This video above shows me playing the two necks of my guitar together
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You can buy my songs at Soundclick for $0.75 each. Just click on the box above, and follow the links.
Below, you'll see my 16 string double-neck guitar, Images from The Dragon Project and The Bath Squash and Pumpkin Project, my alter-egos Shade, Flake, Gusto Barbit, The Hermit; and some art work.
Images below by various photographers. Credits provided where possible. See the aknowledgements section.
This is an early recording (May 2006) from Emporium Arts. I'd been playing the open mics for a year, and it was the first time I'd performed to an audience larger than 100.
I was still working out what was important in singing (not that I think I've cracked it now or anything). I still thought that I needed to "belt it out" all the time.
This next video is from a performance of The Pink Floyd cover "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" at The Porter Cellar Bar in Bath about a year later. It features my 10 string before I bound it up to make the 16 string.
I've been taking the 16 string out on the road touring England and Wales since September 2008, and I'm looking forward to getting some videos up of it being used, soon.
I formed The Mandrake Project in November 2006. It consisted of myself (guitar and vocals), Amadou Diege (djembe and vocals), Catherine (The Piccolist) Hurley (flute too) and Daniel Eid (Bass - founder of In Search of A Rose). Pete Bernard (bass) joined us for recording and we've also been joined live by Alan Burton (Irish pipes), Paul Sax (from The Huckleberries), Niel Gay (of The Cedar), Rob Spalding and Elanor The Artist on clarinette.
Images below by Martin Tomkins
The Glowing Hearth Parts 1 and 2.
The poem and song incorporated in the glowing hearth were both written many years ago, and performed solo. It's great to have fantastic musicians helping you out with a song that you've written; hearing a piece of your work come to fruition in the hands of others.
The band was formed from four diverse individuals all of whom could hold their own. And all of whom made huge contributions to the act. In this jazz number, Cath and Amadou fling it, while Daniel (founder member of In Search of A Rose) is happy to take a back seat as the solid anchor man.
Watching this video reminds me that it's worth taking the strain on your ego in order to allow something really special to develop.
Both of the above videos were filmed at Emporium Arts on Jan 15th 2008. Thanks to Marcia Canu for filming and to Ian Clutterbuck for help with the editing. Photographs in The Glowing Hearth Video are by Martin Tomkins.
Influences
VOCALISTS: Early influences - If we're really being honest, my early musical input came from the tv and the radio. If you click on the "vocal work" link opposite, yo u can view youtube vids of Johnny Weismuller (Olympic swimmer turned first television Tarzan - you should hear his Tarzan call! ), Maria Lanza (male operatic tenor) shaking a chandallier with his top C while playing Enrike Caruso , Stan Laurel (On the trail of the lonesome pine) and Yma Sumac's incredible performances in the film "Secret Of The Incas". And ...erm... Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. I remember getting booted out of a school assembly at the age of seven for singing "All Things Bright And Beautiful" like a female opera singer and making all the other kids laugh.
I only recently discovered that the fantastic singer in Secret of The Incas was Yma Sumac, but the experience of seeing a performance like that at an early age, must set precedents for possibilities (and missed assemblies). I've been told that my falcetto is sometimes more like bird song (may be an Yma Sumac connection - will be working that more). I recently got pointed in the direction of Tim Buckley and have worked some of his songs as covers.
From the radio and Top of The Pops over the years: The Sweet, (Fox on The Run, Block Buster), T Rex, Rainbow Van Halen, Rush, Queen, Tom Waits, Arethra Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Tina Turner, Boni Tyler, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, Kate Bush
Local Artists: James Hollingsworth (Workmanship and pulse magicainship), Men Diamler (Am I mistaken, or is this guy re-defining the boundaries of adrenal engagement?)
GUITARISTS: Jimmy Hendrix, Brian May (Local Musicians: Neil Gay (attack and expressive qualities) Rob Sharples (fascination), Ian Perry (burning Soul) and Nigel Quinn from my Leicester days.
MUSICIANSHIP: Rush, Frank Zappa.
ATMOSPHERES: Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, Kula Shaker (Govinda), David Bowie, Nick Drake, John Martin, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Seal, Moby, Coctoau Twins, Bjork.
LYRICISTS: Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Nick Drake, Paul Simon.
CLASSICAL: Shostakovich, Carl Orf, Mozart, Debusy.
OTHER GENRES: Zulu Tribal films on the telly in The 60s and 70s, Black Mombassa; Spanish; Gypsy Kings; Eastern European; Medieval, Gregorian Chants; Indian: Ravi Shankar and recordings of the surbahar lent to me by my art teacher.
Sounds Like
It’s important to realise that we're trying to describe an all-round and well-rounded entertainer here. There is a huge variety of work, including comedy, performance poetry, story telling and serious music. It is also important to note that everybody starts by saying… “It’s difficult to describe, because it isn’t really like anything else.”
It sits most comfortably in the genre of folk rock, but there are elements of world music, blues and jazz. There are medieval elements, but with a very modern take.
On the psych-folk/freak-folk front - describing the type of work (i.e. more being like than sounding like), some have made comparisons with Gong, Comus, Doctor Strangely Strange, The Incredible String Band.
On the serious music front some have mentioned Tim Buckley, Roger Waters, Jethro Tull, Peter Hamill, Pavaroti.
Here are some quotes:
Ash Mandrake sounds like Sting having swallowed an opera singer or Midge Ure crossed with velvet......(Charley Allen)
"THE DOCTOR JOHN OF STONEHENGE" steeped in the spirit of ancient cultures and the river mist common to all...... (Chuck McQuillan)
...Sounds like the warmth of a fire flickering in the hearth as evening draws in and people make merry… The soft voice from the shadows tempting the edge of your darker soul to feel virtue......(Charley Allen)
Ash Mandrake sounds like James Joyce reads......(Ook Warrior)
This is what a singer sounds like who has no need for conventions, who is beyond normal boundaries, beyond normal reality. It sounded, for all the earthly world, like the songs of mushrooms in autumn: rootsy, earthy, wild...
(The Tower Of Song: Birmingham UK)
To book me for a paid gig, either ring 0792 627 8022, or email to mark_ash_99@yahoo.com . You can also contact me via this myspace page.
Flying with the double neck (July 2008) at The Fabulous Furry Folk, Glastonbury
Photography by Barnaby
I'm a singer song writer, a deep thinker, and a bit of a mad professor. That makes for good entertainment.
I play a custom double neck guitar of my own invention, I sometimes use loop machines and hats that I make myself; and some people say I sound like Tim Buckley. I love playing in front of live audiences. My act surprises and amazes people. It makes them think, makes them laugh: sends them home feeling positive.
"You all sit, mesmerised, few able to sip their pints now, totally astonished, completely absorbed... Something magical, astonishing and perplexing is happening right in front of you. It's as if a woodland sprite has come to life, or an oak tree has walked in, tuned up and started sharing its Mysteries. Collectively you are hypnotised."
The Tower Of Song: Birmingham
A cover of Tim Buckley's timeless "Song To The Siren", sung from inside a suburban conch
I performed this with my band The Mandrake Project as part of a collaberation with James Hollingsworth in The Bath Fringe May 2008
Recent Gigs Include:
The Union Chapel, London
The Cheltenham Big Easter Gathering
The Bell Inn, Bath
The Musician, Leicester
the Running Horse, Nottingham
The Tower of Song, Birmingham
Ashton Court Festival, Bristol
The Royal Oak Folk Festival, Bath
Glastonbury Festival: Played 19 times including "The Left Stage",“The Band Stand”, “Avalon Café”, “The Fired Earth Cafe", "Small World Stage", "Green Fuse Stage”.
Bath Fringe Festival
Circus Idilique, Radford Farm, Wilts.
What some other people have said:
“People look at Ash and it’s always ‘what has he got there?’ or ‘what on earth is he doing now?’ (he’s that sort of performer). That adds to the performance, to the attraction; makes it more memorable.” (Steve Henwood – Bath Fringe 2007)
Click on the "16 string guitar" shield to visit my double neck custom guitar site
Click on the "hats" shield to read about and view the costumes that add to the theatrical aspect of the act.
"An intense performance from a man with the vocal range of Tim Buckley... Folk infused with influences from around the globe, with unique arrangements and flashes of theatrical genius... A modern day troubadour” (Rachel Wild, Bristol Big Love 2008)
click on the "vocal work" shield to read my blog about working with Tim Buckley covers.
Photography by Martin (Tiger Country) Tomkins
Ash formed his band "The Mandrake project" in December 2006 with Amadou Diege, Catherine Hurley and Daniel Eid. They produced a rich afro-celtic-classical fusion, played Glastonbury Festival and The Spiegel Tent at The Bath Fringe, and recorded the 4 track E.P. "Twilight"
To visit their myspace click on the "band" shield.
The Mandrake Project
"...tight, well crafted, virtuosic and beautiful. Largely the music spoke for itself and was both fascinating and emotionally rewarding" (Nathan, Fabulous Fury Folk, Glastonbury)
Photography by Martin (Tiger Country) Tomkins
About me:
Picture a guy walking through the woods, stooping to lift a rock from the undergrowth; sitting to examine it and staying there, focussed till dusk falls. On the other hand you might bump into me and find that I look quite embarrased, because you've just caught me practicing special raspberry blowing techniques. That’s me... I studied hard for a long time; art, sciences, humanities, management; but not knowing the answers to some things doesn’t worry me. I worked as a computer programmer, a teacher, examiner and manager in industry and universities in different parts of the world and as a stripper/kissogram. I like digging a lot and growing things, especially pumpkins. I like swimming butterfly slowly, with three kicks to every arm stroke. I am a dog whisperer. I can’t take football seriously, and I like it when people get the giggles.
I kept coming back to music and when it wasn’t in my life, my life wasn’t that good. So now I make music. I keep a journal… I write stories, poems and songs. I make images and objects; in the past using paint, wood, print, clay, plaster and cement. Now I use photographs and computers to build images, and I make hats from reclaimed leather. Working with other people can be great fun and really fertile creatively, especially if there is a deep connection.
I’ve played guitar since being about 14 and performed as a vocalist in bands while at university. About three years ago I started playing in The Open Mics around Bath. At the beginning, I played covers. I was interested in using a loop machine and building sound-scapes, especially with vocal layering. There were sounds of gypsy, and Zulu tribes pounding away in my head. They came out and developed through the loops. The covers started sounding less like the originals, and often mischief crept in and they went off on wacky tangents. I began writing my own material again. I worked on the customisation of a 12 string acoustic Yamaha guitar; had it parred down to 10 strings with a fretless baritone section and an octavised 12 string section. The bookings came, and I started to get paid.
Then I won a competition to become The Bard of Bath. For a year and a day, I worked on a protest against bank charges, getting people to grow pumpkins, telling stories in nurseries and schools, performing poetry and music around Bath, and making films. During this year I also formed my band “The Mandrake Project” (afro-celtic-classical fusion). Highlights of the year included having four events in The Bath
Fringe, and playing eight times at Glastonbury Festival.
I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I stay busy, and I'm just being myself. Some people really like that.
PORTFOLIO
Some people say my songs are Psych Folk. Here are the lyrics to four of my songs. Please tell me if you agree.
These are songs rooted in the earth: folk music, but not as convention would have it. Folk in the sense of supernatural, connected to nature, instinctive and untrained, completely natural. The Tower Of Song: Birmingham UK
Click the "song writing" shield to view the lyrics.
SPECIAL PROJECTS..
Many of these special projects formed part of my bardic manifesto for 2007, or were spin-offs from the collaberations.
Click the shields on the left to view blogs, myspace pages or youtube vids. I've provided brief descriptions below. Please enjoy.
"The Mighty Dragon Song"
started off as a song, but later became performance poetry. I used it in a campaign against bank charges, and took it out onto the streets of Bath. I've had people in the audience bending double with laughter during the penultimate verse (parental advisory 15 - some sware words, which I feel are not gratuitous).
Shade and Flake
are bardic twins; one dark, one light. They have their own themes, which are performed as mummer plays. Shade also performs Pumpkin Brains, and Flake, performs the poem "The Crystal Joy". there is further work in progress for these two alter-egos.
TBSAPP
The Bath Squash and Pumpkin Project was my attempt as Bard of Bath to encourage local residents to grow squash and Pumpkins. There is a film here for you to watch, which I made in collaberation with Emporium Arts (for a younger audience). This project may resurface some time in the future. It needs an allocation of budget
Film
This 1 minute film is called "Problem Solution": Stretching The Sun. It was made in collaberation with Ian Clutterbuck for The Bath International Music Festival. It incorporates my alter-ego "Flame" and a section of my song "The Glowing Hearth
Story
This is about the story of "The Chestnut Bard" and The Bard of Bath Walk. This section is still being edited.
Comedy
This is a collection of sketches gathered from some of my earlier performances. The stuff I do between songs to keep the audience engaged, and some off the wall stuff. More to follow.
Photography by Martin (Tiger Country) Tomkins
Acknowledgements:
Videos produced and edited by Ian of Emporium Arts
Photography (three photographers) Martin of Tiger Country, Johney Heart of Cosmos Magic Images, and Ed Elias.
Thanks to the management of Moles Night Club and Invention Studios for the use of their locations for photo-shoots.
Thanks to Neil Gay for getting me up on myspace and lending me his guitar.
Thanks to Andy Cottle for filming and providing live videos of The Mandrake Project.
talented bugger! Great stuff this, gutsy too. I used to watch Weismuller(spelling?)as Tarzan with my dad when I was a kid, 6pm on BBC2, can't remember what night, know what you mean about the voice though! Keep it up and enjoy Glasto.All the best,Dom
Hi Ash. Thanks for coming along last Friday. It was great to meet you and fantastic to hear you play. It's always great to see someone so entertaining and very talented. I really appreciate you coming to our humble open mic! All the best with the rest of your tour. Dave
hi! i dont know if you remember me, im the man who bought your cd..s after an open mic in Edimburgh (that boy from Madrid, yeah), good show! Wonderful the way you play that guitars, it was impressive. Good luck with ur music, we..re in contact.
Great to meet you at the Road House open mic last night. You're stage show is mesmeric! Really enjoyed the studio CD in the car on the way home. Later Dude!
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