Alison Cotton + Special Guests

About

Alison Cotton is a London-based composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist whose music centres on viola, harmonium, and layered vocal drones. Originally from Sunderland, she first emerged in the UK underground in bands including Saloon, The Eighteenth Day of May, and, more recently, The Left Outsides, before beginning her solo career in 2018.

Her debut, All Is Quiet at the Ancient Theatre, introduced her long-form, place-inspired approach to composition. It was followed by Only Darkness Now and The Portrait You Painted of Me, both acclaimed for their immersive atmospheres and emotional depth. All three albums appeared in The Quietus’ End of Year lists, with Only Darkness Now topping their New Weird Britain chart and The Portrait You Painted of Me was Folk Record of the Month in The Guardian.

In 2024, she released Engelchen, a work inspired by the lives of Ida and Louise Cook and their efforts to help refugees escape Nazi Germany. The album deepened her interest in narrative composition, blending historical research with her distinctive drone-based sound.

Her music has received regular airplay on BBC Radio 3 and BBC 6 Music, she has recorded sessions for Late Junction, Riley & Coe, and The New Music Show. Cotton tours widely across the UK and Europe and appeared at festivals including Le Guess Who?, Roadburn, Krankenhaus and Supernormal.

On this tour she will be playing music from a new album and will be accompanied by Mark Nicholas on percussion, harmonium and synths.

Presented by Melting Vinyl.

This is an 18+ event