Band On The Wall celebrates the Queen of electronic music on June 10. Delia Derbyshire Day celebrates the audio pioneer’s 80th birthday. Here are our highlights for the evening’s celebrations – and something for the daytime too.
1. BBC Radiophonic Workshop talk
Derbyshire’s work on the original Dr Who theme made her renowned for her experimentalism. Her former colleague Dick Mills will explain the creation of the iconic theme tune, and he will be joined later by the Workshop’s Brian Hodgson and Mark Ayres as they discuss the process of making strange noises for radio and television.
2. Derbyshire Day commissions
Electroacoustic composer Manuella Blackburn and visual artist Tracey Zengeni present new work especially for the event. There will also be another chance to experience 2016 Derbyshire Day commission The Waking Sleep by Mandy Wigby and Howard Jacobs, as they form a electronic and acoustic soundtrack alongside a “dream sequence” film by Di Mainstone.
3. Exploring the archive
Key to the day’s events is the DD Archive, on permanent loan from the Derbyshire estate to John Ryland’s Library. As well as a Radiophonic Workshop discussion of the archive, custodian David Butler will showcase a new collage of audio material, set to a video piece by artist Andrea Pazos. Meanwhile, Manchester will continue to celebrate the Delia Derbyshire archive with a schools project in September and a Digital Women’s day later in the year.
4. Daytime Delia Workshops
Children are invited to make their own electronic music using working notes from the Derbyshire archive. Families can play with found sound and resonant non-musical objects, then make them into loops. Adults can have a go too – there are two sessions: 10.30am for children and 1.30pm for grown-ups. Tickets for the workshops need to be bought separately from www.deliaderbyshireday.wordpress.com.
Sat 10 Jun, Band On The Wall, 25 Swan Street, Manchester M4 5JZ. Tel: 0161 834 1786, 7pm, £7 – £10, www.bandonthewall.org
- Words:
- Fat Roland
- Published on:
- Thu 1 Jun 2017
