Éliane Radigue

In the presence of Éliane Radigue. Co-conception of the program: Carol Robinson.
With: Dominic Lash (double bass), Rhodri Davies (harp) and Angharad Davies (violin).

After several collaborations with pioneering electroacoustic composer Éliane Radigue, the Nomadic Nights are pleased to present the very first retrospective devoted to her OCCAMs. Fascinating instrumental pieces, which she refers to as her “sound fantasies”; bespoke compositions are created in collaboration with her performers. This program has been designed with Éliane Radigue and Carol Robinson especially for the Fondation Cartier.

Program:

• OCCAM RIVER XV (20'), Angharad Davies, Dominic Lash (violin and double bass)
• OCCAM XVII (20'), Dominic Lash (double bass)
• OCCAM RIVER XVII (20'), Angharad Davies, Rhodri Davies (violin and harp)
• OCCAM DELTA XIV (19'), Angharad Davies, Dominic Lash, Rhodri Davies (violin, double bass and harp)

Biographies

Éliane Radigue (born in 1932, in Paris) is renowned for her electronic music, produced with feedbacks and reinjections, and in particular with the ARP 2500 synthesizer. Her compositions are defined by micro-events due to subtle changes in harmonics that dance above a seemingly static tone. The result is deeply moving. In 2005, Radigue began to compose for acoustic instruments with fellow musicians, first with Naldjorlak, her masterpiece for two basset horns and cello, and later with OCCAM OCEAN, her endless cycle. These new works have been presented in museums, concert halls and festivals in the world... She recently received a special mention from the jury of the Evens Foundation and the Giga-Hertz Award from the ZKM in Germany as well as the Open Oor Composition Prize in the Netherlands.

Carol Robinson is a Franco-American composer and clarinetist specializing in experimental creation. She performs in major international venues and festivals, and regularly collaborates with choreographers, photographers and musicians from various backgrounds. She is the author of some sixty works for various formations, which often incorporate electronics. Besides her own music, her recent discography includes those of great contemporary composers, alternative rock, jazz and classical music. Carol Robinson has worked closely with Éliane Radigue since 2006.

Dominic Lash is a freely improvising double bassist and electric guitarist who the Free Jazz Collective has called an “exceptional creative musician”. He also both writes and performs composed music and, as an academic, researches and writes about film. He has worked with musicians including John Butcher, Tony Conrad, and Evan Parker; among his most regular collaborators are Angharad Davies, N.O. Moore, and Alex Ward. Solo double bass pieces have been written for him by composers including Jürg Frey, Richard Glover, and Éliane Radigue.

A significant figure in European experimental and improvised music for over twenty years, Rhodri Davies plays harp and electric harp. He uses a range of inventive techniques to extend the possibilities and sounds of the harp and builds wind, water, ice, dry ice and fire harp installations. He has performed and recorded with diverse artists and groups, and has released seven solo albums. For the last twelve years, Davies has been closely associated with the pioneering composer Éliane Radigue performing eighteen of her pieces: she composed OCCAM I for Davies in 2011. He also performs and researches contemporary music and is a co-organiser of the NAWR concert series in Swansea.

Angharad Davies is a Welsh violinist based in London working with free-improvisation, compositions and performance. Her approach to sound involves attentive listening and exploring beyond the sonic confines of her instrument, her classical training and performance expectation. Much of her work involves collaboration. She has long standing duos with Tisha Mukarji, Dominic Lash and Lina Lapelyte and plays with Common Objects, Cranc and Skogen. She has been involved in projects with Tarek Atui, Tony Conrad, Richard Dawson, Gwenno, Roberta Jean, Jack McNamara, Rie Nakajima, Tim Parkinson, Éliane Radigue, Georgia Ruth and J.G.Thirlwell.