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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.