Saturday 7 January 2017, 7.30pm
“THE iconic figure of the modern UK underground … Richard Youngs evolves in the shadows where most won’t look, but those who do will forever be dazzled and amazed” – The Quietus
“At this point, the Glaswegian singer, guitarist, improviser, and experimentalist Richard Youngs can do just about anything and still sound like himself.” – Pitchfork
Thrilled to have the one and only Richard Youngs curate two nights at OTO to kick off the year. With hundreds of solo and collaborative releases on countless labels (including his own “No Fans” label) Richard’s music has been heaped with accolades since the 1990’s. Whether through his collaborations with the likes of Simon Wickham-Smith, Jandek, Neil Campbell or Makoto Kawabata, or in his solo work encompassing the starkest minimalism, lush acapella and acoustic balladry, Richard adds a touch of humanity to any project he’s involved with.
Born in Cambridge and raised in the Fens, Richard Youngs began making music at the start of the seventies. His early work centred on the family piano. When this was sold in the late seventies, however, the classical guitar and cassette recorder became his instruments of choice, along with anything at hand that made a sound. From then on he has played any number of roles with bands such as Astral Social Club, Concrete Hedge, No Deserts, Jandek and Future Pilot A.K.A. Recent collaborative work with Andrew Paine, Heatsick, Kawabata Makoto and John Clyde-Evans also show him as a highly social musician.
His catalogue of releases wanders into all kinds of zones over a vast array of albums on various labels including his No Fans imprint: they include accapella, guitars, pipes or electronics and come out of solitude and in partnership with atmospheres that range from fragmental folk to all-out fuzz.
“THE iconic figure of the modern UK underground … Richard Youngs evolves in the shadows where most won’t look, but those who do will forever be dazzled and amazed” – The Quietus
Early Hominids are the cracked electronic anti-music duo of Paul Walsh (Foldhead, Inverted Nepal) and Neil Campbell (Vibracathedral Orchestra, Astral Social Club). Their instruments largely consist of wildly unpredictable home-built circuitry, triggered by light, heat and moisture. Infrequent and disorientating live appearances have featured intense stroboscopic pulse colliding with the sort of inhuman melodies not heard since dial-up modems went out of fashion. They often play in private for several hours at a time. It takes them weeks to recover.
