Author: MadBri23

The Magic When Musicians First Meet…

You may or may not have grasped the fact that the musicians who will be accompanying me for Think of a Sequel – Tony Orrell, Paul Bradley, Veryan Weston & James Watts – will not have met before the show.

This means that everything you see and hear them do will be happening spontaneously, for the first – and only – time. Furthermore, I will not know what to expect from them and will need to respond in the moment to whatever backing they choose to provide.

“So, why do this?” you may ask. Well, it is generally the case that when musicians come together for the first time, they tend to – quite literally – sound one another out. Ideas are thrown up, licks are traded, stumbling blocks are laid. And often what ensues is quite magical; never to be repeated.

What then normally happens is the players will attempt to distil this into something that can be replicated on demand. But it can often lose some of its original edge, vibrancy and nuance in the process. So, what if we simply present those first impulses within a performance context?

Nobody really knows what will happen. But what I can tell you is that the particular group of musicians engaged for this show has the ability and experience to generate fabulous sonic landscapes, continually creating ideas whilst simultaneously making space for – and responding to – one another.

Framing this with ‘songs’ will provide context and necessary limitations, so that the output will not be allowed to became safe or samey. Each piece will be created as a response to a set of ideas and will then be further shaped by the application of lyrics and vocal lines to the musical back-drops provided. This will also enable the evening to have a narrative arc, which will take us all – performers and audience alike – on a journey of discovery.

The Fringe Festival provides a platform on which new and challenging ideas may be explore. The challenge for me is to do so in a way that is entertaining and inclusive. This is not intended as an exclusive exercise for sagely-nodding, free-jazz cognoscenti. Rather, it is hoped that all will come away from the show having had a thought-provoking and enjoyable, experience.

I do hope you will be able to come along. Without you, we are just a bunch of blokes (and, sorry, we are all blokes) making noise in an empty space. As highlighted in the first show (‘Think of a Song’), the audience is at least as important as the performers. So, I will need your help with that bit.

And please do spread the word. I guarantee we will have a memorable, exciting and fun evening together.

See you there.

Book Tickets

Tel: 01225 463362
Email: boxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk

 

A musician with the world at his fingertips

James Watts studied oboe at the Royal College of Music (2000-2004) before travelling around the world playing with musicians from many different backgrounds, and exploring the musical worlds of different cultures as well as folk music of the British Isles.  He delights in finding unusual woodwind instruments, particularly if they have a double reed.

He lives on the Mendip hills and performs throughout the region playing in Orchestras, period instrument ensembles and folk bands, as well as groups weaving different world music elements and collaborations with story tellers and live improvised theatre.  He conducts community choirs and children’s ensembles as well as teaching woodwind, piano and guitar.  He loves the diversity that working within the field of music can bring and the unity that music can bring between people of any culture or creed.

James Watts performs throughout the south west as a freelance musician playing oboe, cor anglais, and baroque oboe with various local orchestras and chamber ensembles.  He has performed as a guest soloist with the bristol chamber orchestra, the Lucis choir, the Silton Singers and the Bruton Choral society.  He will be guest concerto soloist next year with the Frome symphony orchestra.

James also engages in a diverse range of World and folk music traditions.  He plays the Armenian Duduk, The Zimbabwean Mbira, Indian harmonium and various other folk flutes.  He uses these for exploring new musical ideas as well as weaving diverse folk elements into a rich tapestry of musical cross pollination.

Most recently he has performed at Bath Spa University following an arts council research and development project with the group “Ombiviolum”. The project was a choreographed dance piece weaving elements of folk music from the British Isles with traditional Zimbabwean music and cultural practice.

Book Tickets

Tel: 01225 463362
Email: boxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk

Paul Bradley is a right-strung, lefthanded guitarist, bandleader, composer, triple-octave singer, improviser, sessioneer, collaborator, children’s musician and multi-instrumental live-looper-cum-raconteur.

 

“Conjures up the spirit of adventure and no boundaries better than pretty well anyone since the heady 1960s.” fRoots (March 2015)

“Undiscovered genius” Jazzwise

“Consistently captivating” Guardian

“Wonderful” Independent on Sunday

“One of the most truly original composers and performers in the country” Venue (Bristol)

Paul’s 2015 90% improvised (words and music both) Banish Cherish was longlisted for the Northern Ireland Music Prize in November 2015.

Paul’s discography ranges from albums by Radiohead-influencing Anglo-Irish visionary popsters ‘Me’, via pioneering Bristol postrocker/nujazzers ‘Organelles’, to current filmic-folk-minimalists ‘Three Cane Whale’ (whose debut was described in the Telegraph as among the “five best modern folk albums”; and follow-up album as “hidden gem of 2013” by The Observer).

Bradley has collaborated with dance-theatre choreographers, animators, film-makers, and a breadth of musicians from Blue Aeroplanes to Spiro. He has scored and performed for soundtracks on BBC Natural History, Discovery Channel, Encounters Film Festival, C4’s Random Acts, and has played live, or been broadcast on, all six national BBC Radio networks.

Paul’s prolific output of spontaneous, multitimbral music has seen him do hundreds of solo, improvised gigs throughout the UK since 1996. Then Bradley would have been virtually alone in staging live-looping solo performances in all-made-up song, soundscape, illustrated “talk”, misguided standup and even off-the-cuff solo theatre.  But it all must entertain and tell the truth, somehow.

In 2009 Bradley made a children’s & family album of poetry-settings (Blake, Rossetti, Lear, RLS and more). Calico Pie was described by Independent on Sunday as “wonderful”.

Book Tickets

Tel: 01225 463362
Email: boxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk

(Gas Giants, Goldfrapp…)

This picture says it all: loud shirts; loud drums (but not always); humour, character and a willingness to musically go where few drummers dare

 

Tony Orrell aka ‘the Birdman of Alkijazz’

Moved to Bristol 1973 in search of drumming work.

Frequented Dug Out 1974-80.

Met wife-to-be Sarah at the club in 1975 – still married!

Played with Rockin’ Robert and various Wild Beasts/Juan Footers at Dug Out.

1979-89 the “Modern Jazz” Years with Spirit Level/Sphere/Andy Sheppard etc.

1990-2000 Nursery Teacher and musician – Gas Giants/Will Gregory/Adrian Utley etc.

2000-2005 Movies+Shakers project in schools (see 90 Second Challenge) and played drums on Goldfrapp’s ‘Felt Mountain’ and Ilya’s ‘They Died for Beauty’

 

What was the first concert you ever went to?

streatham ice rink. kinks 1964 or 5. my sister fainted …it seemed like i was the only boy amidst a horde of screaming girls

What gear do you use?

1966 Ludwig Downbeat with Bosphorus cymbals and Steve Hubback creations

Who was your biggest musical influence growing up?

kinks then beatles and then stones (ambivalent) zappa coltrane brotherhood of breath keith tippett tony oxley with mclaughlin and the singing nun – remember ‘dominique’?

 Watch Tony and others creating some weird shit here

 Remember to book your tickets early to avoid disappointment… chiefly mine!

 

Tickets are on sale now at:

Brown Paper Tickets

Bath Box Office

 Or call the Festival Box Office on: 01225 463362.

 

I look forward to seeing you there.

 

Brian x

“Music is the space between the notes” – Claude Debussy

 

 

 

 

This, of course, is an idea that John Cage ran with and explored in his now- infamous ‘4:33’. Tonight, I hope to take this concept to the next level with ‘Think of a Song’, in which a large portion of the show will take place in my head and the minds of the audience.

‘But why would you want to do that?’ You ask. The answers are many and complex but essentially it is to explore the nature of the performer-audience relationship. More importantly, it will push both beyond their respective comfort zones and create a unique theatrical experience.

In our modern society, we are constantly bombarded with information, ‘news’, opinions and ‘entertainment’. This can serve to put us in an increasingly passive state, in which it is difficult to question the status quo and all to easy to fall into unhealthy patterns of behavior.

Think of a Song will seek to jolt us out of our collective torpor and provide space for genuine original thought and emotion. And in the first half of the show, the incredibly talented Paul Bradley will exemplify here-and-now consciousness by entirely improvising his set of on-the-fly songs.

This show may never be repeated – (even if it happens again!) – so I hope you will be able to join us and share what promises to be an amazing experience.

See you there!

Show Details

“What on earth is that all about? ” is a question often asked in response to challenging works of contemporary art. When an artist dares to confound prevailing forms and trends, it appears  this can be quite an affront to the sensibilities of ‘the consumer’. Fortunately, however, there are plenty of artists out there who are not driven by the relentless drive for consumption.

Dancing at Bath Festival

One of these is Rosemary Lee. I had the good fortune to meet Rosemary about this time last year When I take part in one of her dance performances. “Hold on…” you say; “dance?!”. Well yes, but not perhaps as you know it. The piece was entitled ‘Meltdown’ and it took place, coupled with ‘Rise Up’, during last year’s Bath Festival (the big, grown-up ‘main festival’ ) in Victoria Park and The Circus.

The two choreographies were reworked for the  festival by Rosemary and her directors (Henrietta Hale for Meltdown), having originally been premiered in London in 2011. Local people were invited to participate. There was no requirement for experience in dance but an interest in movement and a degree of physical fitness were desirable. Originally, I was to be striking a bell for the performance but, having expressed an interest and there being a shortage of male dancers, was asked to step in at relatively short notice.

Powerful, Moving & Compelling

The piece itself comprises a group of men who appear within a designated space (in our case, surrounding  a tree in Victoria Park), then – on the signal of a chiming bell – reach to the heavens. They then ‘melt’ imperceptibly down to the ground over a period of 12 minutes, each passing minute marked by a further bell chime. All end up on the ground in a variety of positions, completely submitting to gravity, before slowly standing and leaving the space.

This may not sound terribly interesting but I can tell you it had several onlookers in tears. There is something about stillness, vulnerability and physical discomfort that is both compelling and deeply moving. Although the precise movement was not proscribed, the method behind it, as well is its positioning and coordination, was very carefully drilled and meticulously rehearsed. The resultant ever-shifting tableau of contorting bodies, with only ambient sound and the haunting bell as accompaniment was immensely powerful.

Breaking Free

I feel there are some very strong parallels between Meltdown and Think of a Song. Not least of which was that Meltdown jolted me out of my safe, accustomed role as a performer. It is easy to conform not only to one’s own expectations but also those of people who associate you with particular practices. So it is important to remain open to new challenges, even – and particularly – those that may be frightening or uncomfortable.

So now I’m breaking free from my own self-imposed constraints. It is entirely possible that I am indeed having a meltdown. But I think it is rather the case that this is  a progression and a letting go. I sincerely hope you will join me in this moment of discovery. Think of a Song is as much about  audience as  performer, so without you it would be meaningless. One could then rightly ask “what on earth was that all about?”