This evening is intended to celebrate the turning of the year, at the winter solstice, when the sun is at it’s lowest. Many pre-christian cultures would celebrate this with feasting and wild events such as Saturnalia. People would be desperate for the solar cycle to commence again, bringing more light and warmth, enabling spring to bring forth renewal, fertility and growth.
The Demi-Monde is a quartet led by Jowe Head, formerly of experimental post-punk pioneers Swell Maps, and features Tim Bowen, Catherine Gerbrands and Ravi-Low-Beer. Their sound is based on voices, percussion, cello, bowed saw and also electronic sounds from Theremin and analogue synthesiser. They use traditional song sources, using ancient and contemporary tools to evoke a timeless mood. They bring a collection of new songs about visionary artists, such as Hannah Hoch, William Blake, Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell, Loiuise Bourgeois, Joseph Beuys.
Hand of Stabs are a collective of experimental sound-makers from the Medway region in Kent. They often perform in the open air, having an elemental approach to sound-making.
Rotten Bliss is the project of Jasmine Pender, who uses cello and voice to create enchanting, sometimes disturbing sound-scapes: She creates synesthetic interactive sound works using layers of live electric cello and samples augmented by sensors, data streams and chance events to create pieces inspired by games, ritual and chance. Chance, synchronicity, data and improvisation combine to create a multilayered psychedelic sonic stew best ingested in a dark room at high volume. Recent highlights include work with the Kinetica museum and the National Theatre.
Entry £5 / donation
Check out this wonderful video of Hand of Stabs performing in woodland:
