[Assemble]

The Livework Unit Listen & Watch. Find out more.

The Livework Unit is the solo project of Totnes based musician Simon Hampshire. This evening celebrates the release of his first E.P, successfully funded through Kickstarter and recorded at the legendary Sawmills Studio in Fowey. This eagerly anticipated debut features guest musicians from other acts including local favourites Matthew & Me, and draws in collaborators from further afield, such as artists from Yndi Halda and The Lunchtime Sardine Club.

Clarinettist Arun Ghosh brings his trademark IndoJazz sound to Totnes, featuring the MOBO Award winning pianist, Zoe Rahman.

  Tonight's show is a celebration of the new release of Ghosh's IndoJazz chamber work, A South Asian Suite. Ghosh previewed A South Asian Suite at the Tagore Festival in Dartington last year, and he is thrilled to be bringing his band back to the area. His mesmeric and enchanting six movement suite is inspired by the music, landscape and peoples of Nepal, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as seen from the viewpoint of a British-Asian from a Northern town.

  Pieces from Ghosh's acclaimed albums 'Northern Namaste' and 'Primal Odyssey', plus euphoric live favourites comprise the second half.

Arun Ghosh

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Conceived in Calcutta, bred in Bolton, matured in Manchester and living in London, Arun Ghosh's musical style represents his rich cultural heritage. The British-Asian clarinettist and composer is a leading light on the UK jazz scene, captivating audiences and critics with his passionate and dynamic performance style, eloquent musical expression and a healthy dose of rock 'n' roll spirit.

His music has been described by the Guardian as an "…upfront mix of South Asian melodies and western street-grooves, driven by a powerful Indo-western rhythm section", and his two albums, Northern Namaste (2008) and Primal Odyssey (2011) have seen him celebrated as a renowned innovator of the IndoJazz style. Forthcoming album, A South Asian Suite (a collaboration with Zoe Rahman) looks set to take this even further, and Ghosh is delighted to be presenting this new work in full at The Barrel House, Totnes.

  …uproarious and irresistible   -  Daily Telegraph

  Life-affirming music that transcends cultural barriers.  -  Manchester Evening News

  …an upfront mix of South Asian melodies and western street-grooves, driven by a powerful Indo-western rhythm section  -  The Guardian

  ...extraordinary charisma and musicianship and a consistently riveting compositional skill - Jazzwise

  Manu Delago Handmade

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Manu Delago has just returned from touring around the world as drummer and Hang player with Björk. The “masterful and sensitive musician“ (The Telegraph) has also performed and recorded as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra and collaborated with various artists such as Anoushka Shankar, Shpongle, Bugge Wesseltoft or The Cinematic Orchestra.

His solo career began in 2007 when he uploaded a video onto Youtube in which he plays the Hang, a UFO-like hand-played sound sculpture. Now that video is the most popular Hang video on the internet and has been viewed more than 4 million times. Soon after, the “virtuoso on the Hang“ (The Times) formed his own band which has since played concerts on five continents.

For the new album the band, Manu Delago Handmade, has teamed up with producer Matt Robertson (Björk, The Prodigy). The new material explores a vast array of sounds, ranging from sweet and delicate vocal lines with colourful Hang accompaniment, all the way through to chunky, electronic beats. The sound of the band is mature and well balanced, they have a real understanding of orchestration, moulding and continually changing the texture to create a different sound world with each piece.

The live show of Manu Delago Handmade is a definite must-see. The performance is delicate and sophisticated, moving with ease between heavily rhythmic and free-fowing spherical sections. 

Line up:

Isa Kurz – vocals, piano & violin

Philipp Moll – bass, synth & vocals

Manu Delago – hang & drums

”amazing percussionist and Hang player” - Björk

“There was party time: drummer Manu Delago's orgiastic blast of percussion” - David Fricke, Rolling Stone

“What a non-stop affair of creativity, surprise, beauty, harmony, wit, art, invention, energy, entertainment” – Amanda Yensa Manor, Author & Journalist

  Chartwell Dutiro

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Chartwell grew up in Zimbabwe playing mbira for all night ritual ceremonies and public performances, and is now regarded as a World-Class soloist and ensemble member. Chartwell toured the world and recorded multiple albums with the legendary Thomas Mapfumo And The Blacks Unlimited, before forming his own multi-national acoustic ensemble Spirit Talk Mbira, a high-energy dance band, which tours regularly.

All We Are Listen. Watch. Find out more.

3 piece, Liverpool-based All We Are write pop arrangements and house them within a psych-tinged, melancholic world.

Self-described as sounding like ‘the Bee Gees on diazepam’, All We Are’s slow rhythmic shuffles, pop harmonies and lovelorn lyrics succinctly captures a universal quality to which everyone can relate.

Their new single ‘Utmost Good’ is to be released by new label OBSCENIC on June 17th and will be the band’s first release since last year’s ‘We Hunt’ EP. It sees the trio exploring new, moodier and R&B inspired territory.

“Over a drowsy beat and a brilliantly loping bassline, Guro Gikling, Richard O'Flynn and Luis Santos layer lashings of falsetto vocals that sigh stylishly about trying your best to impress someone who's just not that interested.” – The Guardian on All We Are’s single Utmost Good

Clash track of the day 12 June

  The Livework Unit Listen & Watch. Find out more.

Held on the last Friday morning of each month, these 45-minute events feature live music and participation in a child-friendly atmosphere, providing fun introductions to different types of music, instruments and cultures. Photos from our last Adventures in Music event can be found here.

Next events

Mbira Magic with Chartwell Dutiro 31 May 11am

Indian Inspiration with Arun Ghosh 28 June 11am

Ryan Francesconi & Mirabai Peart Listen. Watch. Find out more.

In recent years Portland’s Ryan Francesconi, previously best known for his work as the musical director on Joanna Newsom’s stunning triple album Have One On Me, has established himself as a leading figure in acoustic composition and performance. Performing with his partner violinist Mirabai Peart, the event will feature music from the album they released on Bella Union in December last year.

The album, Road To Palios, finds Ryan developing his collaborative work with Mirabai, whom Ryan met through their membership of the Joanna Newsom band. A set of spellbinding duets for guitar and violin, the album evidences a world of musical inspiration flowing through its minimal instrumental palette, spanning Baroque, Americana and jazz improvisation but centring on the pair’s main obsession: Balkan folk music, mainly from Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. On stage these ornate and detailed compositions possess a rare transportative power: an atlas of vividly evoked musical places performed with heart and soul by two extraordinary musicians.

    Lux Harmonium Listen. Watch. Find out more.