Freedom @ Hull City Hall supported by

Special Guest host Charlie Baker - After tapping his way to victory on Lets Dance for Comic Relief and losing his head in Doctor Who, comedian Charlie Baker is a one man entertainment machine and hosts a taster evening of the very best of Freedom 2011.
A stunning evening of entertainment featuring:

Camille O’Sullivan – Singer, actress, award-winning architect, painter, TV panelist… multi-award-winning Irish/French chanteuse Camille O’Sullivan is one of Ireland’s most unique artists. With five star sell out seasons in London, New York, Sydney Opera House and Edinburgh, this charismatically unique performer presents the work of Nick Cave, Jacques Brel, David Bowie, Tom Waits and many others in her very own distinctively fascinating style. www.camilleosullivan.com
‘A major star’ ***** – Scotsman
‘She treats every song as an intense emotional journey, hypnotic’ – Independent
Camille O’Sullivan performs her full Freedom 2011 show at Hull Truck on Friday 2 September & Saturday 3 September @ 7.45pm. Tickets availablefrom or 01482 323 638.

Frisky & Mannish – It would appear to be something of a challenge to describe with precision what it is that Frisky & Mannish do. If pressed, they would say, it’s popmusicy-seriocomic-mashparodic-stereophonic-LOUD-vaudevillian-sketchcabaret-throwbackcurrent-oldfangled-newfashioned-bapsbotty-infotainment… Or, to be succinct, they tit around with pop songs. You will blates love it.
Frisky and Mannish is the cabaret comedy creation of Laura Corcoran and Matthew Jones. Since bursting onto the scene in 2008, they have become a “global phenomenon” (Times), performing in London’s West End, New York, Berlin, Melbourne, New Zealand, Adelaide, Singapore, Perth, and at the Sydney Opera House. They recently performed live on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Scott Mills, after being discovered by producers. The subsequent buzz has cemented their reputation as one of the most sought-after acts on the circuit.
www.friskyandmannish.co.uk
“Unerringly sharp and upbeat from start to finish, this is a gold-star masterclass in the mechanics and semantics of pop.” **** Mail on Sunday
“The most fun you can have on the Fringe without chemicals… There ain’t no party like an F&M party!” ***** Chortle
“Such glittering panache… the atmosphere is more redolent of a flashy turn by Lady Gaga than your average comedy club night.” Telegraph
Frisky & Mannish also star in Freedom to Laugh at Hull City Hall on Friday 2 September @ 8pm.

The Hull Freedom Chorus – Hull Freedom Chorus is a massed choir formed in June this year for the Freedom Festival 2011. The Freedom Chorus is a diverse group of people from the Hull area united by a love of singing. Some members are in existing choirs, some have never sung as part of a group before, and they are united together here to perform for the first time. The group is led by inspiring musical leader Em Whitfield Brooks, and will sing a varied programme of songs from Beethoven to Queen and others from different cultures, all of which express Freedom in some way.
Hull Freedom Chorus will be making surprise appearances throughout the city centre during Freedom 2011, keep your eyes (and ears) peeled.

Jess Gardham Band are a York based four piece band playing original material. The line up comprises Jess Gardham- vocals and guitar, Emma Whitehead- Drums, Michaela Winship- Bass guitar and Charlie Daykin- Keyboard. Their music has been described as “funky acoustic soul with a feelgood vibe” The band have performed at many festivals and venues including Beverley Folk And Acoustic Roots Festival, Galtres festival and Manchester academy and have supported a number of Internationally known musicians including David McAlmont.

The band will be releasing their debut E.P on June 17th 2011 and will be touring throughout the UK, Holland and Germany. With several major festivals already booked this year The Jess Gardham Band are definately a Band to watch out for.www.jessgardham.co.uk
Jess Gardham also appears at FRUITspace, Humber Street as part of Freedom 2011. Visit www.fruitspace.co.uk for details.

Thursday 1 September 2011
7.30pm – 9.30pm (Doors 7pm)
Tickets £10.00 / £6.00
Age Range – 14+

Freedom @ Hull City Hall supported by

Troubled alpaca counsellor? Nun fight club? Lactose intolerant robots? Seasoned improvisers Steve Steen, Andy Smart, Steve Frost and very special guest Josie Lawrence, will deftly handle these kind of suggestions and more, toiling at the coalface of audience whimsy. Marvel, as idle thought is made flesh, right in front of your face. Four comics. Limitless possibilities. (Adult content, delivered childishly.)

Josie Lawrence – Josie made her name on the original TV version of improv comedy show ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’, and as a key member of ‘The Comedy Store Players’ she has been entertaining sold-out audiences for the past 25 years with her unique comedy talents. Describing herself as ‘a jack of all trades’, Josie works extensively in theatre, including for the RSC, and starred in her own TV series, ‘Josie’. She surprised fans by taking over Elaine Paige’s role in the West End production of ‘The King and I’, and more recently in ‘Eastenders’ as Manda Best.

Steve Frost – King of the improve scene and key member of The Comedy Store Players, Steve is a comedian who has been making sold-out audiences laugh throughout his career. His TV credits read like a list of comedy’s greatest shows, with appearances on Blackadder, The Young Ones, Mr Bean, Who’s Line is it Anyway? and Have I Got News For You. But it is with his Imrov All-Stars that Steve shows his remarkable comedy talents as one of the UK’s finest and funniest performers.

Andy Smart – Former street entertainer was one half of a 80’s double act The Vicious Boys, appearing on various TV shows including The Tube, Saturday Starship and the Six O’Clock before they were given their own LWT show called Wake Up London. In 1985 Janet Street Porter asked the Vicious Boys to provide the comedy on Get Fresh a two-hour live outside broadcast every Saturday morning, and they went on to present American Football coverage on Channel 4. Andy has performed at 20 consecutive Edinburgh festivals, including solo shows in 1993 (Look Back At Danger) and 1998 (a paean to marijuana called The Dope) and he has been a permanent member of the Comedy Store Players improv team since 1995.

Steve Steen – You name it, Steve Steen has done it… actor, comedian, writer, entertainer and all round show-off. His career began in the early 70’s where he started a comedy partnership with lifelong friend and writing partner Jim Sweeney. Over the following 40 years he has contributed to some of the UK’s greatest comedy shows Including  ’The Kenny Everett Show’, `Carrott Confidential’, ‘Saturday Night Live’, ‘Russell Harty’s Christmas Party’, ‘Wogan’, ‘Blackadder the Third’, ‘A Bit of Fry and Laurie’, ‘Red Dwarf’, ‘The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos’, ‘Spitting Image’, ‘Clive Anderson Talks Back’, ‘Have I Got News For You’, ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’, ‘The Bill’, ‘The Lenny Henry Show’, ‘The Rory Bremner Show’, ‘The Good Sex Guide’, ‘Crapston Villas’, ‘Jo Brand Through the Cakehole’, ‘The Paul Merton Show’, etc, etc, blah blah blah… he’s also done tons of radio just to show he’s got the face for it.

Saturday 3 September 2011
A Gilded Balloon & Unique Events Production
8pm – 9.30pm (Doors 7.30pm)
Tickets £12.00
Age Range- 14+

Freedom @ Hull City Hall supported by

Special Guest host Arthur Smith – Arthur Smith is a comedian, broadcaster, writer and rounders player who has been getting laughs for 30 years. A regular on Radio 4 he has also presented numerous outstanding shows at the world famous Edinburgh Fringe. Featuring:

Ali Cook – Forget what you think you know about comedy magicians. Ali Cook is edgy, intelligent, self-referential, caustically hilarious and one of the most sought after illusionists on the planet. Star of ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us’ ITV1, ‘Dirty Tricks’ Channel 4 and ‘Monkey Magic’ Five, award winning TV magician Ali Cook performs awe-inspiring magic. www.alicook.com  - ‘You blew us away’ (Penn & Teller), ‘Stunning tricks. Truly awesome’ **** (Chortle)

Frisky & Mannish – It would appear to be something of a challenge to describe with precision what it is that Frisky & Mannish do. If pressed, they would say, it’s popmusicy-seriocomic-mashparodic-stereophonic-LOUD-vaudevillian-sketchcabaret-throwbackcurrent-oldfangled-newfashioned-bapsbotty-infotainment. Or, to be succinct, they tit around with pop songs. You will blates love it. www.friskyandmannish.co.uk

‘Such glittering panache’ (Telegraph), ‘Gold-star masterclass’ (Mail on Sunday), ‘A force of nature’ (Western Australian), ***** (Chortle.co.uk), ***** (Daily Mail), ***** (Time Out).

…and introducing

Briefs – Sublime, ridiculous and sexy, BRIEFS slams together a beef caked and disorderly line up of Australian ‘boylesque’ stars in a circus infused variety show featuring gob-smacking physicality and not-so-bashful displays of flesh. www.facebook.com/briefsallmalecircuscabaret

Friday 2 September 2011
A Gilded Balloon & Unique Events Production
8pm – 9.30pm (Doors 7.30pm)
Tickets £12
Age Range – 14+

Freedom @ Hull City Hall supported by

French Street Theatre company, Luc Amoros will present six artists and a musician writing together a “Page Blanche” (blank page) with tracks, colours, signs, sentences, sounds, shadows and lights.

Staged over three nights from Thursday 1st September to Saturday 3rd September, the show is a fusion of music and art. Page Blanche is a dramatic installation that will delight and entrance the crowds in Queen Victoria Square.

Each performance will take place at dusk from 9:45pm until 11pm.

Queen Victoria Square
Thursday 1st, Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd
9:45 pm – 11:00 pm

KING CHARLES     10:10pm   

Since launching his debut single, Time of Eternity, in 2010, King Charles has garnered much press, online and radio support from radio djs Rob Da Bank, Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson and Huw Stephens. Performing to critical acclaim throughout the UK and Europe, he has gathered an ever-swelling and devout audience and most recently supported Mumford & Sons on their sold-out US tour.  2010 saw King Charles also win the prestigious International Songwriting Competition by an unprecedented unanimous vote from a panel of industry heavyweights including Tom Waits, Kings of Leon, Timbaland, Black Francis and Jerry Lee Lewis. A hotly tipped act for 2011, King Charles is currently recording his debut album due for release in the coming summer. www.myspace.com/kingcharlesuk

‘King Charles ruled the roost on the Glastonbury BBC Introducing stage’ – Huw Stephens – Radio 1

‘This dandy in the underworld is part of a tradition of uniquely English, psych-inflected pastoral whimsy.’ - The Guardian

KYLA LA GRANGE     9:00pm

 “one of those precocious talents that everyone secretly fears. A gorgeous voice and a soaring chorus, the kind that makes your heart swell a  little bit. Stirring stuff.” - The Guardian 

The fearsomely talented Kyla La Grange will release her second single, “Been Better” on Chess Club Records, home to early releases from Mumford & Sons, Local Natives and others.

Kyla has already attracted huge blog and press interest for her extraordinary voice and epic sound, and “Been Better” confirms her as mistress of the savagely passionate, twenty-first century torch song. It begins with her husky, almost snarled put-down of, “tell me none of your longings, I don’t need them, or you” and soars to a Phil Spector-indebted wall of drums and guitars that’s vast enough to match her voice. 

The B side is the brooding, bitterly poignant “I Could Be”, another song whose chorus will sweep you up and wash you away.

Kyla grew up in Watford and has been writing songs from the age of five, but it was only while studying philosophy at Cambridge that she began taking her musical talents seriously. A former boyfriend played her Cat Power and Elliot Smith and on hearing them she decided to start performing her own songs. After putting in dazzling performances at Notting Hill Arts Club’s Communion nights and at this year’s SXSW, she supporting Wolf Gang on their UK tour before embarking on a string of festival dates. She is currently working with producer Brett Shaw on her debut album.

THE BELLE COLLECTIVE        8:00pm       

Belle Collective are an acoustic led alt folk band from Hull. They are currently a 4 piece consisting of John, Jareth, Tim and Lucy. Belle Collective are still a new band in the city of Hull but they have already created a buzz around the city with their great live shows. They have already put on 2 sell out shows at the Adelphi and Fruit and numerous support shows including Dry The River and Emanuel and The Fear. Their sound is ever changing and evolving and the band are prolific with new material. Their philosophy is to bring music back to basics by just writing great songs and delivering them beautifully. They will be releasing a Home Sessions DVD at the start of March including 3 new songs.

 
THE NEAT           7:10pm

“Unquestionably, they’re the finest new guitar band we’ve seen in an age!” says The Fly and they are not wrong, after a busy year supporting Warpaint and The Young Knives, The Neat are a not only fresh and hip but they are a tour de force live due to an abundance of wild yet controlled energy. Praise has come from high places as these BBC 6 darlings were joint winners with the Mercury Prize winners The XX on Steve Lamacq’s ‘Roundtable Music Of The Year’ and have gained single of the month twice by Artrocker Magazine for ‘in youth is pleasure’ and their most recent single ‘Hips.’ Undoubtedly this band are on the rise so do not miss them before they are off again! for more information visit here  http://soundcloud.com/theneat and here www.theneat.blogspot.com.    

ZAGROS BAND              6:20pm

Rising stars hailing from Hull and Kurdistan, this highly acclaimed band fill you with emotion as they play real music with a passion touching Balkan, Gypsy, Jazz, Folk and much more. http://www.myspace.com/thezagrosband

ICE HOUSE PROJECT        5:30pm

“A gleaming, shimmering electro-disco romp” – was how one music journalist described iceHouse Project’s unashamed assault on the UK gig circuit. Starting out raw and experimental and ending up polished and expertly produced by in-house wizards James Hockley and Paul Dakeyne, the massive vocal driven sound is a welcome change in the face of modern dance. Formed 10 years ago by founder member and charismatic front man Dan Bryan the collective has really evolved into a hybrid of talent, guaranteeing a rich source of fresh blood whenever it’s needed. Influences from their peers have been allowed to flow freely and the result on their debut album ‘Electrosexual’ is actually something quite unique. From the throbbing pulse of ‘To Magnifica’ and the massive electronic symphony that is ‘Under The Sun’ iceHouse Project does exactly what it says on the (rather flamboyant) tin.

All timings are approximate.

With thanks to:

FENECH SOLER      10:05pm

Fenech-Soler are a band who have overcome everything to be here, and have done so in their own way. They have honed and shined their sparkling songs, entirely by themselves, in their tiny bedrooms. They have taken their dreams to the disco and the Radio 1 playlist on their own terms. They even captivated legendary bands and DJs long before the record companies came knocking. Now signed to B-Unique, their debut album is here to lift and inspire us in the final days of summer, to spin its golden web of sound, to hold us in its glittering threads.

Pop began for Fenech-Soler in Kings Cliffe, a village of a thousand people in the hinterlands of Northamptonshire. It began with two brothers, Ben and Ross Duffy, who made music as teenagers with their friend Daniel Soler, whose surname would later play a bigger part in their lives. Their burgeoning love affairs with dance and club music – with The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Soulwax, and SMD – suddenly gained sharper edges and became fully-formed. They wrote electronic tracks together on their laptops and synthesisers, infusing them with the spirits of these artists they loved, but also other diverse artists like George Benson, N.E.R.D, R&B vocal group The Whispers, Michael Jackson and Queens Of The Stone Age. They aimed to write songs that would be club and festival anthems – songs that would have a crowd rising as one, singing their words back to them – with enough experimental edges to push them in new, bold directions.

Then came the glowing press, and the clamour for the band to do remixes, with Marina and The Diamonds, Everything Everything, Example and Sunday Girl all wanting a shard of their brilliant light. In the spring of 2010 a new single Stop And Stare released on independent label Moda Music – and featured on Kitsune Vol.9 – would go all the way to the Radio 1 playlist, and the Top Ten of both the Dance and Indie singles charts.

Fenech-Soler are ready to take over your mind, turn the dial up on your radio, and beam the light of the sun to the dancefloor. Pop is this.

www.fenechsoler.co.uk

THE BAGHDADDIES           8:15pm                

Touring the world for 14 years, the Baghdaddies’ music is world music with strong Balkan tendencies alongside Caribbean grooves, Middle Eastern rhythms and even some Geordie [native Newcastle] touches, all awash with influences such as ska, jazz, punk and metal, delivered with theatre and exuberance. Uplifting and infectiously danceable, full of blistering brass, rousing 5 part vocal harmonies and a rhythm section that you can’t keep still to. Songs to listen to and party!

‘The band have a particular flair for the Balkans and capture its frenetic energy and flamboyance wonderfully. There is also a fair share of klezmer, jazz, ska and punk – an anarchic fusion where Ivo Papasov meets The Clash meets The Beat’ – Songlines Magazine

WHITE PILOTS             7:25pm          

White Pilots are a five piece alternative band from Kingston Upon Hull. For the last twelve months White Pilots have been playing across the U.K supporting artists such as Good Shoes, The Sunshine Underground, Detroit Social Club, Little Comets and played alongside White Lies, Magnetic Man and Ed Sheeran at this years Beach Break Festival in Wales. 

Recently signed to MC9 Records the next year for White Pilots will be very exciting releasing a number of singles accompanied with videos and a U.K tour. 

PUNJABI AKHARA              6:35pm

Punjabi Akhara are a nine piece band based in and around Hertfordshire in the South East of England. As their name would suggest their music is predominately of the Punjabi dance music genre known as Bhangra. The band also use western instrument such as electric guitars and drum kit. They are known for their high energy performance and are guaranteed to get any party going.

HUMBA RUMBA            5:45

Humba Rumba formed July 2010, from a group of experienced and proficient musicians who continue to gig regularly in a variety of other bands. The motivation was to play music to dance to, specifically Congolese Soukous music, which the band find hugely rewarding and stimulating. The Adelphi in Hull, showcased many original soukous bands from the Congo in the 90′s which influenced the humba’s style.

What is the style? Well its good time party/dance music, which makes you smile. Technically the style is quite challenging, especially for musicians brought up on blues derived rock/pop music. The guitar patterns are rhythmically precise and fast, the bass plays syncopated patterns that mimic congolese hand percussion and the drums hold everything together and signal the changes.

All timings are approximate.

With thanks to:

JOHN COOPER CLARKE            10:05pm        

What can you say about our John?

His biting, satirical, political and very funny verse delivered in his rapid-fire performance style resonated with the punk movement that had begin to pick up speed in the late 70s and saw him begin to draw huge crowds in his own right after touring with most of punk’s seminal and ground breaking bands including Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, The Fall, Elvis Costello and Siouxsie and the Banshees, to name but a few. The steep rise in his profile soon saw him begin to be supported by some of the very bands he had opened up for a few years previously (New Order actually supported him on no fewer than seven separate occasions).

A figurehead for the movement and all that it encompassed, he became the “Punk Poet”, “The Bard of Salford” who found himself as one of the leading voices of punk and youth culture of the late 70s. Live he would find himself performing to thousands across the UK, crowds gathered with open eyes and ears gazing up at his distinctive, and now iconic visual appearance (tall and thin with a mess of black hair, black sunglasses, drainpipe trousers and cuban-heeled boots) all transfixed as he worked through a catalogue of work taken from his four studio albums and numerous singles.

So what of John now? Aside from being a key component of the punk movement which has shaped countless bands since and being a key orator of British society during this time, his mark is indelibly seen in today’s pop culture. Aside from his fashion style spawning a number of copy-cats that stroll past you in pubs and clubs all over the country, his effect on modern music has been huge. His influence needs only to be heard in the satirical and keen social observations of the songs of bands like The Arctic Monkeys (Alex Turner cites JCC as a huge inspiration and john’s work appears in the sleeve of one of their singles as well as Turner apparently having a JCC tattoo), Reverend and The Makers (John duetted with lead man John McClure on the b-side of the band’s huge hit single ‘Heavyweight Champion Of The World’) as well as platinum selling Plan B (another keen fan, asking John personally to appear in his directional film debut Ill Manors, which is out late 2011, as well as appearing on the soundtrack). Clarke’s recording of “Evidently Chickentown’ was also used in the closing scene of one of modern TV’s most famous and respected television shows, The Sopranos.

One of Britain’s best loved and most important poets and performers, John is as vital now as he was then; continuing to write new work from his Colchester home, which he regularly performs live all over the UK and Ireland. JCC will also feature soon on Radio 4’s Chain Reaction on the 13th and 14th August being interviewed by none other than New Order’s Peter Hook, John will then interview a mystery superstar a week later. In true mad-cap style he is also pushing for the UK to all spend 24 hours talking to each other in nothing but rhyme on National Poetry Day (October 6th).

Start working on your rhyming couplets. He’s not going anywhere, and oh yeah that distinctive voice tempting you to buy pizza in the new Dominos ad? Yep, that’s our John.

ALICE GOLD          8:50pm                                  

There aren’t many new musicians who can harness the elemental rock’n’roll soul of both Ike and Tina and Jimi and Janis. Alice Gold though, comes bloody close, a powerful pull of both masculine and feminine laced together with straight out Patti Smith punk spirit and a keen pop ear. Gold by name and gold by nature, there’s an immense warmth in Alice’s sound and lyrics.

Alice’s debut album, ‘Seven Rainbows’, is made up of dense, complex atmospherics and an effortless melodic sophistication, it was completed in just 22 short days with no money from any record label. Even so, the quality in the songs was and is obvious, so much so that labels were queuing up for the rights to release it. A deal with Fiction Records allowed Alice to put together the live band she had always dreamed of: far from session musician blandness, the noise they make is a reflection of the records Alice has always loved: Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Jefferson Airplane; classic songwriting, energetic and rough-around-the-edges. “I definitely write pop songs,” Alice says. “But I’m inspired just as much by leftfield stuff, rock and roll and psychedelia. Basically, I love Janis Joplin but I’ve got a crush on Alicia Keys.”

An important part of the Alice Gold sound comes in the shape of producer Dan Carey. This is a man whose recording credits speak for themselves, featuring as they do everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Hot Chip to La Roux to Lily Allen to Kylie (with whom he co-wrote ‘Slow’). “We just clicked,” Alice says. “I basically hounded Dan for six months to make room in his diary and told him he had to pay for it all too ‘cos I was broke. But he did it. I played the stripped down tracks to Dan in his studio and explained the mad band in my head. He came up with these killer bass lines and the sound I was looking for began.”

Featuring a blistering bass line, the funk shuffle of ‘And You’ll Be There’ pits lyrics full of hope against a grief-ridden backdrop. A positive lyricist she might be, but there’s more than a bit of darkness in Alice’s songs too. The stripped back, beat-focused ‘Cry Cry Cry’ is a case in point – a song about having a good old blub that sounds like a shot full of summer sunshine.

Alice Gold’s journey has been dedicated to music from day one. Her desire for adventure and for living life to the full led her to buy a one-way ticket to the America, won a 1978 Winnebago in a poker game and spent the next six months weaving across the US alone. Of course, lots of people fantasize about the notion of a Stateside road trip, but Alice Gold actually did it.

This is typical of Alice’s lust for life, for taking in experiences and letting it feed into the one thing that matters to her: music. One time she could be found lodging for free in a Luxembourg castle in exchange for English lessons, recording late at night (“Until I got fired for having wine and joints in my room”); another she took up residence on a boat in London, as a cheap way of avoiding the nine-to-five grind. But through all of this randomness, the focus was always there. “I’ve always known what I was meant to be doing,” she stresses. It’s hard not to believe her.                                                     

MARCUS FOSTER         8:00pm

Marcus Foster could have had it easy. He could have dropped names; doors could have flung open, and all the usual boxes could have been ticked. But Marcus Foster is no ordinary singer songwriter, and so he was never going to be quite so easily tempted into the tried and tested route of overnight success and instant fame.

“Organic” is a clichéd word, but Marcus’ slow and stealthy gestation into a new artist of genuine note has nevertheless been just that. When you hear his songs, you realise it could never really have gone any other way.

Marcus contributed one song to the Twilight soundtrack, entitled Let Me Sign, sung by his Robert Pattinson and two songs in the road movie Five Dollars a Day starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, this was enough to light a fire under Marcus’s name, and create an awful lot of premature excitement.

With astonishing rapidity, he had now became a word-of-mouth sensation, and signed to Communion at the tail end of 2010. Nameless Path is released in conjunction with Polydor Records.

MAN MADE NOISE             6:20pm

 “an intoxicating cocktail which bubbles with surprising flourishes at every turn…. an inventive and unassuming treat” Rock n Reel  4/5

For those with an eclectic taste in music, look no further than ‘Man Survives’, the second studio album by Man Made Noise.  With two Japanese tours under the belt, and regular air play on the BBC’s Introducing show, the Elbow and Radiohead inspired Yorkshire 4 piece are building a reputable following in the far East and are also beginning to do so on their home turf. 

‘Man Survives’ features ‘Glamorous Cake Stall Holder’, a catchy, off beat, harmony infused dedication to the passing of a local opera star, which contains an inspired choral ending recorded in the local Church. 

‘Stay Calm’ is the musical equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster, crossing a 70’s cop chase with Elliott Smith circa XO in a Jazz club and ‘Man Survives Shark Attack’ has definite nod towards Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’.

They have spent the last 12 months shaping a diverse and kaleidoscopic selection of songs and with guidance from the likes of Ralph Sutton (Prince, Stevie Wonder) and John Spence (Happy Mondays, The Beautiful South) the future of Man Made Noise is making noise.

Man Survives is available now on Crash Tested Records.

www.manmadenoise.co.uk

www.myspace.com/itsmanmadenoise

www.crashtestedrecords.co.uk

KINGSTOWN ALLSTARS             5:30pm     

Slim Tubby, Purematics ,Redlocz, Drunken Master, Monkey, Doctor Rhythm, Sugarlips, Stigg o’ the Didge, Cactus Boy, Scientist, Mr Halliday form The Kingstown Allstars. Part of the Idiolog label based in Hull.

Been around for a few years but have recently revamped the band with 10 strong players including 2 new vocalist to give a full on reggae, dub band. Influences King Tubby,Mad Professor ,Sly and Robbie, Steel Pulse Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix.

“We like to do upbeat tracks when we are playing live as we like people to dance and they do. Our style is reggae dub authentic old skool fusing with a new skool sound, vocals and samples”.  A definite for all music lovers.

THE PEPPERMINTS              3:50pm

FOLK IN HULL Present: – THE HILLBILLY TROUPE           2.10pm – 2.40pm

The Hillbilly Troupe are a collective of musicians in Hull spanning generations including members of young indie punks The Paddingtons, old shanty singing locals along with an ever-evolving mix of local talent. Bringing to the people a traditional mix of folk and Americana from the UK, the US and beyond, this band is certainly not just hillbilly, using traditional home made instruments along with banjo’s, guitars, and stomping drums to breath new life into songs near forgotten.

All timings are approximate.

With thanks to:

Jaipur Kawa Brass Band           10:05pm

Sound the brass and the drum!… Who has never enjoyed the frenzy of a brass band?

Inherited from the British Empire, the brass bands belong, in India nowadays, to tradition and are a feature of life itself. In India, there’s no marriage without a brass band! 

Hailing from an ancestral family of musicians from Rajasthan, the original land of Gypsies, Hameed Khan Kawa, a talented musician and renowned artistic director, has been familiar with the fantastic sound of the Indian Brass Band since his birth and after dividing his time between Jaipur and Paris, exposing him to musical styles that were worlds away from each other Hameed Khan Kawa developed the idea of creating a brass band: the spectacular ‘Jaipur Brass Band’, with Western instruments: clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, sousaphone, saxophone, bass drum, side drum… but undoubtedly with Indian soul.

He gathered talented musicians from renowned bands of Rajasthan, chose a wide repertoire ranging from Indian traditional music with its distinctive Gypsy sound to the popular songs of Bollywood movies. He then adds the sophisticated structures of North Indian classical music. The melodies and songs are developed with much refinement, featuring virtuoso solos and dazzling improvisations.

The percussionists elaborate their fast and spontaneous playing with the sophisticated rhythms of India, providing counterpoint to the Gypsy Kalbelia danseuse and the fakir in his astonishing acts, and of course the band itself to deliver, all ten together, an unexpected and rousing musical extravaganza, the soul of contemporary India’s soul.

www.myspace.com/jaipurkawabrassband

HEKIMA AND THE BONGO FLAVOUR          7:40pm        

Hekima and the Bongo Flava, a Hull based outfit, play a distinctively African style of music – drawing on Hekima’s Tanzanian roots their music combines bluesy acoustic guitar, reggae rhythms, and plenty of Afro percussion – including that famous bongo flava.

Hekima’s roots were in hip-hop, rapping with the the Projekt Feenix crew, a multi-racial hip-hop outfit which combined hard edged lyrics with stripped down beats and soulful backing. But having won some acclaim for his MC skills, Hekima was keen to record more ‘roots’ material, which meant returning to some of the Tanzanian sounds which had formed his musical heritage.

That didnt mean though that Hekima has abandoned all that he learned from hip-hop. These days perhaps he has more in common with Somali born K’naan than KRS-1, but that shouldnt be a suprise, as Hekima is clearly a student of African hip hop, and African music more generally, something you can pick up from the lyrics of ‘Mama Afrika’, a tribute I can only presume to Miriam Makeba. And if you listen to the title track to the album ‘Sonrise’ you’ll hear a return to the MC stylings which won him acclaim in a previous musical life.

Hekima is backed by drums, percussion, bass, keys and electric guitar, and whatever else the group bring along on the day – the big sound they make hearks back to Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti as much as it does Bob Marley. The Bongo Flava are a group which take a number of influences in their stride, and deliver it all with style and infectious enthusiasm.

THePETEBOX               6:30pm  

Not only is THePETEBOX one of the world’s finest human Beatboxers, he has spent the past two years crafting a whole new approach to using his vocal dexterity to create music.

His performances are more similar to that of a full band as he builds each layer of his tracks live using a loop pedal to construct fully crafted songs before the amazed audience.

They are taken on a journey of real time music production which builds up and delivers a full frequency spectrum of sound, from deep bass, to high pitched trumpets and multiple vocal harmonies – all made with his mouth!

This pioneering endeavour won THePETEBOX a Channel 4Talent Award, placing him alongside some of the country’s most promising creative and innovative individuals and adding to his earlier gained title as Radio 1 Beatboxing Champion. www.thepetebox.com

STEEL BAND           5.35pm

HULL FREEDOM CHORUS               4.45pm – 5.15pm

Hull Freedom Chorus is a massed choir formed in June this year for the Freedom Festival 2011. The Freedom Chorus is a diverse group of people from the Hull area united by a love of singing. Some members are in existing choirs, some have never sung as part of a group before, and they are united together here to perform for the first time. The group is led by inspiring musical leader Em Whitfield Brooks, and will sing a varied programme of songs from Beethoven to Queen and others from different cultures, all of which express Freedom in some way.

LYNN ACTON – BOSSA REVISITA      2:55pm                             
UPENDO MUSIC BAND            2:15pm        
HULL RHYTHM PIXIES           1:40pm
ZUMBA               1:00pm

All timings are approximate.

With thanks to:

Freedom, Hull’s annual celebration of the arts, will present a spectacular mix of entertainment for all the family in Queen’s Gardens this year including open air cinema, children’s theatre, en-masse ballroom dancing, and classic movie sing-a-longs!

The Freedom Gardens programme runs on the evening of Friday 2^nd September from 4.30pm and from 10.30am into the evening of Saturday 3^rd September the British premiere of The Cow-Go-Round and its Mooh Organ.  This magical, musical and magnificent mechanical cow carousel by performing arts company, Theatre de la Toupine is a combination of theatre, activities and a fairground ride for children that is powered by the parents!

The Cow-Go-Round is part of the kiddies corner that will also include face painting, storytelling and craft workshops for the audience to get involved and get creative.

Architects of Air will install a huge Luminarium – a monumental inflatable structure whose maze of winding paths, soaring domes, incredible ambience and light are explored from within.  The Mirazozo structure will measure 55 metres long and joins Freedom as part of a global tour this year which has included shows at Sydney Opera House,Segovia(Spain) and Prague.

All the Freedom Gardens entertainment can be enjoyed for free with the exception of a nominal £3 entry fee for the Mirazozo.

Queens Gardens will also host the Freedom open-air cinema experience on Friday evening and throughout Saturday. A host of popular films and related entertainment will be showing throughout the day! The full line-up will be announced shortly!

Janet Reuben, Chief Executive of VHEY, said: “The stellar line-up for Freedom 2011 will fascinate and delight the audience. There is such a diverse and wonderful array of performers and attractions on offer which is why this is a truly unique event. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to come into the city centre, relax, have a picnic and experience the magic of Freedom!

Pete Massey, Senior Manager at Arts Council England, said: “Freedom offers brilliant creative experiences with world-class, large-scale street art events and an exciting programme of music, film and performing arts. We’re really pleased that our support for Freedom helps bring great art to everyone and the Queen’s Gardens family programme is a fantastic example of this.”

Councillor Terry Geraghty, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said:

“Freedom Gardens offers plenty for families to see, hear and experience, from films to never-before-seen-in-Hull attractions which are stopping in the city as part of a global tour.

“The mix will provide a new cultural experience in the gardens for all to enjoy. I hope families take the opportunity to grab a picnic and experience all there is to offer.”

The programme is complimented by a ticketed gala comprising of music, cabaret, and comedy- featuring comedy legend Arthur Smith and singing sensation Camille O’Sullivan – plus many more soon to be announced. Tickets for Freedom 2011 @ City Hall start from £6 on Friday night and £12 on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.hullcc.gov.uk/hullcityhall; by calling 01482 300 300 (available every day between 10am and 10pm), or in-person at Wilson Customer Service Centre, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull – open Monday to Friday, 9am – 4.30pm, Saturday 9am – 12pm.

Tickets are also available for the Freedom performances at Hull Truck Theatre by calling 01482 323638.

Further details, and for more performance announcements on the Freedom line up can be found at www.freedomfestival.co.uk

Freedom – an annual mixed cultural festival inYorkshire-is a key date for the diary for family summer fun.

Freedom will delight and entertain all ages with an unusual mix of interactive events, family activities, music stages, street performance, world dance and comedy.

This largely free festival will run on the evenings of Thursday 1^st September, Friday 2^nd September and daytime into evening of Saturday 3^rd September across a number of sites in the city centre ofHull.

Architects of Air will install a huge Luminarium – a monumental inflatable structure whose maze of winding paths, soaring domes, incredible ambience and light are explored from within – as part of Freedom’s garden party.  The Mirazozo structure will measure 55 metres long and joins Freedom as part of a global tour this year which has included shows at Sydney Opera House, Segovia(Spain) and Prague.  The party will also include the British premiere of The Cow-Go-Round and its Mooh Organ – a magical, musical and magnificent combination of theatre, activities and a mechanical carousel – by performing arts company, Theatre de la Toupine.

These add to the rest of the lively and vibrant day’s entertainment for young children, teenagers and adults alike which includes open air cinema, children’s theatre, afternoon tea dances and interactive events such as en-masse ballroom classes and sing-a-longs.

Stunning street theatre and urban dance will create a never seen before mix of entertainment. This includes a rareUKappearance ofFrench street-theatre company, Luc Amoros who will perform their Page Blanche show: a dramatic fusion of dance, music and art that recreates the mood of each day on huge canvases. A number of outdoor dance and music stages featuring a broad range of genres from jazz, Afro-Cuban and contemporary British styles will provide a wide variety of choice for music lovers.

The programme is complimented by a ticketed gala comprising of music, cabaret, and comedy- featuring comedy legend Arthur Smith and singing sensation Camille O’Sullivan – plus many more soon to be announced.

Further details, and for more performance announcements on the Freedom line up can be found at www.freedomfestival.co.uk

Freedom commemorates the abolition of slavery and the pioneering work of Hull-born William Wilberforce MP and is a lasting legacy of the Wilberforce 2007 celebrations.

Janet Reuben, Chief Executive of VHEY, said: “This year Freedom offers a great family fun day out on a budget with events suited to all ages and tastes. Freedom creates a unique and contemporary festival that cannot be experienced anywhere else, it’s guaranteed to become an annual outing in your family calendar!”

Councillor Geraghty, Portfolio Holder for Image and Culture at Hull City Council, said: “This year’s Freedom is going back to its Wilberforce routes and will see a colourful mix of dramatic street theatre, outdoor performances and activities across three sites in the city centre to create a special family-friendly festival experience.”

Freedom is funded by Hull City Council, Arts Council England, Visit Hull andEast Yorkshireand the private sector via the business friends of Freedom scheme.