Douglas Richards? From the Plastic Mermaids?! Yes, you heard correctly. He’s here, don’t fear, offer him a beer. He will be gracing the Fringe this year with a solo piano concert. The singer and pianist of this Isle of Wight band will be performing an instrumental concert of a collection of pieces he’s written over the last couple of years.
Douglas said, “I’ve had a few instrumental tunes knocking around for a while now and thought this seemed like a good opportunity to give them an airing. It’ll mostly be just me but I expect I’ll get a couple of other musicians involved too.”
The Plastic Mermaids have gigged at various festivals across the county, including Boardmasters, Liverpool Psych Fest, Blissfields and the Island’s very own Bestival and Isle of Wight Festival.
With their own very unique style described as “folkedelic dream pop”, many a music magazine have described their style as a crescendo of strings and piano. Their set is something you rarely see, or not at all for that matter. The Plastic Mermaids take trees and wind chimes to their shows and set up the entire stage to perform something theatrical and atmospheric, which is not something you’d expect from a start-up band on the Isle of Wight. They’re also known for using a bow to play a guitar, quite a spectacle indeed.
Douglas’ performance is something of a different spectrum, a more laid back manner in comparison to their lively shows. However this contrast in genre highlights what an excellent musician he really is. He’s able to jump from something experimental and eccentric to an instrumental performance. With this background information, it’s definitely something I’d recommend.
Douglas Richards is playing at St. Catherine’s Church at 7:30pm. His set is called Piano Pieces etc. etc. and tickets are £4.