Cult American singer-songwriter, producer and arranger Matthew E. White is set to perform at the Poly, Falmouth on Friday 27 October with support from the beguiling LA folk artist Bedouine.

Currently in the middle of working on his new album Matthew E White would like to share and try out some of his works in progress and older classics. With the UK and Ireland so close to his heart, a tour of smaller clubs seemed the only logical place to give such an intimate and open performance that shows some of his song writing process.

Drawing from a deep well of regional influences like Randy Newman, Allen Toussaint, and Alan Lomax, Richmond, Virginia-based based artist specialises in a meticulously crafted blend of reggae-infused folk-gospel, tropicalia, swirling indie pop, and Stax-era R&B.

Raised in an evangelical household by missionary parents (he spent four years in the Philippines) and nourished on the sounds of Curtis Mayfield, Caetano Veloso, the Band, and Brian Wilson, White has collaborated with like-minded artists such as Megafaun, Sharon Van Etten, the Mountain Goats, Ken Vandermark, and Justin Vernon, as well as toured and recorded as the leader of avant-garde jazz band Fight the Big Bull.

The soulful and colorful Big Inner, his debut album for his own Spacebomb label, was released in 2012. Big Inner gained a cult following, showing up on several year-end critics lists, and peaking at number 19 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. White continued to work on various projects for Spacebomb - including the eponymous 2015 debut by singer/songwriter Natalie Prass - and then released his second solo album, Fresh Blood, in March of 2015.

Earlier this year White paired up with Flo Morrissey for ‘Gentlewoman, Ruby Man’, an exceptional collection of covers which is available now.

Support on the night comes from Bedouine. Bedouine has a sound. Sixties folk meets seventies country-funk with a glimmer of bossa nova cool. Lithe guitar picking and precise lyrical excursions. That mesmerizing voice and phrasing. Working on around thirty tracks over three years, with contributions from a remarkable cast of players like guitarist Smokey Hormel (Tom Waits, Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash), Seyffert and Korkejian brought a selection of ten songs to Richmond, Virginia.

She specifically sought out Spacebomb, approaching Matthew E. White after a show in L.A. He remembers listening to the song she sent over and over, on and off the road, “‘One of These Days’ became our alarm when we woke up for almost all of that tour.”

Anticipating this future collaboration, the tracks were created with breathing room for the Spacebomb touch and Trey Pollard’s sinuous symphonic arrangements. Back in California, Thom Monahan (Pernice Brothers, Devendra Banhart, Vetiver) brought all the elements together in a masterful final mix.

Eschewing notions of nomadic chic, Bedouine represents minimalism motivated by travel, paring down and paring down until only the essential remains. Her music establishes a sustained and complete mood, reflecting on the unending reverberations of displacement, unafraid to take pleasure along the way.