SUNDAY 24 JUNE
6-11.00pm

[no.signal] @ state51 warehouse
8-10 Rhoda St
E2 7EF London
(off Bricklane - cross Bethnal Green)
Tube: Liverpool St/Bethnal Green
Buses: 8, 388, 26, 149, 48, 76...

Door tax: £5 in adv (via online booking form)

An afternoon/evening of Avant-Folk and avant-weirdness with solos, duos and collective with:
ES
FURSAXA
SHARRON KRAUS
ANAHITA

ES - 91: 11-12

ES

ES is the solo recording name of Fonal boss Sami Sänpäkkilä - tagged as 'Experimental Songcycles' by The Wire's David Keenan - and one of the main figures in contemporary Finnish free folk mouvement. Sami is not only a musician but also filmaker. Sami has created 15 short films and music videos which have been screened in various museums, art gallerys and film festivals around the world. The films and the music are 5-30 minute experimental moodscapes that explore the themes of melancholy, pathos and hope. Es has perfomed across North America and Europe at various festivals including Sonar 2005, Subcurrent (with Fursaxa) and Itsenäisyysyö at the famous B2 club in Moscow.

www.escycle.com

FURSAXA - LIVE AT THE HALL MALL IOWA CITY

FURSAXA

Fursaxa is TAra Burke. Formerly a member of the Silbreeze band UN, TAra started her Fursaxa project in 1999 after UN disbanded. After being a long time resident of Philadelphia, TAra decided to leave the "city of brotherly love" for the touring life. So from April 2005-April 2006 she toured extensively throughout the UK, the USA, and Europe with friends and fellow musicians Jack Rose, Sharron Kraus, Alexander Tucker, Christina Carter, Marcia Bassett, and the Spires that in the Sunset rise, to name a few. For her live performances she uses mostly looped vocals, flutes, and percussion, a casio keyboard, guitar, and mandolin, in an attempt to transport her audience into the ethereal realms. On her brand new album "Alone in the Dark Wood" she employs a myriad of instruments such as mandolin, guitar, violin, banjo, balalaika, organ, bells, flute, percussion, and voice. This album was recorded and mixed in Finland and Pennsylvania. Tara has recently been collaborating with several other musicians. Espers member Helena Espvall and TAra have a duo called Anahita, and will release "Arcana en Cantos" on the Deserted Village label from Ireland later this year. And solo musician Sharron Kraus and TAra have a duo called Tau Emerald and have plans to release music in 2007. And in September of 2006 Fursaxa was part of "The Valerie Project", which is a live soundtrack for the 1970 Czech film "Valerie and her Week of Wonders". Currently, Fursaxa is playing and recording her music in the rural hills of Pennsylvania

www.fursaxa.net

SHARRON KRAUS

British folk artist singing dark folk songs for the new millennium.

The Big Takeover
With a voice like a younger Joan Baez, Sharron Kraus' second album begins with a hop and a skip up a "Gallow's Hill" and perhaps a murder between lovers. ... a delicate record that grows in depth with each listen. Play at night by yourself at your own risk.

Simon Lewis, Ptolemaic Terrascope
Like the dusty book of fairy tales that so enchanted me as a child this album has the power to transport you to a different realm. Full of haunting tales each song displays passion and maturity throughout, the music and lyrics creating an absorbing and enchanting whole where not a moment is wasted.

Jeff Penczak, Fake Jazz
Rating: 10 / 12
Kraus' gorgeously crystalline voice [is] perhaps one of the clearest, sweetest, and most lilting instruments in the current female folk canon.

Gerald Van Waes, Psyche Van Het Folk
Rating: ****
Sharron Kraus shows here the dark side of old folk music. [Her voice] reaches a kind of emotional depth which is only rarely heard. The varied acoustic (string instrument and acoustic guitars or banjo) accompaniment makes the listening pleasure complete, an enthralling experience. This is very rich music showing different aspects of feelings and expressions with each listen. Now I consider it already as a classic. Highly recommended!

Sue Foreman, Nightshift Magazine
Forget hardcore doom metal, folk music has always had the closest relationship with death, its causes and effects. … Sharron Kraus has always hovered around the bleaker side of folk and this latest full-length album sets its stall out from the start. 'Gallows Song / Gallows Hill' finds blood-fed trees flourishing on the hill where the protagonist finds her lover swinging from a rope, eyes popping from his skull, a haunting, banjo-led melody gently circling overhead like so many ravens. ... Stylistically, Sharron sinks her roots into classic folk traditions, although there is a rich seam of Appellation (sic) folk running through many of the songs. For the most part she captures your imagination and comforts the listener in her rustic storytelling.

www.sharronkraus.com

ANAHITA

Anahita is the new project of Tara Burke (Fursaxa) and Helena Espvall-Santoleri (Espers)

"The two women behind Anahita should be familiar to those reading this. Tara Burke and Helena Espvall-Santoleri work seamlessly together here, both of their voices mixing and swelling in a loose field populated by cello, accordion, guitar (both forward and gleefully reversed), and other accents of warm noise. This kind of an album is just pure comfort for me. It conjures up a special mood that I simply want to stay in for as long as possible. It feels like the freshness of spring, or the meditative space of plants. At times, the whole thing seems to be breathing, which is a wonderful treat." Foxy Digitalis

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