Extra show!, Thursday 12th April 2012

Goldie Reed has been performing with her 4-piece band since late 2010, regularly appearing around London and the South East. Influenced by musicians such as Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, T-Bone Burnett, Eva Cassidy and Tom Waits, Goldie’s rootsy music has gained a wonderful response from satisfied audiences- “People keep asking when we will have something to release which is so lovely to hear, and we are grateful that everyone has been patient while we make something we are proud of. We are releasing our debut single ‘Bittersweet’ on March 25th at the Grey Lady, Tunbridge Wells, and hope everyone loves it as much as us!” says Goldie. Support comes from the Ty Watling Band, and David Migden & the Dirty Words- two brilliant bands that make the perfect addition to Goldie’s performance. Physical copies are available tonight and hold the added bonus of Goldie’s acoustic track ‘Butterflies’. With the first 25 physical singles purchased, you will receive a complimentary cupcake. Goldie and the boys are currently working hard on their debut album that is due for release this summer. “The album is sounding great, but it has meant that we are taking a break from performing- and we love performing so we have been looking forward to tonight for a long time now!” ‘Bittersweet’ will also be available to download from iTunes, and other online retailers on the same day.

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What started as a crazy idea in an attic space in September 2005 quickly became something beard-strokingly serious for four teenagers with delusions of grandeur. Mashed Potato, a musical alliance between two best friends, soon evolved into Icarus, and from the sweaty depths of boys’ bedrooms came a unique sound, a blend of their love for artists ranging from Radiohead to Robert Johnson and Focus to Foals.

The band continued to grow, through members gained and lost and through taking the ultimate step of committing their collective noise to tape, at that time using a cheap mic in those same bedrooms. But via tenuous familial connections this music, self-produced in every sense, found its way into the ears of a very appreciative listener and soon enough Icarus were invited into the studios of Blizzard Records for what proved to be a very successful trial.

Now signed, cravats were tightened and scotch sipped with a new found vigour, as the glory days beckoned. They changed their name once more to ZIGO, they matured in their approach to writing music and most crucially, they pored over their expansive catalogue from their four years together to choose only 12 songs with which to populate their debut album – only slightly ironically titled This Is How It Ends.

Initially in the running to be the Tunbridge Wells Forum’s house band (despite no one knowing who they were) ZIGO have moved on to playing venues around the country, in the slums of their separate university towns. They continue to push themselves, their potential as a band, and their presence both on stage and off.

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A conveniently timed simultaneous purchase of guitars at the age of 15 by best friends Katie Perfect and Amy Squirrell could only mean one thing – overzealous music making. The Kent based acoustic duo is built around many things: a mutual love of all things eccentric; the desire to make and promote their own music; countless in-jokes, but most of all a shared compulsion to create coupled with the inability to control their own musical enthusiasm.

The wonderful world of KP and Squizz is inhabited by Squizz’s acoustic guitar, cello, keyboard, ukulele, stylophone, kazoo and shakey egg, and KP’s basses, trumpet and tambourine. This magical collection of instruments creates a sound world roughly described the band and admirers alike as alternative indie folk, “harmonious and pleasing, downright enjoyable music.” Being both classically trained from a young age the girls also like to inject their love for good old-fashioned traditional music into their songs, as well as taking influence from all areas of the musical spectrum with favourite genres being folk, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and even ska, but to name a few, all while retaining their distinct ‘home-grown’ sound. KP and Squizz are both songwriters who combine the reckless fumbling of adolescence with the more sophisticated pursuits of adulthood to create their unique sound, both in their painstakingly honest lyrics and their music, which can be both toe-tapping and heart-wrenching. Neither of the two is ashamed to declare their love for Fleetwood Mac.

The band’s humble beginnings occurred in their music practice rooms at school, where with a lot of determination and a good few Greenday covers with which to get started, KP and Squizz established their guitar skills and quickly developed a passion for writing songs of their own. In their youth, the band spent many months recording interpretations of favourite songs and of their own music in KP’s study, with nothing but a webcam microphone and free recording software, and in bedrooms of friends alike – a beautiful disarray of background noise and feedback, but nevertheless the precursor to exciting things to come. As far as performing was concerned, the Tunbridge Wells Forum provided much opportunity, and the band gained a great deal of their experience thanks to this wonderful venue. As time went on they managed to branch out across West Kent performing in bars and pubs. KP and Squizz have been known to collaborate with old friends and members of the Kent-based dance-rock alternative post-blues indie-jazz pop band ZIGO to further enhance their onstage experience to form the imaginatively named KP and Squizz and Friends. Look out for the motley collective in the Christmas, Easter and summer university breaks, when things really start to get exciting!

Nowadays KP lives and studies ancient history and archaeology in Leicester, whilst Squizz works towards her music degree in Brighton. Writing songs is a continuous pursuit for both members of the band, and they have begun to perform in both cities as regularly as they can. Now all that remains is to break London very soon!

The band happily signed with Sevenoaks-based label Blizzard Records in the spring of 2010, and is hoping to make it big within the next year and a half or so to avoid the fiscal crush of tuition fees. They released their debut EP (modestly titled, ‘KP and Squizz EP’) with Blizzard in October 2010, available for purchase at any time from the band, Blizzard Records (see link), at live shows or from Amazon, iTunes and many other good eTailers. They are currently in and out of the studio like busy bees recording their debut album, set to be released in the summer of 2011.

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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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