SPECTRUM speaks

SPECTRUM is 3 days of stimulating sounds at the creative intersection where jazz, contemporary, rock and electronic music collide, with focus on the live and improvised presented by IMC in association with Note Productions and Homebeat. The concerts will be complemented by two compelling talks under the heading ‘SPECTRUM speaks’ on Friday 10th and Sunday 12th putting the live experience into context.

The first SPECTRUM speaks (Friday 10th March) plays on a Frank Zappa quote with the title ‘Is genre dead, or does it just smell funny?’ kicking off the 3 day festival with a stimulating dose of context for this diverse and intriguing programme. This panel discussion will be led by Professor Matthew Causey from Trinity College Dublin who will be joined by musician/composer Laura Hyland, artist-composer and lecturer in Trinity College’s Music Dept Nicholas Brown, and agent/ event producer Una Molloy of Turning Pirate.

The second SPECTRUM speaks (Sunday 12th March) will be an open-floor conversation with Evan Parker and Barry Guy who will both be performing at SPECTRUM separately. Parker and Guy have been key figures in the European free improvisation scene since its genesis in the 60’s and 70’s, both hugely influential to this music over these 40+ years to the present day. This is an exciting opportunity for music fans to interact with these two legendary free jazz musicians.

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.

​PANELISTS:

Matthew Causey is Associate Professor, Fellow, and Director of the Arts Technology Research Laboratory in the School of Drama, Film and Music at Trinity College Dublin. He has completed vast amounts of research and writings on techni-culture and is no stranger to a conversation on the subject of ambiguity of modern genres.

Laura Hyland is a Dublin based songwriter/musician who is renowned for pushing musical boundaries in both her solo music and in her work with London-based group Clang Sayne. Hyland has worked with many highly esteemed artists including Sean MacErlaine, Michelle O’Rourke, Matthew Jacobson, Judith Ring, Karen Power and Donal MacErlaine.

Una Molloy is the founder of the agency ‘Turning Pirate’. Since 2007, she has worked with the agency as a tour manager, artist manager, booking agent and event producer.

Nicholas Brown is an assistant professor of music at Trinity College Dublin, artist-composer, performer and writer. Nicholas has published articles on the philosophy of music, particularly theories of music & embodiment, and given talks and lectures on the value of artistic expression in the context of daily life.

SUNDAY 12th March

SPECTRUM speaks : In conversation with Evan Parker & Barry Guy

2pm Whelans front bar | FREE to concert ticket-holders

These two highly respected musicians, key figures of the European free improvisation scene since its genesis in the 60s and 70s, share their experience to an open floor.

Evan 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. Parker is one of the great saxophone players, pushing the instrument into uncharted waters since his emergence in the late 1960s. As a lynchpin of the European free improvisation scene, Parker played on such landmark recordings as the Spontaneous Music Ensemble’s Karyobin and Peter Brötzmann’s Machine Gun (both 1968), and founded the Incus label with Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley in 1970.

Barry Guy is an English composer and pioneering bassist has an extensive and influential body of work that encompasses large ensembles, solo expositions and intimate duo and trio work. He has been at the forefront of free improvisation since the mid 1970’s and he is renowned in particular for his striking approach to double bass utilising many prepared techniques on the instrument as well as intriguing percussive, bowed and tonal variations to create a sound unique to his inimitable style.