"They don't play together very often, but when they do it's spectacular" 5***** R2 Magazine
Periodically, the bringing together of influential musicians, all with their own unique identity, produces an electrifying force that is even greater than the impressive sum of its parts.
As a trio, Gigspanner, formed by fiddle player Peter Knight (ex-Steeleye Span), has established a reputation as one of the most genuinely ground-breaking forces on the British folk scene, inspiring Maverick magazine to write "Gigspanner are pushing at the boundaries, expanding the possibilities and in the process making some of the most beautiful music the genre has to offer" 5*****
BBC Folk Award winners (Best Duo) Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin are described by The Guardian as being "Subtle, bravely original...a combination of virtuosity, intensity and charisma"
And as if that collaboration wasn’t exciting enough in itself, enter John Spiers, co-founder of Bellowhead and one half of the magical duo Spiers and Boden, and most recently, Knight and Spiers.
Their appearances together, with Roger Flack on guitar and Sacha Trochet on hand percussion, are a rare, but highly sought after affair, thanks to performances of dazzling musicianship and arresting on stage chemistry.
Taking self-penned material along with music rooted in the British Isles and beyond, with the flick of a bow, a finely chosen chord or slip of a beat, they produce richly atmospheric arrangements layered within a wealth of subliminal musical influences “with notes seemingly plucked from the stars and rhythms from the equator” Spiral Earth.
Press Quotes
"True creativity speaks to the heart and entertains the mind with fresh ideas and images, and what brilliant entertainment this is. Knight has a knack for identifying the essence of a tune or song, pulling it apart and presenting it back to you in a way that surprises and refreshes. Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry simply make sublime music that has an otherworld of undercurrents and motifs woven through it. Put them all together and some alchemical magic occurs"
5***** Spiral Earth
"The Gigspanner Big Band is a unique musical proposition, taking folk music down new and enthralling paths. They are also one of the most exciting live bands you are likely to see this year, or any year, for that matter"
Folk Radio UK
"Totally blown away by the spellbinding Gigspanner Big Band. Lost for words..." Folking. com
"What a fabulous team they make, together producing a startlingly new musical form with few, if any, antecedents, even within the hallowed world of prog and folk-rock. The flights of musical fancy are staggering in their natural invention"
Fatea Magazine