Pizza Express Maidstone, Thursday 22nd October 2009

Originally formed as a three piece back in 2001, indie rock band Cyrano soon became a foursome with the addition of lead guitarist, Karl Barton. From this moment on, their sound was born. With influences from bands like Pearl Jam and Elbow, Cyrano have crafted a unique blend of thoughtfully written songs, rock guitars and Tom Yorke-esque vocals resulting in a hugely melodic sound. The band are currently recording their second album in Assault and Battery Studios in London. Their first album "I, You, Us, Them" is available to buy on CD and iTunes. The band’s line up is Joe Ackerley on Vocals and guitar, Matt Wilson on drums, Tim Hubbard on bass and vocals, and Karl Barton on lead guitar.

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Coca Jem is a unique vocalist and lyricist, based in London and Kent Coca has collaborated with several other musicians including renowned guitarist Andy Vickery to create a vibrant contemporary blues/rock style. Her most recent collaboration is with Laurence Hobbs, songwriter, producer and co-founder of Major Music, who has worked with 100's of artists. Together they have created a refreshingly new tribal pop sound with Coca’s soulful voice providing a distinct 80’s feel. CocaJem performs locally and in London with Andy Vickery and Max Pepe from ‘Intraverse’ and has recently been joined by Jack Greenwood from ‘The Pretty Things’ on percussion.

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Singer-songwriter, Paul Dunton leads his own unique cross-over orchestra providing an atmospheric fusion of alternative and pop with a classical twist. Paul & his Orchestra take influences from varying modern day artists such as Pink Floyd, Elbow, ELO, Turin Brakes, Massive Attack, Damien Rice and contemporary composers such as Samuel Barber, Ludovico Einaudi, John Barry and Hans Zimmerman. The Orchestra performs Paul's own compositions and a varied selection of uniquely arranged standards from a wide range of artists. The line-up of 8 violins, 4 cellos, guitar, flute, bass and percussion accompanies Paul on vocals and piano, joined by his lead vocalists, Charlotte Andrew and Poppy Raine. Paul and his Orchestra regularly perform at concerts, festivals and private events throughout the UK and internationally, including headlining the Theatrium Wilhelmstraße Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany and an 8 state tour of the USA which culminated in a spectacular roof-top performance on top of the New York Strand Hotel. Increased attention and success led to the orchestra being featured on BBC Radio 2 by Joan Armatrading with interviews and airplay of one of Paul's songs, 'Don't Forget'. This led to Paul supporting Joan Armatrading on five occasions during her recent UK tours.

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Louise is only 17 years old and lives in Folkestone, Kent. She is still in full time education and attends St Edmunds School in Dover, a specialist college for the Performing Arts. Louise started writing songs in 2005 at the age of 13. Louise had to produce a project for school based on the First World War - The project specified that she should produce something different. Louise decided to have a go at writing a song. The song was recorded at the school studio and she submitted it as part of her course work. The feedback for the song was so strong that it was sent off to the Royal Marines Band Service for their views. As result, Louise was invited to perform in concert with the Royal Marines Band and the song was subsequently recorded by the Royal British Legion for their 2008 Remembrance CD. Following this, Louise became a very keen songwriter and decided that she would like to write a song for a charity. She decided that if she could record it, she might be able to sell it at school and raise a few pounds for the BBC charity Children in Need. The song sold like 'hot cakes' and the proceeds went to the BBC Children in Need appeal. The CD was on sale in a music shops but they sold out several times. The sales were eventually withdrawn from the shop because the CD could not be produced to meet the demand. Sales exceeded 500 copies.

Two years ago Louise started learning about studio work and she decided to put together a mini album just to test things out. It was released on a local independent record label ‘Somebody's Music'. The album was sold locally and has sold over 400 copies. There was a lot of media interest and she gave live interviews to BBC Radio Kent and KMFM during which her music was aired. Her music has also been played on Radio Caroline - The director of the station has become a fan and is always asking for more songs to play. Following the album release Louise performed a Concert in Dover. The concert was totally sold out. Her album is on itunes and has sold in USA, Japan, China, Finland, Norway, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Gibraltar.
Louise has just returned from a mini tour of Italy performing three concerts near Lake Garda.

In September Louise has been invited to perform on tour with Top UK Comedian and TV Quiz show (Countdown) presenter Richard Digance.

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