The Willkommen collective is a group of 25 musicians working across a dozen or more projects. They initially joined forces through the band Shoreline, the first Willkommen Collective band. This then was followed by Sons of Noel and Adrian, The Miserable Rich and The Leisure Society (pictured). All the other bands have grown out of these acts.
Shoreline and Sons of Noel and Adrian’s Tom Cowan tells Neon Filler that the name for the collective came about as the bands share the same cellist William Calderbank, meaning they literally have Will in common. The Miserable Rich were also touring Germany at the time and its lead vocalist James De Malplaquet thought Willkommen would be a nice linguistic tie in, says Cowan.
Aside from the Willkommen bands themselves members of the collective can be seen playing in other bands and have members in Lightspeed Champion. Willkommen members were also in the now defunct Hope of The States.
The bands have been gaining exposure over the last year, with BBC 6 Music being one of many DJs showcasing their unique sound.
Here’s a selection of some of our favourites on the label.
The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society are the Willkommen act most likely to break through in a big way this year. Their sound is very radio friendly, but still perfectly in line with overall feel of a Willkommen act. They also have an easy hook for journalists as songwriter Nick hemming was previously in a band with Paddy Considine and Shane Meadows.
The band’s debut single ‘The Last Of The Melting Snow’ has also been honoured with an Ivor Novello nomination for ‘Best Song Musically & Lyrically’, in esteemed company up against Elbow and The Last Shadow Puppets. Their debut album, The Sleeper, is available now on Willkommen Records.
Band members: Nick Hemming, Christian Hardy, Helen Whitaker, William Calderbank, Michael Siddell, Sebastian Hankins, Darren Bonehill and Beatrice Sanjust di Teulada.
Shoreline
Shoreline are the band where it all started and their members can be seen through most of the other Willkommen acts. They play folk music with a rich orchestral feel and in Beatrice Sanjust Di Teulada they have a vocalist of real skill and subtlety. ‘Shipwrecked’, from debut album Time Well Spent, is an epic that could have been recorded at any time in the last 100 years. Time Well Spent is available now on Willkommen Records.
Band members: Tom Cowan, Nick Hemming, Willam Calderbank, Beatrice Sanjust Di Teulada, Mike Siddell, Alistair Strachan, James De Malplaquet and Jacob Richardson.
Sons of Noel and Adrian
Sons of Noel and Adrian may be a difficult proposition to an audience in the age of Xenomania with their old world sound. To anyone who has been fortunate enough to see their foot stomping live show they make perfect sense. Big harmony vocals and driving percussion make songs such as ‘A Wreck is not a Boat’ a real listening experience.
Band members: Jacob Richardson, Tom Cowan, William Calderbank, Mike Siddell, Catherine Cardin, Jo White, Alistair Strachan, Nick Hemming, Rowan Coupland, Marcus Hamblett, Daniel Green and Helen Whitaker.
The Miserable Rich
The Miserable Rich have been described as chamber pop or, by the NME, as “orchestro-folk”. Neither of these terms quite sums them up but do go some way to define the lush orchestration and hushed vocals that make up their sound. A slightly easier proposition to market than their more folky colleagues, their debut album Twelve Ways To Count has had rave reviews from a wide range of publications.
Band members: Will Calderbank, Mike Siddell, Jim Briffett, Rhys Lovell and James de Malplaquet.
by Dorian Rogers, Apr 2009
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