Boards
WILLKOMMEN COLLECTIVE feat THE LEISURE SOCIETY and SOAAN // Brudenell, Leeds // 5th April
THE BRUDENELL in collaboration with the ARTS COUNCIL present.....
Bank Holiday Monday
5TH APRIL 2010
THE WILLKOMMEN COLLECTIVE
feat.
THE LEISURE SOCIETY
and
SONS OF NOEL AND ADRIAN
BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB
Tickets £11 Adv
Available Now from JUMBO (0113 2455570) | CRASH (0113 2436743) |SEETICKETS | WEGOTTICKETS | BRUDENELL
Brighton has always been a breeding ground for new bands and exploratory music.
With Willkommen Collective – a loose-knit community of musicians and bands turned record label (sharing lo-fi, nu-folk, alt-country roots) – the city now has a bona fides scene to rival Fife’s much touted Fence Collective.
Featuring on this Willkommen Collective tour of England are The Leisure Society and Sons of Noel and Adrian.
THE LEISURE SOCIETY
The story of The Leisure Society began in Burton-Upon-Trent when Nick Hemming picked up a guitar and formed a band with Shane Meadows, Paddy Considine and Rich Eaton. Following a year of demos and increasingly bizarre gigs, Shane and Paddy were drawn towards careers in film, leaving Nick to pursue a life of making music. After serving time with Burton’s best known exports The Telescopes (latterly Unisex), Nick contributed scores to some of Shane’s movies, including A Room For Romeo Brass and Dead Man’s Shoes, under a new moniker 'The Leisure Society'.
Then in 2005 he was asked to collaborate with fellow Burtonians Christian Silva, prompting a move to South London where he bunked up in singer Christian Hardy’s postage stamp bedroom. One thing inevitably led to another and soon Nick started shyly presenting his compositions in the wee hours of the morning, picking up a ukulele, mandolin, banjo or guitar and pouring out songs that were wistful, romantic, poetic and drenched in longing. Hemming was dismissive, Hardy was transfixed. Thus The Leisure Society was reborn, a new band in which Christian tinkled the ivories, twiddled the knobs and sung all the notes Nick couldn’t reach.
Christian and Nick continued with other musical exploits: Christian Silva released debut album Onward! and enjoyed a number of high profile tour dates; Nick joined the ranks of two Brighton folk ensembles, Sons Of Noel and Adrian and Shoreline, both members of a newly formed Willkommen Collective. It was from this rich pool of talent that Nick and Christian found band members to realise their ever-expanding vision of The Leisure Society. Simple ukuleles and close harmony were joined by lush orchestral chamber pieces with vast rhythm sections and choirs. Nick brought home a sitar, Christian brought home a pedal steel, Nick brought home a flute player, Christian brought home a drummer. And so on.
And now at the end of 2008 the results are in. They have produced a collection of 30 or so songs, 12 of which are presented on their first limited release The Sleeper, which will be brought to you by Willkommen Records. And that’s the story. The Leisure Society is Hemming with Hardy, a band from Burton reborn in a London bed. Together they strive for a time of relaxation through automation, for a moment when they can hold their table tennis bats aloft and salute modernity.
"Wonderful" - OBSERVER MUSIC MONTHLY - ****
"An autumnal mist of British Bank Holiday ennui surrounds Nick Hemming's literate meditations." - THE TIMES - ****
"Beautifully pastoral debut." - MOJO - ****
SONS OF NOEL AND ADRIAN
The Willkommen’s post-folk orchestra, Sons of Noel and Adrian, originally hail from the Midlands. This ever-evolving troupe of like-minded musical folk ventured southwards two years ago, gathering reinforcements en route, before settling in the city by the sea. Their music ranges from shanty to Schoenberg, from deep underground to just above the surface.
LINKS:
http://www.willkommenrecords.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/willkommencollective
http://www.myspace.com/theleisuresociety