Synthwave | Cyberpunk | Chillwave producer 🎧

Members: Ralph Stokes - Guitar
David French - Drums
Ian Gibb - Bass 
Andy Strong - Clarinet  
Andrew Clark- Percussion and Bits
Tamara Kazziha - Violin and Vocals

Monkey Puzzle are a 6-piece live band who play psychedelic instrumental electronica. Combining drums, bass, guitar, violin, clarinet, percussion,and samples, most of which are played through a variety of effects, Monkey Puzzle weave a rich sonic tapestry which combines the sound of electronica with the organic energy of live acoustica. Their sound is a diverse and oceanic journey, blending extensive ambient chillout sections with swells of pulsing trance and surges of all-out tribal rhythmic smash.
Monkey Puzzle are fascinated by the natural world and its manifold forms, and its influence is never far from their music. The subject matter of their music so far includes ambergreiss, sloths, geometry, microcosmic moss worlds and the elusive elephant bird.

Musical comparisons to Monkey Puzzle include Ott, Massive Attack, The Prodigy and even Tool. and whilst Monkey Puzzle do not sound exactly like any of these, in all cases they are certainly flattered that the comparison has been made...

Featuring members of Backyard Rhythm Orchestra, Dub Tek, Book Of Silence and O.P.E.N., Monkey Puzzle are a curious mutant hybrid never considered for mass production. Too weird to live, too rare to die; make sure you witness this unique musical event.

 


From the Royal Albert Hall to Nashville, Tennessee, audiences have fallen in love with Lesley's pure, heartwarming vocals and winning personality. Her highly melodic songs mix elements of folk, pop and blues, creating a distinct, individual and classic sound. Lesley’s compositions can be heart-rendingly poignant (“Missing”, “Too Bad”) or hilariously vituperative such as the “Mr Sad”. All of her so...ngs demonstrate an old-fashioned command of melody that means her music will endure once lesser talents have hung up their capos.

A large part of Lesley’s appeal resides in her on-stage charm and humour. She enchanted sold-out audiences at the Sage Gateshead and the Warwick Arts Centre when she played there in November 2009 in support of firstly, young acoustic talent John Smith and then the platinum-selling jazz chanteuse Madeleine Peyroux. All available CDs were sold-out as listeners demanded more of the sweetly narcotic effect of Lesley’s crystalline vocals.

Her career follows years of live experience, both solo and in bands, which also saw her sharing a stage with The Golden Silvers, Mama's Gun, ex-Fratelli outfit Codeine Velvet Club and The Joy Formidable, and her talent has also been acknowledged with opening performances for Katie Melua and Ben Howard and (imminently) KT Tunstall and Martin & Eliza Carthy. After winning “Demo of the Month” in NARC magazine in November 2009, a successful A&R showcase in Notting Hill early in 2010 led to further interest in Lesley’s music. This resulted in a tour of Britain and Ireland in the spring of 2010 supporting Don “American Pie” McLean. En route Lesley acquired a new army of followers with a series of mature performances in some of the UK’s grandest venues, including the world-famous Royal Albert Hall. The Newcastle Journal compared her performance at the Sage Gateshead favourably with that of the American great, remarking upon Lesley’s “extraordinarily pure and crystal clear voice”. The Bournemouth Echo described Lesley as both “excellent and amusing”.

After regular sell-outs of her first E.P, her eagerly anticipated first album, “Way We Are” was released in October 2010, with a live recording following in July of this year. This live concert recording featured a 7-piece band performing a set that showcases both Lesley's excellent arranging skills and also her easy rapport with an audience.

Lesley has just returned from a five week tour of Nashville, Tennessee, a trip funded entirely by donations from her devoted fans. As well as performing her songs at some of the most prestigious singer-songwriter nights in the U.S, Lesley recorded a 4- track E.P with top local session musicians. The results are now available to buy and download on iTunes and demonstrate a country-tinged edge to Lesley's ever-melodic compositions. 


 

Founded in 1994, The Academy of Music & Sound started life in humble settings, offering private instrument lessons and music technology courses above a music shop in Torquay. Fast forward to today and the Academy of Music & Sound has the only national network of music centres offering specialist, instrument specific courses in the country. Today the Academy of Music & Sound has grown into a nationwide organisation with nine centres situated in key locations around the UK offering first class music education for the 21st Century. "Bringing world class music education to our student's doorstep was always our ambition and it continues to be so" - Academy of Music & Sound co-founder Shaun Baxter. - See more at: http://www.academyofmusic.ac.uk/about.php#sthash.sGHRS1pX.dpuf

Allow yourself to journey beyond the everyday.
Atmospheric electronica to soothe and stimulate. 
Scotland's second best spacewonk artist

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