Caoilfhionn Rose

In the organizer's words:

With her third album Constellation, released once again on the Gondwana label, Manchester's Caoilfhionn Rose has come of age as an artist. She has dug deep to find experimental new ways to express her wonder at the beauty of nature, her love of music in all its diversity and her belief in restorative powers.
Caoilfhionn (pronounced 'Keelin') has found a voice that is at once ancient and modern, fearlessly exploring contemporary technologies to transform traditional song for the mid-20s.

The ten tracks on Constellation feel rooted in knowledge of folk, jazz and all the 20th century classics, yet they seem to create a magical, otherworldly space of their own imagination, mixing Caoilfhionn's central piano with synthesizers and pitting a live rhythm section and saxophone embellishments against ambient samples and forward-thinking production techniques. Confident, exploratory and often breathtakingly sublime, this incredible album heralds Caoilfhionn Rose's arrival as a new creative force for 2024.

Caoilfhionn has always been deeply committed to music. When an illness in her late teens delayed the start of her music degree at Newcastle University, she used the time constructively. She did a diploma in music production and sound engineering at the Manchester MIDI School (now the School of Electronic Music), which focused heavily on electronic music and gave her a progressive attitude to sound manipulation. "It was the best decision," she says, "because I learned how to use Logic, from the basics to exploration, and also some live sound recording. It was actually a course for DJs, but I started trying to blend electronics with my more folky, traditional background."

While studying music at university in Newcastle, she played around with sound experiments and field recordings, releasing tracks online under the pseudonym Audrey Daydreamer and eventually an EP under her own name on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. "That's how I came to Gondwana," she explains, "because Matthew (Halsall, the label's boss) found the EP and realized that I now live in Didsbury, close to where he lives. He came to see me play at a café called The Art of Tea, and afterwards he asked me if I wanted to record for Gondwana."
Constellation features contributions from Matthew Halsall's rhythm section, drummer Alan Taylor and bassist Gavin Barras, as well as Jordan Smart of Mammal Hands, whose smooth saxophone adds a very special touch to most of the songs. Also making guest appearances are former Cinematic Orchestra member John Ellis, who blissfully hits the keys at the end of 'Fall Into Place', and producer Aaron Wood, who adds a pleasing texture with a series of ambient samples in 'Rainfall'.
"I love being open to collaborations," enthuses Rose, "and the record is a collage that brings all these influences, sounds and players together and is experimental in its production."
And so Caoilfhionn Rose's collage of disparate influences and inspirations, players and processes came together to create a beautiful and quietly powerful work that is a testament to artistic adventure, to improvisation and hard work, to trusting our connection to nature, to other people and to music itself.

After being part of the Gondwana Label Night in March in the sold-out Great Hall of the Elbphilharmonie, we are delighted to welcome Caoilfhionn Rose to the Mojo Jazz Café on March 18, almost exactly one year later.

Price information:

Advance booking starts on 30.9. at 10 am