A Fanfare for Truly scrumptious!

Here's a little bit about our competition co-stars for the gig this coming Saturday 22nd November at the stunning venue The Convent.

A Fanfare Of Strumpets bring a touch of glamour to acapella singing with their debut album Truly Strumptious. 

The recording is packed full with 15 tracks of harmonic lusciousness ranging from Country Life, Sorry the Day I Was Married, Collier Lads and The Widow’s Promise to fresh interpretations of standards like Dream A Little Dream Of Me, a splash of Swedish and mediaeval French and unlikely love songs such as the Velvet Underground’s I’m Sticking With You and the cheese-drenched Chef’s Love Song.

The ladies are Helen Vincent, Celia Webb, Blanche Rowen and Sue Ansell have been singing  together for a few years now, and have appeared at Beyond The Borders international storytelling festival, Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Brecon Midsummer Folk, Llantrisant Folk Club, Brecon Jazz Fringe and even supported the legendary The Magnificent AK47 for one show on their first cross International border foray.

They operate under the ‘eclectic acapella’ tag which means that their performances have a wider appeal than if they focussed on just one genre. They started with Swedish, Breton and French dance songs but quickly added more English language songs (and a few Welsh ones too, of course): classics like 'Dream', folk and traditional numbers, some  doo-wop and a few wacky random ones just for fun. They have a huge backlog on their wish-list of pieces to do but it’s finding time to work on them all that’s the challenge ...”

Helen and Celia are both Natural Voice teachers, leading numerous local groups including Singing For The Brain sessions for Alzheimers patients and their carers, and open song days under the name Singplicity. Blanche  is Wales’ first full-time folk development worker, managing Trac, the folk development organisation for Wales, as well as singing in a duo with her partner Mike Gulston. Sue is an ecologist who claims that "Singing with the Strumpets is about as much fun as she can imagine having publicly with three other women"!

The album was recorded using solar power at Dylan Fowler’s studio in Abergavenny, Stiwdio Felin Fach, and mastered by Donal Whelan at Hafod Mastering. It features artwork by the band and the CD itself shows a chocolate cake iced by Sue. It's available online at www.fanfareofstrumpets.co.uk or at live shows.

If you weren't convinced to come just to see The Magnificent AK47, then you should come just to see the ladies and get us as a freebie bonus!

For full details of the gig to buy tickets so you can actually be there CLICK HERE, if you simply can't be there then you still have no excuses to miss out and can view the gig live or later via the internet if you CLICK HERE and sign up.