Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company - "Solera"

Peter Anderson • Apr 13, 2024

Flamenco guitarist, composer and producer Paco Peña and his company return to Sadler’s Wells Theatre with Solera from Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 April, following its acclaimed run in 2022. Paco Peña, supported by his friend, theatre director, Jude Kelly CBE for the piece’s dramaturgy, explores artistic wisdom and the fearlessness of youth in search for new expression.


Paco Peña and Jude Kelly CBE started working together twenty years ago, when they created Voces y Ecos. Other projects include A Compás! and Flamenco sin Fronteras, a study of flamenco forms at the turn of the twentieth century, when Spanish performers arriving in South America discovered a folklore reminiscent of their own musical traditions. With Solera, the duo collaborates again to tell the story of love and respect of the flamenco way of life.


The solera system, from Andalucía in Southern Spain, is a process for aging wine by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. The purpose for this is the maintenance of a reliable style and quality of the beverage over time.


The word “solera” means “on the ground” in Spanish and refers to the lower level of the set of barrels used in the process; the liquid is traditionally transferred from barrel to barrel, top to bottom. Echoing this method, Peña’s spectacle presents a history of flamenco tradition – handed down from one generation to the next whilst finding its own new means of expression.


Paco Peña said: “The shows I present on stage always tend to follow a familiar journey: finding a meaningful idea, finding a title, in a word or two, that might contain the essence of that idea; then giving shape to it, in rehearsals with all my colleagues. And finally, with much trepidation, stepping on the stage to share it with the audience."


"I have to say that in all the years I have been taking that journey I have never experienced anything like the outburst of emotion from all the artists as we came off the stage on the opening night of ‘Solera’, in 2022 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre … there was not a dry cheek among us – and that was at the interval.”


Solera features young and mature artists – dancers, musicians and singers. 81-year-old guitar virtuoso Peña performs side by side Dani de Morón, a wonderful and innovative young exponent of the flamenco guitar, as well as with dancers Angel Muñoz, a long-time participator, Adriana Bilbao and Brazilian dancer Gabriel Matías, who specialised in flamenco in Madrid.


True to the art form’s spirit of community, the dancers’ feet connect with the ground to combine with the sounds of percussion, guitar and song as the ensemble come together to present both traditional and original live music. Solera runs at Sadler's Wells from Wednesday 17th April – Saturday 20th April. For tickets and further information please contact the ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com

OFFICIAL ALTERNATIVE GREAT ESCAPE STAGE

By Peter Anderson • 15 May, 2024
Impressive PR take over Brighton's Secret Comedy Club 42 Brighton Square, tomorrow to showcase music acts from all over the world. As part of The Great Escape, a festival for new music, showcasing 500 emerging artists from all over the world in 30+ walkable venues across the city and a pop-up festival site on Brighton Beach. It’s the first place to discover your new favourite artist and see them in an intimate setting before they go on to headline major festival stages. 12:00-12:25 Marissa Burwell (Canada) It doesn’t take long to get to know Marissa. In her blindingly personal work, Burwell writes about childhood, love, vertigo, and snow. With her captivating warm vocals and sharp prose, she effortlessly weaves an enchanting indie sound that flows between folk and rock, traversing sensuous melodies to exhilaratingly raucous moments. Hailing from the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, she made her remarkable debut with a self-titled EP in 2019. The overwhelmingly positive response to her EP opened doors to international opportunities and in 2022 Marissa proudly unveiled her debut full-length album, “Bittersweet”, which showcased her warm, summery voice and wry wit beneath its indie-folk exterior. She has graced the stage at renowned events like Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival, the New Colossus Festival in NYC, and multiple Canadian festivals including Breakout West, NXNE, Pop Montreal and SXSW. Burwell’s latest EP Either Way, released via Devil Duck Records features the clearest synthesis of Burwell’s spectrum of musical sensibilities yet with moments of warm musical tones featuring thick harmonies wrapped around guitars and gentle drumbeats while other moments showcase cathartic bursts of alternative rock, erupting in dizzying crescendos of hammering pianos. https://marissaburwell.com/ https://www.facebook.com/marissaburwellmusic 12:40 - 1:05 No Windows (Scotland) No Windows:The award-winning Edinburgh-based duo comprised of Verity Blossom (vocals/songwriting) and Morgan Morris (production/songwriting) fuse DIY, folk and classic pop on their second EP Point Nemo released on Fat Possum. Taking its name from the location farthest away from land in the world, the five track EP evokes wintry isolation, and marks a significant step forward for the duo, taking inspiration from the expansive sound-worlds of Elliott Smith and Cocteau Twins, their Scottish peers Cloth and Jacob Alon, and a shared musical curiosity that is all their own. The effortless musical chemistry comes from the tight relationship at its core as Verity and Morgan – now 19 and 18 – met as young teenagers at school in Edinburgh, after Morgan came across Verity – in the year above – who shared videos online of her singing. They quickly established a friendship and an artistic bond, with Verity adding her emotionally charged lyrics to Morgan’s bedroom recordings. https://fatpossum.com/collections/no-windows 1:20 - 1:45 HMS Morris (Wales) HMS Morris: are a bilingual, award-winning, female-fronted art-rock four-piece from Cardiff, Wales. Supported by the esteemed Bubblewrap Collective (Georgia Ruth, Boy Azooga, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzzard, Sweet Baboo), they've already released two critically acclaimed albums, Interior Design and Inspirational Talks, both Welsh Music Prize nominees and variously described as ‘Innovative, forward thinking pop music’ (Earthly Pleasures), ‘strange and beautiful music’ (Electronic Sound) and a 'multi-dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound' (Clash)’. https://hmsmorris.com/ 2:00 - 2:25 Hotel Mira (Canada) Hotel Mira: is a Canadian alt-rock band who are fresh from a string of stellar shows at SXSW. The band released their new single “Waste Away at the end of April via Light Organ Records. The quartet comprises of LA based charismatic front man and songwriter Charlie Kerr, guitarist Clark Grieve, Mike Noble on bass and drummer Cole George. While building off the sharp, indie pop hooks, Hotel Mira are exploring their widest set of sounds yet, vaulting from neon-trashy garage rock to festival-sized pop hooks and glam-bop balladry. Live Charlie performs in a way that feels uniquely part Iggy Pop, part go-go dancer, and part fourth wall breaking experimental theatre. He tells a story to the crowd through his masterful lyrics, hip-swaying melodies, and attentiveness to his audience that makes each person in the venue feel special. Mike, Cole and Clark provide a sweeping soundscape that makes it impossible not to be swept away in the melodrama and passion of each song they play. The band has supported many acts including Billy Talent, Fizzy Blood, The Beaches and Frank Lero (My Chemical Romance), and carried out multiple headlining tours of their own. https://www.facebook.com/hotelmiramusic/ https://www.instagram.com/hotelmiramusic/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@hotelmira https://www.hotelmiramusic.com/ 2:40 - 3:05 Asha Jefferies (Australia) Asha Jefferies: Hails from the Northern Rivers in Australia but raised in Brisbane, her debut album Ego Ride released in April this year, through Nettwerk Music Group. The album speaks to an audience of listeners searching for moments of self-reflection and authenticity. To date, Asha Jefferies has toured with and supported acts including Julia Jacklin, Stella Donnelly, and has played notable Australian festival slots at BIGSOUND, Icebreaker Festival, Against the Grain, Bluesfest, Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals. 3:20 - 3:45 My Life Story (England) My Life Story: are epic pop pioneers headed up by charismatic frontman, Jake Shillingford who released their fifth studio album ‘Loving You Is Killing Me’ in February via Exilophone Records/Republic Of Music. This follows their last critically acclaimed album ‘World Citizen’ released in 2019. The new album discusses themes of empathy, profaneness, vaingloriousness, coercive behaviour and naturism. The record, published by Mute Song, has been written and produced by Jake alongside Nick Evans and mixed by Ben Hillier who produced two Depeche Mode albums as well as working with Blur, Patrick Wolf, Nadine Shah and Peter Perrett. The record features this year’s singles: ‘Numb Numb Numb’, ‘Tits & Attitude’ and ‘I Am God’. The band became a pioneering force in the Britpop movement scoring 6 UK top 40 singles and a top 40 album inspiring the era's orchestral identity. Combining playful lyrics with epic pop, MLS formed in Southend in 1984. By the early 90s, Shillingford had grown the band into a flamboyant orchestral 11 piece with string and brass section. Their passionate, often chaotic live shows lead to Giles Martin (The Beatles) recording tracks for their debut album ‘Mornington Crescent’ after discovering them at the Marquee. Signed to Parlophone in 1996, the band released ‘The Golden Mile’ which spawned most hit singles including ‘12 Reasons Why I Love Her’, ‘Strumpet’ and ‘Sparkle’. ‘Joined Up Talking’ followed on Andrew Lloyd Webber's It Records in 2000, featuring sixth hit single, ‘It's A Girl Thing’. Many collaborations followed including Morrissey, The Pogues and Marc Almond. MLS performed Glastonbury Pyramid stage and Reading Festival 4 times. They supported Blur & Pulp and are one of the only bands to headline over Oasis. https://mylifestory.band/ Image above HMS Morris (c) Rhiannon Holland

Scotty McCreery releases "Rise and Fall"

By Peter Anderson • 14 May, 2024
“ …after more than a decade of successes, experimentation and growth in the genre’s top tier - the multi-faceted singer-songwriter has zeroed in on his truest sound with Rise and Fall. ” – Holler On the heels of his sixth No. 1 hit on the U.S. Country Aircheck/Mediabase Chart with lead single 'Cab in a Solo', Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery released his fifth studio album "Rise and Fall" last Friday. The North Carolina native knows all too well there’s a rhythm to life and a cycle of ups and downs. And right now, he’s on the upswing. “ I feel like we’re on the rise now, but I’ve fallen pretty low as well, ” McCreery admits. “I learned from every little part of that, and it helped me to know who I was as a person – let alone an artist. The rises and the falls helped craft these songs. They made this album what it is. I’ve been living with this record for months…it is more me than any I’ve ever made, and I’m so excited for the world to finally hear it,” added McCreery. “ Across the 13-track collection, McCreery exhibits his continued growth as a vocalist and songwriter, ” notes Holler , while Country Now calls it “ his best record yet, ” as Rise and Fall finds him exploring not only heartbreak but rowdy nights, nostalgia, faith, newfound joy, fatherhood and enduring love, resulting in a project full of insightful storytelling. The album was produced by McCreery’s longtime production team of Frank Rogers, Derek Wells and Aaron Eshuis. McCreery co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs on the album, which Billboard observes, “ Light-hearted fare such as ‘Stuck Behind a Tractor’ and ‘And Countin’’ mesh with heartbreak brushoffs such as ‘Lonely,’ the bluegrass-inflected album-closer ‘Porch’ and the faith-filled ‘Red Letter Blueprint. ’” It is available digitally as well as on CD and vinyl. In addition, Amazon is releasing a limited-edition forest green vinyl version of the album. “ I know every artist says it, but this is truly my favourite album I’ve made so far ,” shares McCreery. “ I wanted to create an album that reflected the music I grew up on and wasn’t chasing trends. So, I brought several of my songwriting buddies to the mountains of North Carolina to sit down and write a full-on country album that told a story, start to finish, and spoke to my soul. We’ve been performing most of the album live on the road and the response from the audiences has been overwhelming. I’m excited for everyone to finally hear Rise and Fall.” Now 30 years old and a seasoned country music veteran selling out concerts across the globe with six No. 1 hits under his belt, McCreery is also a dedicated husband and father, welcoming a son named Avery in 2022, whose impact on the singer is highlighted in several songs on the album. Recently, he even celebrated the milestone of all milestones for a guy who grew up on Randy Travis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Ronnie Milsap; he was invited by his musical hero Garth Brooks to become the newest member of the iconic Grand Ole Opry. McCreery was just welcomed into the Opry family last month by two more of his heroes, Josh Turner and Randy Travis. For more information on the album and Scotty, please check out his website & socials: - ScottyMcCreery.com | Facebook | X | Instagram | TikTok Image above (c) Jeff Ray
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