Saturday 2 September 2023, 7.30pm
"This is music as social commentary, memoir, love letter, confessional. It’s Nicols doing what comes naturally, on a basis of practice and trust." Julian Cowley, The Wire, on Maggie Nicols' Are You Ready?
Very excited to present Maggie Nicols's first ever solo set at OTO, performing music from her last two albums - Creative Contradiction and Are You Ready? - and more.
Also on the bill as part of an excellent double-header, a duo set from Bill Wells and Aby Vulliamy. This will be Bill's first set in London in around a decade - don't miss!
Maggie Nicols joined London's legendary Spontaneous Music Ensemble in 1968 as a free improvisation vocalist. She then became active running voice workshops with an involvement in local experimental theatre. She later joined the group Centipede, led by Keith Tippets and in 1977, with musician/composer Lindsay Cooper, formed the remarkable Feminist Improvising Group. She continues performing and recording challenging and beautiful work, in music and theatre, either in collaborations with a range of artists (Irene Schweitzer, Joelle Leandre, Ken Hyder, Caroline Kraabel) as well as solo.
Bill Wells (born c. 1963) is a Scottish bassist, pianist, guitarist and composer.
Wells is completely self-taught, and began performing in clubs in Scotland in the late 1980s. He began arranging his own work and initially offered these to Bobby Wishart, but when Wishart declined the offer, Wells formed his own Bill Wells Octet, which has included Lindsay Cooper, Alastair Morrow, Robert Henderson, John Longbotham, Phil and Tom Bancroft. Wells' style of experimental jazz takes influences from Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, Gil Evans, and Charles Mingus.
Wells has collaborated with several prominent Scottish independent rock and pop musicians, including with David Keenan of Telstar Ponies and John Hogarty of BMX Bandits in the group Phantom Engineer, and with Stevie Jackson and Isobel Campbell of Belle & Sebastian in live performances and also in the studio; Wells recorded the Ghost of Yesterday album with Campbell, and Jackson played on Wells' Incorrect Practice album.
Aby is a musician and composer, performing and recording frequently as a violist, pianist and vocalist in a range of ensembles and collaborations.
Aby has shared the stage and/or studio with a brilliant array of musicians, including jazz/improv legends such as John Tchicai, Evan Parker, Maggie Nichols, Matt Bourne, Annie Whitehead, Karen Mantler, Krautrocker Hans Joachim Irmler of Faust and indie-rockers Yo La Tengo, with respected folk musicians such as Bridget St John, Mary Hampton, Ali Roberts, Lucy Farrell, The Trembling Bells and Mike Heron (The Incredible String Band), with popstars such as Isobel Campbell, Stevie Jackson (Belle and Sebastian), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Aidan Moffat (Arab Strap), and with national ensembles including The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Aby’s ongoing collaborations include with Stevie Jones (Sound of Yell, since 2012), with Bill Wells (The National Jazz Trio of Scotland, since 2007 with releases on Karaoke Kalk since 2012), with the 14-piece Swiss band Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp (since 2016) with Seth Bennett (En Bas, since 2014) with Matt Bourne (Isotach, since 2017) with James Mainwaring (since 2019), and with Keeley Forsyth (since 2020).
Aby features on over 40 albums recorded over the last 16 years. In October 2018 Aby released her first solo album, Spin Cycle, a collection of piano-based songs reflecting on her experience of motherhood.
http://www.abyvulliamy.co.uk/
