Thursday 24th April, London: Prescott and Monkey Puzzle Trio

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A double album launch for two fantastic bands on Slowfoot Records.

[b]MONKEY PUZZLE TRIO [/b]
[Charles Hayward, Viv Corringham, Nick Doyne-Ditmas]

[b]PRESCOTT [/b]
[Kev Hopper, Rhodri Marsden, Frank Byng].


[size=6]Gig info: [/size]

[size=6][url="http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/monkey-puzzle-trio-prescott-2014.shtm"]http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/monkey-puzzle-trio-prescott-2014.shtm[/url][/size]




Cafe Oto - a great venue




[url="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/260938#.Uwip3f0-Yy4"]http://www.wegottick...38#.Uwip3f0-Yy4[/url]

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Launch party to celebrate the release of two new albums on Slowfoot Records with performances from both bands.

[b]MONKEY PUZZLE TRIO - [/b]

A slowly evolving music project featuring This Heat drummer/lynchpin Charles Hayward, Pinski Zoo and Crackle bassist Nick Doyne-Ditmas and the words, voice and textures of avant-vocalist Viv Corringham, whose music walks a tightrope between song, improvisation and sound-as-sound.

Their music is driven by the restless energy, invention and power of Hayward’s drumming and underpinned by the languid and exploratory double bass playing of Doyne-Ditmas, to which Corringham adds, with the aid of a loop pedal, her unique collage of words and sounds…. Together they create a distinctive sound world which is exhilarating and immersive and relies on the sensitivity and experience of all three musicians.

'The Pattern Familiar' will be bands second album and sees them expanding on the blueprint laid down on their acclaimed debut 'White World', taking a short spell of studio improvisations and then carefully shaping the narrative of the material in their studio with edits and a few overdubs. On this set brass arrangements, written by the band, have been weaved into the material, complimenting Corringham's themes of loss and loneliness.

Press for 'White World' -

"An utterly impressive début, 'White World' is the exciting sound of three
musicians tuned perfectly to each other's sonic free-thinking." [Rock A Rolla]

"...fascinating and hypnotic music." [The Wire]

'...A lightness of rhythmic touch is the main character of these improvised
pieces.' [BBC online]

"Their debut was recorded in just four days and is one of the most mesmerizing
avant-jazz albums that Notion has heard for some time." [Notion]


[b]PRESCOTT - [/b]

Prescott is the brainchild of former Stump bassist, Kev Hopper. Hopper’s distinctive bass style was one of the most striking elements of Stump’s sound during the 1980s; since then he has produced numerous solo albums and more experimental work with the laptop quartet, Ticklish – but the all-instrumental Prescott signals a halt to Hopper’s, abstract, atmospheric electronica and a return to working with a full band.

In Prescott, he is joined by two formidable musicians. On keys is Rhodri Marsden, Scritti Politti member and indie veteran who worked on Kev’s 2001 album “Saurus”; on drums is Frank Byng [Snorkel, Crackle], a dynamic, prodigious musician who also runs Prescott’s label, Slowfoot. Frank’s groovy, funky, explosive drums, Rhodri’s precise keyboard work and Kev’s characteristic bass playing meet all the Prescott objectives: jabbing heteroclite riffs, circular rhythmic patterns, vibrating harmonic clashes, irregular note intervals, all contrasted with pockets of beautiful melody.

The band’s minimal approach has occasionally caused puzzlement at gigs when their strategy of ‘micro-riffing’ is deployed: playing a tiny portion of a track without variation for as long as they can hold their nerve. In an age where loops are commonplace it’s rare to find a band imitate a machine in a live context. “Play it till it feels uncomfortable”, Hopper has told the band. “Our time is different from the audience’s time”. Why would a band want to do that in the first place, you may ask? Well, it’s partly for fun, and partly as a tribute to the band’s namesake, the former honourable Member of Parliament for Hull East, known for his unintelligible conference speeches and bruising, bullish manner.

Funky beats and discordant riffs? Simple themes played a semitone apart? There are plenty of art-rock precedents; Palais Schaumberg, Can, Soft Machine and The Residents to name but a few. Prescott serve up their own, discrete take on the genre with their first recording, 'One Did' on Slowfoot Records.[/size][/color][color=#556677]
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Review of the new album in Prog magazine

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Unbelievably, I've never had a Basschatter at a single gig of mine despite putting ads up here for the past two years and inviting people left right and centre...but finally I know for sure one is coming this Thursday. At last!

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[color=#ff0000][size=8][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][b]TONIGHT[/b][/font][/size][/color]

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1398200206' post='2431668']
Unbelievably, I've never had a Basschatter at a single gig of mine despite putting ads up here for the past two years and inviting people left right and centre...but finally I know for sure one is coming this Thursday. At last!
[/quote]

London is far, far away! I've got the album pre-ordered though...

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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1398344402' post='2433189']
London is far, far away! I've got the album pre-ordered though...
[/quote]

Well, that's something! Thanks...