BIOGRAPHY
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN....
In the darkness of late winter 2009, in the music city of Bristol in England, North American chanteuse Katya Gorrie and International guitar virtuoso Denny Ilett stumbled into a pub and met a young Django guitarist. The three of them naturally found themselves chatting about the swing music of the 30’s and 40’s and the Parisian songwriters of the 50’s. An idea had started…
Not long after this fateful meeting, the three new friends met a classically trained violinist whose passion for music of all genres was infectious and inspiring. So naturally the four musicians started to create a small set of music derived from these ideas. Denny’s long time friend and exceptional double bassist was called in to complete the quintet, and Moscow Drug Club was formed.
Early gigs in the bars and clubs of Bristol provided evidence that Moscow Drug Club made a noise that made people happy….
“Moscow Drug Club’s amazing talent left me and all of those around me baying for more…”
“Moscow Drug Club played a beautiful set consisting of musical talent beyond technology, beyond fx pedals and amp make, reminding us all of where music came from and what it is about.”
“When Moscow Drug Club made their first appearances last year it seemed that they were artfully designed for success”
Since that time, they have continued to purvey their interpretations of highly fashionable gypsy swing and leftfield cult classics along side beautifully written original material that seem to be pleasing crowds and critics alike.
Although together for a relatively short period of time, Moscow Drug Club have played some great venues and festivals of note including: National Theatre London, Le Quecumbar, Royal Albert Hall, Harbourside Festival, Dartmouth Festival, Larmer Tree Festival, St George’s Music Hall, Colston Hall,
Birmingham Jazz Festival, Trowbridge Village Pump Festival, Twinwood Swing Festival & Bands In the Barn Festival, to name a few.
Moscow Drug Club released their self-titled debut album, in 2010, which has received critical acclaim, and are now looking forward to recording a second album this autumn.
Since that first fateful night, when the seed of an idea became a reality, Moscow Drug Club have grown and changed, with various member moving on, and new exciting ones coming on board.
The core members of Moscow Drug Club are experienced and talented in their own right...
-Katya Gorrie, trained in both classical and jazz music as well as theatre and dance and has toured Canada, the US and Europe.
-Denny Ilett, a world class guitarist having spent many years touring with the ambassador of music from New Orleans, Lillian Boutte.
-Double Bassist, Andy Crowdy, has played with the likes of Lollo Meier, Angelo Debarre and John Etheridge.
-Newest member, classically-trained pianist Mirek Salmon has started making a name for himself as a jazz accordionist specialising in the musettes of Gus Viseur as well as being an in demand composer and Musical Director.
Moscow Drug Club are currently enjoying the wonderful and very talented pool of musicians who appear with them, playing Guitar or Trumpet, Violin, or sometimes Clarinet!
Moscow Drug Club always provide an exciting musical experience and an entertaining night of performance that encourage audiences to sing and dance and go home with skip in their step and a smile in their heart….
See you at the next gig!
A few quotes from the press....
“It happens every now and then that a brand new band emerges that seem to have been almost artfully designed for success….Moscow Drug Club is one of those bands!”
“Moscow Drug Club….brilliantly rendered, crowd pleasing cabaret tuneage raised to the level of magnificence by virtuosic playing!”
“Moscow Drug Club is one of those ideas whose time has definitely come….”
“A combination of a sound based in highly fashionable gypsy swing and a repertoire of leftfield songs and cult classics delivered with a knowing cabaret-style dryness add up to a recipe to please both critics and crowds”
“Firmly established as one of the most popular acts hereabouts!”
What the press say..
Elinor Goodman finds a fantastic gig in Pewsey: Moscow Drug Club
26 October 2012.
My ticket for Pewsey’s Bouverie Hall last Friday turned out to be the best six pounds I’d spent for years. The quality of the band was as good as anything you would find at Ronnie Scott’s in London’s Soho –
A five piece band with the unlikely name of the Moscow Drug Club. It’s not, of course, because they are junkies, it’s the title of a song they have made their own. They sang a fusion of jazz and folk and other songs which defied categorisation.
The lead singer, Katya Gorrie, has a wonderfully smokey sultry voice, straight out of a German cabaret in the l930s. Alongside her was a superb trumpeter whose drooping eyes made him look as if he was completely out of it, but when he played a riff, he came to life.
The guitarist, Denny Ilett, had magic fingers too. Each musician took their turn to elaborate on the melody and disappear into their own musical world, before Katya took up the tune again.Katya Gorrie
I imagine they usually play in clubs where people dance rather than sit in rows, but they seemed to genuinely enjoy coming to Pewsey. They may well come back to the area because in the audience were talent spotters for both the Devizes festival and the Marlborough jazz festival. But it was good that Pewsey got there first.
Elinor Goodman was Channel 4 News’ Political Editor
and has more recently been working in radio.
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