SPECTRUM festival

A new festival experience for Irish fans of innovative music-making, SPECTRUM presents a widely diverse programme of music that flows through the prism of the jazz approach; its output a miscellany of sound, covering a full spectrum through jazz, progressive, rock, alt-folk to electronica.

Presented by Improvised Music Company (IMC) in association with Note Productions and Homebeat, SPECTRUM is 3 days of stimulating music, at the creative intersection where jazz, contemporary, rock and electronic music collide, with focus on the live and improvised, complimented by a compelling programme of talks, 10-12th March in Whelans and The Opium Rooms on Wexford St, Dublin.

FRIDAY kicks off with a dose of context in SPECTRUM speaks, a debate on the excessive classifications of modern music led by Professor Matthew Causey from Trinity College Dublin. Later on Whelan’s mainstage, jazz composer and bassist Ronan Guilfoyle is joined by two of New York’s most respected jazz musicians Tom Rainey and Dave Binney performing Guilfoyle’s ‘Hands’, a compelling conflict between composed music and freewheeling improvisation.

SATURDAY night is the big night at SPECTRUM kicking off with a double-header. This will be a treat for Irish audiences, with the cinematic sounds of Belgian instrumental trio Dans Dans, followed by the raw punk energy of Norway’s Hedvig Mollestad. Then from 11pm til late, Homebeat present SPECTRUM club, a hand picked celebration of the beautiful frayed edges of LIVE contemporary Irish electronica featuring the ethereal ambience of Dublin producer Kobina's glitchy soundscapes, going right through to the vital live vocals and driving synth of White Collar Boy's pop electronica in Whelan’s upstairs.

SUNDAY begins with an intimate, duo concert with two fearless, world-class improvisers in Izumi Kimura & Barry Guy at the Hugh Lane Gallery at noon, followed by another SPECTRUM speaks session in conversation with Barry Guy and Evan Parker - two godfathers of the European free improv scene since the 1970s.

Sunday night saxophonist Evan Parker takes to the stage with acclaimed Irish pianist Paul G.Smyth for a thrilling duo performance, opening with a support slot by alt-folk guitarist Cian Nugent, much admired for his intricate extended compositions

Jazz music is and always has been an attitude more than a fixed genre, with improvisation and evolution at its core. From Improvised Music Company, through a compelling collaboration with Note Productions and Homebeat, SPECTRUM presents a programme of acts intent on creatively evolving and busting confines of genre for the germination of truly creative music.

PROGRAMME

FRIDAY 10th March

SPECTRUM speaks: ‘Is music genre dead, or does it just smell funny?’

4pm, The Parlour, Whelan’s, Wexford St | FREE to concert ticket-holders

Professor Matthew Causey from Trinity College Dublin will lead a public seminar examining this ambiguous creative space occupied by many of the performers at SPECTRUM 2017. He will be joined in this critical discussion by Nicholas Brown (Assistant Professor of Music, TCD), Una Molloy (Turning Pirate) and Laura Hyland (musician/composer).

SPECTRUM live : Ronan Guilfoyle’s ‘Hands’ (IRL & US)

8pm, Whelans, Wexford St | Tickets €15/12 HERE

Music that is both lyrical and powerful, with a groove filled with rhythmic surprises, ‘Hands’ presents Guilfoyle’s love for combining composed music with freewheeling improvisation. This concert represents both the best in contemporary jazz as well as its international, collaborative nature, with two of New York’s most respected jazz musicians Tom Rainey and Dave Binney, joining composer and bassist Ronan Guilfoyle, and emerging guitarist Chris Guilfoyle

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SATURDAY 11th March

SPECTRUM live : Dans Dans (BE) & Hedvig Mollestad Trio (NO)

7:30 pm, The Opium Rooms | Tickets €16/13 OR Saturday Ticket (concert + club) €20

Exciting double-header of contemporary sounds from Europe, featuring the wide-open, cinematic soundscape of Belgian instrumental trio Dans Dans, presenting jazz without stuffiness, rock without blinkers and avant-garde without pretention. They will be followed by the dark, primal aesthetic of Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad and her riot grrrl attitude and raw punk energy, playing music that is progressive and exhilarating, with an homage to the avant prog-rock of King Crimson, the blues-laden psychedelica of Hendrix with more than a subtle influence from the free-jazz aesthetic of Gustafsson & Brotzmann.

SPECTRUM club : curated by Homebeat

11pm, Whelan’s Upstairs | White Collar Boy & Kobina | Tickets €7 OR Saturday Ticket (concert + club) €20

Homebeat are delighted to present SPECTRUM club - a celebration of the beautiful frayed edges of LIVE contemporary Irish electronica featuring the ethereal ambience of Dublin producer Kobina's glitchy soundscapes as well as the vital live vocals and driving synth of White Collar Boy's pop electronica. Each in their own way shine a crystalline light on separate corners, and different hues, of Ireland's bustling electronic music landscape.

Further Info and Tickets

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SUNDAY 12th March

SPECTRUM live : Izumi Kimura & Barry Guy

12pm, The Hugh Lane Gallery / Free Event

An intimate, duo concert with two fearless, world-class improvisers, celebrated Japanese born, Irish-based pianist Izumi Kimura alongside bassist Barry Guy; a radical artist at the forefront of free improvisation in Europe since the mid 1970’s

SPECTRUM speaks : In conversation with Evan Parker & Barry Guy

2pm, The Parlour, Whelans

These two key figures of the European free improvisation scene since its genesis in the 60s and 70s share their experience.

SPECTRUM live : Paul G. Smyth & Evan Parker

Support by Cian Nugent (solo)

7:30pm, The Opium Rooms / Tickets €16/13

Acclaimed Irish pianist Paul G. Smyth will perform at SPECTRUM in a thrilling duo collaboration with one of the greatest saxophonists alive, Evan Parker. Parker's legacy to the world of improvised music can never be overstated, and this collaboration with one of Ireland’s finest creative forces is a truly exciting prospect for any fan of progressive music.

Supporting this exciting duo will be Irish guitarist Cian Nugent, an artist who has proven himself a master of sinewy textured guitar playing and immersive instrumentation on a par with avant-folk heroes John Fahey, Jim O’Rourke and Jack Rose.

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TICKETING

Standard Weekend Festival Ticket €38

Friday 10th March | Ronan Guilfoyle’s ‘Hands’ | Tickets €15/12

Saturday 11th March | Dans Dans & Hedvig Mollestad Trio | Tickets €16/13

HOMEBEAT club Tickets €7

Full Day & Night Saturday Tickets €20

Sunday 12th March | Paul G.Smyth & Evan Parker (Cian Nugent support) | Tickets €16/13

SPECTRUM speaks : FREE to ticket holders

SPECTRUM live : Izumi KImura & Barry Guy on Sunday at noon FREE EVENT