Friday 15 May 2026, 7.30pm
From the Lips to the Moon returns to Cafe OTO for an electrifying long-form improvisation of music and words led by live-electronic musician Pouya Ehsaei and performer-writer Tara Fatehi.
Each From the Lips to the Moon show features a fresh lineup of guest artists. In this edition, they are joined by artists from their upcoming album: writer, artist and director of Forced Entertainment, Tim Etchells; saxophonist and multi-wind player Tamar Osborn (Collocutor); cellist expanding jazz into other realms Kareem Dayes (Tom Skinner ensemble); dynamic percussionist and grammy winner Hammadi Valdes (Ariwo, Carlos Acosta); two times slam champion Maureen Onwunali; and poet and choreographer Oluwaseun Olayiwola.
This event marks the launch of From the Lips to the Moon’s debut album produced by Pouya Ehsaei coming out on Akazib Records featuring poets and musicians from four years of running unique live shows.
Weaving together live electronics, performative poetry, unearthly melodies, noise, twisted beats, heavy subs, and glitchy words, the night invites audiences into a space where dark fantasy, experimentation, and unexpected encounters unfold.
Since 2022, From the Lips to the Moon has become a driving force in London’s experimental performance scene, with past shows at Southbank Centre, V&A Museum, Cafe OTO, 180 Studios, Sophiensaele, Teatro Lucido, NTS and Soho Radio. Lipstomoon press has published two poetry+sounds publications In times of darkness (2024), Noise Complaint (2025). www.lipstomoon.com // @lipstomoon
‘Lively – hypnotic – surreal’ The Wire
‘Futuristic, colourfully surreal and fantastical—like looking through a kaleidoscope.’ Worms
POUYA EHSAEI is a live electronic musician, composer and sound designer working on the intersections of experimental electronic music, live improv and dub techno, characterised by influences from industrial music, breakbeat, jazz, noise, and Iranian folk and classical music. He is the band-leader of Cuban-Iranian ensemble Ariwo and co-founder of Parasang where he led long-form improvisations in a clubbing context. His latest album People of the Wind is out on Akazib Records (2025).
www.pouyaehsaei.com
TARA FATEHI works across performance, movement, voice, and writing exploring multivocality, unfinishedness, and ambiguity. Her playful practice is inspired by everyday absurdity, the inevitability of politics, and misremembered histories. She has performed at Nottdance, V&A, Tate Modern, Southbank Centre, Arnolfini, Montpelier Dance, Oslo Dansens Hus, parks, streets, warehouses, and more. She is co-founder of From the Lips to the Moon, experimental punk-inspired music and spoken word night; author of Mishandled Archive (LADA, 2020), a series of 365 public interventions; and vocalist of People of the Wind (Akazib, 2025).
www.tarafatehi.com
Multi-wind instrumentalist Tamar Osborn collaborates regularly in various ensembles with Dele Sosimi, Sarathy Korwar, Ill Considered, Rosa Brunello, Jessica Lauren, Emanative, DJ Khalab and more. She is a founder member of Flock and Unknown to Known, and also the creative force behind modal jazz ensemble Collocutor (On The Corner Records), with whom she has released three critically acclaimed LPs and an EP. A professional freelancer for 20+ years with a background in both classical music and jazz, she has worked in many different contexts around the world: touring internationally with contemporary/Indian classical dancer Akram Khan’s ‘Xenos’; London productions of the FELA! musical (National Theatre, Sadler’s Wells); Air Anatolia and Moments Notice projects for London Jazz Festival; working with artists as diverse as Kelis, Rhye, Tanmoy Bose, and the Africa Express project with Tony Allen, Fatoumata Diawara and Batida amongst others.
As ‘Tamar Collocutor’ she also hosts a monthly cross-genre music show on Soho Radio, including interviews with musicians and others involved in the industry.
TIM ETCHELLS (UK) is an artist and writer whose work shifts between performance, art and experimental writing. He's presented, published and exhibited his work in a wide variety of international contexts, and is artistic director of the world-renowned Sheffield-based performance group Forced Entertainment and has collaborated with musicians such as Aisha Orazbayeva, Tony Buck (The Necks) and Jack Sheen.
MAUREEN ONWUNALI is a Dublin-born Nigerian poet and a two-time national slam champion. Her work has been featured by various musicians, radio shows, and organisations, including BFI, Pearson, Penguin, BBC Radio London, Roundhouse, TEDx, Apples and Snakes, and the Poetry Society.
Oluwaseun Olayiwola is a poet, critic, and choreographer living in London. His poems and criticism have been published in the Guardian, The Poetry Review, Oxford Poetry, the Telegraph, the TLS, and elsewhere. Seun was an inaugural member of the Southbank Poetry Collective. His debut collection is forthcoming in 2024 in the US and UK. He recently began lecturing in the Kingston School of Art.
Hammadi Valdes is a dynamic percussionist, musical director, and educator who has worked closely with legendary dancer Carlos Acosta for over two decades. He contributed to landmark recordings including Irakere 30 Años and Chucho Valdés’ Latin Grammy–winning New Conceptions. Hammadi served as musical director for Acosta’s Tocororo: A Cuban Tale, which broke box office records at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, earned an Olivier Award nomination, and toured internationally. He is currently co-leader of Ariwo, a Cuban-Iranian quartet exploring the intersection of electronic and Afro-Cuban music.
Kahlil Ibn Barbara (aka Kareem Dayes) is a cellist, composer, community organiser and mathematician. Kareem aspires to become a transdisciplinary movement builder and is committed to building alternative community led organisations to meet the crises of climate breakdown, inequality and war. He has performed with United Vibrations and his most recent project is Tom Skinner's Quartet Voices of Bishara.
