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Go See…Ian Siegal

Mar 9th, 2012 Leave a comment


Like every other genre of music the blues has developed significantly since its inception. One trait will always be prominent within the canon though- the need for heartfelt sincerity.

It’s the difference between those that can successfully bleed onto their guitar strings, and the people who can only hope to muster a feeble whine. In Ian Siegal’s case there’s little to deny the fact the award winning singer songwriter is as authentic as they come.

Which is part of the reason he’s the first UK musician to be nominated for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year at the Blues Music Awards 2012. That’s no mean feat in a global scene still dominated by N’awleans and the sounds of ‘the Delta’. But then the perseverance required for such an achievement is indicative of the man responsible.

A child of the seventies, Siegal dropped out of art-college towards the end of the following decade, and headed out to a Berlin in upheaval with the intention of busking. From here he returned to his homeland, began tirelessly gigging on the Nottingham circuit, and eventually progressed to dates across the UK, and then Europe, where he now shares main stages with the likes of Jamie Cullum and Joss Stone.

His last album, The Skinny, is arguably his finest yet, and thankfully there’s the opportunity to catch tracks from this, and the rest of his oeuvre, when he tours Britain this month. Shows will take place in Sheffield, Newcastle, York, London, Derby and Bury, amongst other towns and cities across the country, all of which will be well worth grabbing a ticket for. Full details below.

Ian Siegal UK Dates
14 Mar
LINCOLN Terry O’Toole Theatre
15 Mar
SHEFFIELD The Plug
17 Mar
NEWCASTLE The Cluny
18 Mar
NEWCASTLE The Cluny (matinee)
19 Mar
YORK Fibbers
20 Mar
MARYPORT Golden Lion
21 Mar
BILSTON Robin2
27 Mar
HIGH WYCOMBE Arts Centre
28 Mar
COLCHESTER Arts Centre
29 Mar
LONDON The Borderline
30 Mar
DERBY Flowerpot
31 Mar
BURY The Met

01 AprSCARBOROUGH Blues Festival

This post was written by Tim Osbourne.

Go See…Memoryhouse

Mar 5th, 2012 Leave a comment


Guelph, Southwest Ontario. Known as the ‘Royal City’, this town of 120,000 people is perhaps the most fitting place on Earth in which to find Evan Abeele and Denis Nuvion.

For starters this locality is rated in the Top 10 places to live in Canada-which is saying something considering the overwhelming cleanliness and natural beauty of said nation. Secondly, the residents are thought to be amongst the most educated in the country, and its streets are the safest.

As for the two musicians, known together as Memoryhouse, they create a rich aural tapestry that references dream pop, ambient electronica, and progressive rock. Think Explosions In The Sky melded with The Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and Air. For want of a better summary, it’s the kind of soundtack destined for some emotive piece of celluloid, suggesting love, peace, happiness, and, above all else, a life void of stress.

And that makes perfect sense. Their debut album, The Slideshow Effect, just arrived, and has earned them some critical praise in the right places. The title itself is a reference to a camera trick wherein pictures appear ‘animated’ thanks to a series of zooms and pans, giving life to that which was still. Furthermore, Abeele and Nuvion began their partnership as a duo that matched the former’s music with the latter’s short films and photography.

Suffice to say then their suitability for cinema and visual media is not accidental. Even now Memoryhouse regularly accompany their arrangements with video work when performing live, so we should expect something similar when they touch down for a British tour in March. Dublin, Manchester, Bristol, and London are all on the agenda, any of which should be highly worthwhile checking out, so for further details head Sub Pop online, the label carrying their work;

http://www.subpop.com/artists/memoryhouse

This post was written by Tim Osbourne

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