Tickets £18 online from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/446305

or in person from Mrs Middleton’s Shop, School Green Road, Freshwater.

“The Osprey migrates between West Africa and Wales – harpists Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita join its journey on their exultant, mesmeric second album, SOAR.”
4* Neil Spencer, THE OBSERVER

“They are now one of the most popular world music acts of this decade.”
Tim Cumming, SONGLINES
“an emotional demonstration of how two virtuoso musicians triumphantly bring different cultures together”
5* Robin Denselow, THE GUARDIAN (Live review, Union Chapel, 12 May 2018)

“It’s rare that you hear something so beautifully conceived and performed”

5* Simon Broughton, London Evening Standard (Live review, Union Chapel, 12 May 2018)

“…bitchin” IGGY POP, IGGY CONFIDENTIAL, BBC 6 MUSIC

“You could listen to this 1,000 times and still find something new” 4* David Hutcheon, MOJO 

“Hypnotic and ethereal, SOAR is a unique marriage of cultures”

4* Neil Spencer, THE OBSERVER

“… SOAR is about as near to perfection as is possible.”

5*, Dave Haslam, RNR MAGAZINE

Thisisnowhere is thrilled to be able to bring the multi-award winning duo Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita to the Memorial Hall for their final concert of an extensive Autumn tour giving the West Wight audience the opportunity to experience their remarkable new album SOAR performed in concert. Their performances of the album in spring this year garnered 5* reviews from both the Guardian and London Evening Standard and prompted Songlines Magazine’s Tim Cumming to describe them as ‘the most popular world music act of the decade’. SOAR, their first release since their debut album Clychau Dibon in 2013, entered the UK Official Independent Album Charts at #16 on the first week of its release and subsequently spent over three months at the top of the Amazon World Music charts, hitting number the number one spot in the Trans Global World Music Charts in June 2018.

The new album SOAR takes wing on the flight of the osprey, the magnificent raptor persecuted to extinction in Wales during the 17th century, which has recently returned home after a 400-year absence. The osprey makes its annual 3000-mile migration from the estuaries of West Wales, where Catrin grew up, to Seckou’s homeland in Senegal, West Africa – an amazing natural connection which hit a resonance with the two artists. Themes of migration – natural, enforced and economic – run throughout SOAR, drawing deep on the sometimes darker history of these two great musical nations. “Like the iconic raptor, it swoops and soars to capture the bird’s very essence,” says Dave Haslam, in his 5* review for RnR Magazine, “SOAR is as near to perfection as it is possible”.

Their music has been described by Elbow’s Guy Garvey as “absolutely hypnotic”, whilst revered British actor Toby Jones (Atomic Blonde, The Detectorists, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom) says of Catrin and Seckou “incredible… you’re witnessing a state of rapture, it’s entrancing”. This is music with a huge emotional resonance and a remarkable synergy, a seemingly unlikely marriage between the cultures and of Wales and Senegal which has resulted in the most serendipitous of unions. Welsh traditional melodies mix effortlessly with Mandinka staples, with hypnotic improvisations from both in an exhilarating and playful set which leaps over cultural barriers, roaming freely in borderless musical territory.

The duo were recently invited to pen the theme tune for BBC Radio 4’s podcast series The Ratline, written by QC Philippe Sands and starring Stephen Fry and Laura Linney. The podcast, which released last month, is currently available to download on BBC iplayer.

Beyond beautiful in concert Catrin and Seckou create a uniquely spellbinding and mesmerising experience that has been filling concert halls across the UK, Europe and beyond.  It’s music to delight all ears and we hope you’ll join us at The Memorial Hall for what promises to be a very special and memorable night indeed.