Ollie West Band – Album Launch

Cinematic, orchestral pop is a phrase not used frequently by bands to describe their sound, yet for The Ollie West Band this fits perfectly. Formed in 2014 by singer, songwriter and pianist Ollie West, this Manchester based ensemble are creating unique music that transcends genre and the generic ideas of the pop band. With influences as far spread as Elbow and Billy Joel to the Cinematic Orchestra to Claude Debussy, the band’s instantly recognisable sound has been praised by the likes of Neil McCormick and Dean Friedman.

Having toured the south of England for a year, a desire to expand the band was realised in 2015 when Ollie enrolled at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Having always been a keen composer of classical music, he took the influences from the wealth of classical and pop talent around him and started to incorporate this into his own music, eventually culminating in a performance with a 24 piece outfit supporting the RNCM Session Orchestra in the summer of 2017. Off the back of this, the band released their debut EP “We Watch The World Turning” and took the record on a 14 date UK wide tour organised by Ollie himself, visiting arts centres as far north as John O Groats and far south as Lands End.

Their latest album, “Time Stood Still”, is released on April 26th and features the two critically acclaimed singles “Home” and “The Ballad of Richard and Sophie”. Their launch show on Friday 26th April at The Edge Theatre will introduce their brand new sinfonietta “The Home Ensemble” for the first time and will perform the album in full as a 20 piece line up. Support will be provided by the amazing Anna McLuckie; this is not one to miss!