Occasionally, when moons from distant planets draw
in line, and whales murmur symphony scores from
ocean beds, you may see an artist so startling and
original that the experience defies description.
Ash Mandrake is the type of artist so unusual, so
totally distinctive, that there is no 'type' to
pigeonhole his style or delivery into. Ash
Mandrake, frankly, is a genus of music and
performance entirely to himself; a new species of
music and musician.
You get an inkling of this even before the set starts: he unpacks an instrument that looks like a musical weapon from Mad Max. Two guitars are welded together in some way, a six-string sits on top, not unlike Les Paul's original 'plank guitar', while below a twelve-string has been reduced to ten strings by cutting away two tuning pegs, then a selection of frets have also been removed, all the better to slide you with... And this whole strange concoction looks to be covered in leather, or customised in a distinctive way. From behind the instrument's body a microphone in brightly striped cloth snakes its way around, linked into the machine, organic and integral to the creative melee of machinery and instruments...
Clearly this is an instrument of great contemplation and experimentation, completely unique and unavailable off-the-shelf to ordinary mortals. The same description applies to the songs and music that subsequently comes from it. Ash Mandrake's set starts with a gloriously inventive use of loops, poorly served by the dismal quality of audio, yet still revealing an incredible skill, dexterity and subtle use of timing. A consumate musician and singer unfolds, completely taking charge of the space, and making his presence massively felt in the little universe of the audience and stage. The loops whirl and bounce, while the vocals soar on top, a mixture of folk, opera and drama.
You all sit, mesmerised, few able to sip their pints now, totally astonished, completely absorbed... Something magical, astonishing and perplexing is happening right in front of you. It's as if a woodland sprite has come to life, or an oak tree has walked in, tuned up and started sharing its Mysteries. Collectively you are hypnotised.
The songs range from roaring drunken drinkers' spells, to stories of spuds that can fool a foolish King to throw away his gold, to enchantments for the rising Sun, or spells about snails that snatch and steal the crop of pumpkins, painstakingly planted and reared, lost overnight.
These are songs rooted in the earth: folk music, but not as convention would have it. Folk in the sense of supernatural, connected to nature, instinctive and untrained, completely natural. This is what a singer sounds like who has no need for conventions, who is beyond normal boundaries, beyond normal reality. It sounded, for all the earthly world, like the songs of mushrooms in autumn: rootsy, earthy, wild.
Ash Mandrake is a gifted musician, incorporating a variety of textures and styles to his playing as well as deftly weaving in loops of vocal and guitar phrases. The sound, sadly, was let down by poor electronics: frequently the guitar connection, perhaps overloaded with experimental wiring and custom soldering, kept cutting out completely. The audio quality of the loops themselves was much weaker than the original, yet this was all overlooked by the audience, instantly forgiven for the treat of such rare, live magic. The vocals swooped from quiet descriptions and storytelling mode, to grunting gutteral growls, holistic howling, screeches and yells, to pure, broad, unhindered singing. Wonderful!! A set full of imagination, incredible skillfulness as a musician and songwriter, plus a uniquely brave, completely naturalistic performance style. A force to be reckoned with, thank goodness, or Gaia, or whatever strange gifts and grace give this artist his Muse.
Look, listen, and marvel.
visit website
listen
You get an inkling of this even before the set starts: he unpacks an instrument that looks like a musical weapon from Mad Max. Two guitars are welded together in some way, a six-string sits on top, not unlike Les Paul's original 'plank guitar', while below a twelve-string has been reduced to ten strings by cutting away two tuning pegs, then a selection of frets have also been removed, all the better to slide you with... And this whole strange concoction looks to be covered in leather, or customised in a distinctive way. From behind the instrument's body a microphone in brightly striped cloth snakes its way around, linked into the machine, organic and integral to the creative melee of machinery and instruments...
Clearly this is an instrument of great contemplation and experimentation, completely unique and unavailable off-the-shelf to ordinary mortals. The same description applies to the songs and music that subsequently comes from it. Ash Mandrake's set starts with a gloriously inventive use of loops, poorly served by the dismal quality of audio, yet still revealing an incredible skill, dexterity and subtle use of timing. A consumate musician and singer unfolds, completely taking charge of the space, and making his presence massively felt in the little universe of the audience and stage. The loops whirl and bounce, while the vocals soar on top, a mixture of folk, opera and drama.
You all sit, mesmerised, few able to sip their pints now, totally astonished, completely absorbed... Something magical, astonishing and perplexing is happening right in front of you. It's as if a woodland sprite has come to life, or an oak tree has walked in, tuned up and started sharing its Mysteries. Collectively you are hypnotised.
The songs range from roaring drunken drinkers' spells, to stories of spuds that can fool a foolish King to throw away his gold, to enchantments for the rising Sun, or spells about snails that snatch and steal the crop of pumpkins, painstakingly planted and reared, lost overnight.
These are songs rooted in the earth: folk music, but not as convention would have it. Folk in the sense of supernatural, connected to nature, instinctive and untrained, completely natural. This is what a singer sounds like who has no need for conventions, who is beyond normal boundaries, beyond normal reality. It sounded, for all the earthly world, like the songs of mushrooms in autumn: rootsy, earthy, wild.
Ash Mandrake is a gifted musician, incorporating a variety of textures and styles to his playing as well as deftly weaving in loops of vocal and guitar phrases. The sound, sadly, was let down by poor electronics: frequently the guitar connection, perhaps overloaded with experimental wiring and custom soldering, kept cutting out completely. The audio quality of the loops themselves was much weaker than the original, yet this was all overlooked by the audience, instantly forgiven for the treat of such rare, live magic. The vocals swooped from quiet descriptions and storytelling mode, to grunting gutteral growls, holistic howling, screeches and yells, to pure, broad, unhindered singing. Wonderful!! A set full of imagination, incredible skillfulness as a musician and songwriter, plus a uniquely brave, completely naturalistic performance style. A force to be reckoned with, thank goodness, or Gaia, or whatever strange gifts and grace give this artist his Muse.
Look, listen, and marvel.
visit website
listen