Bill Laurance & Michael League
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“For us to take a common project and drive it forwards together is an affirmation of who we are: we're just good friends and we're celebrating that with this album.”- Bill Laurance
There are some duos which can seem as if they have been patched together. And there are others which come into being naturally and completely of their own accord. The pairing of pianist Bill Laurance and bassist/oud player Michael League is very much one of the latter; the two musicians have known each other since student days. During a chance meeting in Leeds, England, as sidemen on a one-off project, the two quickly formed a musical bond that would grow through the formation of Snarky Puppy in 2004 and its development over years of touring together, a number of solo al-bums and collaborations, and finally, in 2020, the birth of their duo.
Bill Laurance and Michael League’s new duo album, Keeping Company, is at the opposite end of the spectrum from all the extraversion, large scale and sheer oomph of Snarky Puppy; the focus here is on a shared inner perspective. That much is apparent immediately from the choice of instruments. Laurance has cast aside electronic keyboards and concentrates on piano, acoustic in sound although the piano strings have been occasionally and lightly prepared. Michael League chooses a fretless acoustic bass guitar and the oud. An extreme contrast to the pure groove of Snarky Puppy, here he goes for a transparently sparse but atmospherically rich sound. They do just fine without the band, creating a special freedom for both participants.
“The oud in itself has a specific associative space,” says Bill Laurance from the orchestral perspective of the piano. "When I compose, my aim is to transport the listener. That works with the sound of the oud. It's not a guitar, it has something exotic about it. It's a canvas on which you can paint a lot of things. On the first album, we discussed whether Michael should play a fretless nylon string guitar. He tried it out, but it didn't produce the same emotion as the oud. Due to the oud being fretless, it can access a whole new world of expression and created new colours for the duo. That fascinated us.”
Bill Laurance and Michael League are still in the wonderfully inspiring phase of joint exploration. Everything is open. The music sounds spontaneous and intuitive. It has the power of the personal and builds on a friendship in which shared humour is a part of what happens naturally. Perhaps one day other players will join in. But for the time being, this intimate musical dialogue is the ideal form of artis-tic conversation for Bill Laurance and Michael League.
Book For A Pre-Show Dinner
Make your dinner reservation to eat at our Margins Cafe before the show!
You must have a general admission ticket for the show to gain entry for dinner.
Doors will open for early dinner ticket holders at 18:00.
The Margins Cafe serves delicious, freshly prepared food at gigs and events. All profits go towards The Margins Project, based here at the Chapel which works with people who face issues of homelessness and crisis.
Book Your Dinner Reservation HERE
More Information:
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The venue is seating only. All seats are unreserved and are taken on a first come first serve basis. Please arrive early before event door times if you have preferred seats. Due to the nature of our venue, please be prepared to queue for entry.
The venue is fully accessible, with use of ramps and the upstairs bar is accessible with use of a platform lift. Please email [email protected] with your accessibility requirements as soon as you purchase your ticket as requests are dealt with on a first come, first serve basis.
The bar is located on the first floor of the venue and will be open from the stated door time and remain open after the show.
Alcohol consumption will be limited to the bar area only, it is not permitted to take alcohol to the main chapel space. An array of soft drinks and snacks will also be available and are permitted in the main space - please note the Union Chapel bar and kiosk accept card payment only. Strictly no food or drink may be brought from outside into the venue. Water bottles must be emptied before entering the venue, with refilling stations available inside.
Seats for Margin's Cafe Early Dinners can be reserved via the links above. Margin's Cafe accepts both cash and card. If you have any queries about Margins Cafe, please contact [email protected]