Manchester Collective — Isolation Broadcast: Paradise Lost

Johnny James, Managing Editor

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Manchester Collective — Isolation Broadcast: Paradise Lost

30 May 2020

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Manchester Collective Paradise Lost
Vessel
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Join Manchester Collective this Saturday for an online premiere of the critically acclaimed Paradise Lost.

Despite being under lockdown, Manchester Collective stay firmly committed to their mission to give us unforgettable musical experiences. As part of their Isolation Broadcast series, each week they stream a free concert on Facebook and YouTube – newly issued films of their electrifying performances, interspersed with home-recorded insights from the performers themselves.

On Saturday 30th May, the Collective will broadcast Paradise Lost, a reimagining of Milton’s epic poem in which strings, electronics and voices from disparate sound worlds are drawn together, to explosive ends. The sacred meets the profane, the acoustic clashes with the electronic, and some of the earliest classical music ever written is dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.

Paradise Lost was conceived by electronic artist Vessel (Sebastian Gainsborough) and Rakhi Singh (violinist and Manchester Collective’s Music Director), who are one of the most enigmatic, disruptive and exciting creative duos of their generation. This large-scale original work is a magnum opus that entangles the best of their respective musical worlds.

Filmed in CLF Art Café in London, the work was toured by the Manchester Collective in 2019. London Jazz News called it “a volcanic work, darkly bright, intense and uncompromising but compelling and accessible, even enriching”, and Bachtrack urged audiences to “Catch it if you can: the future has arrived”.

Well worth tuning in for on Saturday!

Where to go near Manchester Collective — Isolation Broadcast: Paradise Lost

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The Abbey
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Cameroonian chef Ngwafu Tansie brings allotment-grown, plant-based cooking to Bridge 5 Mill’s solar-powered Ancoats venue, pairing bobolo with cabbage parcels and live vinyl.

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