New Roots presents… PICAPICA
Recent Rough Trade records signings PicaPica features the vocal interplay of Josienne Clarke (BBC Folk Award Winner 2015/ Nominee 2017) and Samantha Whates, dual front women who create powerful harmonies atop layers of texture created by Adam Beattie & Sonny Johns (Grammy nominee/ Mercury Prize nominee/ MOBO nominee), a tiding of magpies picking shiny moments of tone and timbre from 60s west coast, sunshine pop and indie folk. Josienne and Samantha met on the London acoustic music scene several years ago and immediately shared a love of singing and writing. They have been unofficially collaborating for years, and PicaPica is now the fully-realised, perfectly formed four-piece expression of their superb sound together.
Josienne Clarke is best known for her work with guitarist/arranger Ben Walker, winners of BBC Radio 2’s Folk Award for Best Duo, 2015 and nominees again in 2017. In 2015 she appeared in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good at The National Theatre, performing two of her compositions in the show. She and Walker have just released their third album on the internationally renowned Rough Trade label.
Samantha Whates‘ beautifully crafted, poetic songs retain a strong affinity with her Scottish roots, cultivating a sound that is thoroughly contemporary, rooted in tradition, yet uniquely her own. Recent performances include Kings Place and the Purcell Rooms in the Royal Festival Hall. She recently released her debut Dark Nights Make For Brighter Days which has been enjoying both critical acclaim and radio play (BBC 6 Music, KCRW, Resonance FM).
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New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves – for this reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones while artists are performing. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.
Website: www.newrootsevents.com
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