Manchester Camerata and Hugo Ticciati

Manchester Camerata, “Britain’s most adventurous orchestra” (The Times), are on a mission to bring contemporary classical music and electronic music culture together with Unquiet, a new live music series. Exploring the connection between the two genres, Unquietis a series that has been commissioned by the Camerata and NEWFORM, with artistic direction from Robert Ames.

The series will kick off with a series of four dates in the autumn in Leeds, Norwich, Birmingham and Bristol. An ensemble from the Camerata will be joined by Norwegian-Mexican composer Carmen Villain who has been commissioned to write a new 15-minute work which will be premiered during the tour. The programme will also include works by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Bryce Dessner and Mica Levi in addition to a new work by AFRODEUTSCHE, a Manchester-based composer, producer and DJ. AFRODEUTSCHE’s piece He Sings Over Me, commissioned by Manchester Camerata and NEWFORM Music, was premiered in Coventry last month as part of the PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre’s New Music Biennial 2022, and will be performed again at the Southbank Centre in July. As part of the performances, Robert Ames and Ben Corrigan will perform a set from their latest album CARBS which was released last month.

James Thomas, Head of Artistic Development and Programming, said:
“Manchester Camerata has always done things a little differently and working with NEWFORM and Rob Ames to realise Unquiet is the beginning of something really special. It’s such a joy to be able to commission new work from some of the most interesting music creators today and to take that to audiences in venues across the UK. I can’t wait to watch the project grow!”

Robert Ames, Artistic Director of Unquiet, said:
“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be an artist, genres are blurring and audiences are more open than ever to having preconceptions challenged and to trying something new. It’s been a massive pleasure curating the first edition of Unquiet alongside NEWFORM and capturing this energy”

In commissioning Unquiet, Manchester Camerata are once again fusing the classical and electronic worlds. Their recent collaboration with Manchester-based duo Space Afrika saw them bring the music of Steve Reich together with Space Afrika’s electronic sounds to a sold-out audience at Stoller Hall. Unquiet raises the bar by including works from five contemporary electronic composers and touring to four cities across the UK.

Manchester Camerata is collaborating with performing arts agency NEWFORM Music for the series which is aimed at audiences who are equally engaged in the contemporary classical music scene as they are with UK pirate radio and electronic music culture.

Carmen Villain creates unique soundscapes with field recordings, acoustic instruments and electronics. Highly experimental in both production and composition, she has released recordings with Norwegian, American and Australian labels. Her recent album Only Love From Now On was called “a triumph of quiet beauty” by The Fader and “beauty at its core” by Pitchfork.

https://www.instagram.com/unquiet_uk
https://www.instagram.com/newformmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/manchestercamerata
https://www.instagram.com/robertamesmusic
https://www.instagram.com/carmenvillain
https://www.instagram.com/afrodeutsche