April 2: CARDIFF – 10 Feet Tall   | Last.fm | Songkick | Tickets | with Winter Villains
April 3: BRISTOL – The Fleece  | Last.fm | Songkick | Tickets | with Laish & Emma Gatrill
April 4: NORWICH – Arts Centre  | Last.fm | Songkick | with Laish & Emma Gatrill
April 5: LONDON – Hoxton Bar & Grill  | Last.fm | Songkick | Tickets
April 7: BRIGHTON – The Haunt  | Last.fm | Songkick

Further details to follow. Also check out the facebook event here. Here’s some information on the tour and upcoming album…

SONAA are back on the road and will be releasing a brand new collection of songs this year – their second long player, Knots. The band’s sophomore album sees them breaking away from the acoustic roots of their debut album which lead them to tour twice with Mumford & Sons and support Laura Marling at Royal Festival Hall.

The Sons’ immersion in folk music was always more informed by guitarists like Dave Pajo, David Grubbs and Jeff Parker than by traditionalists. These influences, rooted in the city of Chicago’s pre-millennial post-rock, jazz and avant-pop scenes, are explored on Knots resulting in an album much closer to the band’s live sound.

The duelling fingerpicked classical guitars are still there, but they’re put through cranked up, needle-in-the-red valve amps. There’s still a bit of banjo, but it’s played with an e-bow and a slide so it sounds like a haunted Hammond organ. And there’s plenty of actual Hammond, giving the track “Come Run Fun Stella Baby Mother of the World” a kind of fairground darkness borrowed from Liars or Captain Beefheart.

Elsewhere the fragile strings of “Black Side of the River” evoke the still sadness of humanity epitomised by Arvo Pärt augmented by the weighty piano chords of Earth; “Big Bad Bold” sounds like These New Puritans started an earthquake in a burning symphony hall; “Cathy Come Home” demonstrates the band’s love of drone, unison and extended guitar techniques and ends up sounding somewhere between Tortoise and the scores of Danny Elfman; and aching closer “Heroine” sounds like Robert Wyatt sped up a track from Twin Peaks for Will Oldham to sing over.
At times soft and orchestral, at times crass and loud, Knots is always infused with beauty and tenderness: soulful, taunt, honed and with a new found love of kosmiche experimentation.

Knots’ expanded sonic tapestry is marshalled and woven with growing stature by SONAA’s chief song-writer, Jacob Richardson, whose meditative lyrical concepts and melodic craftsmanship mark him out as musician of genuine depth and gravitas whilst remaining as arcane and beguiling as Palace.

Rejecting notions of a fixed line-up, Sons of Noel and Adrian is more of a sprawling musical whirlpool centered around a few key members than a traditional band – a bit like Broken Social Scene, with whom two Sons toured last year as their horn section. The band members make up most of the renowned Willkommen Collective that spawned The Leisure Society, and the various members lend their talents freely to everyone from Damo Suzuki to the Laura Marling, with one Son, a full time contributor to her band and as many as four playing with her on certain shows including last year’s Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage performance.

Such selfless creative interdependence is at the heart of the Willkommen Collective and Sons of Noel and Adrian. The results of their musical co-operative have yielded a sophomore effort that transcends their debut and positions them as one of 2012’s most unique and thrilling propositions: Knots see SONAA charting new, unexplored aural terrain as immersive an experience on stage as it on record.

14th: Dolan’s, Limerick
15th: Cyprus Avenue, Cork
16th: Roisin Dubh, Galway
17th & 18th: Clonakilty International Guitar Festival, Clonakilty
19th: Workman’s Club, Dublin

Click for full size

Following on from the great success of 2009′s event, which saw The Leisure Society, Peggy Sue, Alessi’s Ark and more delight a sold out crowd, Brighton’s premier folk collective Willkommen Records and co-conspirators and renowned South Coast independent music promoters Melting Vinyl are very pleased to announce our second all day show at Stanmer House.

The venue is in a nature reserve on the outskirts of Brighton, a mere stroll from the University of Sussex campus and at the heart of the Sussex Countryside. Stanmer House is a beautifully restored, Grade I listed stately home built in 1722. It’s regal but inviting and warm – the perfect environment.

This year’s event takes place on September 12th, and we’ve given it a name: FOXTROT.

We also have a VERY special guest headliner – we have booked a truly stunning artist, but we just know it will sell out as soon as we announce them and we want to give the Willkommen and Melting Vinyl faithful a chance to get the tickets before this happens.

From outside of the Collective we are delighted and honoured to have Anna Calvi, Francois & The Atlas Mountains, Rachael Dadd and Rayon Breed join us for and suffuse our celebrations with their unique, folk-flecked talents.

A range of fantastic artists from the Collective and the extended family will be playing. We have an increasingly rare performance from Willkommen’s mother band, Shoreline, who deal in sublime sea shanties.  FOXTROT will see the first full set in Brighton from Willkommen’s very own super group, The Climbers (featuring Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy from The Leisure Society), who will be playing songs from their debut, The Good Ship , an album which has won over pundits as diverse as Mark Radcliff, Bob Harris and Don Letts.  Hot on the heels of the success of their recent sophomore outing, Of Flight and Fury, The Miserable Rich will be wooing one and all with their string adorned pure-pop. So at one with the folk tradition is Mary Hampton‘s stark beauty that no less an icon as Eliza Carthy was inspired to praise her My Mother’s Children album in fRoots magazine. Perennial festival favourites, Sons of Noel and Adrian, will be serving up their heady, psychedelic -folk stew. Laish, who will be releasing their debut album on Willkommen later in the year, specialise in lovably scuffed, singer-songwriter confessionals. Kristin McClement is hard at work on her debut too with Christian Hardy at the helm. Her winsome, whispy, wonder-folk is the reason she’s a rising star. Also about to release his first Willkommen music is Rowan Coupland who will dazzle with his post-modern take upon the troubadour tradition.

We have a lot of very special surprise extras still to announce so stay posted.

Stanmer House, Stanmer Park, Brighton BN1 9QA. Doors open at 2pm.

Tickets are priced at just £20 plus booking fee and, to give Brightonians the best chance of getting tickets, for a week tickets will only be available from Resident and Rounder Records – from their stores in Brighton or on 01273 606312 or  01273 325440 respectively.

There is a limited free return  Bus from Old Stiene, Brighton on a first come first served basis or take the train to Falmer, Number 25 bus to Stanmer or Number 78 bus to the House.

All Ages Welcome, under 16s to be accompanied by an adult. Alcohol not to be brought in, bar and food will be available.
www.willkommenrecords.co.uk www.meltingvinyl.co.uk www.stanmerhouse.co.uk www.thebiglemon.com www.resident-music.com www.rounderbrighton.co.uk

Click to see larger flier

Here are further details on the Willkommen Collective tour. The Leisure Society and Sons of Noel and Adrian will play all the dates, and will be supported by a rotating cast of bands from the Collective – to be announced soon.

There is a facebook event for the tour here. Please mark yourself as attending and help to spread the word amongst your friends.

April 2010

Thursday 1st: LONDON – The Tabernacle
—> tickets | last.fm | songkick | map | more info | 0207 221 9700

Saturday 3rd: BRIGHTON – The Corn Exchange
—> tickets | last.fm | songkick | map | more info | 01273 709709

Sunday 4th: BRISTOL – Thekla
—> tickets | last.fm | songkick | map | 08713 100 000

Monday 5th: LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club
—> tickets | last.fm | songkick | map | 0113 2455570

Tuesday 6th: MANCHESTER – Band on the Wall
—> tickets | last.fm | songkick | map | more info | 0845 2 500 500

Wednesday 7th: KENDAL – Brewery Arts Centre
—> tickets | last.fm | songkick | map | more info | 01539 725133

April
1 – London – The Tabernacle
3 – Brighton – Corn Exchange
4 – Bristol – Thekla
5 – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
6 – Manchester – Band on the Wall
7 – Kendal – Brewery Arts Centre

Further details coming very soon.

This is a one off project and we’ll be performing just twice:

Friday 19th February at Brighton Unitarian Church
Saturday 27th February at London Kings Place

The London show is part of the Arctic Circle’s The Bubbly Blue and Green - a four-day festival of eclectic ‘water music’ influenced by shipwrecks, rivers, waves and lighthouses.

Housed in the halls of Kings Place, the festival runs from the 24th to 27th February 2010 and features Philip Jeck, Janek Schaefer, Hauschka, Hildur Gudnadottir, ISAN, Samphire Band, The Sleeping Years, Iarla O’Lionaird, The London Snorkelling Team, Paper Cinema and The Willkommen Orchestra.

Tickets are on sale with very limited SAVER SEATS available online at £9.50 for all concerts. Prices (unless stated otherwise): £24.50, £19.50, £15.50 Premium seats available.

Tickets & more information available here.

Limited edition CD cover

The new three track EP from Sons of Noel and Adrian, Rivers, is released on Monday 11th January. It will be available digitally through iTunes, Amazon etc. and a limited edition of 50 copies will be available on the Sons January tour. The CD was hand-printed by Brighton based letterpress printer and book artist Anna Fewster. If we have any left after the tour they will be available through this site. The EP is also available on 7″ through OIB Records.

The following tracks are featured:

1. Black Side of the River
2. Big Bad Bold
3. Leaving Mary’s Hand

Jan 26: The Albert, Brighton (wegottickets.com or 01273 606312) LAST.FM
Jan 27: Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London (ticketweb.co.uk or 08444 77 1000) LAST.FM
Jan 28: Moles Club, Bath (moles.co.uk or 01225 404445) LAST.FM
Jan 29: The Louisiana, Bristol (alt-tickets.co.uk or 08713 100 000) LAST.FM
Jan 30: Miss Peapod’s, Falmouth (thepoly.org or 01326 212300) LAST.FM
Jan 31: The Phoenix, Exeter (seetickets.com or 0870 264 3333) LAST.FM
Feb 1: The Railway, Winchester (ticketweb.co.uk or 08444 77 1000) LAST.FM

January 2010

13th: Cyprus Avenue, Cork (Last.fm event)
14th: Roisin Dubh, Galway (Last.fm event)
15th: Electric Avenue, Waterford (Last.fm event)
16th: Whelans, Dublin (Last.fm event)
17th: Dolans, Limerick (Last.fm event)

The three bands also play Hoxton Bar in London on January 27th (tickets here), with several more dates around the south to be announced shortly.

Direct trains from London, Brighton and Ashford.

Here are the times:

Marquee

The Leisure Society 11:10pm
Peggy Sue 10:00pm
Sons of Noel and Adrian 8:55pm
Robert Stillman 7:55pm

Inside the house

Alessi’s Ark 10:35pm
Pete Roe 9:30pm
Caroline Weeks 8:25pm

Here’s a link showing the bus route from the Old Steine, you get the number 25 and it takes about 38 minutes including the walk into Stanmer Park. There are regular trains to Falmer from Brighton and it’s about a 10-15 minute walk from there. Sadly the last train back to Brighton from Falmer is at 23:26 but I believe buses run all night, a taxi will cost about £10-12.

Resident is now SOLD OUT but there are currently 16 tickets left on wegottickets.com/willkommen, then we’re totally sold out. I’ll post on here if there are any tickets left on the day but it looks unlikely.

The lineup also includes The Leisure Society, Alessi’s Ark, Peggy Sue, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Laura Marling’s pianist and banjo player Pete Roe and Caroline Weeks of Bat for Lashes. The event takes place in Grade I listed stately home Stanmer House on Sunday July 5th, tickets cost just £12 from wegottickets.com or Resident Records, 28 Kensington Gardens, Brighton, 01273 606312.