tAngerinecAt

We're super excited to be bringing a totally one-of-a-kind evening of music to Base Camp...

tAngerinecAt

Nothing is quite like a hurdy-gurdy. The tone of the rare instrument is a bit like that of a viola, a bit like an accordion, and more than a little like an analog synthesizer on an otherworldly setting. But while the hurdy-gurdy is associated with folk dances and medieval courts, in the hands of a master, it can make music that's strikingly modern. Eugene Purpurovsky of tAngerinecAt is a musician like that, and the hurdy-gurdy is the hand-cranked engine that powers the duo's remarkable sound.

tAngerinecAt matches the Ukranian-born Purpurovsky's hurdy-gurdy, voice, provocative lyrics, and production with the sound transformation, synths, bagpipes, and ethereal whistles and recorders of musician and sound designer Paul Chilton. Originally formed in Ukraine, where Chilton lived and studied music and the band has historical and musical roots, tAngerinecAt are now based in the UK. Both artists contribute samples, ambient noises, and processed beats that evoke DIY techno, raw punk rock, and spectral folk traditions in equal measure.

Many Kettles, the pair's fourth album, casts a particularly dark spell. This is electronic music with a furious human pulse: a bold dance in the face of cruel authority that evokes "the feeling of a rave in a mausoleum" as Ben Knight LeftLion put it. It's also an outlet for Purpurovsky's fiery statements of intent. The singer and hurdy-gurdy player has plenty to say about the parlous state of the world; "I Don't Want To Be A White Master," the kickoff track on the album, is a furious rejection of the rising global culture of fascism and cruelty. Through tAngerinecAt, Purpurovsky strikes back at oppression of all kinds – class, cultural, economic, ethnic, gender, and interpersonal – and invites the listener to join the resistance.

They have four independently released, successfully selling albums that have had airplay on BBC 2, BBC 3 and BBC 6. The band has toured internationally in Ukraine, UK and Russia.