Our weekly festival, every Tuesday at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden through the summertime with four-piece folk ensemble PicaPica, Leeds based genre-blending jazz group Kashu Sounds and ethereal singer songwriter Ed Begley.
PICAPICA
One for sorrow and two for joy. PicaPica features the vocal interplay of Josienne Clarke and Samantha Whates, dual front women who create powerful harmonies atop layers of texture created by Adam Beattie & Sonny Johns, a tiding of magpies picking shiny moments of tone and timbre from 60s west coast, sunshine pop and indie folk. Josienne and Samantha met on the London acoustic music scene several years ago and immediately shared a love of singing and writing. They have been unofficially collaborating for years, often singing backing vocals for each other’s projects or just singing harmonies together for the pure enjoyment of it.
PicaPica represents a long-held ambition to write, record and perform new material together and to join with like-minded musicians to explore what it’s like to be in a band. When writing, Josienne and Samantha (AKA “Pica One” & Pica Two”) take two versions of the same idea and the songs are built around that concept in various ways, they sometimes even have two titles for each song, one by Josienne, one by Samantha. Good music loves a contrast. Spring and shade, harmony and melody, brightness and deadpan... So do PicaPica. As writers, they compose songs that hold the sadness closer, yet let the joy fly higher. “Pica Three”, aka Adam Beattie, Scotland's king of soft-spoken chanson, brings gently morphing textures and detailed guitar playing to every bar, while “Pica Four” is Sonny Johns - a Grammy, Mercury and MOBO-nominated producer/engineer. Sonny’s bass playing and production give PicaPica's otherworldly compositions a seriously grounded sound.
This is music for memories that creep in under the door. Songs that wear their cares lightly, shining in the dark. Simply, beautiful, beguiling, elegant sounds.
KASHU SOUNDS
Joyfully and daringly playing with genre, Kashu provide an accomplished fusion of soul, groove-led blues & jazz-folk. Showcasing the creative song-writing of Olivia Bhattacharjee (Noya Rao), her powerful honey-drenched vocals underpin the group’s rich, undulating sound which will soothe and scintillate.
ED BEGLEY
Ed Begley is a songwriter and composer of genre crossing music that is both ethereal and haunting. Beautiful melody and lyrical content guide you through his sound world which occupies a very visual aesthetic. Ed has released several recordings as singer with the band Archivist, appeared on numerous other records as a featured vocalist and instrumentalist, written for television and short film and appeared as part of Bl!ndman [hybrid] quartet - responsible for the live soundscape to Ivo van Hove’s National Theatre production of Network starring Bryan Cranston. For this gig he will perform all new material in preparation for his upcoming album recording.
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Since our first season in 2013, our event at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden has always inspired audiences in a unique and thrilling way. This season of events captures the essence of a weekend rural festival in the centre of Dalston on a Tuesday evening.
The phenomenal surrounds of the garden combine with delicious pizzas from David Latto, and a supreme and ever-evolving roster of acts, to create a magical atmosphere which brings people together in a friendly and welcoming space.
It's a community of music-lovers joining to celebrate the warm months in a carefree and supportive atmosphere, with a compelling live soundtrack.
TICKETS
£7 Advance (until Friday 16th August)
£8 Last Minute
£11 Door
PLEASE NOTE that this is an outdoor concert which will go ahead regardless of the weather. Please bring appropriate clothing, including waterproofs if rain is forecast.