“Haunting And Compelling” Raf And O Review & Interview on Pennyblackmusic + London Live Show with Mally Harpaz and with TKI At West Kirby Arts Centre
September 18, 2019 § Leave a comment
.
Raf and O Live t The Union Chapel, photo by Angelique Le Marchand at 3-Song Rule
Greetings! We have some exciting live news to announce and the latest from planet Raf and O!
Aside or probably more accurately orbiting around all current madness we’re seeking refuge in our music havens!
Raf and O are delighted to join Mally Harpaz on Tuesday September 24, an event presented by Blind Dog Studio at Paper Dress Vintage in London with Echo Wants Her Voice Back. There will also be some special guests.
Mally, multi instrumentalist with Anna Calvi, will be performing songs from her new album, Raf and O will perform songs from the new album ‘The Space Between Nothing And Desire’ and on the bill also singer songwriter Echo. Looking forward to this very special concert! Not to be missed!
Get your TICKETS HERE!
FB EVENT
On Friday, November 8, we are heading to the northwest, precisely to West Kirby Arts Centre, where we’ll be presenting both a long set by The Kick Inside with lots of beautiful early songs by Kate Bush and a specially selected Raf and O set.
TICKETS on sale now!
Continues below
Raf and O Live at The Union Chapel, photo by Angelique Le Marchand at 3-Song Rule
The Kick Inside – The Songs of Kate Bush at The Penny Theatre, photo by Phill Morgan
Since the release of our new album ‘The Space Between Nothing And Desire’ which garnered some fantastic reviews, (see our previous blog) we were reviewed and interviewed in Pennyblackmusic Magazine, where both O and I talked to John Clarkson about our new album, the influence of David Bowie, The Kick Inside and Kate Bush, Scott Walker, Raf and O live, where are we from? And a few other things.
Read the whole interview here
“Raf and O are a defiantly original act, one which one can listen to time over and still find something new, and with ‘The Space Between Nothing and Desire’ they have created an album that is as daring as it is compelling”
PENNYBLACKMUSIC
This year marks 50 years of the Moon landing, 50 years of Space Oddity and 50 years since David Bowie performed at the Growth Beckenham Free Festival on the bandstand that has just received its Grade II Listing, the same bandstand appearing on the cover of our second album Time Machine and where we recorded ‘Echoes’ live (featuring on our ‘Portal’ album) at MOAFF in 2014. Proud to have played this festival three times since the remake back in 2013 and of course we celebrated in our own way, by releasing ‘A Bow To Bowie’ our song dedicated to David featuring on the new album and receiving wonderful support from the likes of Electronic Sound, God Is In The TV Zine, Joe Muggs, Monolith Cocktail, Pennyblackmusic and Adrian Specs, a big thank you! And thanks to the Soap Company for inclusion on their best albums.
Don’t miss the upcoming concerts!
Spread the news!
With love
Raf and O X
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Memory of a Free Festival 2014, Fairywood + ‘Time Machine’ is one of this year’s Best Albums on FACT
July 25, 2014 § Leave a comment
.
Greetings!
It’s July and as the sun infuses its energy upon us,
may this spread positives among us all!
In our musical world it’s been a really good year so far and continues to be so.
Raf and O’s new album ‘Time Machine has been selected as one of the best album of 2014 in FACT Magazine alongside Neneh Cherry and Rocketnumbernine in the Joe Muggs’s Top 10 Album list!!
We’re wonderfully blown away and very proud of this. Get yourself a copy of the CD Album HERE. Digital available in all good stores.
Some other wonderful news – Memory Of A Free Festival returns!
Raf and O have been invited to perform again at the re-run of the legendary Beckenham Free Festival organised by David Bowie and The Beckenham Arts Lab in 1969. On Saturday 16th August, Natasha Ryzhova Lau, with the help of some generous volunteers, is staging the event for a second year in a row, 45 years from the day and the date. Mary Finnigan, a key figure of the original festival is also involved and Roger Wootton from legendary Comus (who were playing weekly at the Arts Lab and played the Festival in ’69 ) will also take the stage. We’re thrilled to join all the artists, some of whom we met in 2013, we are opening up proceedings, see the LIVE page for full line up/flyer, location and transport details. Last year saw an audience of over 1000 people and £7000 pounds were raised towards the restoration of the Beckenham Bandstand; it was just wonderful despite a rain machine in full action; may the sun machine return safely to the Croydon Road Recreation Ground. Get there early, gates open 12.30, it’s only a fiver and there’s a beer tent this year too; we’ll be in action just after 1pm, don’t miss!
As well as the Beckenham Festival we’re really looking forward to perform at a new Festival in Brentwood, precisely Fairywood at Kelvedon Hatch, which used to be home to the secret nuclear bunker. The festival with its fairytale and thematic settings promises to be a magical gathering running on the weekend of the 9th and 10th August.
We will take the stage on the Sunday 10th, as the evening starts to fall. More info and tickets for the whole weekend or for the one day can be found HERE
And to cap it off we’ve recently been invited by the amazing Richard Strange to partake in a unique and very special William Burroughs inspired project at the Queen Elizabeth Hall planned for October, which will also see the Doctors of Madness reforming for a one off performance after 36 years! We are delighted and very honoured!! More details will be posted here in the very near future.
Raf and O x
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Images: Beckenham Bandstand graphic courtesy of Memory Of A Free Festival.
Photos of Raf and O performing at Memory Of A Free Festival in 2013 and on ”Time Machine’ session by Luigi Altilia.
.
‘We Played Our Songs And Felt The London Sky …’ Memories Of Memory Of A Free Festival
September 23, 2013 § Leave a comment
.
photo by Dave Flynn Photography
photo by Luigi Altilia
‘Tons of aliens came down, did you not recognise them?’ #rain Raf and O tweet. So the rain machine came down this time, but the crowd was not afraid.
Umbrella heaven in Croydon Road Recreation Ground and we all had a fabulous time!!!
‘Memory Of A Free Festival managed to recreate the magic of the original event’ – a local newspaper reports. The Beckenham Free Festival remake to save the iconic bandstand has been supported by David Bowie who donated signed items that were auctioned on the day. Media coverage includes the Independent, Daily Telegraph, NME, several others got behind the Festival. BBC news and radio also covered the event.
Raf and O had the pleasure to play a live session/ interview for BBC Radio Kent Breakfast Show prior to the Festival.
‘We played our songs and felt the London sky …’
photo by Dave Flynn Photography
We also had the privilege to open up proceedings on the Beckenham bandstand. After initial speeches from festival organiser Natasha Ryzhova Lau and Mary Finnigan who organised the original one with David, we took the stage; it had just started to pour down…the wind was sweeping the rain onto the bandstand, but we did not care, the audience was great, we opened with a micro rendition of ‘Memory Of A Free Festival’ then we played the rest of our set and ended with ‘Lady Grinning Soul’. I felt David’s energy up there.
It was a pleasure to share the stage with all who performed, we met some great people, performers, technicians, the audience, volunteers, people from present, past and future; Bill Liesegang, Amory Kane and Mary sharing their memories from 1969. All together at the end for a jam session joining in a longer version of ‘Memory Of A Free Festival’ – Darcy Debrett brought and played an harmonium for the occasion. This was the closure to the second chapter on the bandstand.
Then the auction …
Thanks to Mark Sparkler who compered on the day, Val on sound, big thanks to Natasha who’s done a fab job, Luigi Altilia for filming, all who took photographs, all who shared this moment. A live video from the event will be posted up soon.
Next we will be playing at the ever wonderful Kaparte Oxjam Festival – please check our LIVE PAGE for details and tickets.
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Lady Grinning Soul / The Fog Out Now + News From Launch at Cafe OTO
April 8, 2013 § Leave a comment
.
Hello!
our single is coming out today!! Very excited about it, it’s a self-release, please support us by getting yourself a copy HERE
It includes our version of David Bowie‘s Lady Grinning Soul (studio take)
‘The Fog’ and a remix of The Fog by electronic trio Nedry.
The LIVE VIDEO has reached 1000 plays in just over a month and the feedback so far has been fantastic!
‘Very creative. I enjoyed it a lot’
Mike Garson (David Bowie’s pianist/ collaborator since 1972)
‘Awesomely bizarre’
God Is In The TV Zine
‘Raf and O caress Bowie’
Bowie Wonderworld
News from our recent Launch at Cafe OTO … it was a wicked night! You can watch a video HERE and there’s more to come.
Thanks to all who came down to this brilliant venue; so many people and such an attentive audience! Promoted by our wonderful friend, the very excellent Klarita from Kaparte, we supported Larsen with Little Annie – they did a fantastic show.
And thanks to Angelique Le Marchand for these and other brilliant shots! (Below)
Get yourself a copy of our single, it’s going for a song, quite literally on iTunes!
LADY GRINNING SOUL / THE FOG – BUY HERE
Raf and O x
Mike Garson And Bowie Wonderworld Praise Raf and O’s Version Of Lady Grinning Soul!
March 14, 2013 § Leave a comment
.
Raf and O are thrilled to have received this endorsement from David Bowie’s creative collaborator since 1972 and stunning pianist on the original ‘Lady Grinning Soul‘!
‘Very creative. I enjoyed it a lot’ Mike Garson. Raf is buzzing, as this era of Bowie was central to her initial musical development.
Our live video has also been featured in the Bowie Wonderworld website and has been described as ‘Raf and O caress Bowie’.
The upcoming single ‘Lady Grinning Soul/ The Fog will soon be available to pre-order. To be updated on this, please join our mailing list; just send an email to info@rafando.com
By joining you will also be entitled to periodic freebies only available to this list.
We are really excited and your support is absolutely invaluable.
Tickets for the launch at Cafe OTO are still available HERE
Raf and O x
Raf and O announce release for Bowie’s Lady Grinning Soul + The Fog + Remix by Nedry (Cafe OTO Launch)
February 26, 2013 § Leave a comment
.
Hi folks!
Lots happening!!!
Having spent all of 2012 closing the live shows with our rework of David Bowie‘s ‘Lady Grinning Soul from the seminal album ‘Aladdin Sane‘ we are finally releasing it ahead of our new album. We’ve had some thoroughly excellent feedback from live audiences, so we are celebrating this as well as Bowie’s return!! Being long standing fans of his work and Raf a complete Bowie nut means we are buzzing!
It will be released as a package containing the studio version of ‘Lady Grinning Soul‘, ‘The Fog‘ and a wicked Remix of the latter courtesy of the brilliant three piece post-dubstep/ electronic band Nedry. More details on this soon.
In the meantime, here is a video of a live version of ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ from the Lewisham Arthouse show – massive thanks to Luigi Altilia for filming.
The launch is to be taking place at CAFE OTO on April 1st promoted by the wonderful Klarita from Kaparte Promotions – great venue and great bill!
We will be opening for Larsen (15 years of avant/ experimental activity) on their European Tour feat. legendary dub-diva Little Annie (a.k.a. Annie Anxiety Bandez), who has recently released her autobiography.
You can get your TICKETS HERE
FACEBOOK EVENT
We’ve also just started a TWITTER page – you can follows us HERE
Extremely excited 😀
Raf and O
X
Raf and O 
You must be logged in to post a comment.