NEWS: Farida Amadou & Jerusalem In My Heart @ Gosforth Civic Theatre

Image: Farida Amadou

Having emerged out of the post-lockdown wilderness with a new lease of life as a venue for live music, Gosforth Civic Theatre hosts a unique and rewarding double bill on Monday 11^th July as they play host to Farida Amadou alongside Jerusalem In My Heart.

A self-taught electric bass player residing in Belgium, Farida Amadou’s list of collaborations is as extensive as it is eclectic: having performed with musicians like free jazz pioneer Peter Brötzmann, avant rock icon Thurston Moore and experimental guitarist Pavel Tchikov (Amadou and Tchikov’s recent album Mal De Terre stands out as a disorientating but compelling listen), she’s also been a member of cult punk act Cocaine Piss. Given the scope of her ability and range, the running theme in her work is a dedication to keep learning, keep playing and keep pushing for rewarding, dazzling new sounds.

Long running audio-visual project Jerusalem In My Heart themselves boast a broad CV: multi-instrumentalist Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and filmmaker Erin Weisgerber have curated festivals, provided film scores, collaborated with electronic rock band Suuns and released a quartet of their own albums, deploying Moumneh’s melismatic singing and buzuk playing alongside modular synths and field recordings and Weisegerber’s film stock manipulations. Forging ahead with an ambition of creating modern experimental Arabic music, their site-specific performances remain consistently fresh and evolutionary.

Farida Amadou and Jerusalem In My Heart play Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle on Monday 11^th July.