Jonquil / The Turn / Is I Cinema
Jonquil write fun, tropical pop songs. They cite Paul Simon, Fleetwood Mac and Chic as influences and write and record all their material in their Oxford studio. Having toured all over Europe many times over, the band are recording new material in 2009.
“This is a masterclass in how to purvey experimentalism without foregoing accessibility, and for that alone, Jonquil need to become huge” (Clash)
“The tone is deadpan and resonant, the voice more instrument than flowery embellishment, while the tenderness and fragility is left to the other musicians” (The Wire)
“The times I’ve seen Jonquil play live, its been in tiny, intimate venues in Oxford and they’ve inspired these mass sing-alongs each time… its pretty special to watch” Yannis (Philippakis – Foals)
“The long, sweeping melodies that litter this LP are at times achingly perfect and the laid-back orchestration and bedroom production make for a humbling experience” (Drowned in Sound)
The Turn are a Birmingham based indie/rock band who’s melodic riffs mixed with grooving bass line has made them a popular band within the Midlands Area. Having formed 5 years ago they have become one of the tightest live bands around. They are fronted by lead singer Carl Roberts, whose rasping vocals brings their rockier tunes such as “A New Fight” to a new level whilst managing to perform softer more subtle tones on songs like “Show my the light”
Conrad Farmer has brought such vigour to the band through his drumming that he wouldn’t be out of place sitting behind Pete Townsend on stage. His no nonsense but perfect delivery style is a real hit with fans who have all of Led Zeppelin’s albums in there collection.
Is I Cinema has a sense of introspective retrospection together with a sparse but well used musical palate. An electrically amplified focus group plucked from three separate postal districts: B13, B1 (both figurehead Dominic and accredited guitarist Helen rest here) and B38. Is I Cinema first convened when percussive consultant Olly was invited to witness Dom and Helen’s songsmithery at a Jewellery Quartered flat. The one stipulation: he must lie with his back to the players on a threadbare couch. Suffice to say, the arrangements were reasonably credible. The sofa not so. Carl (six-stringed aesthetics/tech) and Tan (bass-biased kick drum concierge) both interviewed well and have since turned much of the twee into colourful turbulence.
