This event has passed.
Alice Boyd presents her debut EP From The Understory exploring our evolutionary journey and interconnectedness with plant life through a rich arrangement of voices, electronics and analogue textures. The evening will feature a guest performance from Bethany Ley, whose songs feature intricate arrangements of electronic sound design and haunting introspective melodies.
Composer and sound artist Alice Boyd presents her debut EP ‘From The Understory’. Created as part of her artist residency at the Eden Project – the world’s largest indoor rainforest – this collection of songs tells the story of civilisation at a tipping point. Described as “a perfectly judged tangle of synthetic and human voices, silences, field recordings, and unearthly gurgles that challenges as much as it immerses you” (The Sonification), the music takes audiences on a journey through geological time.
Alice is joined by artists Dazey, Jacob Norris and zha, whose euphoric harmonies and atmospheric instrumentals are inspired by groups such as Dirty Projectors and Deep Throat Choir. The pieces are woven together by spoken word interludes by Natasha Kaeda, which thoughtfully navigate the entanglement of life on Earth.
The creation of this music was supported by Eden Project, Sound and Music’s New Voices programme, PRS Foundation’s Women Make Music grant and Arts Council England. Alice and her band have performed the music in the Barbican Centre’s Conservatory and Eden Project’s Rainforest Biome, and have been featured on BBC Introducing and BBC Radio 6. ‘From The Understory’ is available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming sites, as well as on eco-mix vinyl via Alice’s online shop and Bandcamp.
“Alice’s music beautifully reframes the urgency of the climate crisis into an opportunity for reconnection with nature.” – Sir Tim Smit KBE, Co-Founder of Eden Project and Executive Vice Chair of EPL
Bethany Ley:
Bethany Ley (fka STANLÆY) is an independent producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Bristol, UK. Her sonic world circulates intricate arrangements informed by Bethany’s eclectic musical background, creating “sublime twilight electronica” (Music is My Sanctuary).
Inspiration comes wide and far for Bethany, from the textures and sounds of Indonesian Gamelan, Debussy, and Alice Coltrane to the popular voices of Cocorosie, Aphex Twin, and FKA twigs. The combination of both virtuoso arrangements and intriguing granular sound design that comes together to create an otherworldly and hypnotic sonic landscape.
Bethany’s music and collaborations have established her as an idiosyncratic voice in the Bristol scene as a songwriter, singer, composer, collaborator and performer. Recent collaborations include with Ishmael Ensemble on their BBC6 Album of the Year as vocalist and harpist, and vocalist with jazz supergroup Snazzback for Giles Peterson’s We Out Here. Her most recent release ‘The_Everything_Inbetween’ has been hailed by BBC Radio 6 (Nabihah Iqbal, Grove).
Bethany is starting to perform solo under Bethany Ley, embracing a new era and life-cycle along with her ever evolving sonic landscape. The work continues to orbit themes of identity, memory and a rich curiosity in understanding the landscape of the psyche.
Event timings:
19:00 – Doors open
19:30 – Bethaney Ley
20:00 – Interval
20:20 – Alice Boyd
21:00 – Event end
Pre-event Food & Drink
Enjoy delicious drinks and light bites from our Café Bar ahead of the event.
Available to pre-order when booking your tickets, you can choose from a selection of house drinks on arrival, accompanied by a board of bread, olives and dips (all Vegetarian). Just select which option – for one or two people – you would like, before checkout.
Your pre-ordered food and drink will be available to collect from the Café Bar from 60 minutes before the event. It’s the perfect way to begin your event experience at St George’s!