Balladeste & Ana Silvera at SJQ
Balladeste & Ana Silvera
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ana Silvera joins Balladeste for the second in their series of SJQ ‘In residence’ nights sharing new music & growing collaborations.
This exciting trio will present a newly co-written collection of songs interspersed with improvisations, alongside sharing new work from both.
Sunday 15th December
Doors 6.45pm – Music starts 7.30pm
2 sets with interval starting at 7.30pm – Music finishes approx 9.45pm
More about Ana Silvera:
“Silvera combines a poet’s feel for language with a film director’s sense of the epic” BBC Radio 3
Ana Silvera is an acclaimed English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose alt-folk tunes are lyrical, intimate and emotive, works of lavish, vivid imagination. Ana’s latest studio album ‘The Fabulist’ (2022) was recorded with award-winning producer Gerry Diver and described as “riveting” (Bandcamp Editorial) and “extraordinary” (Folk Radio UK). The album title, meaning ‘teller of fables’, speaks to Ana’s love of story-telling, each song a vignette, a poignant snapshot in time that deftly weaves poetry and melody to sublime effect.
More about Balladeste:
‘Narayanan’s and Franks’s collaboration is pure magic… There is nothing remotely quite like it’ BackSeat Mafia
Balladeste is a collaboration between cellist Tara Franks and violinist Preetha Narayanan. Writing all new music collaboratively, this unique string duo interweave contemporary minimalism, Indian classical and folk to create all original compositions that are vibrant and experimental yet melodic and filmic in quality ‘songs without words with an alt-folk experimental twist’. Having released 3 acclaimed albums of all original music to date, the duo have performed live and been interview on BBC Radio 3 In Tune, Radio 4 Woman’s hour, Soho Radio and NTS. Drawing on influences as far ranging as the singular melodies of visionary Hildegard of Bingham, the modal minimalism of Arvo Pärt, harmonic palette of Purcell via the minimalism of Philip Glass, Balladeste’s musical breadth is equally akin to the likes of Caroline Shaw and Liam Byrne as the Madras String quartet and Silk Road Ensemble.
In the last couple of years Balladeste have been collaborating with a number of new artists to open up their unique process of co-writing, working with string players nationally and internationally to create new arrangements and exchanges, collaborating on dance/theatre pieces, and becoming an integral part of a focused songwriting process. The ‘In Residence’ Servants Jazz quarters series will share new work in progress over 2025/2026.
Reem Kelani with Bruno Heinen
