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BARAKA is a World Music Band based in Bristol, which takes as its inspiration the music of West Africa, South Africa, The Caribbean and Ireland, to produce its own unique and original sound. The result is a heady mix of global beats, intricate rhythms and soaring melodies. Featuring Ben Baddoo on Percussion and Balafon; Paul Bradley on Guitar; Royston Gage on Bass; Mark Bradley on Drums; Brendan Whitmore on Sax; and regular guest – Modou Cissoko from Senegal on Kora and Djembe, BARAKA brings a wonderful mix of cultural and musical influences to bear. Since their formation BARAKA have delighted audiences all over the country, as well as visits to Ireland and mainland Europe. BARAKA have recently filmed a cameo for Channel 4′s “SKINS”, playing the part of an African band backing a gospel choir. As well as Moudou Cissoko writing a song for one of the featured characters to sing, BARAKA wrote, arranged and performed the gospel song featured in the episode.
BARAKAÂ is a professional, independent, original, multi-cultural, multi-racial band with no affiliations to big business – so we have no incentives to offer except brilliant music. (Well, we might have t-shirts next year) So if you would like an high energy mixture of Hi-life, Township, Soca, Soukous, Calypso and Reggae, BARAKA is the one!!
VENUE MAGAZINE Bristol – 8th November 2009 – “Soon the sunshiney African chiming of Baraka warms the hall, fudgy bass bumping beneath iridescent kora and hand blurring percussion. It’s a blue-skied blend of calypso, gentle reggae, jazzy highlife and lilting soca.”
Brendan: This is our first time at Wychwood, but we have heard so many good things about it. You should really ask me after we’ve performed.
Brendan: Fun
Brendan: All our forthcoming performances are listed on our website (see below). Our plans for 2010 are to keep performing wherever and whenever we can.
Brendan: Again, details on our website – listed below.
Brendan: Every performance is unique, and I enjoy them all.
Brendan: Personally, Guinness. For the rest of the band – buy them all a Guinness – if they don’t want them, I will have them all (after the performance of course)
Brendan: There are activities apart from music?
Brendan: www.barakamusic.co.uk www.myspace.com/baraka2
Syl: Thank you!
A number of people have been asking when we will be announcing the bands playing on the BBC introducing stage. The good news is you won’t have to wait much longer. The judging panel consisting of BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 1’s Bethan Elfin, The Independent newspaper’s music critic Elisa Bray and Wychwood’s Festival Director Graeme Merifield have been busy listening to the bands and have nearly made their decisions.
The panel will pick the final line-up of 28 bands from the 70 submitted. Here’s a reminder of the 70 bands broken down by BBC region:
BBC Hereford & Worcester Introducing
Zang Tang, Barbarix, Da Vinci, Dastards, Frantik, Rhondda, Roundstone, The Transcendence Experience, We Killed Rasputin, Wes Dance
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Introducing
Castillo, Century Man, Czech Cheque Checkers, Echo Empire, Garfield Mayor, Les Cadets, Lloyds McGrath, Shakletons, Thom Kirkpatrick, Voodoo Kings
BBC Bristol Introducing
The Fairies, Adelaide’s Cape, Cat Green Bike, Daisy Chapman, Deadlegs, Kill It Kid, Out Like A Lion, Phantom Limb, Severn Sleepers, The Bronze Medal
BBC Gloucestershire Introducing
Jim Lockey & the Solemn Sun, Lounge Fly, Roving Crows, The Echoes, Young Vinyls, Zen Elephant, Aspen Sails, Charlie Baxter, Divine Secret, Elliot Withers
BBC Wiltshire Introducing
Zoe Mead, Matthew Kilford, Napolean In Rags, One Two Three and In, Sailors, DJ Para, The Colorado, The Costellos, The Dacoits, The Jon Trowbridge Band
BBC Wales Introducing
The School, Cate Le Bon, Cuba Cuba, Islet, Ivan Moult, Lucky Delucci, Man Without Country, Mechanical Owl, Oui Messy, Race Horses
BBC Oxford Introducing
We Aeronauts, Charley Coombs & The New Breed, Dead Jerichos, Family Machine, Fixers, Mr. Fogg, Spring Offensive, The Evenings, The Scholars, Ute
photo by Mich Hobbs
The Echoes are a 4 piece Pop Rock group from Cheltenham described as being ‘from the same gene pool as the kooks, but more sassy!’ Their energetic live show has earned them support slots with bands like Futures, Parachute and Canterbury as well as enabling them to embark on a headline UK tour. Their debut EP ‘This Isn’t Hollywood’ has received rave reviews and brought on award nominations from the Exposure and Raven Black Music Group. Catch one of The Echoes’ unmissable live performances before they head out on their September tour.
Syl: Why are you getting involved in Wychwood Festival?
Chris: We’ve always wanted to play at Wychwood Festival being locals. Â It’s earned itself a great reputation and we think we can definitely contribute something to it that maybe hasn’t been present before?
Syl: What are you expecting from the performance at Wychwood Festival?
Chris: We’re not really sure. With this being our first time here we don’t know how well we’re going to go down but we know we’ll definitely give our best. Â We’re going to try and go around the camp site the morning before our performance and hand out some CD’s, stickers, play some acoustic songs, that kind of thing. We know that being fairly unknown we’re going to have to drum up a bit of a buzz and so hopefully a bit of a crowd.
Syl: What are your current performances and plans for 2010?
Chris: We’re currently in the process of writing and demoing our next E.P set for release in late 2010. We’ve got a few key dates coming up, things like supporting American touring band Parachute at the Academy in Birmingham. We’re also finalising our tour plans for late in the year too. That’s what we want to focus on, the touring side of things.
Syl: Do you want us to mention any albums, links to those?
Chris: Our debut EP entitled ‘This Isn’t Hollywood’ is available online from www.theechoes.bigcartel.com or from Rise Records in Cheltenham town.
Syl: What is your best and most weird/surprising/funny memory from previous performances?
Chris: Our EP release show fell on the night of Halloween meaning that the entire audience was in fancy dress. Felt so surreal playing to zombies, sailors and lions amongst others.
Syl: What is your favorite drink(s) – in case if your audience wants to invite you for one?;)
Chris: We’re easy and drink anything, c’mon we’re 19 and students!!!
Syl: Apart from music, what are your other favorite activities?
Chris: We’re pretty much always doing something to do with music in someway, we all do music courses so it’s pretty full time. Apart from that we’re all into different stuff really; everything from rugby to art. We like going out too of course!
Syl: Where can we find you on-line to stay in touch and learn about new performances? (blog, MySpace account, Twitter, Facebook?)
Chris: We have :
Myspace: www.the-echoes.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/the_echoes
Facebook: Search for ‘The Echoes’
photo by Mich Hobbs
Syl: Why are you getting involved in Wychwood Festival?
Nigel: It’s a kind of homecoming for me. I now live in Los Angeles. I grew up in Cheltenham and rode a winner there as a jump jockey, many moons ago. It is also a brilliant festival with eclectic and exciting entertainment.
Syl: What are you expecting from the performance at Wychwood Festival?
Nigel: To enjoy the moment, to make new friends and present my bands music to a wider audience.
Syl: What are your current performances (place for shameless self-promotion;)) and plans for 2010?
Nigel: Wychwood is the first date on a UK tour, that is still being finalized.
Confirmed dates so far:
Friday June 4th at
Wychwood Festival http://www.wychwoodfestival.com/line-up/friday/
Monday June 7th at
The Croft Bristol http://www.myspace.com/thecroftbristol
Monday June 14th at
Kasbah Coventry http://www.kasbahnightclub.com
Friday 18th June at
The Leopard Doncaster http://www.myspace.com/theleoparddoncaster
Saturday 19th June at
Willowman Festival http://www.willowmanfestival.co.uk/site/lineup.html
More gigs will be added soon, check in at http://wwww.tunnelmental.com
Syl: Do you want us to mention any albums, links to those?
Nigel: The new album ¿teatime? Plus the new single “Charlie said†and the “Killing time:8:15 mixes†are available at all digital outlets
(itunes etc)Â http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/id346096812
more info at
Syl: What is your best and most weird/surprising/funny memory from previous performances?
Nigel: Seeing the other members of the bands faces, who were already on stage at the Whiskey a go-go in Los Angeles, when I walked out of my dressing room and made my entrance to a full venue, painted head to toe in gold make-up, wearing only a gold sequined g-string and gold angel wings. That was definitely weird/surprising/funny.
Syl: What is your favorite drink(s) – in case if your audience wants to invite you for one?;)
Nigel: Tea of course, it is ¿teatime?
Syl: Apart from music, what are your other favorite activities?
Nigel: Writing, reading, painting and best of all playing with my 2 beautiful daughters.
Syl: Where can we find you on-line to stay in touch and learn about new performances? (blog, MySpace account, Twitter, Facebook?)
Nigel: http://www.tunnelmental.com
http://www.myspace.com/tunnelmental
http://www.facebook.com/nigel.r.mitchell
Syl: Thank you ever so much for your time!
Syl: Why are you getting involved in Wychwood Festival?
6 Day Riot:We have always wanted to play the festival and we can’t wait to play this year, there are a couple of bands that we are good friends with that are also playing, so that should make it even more fun.
Syl: What are you expecting from the performance at Wychwood Festival?
6 Day Riot: Hopefully a sunny day, with a crowd that are ready to dance with us and that will enjoy us warming them up for the rest of the day
Syl: What are your current performances (place for shameless self-promotion;)) and plans for 2010?
6 Day Riot:Our new single will be released on 7th June the day after our slot at Wychwood, and then our new album will be released in Oct along with a UK tour. We are playing lots of festivals throughout the summer so it should be a busy time for us.
Syl: Do you want us to mention any albums, links to those?
6 Day Riot: 6 Day Riot Have A Plan
Syl: What is your best and most weird/surprising/funny memory from previous performances?
6 Day Riot: Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk Festivals have both been very memorable gigs for us, perhaps one of the less sensible performances has to be Greenman last year where we all wore Green outfits and masks and none of us could see what we were doing on stage.
Syl: What is your favorite drink(s) – in case if your audience wants to invite you for one?;)
6 Day Riot:… Being a Scot Tamara is partial to a whiskey (any type will do)
Syl: Apart from music, what are your other favorite activities?
6 Day Riot:… Tamara used to be a gymnast for Scotland and Great Britain, Dan loves a bit of pool and is a real shark, he was the under 16s Champion (if you believe what he says)… we also like a band game of footie during rehearsals and Dan’s famous quizes on the tour bus.
Syl: Where can we find you on-line to stay in touch and learn about new performances? (blog, MySpace account, Twitter, Facebook?)
6 Day Riot:
http://www.myspace.com/6dayriot
http://www.6dayriot.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/6-Day-Riot/10236849596?ref=ts
http://twitter.com/6dayriot
Syl: Thank you ever so much for your time!
www.peterschiazza.com, photo taken from band MySpace page
Syl: Why are you getting involved in Wychwood Festival?
Pat: As it’s earlier in the summer the grass is that much greener. We were lucky enough to be on the bill last year and had a thoroughly civilised time of it so we jumped at the opportunity to play again. Besides, John left his shoes here last year so he’s come to pick them up.
Syl: What are you expecting from the performance at Wychwood Festival?
Pat: Expectations can cause suffering but I hope it’s sunny and a shade below 26 degrees centigrade.
Syl: What are your current performances and plans for 2010?
Pat: The plan, such as one exists, is to play lots of gigs to as many people as we can. Here are our tour dates
Plus Reading and Leeds and the Milan date
Syl: Do you want us to mention any albums, links to those?
Pat: Some of the bands we like include Thee Single Spy, Oldwick and Joseph Works. They each are brimful of talent and surprising good looks.
Syl: What is your best and most weird/surprising/funny memory from previous performances?
Pat: I can just about recall Jim getting into a discussion with a member of the audience part way through our set after Jim had misheard an approving exclamation as a swearing heckle and so volleyed back a swearing heckle of his own. He hasn’t profaned since and I doubt he will again.
Syl: What is your favorite drink(s) – in case if your audience wants to invite you for one?;)
Pat: Mid priced French red wine. If you can get this round I’ll get the next once I’ve gone to the cash point. Okay?
Syl: Apart from music, what are your other favorite activities?
Pat: Music is one thing, driving around in vans is another.
You can find out more about Goldheart Assembly on their website, MySpace site, YouTube channel, Facebook or Twitter. profile.
Today we want to share with you another interview, this time with Nick Hemming of The Leisure Society, conducted by @tunatheday. Enjoy!
Before we start with the in-depth stuff mighty congratulations on being nominated for your second Ivor Novello Award in a row. Not bad for a guy who last year was working in a warehouse. Has it all sunk in yet?
Yes, just when I though life couldn’t get any stranger! I was pretty shocked when I got the letter but it’s slowly sinking in. The whole band are going to the ceremony this year so, even if we don’t win, we’re going to have a great, boozy day out together.
It must give you a buzz to have the support of so many people within the music business?
It’s pretty special when people you admire give you support. Last year was completely crazy, so many amazing things happened, but the highlight for me was hearing Guy Garvey read out the lyrics to The Last Of The Melting Snow on his radio show. It really made me well up with pride.
The Sleeper was so well received and made it onto many lists for Album of the Year in 2009. Do you feel under pressure to repeat that response with the next one?
I personally have felt a lot of pressure. As I was writing the first album I was only really writing for myself, but now I know there’s actually an audience out there who care what we do! I’ve written all the songs for the new album now so the pressure doesn’t feel as great, we’re all incredibly excited about how it’s shaping up. There’s still a long way to go recording-wise but I’m convinced it will be a huge progression from the first album.
There were quite a few tracks on the first album that were obvious singles, but do you consider yourselves more of an album band?
I definitely care more about the sound of the album as a whole as opposed to deliberately writing singles. Although saying that, we’ve all been quite shocked as to how many prospective singles this new album is throwing up. I think it’s because we’ve played a lot more live shows since we made The Sleeper, so there’s a tendency to want to play more upbeat, arresting tunes.
I loved your version of Gary Newman’s Cars which accompanied the deluxe version of The Sleeper. Not an obvious choice to get the Hemming treatment?
No, not an obvious choice at all, great fun to do though. We were asked to cover a famous song for the Dermot O’Leary radio show & Christian & I were standing in the back garden discussing it. Christian was blurting out a huge list of 80s & 90s singles, as soon as he suggested Cars I knew it would sound great with the Leisure Society touch. The sounds Gary Numan used were so far removed from what we do I knew it’d be interesting at the very least. We enjoyed playing it live so much that we decided to record it. One year on & we’ve only recently taken it out of the set!
You are a very hard working bunch and always seem to be on the road. Do you always get on or are there touring ‘incidents’?
We do get on surprisingly well. With 8 people crammed in a van there are bound to be odd moments of irritation but so far no serious fall outs. We probably spend much more time together in vans than most bands as Christian & I refuse to fly unless there is absolutely no other option… the result of a terrifying flight back from a festival in Latvia last year.
You are no newcomers to the festival scene (as well as Wychwood the band are playing Glastonbury and The Big Chill this year) do they each have their own feel or do they tend to merge into one?
It can become a bit of a blur but every festival seems to have it’s own unique traits. It’s going to be another very busy summer, which is great for the band… Although, our drummer Bas has a profound hatred of camping so he has mixed feelings about the whole thing.
You are playing the Friday, if you get the chance is there anybody else you are keen to catch?
I’m definitely gonna try & stick around for The Happy Mondays on Saturday. I was an extra in 24 Hour Party People so I got to meet a few of them, larger than life characters & a little terrifying! If we get there early enough I’d like to catch Arcadian Kicks too, I saw them play a small London venue last year & they were great fun.
Thanks for your time and we’ll catch up with you on Friday June 6.
And big thank you to @tunatheday for sending it over!:) Check his site for daily dose of good music!
‘There has never been a rapper like Mr.B’- Sunday Times
‘Note perfect’- The Telegraph
‘Pure genius’- Tom Robinson, BBC 6Music
‘One of my (Manchester) Festival highlights’- City Life
‘Sublime Genius’- The Chap
On a one-man mission to introduce Hip-Hop to the Queen’s English, Mr. B is delighted to present Chap-Hop. Having spent the best part of a decade bringing some manners back to popular culture, this dopest of fellows will entertain and amuse you with his ingenious stylings. Aiming to dazzle with dignity, Mr. B takes to the stage with his Banjolele and stiff upper lip to perform ditties of pipe-smoking, high society, Cricket and sexual misadventure, as well as some more well-known pieces from the world of Hip-Hop, re-worked in true Chap-Hop fashion. Mr.B has fast gained a reputation as an eloquent and entertaining live performer, playing recitals across the UK and into Johnny Continent for the past two years from the Glastonbury Festival to club NME in Paris, from the club in Surrey to a week’s residency at the Edinburgh fringe. His recent video ‘Chap-Hop history’ received over 100,000 hits in its first week on youtube. He has just guested on banjolele and vocals on US nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot’s forthcoming album.
At last year’s Wychwood Mr.B’s set on Tom Robinson’s Introducing stage went down a storm and he sold £500 worth of CDs. The queue to get them signed had to be shepherded away from the front of the stage as it was interrupting the next band. His debut long player ‘Flattery Not Included’ is available via www.gentlemanrhymer.com now.
Syl: Why are you getting involved in Wychwood Festival?
Mr B:…I played for Tom Robinson in the beer tent last year and I must say it went down rather a storm, so the kind ladies and chaps asked me to come back and play a recital in the Big Top. Most kind…and wise of them.
Syl: What are you expecting from the performance at Wychwood Festival?
Mr B:…It’s what the audience should expect that matters and that will be the unexpected.
Syl: What are your current performances (place for shameless self-promotion;)) and plans for 2010?
Mr B:…Crikey, I’m playing all over United Kingdom in May, then off to the Edinburgh Fringe where I shall be part of a three-person show called Me! Me! Me! Should be dreadful fun.
Syl: Do you want us to mention any albums, links to those?
Mr B:…My debut long player is called Flattery Not Included and it is available via www.gentlemanrhymer.com
Syl: What is your best and most weird/surprising/funny memory from previous performances?
Mr B:…My favourite performance was probably at the Grand Anarcho Dandyist Ball last year to celebrate 10 years of The Chap magazine. A few hundred trilbies aloft fills one’s soul with joy and no mistake.
Syl: What is your favorite drink – in case if your audience wants to invite you for one?;)
Mr B:…I do like a sherry or a port. Any good quality fortified wine will do the job.
Syl: Apart from music, what are your other favorite activities?
Mr B:…I’m something of a Flaneur. There’s no direct English translation of it, but it basically means to stroll about one’s town with no other plan than to observe the human race. And I like a drink.
Syl: Where can we find you on-line to stay in touch and learn about new performances? (blog, MySpace account, Twitter, Facebook?)
Mr B:…I am on facebook and twitter, just search for ‘gentleman rhymer’ there, and of course www.myspace.com/gentlemanrhymer or gentlemanrhymer.com
Syl: Thank you ever so much for your time!
Mr B: You are most welcome my dear. Sherry?
I thought I would use the occasion of this fresh and crispy blog going live to mention that Wychwood is going more social this year. You would think it is impossible, however we looked at your discussions around Festival on-line and realized that maybe we can do more to make it an unforgettable experience for you.
I am joining the team of Wychwood Festival as a geek who likes to present brands and projects from more personal point of view – so I will be trying to document the backstage of the organization of this event, showcasing the famous and the ordinary, as well as pointing you to interesting stories around the event. I hope you will join me, and share your experiences too!
For start, here is my initial discussion with Graeme (above with his family) – person, who made it all happen!:) My lovely iPhone decided to cut the final words of the conversation, but the point is that Graeme as well as the entire team will do their best to join you on-line! 
