The right place at the right time

The outside of the pub as seen from the men's urinal. © Magnus Andersson

I went to catch up with my friend Sara in a quiet pub the other night, close to where she works in Farringdon. Neither of us had been there before, we just happened to chance upon it; the evening was nice so we had a beer outside.


Solo song from the brilliant guitarist/singer top left-ish. © Magnus Andersson

Soon though, musician after musician started turning up, one after the other with their instrument cases. After about 10 of them had arrived I had to ask what was going on.


Beginners to experts, all were welcome. © Magnus Andersson

It turns out that every first Monday of the month they are gathering there for a session in Greek, Cypriot and Byzantine music, and we were in the right place at the right time. Everyone was welcome, and it was free.


More musicians than spectators. © Magnus Andersson

For most of the night there were more musicians than there were people in the audience, with lots of musicians popping in and out of the session. We met some really nice people who explained the songs to us and I was invited to bring my own guitar for the next session so that I could start playing these songs myself.


Some traditional Greek dancing. © Magnus Andersson

Bouzoukis of all sizes were most prominently featured, but there were also guitars, violins and cellos, along with some percussion and an accordion and of course lots of voices singing, and towards the end, some Zorba style dancing too. It was quite incredible to hear 20+ musicians playing and singing the same song. I cant remember the name of the pub, will update here once I get the facts.

Craze 24

© Magnus Andersson

This week has kind of flown by, not too many jobs, just nice and steady. Nothing noteworthy either though, no BIG news coming our way at the moment, at least photographically, so here's a nice little shoot instead which I did before I went off on holiday. Craze 24 is an up and coming South London rapper, real nice guy too, we had a good session down in his studio. Check out his myspace. Also, its always fun to shoot musicians because they wanna be seen, they're not scared of the camera. Makes my job so much easier!


© Magnus Andersson

He used to be into some bad things you know, but music is taking him to a different place. This (below) ran on the front page but sadly I was away, I didnt even know it was going to be on the splash but there you go. Claire (sub) did good as always though, so big up to her.


© Magnus Andersson

Away from the city with Elks

We left London behind for a relaxing time out in the country, and I couldnt have been any happier. Combining a bit of photography for a friends' band and then some sightseeing; sounded ideal. Best laid plans...

Some map reading problems meant we took a detour of appx. 45 miles (72 km) leaving us off, waaay off schedule. Nevertheless, we found our B&B, a place which I can highly recommend, especially seeing as they have just achieved their 5* rating, and then we set off for the main reason for this impromptu trip: Elks!

Recording music is difficult at the best of times, and entering such an atmosphere trying to photograph it is even worse. Luckily, Guy, who runs the studio is a very agreeable man, and Elks are likewise, so apart from shit light in the studio and a lot of stress within the band of getting things back on track, there wasnt much stress!

In the end I shot some frames on Saturday afternoon/evening, and then we came back on Sunday morning. I think I have enough in the can to save the venture, but next time I would like to have some more time and some more light at my expense, please. It would have been nice to see a bit of Kent as well.

Anyway, picture: A possible cover, but Elks will have final say, so keep checking their label.