As the London Jazz Festival begins, The Southbank Centre has announced its latest line-up of genre-blurring, pioneering artists who will perform in early 2023 as part of its experimental multi-artform series, the Purcell Sessions. Hosted in the Purcell Room in the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, the series spotlights emerging artists, ambitious auteurs, and more to explore the boundaries of their creativity in the space.
Continuing the Southbank Centre’s long-standing and exciting partnership with the London Contemporary Orchestra, electronic producer Taahliah will realize her happy hardcore, subversive electronica, which explores everything from club culture to gender identity, in a totally unique live performance (1 February). Meanwhile, the avant-garde visual artist and musician Damsel Elysium will join the LCO to stage, blending their striking visual presence and evocative music (1 March).
Meanwhile, Mercury Prize-nominated artist Cassie Kinoshi will take to the stage on Sunday 5 March. A central figure in the jazz collective KOKOROKO, Kinoshi is an Ivors Academy Award-winning composer, arranger, and alto-saxophonist and has composed works for screen and stage and, stepping into the Purcell Room, she will explore this full creative spectrum. Later that month, genre-hopping DJ and composer Aya, who released her debut album ‘i’m hole’ on Hyperdub last year, will team up with German visual artist MFO, aka Marcel Weber, whose works often challenge audiences’ experience of memory and perception (19 March).
AV collective Síbín will present an evening exploring expressions of identity rooted in diasporic communities through a mixed-media performance (26 March). The evening will feature a number of special guests from poetry, music, live AV, and digital interaction. The platform embodies the South East London artistic community that has been bubbling underground for several years. For fans of poetry, spoken word, and live music, the Southbank Centre’s monthly night, Out-Spoken, returns as part of the Purcell Sessions to celebrate diversity in voice and performance in the New Year through January to March. Lineups will be announced online soon.
Since launching, the Purcell Sessions has seen dozens of performances from artists, writers, and creatives including Lyra Pramuk, Laurel Halo, caroline, Yeule, Nabihah Iqbal, Hinako Omori and Yomi Ṣode. Adem Holness, Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre, says: “With an incredible line-up of artists reimagining and reinterpreting their artistry, the Purcell Sessions continue to be a catalyst for creativity. As we look to next year, the Purcell Sessions will continue to be an empowering platform for artists and creatives.”
Tickets for the new Purcell Sessions shows are available via the Southbank website
Images Cassie Kinoshi (main) by Aurore Fouchez / Damsel Elysium by Róża Wiktoria Tyborowska, courtesy of The South Bank Centre
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