Djrum Live in Europe
Thrilled to be performing with Felix (Djrum) after such a long break. The last time we played together was for his very special headline show at the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London!
This time we were in a beautiful forest in Tilburg, Netherlands for the experimental ‘Draaimolen’ Festival and at Le Bikini for Electro Alternativ Festival in Toulouse.
Kew Gardens: ‘Secret Life of Plants’ Festival
I loved performing a diverse programme of Romantic Classical, Contemporary Choral and Folk arrangements in Kew Gardens during weekends throughout June and July. We were pop-up performers as part of their magical ‘Secret Life of Plants’ Festival: After Hours.
Improvising while birds tweeted their evening song above us and geese rambled around us, insects scuttling across the wood of my cello! Performing amongst the plant architecture and sculpted hedgerow; singing acapella rounds while we carted our wheelbarrow through the gardens, the sun setting slowly over Temperate House. It was an incredibly beautiful and memorable project and we were so lucky with the weather!
Tenor: Mike Solomon Williams
Sopranos: Ruth Shwer and Sophia Brumfitt
‘Intertwined’ cross-arts collective- WATCH FILM!
Intertwined- ‘Tillow’ at Chiselhurst Forest and Olympic park
Honoured to be invited into this highly imaginative collective for their first project ‘Tillow’, exploring the cyclical patterns of Nature through sound, film and dance.
It was a deeply peaceful and mesmerising project involving improvising together (with Heather Ryall on Clarinets and Sandy Thompson on Violin) in Chiselhurst Forest and by the reed banks of Olympic park. LSO Soundhub composer Clare Elton composed the music, giving us starting points, fragmenting and re-arranging our improvisations and sensitively incorporating field recordings.
I loved the deep listening and meditations; responding to and imitating the surrounding sounds of wildlife, trees and reeds swaying and creaking in the changing weather; exploring the myriad textures and tones present in Nature and our own instruments. It was very inspiring!
You can find out more and watch the final atmospheric film here, choreographed by the very talented Kasia Witek:
https://www.intertwinedcrossarts.com/tillow
Tanita Tikaram at Nell’s
This was a special gig! I feel lucky to have been introduced to Tanita this year, she is a dream to work with, both musically and personally 🙂 She has a very distinctive, deep and raw voice matched by honest and insightful lyrics, with songs spanning folk, rock, jazz, country and blues. I enjoyed working with Tanita and Chris Roberts (Guitar, BV’s) to co-create stripped back acoustic arrangements of many of her back catalogue plus brand new songs for this intimate live setting at Nell’s. The show was sold out and packed to the brim with an incredibly warm and receptive audience!
‘Spectrum’ and ‘Contours’- 360* Immersive Performance at The Albany Theatre
My first live shows as a lead vocalist!
For composer Dan Samsa’s ambitious and epic new album ‘Contours’, combining jazz, electronica and contemporary classical styles. We premiered some tracks in 360 surround sound at the Albany Theatre as part of Dan’s immersive and electrifying ‘Spectrum’ with the London Contemporary Orchestra and Birdgang dance company! The official full album launch took place at The Lexington.
I’m not used to standing up and singing without my cello! This is also my first project as a vocalist and lyricist for someone else, as opposed to purely songwriting on my own. It has been a really great experience to be out of my comfort zone, exploring and developing a new instrument and using my voice in a different way.
I couldn’t ask for a more supportive and inspiring group of musicians to be working with… all of them are incredibly talented, skilled and creative as well as being lovely human beings, I really can’t wait for our UK tour next year 🙂
Dan Samsa ‘Contours’- WATCH VIDEO!
Dan Samsa’s album ‘Contours’ is officially released in 2022 but has already received much praise and radio airplay from BBC 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson and Worldwide FM/Jazz FM’s Jay Phelps.
I worked as a lyricist, co-writer and vocalist on three of the album’s tracks.
Here’s a live studio session of us performing the first single ‘Ascent’:
Composing for Choreographer Anna Watkins- WATCH VIDEOS!
I have really enjoyed working with Anna Watkins on various projects since 2013! She is a very talented choreographer and dancer and I’ve loved improvising and composing for her dance company, Watkins Dance.
In 2019 Anna commissioned me to write an original score for her duet ‘Repel’, exploring the dynamics of a relationship; and in 2020 she commissioned me to re-arrange one of my existing songs for her experimental dance film ‘Identity’, exploring isolation during the first pandemic Lockdown. Identity was recently selected for the Demetera International Film Festival in Paris 2021.
You can watch both short films below!
Lisa Hannigan and stargaze- Live album OUT NOW! Watch videos of Dublin shows!
I was so excited to be invited to play with the brilliant stargaze ensemble for their collaboration with Mercury-nominated Irish singer Lisa Hannigan! Lisa has a hauntingly ethereal and powerful voice that gave me shivers every time I heard it. Her songs were beautifully and sensitively orchestrated by brilliant composers including Josephine Stephenson, and members of the stargaze ensemble.
We performed at the Barbican Centre in London and twice at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, culminating in a live album recording which I feel very proud to be a part of. I hope you enjoy it!
You can listen/buy here: LIVE IN DUBLIN ALBUM
You can watch some of our filmed Dublin performances below!
Shruti Haasan- Bollywood Actress and Singer
Shruti Haasan is a celebrated actress and singer in India and is now beginning to make waves in the UK with her dynamic and powerful songs and voice! I love rehearsing, recording and performing with Shruti and am very much looking forward to her debut album release and eventually touring India and the UK!
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