The London Contemporary Music Festival // Klein, Mark Fell and JASSS

Few present as daring a lineup as The London Contemporary Music Festival (LCMF). Now in its sixth year, the event includes everything from an 'ecological symposium' to a film night, club billing and performance by its own orchestra.

You can also find the unorthodox in their choice of locations, with the bulk of the festival held at Ambika P3 – intensively a multi-purpose arts-bunker housed underneath the University of Westminster. There are also four 'satellite' venues this year, including the plant-filled Second Home Spitalfields, Hackney Wick warehouse venue Bloc and Walmer Yard in Notting Hill - a selection of townhouses designed by the architect Peter Salter forming a striking courtyard of concrete, mirrored windows and wood panelling.

Running across the first two weeks in December, this year the LCMF have teamed up with collaborators such as the Manchester label The Death of Rave, experimental ensemble Apartment House and the Serpentine Galleries. The resulting lineup includes everyone from the likes of Klein, JASSS and experimental tape composer Annea Lockwood to Beatrice Dillon, Gábor Lázár and SND member Mark Fell.

The LCMF are equally as interested in music from years gone by as they are the contemporary however. They carried off a hugely successful event a few years back presenting one of the first comprehensive Julius Eastman retrospectives every conducted, shining light on a composer overlooked for several decades. A homage to Eastman in the form of a performance of The Prelude and Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc also features this year. The event have also seen fit to revive other artistic works from years gone by, including Michael Snow's 1971 experimental film La Région Centrale, shot using a robotic arm pre-programmed to make specific movements.

To find the full programme, visit LCMF.

• Published
• Nov 21, 2018

• Credits
• Words by Theo Darton-Moore