Sharron Kraus with support from Nick Jonah Davis

Event information

Sharron Kraus's musical career spans 2 decades and ranges across sparse acoustic songs, layered soundscapes, improvisations and psychedelia. She has performed solo, with a full band, as well as in collaboration with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She has recorded with a wide range of collaborators, including members of Espers, Bellowhead and Loop Guru, and writers Helen Tookey and Justin Hopper. When her first album Beautiful Twisted was released in 2002, she was a lonely purveyor of wyrd / experimental folk in England, and, longing for musical kindred spirits, moved to Philadelphia to live in a community of musicians who were drawing from the same well. After spending 2 years immersed in the thriving Philly psych folk scene and recording and gigging with Fursaxa, Jack Rose, P.G. Six among others, she was ready to return home and connect with the weird folk scene that was starting to bubble up on this side of the Atlantic.
Over the years Kraus's music has been given many labels - dark folk, acid folk, psych, experimental, hauntology, folk horror – but has defied categorisation and remained distinctly her own. Her current projects include creating soundscapes for poetry, composing for recorder ensemble and recording a synth pop album inspired by songs of the female troubadours of the 12th century.
Press for other Sharron Kraus releases:
'an album layered with memories of landscape and memories of sound. It is a completely immersive experience and a fine achievement.' – The Quietus

'an album of sensual spellcraft' – Caught by the River

'a truly unique sound located somewhere between Cream's "Pressed Rat & Warthog" and what The Left Outsides might sound like if they jammed with a gamelan. Floating freaky fun of the highest order.' – The Wire

'There are many factors that make Joy’s Reflection Is Sorrow a wonderful album. The musicianship is great, Kraus’s voice has found a new confidence and the rolled-back arrangements and production allow the songs room to breathe and speak. But perhaps the most important thing is the sense of a lasting optimism that goes beyond the span of a human life, that perhaps even defines the nature of human life. Kraus may not be able to answer those big questions – maybe they are unanswerable – but she has found the best possible way to ask them.' – Folk Radio UK

'These detailed, poignant tales combine to paint a portrait of Kraus as a sort of mentor, a survivor delivering her perils and lessons with a precise pen.' – Pitchfork

'an LP for the ages; an oddly comforting avant-garde masterpiece ... Magic to think, breathe and dream more.' – Concrete Islands

'Pagan radiophonica meets medieval balladry' – Prog Magazine

Nick Jonah Davis is a solo instrumental guitarist from Nottingham, England. He has been acclaimed as ‘Probably the finest solo guitar player in the land’, delivering ‘a high-wire act that very few guitarists could pull off’. Nick’s music is based fundamentally in British folk, but also incorporates elements from American Primitive, Indian Classical music, free improv and a host of other sources. The resulting blend has been aptly described as ‘a highly spirited series of wordless tales’, captivating audiences in the UK, USA and Europe.