The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Wednesday 24th August 2011

Son of Kirk is a meeting of hearts and minds. A constantly evolving musical force driven by four uniquely creative individuals, who build on a foundation of inspired song-writing and strong melodic and lyrical interplay.

Interweaving violin, cello and syncopated guitar lines, combine with dance and Afro beat informed percussive drum patterns and elements of improvisation. Four part harmonies create overlapping vocal lines, inspired by tribal and folk traditions. Expect to be taken on multiple rhythmic twists and turns, by songs that circle and hover, unveil and reveal.

The members of Son of Kirk grew up in varying backgrounds around the world, from Australian cults, to the wilds of West Africa, through American suburbia, to the industrial Midlands and the lush, green beauty of The Garden of England, ultimately coming together on the Tunbridge Wells music scene.

The band are currently working on new songs to be released as a series of E.P.s with accompanying films. The first of these ‘Utopia Shake’ is available to view on Facebook. Songs are available at iTunes

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‘Jackals’ consists of the duo Oliver Hume and Jack Harber. Both lads have just finished their time at the Judd School where they met and discovered their common passion for music. After experiencing a variety of genres through past bands, ranging from funk to electro-pop, they finally decided in the summer to wipe the slate clean, and begin working on their own completely new style. Influenced by the contemporary artists ‘Mumford and Sons’ and ‘Villagers’ whilst also being inspired by the greats of soul ‘Stevie Wonder’ and ‘Bill Withers’, they have adopted a soulful, yet modern and folk-like style of music, following the resurgence of the Folk scene in Britain whilst putting their own twist on their sound. With Jack mostly keeping to the guitar and Olly to the piano, they combine their instruments with close vocal harmonies to create a quirky up-beat vibe. The lads are both currently on a gap year, with the intention of attending the University of Nottingham together next year, however they both admit that music is what they really want to do in the long term. Whilst it may be the beginning of their musical journey, a mixture of ambition and fire in their bellies drives them to expand their idiosyncratic musical style and push them in the direction of a musical future.

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Singer-songwriter, Paul Dunton leads his own unique cross-over orchestra providing an atmospheric fusion of alternative and pop with a classical twist. Paul & his Orchestra take influences from varying modern day artists such as Pink Floyd, Elbow, ELO, Turin Brakes, Massive Attack, Damien Rice and contemporary composers such as Samuel Barber, Ludovico Einaudi, John Barry and Hans Zimmerman. The Orchestra performs Paul's own compositions and a varied selection of uniquely arranged standards from a wide range of artists. The line-up of 8 violins, 4 cellos, guitar, flute, bass and percussion accompanies Paul on vocals and piano, joined by his lead vocalists, Charlotte Andrew and Poppy Raine. Paul and his Orchestra regularly perform at concerts, festivals and private events throughout the UK and internationally, including headlining the Theatrium Wilhelmstraße Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany and an 8 state tour of the USA which culminated in a spectacular roof-top performance on top of the New York Strand Hotel. Increased attention and success led to the orchestra being featured on BBC Radio 2 by Joan Armatrading with interviews and airplay of one of Paul's songs, 'Don't Forget'. This led to Paul supporting Joan Armatrading on five occasions during her recent UK tours.

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Clown BreakDown are Ally Hamilton (guitar and vocals), Ben Crowhurst (bass), and Jack Kinnear (drums).

The band got together in the autumn of 2010. Ally and Ben have known each other from as early as playgroup and have managed to stay friends long enough(!) to join forces and play together in their former band Epiphany and others. Jack and Ally are best friends from secondary school and consequently all the boys have spent their formative years together.

After Epiphany grew apart, Ally and Ben wanted to start again with a punchy new sound that hit you and was difficult to ignore. Jack -- an up-and-coming enthusiastic drummer -- was recruited for this new project. A dramatic and edgy sound was an important starting point for the feel of the new band. The recently recorded E.P is a deeper, darker reflection on the state of modern society.

As with most successful sounds, the boys have a variety of influences from Ally’s blues and old-school rock to Ben’s love of punk bands such as The Jam and The Buzzcocks, to Jack's love of all rock. With early demos laid down in mid-December, the band have spent solid time together in recent months rehearsing and writing, and are back in the studio recording again very soon. They have a growing fan base and are lining up plenty of local gigs for the near future.

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