Conquering Animal Sound

A bit last minute of me to blog :0 but I'm supporting Conquering Animal Sound tonight at ye olde Adelphi club in Hull. Sorry bloggage has been sparse lately. I've got myself into some joyous trouble & will be having a baby this Spring :0 Lulu xXx
Conquering Animal Sound + Hurricane Lulu + One Man Band Wednesday 2nd February
@ New Adelphi Club, De Grey St, Hull
Tax: £4 / £5 otd
*message me if you are not a member, I have £4 entry tickets*

Magical Glasgow based electronic duo. .. a penchant for cheap keyboards and children's toys. Their live show is something of awe-inspiring greatness, creating loops, beats and samples out of anything and everything with Anneke's sumptuous vocals carrying the sounds to what seems like a new world. "

Open mic crawls

I've been rambling around the country in recent weeks hitting some undisclosed open mic nights. I spend a fair amount of time travelling up & down the UK anyway, working & visiting family, so it makes sense to. If you found my blog because you have seen me out - please do stay in touch. For those in the more regular haunts, I haven't forgotten you & I'll be back! ... Lulu xXx

Ms Rosebud

Rosebud is a very old girl, made in 1880 of maple wood. She's no Stradivarius. The maker is not even known, but she sings well & smells good. This week she's been pampered: new strings, a new end stop & a good polishing. At the moment Rosebud likes Nigel Kennedy & the Kroke Band. She does not like Pagannini at all, & agrees that he is the devil.

What's in the case?

Note to self:
Don't ever joke with airport security about what's in the case.
[Custom tommy gun case, 1928]

For the lyrically banging

I went to see my mad cousin Fiona play Manchester's Parklife Festival. Later I played a set at Paradox, 'a night for the lyrically banging'. Fiona tells me her & Lauren wanted to put on a night for spoken word / poetry without all the poncy stigma. I'm used to lugging around instruments, but these folk were getting up to the mic with just words & voices. I think you've gotta have some balls to do that. Punk band Government Death Epidemic (they shout their name 24 times in their first tune) created a mosh pit that looked set to cave through the ceiling. The Scrotes (my other cousin Louis plays in) turned up for a monster jam at the end.













At the start of the night, a Manchester scamp adorned the room with "sticky plants & council rose". Beauty!













PARADOX ON FACEBOOK

Italian songs on Cornish beaches

This week I will be mostly listening to... Italian songs. I'll go away with my gypsy rig (violin & loop pedal) to play a gig in Manchester (Saturday 12th @ Fuel) then head straight down to Cornwall. I'm looking forward to singing loudly like a loon by the sea. It's hard to let rip in a terraced house with paper thin walls. Bring on the empty beaches...

Lulu does 'interior design' (!) (new segment)

So what does a girl do when not brought any flowers? If she has any sense, she makes a rather dashing PERCUSSION POT! If you see this next in 'vogue homes magazine' (does that even exist?).. then remember, you saw it here first!

Send pictures of your fun filled pots to -
handsomejam(a)gmail.com
Or maybe not....

Lulu x

The Tape Test

For a few years now, Jack Black has reminded me of my boyfriend Joe . Last summer, I was clearing out my car en-route to the scrapyard (thank you government - scrap scheme = perfect timing) . Amongst the black metal tapes, I found Belle & Sebastian's 'The Boy With The Arab Strap'. Now I don't know who left this in my car, but it was about as funny as when someone tried to sneak a Meatloaf vinyl into my collection. So I shoved it on whilst I was washing the dishes & when Joe came back home, what did he do? This exact thing ...

Mariee Sioux, Georgina & Hurricane Lulu - Sat 29th May

New Adelphi Club, Hull
Mariee Sioux - A captivating Californian folk singer / guitarist blessed with the voice of an angel. Mariee has recently played gigs with fellow Nevada City musician Joanna Newsom.
'Full of Folksy breath and bittersweet syrup, Sioux crafts sorrowful organic sounds and scenes of ancient history... Enchantingly visceral at times, Sioux's songwriting is hard edged, gorgeously poetic and, well, graphic. The result is an overwhelmingly expansive sound that, while darkened by meticulous fantasy, is uplifted with a soft woodland warble.'
+ Georgia Seddon - A wonderful Scottish singer-songwriter who can also be found touring with her father, Mike Heron, of folk legends The Incredible String Band.
+ Hurricane Lulu - Yorkshire based musician who uses voice, violin & 'magic boxes' to create a glorious one woman choir & orchestra.

'Here' film & soundtrack - view online

Here - Philip Larkin from Classlane Media on Vimeo.

Earlier in the year I scored & recorded a soundtrack to a short film made by some fantastic film makers at Classlane Media. Based on Philip Larkin's poem 'Here', it is part of the commemorative Larkin 25 celebrations. The poem is read by actor Sir Tom Courtenay & the film shot around East Yorkshire, Hull & out towards the North Sea at Spurn Point. It is now doing the rounds at film festivals in the UK.

The Yorkshire Post writes of the film - 'the area's ethereal beauty and the searing loneliness of the Holderness plain where "silence stands like heat" shines through'. Classlane recently tweeted - 'Just received a lovely note from Sir Tom Courtenay saying he thought our Larkin film "very beautiful". Top man.'