13th March 2019: Entropi/Sloth Racket at Kings Place

LUME is thrilled to announce an Entropi/Sloth Racket double bill at Kings Place on 13th March. It’s part of the Venus Unwrapped series, which throws a spotlight on female composers and is a great opportunity for LUME co-founders Cath Roberts and Dee Byrne to showcase their projects in such an amazing venue. This performance at Kings Place marks the start of exciting LUME plans in the pipeline for later on this year. Cath and Dee have spent 2018 concentrating on their own musical projects and are pleased to share the stage with their bands for this special occasion! Cath’s band Sloth Racket will be coming fresh from a recording of their next album, to be released on Luminous in September. Dee’s band Entropi will perform a few recently penned compositions as well as material from their previous albums.

Grab your tickets to this one-off event!

Here’s a bit about the bands:

Sloth Racket

Sloth Racket is a band of UK improvisers led by baritone saxophonist Cath Roberts, with Sam Andreae on alto saxophone, Anton Hunter on guitar,  Seth Bennett on bass and Johnny Hunter on drums. They play Cath’s compositions, combining written fragments with graphic notation to explore the balance between freedom and structure. The results are always different, and so far have ranged across musical territories taking in fiery free jazz, minimal improv textures and heavy riffs.

The band formed in 2015 when Jazz North East invited Cath to present a new project at Gateshead International Jazz Festival. Everyone agreed this had to be more than just a one-off, and they went on to appear at London Jazz Festival, Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival and LUME Festival, as well as doing four UK tours so far. Sloth Racket’s third studio album A Glorious Monster is out on the Luminous label.

‘Lurching between riff and abstraction…maintains an elegant balance between emergent melody and the wilder activity at its fringes’ The Wire

‘Consider this an important contribution to the debate about spontaneity versus form.’ ★★★★ Jazzwise

Photo credit: Agata Urbaniak

Entropi

Entropi has been steadily developing its own dynamic band sound since its beginnings in 2010. Placing a high importance on improvisation, Dee Byrne’s compositions allow breathing space for depth of communication and interaction between the band members. Juggling order and chaos, composition and improvisation, the group takes listeners on a journey with compelling group interplay, strong themes, open-ended improvisation, dark grooves and interweaving melodic textures.

The ensemble comprises bandleader and alto saxophonist Dee Byrne, trumpeter Andre Canniere, keyboardist Rebecca Nash, drummer Matt Fisher and bassist Olie Brice. Having performed live together for some time, the band has achieved a striking empathy and freedom to take risks. Entropi’s second album Moment Frozen was released on Whirlwind Recordings in September 2017. Their performance at Marsden Jazz Festival in October 2018 was broadcast on Radio 3’s Jazz Now programme on Christmas Eve.

‘Intense, muscular jazz voyage.’ ★★★★ The Guardian

‘Byrne’s second album possesses both maturity and complexity but crucially it’s imbued with its own cohesive energy.’ ★★★★ All About Jazz

Photo credit: Carl Hyde