Nonclassical: British Music Abroad
For:
Classical NEXT
Event date:
May 2013
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A new music scene is currently emerging in London … Over the last few years ‘classical club-nights’ have started to become a rare but growing feature in the night-life of London. This has been fuelled by the next generation of classical performers, composers and promoters who are redefining the rules, and breaking out of the constraints of the traditional classical concert hall.
At the forefront of this new movement is NONCLASSICAL. Founded by composer Gabriel Prokofiev in 2003, NONCLASSICAL is a club-night, UK based record label, and possibly a new genre of music (according to Rough Trade records). The club night is currently held at the Macbeth in Hoxton, East London, on the first Thursday of every month, and at other times across London in locations such as Kings Place, Cargo, XOYO and Camden Roundhouse. Since 2011 NONCLASSICAL offshoots have begun to flourish in Paris and South West England, with one-off appearances also taking place at SXSW Festival and across the USA.
The audience represents a young generation of music lovers who are searching for the latest exciting developments in music. At each event, innovative and virtuosic classical musicians blow away audiences with their incredible musicianship and new compositions. The success of the night partly stems from the fact that it presents Classical as if it were Rock or Electronic music. Bands play through the pub’s PA, everyone has a pint in their hand and perhaps most importantly there are DJs playing throughout the night. Even the most sceptical visitors to the club can’t help but be stimulated by being so close to the high-quality musicianship presented at NONCLASSICAL. Classical music can be part of everyone’s lives and this night is part of rediscovering its relevance.
The NONCLASSICAL record label has released 13 albums to date, with 2012 the busiest year so far, and an ever-growing spectrum of music being represented (such as Tansy Davies, Juice Vocal Ensemble, Aisha Orazbayeva, GeNIA, and Joby Burgess). The idea behind the releases is to record forward-thinking, contemporary classical music and then invite musicians and producers who usually work in different genres of music to remix them. Artists such as Tim Exile (Warp), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Murcof, Hot Chip, Simon Tong (The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Gorillaz and The Verve), Mira Calix (Warp), John Maclean (The Beta Band and The Aliens), Gabriel Prokofiev among many other up-and-coming innovators in their own worlds, have remixed pieces for the label to stunning effect.