Mount Kimbie, one of the most interesting acts to have emerged in electronica in the past year, are among those playing Norwich this week. And there are two local charity gigs being fronted by national acts too.
MOUNT KIMBIE
Norwich Arts Centre, April 23
Mount Kimbie are post-dubstep boundary busters, Dominic Maker and Kai Campos who peddle an intriguing blend of wonk-house, hip hop and ambient electronica.
The duo's first two EPs — Maybes and Sketch On Glass, both out in 2009 through Hotflush — offered an experi-ence was less like listening to music and more like eavesdropping on the machinations of a lone mind — albeit a lone mind surrounded by and retreating from millions of other minds. It was a sound that was further expanded on last year's splendid debut album, Crooks and Lovers.
The pair originally met at South Bank University but say they were inspired by living between Peckham and the Elephant and Castle. 'South Bank turned the old asylum into student halls. It was a cold, joyless, concrete building – the sort of building where you'd drop a pen and the sound would just go on and on in an echo,' explains Kai, originally from Cornwall. 'We went back later with some mics. A lot of what we got that night features on the album.'
Mount Kimbie exist alongside other post-dubstep diaspora like Joy Orbison, Actress, Untold and Ikonika. Their sound is very much their own. They float through dubstep and hip-hop, jazz, techno and ambient, post-rock, UK garage and film scores.
t Further listening: www.myspace.com/mountkimbie
MILES HUNT & ERICA NOCKALLS
Brickmakers, April 26
Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls of The Wonder Stuff, who played a sold-out double headline gig at UEA with The Levellers in March, return to Norwich for this far more intimate gig.
This special gig has been organised to raise money for the Soundwaves project by Matt Watson, whose new acous-tic band The Fugitive Painters (featuring ex-Huck members Matt and Glyn will also appear together with Dumb-foundus.
'My day job is as a Support Worker with people with all types of learning difficulties, autism and challenging behaviours, so I thought lets put on a gig to raise some money, book an established artist — and a personal favour-ite, in an intimate local venue,' explains Matt. 'Soundwaves is a simple idea really. Music is so universal that people with communication issues can really shine and it something sadly unlike myself they wouldn't have regu-lar access to. I have been putting together regular drumming/music sessions and Rock School-type sessions but we need to get more instruments and equipment so far we have been using old bits of drum kit and electric guitars and whatever drum sticks and other old bits of percussion we could find.'
t Further listening: www.ericanockalls.com
SKINDRED
Waterfront, April 28
The Welsh self-declared ragga-metallers return with their notoriously fierce live performance in support of their highly anticipated fourth album, Union Black.
The band have already performed their first shows of 2011 appearing as the special guests on the sold-out Rob Zombie UK tour in February, but this is the first chance to see them in their own right.
The band have their roots in Newport outfit Dub War who formed in 1993 and eventually signed with legendary Earache Records. When Dub War disbanded in 1998 Skindred emerged from the ashes, releasing their debut al-bum, Babylon, in 2002.
The band's musical style is notoriously eclectic, mixing obvious influences from rock, metal and punk with less than usual influences on the metal scene like dancehall, reggae, drum n bass and dubstep.
Enigmatic frontman Benji Webbe says of the new record, follow-up to 2009's Shark Bites and Dog Fights: 'The album is darker and heavier than any of our previous recordings.'
Support comes from Chiodos and Me Vs Hero.
t Further listening: www.skindred.com
GIG FOR JAPAN
Norwich Arts Centre, April 27
Following a sell-out show in January, the Smoke Fairies return to the Arts Centre for this very special night in aid of the Pray For Japan appeal.
Praised by the likes of Richard Hawley and Jack White, the slide guitar-driven blues-folk of the girl–duo delivers a sound that is quite a bewitching brew. Theirs is an exquisitely shivery blend of English alternative folk-rock and a more humid, bluesy brand of Americana. Their debut album, Through Lowlight And Trees, is perfectly balanced two friends who specialise in interlocking harmonies and guitar parts that shape their spectral melodies.
Also appearing will be James Broad, lead vocalist and guitarist with Silver Sun, who will be performing an acous-tic set.
Internationally renowned chip tune musician PixelH8 — aka Matthew C. Applegate, who makes his music from reprogramming some of the oldest and rarest vintage computer systems in the world — will also be taking to the stage. His unique blend of electronica has taken him across the globe.
There will also be a Globo DJ set in the bar. Entry is by donation with a minimum of �5, but please give as much as you can.
t Further listening: www.smokefairies.com
SOUNDS IN THE CITY
April 22
Raw Edge (rock) — Brickmakers
The Fall of Science + more (rock/metal) — B2
Agent Orange (pop/rock) — Blueberry
James Goodwin (blues) — Brewery Tap
Liquer (Cure tribute) — The Talk
Electricity (R&B) — The Wildman
The Harvs ( — Silver Road Cottage
Half Cut Heroes (rock/indie) — The Stanley
Norwich Folk Club — Christ Church Centre
Pyevarotti — Walnut Tree Shades
Knight Moves — Lakenham Cock
Rock'n'Roll Kirk — Trowel & Hammer
April 23
The Pistols (tribute) — Waterfront
Pure Passion (rock) — Brickmakers
Egypt/ZZ Zeppelin (rock) — Blueberry
Coupe De Ville (rock/pop) — King Edward VII
Super Action Heroes (rock) — Boundary
Norwich Rocks: feat. The Low Suns + more (indie) — Project
The Cream Horns (rock/blues) — The Stanley
Worlds Apart (rock) — Walnut Tree Shades
Hard Rain (acoustic) — Silver Road Cottage
Dan Star (rock/pop) — Gibraltar Gardens
Rob Charles (easy) — The Windmill
UB Marley (reggae) — Lakenham Cock
Yarebeats — Arkwrights
S.E.N. — The Woolpack
Vic Salter — Gatehouse
Hard Rain — Silver Road Cottage
Andy Diamond — Angel Gardens
Mark Anthony — Trowel & Hammer
Rob Charles — Windmill
April 24
James Goodwin (blues) — Brewery Tap
The Uprising (rock) — Blueberry
Organic Electronic Collective — Rumsey Wells
Bobby Graham (50s/60s) — Moles Rest
Peter Allen — Lakenham Cock
Chippy — Boundary
Bob Downs — Doghouse
Pyevarotti — Perseverance
April 25
Breast Cancer Bash All-dayer: feat. 10 bands (rock/blues/charity) — Brickmakers
Nan Turner + more (acoustic) — Olives
Crazy Arm & Cynics (roots/punk) — Wildman
Gordon James (3pm) — Bread & Cheese
Jazz N Jam (open mic) — Blueberry
April 26
Musically Stacked (acoustic) — Rumsey Wells
Open Mic — Steam Packet
April 27
Four Puffs & A Piano (pop/comedy) — Maddermarket
High Hopes + more (pop-punk) — B2
The Session (Irish) — Brewery Tap
Lee Vasey & Friends — Trowel & Hammer
Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers
April 28
Julian Joseph Trio (jazz) — Arts Centre
Penny Hannant + more (pop/acoustic) — B2
Ghostriders Western Club: feat. Nashville Numbers (country) — Royal British Legion
Egypt (rock/blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Stretcher Monkeys (indie/rock) — Blueberry
Feral Mouth (country/acoustic) — Olives
Access To Music Showcase (local) — Brickmakers
Albert Cooper's Jazz Life — Rumsey Wells
Open 8 (open mic) — King Edward VII
James Summerhill — The Rose
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