An afternoon of freely improvised and experimental music featuring musicians from the UK and Portugal, in the Exchange basement.

Duo - Trio - 5tet

Phil Minton - voice
David Maranha (PT) - electric organ
Matthew Grigg - guitar/amplifier

Matt Davis - trumpet
Rachel Musson - saxophones

For most of the last forty years, Phil Minton has been working as an improvising singer in lots of groups, orchestras, and situations. Numerous composers have written music especially for his extended vocal techniques. He has a quartet with Veryan Weston, Roger Turner and John Butcher, and ongoing duos, trios and quartets with above and many other musicians, including tours with American singer Audrey Chen.

David Maranha's work encompasses sculpture, music and architecture. In 1986 he started to develop his work as a musician both as a solo artist and with several bands and has since released more than 30 albums. He has formed “osso exótico” in 1989. He has worked with musicians such as Z’EV, Emmanuel Holterbach, Helena Espvall, Phill Niblock, David Grubbs, Akio Suzuki, Will Guthrie, Stephan Mathieu, Andrea Belfi, Alex Zhang Hungtai, Jochen Arbeit, Minit, Pete Simonelli, Arnold Dreyblatt, Jacob Kirkegaard, Carla Bozulich, Chris Cutler, Werner Durand, Robert Rutman, Ben Frost, Helge Sten and more. His collaborative projects, include: Organ Eye, Bowline, Curia.

Matthew Grigg is a Bristol UK based musician active across free and experimental musics. "Drawing on intuitive technique, close listening, signal noise & feedback”, he has collaborated extensively with artists such as Colin Webster, Tina Hitchens, Robin Foster, Matt Davis, Charlotte Keefe & Dominic Lash. His approach to his instrument is grounded in an exploration of it’s potential, unbound by convention. The music sits outside of easy categorisation, reframing ideas of improvisation and noise. He has played across Europe with a large number of artists including: Burkhard Beins, Steve Beresford, Adam Bohman, Erhard Hirt, Jason Kahn, Thomas Lehn, Eivind Lønning, Luigi Marino, Hannah Marshall, Camila Nebbia, Helen Papaioannou, Espen Reinertsen, John Russell, Dirk Serries, Alex Ward, Alan Wilkinson, and many others.

Matt Davis has been active in improvised music since the mid 90’s, playing throughout Europe and Japan in many different collaborations and small and large group ensembles including Zeitkratzer and La Sospechosa dance company. He is currently based in Bristol where he regularly collaborates with, amongst others, Phil Minton, Luigi Marino and Matthew Grigg. Regular groups include Nodosus (with Angharad Davies, Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga, Dominic Lash and John Butcher) and a trio with Rachel Musson and Mark Sanders.

Rachel Musson is a saxophonist, improviser and composer based in the UK. She is a current (2024-2027) recipient of the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Composer award. She has spent the last decade immersed in improvised music, and has also gradually been introducing composed elements into her work, drawing on text, field recordings and processing sounds. She is involved with a variety of improvisation projects, and works regularly with Mark Sanders, Pat Thomas, Hannah Marshall, Julie Kjaer, Corey Mwamba, Olie Brice, Alex Ward, Alex Hawkins amongst others.
"A free-improviser sensitive to melody-like narrative and dramatic pacing" – John Fordham, The Guardian

Please note the basement is not wheelchair accessible and is accessed by a narrow enclosed staircase. For more accessibility info, please email [email protected]

Entry requirements: 14+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio — Read more — Read less