Moveable Feast

It is impossible to shoehorn the music of Moveable Feast into a genre, or even genres, so the rather inadequate summation (Roots, Folk Rock, Reggae) enforced by the limitations of Myspace categories comes nowhere close to a true description of the bands repertoire. Formed in 1995 in the highly multi-cultural environment of South London and with initial musical influences ranging from Les Negresses Vertes to The Pogues it has never been easy to pin the music down and that, according to MF's lead singer and songwriter, Mitch Feral, is as it should be. In Mitch's view there is no such thing as purity in music as, especially now that cultures have such opportunities to mix, everything influences everything else and, in any event, when you consider the melting pot that the UK has always been we are "all creole" as he puts it.So the music of Moveable Feast encompasses numerous styles and, in some cases, with South American Rhythms partnering English folk melodies for instance, the band manages to successfully combine entirely different traditions to produce new and exciting hybrids. But in celebrating so many different kinds of music doesn't MF run the risk of diluting them all and failing to find a direction of its own? Where is the unity amidst the variety? The thread that holds all this together is Mitch Feral's songwriting. Whilst he draws from so many traditions, Mitch is a highly articulate and individualistic songwriter with a nice line in infectious melodies and hooks and so, whether the basis of the music is Cajun, Blues, Reggae or anything else, the song is indubitably Moveable Feast. The band are also incredible live and, whilst the line-up changes, the commitment to giving vastly entertaining live performances never varies. I can honestly say that I've never been to a Moveable Feast gig that did not cause the crowd to shout for more, and then more again! "WASHED UP IN LONDON" (1995) is MFs first album highlights of which include the title track and the original version of "Best Day" both of which are still very much part of the live set. many live gigs and a few changes of personnel later "SPEAK IN DREAMS" (1999) was released and in the same year the band gave an acclaimed performance at the Shetland Festival. In 2003 and 2004 MF did popular tours of County Mayo and County Cork and before releasing the third album "BLUE MONDO A LA CARTE" (2004) and the band is now a regular fixture at The Black Horse and Sidmouth Festivals. The release of "BELLA SIEMPRE" (2006), the fourth album, coincided with a residency at the Bedford in Balham. MF has recently released a single "(I GUESS YOU'D CALL IT) A MOVEABLE FEAST", a fairly new song which , for obvious reasons, is rapidly becoming a signature tune and a fifth album "TWELVE BALLADS" is to be released in December 2006. MARK J