Ambrose Field & Sammy Chien, Juice, Cecilia Bignall, Stone Flowers and Northern Contemporary Collective join line up for the second edition of the Leeds-based cutting-edge festival
AGF, Gazelle Twin, People Like Us and Decibel Ensemble are amongst the leading talent already announced
Tickets now on sale – 11.01.18
Returning to Leeds from 12-23 March 2018, Sounds Like THIS presents ground-breaking music, sound art and visual installations by leading artists and emerging talent.
Early bird tickets are now on sale until Friday 2nd Feb
Created by Leeds College of Music, Sounds Like THIS has been awarded Arts Council England Grants for the Arts funding to assist with producing the 2018 edition of the festival, which will see the event expand to six independent venues across Leeds.
Already announced on the cutting-edge bill are producer and composer AGF who plays at The Venue at LCoM, audio-visual artists Gazelle Twin at Brudenell Social Club and Vicki Bennett’s People Like Us, performed at the iconic Hyde Park Picture House.
Ambrose Field & Sammy Chien
Joining the impressive line-up are Ambrose Field & Sammy Chien, who present new commission Quelque chose pour le weekend. The duo will take the audience on a journey through industrial wasteland, noisy factories and sprawling urban environments accompanied by thrusting gritty guitars, driving rhythms and high, floating vocal lines. They join Gazelle Twin presenting Kingdom Come at the Brudenell Social Club for an exciting double-bill.
Stone Flowers
Stone Flowers is a refugee torture survivor music collective who have fled war, conflict and violence from countries including Iran, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Syria, Afghanistan, Cameroon and the DR Congo. Survivors express themselves through the languages and music traditions of their home countries as well as in English, in a special performance at the Royal Armouries.
Nonclassical Club Night returns to the Belgrave Music Hall featuring leading vocal ensemble, Juice, notable cellist Cecilia Bignall, and Northern Contemporary Collective - who feature some of the finest young professional musicians in Yorkshire. NCC will also perform a free lunchtime concert at The Venue for Leeds International Chamber Season.
Following an overwhelming number of submissions to the open call for electroacoustic acts, Electric Saturday (17 March) will showcase a programme of emerging sound art, electroacoustic and electronic talents. The day of innovative sound will be headlined by AGF.
The Paradise Club
A new operatic production, The Paradise Club, by Gina Perry and Adriana Festeu is in development and will be debuted at the festival, performed at Mabgate’s Studio 24. This brand new narrative weaves together scenes from existing operas, and plays with our expectations of the form and function of traditional opera through the lens of a hard-hitting contemporary story.
The festival will also include the Sounds Human conference, which celebrates and evaluates the personal and social benefits of musical engagement, and explore how this forms a vital part of what it means to be human.
For full listings and further information, visit www.soundslikethis.co.uk
Festival Director Dr Paul Abbott says; “We’re absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to build on last year’s festival and make Sounds Like THIS even bigger and better for 2018.
Sounds Like THIS gives a voice to new and exciting music which is traditionally under-represented in the mainstream, and funding from Arts Council England will allow us the opportunity to bring even more diverse and eclectic ground-breaking artists to Leeds
We’re thoroughly excited to programme an event which brings something completely different to the cultural offering of our city. Sounds Like THIS looks to the future of music, and celebrates artists who take risks and push boundaries.”
Nina Baptiste, Senior Relationship Manager, Arts Council England said “I’m really pleased that the Sounds Like THIS festival is returning to Leeds next March bringing with it more opportunities for electronic music artists and, in particular, female artists. The line-up so far looks exciting and I’m delighted that we have supported the festival’s development through our National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts programme.”
Gerry Godley, Principal & Managing Director at Leeds College of Music says: “Sounds Like THIS is our flagship festival, and we’re thrilled at the diverse, innovative programme for 2018. Here at LCoM we encourage our students to be forward-thinking musicians who are creative beyond convention – and it’s this ethos that is captured in the boundary-pushing, cutting-edge nature of Sounds Like THIS.”
For more information, images and press passes please contact Kath Hartley on hello@soundslikethis.co.uk
