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Diary Dates
Declan McKenna – Monday 8 April
De Montfort Hall
“UK indie troubadour, a little bit oikish and with a nifty talent for mainstream melody” – NME.
Young Hertfordshire Indie-Rock singer-songwriter Declan McKenna began booking his own gigs at the age of just 14, recording whole albums in his bedroom and winning the Glastonbury Emerging Competition back in 2015. Since then, Declan has worked on material with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, and Florence and the Machine) and entertaining the masses with his energetic live shows.
Cassyette – Wednesday 10 April
O2 Academy Leicester
‘If Vince Neil from the Motley Crue had impregnated Dolly Parton in the Viper Room one wild night of the 90s- then Cassyette would be their offspring.’ Honestly, this is the best description we’ve ever heard, and quite frankly never heard one to encompass an act more, just listen to Cassyette and trust us you’ll get it.
Millie Manders & The Shut Up – Friday 12 April
The Musician
Millie Manders and The Shutup create cross-genre punk that is hard to ignore. With lyricism that pokes fun, draws you in or leaves you questioning social norms teamed with incredible vocal dexterity, grinding guitars, irresistible horn hooks and a pumping rhythm section, the Millie Manders Music Machine churns out more raw punk fusion than you can shake a stick at, with a huge amount of Pop appeal.
CJ Pandit – Sunday 14 April
The Big Difference
CJ Pandit is an ArtPop performer who crafts songs for movies that were never made and places that you’ve never been. Working and living between London, New York and his hometown here in Leicester, Cj has spent the majority of his life floating through different scenes, cities and circumstances. He is inevitably informed by heartbreak, longing and a search for meaning between the cracks in our day to day lives.
BBC Radio 2 Sounds of the 80s Live Tour – Friday 19 April
O2 Academy Leicester
Legendary DJ Gary Davies brings the UK’s most popular 80s radio show on tour – it’s the show you hear on a Saturday night ….live on stage!
Together with his producer Johnny Kalifornia, they will take you back to the best decade in music – the 80s!
Party along to specially curated Mastermixes and watch as our brilliant Sounds of the 80s dancers recreate classic scenes from 80s films and videos.
Dance to your favourite 80s anthems from artists such as Wham!, Queen, Prince, Madonna, Whitney and more.
ADMT – Tuesday 23 April
O2 Academy Leicester
ADMT is a Leeds based singer songwriter dabbling in Acoustic Pop. Describing himself as a ‘singer, drummer… universe explorer’.
Pete Morton – Thursday 25 April
The Musician
‘Pete is everything we want our singer-songwriters to be. Fiercely creative, proudly independent, skilful, talented, and terminally unpredictable’ (Mojo Magazine).
Sunbirds – Saturday 4 May
The Soundhouse
Co-founder of The Beautiful South, Dave Hemingway returns with his 6-piece Americana influenced Indie Folk band Sunbirds. Expect songs from their critically aclaimed debut album Cool To Be Kind as well as brand new material intertwined with one or two classics from Dave’s undeniable legacy.
Ocean Colour Scene – Friday 17 May
O2 Academy Leicester
Ocean Colour Scene’s rip-roaring live shows have long been one of the most extraordinary sights in modern rock, which boast the most life affirming sing-a-longs you’ll ever hear. They lit up the Britpop party, chalking up three Top five albums – Moseley Shoals, Marchin’ Already and 1999’s One From The Modern with a run of Top 20 single’s including the immortal “The Riverboat Song”.
James Walsh – Friday 17 May
The Soundhouse
AKA the frontman of indie troubadours Starsailor. Older, wiser – and a father – he’s looking forward to “doing something different for a while”, setting off in a different ship but touching people once again, which could include anything from writing more songs with Suzanne Vega or fulfilling a lifetime ambition to write with Shelby Lynne.
••••
INTERVIEW: Cellistica heading to The Soundhouse
Cellistica is the duo of Mark Jenkins (electronics) and Hannah Chappell (cello). Fusing the finest elements of classical, experimental, jazz, pop and rock music, Cellistica creates a rich and imaginative sound accompanied by spectacular computer graphic visuals. A typical set presents Cellistica’s own unique take on pieces by some of the world’s best known and loved classical, pop, jazz and rock composers.
Cellistica come to The Soundhouse in Leicester on Saturday 27 April, and we caught up with Mark to find out more about it all.
How would you describe Cellistica to someone who has never heard your music?
It’s all in the name – a duo of cello and electronica. The cello is kept fairly classical and straight so you can enjoy its pure tones without a lot of effects. The keyboards and electronics can go off in any direction that’s needed, which can include techno-sounding rhythms, progressive rock, touches of modern jazz and much more.
How did you both come to start performing together?
Cellistica is Mark Jenkins on keyboards and Hannah Chappell on cello. I’d heard some improvised music for cello and keyboards and wanted to create something a bit more melodic and accessible. Hannah was just graduating from Trinity Laban in Greenwich and it turned out she’s one of the few classical musicians who can also improvise and play pop music, so we work together very well.
Which 3 artists would be listed under your “for fans of” section?
At first we were creating improvised music which was fairly experimental. But as soon as we had time we worked up a set of established tracks as well as original pieces. So on the CD there’s a long piece originally by Pink Floyd, a track from Vangelis and one from Yes. So that’s all a bit prog rock – but we cover classical and pop music and some with jazz influences too.
Which is your favourite venue you’ve performed at?
We first performed at a great theatre in Birmingham called the Blue Orange. Individually though with other projects we’ve played some amazing places – Hannah at the Royal Festival Hall for example, and myself at the London Planetarium and in Brazil, Russia, China and all over the USA.
What has been the highlight of your music career so far?
I enjoyed recording on the slopes of the volcano Popocatepetl for one of my early albums – the air was a bit thin I can tell you – and with Cellistica I think the highlights are yet to come…
If someone is listening to you for the first time, which track should they start with?
If you like The Floyd you can’t beat our version of “Comfortably Numb”. We have two great guest vocalists, a very powerful rock band sound, and duelling cello and synthesizer towards the end. It’s a big finish for the CD.
What else do you have coming up in 2024?
We hope to have a lot more Cellistica shows. Individually I’m playing around the UK with a set of Kraftwerk music – the band practically invented techno-pop 50 years ao – and Hannah has a busy schedule performing and recording everything from Electric Light Orchestra and Elvis to really advanced classical pieces. But we’ve found time to start recording for a second album.
Where can people hear/find out more?
There’s a website www.cellistica.com which has biographies and photos, and my channel youtube.com/markjenkinsmusic has extracts from the album “First Flight” which you can mail order, and from live performances.
PLAYLIST
Check out our latest Listen up Leicester playlist highlighting some of the best acts you can see in Leicester over the coming weeks.
