Posted by: Empirical
Check out some photos from our January Session at Assault and Battery 2!
PHOTOS
Our new recording with the Benyounes Quartet will be out Late Aug/Early Sept.
Signup to the Mailing List to find out more nearer the time!
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Posted by: Empirical
This Monday 4th Feb, we are playing at Pizza Express, Dean Street.
We would love to show all our London friends what we do – the next opportunity isn’t til September – so come and hang!
AND we are previewing new music from our recently recorded Album!
Book Tickets HERE
See you there!
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Posted by: Empirical
We spent 5 long but happy days recording Empirical’s 4th Album!
As in many things, ‘the best laid plans of Mice and Men often go astray’, and so it was with this session! Our chosen studio was the beautiful room at Pinewood studios, run by Phoenix sound, where we recorded ‘Out ‘n’ In‘ in 2008. Unfortunately, the studio has been sold, rendering our pre – Christmas recording plans in disarray!
Step in Dave Moore, engineer at Phoenix sound, who has worked with us on ‘Out ‘n’ In’ and the mixing of ‘Elements of Truth‘. Having scouted out several studios we agreed on Flood and Moulder’s studio, Assault and Battery 2, in Willesden. Nat and Lew checked out the space and with a positive verdict we booked it, with Dave engineering.
One of the exciting parts of Album 4 is we are documenting our work with the Benyounes Quartet. A fantastic string quartet we met through our work as Golubovich Jazz Scholars at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Great girls who put up with our massive date changing, long rehearsals and Jazz vernacular! Check out our SoundCloud to hear clips from our first performance – in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the opening night of the London Jazz Festival 2012! Watch Behind the scenes clips
Despite the organisational hiccups, the sessions were mega fun! The girls brought a great, professional vibe and we were well catered for by Drew and Jordan from A&B 2. 14 songs went down! 7 with the string quartet, 7 without, so watch this space for the exact format of the release! And watch out for an EPK coming soon, courtesy of Simon Whitehead and Simon Drake. Check out some Photos on our Twitter feed.
We are pleased to be continuing our relationship with Naim Jazz, and the record is scheduled for release in late Aug/Early Sept 2013 (we’ll keep you posted!). Our music is always conceived with the long term in mind, so a continued partnership with Naim is perfect.
The music is ambitious, risky, epic and full of stories – everything you’ve come to expect from Empirical. We are very excited about this one…now just the small matter of picking the best takes…and mixing…and mastering…oh..and the artwork…
In the meantime – come check out an Empirical performance! (we’ll have to wait till September before the strings are with us again)
24th Jan Lincoln
25th Jan Cambridge
4th Jan PIZZA EXPRESS DEAN STREET!!!
7th Feb Leeds
8th feb Sheffield
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Posted by: Empirical
We had a wonderful time in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam last week! Beautiful people, food and culture!
We performed as part of an European Music Festival, put together by the EU Delegation to Vietnam. Our trip and concerts were supported by the British Council.
We travelled as Empirical Trio (no Lewis this time) and were welcomed at the Youth Theater Hanoi by an attentive, supportive, capacity audience. Their response was fantastically positive, something we learned to expect from Vietnamese people.
The following morning it was our privilege to give a workshop at the UN International School Hanoi. Here we met budding young musicians keen to be inspired by Jazz! Awesome! A special mention goes out to the guys from the Visually Impaired school, who came a sat in on the workshop.
Having travelled to Ho Chiu Minh City, we had time to eat, experience the diverse culture and sleep off our jet lag, before performing at the Music Conservatory. Again, a wonderful reception from a young (and not so young) audience who seemed fascinated by our music.
Click HERE for a review by Paul Zetter
Check out some Photos on Facebook
A big thank you to Sa from the British Council who looked after us, showed us around, translated, advised and made the trip brilliant!
Let’s go back to Vietnam!
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We are heading to Vietnam this week, thanks to the British Council. Two concerts!
29th Nov: Youth Theater, 11 Ngo Thi Nham, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
1st Dec: HCMC Conservatory, 112 Nguyen Du, district 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Spread the word to anyone you might know in Vietnam!
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Big thanks to the Benyounes quartet for the great performance last Friday at QEH! The gig was a great start to the project!
We were mentioned in a Guardian review- READ IT HERE
And check out a taster video of some ‘behind the scenes’ footage – more to follow! WATCH IT HERE
We are recording in January, releasing Empirical Album 4 in September 2013!
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Looking forward to Friday’s Concert at the QEH
World Premiere of pieces especially written for our collaboration with Benyounes String Quartet all set for recording Empirical Album 4 in Jan 2013.
There might be some tickets left, we are supporting Ambrose Akinmusire so it’s going to be great!!
Check it out HERE
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We’ve been quiet this Summer, but have exciting winter plans!
As part of our relationship with Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, we had the opportunity to work with the fantastic Benyounes String Quartet. The CoLab project was a success and we have decided to record a new album this December with Benyounes. The first performance of this new music will be November 9th at the London Jazz Festival, in support of Ambrose Akinmusire – check out the LIVE page for details.
Furthermore we have another unique show on offer at Bedales in Petersfield. A set of Trio music exploring Sonny Rollins’ “Freedom Suite”, and a set of our original material with the marvellous Ivo Neame at the Piano.
See you there!
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Come and see us play in the beautiful Dora Stoutzker Hall at the RWCM tomorrow!!!
With a Special guest Drummer!
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Come join us at Norwich Arts Centre, tomorrow, Wednesday 25th.
Performing with Julian Siegel!!!
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