3 Daft Monkeys

Cornish gypsy-folk band 3 Daft Monkeys’ 4-piece line-up features Athene on fiddle, Tim on 12-string guitar & vocals, Lukas on bass guitar and Richie on percussion, adding a fuller and richer sound. The band weave world music influences around classic folk melodies and their passion, intensity and sheer joy of life mixed with their infectious dancing rhythms will leave you breathless, enthralled and exhilarated. The desire to dance at one of their live shows is irresistible!

3 Daft Monkeys release their sixth studio album 'Of Stones and Bones' in 2013 - their most story-led and theatrical album to date; a compelling collection of songs that draws the listener into the bizarre and mysterious world of Cornish tales and superstitions, both ancient and modern. 

Tim Ashton and Athene Roberts form the heart of the band, and during a break from gigging due to the birth of their son Arlo, Ashton turned his songwriting gaze on his adopted home county of Cornwall. The wild Celtic heritage and folklore of Kernow shines through in these songs, the roots of which delve deep, touching the stones and bones that are the fabric of this epic landscape and its wild and colourful inhabitants. 

Characters are brought to life in a theatre of sound, from upbeat mischievous musings on the god of the sea, Bucca Dhu, to the tragic and heart-wrenching tale of Jenny Trayer and her unfortunate child, from tales of curses inspired by a hair-raising night in the Boscastle Witch Museum to the eccentric story of Reverend Hawker, all the colourful otherworldly life of the region is here. 

In traditional 3 Daft Monkeys style, the songs hold up a looking glass to their subjects and invite us to step through, much like Alice into a Wonderland. Whilst exploring the old tales, Ashton manages to throw new light on them; in 'St Agnes the Giant Killer’ he poses the question of whether the sainted local heroine Agnes was just a cold hearted murderess? Likewise in the playful 'One and All' he considers what has happened to the elusive Cornish quest for independence.

Whilst containing the intoxicating blend of rhythms and styles that is instantly recognisable as 3 Daft Monkeys, there is also an added dimension of traditional Cornish tunes within the songs. Of Stones and Bones' is musically the most diverse album the band has produced, and the first that double bass player Lukas Drinkwater has performed on. He also lends his vocal skills making it possible for the first time to create spine-tingling three-part harmonies. To add a new dynamic impact, percussionist Rich Mulryne, has been invited to lend his varied drumming styles both to this album and the live shows. 

3DM is the perfect band to engage with this mythic landscape, themselves icons of the underground counter culture of the last decade.

www.3daftmonkeys.co.uk