On Saturday April 26th,
WagonWheel Presents… welcomes
James Apollo back to
Shakespeares. Having played our first show in the Bard’s Bar back in 2011, James returns to the UK to promote brand new album Angelorum. Anybody that’s caught one of James’ previous shows will know that we’re in for something special. Support comes from
Daniel Whitehouse and
Paul Littlewood. Advance tickets priced at £5 are available from
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/264671 or entry on the night will be £6. Doors open 8pm.
***JAMES APOLLO***Angelorum is an exotic rock and roll record with deep, dark undertones. Vibraphones and flutes dance intermittently with Apollo’s raspy cry on the big-beated track “White Lines.” And what could easily be a soft bossanova rallies to anthemic levels on the single “Spinnin.” It’s a big, bold, new sound for the artist, but Apollo is not all shout and swagger.
While being heralded by MOJO as possessing a “charming fragility” and Uncut cheering that Apollo’s music is “intrinsically beautiful,” this album is different. This man does not want to make you sit down and cry. This man wants you on your feet. He wants you watching your back. He wants you moving.
The road to Apollo’s third album was not an easy one. The initial sessions for the record Angelorum were lost in the fire that took Minneapolis’s Underwood Studios and the home of producer Mark Stockert. It was a harsh blow with even harsher timing. The band could not have been more excited about the material, or more devastated by its loss. But old friends and bandmates Noah Strom, Matt Palin and Ben Nordeen had been making music together since they were nine and were determined to complete the album.
The troupe licked their wounds and moved west to Tucker Martine’s Flora Recorders in Portland, Oregon (Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case.) Apollo added a few members of his road band, Ben Obee and Jack Chandelier, and hunkered down with producer Stockert.
“I surrounded the band with Martin Denny and Les Baxter records,” recalls Apollo, “and a lot of that weird Indian style Rolling Stones stuff. It was all so far out that I knew we’d get something interesting just by picking it apart.”
“
dark delights with a ghoulish air of danger and charming fragility”
MOJO“
there’s something instrinsically beautiful in how [Til Your Feet Bleed] is woven together to such a doleful, quietly epic effect.“
Uncut“
haunted, western-rich folk with hints of Latin rhythms and Tom Waits-style cabaret”
The Onion“
an earthy blend of haunted melodies and dusty rhythms”
Sheffield Starhttp://www.jamesapollo.com/***DANIEL WHITEHOUSE***With a back story like Daniel Whitehouse, it’s not surprising this humble lad from Swinton has so much to say. Having been a part of so many successful and musically varied bands, Dan’s powerful lyrics and humble melodies remind us just how talented Sheffield folk can be. From Fights to Rossman Frister and Mabel Love. Daniel Whitehouse has seen it all and found his own style of lyrically driven, emotive music. Debut album Stories For You is out now.
http://www.facebook.com/whitehousedanmusic***PAUL LITTLEWOOD***Paul Littlewood has a signature arrangement style, a way of doing songs. No fancy tricks, no production wizardry, just subtly changing low-key textures and a voice. Born and raised in South Yorkshire in the North of England he has spent most of his 31 years writing and performing, developing a sound which is uniquely inspired by his changing surroundings. A huge fan of lo-fi, all of his compositions are recorded on a beloved Zoom MRS-1266, 8 track recorder, giving listeners freedom to find in them what they wish.
“
Poignant and ethereal blues music.”
Now Then magazinehttp://www.paullittlewood.comFacebook Event page:
http://www.facebook.com/events/630475207035033Last.fm Event page:
http://www.last.fm/event/3840668