John Butcher and Angharad Davies
Violin and saxophone duets emerge from small cracks in the surface of the earth on Two Seasons, Angharad Davies and John Butcher entwining two quite different sonic fields with methodic precision. There’s something organic about their tonal excursions, fleeting moments captured and flickering spectacles drawn out into breath and fracture. Extended techniques hang in dead air, wondering if they should fall apart, each musician listening so intently that silence becomes as vital as sound. The duo creates intimate sonic exchanges where a single note or gesture can redirect an entire passage, a testament to years of crossing paths and understanding each other’s musical language.
Foxy Digitalis – Brad Rose
Angharad Davies is a violin player whose work exists between the thresholds of improvisation, composition and experimental music.
Her approach to sound involves attentive listening and exploring beyond the sonic confines of her instrument and performance expectation. Being an intrepid collaborator has seen her work with the likes of Tony Conrad, Elaine Radigue, Tarek Atoui, Gwenno, Lina Lapelyte, Richard Dawson, JG Thirlwell, Jessie Marino, Tim Parkinson and Annea Lockwood.
As a composer she has been commissioned by Counterflows, LCMF, Tŷ Cerdd, Nawr, Explore Ensemble, GBSR duo for HCMF, AndPLAY, Ligeti Quartet for Rainy Days Festival and Heather Roche + Dominic Lash. Her music is often played on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show.
John Butcher is a saxophonist whose work ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback, unusual acoustics and non-concert locations. He is well known as a solo performer who attempts to engage with a sense of place.
After publishing a PhD (1982) on quantum chromodynamics he left academia and took off with music, collaborating with hundreds of artists including Derek Bailey, Eddie Prévost, John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Okkyung Lee, Christian Marclay, Angharad Davies, Pat Thomas, Daniel Blumberg, Steve Beresfordand Matthew Shipp.
He also values occasional encounters – ranging from soloist with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, to duos with Keiji Haino, Marian Rezaei, David Toop, Fred Frith and Joe McPhee.
He has received the Paul Hamlyn Composer’s Award and recent works include “Fluid Fixations” (an hcmf commission), “Good Liquor…” for the London Sinfonietta and “Tarab Cuts” (shortlisted for a British Composer’s Award).
