Sara Lowes + Plank

Some artists are singers; others add songwriter to their resume. Others, like Sara Lowes, are something far beyond either simple category: aural visionaries – who are as much about scoring, production and arranging as they are about singing their own tunes.

She’s always been a woman in demand; however these days, Manchester-based songwriter and musician Sara Lowes is dictating that adoration on her own sweet terms. A long-established session musician, Sara’s talents have crossed many a musical path playing for bands and artists such as The Earlies, King Creosote, Daniel Johnston and Marina And The Diamonds, to name but a few.

Garnering comparisons to the sass of Debbie Harry and the airy vocals of Alison Goldfrapp, Lowes’ songs bubble with everything from the primordial soup of Technicolor pop to acoustic folk, through jazz, and kaleidoscopic prog. Lowes is an artist plying her craft for the long-haul, clearly harbouring ambitions of a different kind.

‘I’ve alway seen myself as a musician rather than a solo artists of any kind,’ says Lowes. ‘It leaves the door open for anything to happen – therefore my ambition grows naturally and I trust the choices I make.’

A favourite among BBC 6 Music DJs such as Marc Riley and Stuart Maconie, Lowes’ solo releases to date have received rave reviews from the press, noting her skill for fusing classic influences through thoroughly modern composition and production, emerging as a true genre-defying talent and one to watch.

‘With a voice somewhere between Alison Goldfrapp and Joni Mitchell, and songs that veer between folk, Brill Building pop and Dexys Midnight Runners-esque soul, Sara Lowes is a curious proposition’ – Q, 4*

Support comes from instrumental group Plank.

Kraak is a performance and exhibition space in the Northern Quarter. It’s down a cobbled street, just behind Fit To Dance off Stevenson Square.

Price: £6 adv
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