Performing Arts
‘Superfun Pest Megamix’
This title refers to the musical montage that features on the website of the band ‘Pest’ – www.pestmusic.co.uk Required listening, we suggest, for those reading this note.
Pest’s immensely seductive brand of improvisational music-making has been maturing through various incarnations for over ten years now since Tom Marriot and Wayne Urquhart met at City University, a fine institution which has particular teaching strengths in music. They then honed their skills at the Guildhall and have since moved forward as a five piece that now lines up as jazz guitarist, trombone, bass cellist, keyboard and drums.
They categorise the current output, which is just about to be enshrined in their third album, as ‘reminiscent of George Benson being strangled by an anaconda’.
Rather more accessibly they also describe their sound as ‘genre-defying, booty-shaking sonics, a dancefloor - driven mix of underground electronica, jazz and funk’ designed presumably to support their assertion that ‘music needs a good kick up the arse’. Fair enough – nothing like a bit of attitude.
They’ve recently toured Japan successfully but gigging lately has been put on hold while they’ve wrestled with finalising the new album.
Promisingly they’ve now arrived at the point where they’re all satisfied with the mix of the material and mastering is imminent.
Showcase hopes this will be the ‘Big One’ that enables them all to give up day jobs that range from brickwork to sound engineering.
Once the album’s out no doubt they’ll be on stage again. They’re terrific live. Check the website for future aural treats.
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heartnsoul.co.uk
info@heartnsoul.co.ukLive Heart is made up of Danny Nasirpour Smith, Chris Brierley, Catherine Long and Guy Dartnell. Supported by local arts organisation ‘Heart n Soul’ they use music, visual art, theatre, photography and improvisation to create experimental/performance or live art.
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Catherine (Cat) Knight is a singer, songwriter, choreographer, children’s entertainer, stilt walker and leader of a dance troupe unsurprisingly called ‘Fullmotion’. This is an outfit dedicated to teaching and promoting youth dance and they’re into drum n’bass, old skool rave, house, hardcore, breakbeat, trance, hip hop, garage, commercial, pop, jungle and RNB.
Cat’s myriad talents have resulted in her insinuating herself into a multitude of pulsating artistic places ranging from doing music promotional work, to gigs in many clubs, to underground events, to marketing videos for the BBC, to dancing on various TV shows. And her efforts have resulted in appearances on ‘Ministry of Sound’ compilations and being signed to legendary music label Island (now part of Universal).
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