May 2023
Trombonist Ian Sankey and I took Spare Music for another outing, this time at the Elder Beer Café in Heaton, Newcastle, supporting Danielle Price and Martin Thomson of Dopey Monkey playing their Situational Soundtrack project with appallingly funky drummer Adrian Ortman. The vibe was good, the crowd a pleasure, and the early start in the open-topped courtyard presented a fabulous natural spectacle halfway the headline set: a set of solar halos flat in the sky at about 8pm, for which everybody stopped playing and took a moment to take it in. Aside from the really good music – you can find a few tunes from Soundtrack here (go have a listen, you’ll be glad you did) – this bizarre and spectacular thing made the night for me. It made the Northern Echo, and also the BBC. Upside-down rainbows! What’s not to love?!
Thanks to Dopey Monkey and Adrian for the invitation, and to Ed at Elder Beer for being a super gracious and very laidback host. We’ll be back with a series of shows that I’ve being scheming up for some time now. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, Heaton; there are some pretty cool music makers coming your way in the near future.
Ian and I will play Spare Music again at Cobalt Studios before we break for summer, and if you’re looking to put out a moody new piece that’s medieval and folky but also spectral and bumping on a your label, please get in touch; we’re looking to work with somebody to put this new, 25-minute slice out into the world. Supercut above; email for a private link to the whole thing.
joesna.pe 