‘We Are Stars’ Raf And O’s New Album is waiting in the wings, Shows Coming Up, Lyrics and Lab of Ideas, We Are All Stars and It Matters! Let’s Make It Work Together + as we wait, Raf Sings Kate
July 1, 2022 § Leave a comment
.
LAB OF IDEAS, WE ARE ALL STARS AND IT MATTERS!
Raf and O live at Paper Dress Vintage 22 09 19. Photo from footage by Mal Robinson
As we’re setting ouselves one thousand and twenty ideas and only sixteen or so daily hours to see us through to the completion of some of those courses, we’re excitedly reaching out and let the rest of the world know about the title for our new album to be ‘We Are Stars’! One course is set for sure, we are all stars and it matters! Our super fans of course already knew, being avid participators of THE TOUR ONLINE and Inter-Pla-Net-live shows, during which we aired many live renditions of our new songs, as well as loving renditions of the songs of David Bowie and Kate Bush, we’re very thankful to them and I think they are our constellation club!!! I want everything to be out now but I’ll try to remain patient as this year advances, it will bring music, word, image and live engagements. Times are testing, the human road is littered with obstacles, set in a galaxy, part of our universe throbbing with storms, it’s so easy to lose one’s way, we can all do that, but let’s keep going…
Continues below
Raf and O live on Inter-Pla-Net-Live 15 01 22
Raf and O live on Inter-Pla-Net-Live 06 06 22
CONGRATULATIONS TO KATE BUSH
Congratulations to Kate Bush for her recent chart success, so lovely to hear her interview on the radio the other day. Of course it’s not so long ago that we played several shows celebrating her music, listening back to them, there are many songs I would like all of you to hear, I’m getting a few ideas, so now, as we wait for ‘We Are Stars’, I wish to share with you a couple of Kate’s songs performed by Raf and O Live on The Tour Online during May and June 2021. An excerpt from ‘Misty, a rough diamond as only a second run through but I love this song and ‘In The Warm Room’.
Continues below
Raf and O -‘Misty’ live 26 06 21 excerpt (Kate Bush Cover)
Raf and O – ‘In The Warm Room’ live 22 05 21 (Kate Bush Cover)
LET’S MAKE IT WORK TOGETHER
A few months ago I talked about shared air shows, this feels too ominous now – shows in venues feels about right. Truly looking forward to return to West Kirby Arts Centre, 11 11 22, (tickets on the LIVE page) a date now set late in the autumn: the show will see new Raf and O music, the song world of David Bowie with us as Children Of The Bewlay Brothers, on the road! We truly appreciate each one of you who come to our shows, I hope you won’t mind me suggesting, seen how difficult and demanding it is to make it all work, the purchase of early tickets whenever possible, you will not be disappointed and you will help to support independent music and grass root venues – let’s make it work together!
A special London show is finally in the planning stages and others will be announced as we go.
Our pedal boards shimmer in the dark and remind me, we’re on a mission.
Continues below
We’re taking bookings for the songs of KATE BUSH, DAVID BOWIE and Raf and O, I now draw / paint portraits (see our previous BLOG) and O and I are both teaching. HERE is one more portrait I did recently of my dear friend Klarita.
Reach us at: info@rafando.com
You can also reach us on social media, at online shows, at venues shows, come say hi, let’s make it work!
Do you want to be a star in our constellation?
We are all stars, they are all around. I want to share a lyric I wrote from the new album
With Love
Raf
and O ❤
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
In Chaos, In Line, We Tour Online, We Are Raf and O, We Are The Kick Inside, We Are Children Of The Bewlay Brothers
June 24, 2020 § Leave a comment
.
No other time that I’ve lived through has ever felt as sobering. We can’t be near … the underlining fear … we’re through … we’re not … in chaos yet in line … the strangest times.
Testing our sanity, a world living with coronavirus had affected everyone’s lives beyond recognition. The world had slowed down.
At Raf and O headquarters, what could have been initially perceived as a quashed creative flow, has in fact reversed its black hole effect. Engaging again, yes challenged by the events, but responding to them in different ways.
Having had to stop our physical engagements just after coming back from a show near Liverpool at West Kirby Arts Centre, a show with a thoroughly warm reception and vibe, was a sudden blow, but the gravity of the global situation was far more harrowing. Like for many other artists and musicians, performances stopped, ongoing workshops were replaced in part by online teaching and the day to day worry dampened our spirits for a while. Have things since eased a bit? Maybe, too early to say. We are though adjusting and within that, finding a renewed sense of creative energy flowing through us, helping to replenish an unattended soul garden.
So, come with us on this journey, yes, countered to this subdued introduction, I would like you to know that we are very excited, we are going on virtual tour!
Announcing:
THE TOUR ONLINE 2020 – 2021
tickets available HERE
A year-long tour, two Saturdays each month, two shows each Saturdays to allow for different time zones, the whole world is invited, we transport ourselves live into wherever you are and perform.
Check dates below, times and tickets will be announced on our social media channels and updates on this website
We are The Kick Inside – The Songs of Kate Bush
Raf and O acoustic take (vocal, piano and double bass) celebrating early Kate Bush. For info, videos and more check THE KICK INSIDE PAGE
now hosted within the Raf and O website
We are Raf and O
Four acclaimed albums to date and currently penning a new one, yes, this is happening too!! Check our releases on
RAF AND O’S BANDCAMP
We are Children Of The Bewlay Brothers
Having released interpretations of David Bowie Songs featured on three Raf and O albums, celebrated the man live on wonderful and prestigious occasions, as documented on several of these blogs and having dedicated an original song to him ‘A BOW TO BOWIE’ on latest album ‘THE SPACE BETWEEN NOTHING AND DESIRE’ , the time has come to widen the circle. Raf and O as Children Of The Bewlay Brothers take on Raf and O interpretations together with extra renditions of the man who ‘sang himself to earth’ exploring his work through a Raf and O approach and beyond! Come and discover. Launching on Saturday 14th November!
+
A Special Surprise Every Show
RAF AND O AS THE KICK INSIDE – THE SONGS OF KATE BUSH (TKI)
26 September 2020
24 October 2020
28 November 2020
26 December 2020
23 January 2021
27 February 2021
27 March 2021
24 April 2021
22 May 2021
26 June 2021
24 July 2021
28 August 2021
RAF AND O
10 October 2020
12 December 2020
13 February 2021
10 April 2021
12 June 2021
14 August 2021
RAF AND O AS CHILDREN OF THE BEWLAY BROTHERS (COTBB)
14 November 2020
09 January 2021
13 March 2021
08 May 2021
10 July 2021
12 September 2021
Continues below
We made a couple of videos from the performance at Paper Dress Vintage hosted by the wonderful Mally Harpaz, multi-instrumentalist with Anna Calvi, it was a thorough pleasure to be part of that event, which now, after the whole series of events, feels like a lifetime ago! Videos were also sent in from the performances at West Kirby Arts Centre, again it was a great pleasure to join folks up there.
I’m including a couple down here. Thanks again to Mal Robinson and Margaret Stevie Baker for the footage. Enjoy!
We truly can’t wait to re-engage with you all live again and in our world of screen technology, we should all have a splendid time on THE TOUR ONLINE, details coming soon, please come join us on tour and follow us on our social media pages too, spread the word, we really need you right now!!
Much, much love from Raf and O X
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Raf and O – Your Gazing Stare Live at Paper Dress Vintage
Raf and O as The Kick Inside – The Songs Of Kate Bush – The Man With The Child In His Eyes Live at West Kirby Arts Centre
“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
Raf and O – ABTB 4 Letters for 4 Words + Mini Tour Coming Up!
September 12, 2018 § Leave a comment
.
Raf and O – ABTB
Greetings! we are very happy to announce that our next single is almost here!
ABTB, 4 letters for 4 words. To be revealed and to be unleashed as the days shorten … we are very excited!
And we are taking shows up and down the country, road testing some new pieces along the way. Raf and O and The Kick Inside are about to embark on a few gigs, crossing paths at times, like ships in the night! Kicking off at The Water Rats, London celebrating Pennyblackmusic magazine 20th Anniversary!
Tickets are on sale now, all details here below!
RAF AND O
15th September – London, The Water Rats – TICKETS
22nd September – Sedgefield, Manor House – TICKETS
13th October – Lowestoft, The Seagull Theatre – TICKETS
20th October – Ealing, House Concert
THE KICK INSIDE
22nd September – Sedgefield, Manor House – TICKETS
13th October – Lowestoft, The Seagull Theatre – TICKETS
26th October – Canterbury, The Penny Theatre – TICKETS
Facebook events can be found on our pages
Raf and O and The Kick Inside – The Songs Of Kate Bush
There’s an article on The Northern Echo for the upcoming show in County Durham and in view of this Saturday’s celebration, here’s an interview we did for Pennyblackmusic 2 years ago. And big thank you to The Pheasantry (Pizza Express Live) for hosting us last June, loved the Steinway!
Last month, it was very sad to learn about the passing of Lindsay Kemp. I feel very honoured to have met him two years ago and in chatting to him amongst other things how I spent a big part of my life in England just like he spent a good length of his time in Italy. A wonderful unique artist full of poetry and charm, also mentor to some of the best …David Bowie, Kate Bush… He’ll be sorely missed. (See on FB).
We’re both very much looking forward to perform and to bring you our latest efforts throughout the next few months!
See you at the shows!
Raf and O X
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Pizza Express Live approaching, Theatre Shows on the horizon and Raf and O Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Pennyblackmusic Live at The Water Rats
May 18, 2018 § Leave a comment
.
We did it, we launched The Kick Inside – The Songs of Kate Bush project! Thank you to Kaparte Promotions! Here are the magical photos by Angelique Le Marchand capturing the night beautifully. We also had a wonderful time on the deXter Bentley Show, Resonance FM on the 40th anniversary of Kate Bush’s debut album. Listen to the podcast. Very grateful for the audience reception and the excellent reviews and blogs!
After such a great response, we are playing in London again, this time appearing at the legendary Pheasantry in Chelsea, Pizza Express Live on 1st June.
If you’ve missed the launch or fancy another dose of stripped down Kate Bush material, come down and spread the word, we’ll be waiting for you! x
TICKETS
FB EVENT
The show has also been booked at The Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft, Suffolk, at The Penny Theatre in Canterbury in the autumn and more to be confirmed
dates and tickets here
“Kate’s early songs performed like this make us want to be in some candlelit cabaret club in Paris or Berlin cosying up to a large glass of red in a plush velvet booth” Kate Bush News
“Alluring, atmospheric duo Raf and O launch their THE KICK INSIDE project – a beautifully realised, heartfelt re-imagining of a Kate Bush who kept on playing live…” Adrian Specs
“Utterly fantastic!” Dexter Bentley, London Resonance FM
“There’s a very real sense that Raf made these songs her own and created a Kate Bush persona in which to perform them. It takes a very special talent to bring this off: Raf possesses it and deployed it brilliantly last night” Jeremy Clarke Reviews
“I was blessed to attend the premiere of a performance of Kate Bush’s songs by Raf and O an experimental music duo” Peter Cook, Human Dynamics
In the meantime Raf and O “as themselves” shall also be playing live shows whilst putting finishing touches on the upcoming fourth album; we have been invited to be part of the excellent Pennyblackmusic Magazine 20th anniversary at The Water Rats, London (TICKETS); can’t wait to perform! And tonight, 18th May we are making a live appearance at Scaledown #139, The King and Queen, Fitzrovia, details on the Live page. There will be more special shows in the latter part of the year as we gear up towards our latest releases …..!
Watch/ Listen to the live video montage of the night we put together (below) from The KIck Inside Launch and then get your tickets for the Pheasantry or other dates here! Big thanks to Peter Cook, Katya Fowler, Lee Winter for phone footage.
Love
Raf and O X
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Gazing Ahead to The Space Between Nothing And Desire + Celebrating Kate Bush with The Kick Inside Launch and a Live Session on the DeXter Bentley Show
February 11, 2018 § Leave a comment
.
It’s 2018 and we’re kicking off with live activities again!
Kate Bush has given music lovers something to treasure: a great musician and producer, a brilliant composer and an amazing most unique voice. This year and month marks the 40th anniversary of Kate and her debut album. Adopting their name from this album,TKI or The Kick Inside, a tribute to Kate Bush by Raf and O (see previous blog), perform tracks from her early albums fully live, elegantly and stylishly capturing the energy, excitement and fragility of Kate’s music on vocals, piano and double bass. Celebrating Kate, The Kick Inside Launch, promoted by the always excellent Kaparte, is in London at Bar & Co, the club on a boat, Temple Pier, on Sunday 25th February. It is also O Richard’s birthday and Raf, will keep celebration on hold till then.
‘We’ll be playing a full show of Kate’s beautiful songs from the early part of her career. Triple celebration. Come!’
The launch is also featured on Kate Bush News and TKI has been described as:
’Strikingly individual’ Kate Bush News
And to kick start it all off, The Kick Inside will be playing live in session on the mighty deXter Bentley Show on London’s Resonance 104.4 FM, Saturday 17th February, 12pm which is the date marking Kate’s debut album 40 years ago!
We’re now gazing ahead to … and we’re very excited to introduce ‘The Space Between Nothing And Desire’. That is the title of Raf and O’s new album and it’s set to be released later this year!
A slice from the album was aired yesterday for the very first time on the deXter Bentley Show: an edit preview of a brand new Raf and O song, ‘Your Gazing Stare’. The album will also include our version of David Bowie’s ’The London Boys’. We can’t say too much more at this stage, but keep your ears and eyes peeled, social media is always the quicker way to get fresh news!
Last November we even got to say thank you in person for the support Mike Garson had given to our version of Bowie’s Lady Grinning Soul back in 2013 after he played a magical show at the Camden Underworld!
Raf and O are now on Instagram too and we have unveiled a new logo, a moon-light reworking from our previous. Come and follow our new Instagram page here and here
See you down at THE KICK INSIDE LAUNCH. Come!
Raf and O Xx
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
The Kick Inside – Kate Bush Tribute Live Outfit and Raf and O Tour in the pipeline
July 10, 2017 § Leave a comment
.
The Kick Inside – Kate Bush Tribute (TKI)
Promo Shot and Still from Video – ‘Wuthering Heights’ ‘Wow’ & Teasers Live in the Warm Room
July greetings from Raf and O!
This year we’ve been very busy getting a new project off the ground:
The Kick Inside (TKI)!
This is an entirely separate music outfit, named after Kate Bush’s first album and it’s a tribute to the artist herself!
We’ve also been busy with Raf and O and you can read more on the latter part of this blog.
I’ve been doing a lot of piano playing recently on the latest and beautiful addition to the instrument roster: a lovingly converted piano keyboard by O featuring f holes!
Last May we announced it on our facebook page – As well as cracking on with writing material for our 4th album, and reinterpreting favourite artists, mainly David Bowie interpretations, I’m starting a tribute to the music of Kate Bush, where I will sing and play piano extensively, focusing on the early part of Kate’s career and this time, keeping faithful to the original pieces.
Since then we’ve got a new TKI page up and running and just over a week ago we released our very first video, recorded live in The Warm Room, which received a great reception.
Monolith Cocktail writes:
“Raf Mantelli one half of our favourite avant-garde and frayed experimentalist duo Raf and O adds her idiosyncratic, enchanting signature to the music of Kate Bush on her latest project, The Kick Inside. Concentrating on Bush’s early career, the focus being on her ‘core essence as a pianist singer songwriter’, The Kick Inside tribute band will soon be announcing dates for a number of performances. In the meantime, here’s a teaser” Monolith Cocktail
The Kick Inside, as well as the solo show, will also perform as a duo and here, O will be alongside me but in a role that may be a surprise for many amongst you.
THE KICK INSIDE LINKS
TKI page
TKI Facebook
TKI Twitter
TKI Youtube Channel
CONTINUES BELOW
In the meantime…
Raf and O will return to Italy to play a small series of shows and look forward to go back to some favourite places during the tour! We will debut some new material and there will be a few surprises along the way too! Already looking forward to seeing friends old and new and very excited about the set we will be playing!
As well as developing the TKI project we’ve been also writing material toward a new album; this has been keeping us focused in the studio, so it was lucky if you managed to catch Raf and O playing earlier this year including the legendary experimental Klinker Club and a charity show to raise awareness on mental health for Punk4MentalHealth at the UnderDog Gallery.
Our own cover interpretation of David Bowie’s ‘The London Boys’ received radio play on the latest Chaos Theory Radio Show where Kunal was joined by Alan Pride for a selection of cool tunes! It was also aired on the Dexter Bentley Show Resonance FM and our Bowie’s cover of ‘Win’ was aired, again on Dexter’s ‘The Day Before’ , a tribute to David which also featured an extract from Mary Finnigan’s book ‘Psychedelic Suburbia: David Bowie and the Beckenham Arts Lab’ plus an interview with her; we were deeply touched by Mary’s words for Raf and O who introduced us on the show. And lastly, Raf and O’s Magic from our latest album Portal that was mastered at Cage studios is included in a new free to download compilation ‘Cage 24’ by Martin Bowes from Attrition, pioneers of darker electronica.
For fresh up to date news join our Raf and O social media pages, FB and Twitter and watch this space!
Raf and O xx
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Bowie’s Beckenham Oddity, ‘Sonnet 62’ Official Video and Raf and O’s New Album ‘Portal’ is Out Now
August 10, 2016 § Leave a comment
.
Raf and O Portal Album Launch – soundcheck and performance. Photos 1 and 2 © Gaz De Vere, Photo 3 © Peter Tainsh
Raf and O’s new album ‘PORTAL‘ on Telephone Records is OUT NOW!!
Available on CD and Digital via Bandcamp, iTunes and all good digital stores.
Watch the Official Video for ‘Sonnet 62’ with lyrics by William Shakespeare which was premiered on God Is In The TV Zine (see above)
Latest press says:
“The sublime new album by Raf and O is called ‘Portal’. It’s very difficult to choose highlights from such a consistently winning record”
ADRIAN SPECS
“A further voyage into their adventurous musical dreams, spliced with the literary influences of William Seward Burroughs and Shakespeare.”
GOD IS IN THE TV ZINE
“Raf and O are a band of kaleidoscopic, unusual ideas, and, with ‘Portal’, they have created a remarkable record. There is a celestial, otherworldly element to them…they are totally unique”
PENNYBLACKMUSIC MAGAZINE
“Raf and O’s gothic and magical references are twisted to conjure up ominous visions, to a backing track of free-spirited avant-jazz drumming, trip-hop and contorted machine music …from esoteric Italian to plague originated nursery rhyme English, on ‘Drunk’, to channeling a smoky bar room Scott Walker vibe, on ‘Neurons’… Paying homage once again to their biggest inspiration, David Bowie, the duo transforms the original (Win from ‘Young Americans’) into a beautifully melting, strung-out plucked love recital. Brilliantly shimmering with an affectionate, ruminating and heart-aching vocal … the album cementing the partnership’s unique narratives and poetic views of a machine age and cybernetic world”
MONOLITH COCKTAIL
“If you are looking for instant gratification in a busy world, try listening to “The Deadliest Flower” or “Magic” to give you an insight into just one window pane of their diverse work”
HUMAN DYNAMICS
GET THE NEW ALBUM HERE!
(continues below)
Raf and O Portal Album Launch. Photo © Peter Tainsh
The Launch at St James The less was a wonderful experience …. performing the album in its entirety, we were able to make the journey. Tons of thanks to the brilliant Klarita Kaparte for promoting a splendid night, Robert Logan for being the ‘special’ special guest and for his excellent set, Alan Pride for tons of support, thanks to the wonderful audience for being part of the journey, for the photos, the footage and for getting the album.The Portal leads somewhere ….
Ahead of the launch we did an extensive interview with Carya Gish exclusively for Kaparte Promotions. You can read the whole thing HERE:
In January we were all shaken by the news of David Bowie’s passing . Now that we had time to adjust, cannot think of a better way to honour him this summer than to return and join the line up for the Beckenham Bandstand renamed the Bowie Bandstand. The festival is and has always been in our hearts. Originally organised by Bowie and his friends from the Beckenham Arts Lab, The UK’s first Free Festival was on 16 August, 47 years ago and it coincided with the release of his first hit single Space Oddity. This Saturday, 13th August, we will all be celebrating him, the legacy of the Beckenham Arts lab and help to raise funds again at Bowie’s Beckenham Oddity AKA Memory of A Free Festival. The line up comprises of Malcolm Doherty, Daphne Guinness, Maggi Ronson, Raf and O, Phillip Rambow, Jona Lewie, Then Jerico, Amory Kane, Boe Huntress and a few others!
Mary Finnigan who originally organised the festival with David, will be signing copies of her recently published book Psychedelic Suburbia and we’re honoured to have a mention “Most impressive were Raf and O, a talented avant-garde duo influenced by David Bowie but no copycat.” Mary Finnigan, Psychedelic Suburbia. The event organiser Wendy Faulkner says “After the devastating news of David’s death in January we felt we had to do a tribute for him — and there’s no more fitting place to do this than the bandstand where he played in 1969”. The Bowie Archive has donated another item signed by him plus other items will be available at the auction. Generously supported by DavidBowie.com , Tony Visconti and Iggy Pop.
The festival starts at 1pm, Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Beckenham.
See the whole press release/ line up as featured on David Bowie Official on our LIVE PAGE
TICKETS
FB EVENT
See you there!
Raf and O xx
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Commencing Countdown © Gaz de Vere, All rights Reserved
Raf and O ‘Portal’ Album Launch + Split EP with Robert Logan ‘Sonnet 62/ Ink’ Out Now
July 1, 2016 § Leave a comment
.
Weird times! Schrodinger’s door keeps us in suspense. In this climate and just three weeks away we open ours: we are celebrating with the Launch of our new album ‘Portal’ within the breathtaking space of St James The Less, a Gothic Revival church in the heart of Pimlico.
‘From the spiraling and climaxing ‘Dream Machine’ which opens the album, inspired by the Flicker documentary and later performed at the Burroughs centenary, to the evocative landscape of ‘Sonnet 62’ where the pair have set music to Shakespeare, to the autumnal sound of ‘Drunk’; here Raf explores her Florentine roots within a narrative set by her auntie’s 1960’s poetry and memory. From ‘Win’, a new Raf and O interpretation of Bowie’s classic track on ‘Young Americans’ and the intense quasi-pop ‘Echoes‘ (live) taken from the 2014 Beckenham bandstand performance, to the textural landscape of ‘Mona Lisa Smiles II’ (born from the remoulding of source material by Blk Tag) and the narcotic effect of ‘The Deadliest Flower’’.
Come! Don’t miss this unique event, it will be a once only opportunity to hear us playing the new album in its entirety!
Raf and O ‘Portal’ album launch is on July 22nd, London, promoted by our dear friend Klarita of the excellent Kaparte.
A selection of ticket prices are available, including a strictly limited edition of Raf and O posters and cards, handwritten lyrics, the new album and more!
TICKETS AND BUNDLES
FB EVENT
Pre-orders for the PORTAL CD ALBUM are available now.
Delighted that Robert Logan will be the special guest joining us for this celebration! Robert is an electronic composer/ producer; he has collaborated with Grace Jones, Brigitte Fontaine, Steve Roach, Skye (Morcheeba) and Raf and O. As we’ve previously announced, a taste of the fruits from this collaboration is a SPLIT EP ‘SONNET 62/INK’– freshly released on Telephone Records!
It features two tracks by Raf and O ‘Sonnet 62’ and ‘Worms’ and two tracks by Raf and O and Robert Logan, ‘Ink’ and ‘A Reason To Try’.
Get your copy ‘HERE!!’
Monolith cocktail reviews the EP and previews the album:‘Seductive and alien, a machine driven twitchy gallop into the ether…Raf, sounding at her most rich and mature vocally, soothes and coos like a cross between Beth Gibbons and a female David Sylvian…Imbued heavily with Bowie’s spirit … lingering traces of post-Krautrock, the Gamelan music of Java and Bali and Sheffield synth new wave… the trio stir untethered in a strange soup of churned up beats and solar tidal waves…Aboard a haunted freighter in the deepest reaches of deep space…’.
Dominic Valvona, MONOLITH COCKTAIL
Words on ‘Portal’ and the whole ‘Sonnet 62/ Ink’ review can be read here (double click on the picture to enlarge it). CONTINUES BELOW
In the midst of producing our new video which will be unveiled soon, we met with Lindsay Kemp at the Ace Hotel; he was bright, funny, moving, elegant, a true star! A treat and an absolute joy to listen to him in conversation with Marc Almond. Another wonderful meeting occurred with another legend, a sound shape shifter that influenced so many people’s music, we will wait for permission to publish images! Back in March we had a great time playing the Crystal Palace Overground Festival fundraiser at the Anerley Town Hall with Metamono and friends and Pennyblack Music London Show too. More in store, so that will be in the next blog.
Come join us on the 22nd of July for what will be a very special night, the chance to buy the album before its actual release and more surprises to be announced!
See you in church!
Love
Raf and O xxx
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
’Me, I hope that I’m crazy’ David Bowie’s ‘Win’ on Raf and O’s upcoming ‘Portal’. Alad & ladyn Sane. Photo by Wendy Woo.
Above. Photo taken at ‘Animals In The Wall’ William S Burroughs exhibition, 2014. Thanks to James Elphick and Yuri Zupančič
A wonderful Space-Time and South London’s Calling
October 19, 2015 § Leave a comment
Raf and O live at the Apiary, June 2015 Photo by Philip Seargeant.
.
October greetings!
It was one year this month since Richard Strange staged ‘Language Is A Virus From Outer Space’, a multimedia celebration of William S Burroughs at Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank.
Raf and O were invited as special guests alongside a stellar cast and we outed our latest version of ‘Dream Machine’ to a full house! The whole event was extraordinary ending with a sea of Burroughs…; great memories, a wonderful space-time! (see last year’s blogs here and here )
Mitra Music For Nepal is now released and as mentioned before Raf and O present a previously unreleased original track ‘With Fatzer’ (featuring piano/ vocals & electronics) alongside other artists and legends including, Sakamoto, Wolfang Flur, Scanner, The The, Nick Cave and Anni Hogan. Hogan, pianist extraordinaire and Marc Almond’s collaborator has painstakingly put together this wonderful project. Now you can get to hear it and if you haven’t bought the compilation yet, do it, you can get it here or many other digital outlets (all proceeds go to charity).
Talking about timings, this coming Saturday (October 24th) we’re once again sharing a bill with Anni Hogan, also Autorotation and Robinplayschords (who we’ve recently remixed for his 12″ release ). Full line up and details on the live page and on the flyer below. Really looking forward to join all and return to the stylish settings of The Ivy House, a little gem on local ground, South London, a Kaparte Oxjam and a charity event, don’t miss!
All details and tickets available here.
TICKETS
FACEBOOK EVENT
Continues below
Photo of The Ivy House by Klarita Pandofi Carr
In summer we were commissioned to provide sound design and music for a new play, a tribute to Cocteau. Premiered at Camden Fringe, ‘That Woman’s Voice’ was devised/ performed by Simona Continente and directed by Klarita Pandolfi Carr. O did the live tech and lights and together we wrote the music.
It was a priviledge to be a part of the play and to imagine and externalise the inner turmoil of Simona’s character through sound and music. A great experience!
Continues below
Simona Continente at ‘That Woman’s Voice’. Photo by Raf Mantelli
Thanks to Scaledown for inviting us to perform last month, a really enjoyable night at the one and only King and Queen in the heart of London town.
“Aesthetically stunning and sonically astounding ….it’s Raf and O.” Scaledown aka The Orchestra Pit.
Londoners and South Londoners alike, get yourselves to The Ivy House this coming week-end! See you there!
Love
Raf and O x
Back to RAF AND O’S BLOG/ NEWS PAGE
Raf and O live at the Apiary, June 2015 Photo by Philip Seargeant.
Raf and O 
You must be logged in to post a comment.