A Golden Hum-dinger
A crticially acclaimed band will be heading this weekend’s Golden Hum night.
The event returns to the Tolbooth for its next instalment on Friday (June 30) at 7.30pm.
Headliners 75 Dollar Bill are joined by Stirling’s very own Constant Follower for an evening of wonderful genre-spanning music.
75 Dollar Bill were formed in 2012 by percussionist Rick Brown and guitarist Che Chen. Played on a deeply resonant plywood crate, Brown’s earthy, elemental rhythms are both the foundation and foil for Chen’s ecstatic, modal guitar style.
The duo’s electric, richly patterned music can shape shift from joyful dance tunes to slowly changing trance minimalism, an uncategorizable hybrid which draws on early electric blues, the modal traditions of West Africa, India and the Middle East, Sun Ra’s space chords and the minimalist and No Wave histories of their home town. While Brown and Chen are always at the band’s core, the duo frequently expand into other configurations live and on record, from trios to a 25-piece marching band.
They have released a string of cassettes and two LPs, the most recent of which, Wood / Metal / Plastic / Pattern / Rhythm / Rock, met with wide critical acclaim and appeared on numerous “Best of ” lists for 2016.
It is now being released in Europe (on vinyl, digitally and, for the first time, on CD) by Glitterbeat Records.
Constant Follower‘s background is in electronic music, and those influences are in evidence as he embarks on the début outing for his instantly compelling songs.
A sonorous analogue bass synth augments the delicately picked acoustic guitar, his deep, mournful vocal, reminiscent of Blue Nile’s Paul Buchanan in its approach, is laden with loss before guitar brings a hint of morning.
Tickets priced £10/£12 are on sale now, from culturestirling.org or on the door.