JAKE XERXES FUSSELL is heading to London this May!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

JAKE XERXES FUSSELL
Tuesday 12 May
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB

7.30pm | £9 | https://link.dice.fm/cXBMUgzID3

JAKE XERXES FUSSELL is a singer and guitarist from Durham, North Carolina. Jake’s 2015 self-titled debut record, produced by and featuring William Tyler, transmutes ten arcane folk and blues tunes into vibey cosmic laments and crooked riverine rambles. Collaborating with Tyler and engineer Mark Nevers in Nashville was a conscious decision to depart cloistered trad scenes and sonics for broader, more oblique horizons. In 2017 Fussell followed his debut with a moving new album of Natural Questions in the form of transmogrified folk/blues koans. This time these radiant ancient tunes tone several shades darker while amplifying their absurdist humour, illuminating our national, and psychic, predicaments. What in the Natural World features art by iconic painter Roger Brown and contributions from three notable Nathans: Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn), Nathan Salsburg (Alan Lomax Archive), and Nathan Golub (Mountain Goats). On his most recent album for Paradise Of Bachelors ‘Out of Sight’, his most finely wrought album yet, Fussell ushers up an utterly transporting selection of traditional narrative folksongs addressing the troubles and delights of love, work, and wine (i.e., the things that matter), collected from a myriad of obscure sources and deftly metamorphosed, Out of Sight contains, among other moving curiosities, a fishmonger’s cry that sounds like an astral lament; a cotton mill tune that humorously explores the unknown terrain of death and memory; and a shanty/gospel song equally concerned with terrestrial boozing and heavenly transcendence. Always compelling and deftly impressive, Jake’s live shows have become must attend events, so its with great honour that we welcome him back this May to London.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHHbQnYmhWiY1zEaz41Mzzg 



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Dan Deacon, Trash Kit, En Attendant Ana and Massicot London shows for February!

Alright 2020!     Upset The Rhythm are gearing up for a busy February with our first show of the year taking place at The Scala on Feb 6th with the inimitable Dan Deacon! Hot on the heels of his dizzying new album of resplendent electronics, ‘Mystic Familiar’ out on Domino next Friday, Deacon will make his long-anticipated return to his spiritual home and favourite city outside of Baltimore! This week we invited avant-saxophonist Ben Vince to guest with Dan on a few tracks during his set, plus masters of the minimal moment Tomaga will perform too, well and truly chasing down the ‘other’ in sound! What a way to jolt the year into life! Did anyone say interpretative dance-off? Let it begin!

You can read all about that concert below, along with listings for all our upcoming dates next month including dancefloor-unlocking Trash Kit and Handle (whose off the charts debut album is released March 6th on Upset The Rhythm) performing at The Lexington on Valentine’s Day, Parisian dream punks En Attendant Ana teaming up with new faves Marcel Wave at PinUps on Feb 15th and hypnotic Swiss eruptions Massicot playing New River Studios on Feb 24th with band-mates Slagheap and Shake Chain too!   Exciting much?

Concluding this snappy missive we have our full programme of upcoming London events detailed, including recently confirmed appearances from Lankum, Nap Eyes, Bas Jan, Robert Sotelo, Waterless Hills, Clementine March and Despicable Zee.   Plenty of additions for that brand new diary there. Enjoy the words and keep it vital.

Upset The Rhythm presents…   DAN DEACON TOMAGA Thursday 6 February Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9NL 7.30pm | £15 | TICKETS DAN DEACON returns in February 2020 with ‘Mystic Familiar’, his first album in five years and the stunning result of years of obsessive work, play, and self-discovery. It’s not only his most emotionally open record but also his most transcendent! Eleven kaleidoscopic tracks of majestic synth-pop that exponentially expand Deacon’s sound with unfettered imagination and newfound vulnerability. Since 2015’s ‘Gliss Riffer’, Deacon has branched out from his core body of work into a dizzying array of collaborative projects: scoring eight films, collaborating with the New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer Justin Peck on the dance piece The Times Are Racing; performing expanded arrangements of his music with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; and for the first time producing and co-writing an album with friends Ed Schrader’s Music Beat. Throughout all this Deacon was also working on a new suite of songs that wield the profundity of a philosopher and the absurdity of a jester. These songs make up his forthcoming ‘Mystic Familiar’ album, painting life as a psychedelic journey brimming with bliss and disruption, darkness and light. Opening track “Become a Mountain” immediately announces itself as something new, for the first time ever on record presenting Dan’s natural singing voice, unprocessed and with only minimal accompaniment. When Deacon proclaims “I rose up” here, it is Dan Deacon singing in the first person as Dan Deacon—a startlingly vulnerable shift in a songbook abundant with characters, metaphors, and distorted vocals. “Hypnagogic” takes us deeper into Deacon’s mind, a synth swirl similar to those which have begun his recent performances, absorbing the pulse of the room and extending that abstract moment in which a journey begins. From there, ‘Mystic Familiar’ then takes a propulsive leap with the robotic drums and soaring melodies of “Sat By a Tree” and the four-part “Arp” suite offering up a dialectic view of life. It’s an album that captures an artist mindfully evolving his music from playful beginnings to encompass a prismatic cosmos of addictive ideas, melody and purpose! This special Scala show celebrates the release of ‘Mystic Familiar’ and Dan’s long-awaited return to his spiritual kingdom of London! Also avant-saxophonist Ben Vince is due to guest on a few songs in Dan’s set, so all looks set to well and truly go off! https://dandeacon.com/   TOMAGA are a live-duo formed by Valentina Magaletti and Tom Relleen. They channel various forms of multi-instrumentalism into music that moves by turns through industrial, jazz, psychedelia and minimalism, on it’s way to somewhere wholly other. Devoted to musical exploration, this London based duo obsessively deconstruct familiar tropes, looking for the tension that lies between improvisation and form. Tomaga formed in 2014 and have already released an impressive number of records through Other People, Negative Days, Meakusma and Hands In The Dark. Having been invited to tour with such musical luminaries as Stereolab, Wire, Deerhoof, Thurston Moore, FAUST, Lee Ranaldo and Silver Apples since their formation, Tomaga are truly one of the most inspiring live acts around. https://tomaga.bandcamp.com/

Upset The Rhythm presents… TRASH KIT HANDLE Friday 14 February The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £9 | TICKETS TRASH KIT are Rachel Aggs (guitar, vocals), Rachel Horwood (drums, vocals) and Gill Partington (bass). Three deeply creative individuals who play in a multitude of other groups including Bas Jan, Sacred Paws, Shopping and Bamboo, united by a shared decade of spry musicality that surges through their bodies, hearts and heads with Trash Kit. Their songs once succinct, patchwork post-punk numbers of an honest diary-like nature now tussle more with long-form songwriting, expeditious polyphony and cascades of sung-spoke vocals. This new focus began with their second album ‘Confidence’ (2014) and has now grown into something exhilarating and rapturous. New songs like ‘Disco’ have had their very fabric stretched into smart new shapes, allowing the band to run away with refrains and unlock the dancefloor. Although Trash Kit have their forebears in bands like Sleater Kinney, The Ex and The Raincoats, their sound is still very much their own take on facing forwards and relies as much on the naturalism of an internalised folk music as on their sincerity of vision. Since forming in 2009, Trash Kit have released three albums for Upset The Rhythm and a selection of singles, last July however they made their most majestic move yet with their resoundingly huge ‘Horizon’ album. Garnering countless glowing reviews and featuring in many end of year lists for 2019 ‘Horizon’ is an album that forever listens for the next moment and will meet you once more at the vanishing point. https://www.facebook.com/TRASH-KIT-329766302806/ HANDLE incorporate a diverse range of influences from samba to no wave. The three-piece from Manchester (now based between Manchester/London/Brussels) make a uniquely minimal sound, buoyed by poetic, urgent vocals. Each instrument (bass, drums, keyboard and voice) is permitted its own space, yet somehow the result is a brilliantly unified yet understated sonic experience that demands then commands your attention. Handle is made up of Giulio Erasmus and Nirvana Heire (former members of D.U.D.S) and Leo Hermitt, a genderqueer multidisciplinary artist, renowned for their challenging, thought-provoking work on the city’s arts and literary scenes. The group mesh politics with a trans experience of time and a vibrant, avant-garde freedom of approach. Powered by looping, hypnotic synth lines, quaking flexes of bass, clattering tribal percussion and expeditious, often agitated vocals that cordially sprint, Handle's songs - all of which clock in around the two minute mark - owe as much to performance poetry as they do to the vibrancy of post-punk. Handle's debut album ‘In Threes’ will be released March 6th by Upset The Rhythm and Maternal Voice and is a collection of frenetic sounds for frenzied forms. https://soundcloud.com/upset-the-rhythm/handle-punctured-time

Upset The Rhythm presents… EN ATTENDANT ANA MARCEL WAVE Saturday 15 February PinUps (formerly The Islington), 1 Tolpuddle Street, Angel, London, N1 0XT 7.30pm | £6 | TICKETS EN ATTENDANT ANA are a Parisian quintet who diligently craft songs that shimmer, glide and sway with sophistication. Trouble In Mind recently released the group’s second album ‘Juillet’. Many of the songs on ‘Juillet’ feel hopeful, despite their melancholic tone, lacing a lilting melody or triumphant trumpet swell (courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Camille Fréchou) or charging guitar riffs from Tomasso or Bouchaudon. Whereas the tunes on their debut ‘Lost and Found’ felt wild & reckless, the songs on ‘Juillet’ feel focused, a set of songs that feel bonded together by the magnetic pull of each other; viewed as a whole, they dazzle. Songs like "Do You Understand?" and the first single "Words" point toward a new frontier for the group, effortlessly sharpening their razor-sharp hooks to such a fine point, you almost don't realise their complexity. Elsewhere, songs like "Flesh or Blood" and opener "Down The Hill" revel in a push/pull dynamic. Finally, songs like "From My Bruise To An Island" and the sparse "When It Burns" bridge a confessional narrative atop an amorphous ambient float. They feel important, and hint at an exciting future for a band letting go of its past and entrusting fate with its future. https://enattendantana.bandcamp.com/   MARCEL WAVE write eulogies for tragic actresses, ancient riverbeds and concrete obscenity. Meades meets Pat-E-Smith meets Kirklees Borough Council. Featuring members of Cold Pumas and Sauna Youth. https://marcel-wave.bandcamp.com/releases

Upset The Rhythm presents…   MASSICOT SLAGHEAP SHAKE CHAIN Monday 24 February New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN 7.30pm | £7.50 | https://link.dice.fm/6T5vkTccc2   MASSICOT are a Geneva trio that sound as if they can hardly contain their own energy. The no-frills bone-dry guitar sounds oscillates between hypnotically repetitive passages and noisy outbursts. Simone Aubert plays her rhythm guitar with a manic relentless energy. Drummer Colline Grosjean works her way from funk to krautrock to tropical beats and back again. Then over all that, in addition to her vocals, Mara Krastina plays her charming bright red mini-bass with a velocity that is guaranteed to ensure bodies start moving. Their new album is due out about now on the Harbinger Sound / Spurge Recordings label. https://massicot.bandcamp.com/ SLAGHEAP are pure unfiltered energetic post-punk nonsense from four women in their pants. In turns melodic, naïve and raucous. The debut album from this Bristol quartet has been winning over fans everywhere and picking up plenty of airplay and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. The 12" was the first release from Spurge Recordings and is a must if you're attuned to the attitude and tunes of The Raincoats or Au Pairs amongst others. But be assured this isn't a simply retrospective sound. https://slagheapband.bandcamp.com SHAKE CHAIN formed through a love of thought provoking performance art and a yearning for disruption so they were never going to be your average run of the mill project and the band have delivered unpredictable live shows across London and Oxford since their recent inception. Having recorded their debut EP ‘Neil Yonge and Bob Doylan Live at Hyde Park’ (on the day of Neil Young & Bob Dylan Live at Hyde Park) last Summer, with sound artist David Carugo and released by Permanent Slump, the group enter 2020 with a fresh heap of material to take into the studio and on the road around the UK in April. Catch them in the field with their not-to-be-missed fusion of post-punk grooves and chaotic lamenting on the current state of things. https://permanentslump.bandcamp.com/album/neil-yonge-bob-doylan-live-at-hyde-park-ep

Have the best weekend imaginable, see you soon! Upset The Rhythm

UPSET THE RHYTHM UPCOMING SHOWS

DAN DEACON TOMAGA Thursday 6 February Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9NL 7.30pm | £15 | TICKETS   TRASH KIT HANDLE Friday 14 February The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £9 | TICKETS   EN ATTENDANT ANA MARCEL WAVE Saturday 15 February PinUps (formerly The Islington), 1 Tolpuddle Street, Angel, London, N1 0XT 7.30pm | £6 | TICKETS   MASSICOT SLAGHEAP SHAKE CHAIN Monday 24 February New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN 7.30pm | £7.50 | TICKETS   ISLET DESPICABLE ZEE Thursday 5 March Space 289, Railway Arches, 289 Cambridge Heath Rd, London, E2 9HA 7.30pm | £9 | TICKETS   THE SILVER FIELD CLEMENTINE MARCH LOOSE JOINTS (DJ Set) KATAYOUN JALILI (DJ Set) Friday 6th March SET, 27A Dalston Ln, Dalston, London, E8 3DF 7.30pm-2.30am | £6 | TICKETS   LIMPE FUCHS WATERLESS HILLS Saturday 14 March IKLECTIK, Old Paradise Yard, 20 Carlisle Lane, London, SE1 7LG 7.30pm |£10 | TICKETS   LIMPE FUCHS - Workshop Sunday 15 March IKLECTIK, Old Paradise Yard, 20 Carlisle Lane, London, SE1 7LG 1pm-3pm |£15 | Very limited places: TICKETS    SPINNING COIN BAS JAN ROBERT SOTELO Wednesday 18 March The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £8 | TICKETS   Upset The Rhythm & The Barbican present… RICHARD DAWSON: Delight is Right Barbican Hall, Silk St, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DS Saturday 28 March 3pm - 11pm | £17.50-£25 | TICKETS   Upset The Rhythm & The Barbican present… LANKUM Wednesday 15 April Barbican Hall, Silk St, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DS 7.30pm | £17.50-£22.50 | TICKETS   NAP EYES Wednesday 15 April Moth Club, Old Trades Hall, Valette St, Hackney Central, E9 6NU 7.30pm | £12 | TICKETS   PAN AMERICAN MIYAGI-LAMMARDO DUO Tuesday 21 April Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £10 | TICKETS    OLD TIME RELIJUN Wednesday 29 April PinUps (formerly The Islington), 1 Tolpuddle Street, Angel, London, N1 0XT 7.30pm | £8.50 | TICKETS   SHOPPING Tuesday 5 May The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £10 | TICKETS

Trash Kit - Euro tour 2020!

Trash Kit are heading out on a European tour this Feb! You know where to be!
Look out London, Feb 14th at The Lexington with Handle!

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Thrilled to have Nap Eyes head back to London this April!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

NAP EYES
Wednesday 15 April
Moth Club, Old Trades Hall, Valette St, Hackney Central, E9 6NU
7.30pm | £12 | https://link.dice.fm/zvGDnfhlq3 (Tickets on sale Friday at 10am)

NAP EYES, after eight years and four albums deep, find their artistic arc tracing a line alongside frontman Nigel Chapman’s daily tai chi practice. Those first years and albums are the cold mornings in the park: the measured movements, the joint aches, the self-doubt. With each new release, an incremental and invigorating step forward. And with the end of each album and tour, a return to the beginner's practice. And now, ‘Snapshot of a Beginner’, Nap Eyes's boldest, most concentrated and most hi-fi album to date, a study of that repeated return and all that it can teach you. The music still brings to mind the bucolic ennui of the Silver Jews and Daniel Johnston’s jittery naïveté. But the new sheen and maturity also now brings to mind the wide-angle appeal of The Jayhawks and the addictive brightness of Green Day’s Kerplunk!. Which brings us to the new album’s lead single, “Mark Zuckerberg.” Against crunchy and echo-laden guitars seasoned with pedal steel, Chapman begins by inquiring, “Is Mark Zuckerberg a ghost? Maybe, maybe/ Where are his hands and why don’t you ever see them in public?” By the end, it’s morphed into a Belle And Sebastian song and Chapman has found his way to a mantra: “Transcendence is all around us.” The journey from point A to point B is both short and rewarding. ‘Snapshot of a Beginner’ is released by Jagjaguwar on March 27th!

https://napeyes.bandcamp.com/

LANKUM - return to London this April!

Well this will be beyond brilliant! Lankum return to London with an expanded lineup at The Barbican this April, following on from their storming performance at The Dome last year!

Upset The Rhythm & The Barbican presents…

LANKUM

Wednesday 15 April

Barbican Hall, Silk St, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DS

7.30pm | £17.50-£22.50 | https://link.dice.fm/F88tPzSff3

LANKUM follow up their storming concert at The Dome last year with a special performance at The Barbican showcasing the contemporary folk band’s expanded line-up. New album ‘The Livelong Day’ has seen Lankum compared to The Pogues for a new generation and blends alternative folk and psychedelia to cement their reputation as one of the most talked about groups to emerge from Ireland in decades. The Dublin four piece - brothers Ian Lynch, Daragh Lynch alongside Cormac Mac Diarmada and Radie Peat - call the record a 'songbook for the people'. Featuring re-workings of folk standards such as 'The Wild Rover' and 'Katie Cruel', they honour the sacredness of traditional Irish songs, but allow them to metamorphose, to grow and breathe, alongside originals written by the band. Presented in association with The Barbican. This is an all ages event.
http://lankumdublin.com/



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