Category Archives: News

News – the CBSO are Bringing The Light

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published by Ben Hogwood from the original press release

This winter, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will illuminate Birmingham’s Symphony Hall with Bringing the Light – a remarkable celebration of music, culture and community, featuring three brand-new pieces by Roxanna Panufnik, Joan Armatrading and Cassie Kinoshi alongside A.R. Rahman’s Slumdog Millionaire Suite arranged by Matt Dunkley.

Taking place on Sunday 7 December at 5pm, this uplifting afternoon of music and storytelling harnesses the full strength of the CBSO, the CBSO Chorus, CBSO Youth and Children’s Choruses, alongside presenter Satnam Rana, conductor Michael Seal and sitar soloist Akash Parekar. The programme blends orchestral and choral brilliance, contemporary composition and global influences, promising an unforgettable celebration of togetherness and creativity.

Emma Stenning, Chief Executive of the CBSO said: “This concert shines a light on Birmingham’s extraordinary diversity and creativity. ‘Bringing the Light’ will fill Symphony Hall with music that uplifts, connects and inspires – a true celebration of what makes this city so special. After a year that has been characterised by so much division and polarisation, this concert will do a great deal to remind us of what we as people all have in common – and the power of music as a force to unite us all.

“At the CBSO, we’re passionate about creating experiences that feel both rooted in our home city and open to the world. This concert brings together voices from different traditions, faiths and generations to reflect the vibrancy of Birmingham today.”

At the heart of the concert is Aurora a new work by composer Roxanna Panufnik and writer and librettist Jessica Duchen, co-commissioned by the CBSO, Royal Choral Society and the Arktisk Filharmoni. It is a powerful piece that explores the power of light as a universal symbol of hope, connection and unity – drawing inspiration from festivals of light from around the world. Developed in close collaboration with 14 UK faith leaders and devotional musicians, the text of each movement represents a different faith: Christian Christmas; Muslim Milad un Nabi; Sikh, Jain and Hindu Diwali; Jewish Hanukkah; Tibetan Buddhist Gaden Ngamchoe and ending with a beautiful, musical depiction of the Aurora Borealis for those of all faiths and none.

Roxanna Panufnik said: “When we hear about different faiths in the media it’s too often about conflict between them and very rarely about their respective beauty and the common themes we all share. We have planned this work over the past 10 years, and it has been hugely inspirational collaborating with our phenomenal consultants: 14 UK Faith leaders and their respective devotional musicians. The CBSO is perfectly placed, in a city with a fabulous and dynamic diversity of cultures and faiths, to premiere this work. Our 270 singers will be of multiple ages and faiths – so will, we hope, our audience. This is a piece for EVERYONE.”

Jessica Duchen adds: “The overarching image of Aurora: Faith in Harmony is the Northern Lights, a miracle of nature that can inspire the kind of awe in us all that some people find in faith. Embracing the secular community alongside a range of world faiths that have festivals of light in the depths of winter, the piece celebrates the virtually universal human longing for light in darkness, which we hope can help to bring people of all cultures together. It has been an incredible journey for us both – and Roxanna has excelled herself in writing music of extraordinary beauty.”

The performance opens with a world premiere of Homeland by singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading CBE– which she describes as her “love letter” to Birmingham.

Joan Armatrading comments: “Homeland is a piece that highlights the city of Birmingham and its people, reflecting their strong sense of community, resilience and warmth. It is a tribute to a place to which I am bonded, and one I will always hold with affection and pride. Through both words and music, the piece weaves together the sounds, energy, and rhythms of the city while reaching out into its vast surrounding countryside. This is Birmingham not simply as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing presence – an often-underrated landscape where industry and nature exist side by side in quiet beauty.”

The concert also includes a new commission by Mercury Prize-nominated and Ivors Academy Award-winning composer and saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi with lyrics by poet Lydia Luke.

Cassie Kinoshi said: “I was in the state of mind to stay centres on how nature grounds and steadies us within the constant movement of city life. It captures the ways young people find calm and connection in fleeting everyday moments; rain against a bus window; flowers at a market stall; or the scent of trees through an open window; and celebrates the beauty of finding stillness amid the noise. Created with input from the Southwark Playhouse Youth Company, the piece offers a portrait of the city through young people’s eyes: a place where nature and metropolitan life coexist. It is about recognising how these small, tender moments can bring comfort, belonging, and a sense of balance in an increasingly hectic world. Rather than portraying nature as something distant or idealised, the piece treats it as part of daily life: a source of connection to oneself, and a reminder that even in the most built-up places, the natural world remains ever-present.”

The CBSO acknowledges the generous gift from Frances and Barry Kirkham, whose support helped ​make Aurora and i was in the state of mind to stay possible.

Leading up to the performance, there will be lantern-making workshops in partnership with the Canal and River Trust and Crafting Community. As well as a beautiful lantern walk along Birmingham’s canals, accompanied by narrowboats decorated by light artist Sophie Handy and featuring local musicians, which begins at Roundhouse Birmingham and ends at the ICC with a performance by the CBSO’s community choir SO Vocal.

Audiences are warmly invited to this vibrant celebration of culture and light which unites communities from across the city and beyond to share a moment of joy, hope and reflection.

Full details can be found on the CBSO’s website

Published post no.2,721 – Monday 17 November 2025

New music – Ólafur Arnalds’ OPIA to release third collaboration album

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Ólafur Arnalds’ OPIA label announces its third collaborative compilation. Following an open call that drew nearly 60 submissions, the label invited composers from around the world to team up and create new works together, often working across continents, time zones, and genres.

The theme of collaboration guided the project, encouraging artists to combine their ideas, styles, and perspectives to create unique musical dialogues.

The resulting 10-track collection is a deeply atmospheric journey through neo-classical, ambient, electronic, and experimental soundscapes. Each piece reflects a meeting of minds, where ideas evolved through shared sessions, remote file-trading, and creative dialogue. The compilation captures the beauty of collaboration, the moments where different voices merge into something unexpected, intimate, and resonant.

Featuring artists from countries such as Chile, Norway, France, UK, Australia, US, Poland, and India, the release highlights the truly global nature of the OPIA community. Even the cover art was sourced from within the community, with JJ Studios contributing the evocative artwork that ties the project together.

The full compilation will be released 13th November, inviting listeners to slow down and immerse themselves in a cross-continental conversation between composers.

The immersive and cinematic Only Know by ENGRANE and Lara Frank blends dark ambient textures with atmospheric electronic pop, evoking the rhythmic pull and mystery of the ocean. Male and female vocals entwine across synths, deep bass, and intricate percussion, creating a haunting yet emotionally resonant dialogue. With rich production and a sense of vastness, the track invites listeners into a deep, introspective soundscape shaped by nature’s ebb and flow.

Born from a transatlantic collaboration, ENGRANE (Berlin) and Lara Frank (Nashville) connected through the OPIA music community, drawn together by a shared affinity for emotive, atmospheric sound design. Working remotely across continents, they exchanged ideas and layers over multiple sessions, allowing the track to evolve organically. Lara’s evocative soundscapes and ENGRANE’s detailed production merged seamlessly, resulting in a piece that captures both the intimacy of creative connection and a broader call to reconnect with the natural world.

About OPIA:
Born out of Ólafur Arnalds’ desire to create an environment that encourages experiments and collaboration, OPIA is focused on strengthening the scene where modern-classical music meets electronic and beyond.

A three-pronged entity, OPIA is a travelling festival series, a record label and a community hub fostering a variety of conversations and initiatives.
https://www.opiacommunity.com/

Published post no.2,704 – Thursday 31 October 2025

New music – Frieder Nagel & Daniel Brandt: Who Knows (InFiné)

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Frieder Nagel continues his new series with Who Knows, featuring Daniel Brandt — composer, drummer, and co-founder of the acclaimed Brandt Brauer Frick.

A dark and menacing track unfolds under severe rhythmic tension. While constantly building, its long elegiac melodies slowly evolve and dissolve within majestic string arrangements and Nagel’s signature Moog sound. The single is accompanied by two additional versions: a shorter, more condensed radio edit, and a beatless ambient version that brings the meticulously crafted sound design to the forefront.

Nagel and Brandt first met in 2019, when Nagel directed Brandt’s music video Flamingo for Erased Tapes. A year later, they collaborated on a dance opera with Japanese choreographer Fukiko Takase at Uferstudios Berlin, which premiered at the Gluck Festspiele. Who Knows finally captures on tape the unique creative chemistry that sparks whenever the two artists meet.

Frieder expands on the track. “In the end, we are total opposites. Daniel is literally just back from touring Asia — he’s constantly on the move with his band, his solo project, or his work as a producer and director in London. Drums are, in a way, extroverted — expressive and primarily rhythmic. I, on the other hand, live a much calmer life in the woods, focusing on introspective works like audiovisual sound art, installations, or score production, where melody and synthesis take the lead.”

It is precisely this contrast that makes Who Knows so captivating: Nagel’s calm, melodic sensibility colliding with Brandt’s impulsive, almost restless energy. The result is a striking duality — a tension that is hard to define but impossible to ignore.

Where Do As I Please (above), released earlier this year, explored the theme of overcoming creative struggle, Who Knows feels like a blueprint for Nagel’s new artistic direction — moving further away from his downtempo and electronica beginnings toward new shores and inspirations, offering raw, unpredictable music that leaves the listener wondering what comes next.

Published post no.2,700 – Monday 27 October 2025

New music – Tycho & Paul Banks (Interpol): Boundary Rider (Ninja Tune)

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Tycho – project of celebrated San Francisco songwriter, musician and producer Scott Hansen – announces Boundary Rider, his new collaboration with Paul Banks of Interpol. 

With Interpol cited by Hansen as a key touchstone on his own productions Boundary Rider sees Tycho in a decidedly post-rock mode, with Banks’ yearning vocals delivered over crisp percussion, swirling guitar riffs and fleeting synths. Watch below:

“Interpol has long been one of my biggest influences so I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Paul on a song,” explains Hansen. “Boundary Rider started life as an atmospheric instrumental song titled “Forge” that I had been working on here and there for a couple of years. When I met Paul and started thinking about what songs might connect with his voice, Forge immediately came to mind.”

“I sent him a demo along with the prompt “Boundary Rider”. I had been reading about the lives of Boundary Riders during the 1930’s, people who patrolled and maintained fences in the vast expanse of the Western Australian outback. There was something about this solitary existence that I felt resonated with the song and the deep sense of isolation in Paul’s lyrics brought this into focus.”

Published post no.2,696 – Thursday 23 October 2025

New music – Jamie Lidell & Luke Schneider: New Land (Northern Spy Records)

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Jamie Lidell and Luke Schneider have created a kind of sonic tool to navigate a liminal state of mind. Their new collaborative LP, A Companion For The Spaces Between Dreams, is due for release on 31 October on Brooklyn experimental imprint Northern Spy Records, designed as a reverent companion for psychedelic journeys born from Lidell’s own ketamine therapy sessions, which deepened his belief in art’s healing power.

“A mind is often found more exposed during psychedelic experiences,” Lidell explains. “Specifically in a therapeutic setting, where trust is key to approach issues and work through events in the way of growth. This is music to support and guide the listening with or without psychedelic sensory heightening.”

From the album, and released today, New Land travels the distance, shape shifting with sparkling, pulsating textures and vast drones that stretch for miles. Brent Stewart’s accompanying film for New Land combines three simple ingredients- expired Super 8mm tri X black & white film, sunlight and pure water from a hidden Tennessee creek.”

Neither Lidell nor Schneider is a stranger to brain-bending timbres. UK-born Lidell cut his teeth as a member of the microhouse duo Super_Collider and later released genre bending solo albums on Warp Records, spanning abstract techno to neo-soul. His prior 2025 album, Places of Unknowing, was Lidell’s first in nine years, exploring symphonic arrangements indebted to David Bowie and David Sylvian. As a pedal steel guitarist, Schneider has worked with artists including Margo Price, William Tyler, and Orville Peck. He has issued cosmic solo LPs on Third Man Records and Leaving Records, which meld instrumental shoegaze, outlaw country, and new age.

Their partnership emerged unexpectedly while working on a promotional video for Moog. Two days of freewheeling collaboration in the studio sparked A Companion For The Spaces Between Dreams, a collection of five long-form pieces that are almost suite-like. Lidell uses modular synths, Fender Rhodes, tape effects, and percussion to weave a fathomless tapestry from Schneider’s improvised pedal steel swells. 

Lidell later returned to the sessions in a window of heightened neuroplasticity, refining the material through layers of sonic micro‑detail. The result is tactile and transportive. Prickly textures and sinewy drones call to mind dewy flowers at dawn. Whispers of krautrock flicker, echoing Lidell’s preference for jagged sonics during treatments. A Companion For The Spaces Between Dreams evades the pitfalls of clinical sterility, inducing a vulnerable inner voyage.

Published post no.2,694 – Tuesday 21 October 2025