The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Wednesday 14th July 2010

Born of a meeting of minds and influences, Sarah Tonin is the creation of Chris Parris and Phil Wakeman, whose songwriting dynamic fuses majestic guitar lines with catchy pop sensibilities to form a delectable psych-folk bubble. It is the collaboration of the two frontmen’s introspective musings that is paramount in crafting the intricate sound and compelling lyrics of the band. 

Sarah Tonin goes on to star the talents of Matt Bennie on Drums, Becky Nock on Keys and Joe Cox on Bass, in a shared pursuit of beauty in melody. All bands members interweave their voices to provide Sarah Tonin’s trademark soaring harmonies, by turns twisted and uplifting. The Tonin paint expansive dreamscapes reminiscent of The Flaming Lips, Fleet Foxes, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Love and The Beatles. 

The band have enjoyed gigging in London and featuring at festivals this year and 2010 promises more of the same, with the addition of live recordings of new material, in particular an upcoming EP. 

Ollie is an acoustic singer/songwriter from Tonbridge, Kent. After growing up playing in local alt-rock bands, he decided to go it alone in the summer of 2008, playing his first solo show at the Tunbridge Wells Forum in September 08. Since then he has played towns across Kent and showcases in London and Brighton too. He is also involved with the BBC Kent Introducing, having played a live session with Phil Harrison back in January of 09. Livi Middlemiss joined forces with Ollie earlier this year adding her distinct etheral tones to the live sound. Livi’s musical interest is focused around jazz, blues, reggae and soul with Bob Marley, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin proving to be inspiring influences. Livi also has a wide interest in Folk/rock, Metal and progressive rock. Additional influences include artists such as Reuben and Frank Turner. Taking the simplistic arrangements of folk, mixing it with the direct lyrical style of alt-rock and throwing in some good ol' fashioned catchy melodies is what the music is all about!

Greig Mourton's sound is refreshing in its honesty. Sometimes Blues, sometimes Folk, but always soulful. Sometimes political, sometimes deeply personal, but always heart-felt and poetic. Passionate singing and melodic hooks combine with insightful lyricism, bringing a real depth to his acoustic style.

Greig began his musical life as a drummer in a Heavy Metal band, but after years of touring the UK he felt musically unsatisfied. So one day he swapped the drums for guitar, packed his bags and set off to see the World. Since then Greig has experienced many different cultures and places, and become more deeply involved in political activism. It was these experiences that shaped his music and gave him the passion for song writing. While living in Mexico, playing his songs on stage for the first time, he realised that music is a truly inseparable part of his life.

Hi I’m Chloe Martyn, I’m 13 and I’m a singer songwriter. I’ve been writing music since I was about ten. I started having guitar lessons and a few weeks later I’d written my first song. Since then I’ve written about six songs. Writing music is my hobby, and I think it’s a big part of who I am. I always get very nervous when performing to people, but there’s no other buzz like it, performing the music that I’ve written to an audience. I suppose that my inspiration came from my sister Livvi who also writes music. My favourite artists are, Bon Iver and Chase and Status, and although they are both very different, they both do music that has real depth and purpose.

In the future I hope to carry on with my music, but even if it is not my profession I would still like to do it in my free time.