Jacob & Drinkwater
Friday
Devon based duo Jacob & Drinkwater have been called ‘stand out new Folk’ by BBC6 Music and ‘inventive and thrilling’ by R2 Magazine. Their 2015 indie release ‘The Burning Low EP’ has garnered airplay and glowing reviews from such quarters as Radio 2’s Folk Show, BBC 6’s Tom Robinson, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing, BBC Bristol, FRUK, Fatea, Spiral Earth, Louder Than War and ‘Whispering’ Bob TV.
2016 saw the release of their first album ‘Live at Hope Hall’ recorded to a sell-out crowd at Exeter’s Hope Hall by Mark Tucker (Show of Hands, PJ Harvey, Portishead) the album captures the intense energy and improvisational nature of the live show which twists and turns from high to low on a captivating journey that leaves every audience spellbound.
Singer- songwriter Tobias ben Jacob first received wider acclaim as part of The Roots Union with BBC Folk Award winners Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin (Edgelarks) including playing live for the BBC at Maida Vale Studios and recording in Nashville, Tennessee. After a few years out from music he returned with the 2014 release ’The St Sidwells Session’ and a run of summer festivals including Glastonbury and Larmer Tree.
His honest and original song-writing weaves in themes of love, memory, adversity and hope; ranging from the nostalgic images of a Northern childhood ‘in the shadow of a burnt out mill’ (Two Wanderers In 1980’s Clothes) to the trials and adventures of 21st Century life ‘Oh let me breathe, let me fly, let me live a polyphonic life’(A Polyphonic Life),
Lukas Drinkwater is rightly referred to as ‘one of busiest musicians in the UK.’ In demand as a producer, performer and session player in the worlds of folk and jazz he has featured on many acclaimed albums. Recently he’s been touring with Emily Barker, Albert Jones, and award winning folk singer Ange Hardy, he has also worked with Seth Lakeman, 3 Daft Monkeys, Jim Causley, Lack of Afro, Lucy Ward, Tankus The Henge, Sam Kelly, The Little Unsaid and many more.
The duo’s dynamic and emotionally charged live show with all its energy, musical chemistry and spontaneity has drawn comparisons with the virtuosic pairing of John Martyn and Danny Thompson. Jacob’s sweeping vocals never fail to captivate, delivering many a spine-tingling moment; the fluidity and precision of his finger-picking underpinned by Drinkwater’s nimbly rhythmic double bass; at times sweetly soaring, haunting, percussive and driving, the layers of depth a perfect counterfoil. The added complement of stirring vocal harmonies nicely rounds off the mix.
