Aces & Eights, Tufnell Park
Tuesday 6th December
Doors 7:30pm, Live Music 8:15pm
Advance tickets £12
“Gorgeous music” – Muireann Nic Amblaoibh, RTE 1
“Beautiful, swirling, modern English folk music” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
Join us at Aces & Eights for an evening in the company of Owen Spafford & Louis Campbell touring in support of the release of their debut album ‘You, Golden’ the album was recorded live, in just two and a half days. There was no separation, overdubs or even headphones and was captured using a make shift set up in a converted barn in Oxfordshire. In terms of influence there was an active effort to authentically express their varied musical backgrounds, not hiding for the sake of ‘trad. authenticity’, Spafford’s interest in contemporary classical, Irish and old time music or Campbell’s background in post-rock, alternative and bluegrass music. The result is a raw, dynamic and very musical record, highlighting the subtlety and intimacy of their playing over flashy virtuosity, a rare quality in young, conservatoire trained instrumentalists. Spafford and Campbell share an openness to progression and individualism in the genre, with a shared scepticism towards the fabricated ‘rules’ of the tradition developed in the folk clubs of the 60s and 70s. To them, authentic folk music is music that organically reflects a persons background and so their love of The Gloaming, Lau, Nic Jones and Andy Cutting is expressed to the listener right alongside their love of Arooj Aftab, Big Thief, Bill Frisell and Sigur Ros.
Owen Spafford (Cosmo Sheldrake, Don’t Feed the Peacocks) and Louis Campbell (Sam Sweeney, Solo) met as teenagers, as part of the first cohort of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. Since forming their duo in 2018, they have been nominated for the BBC Young Folk Award and performed across England, including Cecil Sharp House and Sidmouth Folk Festival. A shared musical ‘true north’ and lasting friendship enable the duo to make two instruments seemingly sound as one; creating subtle and emotive textures that redefine the trad. fiddle and guitar duo idiom.
The duo allows Owen and Louis to distill their love of traditional and experimental music into powerful, intricate and intimate music. Their debut album ‘You, Golden’ manages to orbit many different sound-worlds while staying comfortably within the acoustic context of English folk music; seamlessly blending traditional tunes with their own material.
Improvisation, humour and musicality make each live performance unique, breaking forward into a new direction for English folk music.
Immy Churchill is a jazz singer and singer-songwriter studying at The Royal Academy Of Music. Her influences range from Ella Fitzgerald and Norma Winstone to James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, giving her a unique sound that embraces not only the lyrical quality of singing but the joys of singing wordlessly. Although she is already making her way onto the jazz scene as a vocalist, her individual voice as a songwriter is beginning to emerge and she looks forward to eventually releasing her debut album next year. Her writing influences range from Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Nick Drake and Madison Cunningham. She has performed at venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Live, The Green Note, The King’s Place, The Royal Festival Hall and recently a sold out show of her own music at The Vortex.