Tag Archives: live

Jamaican dancehall legend & MOBO winner Gyptian plays live at the Bongo, Mon 4th Dec

30 November 2017 -

Gyptian_profile

Jamaican dancehall star and MOBO winner Gyptian makes his Bongo live debut this coming Monday, playing a rare Scottish date as part of a UK tour to promote his new single and we’re stoked to welcome him to the Bongo, which has been supporting reggae music since the venue first opened (in 1996).

This will be a very intimate show for an artist with his profile.  Not to be missed!

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Here’s an interview with the man from 2013, courtesy of guestlist.net, who published it:

‘UK’s my n*1 family’

You’re rastafarian, your father was rastafarian and your mother was a Seventh-day Adventist, how did that play out for you as a child?

You know, Jamaican people really care about certain things, which aren’t really a priority to us. The father would stay at home and the mother would go at church. Sometimes she’d come home shaking. She used to attend a revival church, it was frightening and traumatising, *imitating intensive breathing*. You know, the Rastafarian, he does what he wants to do, all he has to do is show peace and love and shall unite people. For me, as Rastafarian, no disrespect to Christianity, but it’s hypocrisy, right there.

I heard you were forced to do music when you were young, what does that mean?

First, Gyptian is very shy. Singing professionally wasn’t my thing. The vibes at the studio weren’t great. Then I got exposure on the TV stations. So I just made use of those and I realised there was something really good happening, people liked my songs. So here I am.

So, what can we expect from your show?

The shows are packed and the people are screaming, as usual, they love this Gyptian wine. As usual. I make the ladies’ bodies feel nice, go home make love to their boyfriend, make love to your wife, whatever. Gyptian please you tonight with music, naturally so. You never know if it’s going to outbreak tonight because different crowd, different feel, different performance. Just freestyle as it goes.

You have a reputation of an incredible artist because of your mix of RNB and Reggae with 8 million views on YouTube. Some classify you as a crossover artist, how do you feel about that?

Crossover whatever, I make it in the market, so pretty much a crossover. It’s all about me, showing the world of reggae, as a reggae artist, it’s not dead. Because that’s what I hear everybody saying: How do you feel about reggae this and reggae that? Reggae will never die because when I die there will still be people listening to reggae. The only way it can die is if they get rid of it in Jamaica, music and politics, I’ve seen, I’ve been all over the world. A lot of people are trying to push reggae aside and just stick to what they have. Come on people! Move on!

A lot of mainstream reggae stations are getting rid of their reggae DJs/shows. People are talking about a conspiracy against reggae and dancehall. How do you view that yourself?

Reggae roots shall weigh more than this. Because the spread of reggae was a real all and all task for Bob then to complete. If you have a strong mind, like Bob, you can do it. This is the people’s heritage, this is part of the heritage, part of the love, part of the thing. I think they should all just let it be, because it’s music. All these people trying to criticise and degrade reggae music. Reggae probably does more for them than many with their music. Because what reggae does for people, really, puts you in touch with answers, you see yourself, you can get meditation vibes. We can’t stop man from being man. And I think that is one of our biggest problems in Jamaica. That’s one of the main things that drives the music, because people think we are degrading them which we are not, because we don’t really know what it would lead to if we said what we really have to say. They should leave us alone, give us a break. For me, as an artist, I just try my best to sing a song that has no politics in it. My songs are all about joy and real time, not serious time. Going for the fundamental spirit of the music, without fighting with the politics. I feel like the people that are picking on the reggae artists should just leave us alone. Music is music. No matter how much you try to stop reggae music, you’re only gonna make it bigger.

The mixtape, sex, love, reggae, is out in October (2013). You have real mixes of tunes, ‘Serious times’ and ‘Mama’, and some covers, Gregory Isaacs ‘Number One’ and Cindy Lauper’s ‘True Colours’. There’s a freestyle with Snoop Lion, big combination, what’s the history behind that?

It was big vibes, because, you know, it was Snoop Lion, originally Snoop Dogg. We grew up watching him on TV. I was singing at the radio station and I was told that Snoop was going to be there. I heard that I was suppose to freestyle with Snoop. I was in the corner, it was his moment, so I was just chilling there just thinking. And then I freestyled, and people loved it, you know.

You’ve got some old tunes, remix of riddims, everything is there, it’s nice. A nice mixtape. Your current single, Vixen, featuring Angela Hunte, tell me about the track.

For her to get the chance to work with me and me with her, was just like a magnificent aim from the beginning. So, pretty much, we went in the studio working from time to time. It was a new experience and a new environment around the music. Pretty much, because she came from Jamaica just for a visit, so there was a good vibe of love. Love and respect and everything else. I really appreciated it, big up to Angela Hunte.

You ride a horse in the music video

I’d ridden a donkey, not a horse. I had this big gigantic horse. I was like: ‘Is this really necessary?’. I thought that was the interesting part. After that shoot they had this snake in a cage. I went to the cage that was standing there until someone came up and told me it was a snake. The snake is in a box, it’s not like it’s coming out. ‘It’s not venomous’. They didn’t tell me I was going to put a snake around my neck. I was like ‘Rascassa, no’. ‘Gyptian’s snake is not venomous’, no snake, the horse-riding was enough. We did one extreme part let’s stick to that. It was nice and everybody enjoyed themselves.

The way you move is fantastic.

You move like, some girls like it in some way. We all know this. You have to read the mind, you have to read the eyes, the body language and all these things. Because first, you have to know a women can take one glimpse at a man if she wants to. While we men, think our face is pretty and at the same time we wanna have a back stare, a back look when she passes. You’ve got 10 men in a room and everyone want this one girl, do you know who she wants? The one that isn’t giving her attention. That’s the man she’ll really want. You wonder why? Is it that he is not paying attention to her? I’ll be the one like, she’s staring, I’ll be drinking or I’ll be doing something different until she comes over. This is why, then we come and ask me. Pretty much, it speaks for itself.

When is a full studio album coming out?

20th of this month. You’ll get the sound that you need. I don’t know what else to say.

It’s black history month this month, any special message, especially to the black community?

Pretty much, we black people have come from far far away. We haven’t been paid for all the work we put in. I guess we are not gonna get any consultation. But at the same time this is our month, so listen, black with power, power with the people. Mad love, mad life, mad respect and everything. When I say mad I mean good.

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Acclaimed Liverpool trio Stealing Sheep headline Bongo Lives! x Hidden Door x Limbo, Fri 29th May

28 May 2015 -

Stealing Sheep Myth Portrait

Acclaimed Liverpudlian trio Stealing Sheep make their Bongo Club debut on Friday 29th May, as part of our Bongo Lives! x Hidden Door Festival, also in association with vaunted Edinburgh gig-in-a-club promoters Limbo.

This trio, signed to respected UK label Heavenly Recordings (behind classic indie-pop band St Etienne, among many others), have just released second album Not Real to a raft of rave reviews, with Mojo calling them ‘truly, a class act’, Magnet magazine in the US heralding their ‘weird pop album’ as ‘a bold step in to a bigger world’ and Lauren Laverne having them in for a session on her 6music show just a fortnight ago.  To say we’re excited about having them play at The Bongo Club is something of an understatement.  In short, it should be  one of the gigs of the year.  Check out the two videos below for an idea of what to expect.

It’s also the first time we’ve collaborated with local festival Hidden Door, a gargantuan, nine-day-long event, run entirely by volunteers: artists, students and others who have generously given up their time to make something truly unique happen here in Edinburgh, without any public funding at all.  The energy, enthusiasm and uninhibited generosity of spirit that has gone into putting on the Hidden Door is absolutely second-to-none.  Long may it continue!

The support acts for this gig are Edinburgh stars Blank Canvas and new Glasgow band ULTRAS.

More Info/Tix

This event complements Limbo’s other two stages at Hidden Door’s Secret Courtyard (King’s Stables Road) with Woodenbox, King Eider, Lo Bird, Pumajaw and Hailey Beavis.

More info / buy tickets for that (or the full HD festival ticket, which includes access to this event) here.

 

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Acclaimed Scottish band A New International launch Come To The Fabulon album

22 January 2015 -

A New International

A New International celebrate the release of their debut album, Come to the Fabulon, with a short European tour in February beginning with consecutive dates in their home cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Recorded and produced in Sheffield by Colin Elliot, producer, co-writer and bassist with Richard Hawley, Come to the Fabulon is a lush, poetic rush of bitter-sweet romanticism; an evocative mixture of cinematic strings, circus lights, carnival and cabaret, music hall, gypsy, chanson, a little bit of folk, a little bit of flamenco, yet with pop at its beating heart – welcome to the world of A New International. Reference points for the uninitiated include Scott Walker, Calexico, Beirut, Ennio Morricone…

‘Sumptuous European balladeering translated into an urban Scottish setting’ (The List)

Formed in 2013 from the ashes of The Starlets, creators of ‘some of the finest pop songs you’ve never heard’ (Sunday Herald), stage-sharers and contemporaries of fellow Scots Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura, The Starlets walked the path of most resistance despite playing sold-out shows in Japan and wowing mainland Europe with their ‘staggeringly beautiful’ (The List) live shows.  The band’s foreign adventures provided the context and inspiration for a musical transformation and their rebirth as A New International.

‘One of Scotland’s finest, most underrated bands’ (The Scotsman)

‘Walk past the Crusty Cob cafe in Neepsend, Sheffield, turn right at the heaped bags of Archie’s Chippers Premium Potatoes, and there, up a winding staircase, nestles Yellow Arch studios where, hunched over the mixing desk, you’ll find critically-acclaimed producer Colin Elliot, well known for his production work with Richard Hawley and many others. Mr Elliot and the band bonded over a shared love of Scott Walker’s “Scott 3”, FC Barcelona and malt whisky. The resulting album, “Come to the Fabulon”, is a melodic box of delights.

‘Many moments of beauty’ The Independent)

Check out the excellent video for Valentino (as premiered by Clash Magazine) below.

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Support comes from hosts Rally & Broad plus Caro Bridges and Mr Twonkey

Rally & Broad is the brain-child of Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum, who met in the summer of 2011, sharing stories, poetry and many Birds N Bees during the Edinburgh festival season. Both of them poets, promoters and performers in their own right who could regularly be found running, hosting and appearing at poetry events, they looked around the scene and felt an itch to do something to give it a boost. And lo, over much wine and hilarity, they did hatch a plan… In a nutshell, this planning has led to them running or being part of around 200 gigs in 2014 alone. As well as their regular Rally & Broad events in Edinburgh and Glasgow, they are much sought after as hosts, planners, poets, panelists and performers all around the country.

‘A celebration of creation and unpredictability… a monthly celebration of rich talent continuing to be a beacon of brilliance on the live lit scene’ (The List)

‘What you get from attending nights like this is a strong sense that something as simple as the human voice speaking beautiful words sincerely meant can cut through all the snares and distractions of our modern lives’ (Peter Ross, Scotland on Sunday)

‘This is just weird…. A spoken word night I’m actually enjoying?’ (Don Paterson)

Caro Bridges is originally from Norwich (A Fine City) and has been writing and performing her melodic folk and jazz influenced songs around Edinburgh since 2009.

‘Her songs will help you anthropologically’ (Nicole Strachan, Anti-Zine)
‘Intricate, beautiful songs with much folky jazzy excellence’ (Hannah Kitchen Kirby, Kite & The Crane)

Mr. Twonkey (aka Paul Vickers) is mad as a cricket bat and fast as a silver hare. A surreal act of twisted songs, adult fairytales and games that feature elaborate props. He mixes funny anecdotes and heartfelt moments creating an enjoyable uniquely Twonkey vision of a better world.

★★★★  ‘A dog’s dinner of unexpected, absurd, even offensive content. It’s also a classic’ (Time Out)
★★★★ ‘A Sublime cloud of nonsense’ (The Scotsman)
★★★★ ‘Oddly entertaining and utterly bizarre’ (Fringe Guru)
★★★★ ‘Mind-boggling from start to finish’ (Broadway Baby)

Dare yourself to sample a Dadaist cheese counter.  Sacked from Looney Tunes during a purple patch and ready to snap.  A true British eccentric in the mould of Vivian Stanshall or Ivor Cutler.  Fast becoming an Edinburgh Fringe institution.

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Queen of UK performance poetry Francesca Beard plays Rally & Broad, Fri 23rd Jan

15 January 2015 -

Rally & Broad

Ah – dear January.  You are so often a month of long, dreary Sundays, broken resolve and rapidly-dwindling New Year hopes…

But not at R&B HQ! This month, we’d like to start as we mean to go on in 2015: by unapologetically apologising, with oor tongues firmly in oor cheeks. A celebration of the apology in its many varieties (I’m Sorry I Ate All Your Cheese; I’m Sorry I Broke Your Favourite Tea-cup/ Heart/ Mind; I’m Sorry I Voted That Way; I’m Sorry it’s the National Bard’s Birthday and We’re Totally Ignoring It, etc). Come hear the confessional, the reverential, the spittingly-caustic and the wittily marvellous in oor January line-up.

Welcome to The Apology Shop…
Featuring:

Francesca Beard
FRANCESCA BEARD!

The indisputable Queen of UK performance poetry in a rare Scottish date! She’s sorry she is not up more often. To make up for it – check out her masterclass the next day at the Counting House!  Read her full biog here.

Hector Bizerk
HECTOR BIZERK!

The unapologetically experimental hip-hop duo!

Emily Dodd
EMILY DODD!

You won’t be sorry to miss this wonderful woman with her unique interactive spoken word stories!

CHRIS WILLATS!

Up and coming Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter. Apologies, Henry’s Cellar Bar; we’re nicking one of yer music programmers for the nicht.

JESS SMITH!

We recently judged the UK University Slam Championships and Jess Smith was on the winning team! That would be the Edinburgh Uni team. We’re sorry if ye may think that means we were biased. Come see her and ye’ll see we were not…

Tickets: £5 (on the door)

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Kate Tempest returns with her full band, Tues 24th Feb ’15

06 January 2015 -
Kate Tempest (full band)
Kate Tempest (full band) Live gig Bongo

Following October’s sold out solo show for her book tour (of which the Edinburgh performance drew five star appraisals from both The Scotsman and The Independent), we are buzzing about welcoming one of Britain’s most exciting new talents back to The Bongo Club, this time performing songs from her Mercury Music Prize-nominated album, Everybody Down, with her full live band.  If you caught Kate Tempest last time, you’ll know she’s nothing less than a sensational live performer.  If you’ve not seen her yet, this may be your last chance to do so in a small venue…

“One of the brightest British talents around” (The Guardian)

“As Tempest’s gorgeous steams of words flow out, they conjure a story so vivid its as if you had a state-of-the-art Blu-Ray player stuffed in your brain, projecting image after image that sears itself into your consciousness” (New York Times)

“Wow” (Chuck D – Public Enemy)

“Her works are truly of upliftment and betterment” (Roots Manuva)

BIOG

Kate Tempest started out when she was 16, rapping at strangers on night busses and pestering mc’s to let her on the mic at raves. Ten years later she is a published playwright, novelist, poet and respected recording artist. Her work includes Balance, her first album with band Sound of Rum; Everything Speaks in its Own Way her first collection of poems, the critically acclaimed plays Wasted, Glasshouse and Hopelessly Devoted. Brand New Ancients, her self-performed epic poem to a live score, won the Ted Hughes prize 2013 and the Herald Angel at Edinburgh Fringe. It has sold out tours in the UK and New York and is published by Picador. Her second collection of poetry, Hold Your Own, will be published by Picador on October 2014. Her debut novel, The Bricks That Built The Houses, sold in a highly competitive auction to Bloomsbury and will be published in territories including the UK, US, France, Holland and Brazil in Spring 2015. Excitingly, each track on the record correlates with a chapter in the novel, in a groundbreaking cross-genre experience.

Her single Our Town, with producers letthemusicplay was recently released on Greco-Roman records. Kate has featured on songs with Sinead O Connor, Bastille, the King Blues, Damien Dempsey and Landslide. She has toured extensively, supporting Billy Bragg on his UK tour, as well as supporting Scroobius Pip, Femi Kuti, Saul Williams and John Cooper Clarke. She is 2 x slam winner at the prestigious Nu-Yorican poetry cafe in New York and has played all the major UK and European music festivals either solo or with Sound of Rum. She’s headlined Latitude festival and has been featured on the BBC’s Glastonbury highlights, Channel 4, BBC Radio 1,4 and 6, as well as XFM and the Charlie Rose Show (Bloomberg) in the US.

Kate’s new album Everybody Down was released in May 2014 on Big Dada records. It was produced by Dan Carey aka Mr Dan who is one of the UK’s best known and most highly-rated producers. When the two met, Carey invited Tempest to come through to his South London studio to muck about on a track or two. In a burst of intense creativity, they put down the whole twelve track album in a fortnight having spent almost a year developing the characters and story. Kate is currently working on a new collection of poems, (to be published by Picador in 2014).

Loyle Carner

Support from Tempest collaborator and rising star of UK hip hop Loyle Carner.

Hosted by Rally & Broad.

Tickets: £12.50 (adv) / £15 (door)

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‘Czeslaw Sings Solo Act’ live, Sun 18th Jan

31 December 2014 -

Czeslaw Mozil Solo Poster

This internationally acclaimed Polish singer, composer, accordionist and TV personality stops in Edinburgh on his UK tour. Having grown up in Copenhagen (where he opened the Kulkafeen bar) and graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Mozil has had two records certified Gold and one Platinum and was a juror on the Polish version of X Factor on TVN, no less.  An avowed lover of waltzes, he improvises melodies and proves that classical music doesn’t have to be boring by combining elements of avant-garde fantasy, cabaret and folk with a punk-rock vigour and poetic mood.  Solo, he showcases piano and accordion skills, featuring hits and favourites from the albums Debut, POP and Czeslaw Spiewa Milosza.  Each song is prefaced by anecdotes about the origins of its creation and similar autobiographical accounts.  Mozil’s style will appeal equally to fans of Balkan, klezmer and gypsy music.

MORE INFO

The idea of ​​the Czeslaw Spiewa Solo Act was born 12 years ago, when an unknown Czeslaw Mozil widely played and sang wherever he could, travelling in small towns commonly called ‘Polish Class B’, with the objective of popularizing his Polish/Danish band, Czeslaw Spiewa, and to present Czeslaw Mozil to the public as an alternative musician.  Keeping with the spirit of the artist, this musical journey through the antipodes of the country maintained a balance between Czeslaw Mozil’s TV presence and his artistic activities. The project was a big success.

His solo shows are very popular among young people and older music lovers.  Funny jokes, an unusual set up and the intimate atmosphere of small pubs and social clubs create a unique opportunity for the artist to connect with a particular and multi-generational audience.  The result is the Platinum status of his DVD ‘In my little world’, which perfectly captures the atmosphere of unusual concerts under the title of Czeslaw Sings Solo Act.  There is no easy way of describing or labelling Czeslaw Mozila Solo Concerts.  Check out the wee video clip below for a better idea of what to expect.

czeslawspiewa.com

Tickets: £18 in advance / £22 on the door.

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New Zealand singer-songwriter Jayson Norris, intimate live show, Thurs 4th Dec

26 November 2014 -

Jayson_Norris_web

New Zealand singer-songwriter Jayson Norris brings an intimate performance to The Bongo Club, in association with Kiwi champions Spacific.

BIOG

Combining his rich, earthy voice with a blend of soul, roots and rock, Jayson Norris offers music inspired by many songwriters including Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz and Bob Marley. Jayson’s cultural and musical heritage is subtly reflected with a South-Pacific feel resonating throughout his songs.

Moving to the UK in 2004, Jayson set to work immediately. By tirelessly gigging all over London, hard work and epic live shows, Jayson soon made a name for himself and carved a niche in the music scene, supporting and sharing stages with a range of artists such as Andrea Bocelli, INXS, Blue King Brown, The Black Seeds, Pete Murray and Dave Dobbyn.

Since his move to the UK, Jayson Norris has released two full-length albums A Basket Full in 2006, which sold in excess of 3,000 copies independently in London alone and Freedom Twenty Eight in February 2011 through Loop Recordings in New Zealand and Australia. Freedom Twenty Eight is a dynamic blend of sounds, subject matter and genre that conveys Jayson’s explosive and diverse live show and captures the soul and emotion of him both musically and in his heartfelt lyrics.

Freedom Twenty Eight hit the New Zealand Album Charts debuting at #25 on the New Zealand Top 40 and #2 on the New Zealand Independent charts. The second and third singles taken from the album, “Love Someone” and “Window”, both made the New Zealand RIANZ Top 40 Singles Chart with the music video for “Love Someone” making #1 on Juice TV’s Channel 63.

Following on from the success of his recent singles and album, Jayson Norris was invited to join the cast of the renowned kiwi collective Fly My Pretties, which toured NZ in January 2011. Not only did Jayson join the cast of Fly My Pretties, but he also opened each show with his own epic live solo performance, impressing audiences across the country. While in NZ, Jayson also performed at the 2011 “Homegrown Festival” (NZ’s biggest local music festival), which saw him being the first artist ever to be asked to play on two different stages, a true testament to Jayson’s amazing live show.

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Reggae legend Earl Sixteen plays Messenger, Sat 1st Nov

25 October 2014 -

earl16-01

RESCHEDULED DATE (from July): Jamaican singer Earl John Daley, aka Earl Sixteen, is more than a bit of a legend in reggae circles, with a musical career going right back to the mid-Seventies, having been born in Kingston in 1958.

His early years included work with many other reggae greats: Joe Gibbs, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Earl Morgan (The Heptones),  Boris Gardiner, with singles for Linval ThompsonAugustus PabloClement ‘Coxsone’ DoddSugar MinottYabby You, and Derrick Harriott, a debut album with Mikey Dread, two more with Roy Cousins and a collection of early material consequently released by evergreen label Studio One.

Having settled in England in the mid-Eighties, after a spell in the US, he met UK dub don Mad Professor, working with him and Stafford Douglas, among others, successfully covering Simply Red’s chart hit Holding Back The Years.  He returned to Jamaica to work with King Jammy and, come the early Nineties, was back in the UK lending his vocal cords to UK dance legends Leftfield (on Release The Pressure, as featured on their massive Leftism album), consequently joining UK electronica/reggae band and festival mainstays Dreadzone, in 1995.   See Dreadzone playlist.

He had his a major label debut, Steppin Out (WEA), in 1997 (also nominated for a MOBO award, no less) and has been touring with Dreadzone and as part of Leftfield’s tour-band worldwide ever since.  Having started his own label, Merge Prodcuction, mainly for previously unreleased productions from the late Seventies and Eighties, he put out a new album as Earl Sixteeen meets Manasseh, Walls Of The City, in 2013.

In short, this live show is not to be missed!  See full biog and discog on Wikipedia.

Tickets (£10) on the door only.

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Kate Tempest (Sat 25th Oct) SOLD OUT!

01 October 2014 -

kate-tempest2_web

Rally & Broad and the Scottish Poetry Library’s event with 2014 Mercury Music Award Nominee Kate Tempest (Saturday 25th October) is now totally SOLD OUT and so we can offer a RETURNS ONLY policy for anyone turning up without a ticket and wishing to get in on the night (i.e. arrive early and keep your fingers crossed)!

N.B. This event is to promote the launch of Tempest’s book,  so she will be performing her work solo, as opposed to with a live band.

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