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Anni Rossi + Silje Nes

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Sat 2 February 2008 // 19:30

+ Rollin Hunt
(Sat 2nd / 7.30pm / £5 adv)

What a wondrous triple bill of moonshine sounds this is, overflowing with boisterous fiddles, fragile electronics and ramshackle songcraft from three diverse and enchanting acts.

A foot stompin', viola-playing force of nature, Anni Rossi is a startlingly fresh musician from Illinois who has been leaving audiences agog with her unique blend of classical virtuosity and vocal acrobatics. Playing viola and singing simultaneously (no looping pedals here!) she stamps and caterwauls herself into a frenzy. Like Beirut, Final Fantasy or Karen Dalton she seems to have come from no where and hit upon a sound that is idiosyncratic, un-contrived and wholly adorable.

From Bergen, Norway, Silje Nes's gossamer light chamber music is perfectly suited to the Cube auditorium. Like Colleen or Vashti Bunyan she specialises in deceptively simple musical fragments and half-remembered songs that convey an almost childlike sense of wonder and awe. Spinning a fragile web of breathy vocals, spindly electronics and warm acoustics she has signed to Fat Cat records and will be touring as a duo in support of debut album 'Ames Room'.

Opening the evening is the elusive troubadour and painter Rollin Hunt, from Chicago. Accompanied by Anni Rossi on viola he makes fragmentary pop that recalls the outsider modes of artists like Daniel Johnston or Ariel Pink.