Utopia Breakdown...when all hell breaks loose. Experimental electronic music division. Psychological nightmare. Available on all streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple.

Original Americana with Yorkshire personality.

Sheffield-based artist Banjo Jen is difficult to categorise but easy to fall for. With razor-sharp songwriting, percussive Appalachian step-dancing and between-song banter to make you laugh out loud, her refreshingly original live act is guaranteed to win the heart of every crowd.

Tipped by Maverick magazine for a ‘long musical career’, Jen hit the ground running by playing fringe events in Austin TX during SXSW 2017 - just a couple of months after her first ever gig. She was then selected by the Americana Music Association UK to showcase at both Red Rooster and The Long Road festivals, was invited to perform at Eagle Music / Deering Banjo Company’s banjo event of the year, and has supported many touring international Americana acts and British folk artists. Often accompanied by punchy double-bass, her live sets have proved a hit with audiences and she has recently added accordion and backing vocals to the regular line-up. 

The ‘smart and sassy’ debut EP “Lost & Found” is a collection of Jen’s early songs, showcasing her rhythmic ‘frailing’ style of banjo-playing and her fiercely melodic approach to songwriting. Her new follow-up EP “Cloud of Dust” is a collection of the more country-style songs in her repertoire, recorded with a full band (including backing vocals by Bob Harris Emerging Artist 2022 award-winner Lauren Housley and production by AMA UK award-nominee Thomas Dibb). 

'Smart and sassy... a distinctly promising debut' - Maverick magazine

'Her songwriting approach has an irresistible and quirky humour' - Pennyblackmusic Magazine

'A standout figure within the UK's singer-songwriter scene' - Aldora Britain Records

'What more do you need to gladden the soul?' - Metro

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer. Sheffield, UK & Austin, TX.   

 NEW STONEY ALBUM “MORE THAN ANIMALS”

AVAILABLE ON BANDCAMP: http://stoney.bandcamp.com/album/more-than-animals

“One moment the gifted lone operator affects the kind of trenchant rock-riff panache associated with the younger Bowie, the next he's rattling off urban nightlife images with the droll elegance of The Kinks..." – The Independent 
 
For those with an encyclopedic knowledge of the UK underground music scene, The name Mark Stoney may already be a familiar one, for the diverse yet distinctive songwriting talent of the critically acclaimed and somewhat enigmatic multi-instrumentalist has been held in high regard among many musicians and music pundits in the know on both sides of the Atlantic for some time now, and his long awaited return with new album “More Than Animals”  demonstrates Stoney’s natural British pop sensibilities refined with profoundly intimate lyrics and soaring melodic arrangements that burst with passion, personality, and depth.

Charlie Strange

Music and Lyrics by Richard Westley.

into the EP’s opener, it is clear of Strange and Partners’ intentions. ‘Push it’ begins with an infectious, familiar riff bellowing out of the right speaker which you would swear is being played by Ray Davies; a soloing lead joins in the left speaker, and you’d be adamant that George Martin was behind the mixing desk. Throw in some innocuous lyrics of yearning for a dance partner, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Mick Jagger putting pen to paper. The running theme here is the 1960s, and the band have that era’s sound nailed. Frontman Richy Westley brazenly wears his influences on his sleeve throughout the eighteen minute running time and, like his peers, certainly has a good ear for a hook.

‘Find a way’ is reminiscent of The Coral before they turned to wallflowers. “We don’t have to run and hide / our love will find a way” croons Westley over raucous guitars and military beats. Closing the EP, ‘Right end wrong hand’ is perhaps the money shot; a slow-burner that rewards you for your patience as the track builds on boy/girl vocals, cycling bass lines and rich electric organs before it culminates into a multi-layered vocal pay-off.

Followers of Mark Stoney (Stoney)