"Tongue-Tied"
Askew and Avis: the live-looping vocal trio
2008 with Sura Susso
 

"Askew and Avis,create impressively layered jazz from just two voices and live-looping technology....appealing.... clever, and nicely circular…….”
Jenny Gilbert, The Independent on Sunday

November 2007 saw the world premiere of "Tongue Tied", the first ever live-looped opera at the Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden. The Opera Genesis programme at the Royal Opera House have been supporting us in devising this new piece of music theatre using our unusual method.To listen to extracts click on www.myspace.com/tonguetiedopera

 

"On the scale of 'cool'.....this one rates a 'very' "

Jazz Picks

“Question: where can you hear blaring horns, a South American percussion band and wild drum ’n bass riffs, but no instruments?

Yup, all those sounds are coming out the mouths of some incredibly versatile singers…just two of them in fact! ………..It’s as if a lively minimalist composer had just met the funkiest choir you ever heard, and it sounds great!”

Warwick Thompson, METRO

 the trio! - click for more info

Jeremy Avis


Rebecca Askew


Robin Whitnell
 Vocal Loops?!

Three years ago we decided to start a band of two, using no instruments except our voices, a loop-making machine and some effects.

We didn't know exactly what sound we wanted, we just knew we wanted to have fun, play with the possiblities of our voices and write some good songs. Dry Land, our first album, is what we came up with

By using a loop machine while writing the songs we were able to build up layers of harmonies and rhythms unavailable to us with our two solo voices. Using  looping technology actually helped us to develop our own unique musical language: our sound would have been totally different if we had been writing for piano and voice, band or even choir of 10 singers. Our style has turned out to be both lyrical and funky with a wide contrast of vocal colours and styles: each track is a careful balance between clear structure and inspired improvisation.  


"Live"

To perform the songs live, Askew and Avis became a trio with the addition of sound engineer Robin Whitnell. Each song is created in the moment as we sing beats, melodies, bass lines and harmonies through any one of 4 differently effected microphones. Robin captures these on the laptop and loops them into the texture of the song. None of what we do live is pre-recorded or pre-sampled, each song grows out of nothing into something complete. Also, because some parts of the songs are improvised, no two performances ever sound exactly the same.

 

A grant from the Arts Council has enabled us to team up with virtuoso kora player and percussionist Sura Susso. Together we have written an original set of new songs which combine strong melodies and lush harmonies with the unique sounds of his West African instruments and grooving rhythms. To sample the new tunes check out www.myspace.com/askewandavis

and see below for details of our autumn tour.

This is the sound of Askew and Avis 2008!

 

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Robin dj-ing
gig news
24/Jan/09
8.00pm
January West End Centre, Aldershot (plus workshp
23/Jan/09
8.00pm
Minstead Village Hall, Dorset
17/Jan/09
8.00pm
Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham (plus workshop)
07/Jan/09
8.00pm
Farnham Maltings Jazz Club
22/Nov/08
8.00pm
The Hub, Verwood, Hampshire (plus workshop)
07/Nov/08
8.00pm
Coombe in Teignhead, Devon
06/Nov/08
8.00pm
South Brent, Devon
01/Nov/08
8.00pm
Havant Arts Centre, Hampshire (plus workshop)
30/Oct/08
8.00pm
Didcot Arts Centre, Oxfordshire (plus workshop)
26/Oct/08
8.00pm
Carn to Cove, Cornwall
24/Oct/08
8.00pm
National Theatre Foyer, London
12/Oct/08
8.00pm
Exeter Phoenix (plus workshop)
11/Oct/08
8.00pm
Bridgewater Arts Centre, Somerset (plus workshop)
22/Sept/08
8.00pm
East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London supporting The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain
20/Sept/08
8.00pm
Forest Arts Centre, New Milton
29/Feb/08
8.00pm
Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
26/Jan/08
8.00pm
Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset (plus workshop)
20/Nov/07
8.00pm
FIRSTS Festival, Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House
17/Oct/07

29/Jul/07

WOMAD, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
15/Jun/07

11/Mar/07
Cranbourne Village Hall,
Cranbourne (plus workshop)
4/Feb/07
Wotton-under-Edge Jazz Club (plus workshop)
20 Nov/06
Joogleberry
Brighton
20 Nov/06
Arctic Circle,
Notting Hill Arts Club
14/Oct/06 Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury
16/Sept/06
Forest Arts Centre,
New Milton
08/Sept/06
First Conference of Digital
Live Arts, London
03/May/06
27/April/06
MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) Oxford
25/Feb/06
Theatre Royal Winchester, support for Courtney Pine
21/Oct/05
Greenham Arts
Newbury
22/July/05
Bristol Harbour Regatta
Bristol. 7pm
9/July/05
Sing for Joy Cabaret
TUC Congress Centre. 8pm
03/July/05
Montreal Jazz Festival
Canada
29/June/05
Toronto Jazz Festival
Canada
25/June/05
Glastonbury Festival
Somerset. 4pm
   
 
 
band update

 

We also run, in tandem with our Arts Centre gigs, a live-looping workshop for all singers called "Loop the Loop". In these workshops, participants experience how to loop themselves as a group as they learn our new piece : "Narrow Bridge" (A song about diving perfectly from a cliff-edge into the sea!).

Don't forget we have a track from "Dry Land" on the latest Unknown Public CD/book no. 17 www.unknownpublic.com There is also an article there in which we are heavily featured called ”Music as Collage”.