Sunday 7th April | 8pm
The Wardrobe Theatre, 25 West St, Bristol BS2 0DF
Tel:01179020344
Tickets: £12.50 / £15 inc BF
Tickets: https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#date=2019-04-07&event_id=50054
FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/341418303324492/
Marshes is the new incarnation of Beth Porter and the Availables. Having recorded the album before her daughter Molly was born and finishing it after, (thanks to an Indiegogo fund-raising Campaign) it feels like a life time’s journey in making a record. However, the album is a coherent collection of charmingly orchestrated songs with a full band, strings, wind and brass.
The songs are dark, quirky, charming and ethereal and depict themes such as fear, confusion, money, the weather and the odd cheesy love song, all carried by Beth’s pure and unaffected voice.
They have been said to channel Ray Davies, and have been likened to The Incredible String Band, REM, Cat Power, This Is The Kit, Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Radihead!
The album has involved many of Beth’s previous band including Jools Scott on piano (The Duckworths, The Cool Web) Emma Hooper on Viola (Waitress for the Bees), Pete Gibbs on Bass (Count Bobo) Sue Lord and Ian Vorley on Violin (Red Carousel) Paul Macmahon on Drums (Protest Crayon). Producer Luke Cawthra (The Brackish and son of Dr Feelgood’s Gypie Mayo) has brought a cool sound, warmth, clarity some awesome guitar solos to the songs from his studio in Clifton, Bristol.
Beth is the cellist for Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band and she is one half of prolific duo The Bookshop Band as well as String Quartet Red Carousel. She has played cello on over 100 records including those of The Proclaimers, Petula Clark, Newton Faulkner, Jackie Oates, Jim Moray, The Heavy. She has played and written for short films including BAFTA winning The Eagleman Stag by Mikey Please.
“Quirky, engaging and really rather brilliant” – fRoots
Stanlæy (Bethany Stenning) is primarily an artist, singer and multi-instrumentalist from Bath, England. Firstly a writer, and artist, and classical musician, Bethany discovered her love for singing, and writing music at age 18. She started studying Music at Southampton University in 2013 and moved to Paris in 2015 to study French and Music at the Sorbonne alongside her degree. It is in Paris she met Marco Pavesi, a talented French musician who she began to collaborate with. In February 2016, Bethany and Marco recorded a 5-track EP in Tour, France. Bethany has performed and recorded under a number of pseudonyms including “Stanhopea” and “Stanlæy”.