'Unpredictable: Conversations with Improvisers’ is a series that has grown out of a deep research into the nature of Free Improvisation, its history in the UK and its international connections.
Sharon Gal is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, experimental vocalist and composer, with experience of free improvisation and collaborative compositions. Her work relates to sound, architecture, live performance and participatory art, exploring the psychology of sound and its relationship with space. Sharon performs solo and in collaborations with David Toop, Steve Beresford, Phil Minton, Lina Lapelyte, Andie Brown and Anat Ben David. She also directs a series of participatory compositions exploring the inter-relations between people and place. These pieces offer a democratic space and collective ownership, examining artistic engagement, play, and creative exchange, as a means to learning and bringing together. Sharon is a co-founder of Resonance104.4 FM. Her music was released by various labels and she performed in the UK and internationally including The V&A, Whitechapel Gallery Science Museum, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Supernormal and Borealis Festivals.
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'Unpredictable: Conversations with Improvisers’ is a collection of videos that have grown out of a deep research into the nature of Free Improvisation, its history in the UK and its international connections. The collection responds to the urgent need to investigate the genre and its rich legacy. Research and filming began in 2011. It was directed and produced by artist, curator and educator Blanca Regina in collaboration with Steve Beresford and Pierre Bouvier Patron. The series was commissioned by Sound and Music for the 50th anniversary of the British Music Collection.
The series focus on twelve active performers, interviewing pioneers like Terry Day and Maggie Nicols and, from the second generation, Steve Beresford, David Toop and Peter Cusack.
Women have always been an important presence in Free Improvisation but this has not always been reflected in how the genre is seen. In ‘Unpredictable Series’ we made a point of including more women than men, particularly women with developing careers in the field.
Many of these videos have been filmed in the context of 'Unpredictable' events, and others have followed the artists into key London venues like Cafe OTO and IKLECTIK. These are two of the most important venues in the UK for freely improvised music – a genre that sprang to life in the mid ‘60s, has always had a strong community in London, but is often not fully acknowledged.
Blanca Regina and Steve Beresford created 'Unpredictable', a series with an emphasis on Free Improvisation that features exhibitions, performances, talks, films and publications. In 2014 they were joined by Pierre Bouvier Patron.
Directed and produced by Blanca Regina
Advisor: Steve Beresford
Camera and editors: Pierre Bouvier Patron & Blanca Regina
Sound: Blanca Regina
Photographies by Tomi Osuna, Nadjib Le Fleurier, Jak Kilby and Pierre Bouvier Patron
Thanks to Mike Figgis venues and musicians Cafe Oto, Fielding Hope, IKLECTIK, Eduard Solaz, William Morris Gallery, Shabaka Hutchings and many more
More information at www.unpredictable.info
