Pennyblackmusic presents...Pete Fij/Terry Bickers, Last Harbour, The Owl Service and Roshi Pars Radio.

Tickets £6 adv from wegottickets.com/event/151048, £7 on door.

We return to the Half Moon, Herne Hill, South London on Saturday 24th March with four great acts.

PETE FIJ/TERRY BICKERS

Returning to the music scene after years of hibernation, we present, united, two former artists from the legendary Creation records label of the 80s and 90s. One of the best guitarists of his generation (NME even awarded him the accolade “a guitar god”), Terry Bickers was a pivotal member of The House of Love, one of Creation’s flagship acts during the pre-Britpop years, and led by the charismatic Guy Chadwick. The band’s first, eponymous album remains a classic of late 80s indie. Bickers had already left by the time of the band’s acrimonious break-up to form space-rockers Levitation, who enjoyed success with a slew of glorious EPs and an album, ‘Need For Not’, on Rough Trade.

Pete Fij, meanwhile, had a concurrent career with Adorable, authors of the classic early 90s anthem ‘Sunshine Smile’ and the album ‘Against Perfection’. He followed Adorable’s break-up with Polak, formed with his brother, who would go on to release two low-key albums on the One Little Indian label, during which time the Independent on Sunday labelled him “the most under-rated lyricist since Jarvis Cocker last put pen to paper”.

The two have already played to audiences in Germany, France, and Spain, and are set to release ‘Broken Hearted Surgery’, a mature, semi-acoustic album which they have described as “like a three-in-the-morning jam in which Johnny Cash, The Velvet Underground, and The Everly Brothers try not to wake the neighbours”.

www.facebook.com/petefijterrybickers

LAST HARBOUR

An expansive Manchester collective playing brooding, cinematic music, Last Harbour have opened for the likes of The Dirty 3, Michael Gira (Swans), Josh T Pearson, and previous Pennyblackmusic headliners The Willard Grant Conspiracy.

Along the way, they’ve birthed a number of epic and compelling albums, with a new one, ‘Your Heart, It Carries The Sound’, on its way. Released on their own Little Red Rabbit label and produced by Richard Fornby (ex-Spacemen 3) in a church, ‘Your Heart…’ is a stripped down and sparser offering when contrasted with ‘Volo’, their previous offering - a dense album that mixed intense full-band compositions and classical arrangements with interspersed French poetry and looped passages of treated sound. Their music has inspired accolades from Uncut, Drowedinsound.com, and Mojo, with the latter publication opining: “’Volo’ exhibits so much literary dexterity and multi-instrumental skill you feel almost duty-bound to surrender”. Don’t miss what should be an intense and bewitching set.

www.lastharbour.co.uk

THE OWL SERVICE

The Owl Service formed in Leigh-on-Sea in 2006, their moniker rooted in Alan Garner’s 1967 children’s novel which reimagined medieval Welsh legend ‘The Mabinogion’. Recalling British folk-rockers Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and Pentangle, but refracted with psychedelic and acid-rock touches, their sound is haunting and eccentric enough to feel like something that could appear in the film ‘The Wicker Man’. Over two albums and a prolific release of EPs, the band have refined their folk-rock laden sound; their sophomore long-player, ‘The View From A Hill’, released on their own Riff Mountain label, features guest appearances from Joolie Wood (of Current 93 and James Blackshaw), and ex-Mellow Candle singer Alison O’Donnell.

www.riffmountain.com

ROSHI PARS RADIO

Roshi Nahesi is a London-based singer of Iranian heritage who grew up in Wales. Her dream-like songs, influenced by Persian folk traditionals and childhood memories, weave cello, keyboards and electronics around her intimate voice to unique effect, as evidenced on her album ‘The Sky and the Caspian Sea’. Joining her will be Gagarin, aka Graham Dowdall, who has played and co-wrote songs with the legendary Nico of the The Velvet Underground, as well as recording and collaborating with John Cale, Suns of Arqua, David Thomas & Pere Ubu, and Cabaret Voltaire.

www.myspace.com/roshisongs

Saturday 24th March 2011
The Half Moon Herne Hill
Doors 8pm, first act 8:15pm
£6 adv from wegottickets.com/event/151048, £7 on door
Nearest Station: Herne Hill Overground (5 minutes walk) or Brixton Underground/Overground (20 mins walk)
Herne Hill Overground 10 minutes journey from Victoria, Blackfriars, or Elephant & Castle stations

Buses: 3 & N3, 322, 196, 37 & N37, 468, 68 & N68, 201

www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk
www.halfmoonpub.co.uk