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FAMILIAR CREATURES

FAMILIAR CREATURES

Biography

Be very curious. There’s something about London’s Familiar Creatures that you won’t have heard before. The band met in unromantic gumtree-related circumstances back in 2012. Hellish ferry journeys, mouldy tents and poorly judged jumps off sea walls have since made up for this initial lack of back-story. Now Familiar Creatures are carving a place of their own in the capital with the launch of their residency night ‘Creatureville’ earlier this year.

Having moved to East London from far corners of England, Wales and Dublin, it’s a motley range of influences that goes into their sound. The sincerity and confidence of Irish folk greats past and present are a defining force for Dubliner Brian Kelly’s lead vocals and lyrics. But straight-up folk crooning is not what the Creatures are about; a shared addiction to Dr John, Paul Simon and more contemporary indie rock means the sound they’re going for is darker, faster and bluesier – all further twisted by horn lines concocted from a strict diet of Fela Kuti and New Orleans brass.

Over two years of gigs and festivals what could have turned into miscellaneous noise has bedded down into something very solid and truly unique. Setting up camp in a DIY studio in Hackney Wick, the Creatures danceable songs have landed on the playlists of BBC 6 Music and BBC London, and carried them through a festival season where highlights included Castlepalooza and Vantastival (Ireland), Curious Yellow (Peterborough) Galtres (Yorkshire) and Bath Festival.

The band set up their latest venture ‘Creatureville’ with the aim of connecting like-minded bands, growing their scenes and giving a better deal to music fans. The monthly night has been a sell out so far – any artists looking for attentive audiences without having to battle sharking promoters are urged to get in touch.
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