Wandering Oak: Kiiōtō (ft. Lou Rhodes of Lamb)
Schedule
Tue, 28 Apr, 2026 at 07:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
The Cluny | Newcastle Upon Tyne, EN
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Wandering Oak brings you:Kiiōtō
plus Ceitidh Mac
at Cluny2
• Kiiōtō •
Kiiōtō is the love-child of Lou Rhodes, Mercury-nominated singer/songwriter and founder member of Lamb, and multi-platinum songwriter and keyboardist Rohan Heath.
Kiiōtō’s second album, Black Salt, casts the net wide and deep in the stories it tells. Debut single Butterfly is a dark and brooding critique of a narcissist, its prowling bass, angular chords and bell motif creating a claustrophobic chill. In contrast, Zero Gravity – inspired by Samantha Harvey’s Booker Prize winning novel “Orbital”- zooms out into space, reflecting upon the transformational experience of orbiting Earth, its heartbeat intro giving way to brush drums and stacked vocal refrain. Little Axe tells of the challenges of raising young men amidst the threat of violence in urban life, set to soulful guitar and congas, while White Noise highlights the hold of social media on the modern mind, in staccato rhythm and abtsract piano. Lost Map reflects on the results of DNA tests the duo took in search of a deeper understanding of their disparate heritages, against a backdrop of spacious piano and muted trumpet. Closing track Five Eight, conveys the aching loss of Heath’s mother, Rhodes’ vocal stripped bare over shimmering Wurlitzer.
Throughout, the arrangements remain spare and bold, leaning into jazz, broken beat and soul textures, with references as diverse as Carole King, Khruangbin and Alice Coltrane. The resulting album is impossible to define by genre, but is fused by the unique interplay of Heath’s melodic sensibilities and Rhodes’ inimitable voice.
Mercury Music Prize nominated singer/songwriter Lou Rhodes, former lead vocalist and co-founder of Lamb, joined forces with award-winning songwriter and pianist Rohan Heath to form Kiiōtō after both had seemingly stepped away from making music. Their debut album, As Dust We Rise, was kick-started on a road trip through Louisiana, completed back in the UK and released in 2024 to critical acclaim. “The pair’s fierce storytelling powers these songs… Rhodes’ richly grained voice elegantly sets every scene…” wrote Victoria Segal in MOJO. And from Uncut: “There’s more than enough promise for a prosperous new partnership here… underpinned by the harmonious relationship between Heath’s piano and Rhodes’ elegiac voice.”
Written primarily in Kiiōtō’s home studio in North London, Black Salt features guest appearances from a melting pot of musicians, notably guitarist Hawi Gondwe (Amy Winehouse), double-bassist Andy Hamill (4 Hero, Carleen Anderson), drummer Mykey Wilson (Corrine Bailey Rae), and even some impromptu guitar by the one and only David Arnold.
Of the making of the album, Heath says: “The creation of Black Salt wasn’t an easy one. Yet it was precisely out of conflict, tension and introspection that it was born. Sometimes it felt like two planets colliding; a new star forged of chaos and heat, brighter than the sum of those destroyed.’
“Black Salt was a rite of passage,” adds Rhodes, “one that often took us to places way beyond our comfort zones. The result though, is an album we couldn’t be prouder of.”
https://www.kiioto.com/
• Ceitidh Mac •
With a progressive twist to her music, Ceitidh Mac is an alt.folk singing / cellist, tipped by Jude Rogers as a ‘Fascinating new Welsh-born, Tyneside-dwelling singer-songwriter and cellist, with an unusual, stunning voice.’ Absorbing in its originality, Ceitidh Mac creates songs that soar with contemporary arrangements /
instrumentation playing with live and electronic elements, whilst having a prominent folk influence.
Growing up in the wilds of Pembrokeshire before heading North to Newcastle Upon Tyne, she’s been carving a name for herself across the UK and beyond. Ceitidh is pronounced Katie, spelt the Gaelic way. Think ceilidh with a T.
Working with producer/engineer Sam Grant [Richard Dawson, Pigsx7] Mac has released multiple EP’s Including ‘I Reach for the Pen’ and most recently ‘Seabird’, with previous releases supported by BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales and local and national support from BBC Introducing. The single ‘Birds’ was A-Listed by Amazing Radio as well as featuring on their Chart. She also garnered press coverage from Fresh on the Net, Velvet Sheep, Narc and NE Volume among others, as well as winning the Drake YolanDa Award 2022, and Artist in Residence at The Glasshouse 2022/23.
www.ceitidhmac.com
Advance tickets available via See Tickets:
https://www.seetickets.com/event/kiioto-lou-rhodes-of-lamb-rohan-heath-/cluny2/3593308
via DICE:
https://link.dice.fm/T9959bdccd1d
and via Universe:
https://www.universe.com/events/wandering-oak-presents-kiioto-tickets-PY6TQ4
Also available over the bar at The Cluny (without booking fee) and RPM Music
Cluny2
36 Lime Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 2PQ
For ages 16+ (accompanied by an adult) or 18+ only, from 7:30pm
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Where is it happening?
The Cluny, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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