OCM once again co-promotes this unmissable annual festival. It opens with an 8 metre loom and fungal biosonification, and continues over two more evenings with art-core no-wave, guttural voice, instruments crafted from native UK tree branches, and virtuosic sheng.
OCM has curated the opening evening, featuring a double bill of Loomeweight II by Patricia Auchterlonie and Hestor Dart, and Jason Singh with Tamar Osborn.
“An absolute treasure of a festival that Oxford’s more adventurous music lovers – and those with even a passing interest in the sounds of the world around us – should hold close to their hearts” Nightshift
Tickets are Pay What You Can and will be available on the door (no advance bookings).
Jason Singh + Tamar Osborn
Sound artist, beatboxer and composer Jason Singh and Saxophonist, flautist and producer Tamar Osborn explore the meeting point between plants, humans, electronics and acoustic instruments, creating a living conversation between craft, technology and the natural world. Their performance brings together bio-sonification, instrumental textures and electronic processes, inviting us to listen differently—to plants, to each other, and to the spaces in between. Part improvisation, part sonic exploration, the work asks what can emerge when human and non-human voices, live instrumentation and digital technologies are brought into intimate dialogue.
Jason Singh is a multifaceted sound artist, nature beatboxer, producer, DJ, curator, facilitator, and performer. His life and work are deeply rooted in the art of listening. He embraces a multi-sensory and cross-species approach to sound and music, constantly exploring the relationships between humans, wildlife, and the environment through audio expression.
Jason’s creative output is a rich exploration of the natural world, club culture, the human voice, public engagement and an extensive range of music technologies. His diverse body of work includes live performances, immersive sound installations, studio recordings, remixes, compositions for film and theatre, deep listening and well-being experiences, sound walks, radio broadcasts, music workshops, podcasts, curated playlists, and immersive DJ sets.
“Jason gave the perfect performance to illustrate what I always want to say about Art: it’s about making things that create feelings in people, important feelings that they might otherwise forget about.”
– Brian Eno
Saxophonist Tamar Osborn is a composer, bandleader, band member and session musician. This versatile and prolific artist is also a solo artist making powerful left-of-centre music across multiple genres. Her band Collocutor released three albums with On The Corner Records and she has toured or recorded with Kelis, dance maestro Akram Khan, and Spiritualized.
Since 2009, she’s been a member of Dele Sosimi’s Afrobeat Orchestra and performed in Fela! The Musical. She took part in the London, Marseilles and Roskilde editions of Africa Express.
Ensembles include Flock, Unknown to Known and Tryp Tych Tryo, alongside collaborations with Sarathy Korwar, Tommaso Cappellato, Camilla George, Momoko, Ill Considered, Rosa Brunello and Cape Town’s Asher Gamedze.
In 2024 award-winning Moments Notice launched their record label with Osborn’s improvised trio performance. She has a monthly show on Soho Radio. Tamar Osborn brings variety, experience, and commitment to music and connection.
Loomeweight II
Loomeweight II is a new performance project for one loom and two singers, devised collaboratively by Hestor Dart and Patricia Auchterlonie, unfolding over 45 minutes of weaving and sound. loomeweight is a ritual of remembering the un-rememberable, a gathering of voices and threads, a story told in increments, unravelling and finding itself through its sharing.
Patricia Auchterlonie is a performer, composer and maker who moves fluidly between contemporary music, opera, and experimental music. She has premiered major works, including Oliver Leith’s Last Days (Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre), and Lucia II in Beat Furrer’s new opera Der grosse Feuer (Zurich Opera House). She brings a highly visual, object-focused perspective to our work, informed by her fascination with the meeting point of historical and experimental forms of making.
Hestor Dart is a singer, musician, and maker whose work is driven by an interest in expansive and unconventional sound, traditional crafts, and collaborative practice. Their approach is deeply interdisciplinary, incorporating improvisation, folk traditions, experimental vocal and instrumental techniques. Their creative framework is shaped by queer, anarchist philosophies, informing both the themes they explore and the collaborative, process-led nature of their practice.
The festival will continue on Friday and Saturday: see details here and here.
