many hands make light work is a piece about sharing the load.
props to all musicians involved; loz, anton and james.
thanks to cheryl at grand union and the grubby mitts for asking me to be the support act.
for its first incarnation we did well in such a short space of time and yay we didn’t burn down minerva works!
thanks to photographer david rowan for some top photos!
I have been asked to compose string arrangements for Lizzie Emeh’s new LP. I thought I’d find this quite easy as my compositions tend to be quite melodic, oh how naive of me!
So as the stress levels have increased (writer’s block) – I decided to take a day off working on the tracks, start a 6000 word research essay due in 3 weeks (!!), and listened to great string arrangers. Whilst figuring out how to create arrangements for Lizzie’s tracks, I have enjoyed working on the texture/warmth/subtleties. What I have found challenging is being bold at the right moment. Thanks to Mark at Heart and Soul for being patient with me and giving me this opportunity. Time to step up now!
Listen and learn from great string composer-arrangers:
Patrice Rushen
Rod Temperton
Will Malone
Will Gregory
Lalo Schifrin
Glen Page
David Van DePitte
David Whitaker
(Photographer Vanley Burke with curator Ian Sergeant)
‘X’ was revolution no. 20, under the Free School events curated by Ian Sergeant. It was inspired by an intriguing, enthralling and what John L. Williams calls a tragicomic story of black political activist Michael X.
Initially Ian Sergeant wanted a performance inspired by black British politics in the Midlands. Shamefully, knowing very little about black British politics I penned some ideas for an audio-visual performance, calling in artist and musician Matt Watkins to assist. Ian had just started reading the John L. Williams book and quite quickly his ideas changed…. Michael X became the focal point. I have to admit, I was resistant, having reservations because I was invested in the first idea, but once I read the biography it all made sense. I am glad Ian made that change! Read More …
Photo by Horace Ove
Performance happening in a few weeks! Come and support!