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are one of the most exciting bands to emerge out of the UK alt-folk scene. The London based band have performed at festivals across the UK including Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Larmer Tree and 2000 Trees, cementing themselves as a festival favourite with their musicianship, heartfelt narratives, and exhilarating dedication to performance. They recently recorded a new album at Realworld Studios with producer Steve Osborne (Elbow, Doves, KT Tunstall, PJ Harvey) which is due for release in early 2012.

The band's new recordings have also lead them to be picked by Peter Gabriel and Real World to be the latest featured artist on the Society of Sound - the members club of speaker company Bowers and Wilkins - joining previous artists such as The Unthanks, Portico Quartet and Cara Dillon.

Among their plaudits they have been selected as a highlight pick by the The Independent in their top ten gigs of the week and also described as 'Sweepingly memorable' by Metro and 'Terrifically atmospheric' by the Telegraph. Their music has been used for national television, including a UK-wide advertising campaign and they were picked out by BBC Introducing (Bristol) as one of their festival highlights of the year.

The Summer of 2011 has been spent touring and performing at festivals including The Big Chill, Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Winterwell and Wychwood, where they were chosen to perform on the BBC Introducing stage at the festival. Their touring has also seen them play alongside the likes of The Travelling Band, The Staves, Stornoway, Mt Desolation, Pete Roe and Basia Bulat.

Urusen combine the best of the current British indie folk scene and great contemporary American bands like Midlake and The National, as they shift effortlessly between something intrinsically English and something akin to the epic Midwest. Acoustic and electric guitars, drums, cello and double bass, as well as an eclectic array of other instruments such as harmonium, banjo, charango are all woven underneath rousing harmonies into the band's modern folk rock-tinged pop arrangements. With a lyrical, story-telling signature, and a stirring delivery, you’ll be an eager companion on a captivating journey, wistful at times, but ultimately uplifting, and one you'll want to join them on again and again.

Reviews

'British breakthrough talent'
Music Week
'A spellbinding triumph'
Faded Glamour
'Terrifically atmospheric'
Telegraph
'Sweepingly memorable'
Metro
'A five-piece doing rather lovely things to folky instruments with excellent melodies and harmonies – that’ll do for me'
Gil Mills: Best of Myspace