Hello all,

Not long to go now before rehearsals begin for The War Of The Worlds Live! New Generation tour. Just gearing myself up to a busy couple of months ahead....

Recent gigs have included the new season of Not So Silent Movies at King's Place, London. This is the brainchild of cellist and composer Phillip Sheppard and involves a group of musicians performing improvised soundtracks to classic silent films. The concept is totally brilliant, and everyone from audience members and band musicians has a lot of fun. For September's edition we were fortunate to be joined by the Oscar winning composer Dario Marianelli on piano, and Jarvis Cocker on stylophone. In October we welcomed yet another Oscar winning composer, Stephen Warbeck, and the writer of 'Hugo', Brian Selznick. Our first venture with a narrator, and it was a surprisingly emotional occasion....definately one to be repeated!

On Thursday 8th November, I was part of the unveiling ceremony of a beautiful statue in memory of the Spy Princess as she has become known. Noor Inayat Khan was an exceptional young woman who died at the tender age of 30 during World War II at the hands of the Nazis. The ceremony took place in Gordon Square and was attended by HRH The Princess Royal, who unveiled the statue.

I have been recording new material for Solus3's fourth album which will be due out next year, but not before our 'Corner of The Dub' release of remixes which is out January 7th. That's the official release date, but you can mail order and download in the interim. We play the SouthBank next March 15th to celebrate! Please do book your tickets early for this. We will be joined on stage by Damo Suzuki.

Check out the link to buy tickets: http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/gigs-contemporary/tickets/feel-free-energy-with-solus3-and-damo-suzuki-69568

...and to listen to our music: http://solus-3.bandcamp.com/music

Happy listening,

Julia x

Dear All,


The Purcell Room gig was almost a sell-out! Thanks for coming if you were there....we had a great night, and Jan Dunning's films and images really helped to bring another expressive medium to our soundscape.
The Not So Silent Movies season at King's Place has come to an end, sadly. We will be back however, resident in Hall 1 as of September, and have some fabulous guests lined up to join the usual motley crew which includes, Phil Sheppard, Elspeth Hanson, Guy Pratt, Geoff Dugmore, Pete Furniss, Pip Eastop, Mark Neary and myself.
Preparations for Solus3's 3rd album are in the pipeline, as well as a return visit to the SouthBank next March....we are organising a series of dates around this time, so I will keep you posted on this as and when.
The War Of The Worlds New Generation goes out on the road again at the end of the year, and rehearsals will be beginning in November. I am signed up to reprise my roll in the Black Smoke Band on percussion, harp and a new keys part too.
More news soon........happy June,


Julia x

New Year Update:

Hello all,

Just to apologise for a lack of updates, but I've been struggling with health issues and am now starting to feel normal once again. The Solus3 album launch was unfortunately cancelled due to my being ill back in November, but we are very much on track for our Purcell Room debut in early April, and really looking forward to playing the South Bank, with the help of the wonderful artist and Solus3 album artwork photographer Jan Dunning. I really hope that you can join us for what I'm sure will be a great night of audio and visual stimulation. Please get your tickets now!
I'm also looking forward to our collaboration in the studio with guitar wunderkind Matt Baldwin. Solus3 plan to spend a day in the studio with Matt experimenting and jamming and generally seeing what will happen in mid March.
Not So Silent Movies continues to be a project that feeds my exploratory leanings. The next one takes place at the opening night of the Bath Literature Festival in March, and there are a few dates at Kings Place, so check the 'live' page for those.
Hope to see you at one or more of the above, but in the meantime, may you stay warm and cold-free!

Julia x

Please do come and join Solus3 at their toe-warming, finger-tingling album launch on November 28th.
We will be playing The Green Note, Camden and it promises to be a night of great musical moments.

We'll be playing a mixed set, songs/tracks from our debut 'The Sky Above The Roof', and songs from the new album, as yet untitled, but being mastered shortly!
All your support is greatly appreciated, so please show us you love us by coming down! Myself, Ian ('Lunar Dunes' bass), Hami ('TransGlobal Undergrd' drums), Krupa ('TransGlobalUndergrd' on vocals ), Francesco (trumpet and crazy vocals)and Gemma ('Lulu and The Lampshades' on vocals and guitar) will all be there...

On a different (but similar?) musical note, I'll be taking part in the second 'Not So Silent Movies' concert at the spacious new King's Place on November 6th, at 3pm. The first in the series a few weeks back saw the birth of a wonderful project. Musicians organise themselves on a stage, a silent film begins to appear on the screen, and the musicians begin to play, not having rehearsed or even discussed tempos or keys. Our first outing was a resounding success and these concerts look to be the first of many. Thanks go to Philip Shepperd for organising and instigating this exciting idea!
If you would like to come along and witness something rather special and yet still very much in it's infancy, book tickets by going to the Kings Place website.
love,
Julia x

Solus3 at The 12 Bar

 A BIG thank-you to all those of you who graced The 12 Bar on Denmark St last Thursday evening with your energy and good vibes, we are happy that you came to support us.
Did you enjoy it? We had some really wonderful feedback from a whole gaggle of you, which would lead us to the conclusion that you did.
The next Solus3 date for your diaries is 28th Nov. at the Green Note. This promises to be a warmly attended night as we proceed to launch the second album, so don't be shy, come down to Camden and share the space with us ♥
I am taking part in a wonderful project at King's Place in the next few months. Dates are Nov. 6th and Dec. 4th. Come along for 'Not-So-Silent-Movies' and enjoy an improvised score to some great B&W silent films...just follow the link below to find out more and book tickets.
http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on-book-tickets/curated-weeks/not-so-silent-movies-mini-series

Stay warm and don't get blown away,

Julia x




 

Dates for your diary :-)

Solus3 play the delectably dinky 12Bar once again to welcome the release of our next album on September 8th, get yourself there for an intimate affair. Don't arrive too early however, or you may be asked to assist us in getting my harp on that stage...no mean feet as we can attest. 
We also grace the stage of The Green Note in Camden on November 28th. This be the official album launch, so promises to be a lovely atmosphere and loads of fun. Have harp, will party.
Happy listening and good luck out there wrestling the beast that is an average British summer, and if you're not in the UK, wrestle it anyway,

Julia x

Many thanks to those of you who came down to The Borderline on Friday to see Lunar Dunes set....we played a bunch of tunes from the debut album, 'From Above' and some tracks from the newly released second album, 'Galaxsea'.......a very enjoyable set. Thanks go to the Here and Now Band for allowing us the support slot, Dave Weller for organising, all members of the band, and last but not least my guest roadie, Gary....thanks for all your help! All in all a great week for my two favourite live projects.
Looking forward to playing more gigs soon. More news as and when. In the meantime, enjoy the storm clouds,
Julia x
PS: Click on the photo above to take you straight to Russell's Flickr page where you can view more great shots of Solus3 playing live :-))