Folklore featuring … Sarah John’s Music Party
The wonderfully theatrical, avant garde, folk tinged warblings of Sarah John’s music party return to Folklore with great support from Sun Collective and Inti Ro
For Dalston artist Sarah Johns, every day is a music party. A slicked-back electro-pop princess, free-spirited party promoter and sometime choral prodigy, Johns musical talents inhabit a variety of disparate incarnations and she is a shining example of a fully-fledged DIY creative, one with personal ambition as well as an inherent sense of community.
Johns vocal dexterity stands her in good stead at weddings and other similarly formal events, where she enjoys occasional bouts of lucrative employment. But she is a burgeoning popstar in her own right, acting as one half of sultry electronic duo Mr Beasley (formed during her time in Hull) and also as the frontwoman for Cool Fun (also formed in Hull) a studio based project with friend Max Jung, which is showcased through award-winning film makers Prano Bailey-Bond and Jay Moy. As a singer, she teases out her notes in a stream of falsetto, infantile murmurings, soundtracked by Bobby Beasleys sophisticated laptop orchestrations in the case of the former. Mr Beasleys Right As Rain featured as BBC 6s Record of the Week and the duo have already attracted the attention of Swedish starlet Robyn, with whom they recently toured Europe.
Quite distinct from this is Johns work with the eponymously titled Sarah Johns Music Party a band and night she set up two years ago with her Music Party cohorts. It hosts everything from acoustic singer-songwriters to avant-garde choreography. The night was born out of a reaction against the lengthy electro acoustic gigs that I was getting booked for, says Johns. These nights can make it quite hard for the performers and the audience as even if the acts are amazing, by the time youve sat through two hours of singer-songwriters youve lost patience and find yourself wanting to chat. We stage contemporary dance, performance art and spoken word, but with an emphasis on live music.
An ex-drama student with a background in performance art, Sarah Johns bridges the gap between theatres and gig venues, offering a liberal platform for experimentation. I have had a residency at Battersea Arts Centre, where I basically learnt to act my songs out, she says, on her performative approach. I wanted to create the right atmosphere to perform these songs outside of a theatre. All of the acts are staged in the most theatrical way possible to make it more engaging for the audience. The more daring you are the more youre trusting the audience and the more connected the audience and performer feel. Although Johns usually holds her Music Party at the clandestine Dalston Boys Club, to mark the coming of spring she assembled a makeshift stage complete with drum kit, mic and guitar underneath a shady tree in London Fields and invited park goers to participate in a day of improvised music making. With a vociferous Pistols fan leading the way, the result was an intimate gathering of like-minded people, which set a precedent for future guerrilla gigs.
SUN COLLECTIVE are a relatively new addition to the London scene and describe themselves as indie Chamber Pop Noise!! With a huge amount of members we’re hoping that we’ll be able to fit them into The Gallery Cafe (Let alone the stage) with influences that include Chopin, Radiohead, Miles Davies and The Beach Boys they have been impressing audiences with thier unique sound and are definately ones to watch!!!
Inti Rowland impressed us at Folklore so much when he played for us last month at 93 Feet East that we’ve asked him to come back! At the tender age of 19!! Inti is creating incredibaly assured and beautiful music, His second release ‘Eyes Of A Starling’ was recorded in a barn in the Welsh mountainside forests and is available now to buy and download!! I think this guy is heading for great things .. watch this space!!
Entry Price: £5/£4 NUS or ADVANCE
Entry Price (Members/NUS): £5/£4 NUS or ADVANCE
For more information about this event, visit
http://www.skiddle.com/events/11658982?skcampaign=fbe
Minimum Age: 18
Date: 2nd Jun 2012 7:30pm
Last Entry: 10:00pm
Venue: The Gallery Cafe
21 Old Ford Road
Bethnal Green London
E2 9PL
