Owl Light Trio and Understory
The Harrison, Kings Cross
Friday 17th January
Doors 7:30pm, Live Music 8:15pm
Tickets £10
Owl Light Trio are an instrumental group based in Oxfordshire.
They take good tunes to pieces and put them back together again.
Sometimes the insides end up on the outside.
At other times the tunes will seem to go back together seamlessly, until they find a stray note or two in a pocket or under the sofa.
Tunes treated in this way often reveal hidden passageways, trapdoors, overgrown gardens and forgotten attics. When these turn up we like to explore them thoroughly.
On occasion, reconstructed tunes have been known to unfold in dramatic and unpredictable ways, but nobody has ever been harmed as a result.
The tunes come from a variety of sources. Some are traditional tunes from Britain, Ireland or Europe. Many are their own compositions.
Understory is a folk trio with roots in England and Scotland whose members grew up absorbing tunes through their feet and fingers. Bringing an array of classical upbringings and jazz forays to a mutual love of traditional music, they delight in deconstructing tunes and songs and putting them together anew.
Tom Evans (accordion, feet) and John Sandall (little fiddle, big fiddles) first met as fellow Shooting Roots tutors running traditional youth music workshops at festivals around England. Having grown up twenty minutes apart, and both regulars at local sessions in the South-East, it took a careful accident of nature to ensure they never crossed paths. Completing the trio is Brighton-based Heather McAslan (mandolin, piano, words), a Glaswegian with a side hustle in particle physics. Tom discovered her in a stepping session, playing epic tunes and foot tapping. Between them they are immersed in the folk scene of the South-East, playing with the likes of Suntrap, Songhive, Climax Ceilidh Band and the Brighton Ceilidh Collective.
Leaning on their mutual trust and playfulness, Understory crafts unique journeys with the tunes they love, whether traditional, contemporary or self-penned. Settle in and hear the music evolve with the mischievous joy these three find in playing together.