Music

6 Day Riot coming to the Exeter Phoenix (news)

20th January 2010

Quirky folk-pop combo 6 Day Riot are set to visit the Exeter Phoenix on February 12.

As a teenager, 6 Day Riot’s singer/songwriter Tamara Schlesinger was on course to be an internationally successful gymnast, performing all over the world as part of the Scottish gymnastics team.

A fractured ankle, exacerbated on recovery by 'a rubbish mat' in a Polish tournament ended her Olympian dream. It was at this juncture that Tamara's occasional songwriting developed into something more serious.

Various musical collaborations followed before she formed a strong musical alliance with the guitarist with whom she eventually formed 6 Day Riot and developed a distinctive musical identity, incorporating aspects of klezmer and bluegrass into Tamara's catchy folk pop to create a new sound perfectly captured on Folie A Deux, the band's debut album.

National radio airplay and excellent reviews followed before internal divisions within the band led to the founder members going their different ways.

2008 saw the band reborn - recording the outstanding Bring On The Waves EP with the ensuing year seeing no shortage of new songs lovingly brought to life.

Ceaseless gigging made them the toast of the blogosphere. Drummer Daniel Deavin from the original line-up was crucial in fleshing out the arrangements of Tamara’s songs with tom-drum heavy tribal rhythms and they have been joined by bassist Edd Harwood, guitarist Caspar Riis and Sophie Loyer on violin.

On their second album, 6 Day Riot Have A Plan, they have effortlessly transcended the sum of their parts, creating an elegant carnivalesque fusion of elements of folk, afrobeat, calypso, mariachi, Eastern European and Gypsy swing into a 'melting pop' that reflects our multicultural existence and completely defies physical resistance.

Releasing the album under her own Tantrum Records label, Tamara has generated the funding, designed the album artwork and hand-picked her collaborators from producer to PR team while maintaining absolute creative control.

It's a remarkable cottage industry a million miles away from the bloated excesses of major labels struggling to adjust to the fundamental changes in the consumption of music.

It seems fair to say that 6 Day Riot really do have a plan. Find out for yourself at the Phoenix. Tickets cost £6/£5 on 01392 667 080.

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