IMPORTANT: Due to the unique nature of this event, LATECOMERS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED. Please arrive by the event start time to avoid being refused entry.
TIMINGS
Doors: 19:15
Starts: 20:00
Ends: 21:30
Seated (unreserved)
Tickets: £13
Age: 14+, under 16s must be accompanied by an adult
Presented by Pitchblack Playback
A £2 venue levy charge applies to all tickets
Hear the expanded 10th anniversary edition of Sufjan Stevens' stunning Carrie & Lowell, including seven unreleased bonus songs, at Pitchblack Playback's exclusive album listening session in the dark ahead of the album's release on 30 May (via Asthmatic Kitty).
Hear and feel every detail of this classic on our powerful D&B Audiotechnik sound system, in the dark, with no distractions - just you and the music.
In March 2015, Sufjan Stevens released Carrie & Lowell – his most personal album to date. Presented with an unexpected clarity of vision, the record was a return to Sufjan’s folk roots in its deliberate, sparse instrumentation. The album was an instant critical success, and in the years that followed, the music would weave itself, undimming, into the fabric of our shared culture. Now RIAA-certified Gold, with the track Fourth of July achieving Platinum status, the album's cultural resonance continues to grow.
The deluxe edition features an expanded double-LP album that includes seven previously unreleased bonus tracks, a 40-page art book, and a new essay by Sufjan. This edition also offers an alternative cover: a full-framed version of the original Polaroid zoomed out to reveal the photo’s caption written in a child’s handwriting - “Carrie & Lowell” - disclosing the source of the album title (it was written by Sufjan's sister Djamilah). Designed by Sufjan, the 40-page booklet contains various collages of vintage family photos spanning four generations, interfused with artwork and drawings (on themes of death, dying, grief and the state of Oregon) as well as landscape photos Sufjan took while traveling across the western U.S. over a decade ago.
The original album is preserved on one disc, while disc two contains 40 minutes of extras, including demo versions of Death With Dignity, Should Have Known Better, The Only Thing, and Eugene. Expansive outtakes of Fourth of July and Wallowa Lake Monster are also included, both featuring a more cinematic mood. The final gem is the original demo of Mystery of Love taken from the original Carrie & Lowell album sessions but later re-worked and re-recorded for Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name. The demo version here features solo guitar and voice with slightly altered lyrics.
This is a seated album listening session in the dark, not a live performance of any kind. Your ticket price includes a Pitchblack Playback recycled cotton eye mask (for extra darkness!) We kindly ask you do not talk or sing at the event or use your phone during the event.
"This sounds great" - Rick Rubin
"A fabulous idea" - Jay Kay, Jamiroquai
"The optimal way to experience an album" - Max Richter
"This might just be my new favourite thing to do" - Nihal, BBC Radio 5 Live