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Fuzzy Lights were formed in Cambridge in 2004 as a duo of Rachel and Xavier Watkins. From initial experiments with violin and guitar loops they expanded into a four-piece for their near-instrumental debut album A Distant Voice in 2008.In 2010 they released their second album, Twin Feathers, as a settled quintet, weaving together elements of pastoral psych-folk and noise-rock. The album received critical acclaim, being named ‘Underground Album of the Month’ in MOJO and receiving four-star reviews in Uncut and Artrocker. Several tracks from the record featured across BBC 6 Music shows, and the same year they played at the End of The Road Festival.
In 2011, they retreated to a farmhouse in Dedham Vale to write new songs, and the fruits of these sessions were later recorded live to tape at a Limehouse studio. Released in February 2013, Rule of Twelfths was a more direct album, cinematic in essence while carrying the ghosts of wall of sound productions. It too was well received, with Uncut magazine declaring ‘a work that sweetly lulls the listener with delicate folk numbers before ambushing them with surging orchestral noise. It’s this contrast… that makes Rule of Twelfths so effective’.
Following on from a series of events performing semi-improvised film soundtracks the group went into hibernation for a number of years, emerging only briefly to act as soundcarriers for legendary former Can frontman Damo Suzuki.
Behind the scenes, Fuzzy Lights worked on intertwining improvised jams with deliberate and personal songwriting, re-emerging with Burials, a collection of delicate yet weighty tunes that is the band’s most compelling statement to date.
‘The musical battle between the fuzzy and the lights makes Fuzzy Lights special’ – MOJO
‘Subverting genre expectations and folk melodies’ – Financial Times
Local support comes from Alf Whitby. Alf Whitby is the alter ego of Manchester-based songwriter Andrew Keaveney. His alternative folk style revolves around a core of voice, guitar and piano, drawing influence from both traditional folk (Nick Drake) and more modern alternative styles (Sufjan Stevens). He will be playing live this autumn to support the release of his sophomore EP, A Sedentary Life, (available now on Spotify), which will be brought to life by an accompanying stringed and vocal section.
Price: £8 adv
Info/tickets: https://www.heymanchester.com/fuzzy-lights-2
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Gullivers NQ, 109 Oldham Street, M4 1LW Manchester, UK, Manchester, United Kingdom
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