With over 15 years of history going back to when Felix Bechtolsheimer was playing as Hey Negrita, there’s a great deal of experience in Curse Of Lono yet they seem genuinely and pleasingly surprised at the sudden surge in popularity they have had in the last 18 months. Their latest album, their second, ‘As I Fell’, has been universally praised in the industry and the band were given the final seal of approval when it was announced by the AMAUK that they have been awarded the title of Bob Harris’s Emerging Act of the Year in the forthcoming AMAUK awards fest. There’s no doubt that they have achieved a unique “Curse of Lono” sound which is based on Felix Bechtolsheimer’s slightly deadpan and clearly English-sounding vocals, the wonderful array of sounds teased out on guitar by Joe Hazell and the pulsating and often slightly menacing rhythm and percussion laid down by Charis Anderson (bass and vocals) and Neil Findlay (drums) along with Dani Ruiz Hernandez (keyboards and vocals). Hazell is described by Bechtolsheimer as “our secret weapon” though as of autumn 2018 the secret seems to be out. Continue reading “Curse of Lono + Izzy Walsh, Borderline, London. 6th December 2018”
Tag: Curse of Lono
Maverick Festival, Easton Park Farm Suffolk, 6th – 8th July 2018
This year’s Maverick Festival was held under glorious sunshine at Easton Park Farm in the deepest part of rural Suffolk. As usual, Director Paul Spencer had pulled together a tremendous range of polished multinational talent which all just about falls within what we consider Americana. The timing of the event, smack dab in the middle of the footie world cup, meant however that the balance of music vs. football in the conversational strands was slightly different from the July norm. Continue reading “Maverick Festival, Easton Park Farm Suffolk, 6th – 8th July 2018”
Curse Of Lono, Dot To Dot Festival, Mr Wolfs, Bristol, 25th May
Most fans of Americana music should by now be familiar with the works of Felix Bechtolsheimer, whether that be from his groundbreaking British country blues revivalists Hey Negrita or the more recent murky window into his soul that is his latest venture, the dramatic rock’nroll caravan that is Curse Of Lono. Continue reading “Curse Of Lono, Dot To Dot Festival, Mr Wolfs, Bristol, 25th May”
Curse of Lono, The Water Rats, London, 20th April 2017
Curse of Lono’s show at The Water Rats was a launch for their anticipated debut album Severed. The venue has a rich history, Marx and Lenin are both reputed to have frequented the place during their respective times in London and Bob Dylan played his first UK show here in 1962. This, coupled with the band sharing their name with a Hunter S Thompson book, led me to wonder whether to expect something unusual, intellectual, dangerous or deranged. What I got was a bit of each from Curse of Lono, a London based five-piece band consisting of Felix Bechtolsheimer and Neil Findlay both from Felix’s former band Hey Negrita, plus Joe Hazell, Charis Anderson and Dani Ruiz Hernadez. Continue reading “Curse of Lono, The Water Rats, London, 20th April 2017”
Curse of Lono “Severed” (Submarine Cat Records, 2017)
On first hearing this record without reading anything about it I thought that Steven Adams (Broken Family Band) had adopted a back to basics approach and formed a new band. It’s a thought that stuck with me every time I listen to the record and it’s certainly meant as a compliment – there’s the voice of Felix Bechtolsheimer (Hey Negrita) which is a dead ringer for Adams and then there’s the lyrics which explore the same melancholic self-deprecating squalor. CofL have an admirably broad palate, the songs spreading out across a range of styles – the opener cheekily references the Byrds with both the title and the bass line of Five Miles (add three and some altitude and you’re there). Continue reading “Curse of Lono “Severed” (Submarine Cat Records, 2017)”
Curse of Lono release debut album next month, new video – Watch
New London five-piece Curse Of Lono who we’ve become big fans of here at UK will release their debut album Severed on Submarine Cat Records on April 7th. Described as a “sumptuously cinematic record that combines harmony-laden Americana with driving, gothic alt-rock”, the album was produced at Gun Factory studio by Oli Bayston. Curse Of Lono’s debut EP, released last October, forms the soundtrack to ‘Saturday Night’, a short film of inter-connected music videos directed by Alex Walker which we recently highlighted. Continue reading “Curse of Lono release debut album next month, new video – Watch”