This is the Earthship, a vessel for musical exploration. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new soundscapes, to seek out new chords and new rhythms, to boldly go where no band has gone before. Earthship is manned by a multinational crew of five: Ship’s Engineer Krasniqi provides the propulsive power from his seat behind the drumkit; on bass, Weapons Officer Clews is in charge of low frequency audio bombardment, specifically calibrated to move your feet; Ship’s Doctor Collins offers soothing percussion vibes and slinky sax melodies to bring you to audio nirvana; Space Cadet Judge on the guitar regulates the atmosphere on board by means of his ice cool fills and scorching riffs; and Captain Farrelly oversees and guides operations from his command post behind his mind-boggling array of keyboards. Never fear – you’re in good hands: the crew hail from Ireland, the UK and Kosovo and are all in-demand session musicians. Between them, they’ve worked with artists as diverse as soul and funk icons Dr John, The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai and Fred Wesley & The JBs, up-and-coming and established jazzers such as Zoe Rahman, Soweto Kinch and Jason Rebello, and world music stars Manu Dibango, Horslips, Davy Spillane and Peter Gabriel. Earthship’s musical journeys have no set destination – a voyage onboard the Earthship is an experiment in spontaneous creativity as the crew members improvise and interact onstage, both with each other and with the audience’s reactions. In their music, you will hear echoes of the classic seventies fusion bands, such as Weather Report and Return To Forever, the funk of Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters, and the restless experimentation and exploration of Miles Davis. But above all, you will feel the need to dance, for the Earthship sets out each time to rediscover the primal urge of music – to create a communion between audience and musicians that allows all to express themselves in sound and movement. Welcome aboard the Earthship. Strap in tight – there will be turbulence. We hope you enjoy the ride.