Nomadic Fish and Fusion Boutique Present:
THE CROOKED FIDDLE BAND
+ DVA (Czech Republic)
+ Special Guests – Vanessa Caspersz & Gaia Scarf (Blue Mountains)
Fri 1st May 2015
HOTEL GEARIN
Venue: HOTEL GEARIN
273 Great Western Hwy, Katoomba
Blue Mountains NSW 2780.
One Show Only – Don’t miss your chance to enjoy this unique musical experience!
The mesmerising and fiery acoustic 4-piece that is THE CROOKED FIDDLE BAND deliver high-energy Chainsaw Future-Folk. Post-Apocalyptic World Music. Celtic Energy. Swamp-Stomping Hoe down. Dance-Inciting Mayhem. Hardcore Gypsy Passion!
The Crooked Fiddle Band formed in 2006 through their mutual love of the energy and intensity of various traditional world music. Whilst writing and arranging, they discovered that this energy was shared by the other music they love: there seems to be a common thread between the frenetic accompaniment of gypsy, klezmer and punk rock; between the twisting rhythms of math-metal and balkan folk; between the clear tonalities of Scandinavian folk, Celtic folk, and cinematic post rock.
All these influences went into the mix, but what came out was The Crooked Fiddle Band. The sound they love is dark and often driving, but also writhing and ecstatic. They have jumped around with whirling crowds at festivals, bars and dirty warehouse parties throughout Europe and Australia and also played their more cinematic sounds in the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House.
From whirling dances to intense battle-scene climaxes, this four-piece spurs the dance floor into a post-apocalyptic hoe down.
This music they have sometimes called ‘chainsaw folk’ – even though they are pro-conservation – but others have called it “14th century Romanian metal”, “thrash folk”, “whirlwind gypsy” and even “what Sepultura would sound like if they provided the soundtrack to a hyperactive version of O Brother Where Art Thou.” So whilst the search continues for a name for their genre, they are mainly concerned with making music with melody, energy and intensity.
Driven by the beautiful and furious fiddling of Jess Randall (also on Lennart Lovdin Nyckelharpa), and underpinned by a rhythm section featuring Gordon Wallace (Gilet guitar, a Wheeler Customer Lutherie guizouki and a Fylde mandolin and cittern), Mark Stevens (double bass, Appalachian dulcimer, charango) and Joe Gould (drum kit, hand percussion, garbage bin, vocals) the Crooked Fiddle Band sound blasts, rocks and grooves to the point of dementia, compelling listeners into a joyous frenzy.
Their music has been described by Brian Eno as “…completely surprising: the music is original and quixotic. I can’t say I’ve ever heard anything else like it!”
“This band really is a national treasure and testament to the infinite talent that keeps manifesting in our backyard… this group have re-invented folk music as it is known… The Crooked Fiddle Band charmed the audience into submission.” – Vanessa Lahey, Australian Stage
“When The Crooked Fiddle Band took to the stage, it was as though someone had put 10,000 volts through the dance floor.” – BEAT magazine.
www.crookedfiddleband.com
www.facebook.com/
DVA (Hradec Králové / Pardubice / Czech Republic) create alt-pop-songs / kitchen beat box / tango / cabaret / cirkus / radionoise!
Operating in their own microcosm, DVA have stood out with an idiosyncratic sonic lexicon – “pop for non-existing radios” or “folklore of non-existing nations”, as they say. The duo – it takes two “dva” in Czech, to tango – Bára Kratochvílová and Jan Kratochvíl, have carved out a niche with their rich musical landscape. Established in 2006, the Czech project have toured the world, playing at esteemed festivals including SXSW, Eurosonic, Fusion or OFF, charming their growing global fan base with smart sophisticated pop. In 2012, DVA toured the US twice and played more than 80 concerts in 10 countries. DVA’s soundtrack for the computer game Botanicula scooped the main prize at Independent Games Festival awards in San Francisco last year, and was also nominated for the UK Sound & Music Awards.
DVA’s much-acclaimed debut album Fonók was released in 2008 which was followed by Hu in 2010, and an eponymous soundtrack for the aforementioned video game in 2013 with a new record Nipomo. Their lyrics, written in an imaginary language, remain abstruse, yet universally comprehensible, while the music is similarly peculiarly universal – an aural collage of “pop, kitchen beatbox, tango, cabaret, circus, radio noise”, bearing their unmistakable stamp – quirky, but accessible. Championed by critics – from the BBC to national and specialist music press and beyond – and fans alike, DVA are one of the most successful Czech bands to emerge in the last decade. Aside from music, they are also active in theatre whose features they have transferred into the music as well. It is not surprising then that the project’s seeds were sewn during the recording of the science fiction radio play by I. Asimov – Victory Unintentional. DVA are a living and breathing aural organism, its own thing.
www.2dva.cz
www.facebook.com/hudba2
Blue Mountains locals Vanessa Caspersz and Gaia Scarf will be opening up the evening with their own endearing and quirky blend of Jazz / Folk / Hip Hop / Beatbox.
“I like to pretend that I am a dj but only have my mouth and a ukulele” Vanessa Caspersz.
She holds an orchestra of drums, vocals and trumpet in her mouth, a ukulele in her hands and a loop pedal at her feet
Vanessa Caspersz is an up-and-coming artist from the Blue Mountains, home of Australian hip hop sensations Hermitude, Urthboy and Thundamentals. Starting off performing acoustically, Vanessa branched out into developing her beat boxing skills when she moved to London in 2011. She worked closely with well-established beat boxing artists Reeps One and Shlomo, and joined the London Contemporary Voices choir, incorporating vocal percussion into their performances and touring at festivals across the country. Beyond her tight beat boxing skills, Vanessa has a hauntingly striking voice and plays a mean ukulele that captivates her audience and brings her beats to life. She competed in both the UK and Australian beat box championships, and is currently performing and collaborating with various artists.
www.facebook.com/
www.youtube.com/user/
Doors Open 8:30pm.
Support Starts 9pm.
General Admission. Room configuration is a mix of cabaret seating and standing/dancing.
Tickets $15 pre-sale available NOW from:
KATOOMBA MUSIC, 140 Katoomba St, Katoomba, NSW 2780 (Cash Only)
Online $16.50 (Including booking fees):
www.trybooking.com/HDTG
$20 on the Door from 8:30pm Friday 1st May 2015 (Unless Sold Out)