Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.
Tickets £11 adv + bf from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes also available.
Winter Sprinter 2023 Spotify playlist here
THE LEAF LIBRARY
The Leaf Library are a north London band playing experimental dream-like music built on layers of chiming guitars, pulsing electronics, noise and looping drones. They have released three studio albums (Daylight Versions, About Minerals and The World Is A Bell), a collaborative LP with Japanese artist Teruyuki Kurihara (Melody Tomb), and a recent double LP of rarities and compilation tracks (Library Music: Volume One).
The band formed in the mid 2000s around singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton. After the departure of original drummer Rob Smoughton (Hot Chip, Black Peaches) the band (including bass player Gareth Jones of Wintergreen) recruited drummer Lewis Young, guitarist SJ Nelson and singer/percussionist Melinda Bronstein, releasing their debut Daylight Versions (5* - The Guardian) in 2015.
The World Is A Bell was released in 2019 and gained reviews from, amongst others, Uncut (“World-weary yet innocent, blissful dreampop”, 8/10), The Quietus (“an expansive and rich listening experience, full of wandering basslines and disorientating rhythms”) and Electronic Sound (“brims full of their slowly rolling blend of drone pop... a real pleasure to explore”).
In their live shows the carefully constructed and occasionally delicate sound world of their records is replaced by a much noisier and intense experience, helped by the addition of an ever-evolving collective of musicians including saxophonist Daniel Fordham (The Drink, Steven Adams and the French Drops), flugelhorn player Laura Copsey and Mike Cranny, both of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations.
On their studio albums the band have collaborated with musicians as diverse as Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele, singer Ed Dowie, noise group Far Rainbow and string collective Iskra Strings, and have provided music for a number of exhibitions, films and performances. Over the last few years they have released five Monument CDRs; an on-going series of experimental solo and side projects on their Objects Forever imprint.
LANDE HEKT
Lande Hekt’s natural state of being is in the writing of a song. Having crafted politically aware, heart-on-sleeve, punchy yet tender, punk-flecked songs with her band Muncie Girls, Lande turned her hand to an even more personal songwriting approach as she embarked on writing a solo record - 2021’s ‘Going to Hell’. The debut full-length documented her experience coming out as gay. It set out her stall as a solo artist with supreme storytelling abilities and a knack for understatedly luminous melodies.
With her debut album barely a year old, 2022 sees Lande armed with a whole new collection of song-form vignettes and musings on her life and experiences.
JESSICA’S BROTHER
Jessica’s Brother are a London trio comprised of songwriter Tom Charleston, Jonny Helm (drums, also of The Wave Pictures) and Charlie Higgs (bass). Channelling the spirit of the Brothers Grimm to create an otherworldly atmosphere, they weave their motley influences together making a rich and eclectic vision, with nods to Silver Jews, Jason Molina, Nick Cave, Richard Thompson and Neil Young. There are themes of joy, anger and silliness in a carefully crafted world with a colourful cast of characters.
The trio formed in October 2016. Jonny and Charlie worked together in a framing business and had often talked about collaborating in a band together. Fate intervened when Jonny’s girlfriend Jessica introduced him to her brother Tom, and they found a songwriter in waiting.
Weaving a variety of influences from jangly indie-rock to gothic country and contemplative psych folk, Jessica’s Brother create the sound of a band coming together and getting caught up in the rush of starting new and enjoyable. The instruments clamber over each other in a small room, with Helm’s distinctive drumming counterbalances the gothic guitar thrums and wailing violin. Already lauded by the likes of The Guardian (for their first ever gig) and the Saatchi Magazine (for their first single), the scene is set for a bright future.