Operating on a plane between avant-garde indie, bubbling electronica and cosmic psychedelia, London group Voka Gentle have an addictive, amorphous sound. This concert has support from Mesadorm and Clementine March.

A three limbed beast made up of twins Ellie and Imogen Mason, and William J. Stokes, each is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer with an imperious understanding of three dimensional sound. The latest manifestation of this is new single Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden – which also features Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips – out May 27th via Leafy Outlook.

Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden – recorded with neo-metal battalion Pigsx7 guitarist and producer Sam Grant – is the first release in earnest since 2019’s acclaimed debut album Start Clanging Cymbals, released via Nude Records. Having come through the dues-paying gestation period that leads up to a debut record, there’s a sense of liberation around this new phase for Voka Gentle – a subtle confidence in their craft. It’s well earned too – with high praise from the likes of UNCUT, MOJO and The Line of Best Fit at press. Support comes too from BBC 6 Music – including presenting an edition of Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone – and Radio 1. Tracks from that album also featured on FIFA 19 and The Sims 2020, aiding in recognition.

A live set at the prestigious Pitchfork Avant Garde festival, as well as a clutch of tastemaker festivals in the UK (Dot to Dot, Live At Leeds, The Great Escape, Kendall Calling, Bluedot, Neighbourhood), alongside the serendipitous shows with The Flaming Lips and sell-out headline gigs, provide a strong live pedigree.

‘Hard to classify and even harder not to love’ UNCUT

‘Ambition and self-assured daring’ MOJO 

‘songwriting purists’ The Independent 

‘A kaleidoscopic adventure in sound’ The Skinny 

Mesadorm‘s emotive and skilled melding of the pastoral and synthetic is the result of a unique combination of experienced musicianship, diverse cultural tastes and the strong bonds of friendship, with songwriting firmly aimed at the space between the piercing domestic observations of Suzanne Vega and the elemental other-worldiness of Bjork, drawing on contemporary influences including Caribou, Grizzly Bear and Sylvan Esso as well as legendary female luminaries like Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush.

Recorded over two days in November last year, Songs of Resilience is the intimate, instinctive and beguiling second album by eclectic London-based French singer-songwriter Clémentine March. Songs of Resilience is the swift follow-up to the 2020 debut album Le Continent, which won Clémentine admirers throughout the music world, including BBC 6 Music’s Stuart Maconie who has featured her several times on his show the Freak Zone.

Produced by Toby Burroughs from the band POZI at his west-London studio Rumbaba and eschewing Le Continent’s ornamented arrangements and multilingual flourish, Songs of Resilience is sung almost entirely in English and features just Clémentine’s voice and acoustic guitar. It’s a stripped-back, raw and direct reaction to the times and circumstances in which it was made.