CONTACT:
creativepeaksart@gmail.com
upcoming concerts
Check out our exciting, multicultural programme of concerts over the next few months, blending together elements of Chinese glitch hop, Indian classical music, Scottish folk and the spiritual music of Zimbabwe with contemporary and experimental sounds. We'll be blurring the boundaries between the arts and opening up the space for interaction, improvisation and connection.
auka
Saturday 23rd September
Watts Russell Arms
“Auka” comes from an Old Norse word meaning to grow or augment, a term that sums up the band’s organic and distinctive approach to music-making. Intimate, Celtic-infused contemporary folk melodies gradually swell with turbulent and powerful waves of energy.
Since releasing their acclaimed debut album Evergreen in 2021, the Sheffield trio have honed their sound performing at festivals and venues across the UK. Kirsty Lomax’s lyrical Irish flute and whistle melodies are accompanied by intricate and precise rhythmic guitar from Matt Gilchrist, underpinned by expressive jazz-folk double bass from Joss Mann-Hazell.
Their second album, Wild Waters will be released this Friday. Fuelled by a passion for the re-wilding and Right to Roam movements and the need for access to blue spaces for wild swimming, the music reflects the ephemeral nature of rivers and streams, and pays tribute to the importance of protecting our wild waters.
past concerts
tamsin elliott &
tarek elazhary
Friday 15th September
Watts Russell Arms
Tamsin Elliott is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and film-maker based in Bristol. With roots in folk music, experimental and ambient sounds. Check out her critically acclaimed debut solo album ‘Frey’on Penny Fiddle Records.
Egyptian educator and composer Tarek Elazhary seeks to preserve the musical heritage of the Middle East, while exploring its place within a contemporary context. He is the co-founder of instrumental band Dokkan, which blends eastern influences with contemporary western instrumentation.
Exploring the parallels and celebrating the idiosyncrasies of their respective traditions, Elliott and Elazhary aim to find commonality through meaningful and conscious collaboration. A dialogue born of mutual respect and friendship forms the basis of mesmerising cross-cultural conversations between lever harp, accordion, whistles and Arabic oud, a dreamlike interplay between UK folk traditions and the melodies of the Middle East. They speak with the voice of a future-facing generation seeking to build something authentic and original.
skylla
Thursday 3rd August
Watts Russell Arms
Skylla is the solo project of composer and bassist Ruth Goller (Melt Yourself Down, Rokia Traore, Sam Amidon, Vula Viel) featuring outstanding UK vocalists Lauren Kinsella (Snowpoet) and Alice Grant (Matthew Herbert). The music is inspired and influenced by Bulgarian folk song, free jazz, James Joyce and the Italian Alps where Ruth grew up. Bass guitar harmonics in experimental tuning systems sparkle beneath other-worldly polyphonic songs.
‘SKYLLA' takes after the mythical three-headed sea monster of the same name, their music is both mysterious and arresting.
wychbury
Friday 28th July
Watts Russell Arms
Wychbury are a contemporary folk duo of guitarist Che Bradley and vocalist Rhiannon Kenny. Their intimate performances are a blend of traditional folk songs and their equally timeless original material. The delicate storytelling of Rhiannon’s vocals and the clarity and inventiveness of Che’s guitar playing have made them favorites on the emerging Leeds folk scene.
"Their brains just seem to naturally work on a level of curiosity and invention that most of us only aspire to."
sentido andino
Saturday 17th June
Watts Russell Arms
Sentido Andino will be performing a collection of traditional Andean folk songs and South American laments. This father and daughter duo will transport you to the Andean mountains with their mesmerising and intricate arpeggios and soaring passionate vocal melodies, imbued with the spirit of the Incas. Instruments include the charango, cuatro venezolano, ronroco boliviano and the bombo andino.
juliette lemoine &
heather cartwright
Thursday 27th April
Watts Russell Arms
Juliette Lemoine’s emotive cello compositions are a euphoric celebration of the theme of freedom. Redefining the role of the cello in Scottish music, the fluidity of her bowing and ornamentation is inspired by traditional fiddle techniques, breathing new life into the instrument. She’s performed at Blas Festival, Celtic Connections, HebCelt, Aberdeen Jazz Festival and the BBC Proms and she’ll be joining us after the recent release of her stunning debut album ‘Soaring’.
Showcasing a Fylde guitar, custom made in Cumbria by Roger Bucknall, Heather Cartwright experiments with open tunings and fingerpicking techniques. She has recently been on tour to Austria with Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2018 winner, Hannah Rarity, and performs regularly with singer and songwriter Beth Malcolm.
tom harris
Saturday 6th May
Watts Russell Arms
Tom Harris is a sound artist whose practice takes in everything from social history and deconstruction, to meditation and creative processing. Searching for identity and inner peace, whilst navigating a passage through the labyrinth of the city walls, he explores the constant tension between hope and the insistent and sinking energy of dark matter. The muses tease and taunt and the beats and textures pull against each other to form a carefully considered impression of organised chaos. Thoughtful ambient soundscapes with undercurrents of scratched and sliced hip hop.
stringbeats
Saturday 20th May
Watts Russell Arms
Stringbeats will be performing a selection of Indian classical and folk music. The trio consists of sitar, sarangi and tabla. They blew us away with a stunning performance at Lost in the Hills festival in September 2022 and will be back in May with an extended performance.
jimsun
Friday 2nd June
Watts Russell Arms
Jimsun aka Jaime Gonzales, will be cooking up a semi-improvised lo-fi set with hip hop, folk, Latin, soul and dub flavours. Silky smooth vocals merge with kooky loops, twisted effects, filters and time-stretched samples to create his signature sun-drenched soundscapes.
millicent chapanda
Friday 9th June
Watts Russell Arms
Millicent Chapanda is a Zimbabwean cultural artist, traditional mbira player, percussionist, singer, dancer and storyteller. Her music is nourished by Zimbabwean traditional ceremonials where vibrant spiritual and secular music is a key part of bringing people together in devotion, praise, reflection and celebration.Join her for an incisive, participatory and inclusive gathering of mbira expressions; a celebration of Shona culture that calls on the ancestral spirits, rising through the transcendental cascading sound of the mbira and the pull of the voice to the outer worlds.
guohan
Saturday 8th April
China-born DJ and producer Guohan charters an otherworldly inward journey past ancestral rock carvings and through bustling city streets, telling mythical tales of the sunrise and the sunset along the way. His palette is multi-cultural, drawing on influences from hip-hop and jazz, traditional music and everyday life. The fractured rhythms and harmonies are a reconstruction of memories and missing links, documenting the forgotten moods and colours of contemporary life.
Guohan also plays alongside Pete Beardsworth and Tom Towle in eclectic jazz / hiphop trio Three Body, and is a founding member of Running Circle, Nottingham’s slick artist-led record label, releasing music with love and vision.
two mirrors
Saturday 11th February
A reflection of the infinite emptiness within: anguished contemporary folk songs echo through the autumn mists and whisper of the tragedy of the shallow seas. Ancient myths and reincarnated sorrows seep through the melodies and irregular phrasing to shape the earthy and introspective sounds of Two Mirrors. Contemporary folk with irregular rhythms and tunings.
Influences: John Francis Flynn, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Nick Cave, Jose Gonzales, Kate Bush, Joshua Burnside