Kings of the South Seas

Presented by: The Bower House

---

0	GRAVESEND: St Andrews Arts Centre
P	Friday 6th October, 2017
N	7:30pm

Event information

In the last three years, HMS Erebus and Terror, Franklin’s two ships from his ill fated 1845 voyage to find the NW Passage were discovered at the bottom of the icy seas off Northern Canada. This brought the fateful events back into focus after they’d filled the international headlines in the second half of the 19th Century when all 129 of the crew disappeared without trace in the Arctic wastes. With the ‘Franklin’ album, Kings of The South Seas will bring to life the traditional and written music left by these events and their cultural fallout; from Canadian Voyageur paddling songs, English folk ballads and songs composed onboard ice-bound wintering ships to Victorian parlour pieces.

Kings of The South Seas are, Ben Nicholls-concertina (Full English, Seth Lakeman Band), Richard Warren-guitar (Spiritualized), Evan Jenkins-drums (Neil Cowley Trio).

This event is a special preview performance of the songs from their upcoming ‘Franklin’ album (set for release in early 2018) which was recorded in St. Andrews Gravesend, a Mission dedicated to those who lost their lives on the Franklin Expedition. The evening will be accompanied by a film of footage and imagery based on the themes of the content directed by BAFTA nominated Adam Clitheroe.


“a brooding and mysterious triumph” - Louder Than War
“uproariously rousing and darkly disturbing” - The Guardian
“takes the listener into an oceanic heart of darkness illuminated by powerful skeletal songs from the edge of the known world” - Songlines
“I am loving this!” - Mark Radcliffe BBC Radio2 Folk Show
“dark, driven and turbulent” - The Independent
“A fantastic celebration of all things nautical and seaworthy.” EDS Magazine
“like the Velvet Underground in the bilges of the Pequod” - Philip Hoare, author (winner of Samuel Johnson Prize with Leviathan)
One of The Telegraph ‘Best Folk Albums of 2014’.
“stunning in both scope and intensity” – Spiral Earth