Toria Wooff

A concert in Birmingham by Toria Wooff, a singer whose music blends folk, gothic imagery and the occult. The performance takes place at Hare & Hounds, which hosts concerts and shows in the city.

Toria Wooff, pronounced Tor-ee-a Woo-f, follows a self-titled debut album with Aleister, a second album of eleven folk songs. The recordings draw on tape-warped textures, drones, old-fashioned keyboards, orchestral touches and detailed acoustic instrumentation, with a voice that moves from hushed closeness to strong intensity.

On stage, Wooff performs either solo or with a close-knit band. The live sound centres on fingerpicked acoustic guitar, spectral keys and textured strings, with understated ensemble playing and stretches of near silence alongside darkly cinematic passages. The approach owes much to British and Irish folk recordings of the late 1960s and 1970s as well as to contemporary songwriting, and the lyrics bring together folk tradition, gothic literature, northern landscapes, the occult and ancient mythology.

The debut album was championed by Uncut, Clash, Shindig, Record Collector, BBC Radio 6 and Radio X. The evening suits listeners who follow folk-rooted songwriting with a shadowy, atmospheric edge.