Thursday 20 April 2023, 8pm
Robyn's Rocket is a homemade spaceship in Cafe OTO, which tries to help as many people as possible feel welcome.
The gigs are timetabled a bit differently to other Cafe OTO events, with three 30 min sets (each set played by a different artist) , and all artists billed equally. Artists with and without learning disabilities / autistic artists sharing music and visual art alongside artist without disabilities.
The event is also hosted by Robyn Rocket. Rocket badges are used to tell people if you want to chat to new people or not, or if you just don't want to chat while a band is playing.
The night is fun, and aims to bring new people to Cafe OTO together with Cafe OTO regulars.
This is an alternative ticket link in case the OTO link doesn't work for you:
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/576873
LIVE STREAM:
Robyn Rocket : "Hi I'm Robyn Rocket I play space trumpet which is trumpet through guitar pedals. I am supported by arts Organisation Heart N Soul who believe in the power and talents of people with Learning Disabilities and Autistic people. I love making visual art too and make comics/zines and also enjoy making radio. I have a radio show on resonance fm called Robyn Rocket's Zoom Zoom and podcast series Robyn Rocket Zoom Zoom . I like playing with other people and making it up as we go along , because I think its a really honest way to make music your just responding to each other in the moment , rather then trying to play something perfectly , I am disabled and my disabilities inform my practice, both in the way I play , I have a very short , short term memory so cant really learn tunes by ear , but I can use a loop pedal to be like a extension of my memory But also I can use my creative practice to include more people firstly informed by my own experiences of feeling unwelcome in a space and then trying to change things to address the barriers I faced and then by actively trying to welcome people in who may not normally feel welcome in a space, and ask for their feedback on how to be more welcoming and try to do the feedback. I now provide access consultancy for promoters, venues and festivals. You can hear my music at https://robynrocket.bandcamp.com/"
Audrey Chen is a Chinese-American musician who was born into a family of material scientists, doctors and engineers, outside of Chicago in 1976. Parting ways with the family convention, she turned to the cello at age 8 and voice at 11. After years of classical and conservatory training in both instruments, with a resulting specialization in early and new music, she parted ways again in 2003 to begin new negotiations with sound in order to discover a more individually honest aesthetic. Now, using the cello, voice and analog electronics, Chen’s work delves deeply into her own version of narrative and non-linear storytelling. A large component of her music is improvised and her approach to this is extremely personal and visceral. Her playing explores the combination and layering of a homemade analog synthesizer, preparations and traditional and extended techniques in both the voice and cello. She works to join these elements into a singular ecstatic personal language. Over the past decade, her predominant focus has been her solo work with the cello, voice and electronics, but she has more recently begun to shift back towards the exploration of the voice as a primary instrument. Among musicians, she has worked with Phil Minton, Tetuzi Akiyama, Toshimaru Nakamura, Ko Ishikawa, Tomomi Adachi, Matana Roberts, Elliott Sharp, Aki Onda, Phill Niblock, Frederic Blondy, Jerome Noetinger, C. Spencer Yeh, Nate Wooley, Mats Gustafsson, Mazen Kerbaj, Michael Zerang, Tatsuya Nakatani, Le Quan Ninh, Joe Mcphee, Susan Alcorn, Michele Doneda, Paolo Angeli, Dylan Nyoukis, Id M Theft Able, plus many more. Recent projects, aside from performing solo, include her voice only duo with London based artist, Phil Minton and a collaborative project with German conceptual artist, John Bock. Two new album releases in 2013 include, a quartet LP with Nate Wooley, C. Spencer Yeh and Todd Carter on Monotype (Warsaw), and a duo record with Phil Minton on Subrosa (Brussels).
DEAN RODNEY JR. is an artist and the lead singer of Dean Rodney Jr. & The Cowboys. In this latest project he puts on the golden suit and riffs about food, jiggling body parts and more over tight disco pop. Backed by Rosie Ridgeway, Jack Barraclough, Tom Hirst and Robyn Steward, you better watch out as there’s a new sheriff in town! Their debut album ‘The Yeehaw Moment’ is out now. Dean was also the frontman of The Fish Police, has collaborated with Ravioli Me Away and during lockdown, Dean wrote and recorded 54 albums, describing a fictional alternative version of the present day, Dean TV World.
Lost Socks are a London-based experimental quartet whose music ranges from engrossing ambient soundscapes to free-jazz walls of sound.
Together they create abstract cosmic journeys - inviting you to higher planes of consciousness with their groovy and inspiring tunes.
Formed in the orbit of the Total Refreshment Centre, Hackney, Lost Socks are Robyn Steward (trumpet and effects), Alex Nunn (guitar and electronics), Giulia Cavallini (percussion and gongs) and Stu Handy (drums); plus Taz (an adorable jack Russel and occasional lead vocalist).
