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Rochentune are...
Jakey Graupner - guitars,
mandolin, voice, loop station
Nicki Barnes - flutes, whistles, crystal-clear voice
The music that Rochentune [rɑk-ɛn-tun]
perform is a melange of traditional songs from all over the UK and
Ireland, and songs & tunes written by Jakey, all arranged by and for Rochentune.
To see them live is to witness a rollercoaster of musical emotions,
ranging from heart-rending ballads to full-on joyous jigs, reels &
songs.
Nicki trained
classically in flute at the Royal College of Music, where
she won the top flute prize, two prizes for all-round musicianship and
exhibition scholarships on both flute and piano. In
her time she has toured and performed with the London Philharmonic and the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, played live on Classic FM, and at a host
of prestigious concert venues, and her
interest in folk music has led her to South America where she played quena
in the Orquestra de Instrumentos Andinos and taught the flute to blind
students.
Nicki has recorded several CDs including a CD of folk influenced
repertoire and performed improvised flamenco music, as well as playing
whistles and flutes and singing in the now deceased Irish Folk Band Penradin.
She and her brother have also worked extensively on Lord Menuhin’s
"Live Music Now!" scheme, which focuses on involving the
community, and their flute and marimba duo has been very popular with
H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, whose guests they have regularly entertained
at the Royal Households.
She is extremely versatile (and fast!!) on flutes, whistles, quena and all
manner of woodwind instruments, and is excited about singing and playing
Celtic/Folk tunes and songs with …
…Jakey, who was classically trained to concert standard on violin
up to 14 where a life-changing event saw him eschew four strings for six:
he changed to guitar - just as he was to be enrolled into the Yehudi
Menuhin School. Since then he has toured and gigged all over the UK and
Ireland plus some slots in mainland Europe, both as a solo singer/
songwriter (on his 12-string guitar), and various bands and projects; most
fittingly a good two years with Celtadelic Folk Metallers Bluehorses,
where he rocked out furiously on mandolin, as well as a range of guitars.
He plays all manner of guitars, mandolins, ukulele… and is currently
dusting off his violin too.
Just as Nicki will get tunes out of any wind instrument, Jakey will get
good stuff out of a slab of wood with a neck and strings (with or without
his looper) …and together
they are the two human halves of Rochentune - a new twist on
traditional musical values.
Nicki met Jakey while they were both working in a school in Thornbury, and
without knowing either one’s musical background, agreed to try out some
folk tunes together. Something wonderfully clicked immediately, and they
played their first gig at the Septemberfest in Rockhampton, just two
rehearsals after their first meeting.
The name Rochentune is steeped in antiquity, as it is taken from
the Domesday Book name for Rockhampton. A most apt name, as it is where
Jakey and Nicki rehearse, and played their first gigs.
2012
saw the official launch of their first CD “Reel Jiggery”,
which is a collection of tunes and songs showcasing every instrument and
style of music that Rochentune perform. Jakey wrote three of the
tunes, and all but one of the pieces have been arranged to suit two
instruments.
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