LAU
Whelanslive.com presents
LAU
Winner of ‘Best Group’ in BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008, 2009 & 2010
Winner of ‘BEST LIVE ACT’ Scots Trad Music Awards 2009
This generation’s most inventive folk band return with new tours and energetic performances for 2012
‘Quite frankly, the best band in the world right now’ – Channel 4
“…a band who want to diversify beyond their original ideals, to stretch the word “folk” past its humble origins and bring it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century” – The Liminal
Young Scots/English trio Lau combine stunning musicianship with a ground-breaking yet playful approach to traditional music that draws as much from leftfield rock and jazz as it does celtic folk music. Prepare to be wowed by the wildly inventive Martin Green on accordian and effects, Aidan O’Rourke’s impossibly beautiful fiddle playing, Kris Drever’s virtuoso guitar and honeyed baritone voice, as well as the unique chemistry and banter between the three.
“Lau are so special” – **** The Guardian
In 2004, sat around a kitchen table in Edinburgh, Lau took their first musical steps. Now, to have achieved so much, in so few years, is staggering. The warmth and excitement they generate with each new release, and at every live gig, has culminated in armfuls of plaudits, including three consecutive years of being crowned ‘Best Group’ at the BBC Radio Two Folk Awards from 2008, to 2010.
Their strength partly lies in the pool of knowledge they draw on: Kris Drever grew up on Orkney and is celebrated for his singing and guitar playing – his talents as an accompanist have been sought by folk stars such as Kate Rusby. A well loved performer in his own right, his first solo album, ‘Black Water’, landed him the Horizon Award for ‘Best Newcomer’ at the 2007 BBC Folk Awards..
Award-winning fiddler and composer, Aidan O’Rourke (‘Instrumentalist of the Year’: 2006 Scots Trad Music Awards), hails from the Scottish coastal town of Oban. A founder member of Blazin’ Fiddles, Aidan is a major talent and is in high demand from musicians such as Eddi Reader and Alyth McCormack.
Martin Green, is from south of the border and East Anglia raised. A true maverick, he is in constant demand for his accordion playing and has toured in the bands of Eliza Carthy, Joan Baez, Linda Thompson and many other great names of folk music. Green was short-listed for the BBC’s coveted ’Musician Of The Year’ in the 2008 Folk Awards. He is also someone who revels in experimentation.
In front of an audience the trio are renowned for pushing their compositions and each other to new heights. With seemingly telepathic musical communication, ten minute epics will be infused with a spectrum of emotion: the perfect foil for Kris’s poignant vocal numbers and some eminently quotable stage banter. Their talents are also being recognised in the mainstream: MOJO magazine commissioned a version of ‘Dear Prudence’ for a Beatles related cover mounted CD.