DANA IMMANUEL & THE STOLEN BAND – the barn-storming banjo-led, all-female troupe of roots-rockers, release their 4 and a ½ track EP, Mama’s Codeine on Feb 14th, 2020.
Dana Immanuel is a banjo-player, singer-songwriter, Oxford University Classics graduate and poker journalist.
After stints busking on the London Underground; travelling the world covering poker tournaments; and making music as a solo artist Dana decided to devote herself to finding the sickest, virtuoso-est, jaw-dropping-est female musicians, shamelessly poach them away from their other projects, and take them along for the ride on her musical odyssey. The result: The Stolen Band.
Their superb debut album, Come With Me, is now followed by an enthralling EP, featuring three and a ½ typically witty and gritty originals and a cover of the Appalachian folk standard, Shady Grove, all wrapped up in a package adorned with stunning artwork by cult illustrator, Joni Belaruski.
Of the title track Dana reveals, well, not very much – “Mama's Codeine is a bit personal, but rest assured it's not actually about either my mother or codeine. I feel as though the chorus remains pretty relatable though, even without a back story.” And, of course, a completely deranged Reprise of the song is the aforementioned ½ a track.
“Turn Up the Lights is about the end of the world! I read a series of books by a dude called Cixin Liu, and something happens in the second book (no spoilers!) that made me write that song.”
“WD40 & Duct Tape is about a broken heart. Though we always dedicate it to the sound engineer and the stage manager when we play it live...”
“Shady Grove was the first song I taught myself to play on the banjo. I played it at my best friend's funeral.”
As befits Dana’s own outré CV, the musicians she has stolen are also a fascinating crew.
Feadora Morris played the magnificently unhinged guitar on these recordings but the role of The Stolen Band’s axewoman is now fulfilled by Maxine Cahill, also known as Rohnny Ramona in an all-girl Ramones tribute act, called The Ramonas, unsurprisingly.
Hjordis Moon Badford plays gymnastic cajon and paints technicolour harmonies. She boasts a go-go dancing past in the cages of Heaven et al, and even further back won trophies at prestigious childhood music festivals for recorder, piano and oboe but discovered hitting stuff was way more fun.
Violinist, Basia Bartz, is Polish-born and classically trained. She has played with an unfeasible array of acts including Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker, Tankus The Henge, Ferris & Sylvester, Jason McNiff and Ian Prowse. She isn't entirely sure how her fiddle playing turned out quite so filthy, but if pushed she blames Dana.
Karen Grymm Regester plays glitter-sprinkled double bass. She’s a hybrid of her South African musical heritage and her Muswell Hill upbringing. Her mother was a member of Ipi Tombi and sang bv’s for Miriam Makeba. And Nina Simone came round to her house for an all-night jam on her 21st birthday. There are photos.
Having collectively found their purpose, Dana and the Stolen Band have flung themselves into life on the road. They have played venues from the Barfly to Union Chapel, and myriad festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown, Red Rooster, Black Deer and C2C.
This five-piece powerhouse take pride in their mission to astound audiences, confound stereotypes and transcend genre labels wherever they go.
