F O R B I D D E N
Forbidden &
The Tape Sessions
ALSO AVAILABLE NOW!
t h e t a p e s e s s i o n s
LIVE Shows
The Sounds Of Ursa are excited to announce they will be performing at this years Unorthodox Paradox Festival! An unique, green space, inclusive and independent music and arts festival!
SAT 9:30pm MainStage!
Past events
Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Mesmerising musical dreams meet stunning live visuals in this neo-classical/freak folk/ambient/psychedelic bonanza at the Cube. 3 enriching acts on the night: delicate solo piano from Pete Judge, plaintive slowcore torch songs from The Sounds Of Ursa and Modulus III’s electro-acoustic feats of improv prog-jazz."
We have a beautifully stripped down intimate performance for you Sunday dreamers! Boris Ming and I will be playing at The Green Man, Bristol from 5pm (contributions of gold coins or beers gratefully received of course!) Expect a glorious plethora of synths, fx electronic violin, piano & voice to whisk you away for a ethereal arvo!
The Sounds Of Ursa are so gassed to be returning to Weston's' best kept secret’ happening at the end of this month!
This banner gets flung around a lot but this really is a little gem of an event with 2 days of eclectic and amazing curated music and we are so humbled to be sharing the stage with the absolutely unique Yama Warashi, band besties Shoun Shoun, Välvē, Fibonacci Drone Organ, Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer, The Model Folk and JimBower.
Get your tix now!
1st Bristol show of 2023!
This will be an incredibly intimate setting with limited tickets - stick it in your diary, deets to follow....
the sounds of ursa bring their unique ethereal, cinematic melancholy and explosive energy to the intimate setting of schtumm... showcasing new music as we gear up to recording our debut album!
limited advance tickets now available
Hot off the heels of our successful full band line-up Bristol show at The Canteen last week, we are hitting the stage again!! This time in Bath, at The Bell Inn on Tues 17th May. Bathonians do come and check the band out. It's free entry so some change for the hat from those that can afford will be greatly appreciated. x Ursa
If you like your sonic dishes cinematically pan-fried, tossed in the ethereal and served on a bed of dark shades of atmospheric with perhaps a side order of goosebumps and a magical tingle of the spine… get yourself to the canteen, Bristol to see the sounds of ursa re-emerge as a full band line up!
Sunday 24th April at 5pm (or earlier to eat if this post has just made your mouth water)
Free entry y’all!
We are a last minute stand in support for this exciting Shoun Shoun album launch show on Friday at Rough Trade Bristol
performing as the original trio!
We have a little show next Thursday at Alex Taylor‘s Tap House Sessions at Beard and Sabre Cider Company on Denmark street, Bristol, BS1 5DQ.
It’ll be an intimate show of yours truly and my faithful comrade Boris Ming on his ever mesmerising elec violin. Come join us for some dark dreamy cinematic sounds and songs to reconnect whilst sipping a craft cider…
As a bit of an under the radar kinda thing we are stoking the proverbial fire to get this show back on the road after our long forced hiatus.
It will be intimate show performing as the original trio lineup but we will be bringing a smorgasbord of thrills and serenity. Expect gorgeousness mixed with the odd fuckup!
Free entry!
Mar 14, 2020
Sunfold, Beech Road, Weston Super Mare
The Sounds Of Ursa @ Unfold at Sunfold festival, Weston Super Mare
We're delighted to be joining a very impressive bill of local and national bands at this very intimate festival. This will be a Sounds of Ursa Duo show with Ursa and her loyal comrade Boris Ming on electric violin.
Dec 29, 2019
The Canteen, Stokes Croft, Bristol
The Sounds of Ursa @ The Canteen, Bristol
Sunday lunchtime show at one of bristol's greatest music venue. Great food great sounds - join us!
Nov 23, 2019
Greennote, Camden, London
The Sounds of Ursa @ The Greennote, Camden
The Sounds Of Ursa are delighted to be traveling to London to play the world famous Greennote. Tickets on sale now.
Oct 31, 2019
Cafe Kino, Bristol
The Sounds Of Ursa & Sailing Stones Double Bill - Halloween Special! @ Cafe Kino
We're really excited to be announcing this collaborative show... The music of Sailing Stones and The Sounds Of Ursa will no doubt be a perfect match for this doubleheader Halloween special!
Oct 25, 2019
The Barton Inn, Nr Somerton
The Sounds Of Ursa Live @ The Barton Inn
1st show of our little run of shows this Autumn / Winter. If you're in the Somerset area 'The Sounds Of Ursa' are playing the legendary Barton Inn on Sat 26th Oct for FREE ENTRY, I know!
We're also playing a slightly longer set, so more of our dark, sexy 'imagined film soundtrack' instrumentals will feature alongside the 'songs' and the beauty.
So if you dig David Lynch but also the Cinematic Orchestra and perhaps need the dust of everyday life washed away whilst taken on a sonic journey... see you there pal!
Sep 13, 2019
St Luke & St Andrew's Church, Priston Village, Bath 2:30 - 3:30
The Sounds Of Ursa Live @ The Chapel, Priston Festival
Ursa performs in the village parish church at this annual community festival set in the beautiful countryside of Somerset. This will be the 1st performance with the addition of drummer Emma Holbrook and bassist Kat Coles completing the lineup of 6. Ursa is pleased to be returning to Priston Festival where the 1st ever Ursa show happened (!)after 3 years of development we feel it marks a new era.
Jul 18, 2018
The Anglican Chapel, Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol
The Chapel Sessions - U R S A, Martin Callingham & Tony Almond
THE CHAPEL SESSIONS are a new series of intimate musical events held in the beautiful setting and acoustics of The Anglican Chapel at Arnos Vale Cemetery.
U R S A - Is the brand new solo project and alias of Bristol-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Helen Stanley. Her beautifully fractured lullabies, whispering tales of those fallen from grace, steer the listener through emotive, cinematic, ethereal arrangements with her keys and voice at the helm. A debut EP, 'Patience Panacea' is due for release this autumn and tonight she has a brand new band accompanying her. With an unusual instrumental line up including Vibes, Hammered Dulcimer and Electric violin and more this will be an opportunity to experience U R S A as a dynamic immersive show.
Apr 17, 2018
The Greenbank Pub, Bristol
Undergrowth with U R S A and Ryan McMurtry
FREE ENTRY
Undergrowth put on a regular night at The Greenbank Pub, Easton, the third Wednesday of every month. If you like your music lyrical, hypnotic, surreal, crafted, door slammingly punk, toe tappingly pop and throwing paper airplanes through the skylight at the moon folk-ish. Then you're in the right place. Dive into the long grass. And take a swim.
Jan 23, 2018
Miners Arms, St Werburgs, Bristol
U R S A live @ Presence Unplugged
All poets, singers, musicians and artists are welcome to share their musings and creations in a relaxed and supportive environment with no amplification just appreciative ears and open hearts! This week's featured artist: U R S A
...is the music and alias of Bristol, UK singer-songwriter, composer and pianist Helen Stanley.
dark, cinematic songs for the dreamers....
Helen’s songwriting narrates snap-shot tales of falls from grace, introspective victories, touches of prevalent madness and epiphany elation in equal measure, drawn from her perspective of the human experience and the beauty of nature.
Although musically the songs have found their ancestral sonic home comfortably among other female piano playing solo artists like Grouper's Ruins, Helen's distinctive arrangements, and instrumental palette as The Sounds of Ursa certainly indicate a dramatic ambition at work.
Dreamy, ethereal threads sewn in by Vibes, Hammered Dulcimer, Musical Saw, and Water-phone ebb and flow in harmony with Helen's keys and voice firmly at the helm, her crew of effected electric strings and synths filling the sails, the rhythm section ably manning the rigging.
‘Imagined film-soundtrack’ instrumentals set the scene where songs can seamlessly emerge and take shape saluting neo-classical composers such as Rachel grimes or drawing comparisons with cinematic acts like 'Other Lives' or 'Agnes Obel'.
The Sounds Of Ursa are undoubtedly in a league of their own and have harnessed a unique cinematic melancholic beauty.
The brand new, debut EP 'Patience Panacea’ is due for release Autumn 2020.
"you will instantly fall in love" - BBC introducing
"...captivatingly atmospheric and imbued with a tangible, tender warmth..."
"The Sounds of Ursa offers gently enveloping swathes of sound to get lost in..." - bristol in stereo
"You may find yourself at an unlikely crossroad where the unsettling highway
to David Lynch's Twin Peaks has been re-scored by the Cocteau Twins."
Live line-up:
Helen Stanley - Lead Vocals / Piano / Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Synths
Boris Ming - Electric violin / Synths
Mike Kingston - Electric Guitar / Synths / Electric bass
James Phillips - Drums / SPD Pads
Additional co-conspirators:
Emma Holbrook - Drums / SPD Pads
Kat Coles - Electric bass / Synths / B.vocals
David Insua-Cao - Vibes / Hammered Dulcimer
Catherine Flynn - B. Vocals / Autoharp / Harmonium
Mark Furnevall - Electric bass / Synths
Guy Fowler - Electric / Double Bass
Martin Callingham - Electric Guitar
Paco Casasola - Musical Saw
