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Nankivell's Optet were active as a band from 2001 to 2005, based in Huddersfield in the North of England. With the members now spread out across the globe, they ceased playing together regularly as a viable unit in summer 2005, but the resonances linger, and the band left a rich heritage of 27 recorded songs which are still finding their way out into the world.
Songwriting duo Hugh Nankivell and Graham Browning created the repertoire - with Browning's guitarist-singer-songwriter style complementing the mildly anarchic and opera-influenced, often piano-based work of Hugh Nankivell. Three other musicians joined the team; all from very different influences: James Squire on sax, flute, penny whistle and percussion - bringing jazz, classical and folk influences; Michael Massey, an ex-punk guitarist playing bass and adding vocals; and Jim Pywell, from a classical/world music background on bassoon, melodica and African instruments including kora and kalimba.
The songs tell stories of a wide range of topics ranging from dysfunctional relationships, bad backs, insomnia, 9-11, hospitalisation and death by stab wounds to love affairs, personal memories, childhood innocence and pidgin English. Occasionally the lyrics venture into a more poetic, abstract world that challenges the traditional confines of song structure. All the time the musical arrangements are varied and colourful in texture.
Sometimes the ensemble expanded to include viola, clarinet and more exotic instruments such as sheng, balafon, wind chimes, blown bottles and a wooden "frog"...
Guest musicians Nick Hayes (clarinet and bass clarinet), David Summers (trombone), and Adrian Freedman (shakuhachi) also performed with the group on the earlier recordings.
On tour in 2003, the band performed a double bill of their own repertoire plus a number of songs from community-generated opera "Operaville", based on the musings of people around the city of Bradford at the turn of the millennium. For the operatic set they were joined by Inder Goldfinger (tabla), Claire Williams (voice) and Judith Burgin (cello)
The four CD albums in existence are:
Everything Happens at Once (2001; 10 songs)
Bird~Leaf~Pear~Book (2003; 10 songs) Buy Album
Stage Two (2003; 3 songs)
None The Wiser (2005; 5 songs)
SONGS FEATURED IN MEDLEY 1:
Nothing Has Changed Buy Album
Stab Wounds
None The Wiser
SONGS FEATURED IN MEDLEY 2:
Pear Date Buy Album
This Time Buy Album
I'm Going Down
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