DKOS Artiste 2nd Feb 2024 :- Chris Fox. – Loes & Honza. – Monique Clare. – Paolo Coruzzi. – Solea

Chris Fox

Award winning 21st Century contemporary singer-songwriter Chris Fox is an independent musician spanning the roots lexicon of Folk, Americana, Country and Blues. A genre defying troubadour, audiences are enthralled by his rich vocals, complex guitar playing, and loop pedal alchemy finding Chris to be humorous & thought provoking in equal measures. His naturally laid back, unostentatious style creates the perfect ambience for an intimate and inclusive live experience drawing listeners in with tales of the everyday and the unexpected.
Chris released his first album ‘From the Shadows’ in 2019. In September ’22 Chris followed up with his second album ‘In Plain Sight’ both released to critical acclaim. His music over the years has been aired widely internationally and on radio stations across the UK including BBC Radio and has seen press support from titles such as Folk Radio UK, RnR magazine, Irish Music Magazine and AmericanaUK, while gaining a nomination for Best Male Artist of the Year from FATEA, 2023.Born and raised in Cambridgeshire, Chris Fox cut his teeth playing for pints in local drinking establishments along the river Great Ouse in 2014. Fast forward to an award- winning singer songwriter, Chris has performed at Folk Festivals, Clubs and Theatres in the UK and Europe as Headliner, in Double Bills and support for major acts on the UK Folk Scene.

Loes & Honza  – Prague

This international duo consisting of Dutch singer/guitarist Loes van Schaijk (sounds like “Lucy”) and Czech singer/fiddler Honza Bartošek (AKA “Johny Bart”) plays acoustic songs from various genres. Their broad and multilingual repertoire (English, Czech, Dutch, and Gaelic) is a mixture of Loes’ original songs, American country and bluegrass classics, Irish and Scottish pub songs, folk ballads and fiddle tunes from the British Isles and Canada, and covers of pop hits from artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Crowded House, and Tracy Chapman. 
Loes and Honza are not only gifted vocalists and instrumentalists but also charming personalities with a natural stage presence that invites you to smile, tap your feet, nod your head, sing along, get up and dance, or drift away into pleasant daydreams. 
Home in Prague, Czech Republic, Loes and Honza particularly love to travel, play living room concerts, and meet new people: this has brought them to Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, the UK (Sofar Sounds Southampton), and Ireland.
Loes van Schaijk: vocals, guitar
Honza Bartosek: vocals, violin

Monique Clare – Brisbane

Wielding a cello and strikingly crafted vocals, multi award-winning songwriter Monique Clare delivers indie-folk laced with chamber pop. Impactful and emotive, her music embodies the cathartic lyricism of Björk with the rhythmic energy of The Waifs. Driving rhythms collide with heart-tugging harmonies; compelling vocals are woven through intricate cello lines. Her disarmingly candid stage presence is born from years of touring the US, UK, Ireland and Canada with The Maes and playing cello for everyone from Kate Miller-Heidke to Eminem. Her 2022 debut album ‘Sight’ was Contemporary Album of the Year at the Australian Folk Music Awards, also earning a QLD Music Award and Best Music Video at the West End Film Festival. Featured on ABC’s The Music Show, described as a “laudable and overdue debut” by Listening Through The Lens, ‘Sight’ tracks a journey through trauma and pain to growth and love. Monique’s intrepid nature has seen her teach cello in war-torn Afghanistan, lead audiences up a dark mountainside for sunrise concerts, and represent Australia at the World Expo in Dubai. With a smile as wide as the Cheshire cat’s, and an audacious tendency to reveal her deepest secrets onstage, her live show is offbeat and mesmerising

Solea

Solea was formed during lockdown with aim of producing songs influenced by Flamenco and Latin music and just generally having some fun. As working musicians we have a wide range of influences from rock to jazz via Turkish pop and shred guitar.
4 musicians , stripped back arrangements and a bucketload of energy.
Gerry Magee/David Sim – Guitar
Jon Mulrine – Bass
Colin McGibbon – Percussion
Solea’s new album Sketches is released on Nov 6th, featuring guest performances from Jack Smedley (Fiddle), Martin O’Neil (Bodhran) and Jim McEwan (Piano).

Paolo Coruzzi – London

Paolo Coruzzi is an Italian songwriter, composer and stage director, based in London.
He has independently composed, produced and released solo albums, as well as soundtracks for theatre productions and songs for other artists. He began his music career in 1992. He is also an accomplished singer and guitarist who has performed all over Europe and collaborated with numerous international artists.
Paolo has a unique writing style that has developed over the years whilst traveling around the world, through literary studies and ongoing poetic research.
This led him to win first prize of poetry at the Pirandello Stable Festival in 2012.
He started his career in theatre and cinema in 1998 and, alongside an intensive period of training in drama school, he spent seven years acting and improving his skills in stage directing at the Teatro Regio di Torino, working under the prestigious direction of Franco Zeffirelli, Josè Carlos Plaza, Ugo De Ana, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and John Cox.
Since 2002 he has written and directed a considerable number of plays, including “The Bald Soprano” by Ionesco – “The Trojan Women” by Euripides – “A Doll’s House” by Ibsen, staged in various UK venues. 
Paolo had various teaching jobs throughout his career, like teaching Italian Literature, Humanities, Music and Drama in primary/secondary schools and academies. He has an MA in Humanities and Arts from University of Turin, a Diploma in Classical Guitar from Trinity College London, and he recently attained an MA in Archaeology from UCL.