Rise of the Machines!

Nonclassical, the club-night and record label founded by the composer Gabriel Prokofiev, is joining forces with the Southbank Sinfonia for Rise of the Machines, the centrepiece of which is a classical club-night at Ambika P3 on Friday 15 April 2016. Rather appropriately, the industrial space of the former concrete testing laboratory will play host to a performance of Alexander Mosolov's ground-breaking 1927 Iron Foundry, the orchestral grandfather of mechanical music. Alongside the Mosolov will be arrangements of electronic wizard Aphex Twin’s Cock Ver. 10 and Blue Calx, as well as Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter, the fifth movement of Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Turntables  (one of this year’s BBC Ten Pieces) and the UK premiere of Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto for Turntables, Percussion, Trumpet and Orchestra.  The Southbank Sinfonia will be conducted by Gerry Cornelius and the soloists include world DJ champion Mr Switch and percussionist Joby Burgess.

The idea behind the concert and associated events is explained by a quote from Nonclassical's press release: 'By enjoying the tension of human performers exploring mechanical rhythms, the series explores the relationship between orchestral music and technology, the future of robotics in music, and the potential of mechanised musical instruments to create innovative new music spanning several genres.'

Other events include an interactive schools’ performance for KS3 students (11-14 year olds) of some of the works involved in the evening performance on the afternoon of Friday 15 April, with a special focus on the BBC Ten Pieces’ Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra. And on Wednesday 13 April, the Nonclassical Monthly Night at The Victoria (Dalston) also adopts the ‘Rise of the Machines’ theme, and features performances focussing on machine-based music and electronics from Tom Richards, Dead Fader and Nonclassical’s 2016 Battle of the Bands winners Ensemble x.y.

Full information from the Nonclassical website.