Mike Adcock

Photo by Seán Kelly

Mike Adcock’s music embraces both composition and improvisation. He has made numerous solo, duet and band recordings including three with Accordions Go Crazy, ‘Lost for words’, ‘Moment of discovery’, ‘Sleep it off’ (with Clive Bell), ‘In the case of darkness’, ‘Reduced’ (with Sylvia Hallett), ‘Accord’, ‘Wanderlust’ and ‘Risky furniture’ (with Paul Jolly).

Faradena Afifi

Photo by Seán Kelly

Faradena Afifi: Founder of The Noisy Women Present, and The Noisy People’s Improvising Orchestra, Fara is also an Initiator, Connector and Performer. Faradena is a person with neurodiversity who has mixed Afghan/British heritage. She is a T’ai Chi Chuan practitioner/instructor, folk singer and improvising community musician who plays bowed string instruments, piano and percussion. She also specialises in healing music and T’ai Chi-based exercises for people with learning differences and brain injuries/conditions.

Alati

Alati is a trio led by Norwich-based trumpeter Chris Dowding, and featuring the wonderful vocals of Brigitte Beraha and the versatile piano playing of Dave O’Brien. They have performed around the UK and released their debut album, ‘Ascending the Morning’ on the Luton-based 33Jazz label.

Arc

The improvising electro-acoustic string trio Arc was formed in 1988 has performed since then with the same line up and has released three albums. Featuring Gus Garside, Sylvia Hallett and Danny Kingshill.

The group’s music has been described as ‘dramatic’, ‘sinister’, ‘witty’ and even likened to ‘a satanic horror movie score’ (though the person who described us thus also said “it was the best thing I’ve ever seen at Sonic Imperfections”).

BARK!

BARK! comprises Rex Caswell on guitar, Phillip Marks on percussion and Paul Obermayer on sampler.

Steve Beresford

Photo by Seán Kelly

Steve is a British musician who graduated from the University of York. He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, such as the toy piano. He has also played a wide range of music. He is probably best known for free improvisation, but has also written music for film and television and has been involved with a number of pop music groups.

John Bisset

Photo by Seán Kelly

Guitarist, vocalist, improviser and composer, organiser of structures for improvising within (Relay), and film maker.

Adam Bohman

Photo by Seán Kelly

Adam Bohman has been operating on the outer fringes of underground music for decades.

Working with home-built instruments, found objects, tape cut-ups, collages, ink drawings and graphic scores. Favouring acoustic sounds over electronics, he explores the minute tendrils of sounds coaxed from any number of non-musical instruments and objects.

Sarah Gail Brand

Photo by Seán Kelly

Described by The Wire magazine as “the most exciting trombone player for years” Sarah Gail Brand has recorded and performed on the international Improvised Music and Jazz scene since the early 1990s with Mark Sanders, John Edwards, Elton Dean, Evan Parker, Phil Minton, Veryan Weston, Lol Coxhill, Maggie Nicols, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Beresford, Georg Graewe, writer and comedian Stewart Lee and countless others.

Olie Brice

Photo by Seán Kelly

Olie Brice is a double bassist, improviser and composer. Raised in London and Jerusalem, he now lives by the sea in Hastings.