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SwN Artists
Shohret Nur is an outstanding young Uyghur musician, based in London. He specialises in playing the Uyghur stringed instruments dutar and rawap. Originally from Kashgar, Xinjiang, Shohret’s great-grandfather and grandmother were both dutar players. Continuing this rich musical legacy, Shohret is helping to bring Uyghur music to wider attention around the world.
Tomer Eldor, a multifaceted musician and artist hailing from Tel Aviv, has emerged as a trailblazer not only in jazz, world, vocal, and theatre music - but also in immersive, cross-modal, and interactive musical experiences. As a composer, arranger, pianist, and vocalist, who travelled around the world and deeply absorbed music genres from the Middle East to the Himalayas and Argentine folklore, Tomer embodies a diverse musical journey that is deeply rooted in collaboration and the breaking down of traditional barriers between stage and audience.
Susheela Raman is a singer and composer, acclaimed for her melodic and experimental musical works across genres and frontiers. She has released eight albums, including the Mercury-shortlisted ‘Salt Rain’. Susheela has performed all over the world and is known for her singular voice and stage presence. The Guardian described her as “that rarity: a true innovator”.
Iñigo Mikeleiz-Berrade, hailing from Barañáin, Spain, is an acclaimed accordionist whose performances have graced prestigious venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he has collaborated with the London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, premiering multiple concertos for accordion.
Rachel Musson is a saxophonist, improviser and composer based in the UK. 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, and Alex Hawkins amongst others. She features on several releases, including a nonet featuring her composition ‘I Went This Way’ (577 Records), two with Shifa, feat. Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders, (577 Records), one with Mark Sanders and John Edwards (Two Rivers Records), trio with Liam Noble and Mark Sanders (Babel), and Corey Mwamba (Takuroku).
Alison Sudol is a singer-songwriter, musician, actress and video director. She has released 3 critically acclaimed albums under the moniker A Fine Frenzy (EMI) during which she toured with Rufus Wainwright, Sean Lennon and Brandi Carlile, and released Gold-certified album ‘One Cell In The Sea’, peaking within the top 30 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. Making her comeback to music as Alison Sudol in 2018 she released two EPs, ‘Moon’ and then ‘Moonlite’, both co-produced with Yard Act and Gruff Rhys’ producer Ali Chant and featuring Portishead’s Clive Deamer and Adrian Utley and John Parish.
Cassandre Balbar is a performer, an events organiser/curator and an academic. She started playing the recorder at the age of five. She studied early music in Orsay with Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Sébastien Marq, Maud Caille and Jean-François Novelli. Other influential teachers include Jean Tubéry and Patrick Bismuth. She collaborated for several years with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, directed by Olivier Schneebeli.
Millicent Chapanda is a British-based Zimbabwean Shona cultural artist, traditional mbira player, percussionist, singer, dancer and storyteller. Her music is nourished by Zimbabwean traditional ceremonials where vibrant spiritual & secular music is a key part of bringing people together in devotion, praise, reflection & celebration.
Saied Silbak is a Palestinian composer and Oud player born in Shafaa`mr, a city located in the lower Galilee of occupied Palestine. His music has been performed around the world at festivals and concert series in Palestine, the UK, Belgium, France, Morocco, Argentina and beyond.
Embark on a musical journey with Fredy Clue, a trailblazing folk musician infusing the Swedish folk tradition with a modern hug. Armed with the enchanting sounds of the nyckelharpa and soul-stirring vocals, they craft modern Nordic melodies that intertwines folk music, tradition and queer narratives. From solo performances to band collaborations, their show has resonated across Sweden, northern Europe, and the USA. As WJ Quinn acclaimed in 2023, "Fredy really is a creator of remarkable experiences, a true innovator in the folk art space." Fredy will continue to push boundaries and pioneer new realms in 2024 and beyond!
Fyfe Dangerfield, perhaps best known as the frontman of the band Guillemots, was born in the land of Birmingham, England in July of 1980, and found himself tottering towards the family’s piano by the age of three. A childhood of listening almost entirely to the Beatles followed, and in 1988, Worcestershire replaced Birmingham as home, the doorstep countryside nurturing a growing love of birdwatching, alongside the daytime playlists of BBC Hereford & Worcester.
Rebekah Reid is a vibrant and versatile violinist, composer and loop pedal artist, specialising in classical/jazz repertoire and improvisation. Known for her distinct style combining virtuosic violin performance with live looping and electronics, Rebekah effortlessly blends influences from jazz, classical music, minimalism, hip hop, world music, folk and electronic dance music.
Likened to Kate Bush, Eddie Reader and Joanna Newsom, singer-songwriter and harpist Esther Swift is an up-and-coming musician in the Scottish folk music scene. Whilst being heavily influenced by her folk roots, Esther’s music also combines jazz, blues and minimalist references. With a passion for pushing the boundaries of folk and classical harp music, she has become a prolific songwriter. A deep love of Scotland, the Scottish Borders (where Esther grew up) and nature continually inspire and influence her music; the songs of her new EP 'The Mairches' which features cojon, string quartet and trumpet, are based on her life growing up in The Scottish Borders.
Byron Wallen is widely recognised as a seminal figure in world jazz, he is constantly travelling the world recording, teaching and performing. He has been playing trumpet in various contexts, live and on record, alongside legendary musicians such as George Benson, Andrew Hill, Chaka Khan, Ingrid Laubrock, Hugh Masekela, Courtney Pine, Mulatu Astatke, Red Snapper, Lonnie Liston Smith, Style Council, Jack Dejohnette, Jean Toussaint, Cleveland Watkiss and King Sunny Ade. He has visited East Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Indonesia and Belize (his parents' homeland). On tour Wallen often works with local musicians, developing new ideas for his performances and compositions.
Tarek Elazhary, an Egyptian oud player and composer, graduated from the Arab Oud House in 2014 under the mentorship of the renowned Iraqi oud player, Nasser Shamma. He has participated in numerous local and international festivals with the Arab Oud Orchestra.
Otto Hashmi is a recorder player and solo artist from London. His most recent EP ‘Music for the End Times’ fuses sounds of the post-covid London club scene with recorder harmonies inspired by early music and was followed by UK and EU performances including supporting acclaimed jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings’ for his first solo set on indigenous flutes.
Simmy Singh is a versatile violinist and composer, born and raised in South Wales to an Indian father and English mother, whose ambition is to push the boundaries of classical music and its audiences and to explore creativity and different genres with the violin. She believes in diversity and connection and is passionate about applying these values to the projects she undertakes.
Singer, dancer and multi-instrumentalist Kaito Winse is the guardian of the rich oral traditions of his homeland. Born in the middle of the desert into a family of griots in Lankoué, a village in the north of Burkina Faso, Kaito had only to bend down to pick up the legacy.
Bethan Lloyd is a Welsh artist whose trance-inducing vocals expand over an ocean of rave-inspired production, harmonic layering and otherworldly ecstasy. Her sonic exploration has taken her from training as a classical singer, immersing herself in Berlin’s experimental music scene, to learning with shamans, masters and the ancient teachings of the natural world. In her latest album, Metamorphosis, Bethan, producing alongside Pre-Human bandmate and master of noise Isaac Ray, takes her intense explorations of the spirit and emotional realms and blends them into something playful and danceable, a gritty experimental pop.
Ford Collier is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer of folk music who specialises in weaving influences from diverse traditions into his music. Since starting his music career in his teens, he has performed at festivals including Glastonbury, regularly toured the UK, released six studio albums with the bands he founded, Mishra and The Drystones, and accompanied legendary Indian kathak dancer Padmashri Guru Pratap Pawar. Performing on low whistle, guitar, and an array of percussion including tabla and calabash, Ford's diverse skills as an instrumentalist, composer, and improviser have made him an established figure on the UK folk scene and a respected educator of all ages, abilities, and needs.
Alex Lyon is an eclectic, cross-genre musician and composer based in South East London, specialising in contemporary music and free improvisation on clarinet and bass clarinet. Her solo work blends minimalism and traditional music influences with extended clarinet technique.
Mohamed Errebbaa was born in Rabat, a Moroccan musician and Master in the GNAWA world. He spent a decade travelling throughout Morocco, studying the diverse regional musical traditions under some of the leading musicians in the country. In southern Morocco, he immersed himself in the study of Issawa, Deqqa folkloric percussion, and became especially passionate about the three-stringed Gnawa bass lute, the Guembri. After mastering these traditional musical forms, he launched his international career.
Yijia is a singer-songwriter from China interested in exploring her cultural identity and diverse traditions through music-making. Yijia attended 'Sing My Song’ at the age of 16 and launched her music career as a singer-songwriter in China after winning the 16th CMA (Chinese Music Awards) for ‘Media’s Choice Album’ and the nomination for ‘Best New Chinese Female Artist’ for the Chinese Media Music Awards.
One of the most multi-faceted flautists of her time, Eliza’s musical path has followed her musical passions; diverse, organic and without boundaries. From tours with Peter Gabriel, recording Sam Smith’s Bond Theme, Top of the Pops with Katie Melua, to holding the flute chair at The Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End for The Lion King since 2015. She has appeared as soloist on numerous blockbuster films, video games and BBC drama and documentaries, on albums with Paul McCartney to Stevie Wonder, and worked with leading orchestras from The BBC Concert Orchestra to The London Symphony Orchestra.
Cellist Tara Franks composes, curates and facilitates a myriad of creative projects working across genres and art forms. Her work centres around collaboration, both when working with other professional artists and within the community. As co-founder of acclaimed string duo Balladeste, she has been interviewed on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 3, Soho Radio and NTS. She has worked with renowned artists including; Kae Tempest, Akala, Jocelyn Pook and Jasdeep Singh Degun and is a core member/composer of contemporary trio Quest Ensemble. Tara also collaborates on cross-arts projects for theatre, dance and visual artists, including creating the sound score for the acclaimed show ‘Foreign Body’ by Imogen Butler-Cole.
Patrick Rimes is a musician, composer, arranger and conductor from Wales. Born and raised in the thriving traditional music heartlands of Snowdonia, he went on to study classical violin and viola at Leeds University, Janáčkovo Akademie Muzických in Brno, Czech Republic and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Widely regarded as one of the best players of English traditional music, Archie has worked as a session musician for some of the UK’s top folk acts (Cara Dillon, Eliza Carthy, Blair Dunlop, Jim Moray) and producers (Andy Bell, Ed Harcourt), as well as performing with the trio, ‘Moore, Moss, Rutter’ – the outfit which saw him receive the coveted BBC Radio 2 folk award in 2011.
Letty is one of the UK’s most innovative and versatile horn players. As a multi-genre orchestral and chamber musician, Letty has worked with major orchestras including the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Heritage Orchestra, Multi-Story Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and English National Opera and Ballet orchestras.
Suntou Susso is a multi-instrumentalist: Kora player, percussionist, singer and composer from The Gambia. Born a Griot in a 700-year-old tradition, the Kora – harp-lute with 22 strings – is unique to the Griots of the Mandinka people. Griots have a unique societal role as oral historians, transmitting and preserving a people’s culture through the generations in song, music and poetry.
Australian violinist Bridget O’Donnell is enjoying a varied career as a chamber and orchestral musician in the classical and folk scene. Firmly established in London, Bridget regularly performs and tours with the London Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Manchester Collective and a variety of exceptional folk and jazz musicians. She has given performances in venues across Europe including the BBC Proms, the Elbphilharmonie and Paris Philharmonie.