The Workman’s Club played host last night to an evening of nature-themed live music that featured performances by pop genius David Turpin, electro folk duo Carriages and an arresting Karl Knuttel song that combined a traditional Jewish melody with electronic background beats (imagine a production of Fiddler on the Roof performed by Depeche Mode).

Celebrating the launch of his new Fur EP and playing songs from his critically acclaimed recent album We Belong Dead, Turpin was as assured as ever, successfully walking the tight rope between compelling, sincere electro pop and pantomime disco nonsense. Songs like ‘Fur’ and ‘The Bone Dance’ expressed the nervous and demure sexuality that characterises a lot of Turpin’s work.

Carriages’ unique blend of atmospheric electronic background music and folk and pop style vocals and instruments impressed at this year’s Hard Working Class Heroes showcase and they lived up to their reputation with a compelling set. Songs about background extras in Michael J Fox masterpiece ‘Teen Wolf’ played on an electric ukulele may not be to everyone’s taste but it all works surprisingly well.

The highlight of the evening was an incredible performance from Margie Jean Lewis. Alone on stage, her beautiful looped vocals build into a bare but haunting crescendo and then dissipate to silence. Her Kate Bush-esque aesthetic fit the nature themed night perfectly.

The only negative from the night was the relatively sparse crowd. Granted, a musical showcase that begins with a 12 minute silent movie about owls from 1922 is a little unusual but it’s a real shame that more people were not there to enjoy performances from some of Ireland’s most talented musicians.

The Late David Turpin’s ‘Fur EP’ is available from iTunes HERE. His wonderful album, ‘We Belong Dead,’ can be downloaded HERE. And a free download of the song ‘Like Bird and Beast (feat. Cathy Davey)’ can be found HERE (or in the Soundcloud player above).

http://thelatedavidturpin.com/ | http://carriages.bandcamp.com/

Guest post by Greg Byrne