Michelle started playing piano and folk & classical guitar as a tiny tot, and by 14yrs swore she'd be in a band one day. She and Ben are the founding members of Magicfolk and together they write the material. Her early music loves include Pink Floyd, Boomtown Rats, Bowie, Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young, Joan Armatrading, and many others. She has also spent a lifetime in theatre as actress, stage-manager, and waved long bits of steel around in her former existence as stage-fight choreographer, fencing instructor and martial artist. She's now trying to think about how to incorporate Tai Chi sword forms into a gig... Michelle is also into hens, cats and other furry or feathery characters.

 

Ben writes a large percentage of the Magicfolk material with Michelle, and has a keen ear for harmonies and musical arrangements. He comes from a background in blues, classical, folk and rock music and has always wanted his own orchestra… His many influences range from Bowie, Brubeck to Jimi Hendrix. He’s also been around the theatrical scene, which is where he met Michelle (she was attacking him with two rapiers at the time). He has several other ongoing musical projects at the moment including composing music for theatre and film - as part of the Lemontiger sound design outfit. Ben also likes brightly coloured drums, old synths, ethnic samples and cats.

 

Miki is a versatile keyboard player, with several racks of mind-boggling technology, and has played all over Europe. Having moved to the UK from Czechoslovakia he brings a welcome cross-current of European influence into Magicfolk’s music. He has composed for film/shows and in 2001 came 2nd place in the Europe International Circus Award, Paris. Miki is also an experienced electrical and electonic engineer & designer. He loves anything that has pretty coloured lights and is usually completely hidden on stage behind towering racks of synths and gadgets - if it flashes, he’s happy.

 

Amber is a super-talented flautist with a photographic memory. Before joining Magicfolk she had never really sung much before, but now thoughtfully listens to a complex middle-line harmony once and then sings it like she’d known it all her life. Kate Rusby, Lost Prophets, Evanescence and Imogen Heap are in the top of her favourites list and musical influences. In her spare time Amber moves between playing lead flute in the Youth Orchestra, gothic art, and cats. She is also presently on course for an Art and Textiles degree and in the process of developing a photography project fueled by her wild imagination and eye for strange images.

 

Jo also struts her stuff in an all-female jazz band where she dons sweet little horns and wears lots of red… (best not to ask, really) She has also been in various other jazz quartets and folk-rock bands. Jo has spent a lot of time doing strange things with ‘sound-scapes’ and enjoys all kinds of music from Bach to modern experimental, and is presently investigating the world of jingles. She is a writer as well as musician, and is writing a novel about the alter-ego (which several of the band members would benefit from reading...) In the ideal world Jo would be finishing it off whilst lounging on a very hot beach in the Bahamas.

 

Andy is a true child of the 60’s, being fed a healthy diet of the Beatles and Bob Dylan as well as having to suffer Jim Reeves and the New Seekers and other such horrors at the hands of his parents. Nearly scarred for life, he found solace during the 70’s listening to the likes of Deep Purple, Rush and Thin Lizzy. He bought his first guitar at 16 and took the giant leap into the magical world of music. Having played in too many classic rock bands, Andy changed direction and discovered the psychfolk world of Magicfolk. He’s usually seen playing his beloved Gibson Les Paul Classic, through the glorious sound of a valve amp and Boss pedal board.

 

Clive played originally with jazz bands, then moved into rock/tamla and American east coast influences, and then got drawn into more progressive forms of rock. He’s played in The Block, Lloyd Alexander (Audience), Felix, Unit 4+2 and then Valkyrie. More recently Clive gigged with the Charlie Harpers Blues Band, The BBs and Fit as a Fiddle (aka Talisman). He has his own recording studio specialising in acoustic instruments, vocals & spoken word projects, and was a film editor for the BBC. Clive has a passion for collecting early drums and cymbals (especially Turkish cymbals). He also enjoys fast British cars - Ginetta, Trident, Piper, Clan and Scimitar, and will happily tell you in depth all about his Lotus, whilst fondly patting it on the bonnet.

 

Alex is friend and saviour of the band, often transporting people around, giving them a roof over their heads, lifting too many things that belong to other people, and regularly supplying a shoulder to cry on. She can often be seen with a huge range of various things to hit, shake or point and wobble at people, in her varying roles as hand-percussionist, and occasional stand-in on bass and other instruments when needed. Alex has been in various bands from punk to rock and always involves herself to the full in whatever she does, whilst at the same time being model mother of three talented young offspring each living out their own musical and creative ambitions.

 

Geoff, drummer extraordinaire, who has played drums all round the world, sometimes plays with us when we want MORE DRUMS... with Greek, African and jazz rhythms which - if it's late enough and after enough drinks he can’t be stopped from playing, either on full drum kit or his fabulous set of congas. Geoff keeps everyone on their toes, be warned - some rhythms may be too much for the faint-hearted. In his spare time Geoff drums, and he also does a bit of drumming, and if a kit is not available then the table will suffice. Just make sure you can count properly. Geoff also speaks fluent Spanish and Greek, and tries to regularly escape from the UK in search of sun. He may also occasionally be seen jumping out of heliocopters...

 

Chris is a versatile keyboard player and an excellent lead & acoustic guitarist. He played classical piano from an early age and now will casually sit down with a glass of Châteauneuf and absent-mindedly compose a quick sonata whilst thinking about something else, and then look at you wonderingly when you ask about it. Chris forms half of Lemontiger (the other half being Ben) which specialises in music and sound design for film, theatre and other media. He is a skilled photographer, and also a carpenter, presently looking at an old barn and thinking about transforming it into a recording studio. Chris likes skiing, anything to do with France, and listening to a vast array of music.
www.magicfolk.co.uk