Penguin Cafe+Allred & Broderick at Colston Hall Bristol on 13 September 2017
Penguin Cafe + Allred & Broderick will perform at The Colston Hall in Bristol on Wednesday 13 September 2017.
Bringing together musicians from bands like Suede, Gorillaz and Razorlight, Penguin Café is a melting pot of influences and serious talent. Started by composer Arthur Jeffes to celebrate his father’s Penguin Café Orchestra of the seventies, this modern revamp delivers “appealingly chaotic shanty-town minimalism” (Guardian) while keeping the original Penguin philosophy of experimentation alive. The collective moves between traditional folk and pop to South American rhythms and afrobeat, combining “emotional resonance with exoticism and variety” (The Telegraph).
Folk artists Peter Broderick and David Allred “share a talent for reflective minimalism …and an intuitive approach that allows space for humour and seriousness” (Folk Radio). Their duo project sees the acclaimed singer-songwriters armed with nothing but their voices, a violin and an upright bass. The result is the beautifully raw and poignant album Find The Ways which “presents a moment of calm that uses sparsity to create something quietly intense” (Clash).
Joining the bill are Berlin-based vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita and music producer and video director Daniel Brandt. Fujita is taking the instrument to new heights with his masterful playing of his own jazz and electronic-influenced compositions, creating “a lulling, murmured unreality” (Pitchfork) and “rippling, twinkling” (RA) waves of sound. Daniel Brandt performs tracks from his “beautiful yet surprisingly subtle” (PopMatters) solo debut album Eternal Something, an album that is full of “captivating twists and turns” (Pitchfork).
This event takes place in Colston Hall and Colston Hall Foyer
Part of Erased Tapes is ten
Over the last ten years, the record label Erased Tapes has nurtured avant-garde artists from all around the world whilst remaining genre-defying and truly independent. This September the label takes over Colston Hall to celebration of ten years of their unique music.
Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe was founded by Arthur Jeffes in 2009, bringing together a talented and disparate group of musicians from the likes of Suede, Gorillaz and Razorlight. They initially united to perform the music of world renowned Penguin Cafe Orchestra, which had been led by his father Simon Jeffes’ until his untimely death in 1997.
Arthur, a talented composer in his own right, began to create new genre-defying music, with the spellbinding philosophy of the Penguin Cafe always in his mind. Arthur’s Penguin Cafe has released three acclaimed albums: ‘A Matter of Life…’ (2011), ‘The Red Book’ (2014) and ‘The Imperfect Sea’ (2017). Celebrated in its own right, the new music has attracted a new generation of fans and yet maintains a thread to its inspiration that draws a worldwide fan base of original PCO followers.
Peter Broderick
American born multi-instrumentalist and singer Peter Broderick spent his late teens involved in the Portland (Oregon) indie folk scene, recording for the likes of M. Ward, Laura Gibson and Dolorean. In 2007 he moved to Denmark, where he began a long collaboration with the band Efterklang, touring the world with them for the next five years. Meanwhile he recorded several albums of solo material, ranging from sparse classical compositions (‘Float’) to homemade folk music (‘Home’), constantly experimenting with different musical genres, and also being commissioned to write music for several films and contemporary dance works.
He lived in Berlin for several years where he met and collaborated with Nils Frahm, Dustin O’Halloran and several others. He now lives back in America, and continues to travel the world performing solo concerts and collaborating with a vast array of different musicians and artists.
David Allred
Folk artist and upright bass musician David Allred creates minimal music with slowly evolving motifs. In April 2017 he collaborated with musical partner Peter Broderick to produce the album ‘Find The Ways’ which was released on Erased Tapes. Recorded in Peter’s studio The Sparkle on the Oregon coast, the pair used this solitude to focus on creating something as raw and honest as possible, particularly in what some might deem unattainable during a time where complexity is sought most.
Masayoshi Fujita
Masayoshi Fujita, the Berlin-based Japanese vibraphone player, came to the attention of Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths in 2012. Not only because the vibraphone is an intriguing instrument, but also the way Masayoshi treats his instrument and draws ethereal and layered sounds, is what truly attracted him to Fujita’s work. Masa first learned how to play the drums, followed by extensive vibraphone training to craft and play his own, mostly jazz and electronic-influenced compositions.
Having released more ambient-based/electronic recordings of the vibraphone under the alias el fog, Masayoshi became more interested in the sound of the vibraphone itself. Determined not to stick to traditional vibraphone styles or techniques, he started to prepare his instrument with pieces of metal, strips of foil and other objects in the search for new possibilities with the instrument. The resulting new sounds help to expand the vibraphone spectrum without eroding the instrument’s intrinsic character. He started to compose acoustic pieces and released his first solo album under his real name, titled Stories, in early 2013.
In 2015 Fujita released ‘Apologues’, his debut album on Erased Tapes, using an array of acoustic and electronic instruments to complement the sound of the vibraphone. The success of this album led to him exploring electronic sonorities further which developed into the release of ‘Schaum’ in 2016.
Daniel Brandt
In 2017 Daniel Brandt, co-founder of Germany’s electro-acoustic ensemble Brandt Brauer Frick, join the Erased Tapes record label with his solo debut album ‘Eternal Something’.
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany he went on to study at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, and graduated from the film/television department in 2011. Before graduating Brandt began performing with Jan Brauer and Paul Frick to form what would eventually become Brand Brauer Frick.
After releasing four albums with the ensemble, Brandt began work on his debut solo project. What started off as a more simplistic idea soon evolved into something a lot more complex as the London and Berlin based music producer travelled across the world, experimenting with various other artists and different instruments. Using his Berlin studio as his main base for recording, Brandt created an album that encapsulates the idea that despite setting out with a particular creative vision, external influences and environments will always shift the process, and create an Eternal Something.
Erased Tapes
Spanning over ten years, Erased Tapes has nurtured avant-garde artists from all around the world whilst remaining genre-defying and truly independent. Founded by German-born Robert Raths in 2007, the London-based label has grown and extended across the world with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Berlin. Artists signed to the label feature Nils Farhm, Kiasmos, Penguin Cafe, Rival Consoles, Allred & Broderick, Masayoshi Fujita, Daniel Brandt, Douglas Dare
2015 saw BBC 6 Music radio presenter Mary Anne Hobbs stage an Erased Tapes evening featuring Nils Frahm and A Winged Victory For The Sullen at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the prestigious BBC Prom. It was the fastest selling ticket of the entire season. Shortly after Erased Tapes was awarded Best Small Label 2015 at the AIM Awards.
On February 5th 2017 Erased Tapes opened the doors to its new East London home, marking the 10th anniversary by introducing fans and the public to the new Erased Tapes Sound Gallery.
Tickets are £18.81 including booking fee