TAKEDA

The Unit AMA: Newcastle trio The Unit Ama was born twenty-one years ago. A self-titled album self-released in 2003 was re-released on Gringo 2005 and a live album on Tusk Recordings in 2012. This year finally sees the release of their second studio album album Toward, a title suggesting they plan to be around a few more years yet. The band's approach to songcraft owes much to Rumah Sakit and the better-known Storm and Stress -- bands whose recordings date back quite a long time now. And it's worth mentioning that not many bands have the skills to pull off what these bands pull off. Much of The Unit Ama's music alternates between post-punk drive and controlled noise. The odd time signatures and the arrhythmic convulsions spike the sound. There aren't always melodies to hang on. There aren't always rhythms you can tap your feet to. It's like riding Space Mountain: you can't see or predict what's ahead but you welcome the unexpected nature of the ride. Takeda: From a dead end town in East Anglia, UK. Takeda first existed in 2010 as a freak-folk/raga-rock trio led by then 17 year old Josh Harrison. Their first album Hufsa made a few ripples in the burgeoning indie-folk scene in the UK at the time. Then a 12 year sleep fell over the band as they disbanded and distracted themselves with the banalities of modern life. In June 2022, after a crisis of faith and broken relationship, Josh reformed Takeda, recruiting childhood bandmate David Woodgett on bass and Charlie Wilson on drums. After a year of reimagining Josh's old songs and writing new ones, rehearsing every week without fail, performing wherever they could and honing their sound into a muscular yet delicate, powerful and intricate thing, they are ready to begin releasing their new material in the summer of 2023. They are on tour in the UK in June and July. linktr.ee/takeda_band Nick Jonah Davis: Nick Jonah Davis is a guitarist and composer drawing primarily on British and American folk traditions. His most recent release, ‘When the Sun Came’, was featured as one of 12 ‘Best of British’ guitar records in Acoustic Magazine, with a 5-page feature on Nick in the same edition. It is one of Folk Radio’s ‘Best Albums of 2020’.