News

Lotte Mullan Heads Out On The Caffeine Tour

• 14th Oct 2010

Critically acclaimed British singer songwriter Lotte Mullan announced today that this October she will complete the fastest caffeine fuelled tour in the UK. Teaming up with Café Nero she will be performing a staggering 20 gigs in 10 days, travelling the length of the country showcasing her rootsy songs: a captivating mix of soul, folk and country that tell stories of characters and experience we know all too well.

Starting on 18 October and performing two venues per day, Lotte Mullan will perform songs from her debut album ‘Plain Jane’. It’s an album about growing up, and is intended to sound, Mullan says, “very much like a First Record. I wanted there to be a certain naivety to it.” Musically, though, it is the result of a somewhat surprising meeting of minds. Mullan has worked on the track with Phonat, an Italian DJ and producer who has been heralded by the likes of Annie Mac, Rob Da Bank, Kissy Sell Out and Norman Cook. Anyone hoping for the missing link between Johnny Cash and Swedish House Mafia might be disappointed, but Lotte and Phonat have found an intriguing middle ground of their own, shaping the song’s gentle guitar and heartbreaking lyrics around a quietly hypnotic beat.

Lotte spent her early years trying to sing exactly like Tom Waits: a resulting throat problem and an enforced-singing ban quickly saw her change tack. Finding her own voice seems an apt metaphor for the sound of ‘Plain Jane’, her debut album. The record was inspired by two key events. Firstly, the record collection her Dad left behind after her parents divorced when she was four years old: it contained gems from the likes of Rickie Lee Jones, Bobbie Gentry, Kirsty Macoll and The Beatles. Then, at secondary school, Lotte spotted a strange boy with big headphones who would walk around the school in silence. A curious Mullan desperately sought out the music he listened to (old blues and folk from the 30s), falling in love with both the artists and the boy himself.

Lotte Mullan has a distinct, tell-it-how-it-is approach to writing honest and positive lyrics about other people’s experiences. Alright With Me is emblematic of this: “It’s the one songs that everyone gets” says Mullan, having road tested it by gigging relentlessly round the country, playing for everyone from old men in folk clubs to a much younger crowd when she undertook a 50 date school tour.

The intricate ‘Fire In My Soul’ soundtracks the refusal to compromise, whilst ‘Wicked Way’ – a cover of the Ben Taylor song – is transformed, describes Lotte, “from this sleazy, Rohypnol anthem into some sort of feminist statement. It wasn’t intended as such, but it shuts everyone up when I open my live shows with it.”

Lotte Mullan will release her debut album, Plain Jane, through her own label Raindog Records on January 10th. It will be preceded by the single ‘Can’t Find The Words’ on December 6th.

The Caffeine Tour Dates:
October:
Chiswick 18th Noon Chiswick 2, 386 Chiswick High Road, W4 7TF
Nottinghill 18th 7pm 113 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UP
Windsor 19th Noon C8/9 Windsor Royal Station, SL4 1PJ
Oxford 19th 7pm 14, High St, OX1 4DB
Brighton/Hove 20th Noon 39-40 Bond St, BN1 1RD
Tunbridge Wells 20th 7pm Unit 200, Royal Victoria Place, TN1 2SS
Cambridge 21st Noon 17, Kings Parade, CB2 1SP
Norwich 21st 7pm 20 Gentlemans Walk, NR2 1NA
Peterborough 22nd Noon 36 Long Causeway, PE1 1YG
Leicester 22nd 7pm 47 Market Street, LE1 6DN
Nottingham 23rd Noon 2 Central Avenue, West Bridgeford, NG2 5GR
Huddersfield 23rd 7pm 1 – 3 Kings Street HD1 2QD
Manchester 25th Noon 67 Deansgate, M32BP
Liverpool 25th 7pm 38 Castle Street, Liverpool L2 7UE
Birmingham 26th Noon Unit 4, 143-151 High St, Harbourne, Birmingham B17
Worcester 26th 7pm 30 The Shambles, Worcester WR1 2RE
Bristol 27th Noon 7-9 Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1QE
Reading 27th 7pm Unit R6, The Oracle Centre, Reading, Berks. RG1 2AG
Piccadilly 28th Noon Piccadilly 2, 26-28 Piccadilly W1
Brompton Road 28th 7pm 124-126 Brompton Road, London SW3 1QG

Upcoming Tour with Ben Montague/Al Lewis:

November:
Sun 7 Liverpool Baby Blue
Mon 8 Stratford Cox's Yard
Mon 15 Huddersfield Bar 1:22
Tue 16 Leicester Musician
Wed 17 Braintree High Barn
Fri 19 Basingstoke The Forge
Sat 20 Crewe The Box
Sun 21 Brighton Brighton Ballroom
Mon 22 Wolverhampton The Robin
Tue 23 Sheffield The Boardwalk
Sat 27 York The Basement
Sun 28 Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Arts Centre TBC
Tue 30 Hull The Lamp
December:
Fri 3 Peterborough Met Lounge
Wed 8 Oswestry The Ironworks
Thu 9 Hay on Wye The Globe Theatre

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