Sunday 21 January 2018, 7.30pm
Tasos Stamou / DIY electronics, loops, objects
Steve Beresford / objects, toy instruments, effects
Sharon Gal / voice
Thodoris Ziarkas / double bass, cello, bagpipe
Electroacoustic music composer and performer, alternative electronic music instrument maker, tutor and sound technologist.
During a decade of sound performances and recordings, Tasos Stamou has developed a unique style of live electroacoustic composition. Long and continuous pieces are created on stage or in the studio using a “portable electroacoustic music studio”. His gear consists of acoustic (prepared zither, reeds, recorders, objects) and electronic instruments (handmade electronics, modular synthesizer systems and live processed feedback loops). Based on sustained tonal textures and free improvised instrumental solos, his live compositions create a particular and unique atmosphere of ritual noise.
Although mainly a solo performer and recording artist, he frequently collaborates with other sound artists, improvisers and experimentalists (such as Adam Bohman, Alan Wilkinson, London Improvisers Orchestra, Mike Cooper, Andrea Parkins, Kuupuu & Lau Nau, Terry Day, Adachi Tomomi, Ilan Manouach, Ignaz Schick, Magda Mayas, Arma Agharta, Thodoris Ziarkas, etc.) at various venues and festivals for innovative music.
He is currently leading a workshop series exploring circuit bending & hardware hacking for experimental sound production.
Double bassist and composer from Rhodes, Greece. Growing up with the sounds of Greek folk music mainly playing regional instruments such as the Lyra and tsabouna, he evolved through experimentation to discover the double bass. Currently based in London he is the co-founder of the group Valia Calda, as well as appearing regularly with the London Improvisers Orchestra, Michalis Kouloumis, Esquivo, Tasos Stamou and Bonnendis. Thodoris is also part of the movement & music improvisation series ‘’Metafora’’ with dancer/improviser Georgia Paizi.
Other collaborations include: Roman Gomez, Blam, No Clear Mind, Circuit, James Allsopp, Beibei Wang, Takatsuna Mukai, Dave Pattman, Tim Giles, Mimika Ensemble, Julie Kjær, Sue Lynch, Andreas Polyzogopoulos, Adrian Northover, Duncan Eagels, Daimonia Nymphe, Gareth Lockrane, Orphy Robinson, Alex Bonney, Adam Bohman, Manos Achalinotopoulos, Electric Litany.
Sharon Gal is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, vocalist and composer, specialising in free improvisation, experimental music and collaborative, participatory large group compositions. She works with voice, electronics, extended techniques, field recordings, found audio, video and collage; exploring presence, listening, embodiment, and the relationship between people, sound and space. Sharon performs solo and in collaborations with: David Toop, Steve Beresford, Phil Minton, Charles Hayward, John Butcher, Andie Brown, Yoni Silver, Sue Lynch, Anat Ben David and Lina Lapelyte.
Since 2007 she has directed a series of site specific, large group compositions, inviting musicians and non-musicians to take part. She curates music concerts, including the series Sound Matter, at Café OTO, and concerts at Iklectik arts lab. Her music is released by many labels, including five solo albums and various collaborations.
Past performances include The V&A, ICA, The Whitechapel Gallery, Tate Modern & Tate Britain, MACBA, and Colour Out Of Space, Borealis, Supernormal, Supersonic, TUSK, and Tectonics festivals. Her experimental work, Etudes by Sharon Gal, a collection of text & colour scores, presented as a deck of 78 cards, was supported by Sound and Music and published in 2021.
https://www.sharon-gal.com/
https://sharongal.bandcamp.com
Steve Beresford has been a central figure in the British and international spontaneous music scenes for over forty years, freely improvising on the piano, electronics, and other things with people like Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Han Bennink, John Zorn, and Alterations (with David Toop, Terry Day and Peter Cusack).
He has written songs, written for large and small ensembles, and scored short films, feature films, TV shows, and commercials. He was part of the editorial teams of Musics and Collusion magazines, writes about music in various contexts, and was a senior lecturer in music at the University of Westminster. With Blanca Regina, he is part of Unpredictable Series, which produces events and sound and video recordings of experimental music and art.
Steve has worked with Christian Marclay on numerous Marclay mixed media pieces. He has also worked with The Slits, Najma Akhtar, Stewart Lee, Ivor Cutler, Prince Far-I, Alan Hacker, Tania Chen, Ray Davies, Mandhira De Saram, The Flying Lizards, Zeena Parkins, The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Ilan Volkov, Rachel Musson, Vic Reeves, Lore Lixenberg and many others.
Beresford has an extensive discography as performer, arranger, free-improviser, composer and producer, and was awarded a Paul Hamlyn award for composers in 2012. In 2021, Bloomsbury published a book by Andy Hamilton: ‘Pianos, Toys, Music and Noise: Conversations with Steve Beresford’.
http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mberes.html
