Hark! Me Lost Me & more
Hark! The Sound of Stories brings light to the dark months
With Crown Street Library currently undergoing renovations, HARK! has found a new home at Hash Bar, Darlington. The audience is treated to music and readings in an intimate, friendly, candle-lit (and fully accessible) space, with the bookish atmosphere brought by the audience and organisers through the HARK! Book Exchange! Audience members bring a copy of a favourite book to leave, and pick up a new discovery in its place!
HARK! features artists who are making music based on stories and poetry they’ve read, overheard, researched and inherited.
Huge thanks to Arts Council England & Creative Darlington for making this series of events possible
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A beguiling mix of soaring vocals and atmospheric electronics that playfully push the boundaries of genre, ME LOST ME delights in experimenting with songwriting and storytelling. Led by Newcastle-based artist Jayne Dent who takes influence from folk, art pop, noise, ambient and improvised music, the project has transformed since 2017 from a solo endeavor to an expanded group; regularly collaborating with acclaimed North-East jazz musicians Faye MacCalman and John Pope. Me Lost Me’s music has been described in The Guardian as 'stripping folk back to its bones while letting its future echoes bleed out', and by BBC Radio 6's Tom Robinson as a 'brilliant peculiar noise'. Dent's writing is influenced by books that experiment with storytelling through a specific constraint or format, including Italio Calvino's The Castle of Crossed Destinies, David Eagleman's Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, and Lauren Berlant and Kathleen Stewart's The Hundreds: 'I think about these often when writing lyrics and improvising - the way they experiment has constantly inspired my approach to making music.'
Darlington author LISETTE AUTON will read an extract from The Hundreds, by Lauren Berlant and Kathleen Stewart.
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Expect atmospheric electronica paired with captivating vocals from REBECCA DENNIFF. Rebecca is a singer and composer based on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. (Storm Chorus, Subphotic, Bonfire Hill) She is influenced by the wilderness and the real and imagined worlds that she finds in the works of a range of authors and artists. She is currently working on two projects with cult label Castles in Space: Wardle Rigg (a geo-located tour of the wild moors) and a folkloric almanac called A Year on Bonfire Hill, with collaborator and partner David Owen (Storm Chorus, Band of Cloud, The FLK, The Hollow Men). Through her improvisational performances with Band of Cloud she had been working with the hyper-real world of the Ladybird books. Another recent musical exploration is a journey into the worlds of Susanna Clarke. They are there, just out of reach, if you look for the way in.
Award-winning poet and author HARRY MAN will read an extract from C.S Lewis's The Magician's Nephew.
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A powerful, soulful voice delivering story-driven songs, KIM RALLS is a forceful presence onstage, with a sound and style all his own. His songs draw on a mixture of his own experiences, the inspiration he finds from books and films, and the love of a strong narrative to weave compelling stories backed by guitar and cello-mandolin. Born in Norwich and now based in the North East of England, Kim has been making a name for himself as a compelling performer whose songs have connected with audiences wherever he’s played.
Poet Dianne Casey of the Tees Women Poets will read an extract from Walter Lorde's A Night to Remember.
The history of HARK!
HARK! is a series of events presenting music inspired by writing. The inaugural HARK! took place November 2019. Held in Darlington’s beautiful Crown Street Library, an enthralled audience packed out our unique venue to see memorable performances from The Shining Levels, Storm Chorus and Ed Woods, with relevant readings from local authors Bob Fisher and Tracey Iceton.
Although plans for more live events were derailed by the pandemic, with support from Creative Darlington and Darlington Borough Council, throughout 2020 and 2021, a series of virtual HARK! events premiered on YouTube and featured artists from around the world and closer to home, inspired by writers including Emily Dickinson, Ted Hughes, Angela Carter and Langston Hughes. Acts included The Bookshop Band, Stick in the Wheel, Polly Paulusma, Leyla McCalla and Josphine Foster, and writers Tom Cox, Lisette Auton, Dianne Casey and more, with all introductions filmed at Crown Street Library.
Hark returned to live venues in 2022, with music from Nel Unlit, Faithful Johannes, and an unforgettable halloween show featuring Martha Hill, Anna Hughes and Phil Cox, with readings from Lisette Auton and Ann Cuthbert.