Hannah Williams & The Affirmations

Hannah Williams & The Affirmations
29.01.2020
21:00 Uhr
Einlass: 19:00 Uhr
Eintritt: VVK: 14,- zzgl. Geb., AK: 18,-
Tickets: Konticket

Hannah Williams, the British soul hurricane who sensationally became part of Jay-Z’s chart-topping 4:44 album, is
primed and ready for her own national and international breakthrough.
Williams turned heads worldwide when the hip-hop superstar sampled her heart-stopping vocals on ‚Late Nights &
Heartbreak‘ for the title track, ‘4.44’ on his 2017 album. Now Hannah and her exemplary, Bristol-based band the
Affirmations deliver a definitive career statement with the drop-dead soulful new album 50 Foot Woman which will
be released October 18th on the Milan based imprint Record Kicks.
The album captures all of the visceral power of the band’s increasingly legendary live performances. Shades of classic
Soul and Psychedelic Funk blend uniquely with modern-day flavours on a record destined to set the soul agenda for
2019 and far beyond. “I’ve never been as proud of anything in my life.” says Hannah.
Born in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Williams‘ father was a musically gifted minister, and her mother let her
join the church choir at the age of six. Hannah could read music before she could properly read words, and when she
discovered soul by listening with her mum to Motown and Bill Withers, there was no turning back.

After a 2012 debut with her previous band the Tastemakers, it was 2016’s Late Nights & Heartbreak that announced
the arrival of Hannah Williams and the Affirmations. But little did she know that Jay-Z was listening. One day, at her
then-day job running the music department at the University of Winchester, he sent her a text.
Once she’d established that it wasn’t a wind-up, and summoned the courage to call him back, she learned that JayZ’s
producer, No I.D., had played him Hannah’s track to inspire his response to Beyoncé’s Lemonade, on which she sang
of his infidelities.
Williams was as in the dark about how ‚Late Nights & Heartbreak‘ would be used until 4:44 dropped. But the
substantial sample of her voice opened doors she never dreamed of. “It was an incredible catalyst,” she says, “as a
change in our collective career, and getting a global audience. Suddenly, there were millions of predominantly
American hip-hop fans listening to my voice, going ‚Is this from the ’60s? Is she dead?’”
What followed was a year of the band’s widest-ever touring including an invitation to perform at Central Park
Summer Stage NY, Toronto Jazz Festival and Brooklyn Bowl NY and expanded audiences in continental Europe where
she and the Affirmations had already made a mark. Then came the burning determination to make the record of
their lives. The captivating 50 Foot Woman is that album, produced by Shawn Lee, a respected presence on the
funk/soul scene whose credits include Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey and Alicia Keys. Lee has released five solo
albums as Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra on San Francisco label Ubiquity Records and is also one half of the cool
melodic pop duo Young Gun Silver Fox.
Now the world will hear what the cognoscenti have known for a while: that Hannah Williams is the real deal, and
sings from her very soul. “I feel like my performance comes from my solar plexus,” she says. “The emotional side of it
is so intrinsic; I can’t take it away from what I do.”
Hannah Williams & The Affirmations are:
Hannah Williams – Main Vocal
James Graham – Wurlitzer, Piano, Organ
Adam Newton – Bass
Adam Holgate – Guitar
Jai Widdowson-Jones – Drums, Percussion
Victoria Klewin – Backing Vocals
Hannah Nicholson – Backing Vocals
Liam Treasure – Trombone
Tom Taylor – Baritone Saxophone