Nicola Kearey & Ian Carter have been making music as Stick In The Wheel since 2013.
The radical East London duo are known for their intense live shows exploring the raw holler of folk, synths, spoken word and intricate guitar fuzz. They present full-force reworkings of centuries-old work-songs with fragments of ancient texts that speak to contemporary issues of class – an inherently political act. Their relentless approach to questioning traditional music forms is matched only by the energy that they bring to it. Full of hope and resistance, they continue to push forward contemporary roots music, whilst celebrating music from our collective histories – conjuring the past to point toward the future.
Read about our many collabs and projects here.
“If there’s anyone who deserves their props amid this surge of attention directed towards radical folk, it’s Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter of Stick In The Wheel, who’ve been bringing an energy, political urgency and experimental drive to traditional music for a decade.” The Quietus
“Stick In The Wheel approach folk music with satire and guile…weaving together sounds and histories of the cultural palimpsest of London…directly engaging with both the discourse and sound of tradition” The Wire
“A remarkable psychogeographic voyage into a thousand years of London culture” 9/10 UNCUT
“Absolutely brilliant” Marc Riley BBC6 Music
“Powerful – and deeply relatable” Pitchfork
“Maximum innovation” The Observer
ELSPETH is a queer singer-songwriter weaving traditional folk, alt country and punk influences into a mesmerising dark folk sound. Currently based in rural Herefordshire, she plays a mix of original and traditional songs accompanied by guitar and drones. Elspeth’s work has been championed in the past year by artist and folk researcher Ben Edge and Lankum’s Ian Lynch on his podcast Fire Draw Near.” Her recently released third album, Mercy Me, has received highly favourable reviews from the Guardian, Folk Radio UK and Trad Folk, with Folk Radio describing it as “an album full of ideas, but more importantly, full of feeling, a raw, moving triumph.
Right at the opposite end of the Acid Morris aural spectrum, organchrist will be bringing some of the most abrasive and intense live noise techno Centrala has ever seen, and we’re saying this advisedly, as regular attendees at the many excellent hard and experimental electronic noise events hosted at the venue. Recently seen opening for techno legends Regis and Function – so expect that kind of sound, at its hardest end. All live though, so who knows where they’ll go.
So. How do you get from Elspeth Anne to organchrist in two steps? Elspeth Anne to Stick in the Wheel. Stick in the Wheel to Acid Morris Soundsystem. Acid Morris Soundsystem to organchrist. Easy! Acid Morris Soundsystem? Imagine Ceephax Acid Crew playing Cecil Sharp House. And then forget we said to imagine that, cause comparing yourself to Ceephax is sacreligious, and arcane Morris politics means that a Border-affiliated side could never perform at the home of the EFDSS. And after organchrist? Our very own Reckitt, closing things out with gabber and breakcore. Nowhere else you really can go after organchrist…
And as previously announced, our special guest headliners for the night are STICK IN THE WHEEL, playing an exclusive set that you won’t hear anywhere else. The most exciting folk band playing in England today, playing their only show in Birmingham this year.
If you came to the last event for the folk, you know this band. If you came for the electronica… Stick in the Wheel are the DJ Bus Replacement Service & Surgeon of the contemporary folk scene. Does that make sense?
No-one turned away due to lack of funds: just drop us an email at squire@theacidmorris.net