Paula Wolfe
+ supports TBC
Thursday 29 May : 8pm (seated)
£5.00 adv : £6.00 door
Dreamy intelligent pop from female singer songwriter Paula Wolfe. Lush guitars, sweeping strings and gentle beats soothe the whispered realist lyrics while her electric guitar serves to energise. “A rising talent” – Time Out. “All too rare quality of being able to command your attention to the point of dropping everything else… a phenomenal talent” – peoplesound.com
Paula Wolfe may be slotted into the female singer songwriter category but she constantly pushes that boundary, not only through her solo performances, where her dynamic guitar playing, incredible voice and solid stage presence do indeed 'command your attention' (peoplesound.com) but in that as a self taught musician, she writes, performs, engineers and produces every aspect of her recorded work herself to create a sound that forms a beautiful backdrop to her songs which seem to have that 'rare quality' of drawing you in to listen 'to the point of dropping everything else'.
A stark realism emerges from the themes and characters in her songs. With a spotlight on characters living on the fringes, she tells urban tales about joyriders, bored kids on unfashionable street corners, faces hardened by struggling too much and drinking too much. But she also sings about love with an idealism that takes her narrators far above a somewhat harsh reality.
With a Masters degree in Contemporary Arts that allowed her the space to develop her production skills, the landscape that Paula creates with her voice and musicianship is far from bleak. Lush guitars, sweeping strings and gentle beats soothe the whispered outrage while her electric guitar serves to energise.
London/Irish, Wolfe was based in Manchester for many years where she was a familiar figure on the Manchester music scene. Having moved back down south in recent times, she is an established presence on the London acoustic scene where her 'phenomenal talent' reputation is spreading and where her name is becoming most definitely, 'a name to watch' (MusicOMH).
Since releasing her much acclaimed debut ‘Staring', Paula's relocation to Norfolk to build a studio to record the second album has been a somewhat rocky ride with dodgy builders, but she has emerged in tact with a set of songs that are richly textured with her experiences and finely tuned production skills. There are beautiful cellos and violins and some fine beats, but as ever it is Paula's voice and guitar that cut through, demonstrating Paula's major talent.