When: 7.30pm on Monday 15 October 2012
Where: The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE
We’re delighted to be bringing Rozi Plain to the intimate surroundings of the Castle Hotel.
When you first hear the sonorous, atmospheric swell of singer-songwriter Rozi Plain‘s home-built electric guitar coupled with her swooning vocal charm, you may as well put your hands up and surrender. You’re going to be won over.
Originally hailing from southern England’s secret garden of Winchester, Rozi moved base up to Bristol to form the Cleaner Collective with her brother Romanhead, and best pal Rachael Dadd. Exchanging demo tapes with Fence Records’ King Creosote and The Pictish Trail at the Green Man Festival, Rozi and her friends soon found themselves entwined in the world of DIY lo-fi folk merchants, the Fence Collective – regularly performing at the label’s legendary Home Game and Away Game events in Scotland, and playing genial host to any Fence performers travelling south.
Debut album Inside Over Here introduced the listener to Rozi’s unique, ethereal songwriting style – fractured dreams about shark attacks, near-miss romances and slow motion conversations. It’s lighthearted modesty was championed by Devendra Banhart, and the album saw Rozi tour across the UK, mainland Europe, America and Japan – winning new fans supporting Devendra, Beach House, James Yorkston, KT Tunstall and François & The Atlas Mountains among others. As word of the album spread out, BBC’s Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Huw Stephens, Gideon Coe, Vic Galloway, Steve Lamacq and Rob Da Bank all became immediate fans – playing Rozi’s music, and inviting her up for sessions.
New album Joined Sometimes Unjoined is Rozi’s second LP with Fence Records, following a move to Brixton, and the release of two interim EP’s with Need No Water Records – Humans and See My Boat. Accompanied by a full band this time, her sparse vocal and finger-picked guitar arrangements are fleshed out across ten tracks with a revolving cast of layered voices, soft-tumbling percussion, steel-pan drums, violin, piano and lilting brass. It’s a warm, summer-sun blend of melody centred around Rozi’s voice. The album is being pre-released in limited edition formats from July, with an official general release scheduled for late September.
Main support comes from Tundra – aka Sarah Brown and Jack Hood, a Manchester-based Americana/Anti-folk duo. Originally from Newcastle, Jack and Sarah have been playing music together for around seven years in various different bands, with Tundra their newest project. They are influenced by Wilco, Son Volt, Devon Sproule, Withered Hand and Hurray for the Riff Raff, with other influences coming from areas such as Nashville and pretty much anyone who plays at End of the Road Festival.
Opening this are Tiny Parcels, a new Manchester-based duo made up of two girls, Emma Lomax and Hayley Faye. They play a quirky combination of pop with fast-paced skiffle songs on the guitar and drums. The pair have been playing music in various different bands in and around Manchester for years but teamed up to form Tiny Parcels after meeting at a party in Salford. They are influenced by, among others, The Andrews Sisters, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Smiths, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The White Stripes, Violent Femmes, Pixies, The Breeders, The Ramones, Sultans of Ping FC, Nancy Whiskey and the great Lonnie Donegan.
Buy tickets now. Tickets are also available from the bar, Common (both no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.com, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.