BPREVIEW: Club Integral – Seikou Susso, Howie Reeve, Kamura Obsura, Dorcha @ The Edge 07.10.16

Club Integral – Seikou Susso, Howie Reeve, Kamura Obsura, Dorcha @ The Edge 07.10.16Words by Ed King

Tonight, on Friday 7th October, Club Integral launches its Birmingham ‘branch’ at The Edge/Friction Arts, 79-81 Cheapside, B12 0QH.

‘Home to the uncategorisable’, Club Integral was has been promoting an eclectic line up of ‘left field music and performance’ since 2010.  With regular club nights, a radio show and their own imprint – Divine Records – the London based collective have celebrated and championed a wide range of acts, many of whom may not be the first on a commercial promoters speed-dial but well worth some attention.main-with-web-colour-bcg-lr

Hosted as part of October’s Digbeth First Friday – the monthly portfolio of events promoting the cultural city fringe – Club Integral launches in Birmingham from 8pm on Friday 7th October.

Tickets are priced at £4 online/advance and £5 on the door, with Ubuntu Food serving ‘the finest South African eats’ at the event.

For direct event info on Club Integral’s Birmingham debut at The Edge, including links to online tickets sales, click here.

Performing at Club Integral (B’ham) will be Seikou Susso, a traditional Kora player from Gambia in North West Africa. Having moved to the UK in 1991, Seikou Susso has found an active place for his performances in the festival and live music scene – playing both as a solo artist and with his own ensemble, the Allah Lake Afro Mandinka band. For more on Seikou Susso, clcik here.

Also performing in Birmingham on Oct 7th will be Howie Reeve, a Glasgow based solo artist who has previously appeared at the Club Integral London showcases. A solo, acoustic bass player… I’ll just let that sink in, Howie Reeve has been taking his original music and astute lyrics across the world – including a recently crowd funded tour of Japan. For more on Howie Reeves, click here.

Next on the bill is Kamura Obsura, another left-of-centre musical artist who has been part of the Club Integral gigs darn sarf. Born from the wonderful brain of Japanese punkster, Atsuko Kamura, Kamura Obscura also features Robert Storey (guitar) and Natalie Mason (Viola, Accordion) – a trio that ‘explores vocal experimentation, composition and improvisation incorporating enka, chanson and Japanese punk into original multi-instrumental music.’ And whilst I consider myself a versatile writer… for more on Kamura Obscura click here.

Rounding off Club Integral’s Birmingham debut is one of our own and one of our best, Dorcha. A self described ‘song experiment’, Dorcha is the Anna Palmer led ensemble that followed her I Am Anushka solo work. Brave, brash, a little like Kristin Hersh meets The Cinematic Orchestra at the bottom of a box of mushrooms, Dorcha are always worth a stop, look, listen.

Down-scaling for the Club Integral Birmingham debut, three of the band will be https://twitter.com/art_on_the_edgeperforming ‘something ever so different from our usual NOISEY show’ in a more ‘stripped back, intimate set; so close, we’ll be sat on your laps’. Better iron my slacks then… For more on Dorcha, click here (for the ‘look’) and here (for the ‘listen’).

Club Integral launches in Birmingham on Friday 7th October at The Edge/Friction Arts, 79-81 Cheapside, Digbeth, B12 0QH – as part of October’s Digbeth First Friday. For direct gig info and links to online tickets, click here.

For more on Club Integral, visit www.clubintegral.wordpress.com

For more from The Edge/Friction Arts, visit www.frictionarts.com

For more on Digbeth First Friday, visit www.digbethfirstfriday.com

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BPREVIEW: City of Colours @ Digbeth (various) 18-19.06.16

BPREVIEW: City of Colours @ Digbeth (various) 18-19.06.16

Words by Sam Marshall / Pics courtesy of City of Colours

On the 18th& 19thof June, Birmingham will once again host the City of Colours street art festival – taking over walls, venues and municipal spaces across Digbeth.

This year’s free two day event will feature over 120 artists, a tapestry of music, workshops and street art – all programmed with the aim of promoting ‘unity, diversity and freedom of expression and to make a difference to our community through collaboration and co-operation’.Birmingham Preview

City of Colours is the brain child of Karl Paragreen and Becci Wright, who have been hosting the event since its conception in 2014; it is because of the success of the first single day festival two years ago that the event now spreads over a whole weekend. God bless public demand.

The team organising City of Colours is ‘is an urban arts company with a community interest mission to provide an accessible platform for artists of all levels and backgrounds’ with an aim to ‘educate, influence and inspire marginalised groups’. Working alongside Karl and Becci is an ensemble as diverse as the art they promote; you can see their hand prints across the cultural calendar of the city in projects such as the Digbeth Dining Club, Big Centre TV, and Hip-Hop Heals.

City of Colours logo - transMusic is also a significant part of the City of Colours festival, with sounds across the weekend from Scratch Club, Jam Hott, Ragtime Records and a selection of other home grown talent, including Call Me Unique – running alongside all the visual artists.

And although City of Colours has no over big ‘P’ political motive, it arguably echoes Naomi Klein’s No Logo and its battle cry to reclaim the streets. The glossy hue of spray paint, the ridges of heartfelt brush and the colour of over 100 images put up across the city’s walls reflecting Birmingham’s cross section of communities.  And it’s free; Ms Klein would be proud.

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For more on City of Colours, visit www.cityofcolours.co.uk

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