Live Music: Birkett Hall (a.k.a. Moscow Fish)
Birkett Hall
Ea Birkett .. vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion…
Ted Hall .. vocals, guitar, slide guitar, harmonica…
“Birkett Hall play the kind of soul music that only comes around rarely on this spinning, crazy blue marble. Theirs is a sensibility that blends multiple influences seamlessly, alchemically creating new realms of experience. Years of film work in Canada, collaborations with Thailand’s finest musicians and traditional artists, the amazing live performances at the Half Moon Festival on Koh Phangan, technical brilliance in electronic/acoustic blends, deep poetic language…it is a unique genre-defying mix. As Mingus said ,” it’s MUSIC,” with a capital M.
When you simply feel good around certain people and then add to that the bonus of great musicianship, isn’t that what Maestros are all about? Humbleness, dedication,and generosity of spirit too. Birkett Hall: Maestros of Sonic freedom, synergy, synchronous heartbeats.”
Liz Gilbert/Audiosapien Records/Hearth Foundation
Although Birkett Hall was until recently known as “moscowfish” their name change ends some confusion (long story) but doesn’t change a thing about their approach to creating music and performing it live. Their music is powerful, lyric driven, vocal driven, song-based, performed with high energy, and coming from the roots of blues, folk, jazz, rock, and world beat and the end result is a sound that is uniquely and undeniably their own. It’s two people making you feel the story.
They are genuinely drawn to new and different approaches to creating music, either live on stage or in the studio, and are involved in diverse side projects, producing and co-producing music with other artists. They have a knack for finding extremely talented artists for certain types of live engagements or recording projects wherever they are on the planet. They are often sharing audio files across the web – digital audio files flying through the ether between Asia and Europe. Maybe it’s a lead vocal, spoken word, or instrument track. More often than not it’s their free-form stream-of-consciousness improvisation. They have also both been session players on many recording projects, including music for television and film.
Birkett Hall left Canada for Thailand in 2009 and took some time off for development and to record a fresh new body of work. Thailand remained their home-base from 2010 to 2015 during which time they explored the possibilities there and in Malaysia, mostly focusing on festivals. In 2013 they started venturing to Europe for short tours during the warm months but always returning to Thailand to continue ongoing recording for their own projects and for projects with various Thai artists, primarily building a body of work with Tud Nakhon and doing festivals with him.
In 2010 they were drawn into the EDM scene by the owner of the HalfMoon Festival on Koh Phangan Thailand which is one of the biggest Electronic Dance Music hotspots in Southeast Asia. When they became the resident “chill-in live act” for the festival, they quickly developed a new genre of music fusing their singer-songwriter roots with Goa trance, resulting in an ambient, cinematic style with a heavy spice of Pink Floyd/Massive Attack/Portishead . Their acoustic music got sidelined for a time due to the influence of the EDM but in 2014 they started to lean back towards their roots. Since that time they have recorded various diverse albums:
Blue, an unplugged album. Red, an album that is definitely in the ambient chill-in EDM realm.
Out of It, a world music fusion album with Tud Nakhon. And in 2016 they released 2 birds, an album that seems to combine all of the above, ranging from subtle acoustic numbers to power electric anthems, and includes a few tracks from their fusion album with Tud Nakhon.
Come and enjoy a night of music with Birkett Hall – Canadians at large in europe for the past 2 years on a home visit and playing one night at the Horsethief in Radium.. more info visit birketthall.com
Live Music at the Horsethief
The Horsethief Creek Pub & Eatery has a vibrant live music scene. Live Music has been a part of the Horsethief for over 7 years, and we do dozens of other music events through the year including special events like Radium Days and the Columbia Valley Classics annual Show & Shine.
We host a variety of bands and musicians at the Horsethief, from local bands to groups traveling through from all over the world. If you have a band that is interested in performing, please send an email to Larry Newman, Music Director, at rockrambler601@gmail.com. Your email should include links to your website, music samples, and any social media you have, and potential dates you are available.
The Venue & Village
The Horsethief Creek Pub & Eatery hosts many great events all through the year, including Yuk Yuk’s Stand Up Comedy, Magicians, Burlesque & Live Music every Sunday. Great seating and viewing options for guests and a full dinner and bar menu.
The Village of Radium Hot Springs is a peaceful mountain village in British Columbia’s Columbia Valley in the heart of the Kootenay Mountain Ranges. Only 2h45m West of Calgary, Radium Hot Springs borders on Kootenay National Park.
While visiting Radium, stay with one of our many boutique accommodators, and plan on visiting the Radium Hot Springs Pools, the new Zipline, one of the great courses on the Columbia Valley Golf Trail, or this list of many other things to do. Radium is neighbours to communities in the Columbia valley like Invermere, Panorama, Windermere, Fairmont Hot Springs, Canal Flats, and Edgewater.
