The Pawnbroker make minimal hymns for the common man. Using a piano and vocal harmonies; making the space and silence as important as the music itself. Think Bill Fay meets The Blue Nile.

THE PAWNBROKER - Revelations

Just under one minute of pure punk energy, spittin about the state of the current UK music scene with equal parts energy, passion, humour, anger, and entertainment. Well splat! 

HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN & UNCLE PEANUT - This Is Wot We Call Music

The Pawnbroker perform their live soundtrack to the closing 30 minutes of Tarkovsky's Solaris for REFF.

The Pawnbroker Debut Live Soundtrack To Tarkovsky's Solaris

The Pawnbroker perform their live soundtrack to a 40 minute edit of Sidney Lumet's The Pawnbroker for REFF

The Pawnbroker Debut Live Soundtrack to Sidney Lumet's The Pawnbroker

The Pawnbroker live at St Marys Minster, Reading

recorded by Mike Taylor, mastered by Seb Henderson

all music & lyrics ©Brookes/Sandiford 

New Year

The Pawnbroker live at St Mary's Minster, Reading

recorded by Mike Taylor, mastered by Seb Henderson

all music & lyrics ©Brookes/Sandiford 

Shroud

The Pawnbroker Live At St Mary's Minster, Reading

recorded by Mike Taylor, mastered by Seb Henderson

all music & lyrics ©Sandiford/Brookes

Incandescent

The Pawnbroker Live At St Mary's, Reading

recorded by Mike Taylor, mastered by Seb Henderson

all music & lyrics ©Brookes/Sandiford 

Revelations

Unanswered

The Pawnbroker is Pete Brookes and Ben Sandiford, a piano, vocals and space. They create haunting soundscapes to allow their songs to soar.

Currently (June 2014) The Pawnbroker are releasing one video each week previewing their new album The Sanctuary Lamp, which will be released at the end of June 2014. You can see them on the youtube channel linked below and buy the songs on the bandcamp link below too.

Historically, they began by writing a  soundtrack for a 40 minute edit of Lumet's harrowing film The Pawnbroker, writing from the point of view of the Rod Steiger character. Steiger's phenomenal performance resulted in a suitably powerful score so...

'We debuted it as a film and live soundtrack show at the first REFF (Reading Experimental Film Festival) alongside some superb artists from the hip of international film art.
We got asked back to number 2, where we wrote and performed Tarkovsky's Solaris, to the last 40 minutes of the film.
Then we were asked to write music for a production of the Von Horvath stage play Don Juan Comes Back From The War.
The third REFF, we wrote and performed our 40 minute edit of Gaspar Noe's Seul Contre Tous.
We performed our Hymns For The Common Man at Reading Minster, using organ and vocals and handed out hymn sheets if people wanted to be part of it.
We released our first album 'Retreat' in october 2010, which has since sold out. We are now writing our third album after finishing our second album The Sanctuary Lamp - information below, updated 5th July 2013.

There are 20 specially made advance copies with rather fantastic sleeves which will be on sale tomorrow (6th July 2013) at the Double Dot Bash in Reading, for the princely sum of £5.

Track listing is:

New Year
Candlesticks
Shroud
Revelations
Sanctuary

Enquiries
Amelia
Unanswered
Undecorated

The album features:

Pete and Ben 
and
John Monney - bass
Paul Glover - drums
Nigel Firth - guitar

Recorded and produced at Silver Street Studios by Nigel Firth and Chris Britton
Mastered by Umair Chaudhry

The album sleeve features photographs by The Dark Dude and was lovingly designed by Mike Taylor

Videos for 5 of the songs will be ready very soon....

The Pawnbroker have opened for Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick, Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka, I am Kloot and Tom Brosseau.

The Pawnbroker

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