This Is The Kit
Wednesday 20th September 2017
Barbarossa + Charlie Tophill
At Revelation
Doors 7:00 pm
Price £17 + booking fee / £21 (U16s £13 / £17)
This Is The Kit is the much beloved musical project of Kate Stables, born in England and based in Paris, though the heart of their musical community remains in Bristol. Kate sings, plays guitar, banjo, trumpet and percussion, while a cast of carefully hand-plucked friends deliver guitar strums, violin, banjo plucks, hushed horns and electronic textures that sit beneath Stables’ easy, earnest lilt. While on tour, This is the Kit is a shape shifting entity ranging from a female duo with friend Rozi Plain to a five electric five-piece.
The band have gained favour with 6 music presenters having been played by many of the DJs and appeared on BBC sessions. Guy Garvey (Elbow) gave them the biggest accolade by inviting them to play his Meltdown festival (Royal Festival Hall) in June 2016.
2016 was a great year for This Is The Kit. Following being select by Guy Garvey for his 6 Music album of the year and being championed by the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zcqlr), Kate Stables’ This Is The Kit sold out shows across the UK (nearly 2000 tickets in London shows alone, including sell outs at Meltdown festival and Union Chapel, and standout main stage performances at festivals such as Bestival and Stage 2 at Cambridge Folk festival.
Previously hand-picked to support the likes of The National, Sharon Van Etten, Iron & Wine and Jose Gonzales, 2017 will be a new phase for This Is The Kit, signing to Rough Trade and releasing a new album, and will be announcing their largest London show to date at Shepherds Bush Empire. They have has already been confirmed for the main stage at Green Man Festival.
“The musical equivalent of being wrapped in a cosy blanket” – The Independent [live review] ****
“Unaffected, melodious vocals with a very English quality.” – Standard ****
“Just one of the best things I’ve heard all year…wonderful wonderfull stuff” – Guy Garvey BBC 6 Music
—
Support comes from:
Barbarossa
Barbarossa, the nom de plume of Londoner James Mathé, creates cerebral, slow-burning music, tinged with melancholy and an alluring humanism. Mathé’s musical journey started with folk-tinged balladry that saw him become part of the Fence Collective, and subsequently a band member for the likes of José González, Johnny Flynn and Junip. However now, he infuses his songwriting with electronic flourishes, and is a fully fledged electronic soul pioneer. Mathé builds on the foundations provided by his organic approach to songwriting, to build elegiac electronic anthems that are filled with a simple, poignant immediacy.
‘Melds blue-eyed soul and electronica to addictive effect…exquisite’ The Times
‘A great example of someone following their musical instincts into new areas and finding success’ Drowned in Sound
‘Mathé employs his soft soul falsetto over juddering beats, double-time drum claps and a synth riff…a revelation’ The Guardian
Local support comes from:
Charlie Tophill
Charlie previously performed on the Ashford Bandstand and at Create Festival with us. She is now returning again for her first performance on the Revelation stage at St Mary’s Church.
Charlie grew up in the penny arcades of a stony-beached seaside town in Kent. It was in this salty backwater that she first began singing for her shrapnel and playing guitar for her pennies. After following the bright lights to North Yorkshire, she performed and toured with several bands before returning to her solo roots. Now Charlie performs her quirky brand of indie-pop with charm and humour, strumming out cheerful pessimism on an acoustic guitar.