Tongue Fu is part gig, part experiment, and has played at the Roundhouse, Glastonbury, and performed in exotic locations from Capetown to Rio.
And now they are coming to Oxford on Friday November 12 thanks to OCM with their new show Hot Poets – a helpful remedy to the current culture of doom, despair and desolation that surrounds the issue of climate change.
the project, commissioned 12 of the UK and Africa’s top spoken word artists to write and perform poems of agency and action for COP26
Packed with poetry, music and bags of scientific facts, Hot Poets brings together the creme de la creme of spoken words artists, improv musicians and environmental scientists to remind us that art and science are on the side of hope.
Lauren Spiceley, Programme Producer at OCM explains: “You’ll witness this unique, live interaction between musicians and poets, seeing the show created right in front of you.”
“So when Tongue Fu came to us with this show, with the Met Office on board, talking about hope, we didn’t take much convincing!
“Tongue Fu are bringing us a show full of hope, joy, poetry and music, not about doom but about imagining a better future”
“With the news full of apocalyptic headlines, it can feel easier to switch off altogether. Tongue Fu are bringing us a show full of hope, joy, poetry and music, not about doom but about imagining a better future.”
Hot Poets worked closely with the Met Office, the London School of Economics and the RSPB, to bring about the project, commissioning 12 of the UK’s and Africa’s top spoken word artists to write and perform poems of agency and action for COP26.
During the 12 days of COP26, one poem a day is being released online. From Whale Poo to Wildfire, the 2-3 minute poems cover complex, vital and inspiring scientific subjects, including flood and fire prevention; empowering African women on the equator to plant forests; regreening of the Sinai Peninsula; the restoration of peat land; the hidden energy underground; more effective weather warning systems and the role of the whale in preventing climate breakdown.
Their live show at East Oxford Community Centre, brings together the Hot Poets, their commissioned poetry, and the Tongue Fu band improvising live music in response to the poems, to create an upbeat, fun, and actually pretty informative evening proving that art and science are better with a beat.
The Tongue Fu Oxford line-up on November 12 will feature:
Chris Redmond // Writer, Hot Poets co-director and Fu founder. A regular at music and literature festivals, featured on BBC R1, 2, 4, 6 and Sky Arts.
Liv Torc // Poet, Hot Poets co-director and producer of WOMAD’s Hip Yak Poetry Stage. Her lockdown project, Haiflu – was championed by BBC R4 Today Programme.
Francesca Beard // Internationally acclaimed spoken word artist who’s worked with The Barbican, Royal Court. BBC Radio 3 and The Young Vic.
Repeat Beat Poet // Hip Hop poet and broadcaster, selected by BBC 1Xtra for WordsFirst, published by Magma Poetry, Bad Betty Press.
Tongue Fu’s Hot Poets is at East Oxford Community Centre on Nov 12 – https://www.ocmevents.org/whats-on/tongue-fu-hot-poets
