The Blind Pig in Sowerby Bridge will play host to a double bill of highly original musical talent on Friday 21 October, featuring Les Gillon & The Agents of Karma and a rare UK appearance by Dorr.
Les Gillon is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who is best known as frontman of the alt-rock band Fez, but who throughout his long career has explored a whole range of musical territories, including experimental collaborations with dance and performance practitioners and longstanding work with folk trio Ghost School and improvisation collective Fire Tower 4.
His latest venture, Les Gillon & The Agents of Karma takes his music into a whole new context, bringing together a group of outstanding musicians from the worlds of jazz, classical and folk music. The result is a unique sound, sometimes intimate, sometimes cinematic, that defies categorisation and underpins the lyrical intensity of the songs, which delve into the personal and political realms with equal depth and insight.
Dorr is the solo project of John Dorr, an English musician who is now based in Nancy, France. The former leader of neo-classical band Stems, his career highlights include a UK tour with DJ Yoda, performing at Blue Dot festival with his personal heroes Kraftwerk and scoring the soundtrack for the short film, Between The Lights directed by Michael Groom, who has worked on film productions such as Prometheus, War Machine and The King.
With this project Dorr sings both in his native English and adopted French, combining electronic and industrial percussion with layers of shimmering guitar and toy instruments to create music that is difficult to classify.
The music of his new album, Systems of Desire is often dark, yet also tender with a delicate essence framing the deep and intimate voice. Recorded in several countries while touring, each song has its own story and is its own story. The CD version features 12 page lyric sheet and translucent artwork.
Speaking about the forthcoming gig, Les Gillon said, “I’m really pleased to have Dorr on the bill. I last saw John perform several years ago and I was so impressed, not only by his musicianship but also by his willingness to experiment with sound and musical form. And great that it will be at The Blind Pig, a venue that has done so much to support live music of all kinds.”
Director of The Blind Pig, Julie Mareth Hall said, “It’s going to be a beautiful night with music of outstanding quality.” The show begins at 8.30pm and is free of charge. Tickets here.
Photo credit: Nigel Plant
Les Gillon 
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