Jo Quail & Sieben @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 12th September 2025

In my quest to see as many different types of music live as possible, I headed up to Manchester for something completely different and a bit unique. Having spoken with fellow Shaman scribes, tonight’s journey was to watch virtuoso cellist Jo Quail, performing pieces from her latest album Notan, which was released on the same day.

I had listened to it a few times throughout the day, I was impressed, and I couldn’t wait to hear the songs live. Similarly, The Shaman has sent me a few links to the opening act Sieben, and once again I was intrigued. When stepping through the doors of The Deaf Institute, Sieben wasn’t quite what I expected. I imagined a DJ with decks, but stood in front of us, midway through The Programme was Matt Howden playing a violin through an amp, with a drumbeat in the background.

He reminded me of Paul Heaton, talking about writing a new song whilst sat at home with his dad and a lithophone, explaining what the stone sounds were all about. It’s an interesting way to introduce the song, Inmate Symphonies, which has a lovely beginning before the beat kicks in. I enjoyed the way he cracked open a can in between singing, as he was clearly having a lot of fun.

Playing in his odd pair of socks, he says, ‘I’ve got a couple of more before you get to the good stuff’ before playing Crimson Clover,which had a feel of Joy Division about it. He suddenly stops to comment that ‘my sock keeps getting stuck down the hole in the floor’ which makes everyone smile. ‘Thanks for having me here tonight, this is my last one called Artificial Intelligent’ which had an ‘80s new wave sounding drumbeat. He played the violin conventionally, then as a guitar, and I really liked the way he layered over the loops, which acted as a good precursor to what followed.

I genuinely didn’t know what to expect from tonight, but on walks Jo Quail in a black evening dress. Thanking us all for being there, she says, ‘this is the first night of the tour, so I’m going to play a few new pieces that haven’t gone through the PA yet, but I’m going start with an older piece called Stag’, and then an audience member reminded her which album it was from. Its full name is White Salt Stag, and the soft beat begins. I could sense the wave of excitement in the room, and I loved the slap cello, which triggers the rhythm.

I genuinely didn’t know what to expect, but Jo Quail took the stage in a black evening dress. After thanking us for being there, she announced: This is the first night of the tour, I’m going to play a few new pieces that haven’t gone through the PA yet, but I’ll start with an older piece called Stag.’ An audience member helpfully reminded her which album it was from. The track’s full name is White Salt Stag, and as the soft beat began, I sensed a wave of excitement fill the room, and I especially loved the slap cello part that triggered the rhythm.

Adorned by two statues, Quail is used to talking as she’s also a music lecturer, but I was unprepared for the way she explains all her songs in detail. It’s quite refreshing, especially for me as I try to note down as much as possible to help with this review. ‘This is an evening of new things, and I need to go to the gym more often’, she laughs and says she’ll be playing Gold for the very first time. It’s an awesome piece of music and explained many reasons behind it, especially for the ‘fellow cellists in the room’. At this point, The Shaman and I just nodded at each other, as it was way over our heads.

‘Notan is out today’ which was greeted with huge cheers, ‘and the first piece of it is called Butterfly Dance’. We are told the story of a ceremonial dance, and how the oldest, sturdiest woman in the tribe is a butterfly. She spoke about her hysterectomy, about empowerment and how this is the ‘first time going through a PA’. The build-up was incredible, and the music is once again telling us a story. She slaps the strings as the loop FX works its magic. By this time, the crowd stood, open-mouthed at the beauty of what we were listening to.

Jo comes across as an extremely humble person and even asks us to comment on the flow of the set before the synths kick in at the beginning of Embrace,and at this point, I put down my pad and just watched. I was a bit taken aback by the performance; it was hauntingly beautiful, and the way she achieved the deep bass tone was bewitching.

She then decides to come off the stage and brings with her an acoustic cello to play in the middle of the crowd. The electrics have broken on this one, and it’s ‘brutal without the reverb’ so we get a more intimate performance of A Leaf, And Then A Key. The middle section reminded me of Metallica’s orchestral pieces, but the crowd are now fully immersed in Quail’s world. I couldn’t quite make out what song came next, but it was wonderfully soft and full of emotion. I heard her laugh once or twice, which suggests a few dud notes were hit, but it didn’t detract from the enjoyment of what I was witnessing.

She introduces Rex by saying ‘this is the first track on my first album, and I feel really attached to it. I didn’t play it for a while, but then put some big chords back into it. It’s like episodes of Outback Opal Hunters; I just kept chipping away’and the soundscapes are nothing short of beguiling. This is my favourite piece of hers, and the switches from soft to heavy are a joy to watch as the slap of the cello come back into play. The rhythms she created were graceful and relentless, intertwining impressively.

‘I’ve got two pieces left, and I haven’t played this in a very long time, it’s called Eila’s Song and it’s dedicated to my daughter.’ The first loop begins, and you can sense a collective hug engulfing all of us in the room. Jo is elegance personified, and the music shines through her fingers, with the beats and rhythms she creates. ‘I’ve come to the end of the set and I’m going to play Kingfisher.’She goes on to explain that ‘it has four faces, one is the initial busk, two is the orchestral, edgy version, three is the album version, and the fourth version is the live one, as when I was learning it live, it just wouldn’t get back in the box.’

She informs us that her husband would say right now that ‘I bet you wished you’d packed your sandwiches’ ahead of starting, but with the loops playing simultaneously, we are treated to a grand finale that will be hard to beat. She somehow creates drama and tension and unintentionally hits some significantly deeper bass notes. It’s an incredible way to end as the song has power and strength throughout. Jo once again thanked us all for coming, and the applause was richly deserved. She was truly absorbing to watch, delivering a set that felt like a crystallisation of her artistic vision whilst captivating the audience.

Jo Quail

Sieben

Scribed by: Matthew Williams
Photos by: Lee Edwards