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interesting music promotions present

FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS + THE BALKY MULE + ROZI PLAIN + JACKALOPE

Wednesday 18th November 2009
The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen, AB10 1BF. Phone (01224) 211121
Doors 8pm
Entry £6 on door

http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic
http://www.thetunnels.co.uk




FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS

Meet François Marry - a multi-talented songwriter, musician, animator and artist, hailing from Saintes, a small town on the west coast of France. François is the latest signing to Fence Records - a DIY micro-indie label run by King Creosote and The Pictish Trail from the sleepy ?shing village of Anstruther, in Fife.

At the age of 19, François travelled over to the UK, and quickly became involved in the Bristol scene, joining the line-ups of Movietone (Domino) and Crescent (FatCat). After a few months he started playing a number of his own shows, garnering notable support slots (including Juana Molina, Gravenhurst, Patrick Wolf, Panda Bear, Electrelane) and assembling an ever-changing band of players called ?The Atlas Mountains? - whose cast has included Rachael Dadd (Angel?s Egg), and fellow Fence Records artist Rozi Plain. Through Rozi, François was introduced to Fence Records, and has since performed at a number of Fence Collective events - including the label?s Homegame festival, in April.

Over the past few years, François has recorded a couple of albums and EPs, released through Too Pure and Bristol?s Stitch Stitch, and has performed around the globe with his own band, as well as being a touring member of Scottish indie-pop starlets Camera Obscura (4AD), on trumpet and percussion.

For his third full length album, François returned to the comforts of his hometown, and recruited members of local friends Unkle Jelly Fish and Bost Gehio (an all-female polyphonic vocal group from the Basques country) to be his ?Atlas Mountains?. Plaine Inondable, (which translates as 'Flood Plains') refers to the town?s winter landscape - where the Charente river often bursts its bank, completely covering the surrounding ?elds. François? previous releases often featured casio-beats, and lo-? electronics - but Plaine Inondable marks a departure from that style. Here, piano chords swell, electric guitars gently shimmer, and François? soft croon ?oats throughout - his bilingual songs melding the bittersweet yearning of Leonard Cohen with the melodic playfulness of Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy.

The album also takes inspiration from recent compilations of African music recorded in the 1970?s (Ethiopiques, Mali 70) released by various European labels. The atmospheric rhythms and percussive elements, as well as some guitar parts and scales, absorb this in?uence: “'Be Water' is built on a Ethiopian scale called Tezeta, the guitar on 'Remind' is inspired by the style of Ali Farka Toure and Group Doueh”. The result is a con?dent and unique blend of styles, that dreamily infuse with one another; a semi-conscious state, which is further re?ected in the ?uctuation between French and English lyrics.

http://www.kidfrancois.com
http://www.myspace.com/francoisinbristol
http://www.fencerecords.com


THE BALKY MULE

Currently resident in Melbourne, Australia, The Balky Mule is the alias of Sam Jones, a highly talented, self-taught multi-instrumentalist, who over the past decade or more has been a key member of the vibrant Bristol post-rock scene, playing in numerous bands, both live or on records, including Movietone and Crescent (alongside his bandleader brother, Matt), Flying Saucer Attack, Minotaur Shock, and Third Eye Foundation. During this time The Balky Mules’ home-recorded releases have been confined to a handful of compilation tracks, remixes and tapes swapped among friends.

http://www.myspace.com/thebalkymule
http://www.fat-cat.co.uk


ROZI PLAIN

Rozi Plain thinks that guitar tuner pedals are for losers. She works on a ferry in Bristol, she's pretty good at doing impressions of people's voices, and she produces incredibly lo-fi folk-dirges that stick in your head for days. Her debut album ‘Inside Over Here’ was released by FENCE last year and we can’t wait to welcome her back for her 4th IMP gig.

http://www.myspace.com/roziplain


JACKALOPE

Newly born, red eyed. Howling estate flashbacks from hedgerow emancipation. Muttered verse amid throats all doubling back on themselves in crackling striation. Cheapskate keys stagger, kid’s toys hide in radio static, constant rebirth in this tense era.

It sounds a bit like Cabaret Voltaire and Es trying to abduct DNTEL into a thrift store orchestra while Kraftwerk shout abuse from the side. Although Pete has hurt his hand, so it might not.

http://www.myspace.com/jackalopehunting

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If you don't already know, Jackalope is Pete McConville's (Lazy Sheepdog / from The Jinx) electronic project.

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This is on Wednesday, innit.

I've heard recent Francois live sets have been amazing. We also got some Fat Cat representation, a set from the quite frankly astonishing Rozi Plain, plus we always love to see ex-Jinx members coming back out of the woodwork.

Fucking A.