Tuesday 22 July 2025, 7.30pm
Atonal Kat is a sporadic series of sonic soirees curated by Xenia Pestova and Ed Bennett. Join us for intense listening as we walk with our ears.
For our special summer edition of mighty caterwauling, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Seaming To magics up otherworldly textures in a hypnotic bubble bath for the ears. Virtuoso saxophonist Tom Challenger maps out an engrossing odyssey of sonic delights. Pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett launches a new record of Annea Lockwood with spoken voice transduced through the piano adorned with ribbons, rocks and Chinese medicine balls. Worth getting out of your basket for.
Xenia Pestova Bennett and Annea Lockwood - photo by Ed Bennett
Seaming To is a London-born composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. Hailing from a family of concert pianists and having studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, she gained early recognition there performing with the supergroups Homelife (Ninja Tune) and 808 State’s Graham Massey’s Toolshed. Seaming has been described as “the voice of the 21st century” (BBC Radio 1) and an artist who is truly ‘avant-garde’ (Robert Wyatt). Her experimental ethos and mastery across a variety of instruments have enabled her to collaborate with some of the most respected and radical artists of this decade, particularly in electronic, classical, and experimental genres, including Robert Wyatt, Jean Claude Vannier, The Cinematic Orchestra, The Herbaliser, Punchdrunk Theatre, James Ford (SMD), and Leila (Warp). Seaming has composed music for notable film and theatre productions and worked with filmmakers and artists such as Victoria Keddie, Cam Archer, and Saodat Ismailova. Her musical compositions have been performed and showcased at prestigious venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) at South Bank, the National Theatre, Tate Modern, the Barbican in London, and MoMA in New York. Seaming’s discography includes Sodaslow EP, Mermaid EP, Seaming (Lumin), Natural Process EP (Lo Recordings), and her second solo album, Dust Gatherers (OSingAtMe Recordings).
“An astonishing vocalist of haunting emotional power” - The Guardian
“One of the most captivating and unclassifiable performers on the scene.” - Financial Times
“Seaming To has an extraordinary presence, and creates songs as delicately nostalgic as an old photo” - Daily Telegraph
“Seaming’s vocal styling is impressively kaleidoscopic; haunting at times, vulnerable at others offering a desolate calm...both a moving and virtuoso conversion.” - Clash
Tom Challenger is a saxophonist, improviser and composer based in London. Having curated and composed for a variety of ensembles over the years, his current work explores improvisation in various guises, alongside developing composed works for various lineups. He has collaborated with the likes of Evan Parker, Charles Hayward, Ed Bennett, Byron Wallen, Kit Downes and Alex Hawkins, in addition to leading his own ensembles, such as Brass Mask. Recordings of improvised and written works are available on his label Sche-ima Recordings.
Described as “a powerhouse of contemporary keyboard repertoire” (Tempo), pianist and composer Xenia Pestova Bennett has earned an international reputation as a leading proponent of uncompromising music. Her work spans a wide range of sound worlds, styles and genres from classical to contemporary art music, free improvisation, experimental electronica and avant-pop.
Xenia has performed at large festivals, for live broadcast, in major concert halls, and countless weird and wonderful venues and spaces. She has commissioned and recorded dozens of new works, collaborating with major innovators in contemporary music and exploring classical music boundaries with electronics, toy pianos, synthesizers and the Magnetic Resonator Piano.
https://xeniapestovabennett.com
Annea Lockwood’s compositions range from sound art and environmental sound installations to concert music. Recent works include bayou-borne, for Pauline, for 6 improvising musicians based on a map of the bayous in Houston, TX; Streaming, Swirling, Converging, an electroacoustic collaboration with Christina Kubisch for the 2018 Kubisch/Lockwood release on the Gruenrekorder label (The secret life of the inaudible), and Wild Energy, with Bob Bielecki – a multi-channel outdoor installation focused on geophysical, atmospheric and mammalian infra and ultra sound sources, commissioned by the Caramoor Festival of the Arts.
Her music has been presented in many venues and festivals including the Tectonics/BBC Festival Glasgow, the Henry Moore Institute Leeds, the Lab, San Francisco, the Israeli Center for Digital Arts, Holon Israel, Issue Project Room, Brooklyn and the London Contemporary Music Festival 2018. Her works have been issued on CD, vinyl and online by Gruenrekorder, Black Truffle, Superior Viaduct, Lovely Music, New World, 3Leaves, XI, EM and other labels.
