We were overjoyed to host a rare live performance from chamber ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra on Sunday 8th June at the University of Sheffield Drama Studio, with support from the one and only Mr William D Drake.
This early evening show was one of only two live performances from North Sea Radio Orchestra to celebrate the release of fifth album ‘Special Powers’, their first studio album since 2016’s ‘Dronne’.
Since 2002, North Sea Radio Orchestra has been the vehicle for the compositions of band leader Craig Fortnam, with the ensemble changing shape and form along the way. From initially rehearsing and performing in old churches, secreted away in the heart of the City Of London, they have since taken their work to clubs, Freakzone sessions, festivals, opera houses and libraries. In 2017, they collaborated with John Greaves (Henry Cow) and Annie Barbazza on new arrangements of songs from Robert Wyatt’s album ‘Rock Bottom’ which were performed live at Rock in Opposition festival and in a special recorded performance for Radio France.
The ensemble features many Buds & Spawn faves (not to mention members of the current Cardiacs line up) including Chloe Herington (VÄLVĒ), Stephen Gilchrist (Stephen EvEns), James Larcombe (Kugelscreiber, Arch Garrison) and Nicola Baigent (Lost Crowns), along with new vocalist Chantelle Pike (Eyes for Gertrude)
“North Sea Radio Orchestra might share with Britten and Vaughan Williams a kind of haunted melancholy that has come to be seen as characteristically English, but their music couldn’t have come from any other century than the 21st” The Wire
“Fortnam is a compositional powerhouse” MOJO
“Part of a line of non-conformist ‘English’ composers that encompass Robert Wyatt, William D Drake, Simon Jeffes and others, Fortnam’s writing is quietly brilliant throughout” Prog Mag
“genuinely very beautiful” BBC
nsro.co.uk
https://northsearadioorchestra.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/northsearadioorchestra
To those in the know, Mr Drake’s songwriting credentials have never been in doubt. His contributions to Cardiacs (he played in the ‘classic lineup’ from ‘83 – ‘91), The Sea Nymphs, North Sea Radio Orchestra and five solo albums of quirky, psychedelic prog-pop, attest to the fact that he certainly knows how to write a decent tune.
Tickets £27.50 (£15 low / no waged) including booking fees.
All ages welcome. Free carer tickets available on request.