Sealionwoman was formed by way of a fortuitous, chance meeting of Scottish-born jazz-influenced vocalist Kitty Whitelaw and double bass player Tye McGivern. The stripped-down duo line-up of Sealionwoman coalesced around Whitelaw’s rich and beguiling vocal and McGivern’s atmospherically inventive approach to his instrument. A defiantly uncategorisable sound was born, equally informed by melancholic soundscapes, torch-song transgressions and rapturous drama. McGivern offers Bad Seeds-style atmospherics influenced by noir-jazz degenerates Morphine and a Colin Stetson-esque approach to minimalism. This is masterfully fused with Whitelaw’s theatrical inspired vocals, taking inspiration from iconoclastic vocal stylists like Beth Gibbons, Circuit Des Yeux’s Haley Fohr, and Sarah Vaughan. ‘Siren’ is a work capable of luring any adventurous soul onto the rocks.
"Sealionwoman’s music flips folk music on its head, taking traditional Scottish music and moving it into a darker, more atmospheric direction." The Quietus
Chop Chop will present a spontaneous, largely improvised set, exploring some more electronic territory than usual.
“An uncompromising foray from the Peel tradition of yore to who knows where. Jazz-punk tinges, feverish poetry and Fall-ish clangour wrestle down the stairs here in search of new constructions at the floor” - Supernormal festival
“A powerful musical brew of experimental funk, post-punk klang and swampy drones” - Bleeding Hearts Club
"Drill Folly is the electronic project of Tantrums' digital mastermind Sarah Phelan. Taking a twisting path around the spidery legs of IDM, Phelan's solo material is a far darker proposition than her band's indie rock output. Deep industrial percussion sits atop heavy sound art textures and a menacing sense of abstracted melody. It's like listening to what might be going through the head of one of the virtual reality junkies in Strange Days whose mind has been cooked by too much cerebral playback." THUMP
