Laura Marling, London & Edinburgh
Very much the acceptable face of the 21st-century British folk revival, even Laura Marling’s early association with Marcus Mumford isn’t something you can hold against her. Serious, talented and prolific, her work is agreeably untricksy, a lack of studio effects and elaborate arrangements serving to focus attention on Marling’s grainy and charismatic alto voice and the stark and emotional nature of her songs. As befits someone nominally operating in the folk idiom, Marling has lately shown herself aware that she is part of a continuing tradition. An increasing interest in the vocal inflections and jazzy divergence of Joni Mitchell was observable in her A Creature I Don’t Know album, while her 2013 release Once I Was An Eagle was folk like Led Zeppelin did it. For her forthcoming work, Short Movie, she’s toughened things up even further, to make gritty urban rock in the vein of PJ Harvey.
The Silver Bullet, N4, Sat; The Caves, Edinburgh, Wed; touring to 7 Feb
JR
Songhoy Blues, On tour
Damon Albarn’s Africa Express project is all about cultural exchange. Still, it’s hard to imagine unlikelier bedfellows than Nick Zinner - of New York art rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs - and Malian band Songhoy Blues. Originally from northern Mali, the band moved south when the Islamist incursion forced music underground, a journey described in their upcoming debut album Music In Exile, co-produced by Zinner. While some Africa Express artists lend themselves to electronic collaboration, this quartet are an old-school rock outfit. Playing a more swinging version of the snaking desert blues of Tinariwen and Group Doueh, their compelling shuffles make them the Malian equivalent of a goodtime band.
Colston Hall, Bristol, Sat; Oslo, E8, Mon; The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, Tue; Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Wed; Winchester Discovery Centre, Thu
JR
H Hawkline, Cardiff & Sheffield
You can take the man out of Welsh indie, but you can’t take the Welsh indie out of the man. Like his girlfriend Cate Le Bon, H Hawkline is now resident in LA, but his mode – an off-kilter alternative rock, Syd Barrett transposed into the world of a Velvet Underground song – remains very much the instinctive, Gruff Rhys-approved psychedelia it ever was. A case of gamekeeper-turned-poacher, Hawkline is a former TV presenter who transitioned into a more creative zone. After the determinedly low-key songs collected on his Salt Gall Box Ghouls album of last year, his proper debut In The Pink Of Condition sees him, comparatively speaking, grasping the commercial nettle. Although not, you can be assured, at the expense of any of his idiosyncrasy.
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Thu; The Harley, Sheffield, Fri; touring to 24 Feb
JR
Opal Tapes X Night School, Glasgow
Stephen Bishop’s Teesside-based label Opal Tapes has managed to resist being pigeon-holed, bringing together a roster of artists who make rhythmic noise and ambient collaged sound, many of whom were previously unknown. A handful perform at this night of delay-laden brutalist rhythms and synth jams, along with producers on the Glasgow-based Night School Records. Bishop will appear with the lo-fi programmed beats of his Basic House moniker while James Donadio’s Prostitutes bring their rowdy industrial clatter. Wanda Group (pictured), who draw found sounds into mesmeric patterns, will also perform, with support from the eerie synthpop of Michael Kasparis, AKA Apostille.
The Art School, Fri
JA
Leo Blanco, Glasgow & London
The work of the unique Venezuelan improviser and composer Leo Blanco has only recently begun to gain recognition in Europe, but he’s nothing like as well known as he should be in his homeland either. This is despite being a devoted researcher into Latin American music and a highly original exponent of fusions between that genre and jazz. Blanco uses the whole piano, setting up grooves with his stamping feet and woodwork-slapping hands, strumming the strings like a harp, then veering into jazz medleys that glimpse the styles of Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk and Chick Corea. Blanco is a hypnotic solo artist but an eager collaborator, too: his Vortex gig is shared with vocalist Christine Tobin and his Glasgow appearance features saxist Paul Towndrow, bassist Mario Caribé and drummer Alyn Cosker.
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sun; Bolivar Hall, W1, Tue; The Vortex Jazz Club, N16, Wed
JF
Tutuguri
All of a sudden, London is giving the 62-year-old composer Wolfgang Rihm the sort of attention he deserves. On 28 February, Wigmore Hall is devoting a day to his chamber music, while this BBC Total Immersion event will mark the first UK performance of one of his major scores from the 1980s. The BBC’s day of concerts highlights the importance of percussion instruments in contemporary music, and the second half of Tutuguri, which was inspired by the writings of poet Antonin Artaud, is scored for that section of the orchestra alone, creating a deafening barrage of sound. In the 30 years since he wrote Tutuguri, Rihm’s music has explored a bewildering range of styles and genres, but nothing has been as visceral and extreme as this.
Barbican Hall, EC2, Sat
AC
