Penrith Playhouse is set to play host to an innovative music festival featuring workshops and live performances on Saturday.
Bleep Music Festival, which is being organised by Penrith-based community arts organisation, BlueJam, is a brand new electronic/improvised music festival which will feature music workshops, demonstrations, installations, jams and gigs running from 10am until late.
The festival will showcase work by cutting edge electronic/improvised artists such as Penrith-born Werkha, aka Tom Leah, professional jazz musician Jemma Freese, Late Girl, Chris Bartholomew and Guerrilla Biscuits.
Workshops during the day will include soundpainting for singers plus an Instant Film Soundtrack session where you can score a film live.
A spokeswoman said: “There will be an opportunity to learn how to create beats on Ableton, as well as a fantastic interactive sound installation, plus showcases of primary school electronic composition projects from North Lakes and St Herbert’s schools, in the café.
“There is no prior knowledge needed to attend or take part in the festival events – everyone is welcome. Accompanied under 16s and families are also very welcome to attend.”
BlueJam’s founder and director Jilly Jarman said: “I’m excited to be putting Penrith on the map for electronic and improvised music.
“We have some big names visiting for the festival and it’s a fantastic opportunity to experience this genre of music for yourself. I can’t wait!”
The festival is set to kick off with a soundpainting workshop run by Chris Bartholomew .
“While you sit in the theatre seats making amazing vocal sounds, led by gestures from Chris, our guest electronic composers will be sampling them and creating wonderful effects to fill the theatre,” said a BlueJam spokeswoman.
That will be followed by a lunch-time concert featuring jazz musician Jemma Freese. She will be combining her soulful compositions for voice, keyboard and effects with material created during her BlueJam workshop session which was held earlier this month.
In the afternoon, there will be an instant film soundtrack workshop.
“We will have a rhythmic groove of muted, moody drums from our BJamba groups, which you can join in with, making sounds using drums or paper, or anything percussive that you bring from home.
Also we welcome horns and strings to add some simple grooves and flourishes,” said the spokeswoman.
Josh Jackson and Jilly Jarman will direct the playing audience while LateGirl and friends will weave in their own sounds in real time. And particiapants will also be able to watch the film while playing!
“This workshop should be magical – we will monitor sound levels and work with a range of dynamics from whispering paper to deep surdo beats – expect a hair-raising experience,” the spokeswoman added.
Then Lancaster-based electronic artist Dave Shooter, aka Guerrilla Biscuits, will be hosting a drop-in demonstration point in the theatre’s rehearsal room for people interested in finding out how to create beats using Ableton.
Headlining the festival will be an evening performance, from 7pm to 10pm, which will include internationally acclaimed Manchester musician Werkha, who grew up in Penrith, performing with National Youth Jazz Orchestra musicians.
In addition Laura Stutter will perform tracks from her Newcastle project, Late Girl, while Dave Shooter will perform his Guerrilla Biscuits project. There will also be ad-hoc collaborations between all the visiting and Eden musicians.
BlueJam is an innovative community music and arts organisation based in Penrith.
They run a full programme of inclusive creative workshops, training, and professional and community performance activities and events – everything from 121 music lessons, a children’s orchestra and jazz ensembles for young people to jazz training for adults, whole school singing projects and live streamed gigs.
There are several events on throughout the festival, which will take place at the Penrith Playhouse on February 26.
Starting at 10am, and continuing on until noon, is the sound painting workshop for singers.
Jilly said of this event, while explaining what sound painting is: “It is basically a whole load of gestures that the conductor does which means you create certain sounds.
“It’s really creative, and at the same time, we’ll have some of our electronic musicians sampling the choirs and creating sounds from that.
“All you need to do is use your voice, you do not need to know how to read music, and you will just be immersed in this bath of sound which is open to everyone; it is very family friendly.”
The next workshop which runs from 2pm until 4pm is the instant film soundtrack workshop.
Jilly explained: “The afternoon workshop is for anyone that wants to play an instrument.
“The workshop is all about creating a soundtrack for a film, a similar sort of thing to the sound painting.
“Josh Jackson, who runs B Jamba – Blue Jam’s community samba band, and I, will be directing the players, like giving the drummers a beat to play, and I will be directing the other instruments to create a riff or a melody.
“It will be an instant performance, which we have done before so we know it works.”
