Steve Mason | Rachel Zeffira | James Blake | Sam Leak's Aquarium | José James | ExperimentalStudio Des SWR Featuring Kairos Quartett
*Steve Mason, Glasgow, Manchester & London*
In the best of all possible worlds Steve Mason would be revered. To be fair, the performer has never made it easy for his audience: his gift for writing entrancing songs and singing them beautifully is only matched by his talent for self-sabotage. Famously, he declared the debut album by his much-admired post-Britpop group the Beta Band a failure before it was even released. Not a man with an easily governable muse, Mason's work might span balladry, hip-hop and eccentric dance-pop in the space of a single album, and his brief attention span is evidenced by a trail of discarded aliases. His new record, Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time, is no more focused musically – reggae, Britpop and trip-hop sit side by side – but that's part of Mason's point. In a venal world, we've lost sight of the good things. Luckily, he's on hand to help out.
*King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Tue; Gorilla, Manchester, Wed; Village Underground, EC2, Thu*
JR
*Rachel Zeffira, On tour*
Though originally from Canada, Rachel Zeffira has developed a voice that's all clipped English poise. It's perhaps not a quality that you'd associate with indie rock, but this is not someone seeking to obscure themselves in their music. A classical musician headed for a career in opera, she eventually hooked up with Faris Badwan from the Horrors as part of 60s pop-influenced Cat's Eyes. On her debut, some of this tale reveals itself: the interesting arrangements and, most of all, the voice, which even in the rock tunes retains an aloof calm reminiscent of Trish Keenan of Broadcast.
*Union Chapel, N1, Tue; Deaf Institute, Manchester, Wed; The Cube, Bristol, Thu; touring to 15 Apr*
JR
*James Blake, London, Manchester & Glasgow*
The first singer-songwriter of post-dubstep, James Blake appeared to be plotting a lonely course in 2011. As it turned out, the Londoner's minimal compositions and sensitively chosen cover versions (chiefly his heart-stopping take on Feist's The Limit To Your Love) saw him selling half a million copies of his debut album. Like an English suburban counterpart to Bon Iver and his cabin in the woods, Blake is someone making music in isolation that hums with individuality and melancholy, only to find this endeavour wins him a great many new friends. Meanwhile, for his new one, Overgrown, Blake has been able to call on talents like Brian Eno and RZA to appear. There's no hint of a wobble or new direction here, though; whatever the instrumentation, Blake writes fantastic songs, and those songs just keep on coming.
*Heaven, WC2, Tue; Manchester Academy 2, Wed; The Arches, Glasgow, Thu*
JR
*Sam Leak's Aquarium, On tour*
Following in the playing-and-composing footsteps of such Royal Academy of Music jazz alumni as the Mercury-nominated pianists Gwilym Simcock and Kit Downes comes Sam Leak, an artist of comparable promise. With this year's album, Places, he has applied the influence of Jarrett, Paul Bley and others to create a rich repertoire sparked by experiences of London, Milan and Marrakech. Funky, folksy, improvisationally edgy and teeming with ideas, it's another stretch forward for a rising star.
*Seven Arts Centre, Leeds, Sun; The Spotted Dog, Birmingham, Tue; Dempsey's, Cardiff, Wed; touring to 30 May*
JF
*José James, London, Leeds & Dublin*
When the young Brooklyn singer José James first reached most UK listeners' ears via Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label, he sounded like a rising star with jazz leanings who was most impressive for what he didn't want to do. He didn't want to endlessly rework the Great American Songbook or scat at a million notes a minute, as if he were a saxophone. This first UK tour for James will certainly promote the music from his more pop-oriented Blue Note debut No Beginning No End, but the singer's gorgeous voice, intelligence and jazz hipness is bound to reveal plenty more layers to him than that.
*XOYO, EC2, Tue; The Wardrobe, Leeds, Wed; Sugar Club, Dublin, Fri*
JF
*ExperimentalStudio Des SWR Featuring Kairos Quartett, London*
Sometimes, musically speaking, this country really does seem as if it's only clinging on to the rest of Europe by its fingernails. There's a vast range of contemporary music going on across the continent that very rarely makes it across the channel; composers who are major new-music figures in France, Germany and Italy remain scarcely known here. In north London this weekend there's a brief sample of what's occurring elsewhere. The Berlin-based Kairos Quartett join forces with Freiburg's Studio for a programme of quartet pieces involving real-time electronic transformation and projections. Two of the composers are already major figures – the Austrian Georg Friedrich Haas and the Italian Marco Stroppa – and included with their works the Kairos give the world premiere of a piece by the Venetian-born Roberto David Rusconi.
*Kings Place, N1, Sun*
AC Reported by guardian.co.uk 7 hours ago.
*Steve Mason, Glasgow, Manchester & London*
In the best of all possible worlds Steve Mason would be revered. To be fair, the performer has never made it easy for his audience: his gift for writing entrancing songs and singing them beautifully is only matched by his talent for self-sabotage. Famously, he declared the debut album by his much-admired post-Britpop group the Beta Band a failure before it was even released. Not a man with an easily governable muse, Mason's work might span balladry, hip-hop and eccentric dance-pop in the space of a single album, and his brief attention span is evidenced by a trail of discarded aliases. His new record, Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time, is no more focused musically – reggae, Britpop and trip-hop sit side by side – but that's part of Mason's point. In a venal world, we've lost sight of the good things. Luckily, he's on hand to help out.
*King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Tue; Gorilla, Manchester, Wed; Village Underground, EC2, Thu*
JR
*Rachel Zeffira, On tour*
Though originally from Canada, Rachel Zeffira has developed a voice that's all clipped English poise. It's perhaps not a quality that you'd associate with indie rock, but this is not someone seeking to obscure themselves in their music. A classical musician headed for a career in opera, she eventually hooked up with Faris Badwan from the Horrors as part of 60s pop-influenced Cat's Eyes. On her debut, some of this tale reveals itself: the interesting arrangements and, most of all, the voice, which even in the rock tunes retains an aloof calm reminiscent of Trish Keenan of Broadcast.
*Union Chapel, N1, Tue; Deaf Institute, Manchester, Wed; The Cube, Bristol, Thu; touring to 15 Apr*
JR
*James Blake, London, Manchester & Glasgow*
The first singer-songwriter of post-dubstep, James Blake appeared to be plotting a lonely course in 2011. As it turned out, the Londoner's minimal compositions and sensitively chosen cover versions (chiefly his heart-stopping take on Feist's The Limit To Your Love) saw him selling half a million copies of his debut album. Like an English suburban counterpart to Bon Iver and his cabin in the woods, Blake is someone making music in isolation that hums with individuality and melancholy, only to find this endeavour wins him a great many new friends. Meanwhile, for his new one, Overgrown, Blake has been able to call on talents like Brian Eno and RZA to appear. There's no hint of a wobble or new direction here, though; whatever the instrumentation, Blake writes fantastic songs, and those songs just keep on coming.
*Heaven, WC2, Tue; Manchester Academy 2, Wed; The Arches, Glasgow, Thu*
JR
*Sam Leak's Aquarium, On tour*
Following in the playing-and-composing footsteps of such Royal Academy of Music jazz alumni as the Mercury-nominated pianists Gwilym Simcock and Kit Downes comes Sam Leak, an artist of comparable promise. With this year's album, Places, he has applied the influence of Jarrett, Paul Bley and others to create a rich repertoire sparked by experiences of London, Milan and Marrakech. Funky, folksy, improvisationally edgy and teeming with ideas, it's another stretch forward for a rising star.
*Seven Arts Centre, Leeds, Sun; The Spotted Dog, Birmingham, Tue; Dempsey's, Cardiff, Wed; touring to 30 May*
JF
*José James, London, Leeds & Dublin*
When the young Brooklyn singer José James first reached most UK listeners' ears via Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label, he sounded like a rising star with jazz leanings who was most impressive for what he didn't want to do. He didn't want to endlessly rework the Great American Songbook or scat at a million notes a minute, as if he were a saxophone. This first UK tour for James will certainly promote the music from his more pop-oriented Blue Note debut No Beginning No End, but the singer's gorgeous voice, intelligence and jazz hipness is bound to reveal plenty more layers to him than that.
*XOYO, EC2, Tue; The Wardrobe, Leeds, Wed; Sugar Club, Dublin, Fri*
JF
*ExperimentalStudio Des SWR Featuring Kairos Quartett, London*
Sometimes, musically speaking, this country really does seem as if it's only clinging on to the rest of Europe by its fingernails. There's a vast range of contemporary music going on across the continent that very rarely makes it across the channel; composers who are major new-music figures in France, Germany and Italy remain scarcely known here. In north London this weekend there's a brief sample of what's occurring elsewhere. The Berlin-based Kairos Quartett join forces with Freiburg's Studio for a programme of quartet pieces involving real-time electronic transformation and projections. Two of the composers are already major figures – the Austrian Georg Friedrich Haas and the Italian Marco Stroppa – and included with their works the Kairos give the world premiere of a piece by the Venetian-born Roberto David Rusconi.
*Kings Place, N1, Sun*
AC Reported by guardian.co.uk 7 hours ago.