on the first Thursday of the month at The Klondyke Club in Levenshulme (1 Burnage Range, third road on the left from Levenshulme Station off Albert Road, walking towards Burnage – call 0161 224 4122) the night promises to offer three quality bands, all for a measly fiver.
Mix-Up is a cracking night of live music featuring the cream of Manchester’s music scene. We will soon be confirming further acts for future nights.
You can keep up to date with who’s playing and when on our websitehttp://www.mixupmcr.com/
Please, please show your support for the night by joining our Mix-Up Facebook group. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Magic-Hat-Ensemble-presents-Mix-Up/177181375690177
It will be great to see some familiar faces and hopefully some unfamiliar ones on the night.
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