Next up in Bloc’s sterling line-up of events hosted at their new Autumn Street venue – now renamed, fittingly, Bloc – in Hackney Wick, is a self-described "culture clash", joining up with Gabriel Prokofiev’s Nonclassical label, on Saturday night. Tom Richards is set to electronically manipulate the sounds of two singers and a harpist in a nod to his work on BBC Radiophonic Workshop founder Daphne Oram and Klavikon’s Leon Michener will be performing prepared piano pieces (aided by a robot dog, among other things), while the Multi-Story Orchestra will be playing two pieces – Grisey’s ‘Periodes’ and Tamsy Davies’ ‘Neon’ – as well as a joint performance of ‘Cortical Songs’ with John Matthias and Nick Ryan. They’ll also be joining Border Community man, and now Cambria Instruments co-head Nathan Fake, who’s headlining. Ahead of that, we asked him to fill us in on what he’s got planned.
How did you come to know the the Multi-Story Orchestra? Have you worked with them before?
Nathan Fake: No, never worked with them before – I remember reading about them before but I’ve only just become fully familiar with them since being approached for a collaboration by the Nonclassical guys. I’ve been into the idea of doing some unexpected collaborations for a while so I’m really excited about working with them.
How will the collaboration work? Will it be entirely new pieces or reworkings of your existing tracks?
NF: Nonclassical and Multi-Story will be performing reworked versions of three of my existing tracks. Then i’ll be performing an improvised live session with percussionist Elsa Bradley and violinist Fra Rustumji. Haven’t rehearsed yet so I’m pretty curious as to how it’ll sound. I reckon we’ll nail it though.
Your first release on your Cambria Instruments label meshed two distinct aspects of your sound – part dancefloor banger, part ambient soundscape; is either indicative of the way your new material’s panning out?
NF: Yeah, I’ve always been into mixing those two things – Cambria01 was quite a stark contrast but I always like diving straight from one thing to another, especially in a live performance context. Cambria will be quite a sort of raw techno/electronica affair to begin with, as Wesley [Matsell, co-founder] and I have been making loads of tracks in that style and we’ve been itching to get them out there, etc.
Will any new stuff make its way into Saturday’s show?
NF: Yeah, for sure.
Finally, what’s next for you and Cambria?
NF: There’s an EP from me coming out before Christmas, then the two of us have some interesting stuff planned for the new year.
Bloc and Nonclassical featuring Nathan Fake, Klavikon, Multi-Story Orchestra and more is on November 15 at Bloc in Hackney Wick; for full details and tickets, head here
