Alex Smoke Commission

Dundee City Council's Leisure & Communities Department is excited to announce that it has commissioned a new piece of music by innovative electronic producer Alex Smoke, to be performed by the Scottish Ensemble.

Alex Smoke is one of the most interesting talents to come out of the UK in the last 5 years: best known for his two groundbreaking techno albums, Incommunicado and Paradolia, he has remixed everything from Steve Reich to Mylo and djs worldwide.  He is also a classically trained cellist, and this new work represents an opportunity for him to challenge the confines of both electronic and classical traditions. 

The Scottish Ensemble is a dynamic group of 12 string players, formed from some of the most highly respected classical musicians in Europe.  With Artistic Director Jonathan Morton, they have been given an award for their "outstanding contribution to classical music" by Classic FM, and are as at home in the complexities of Steve Reich and Brian Ferneyhough as they are in the core classical repertoire.  There are very few groups of comparable size playing, and none with the range and brilliance of the Scottish Ensemble.   

The commission will be a creative response to the ideas & methodologies generated by a new Dundee University/Wellcome Trust project, Designs for Life, led by artist Paul Harrison and is due to be premiered at the project symposium in February 2008.

www.myspace.com/alexsmoke1

www.scottishensemble.co.uk

For more information, please contact Emily Dewhurst on 01382 432473 or emily.dewhurst@dundeecity.gov.uk.