Charles Hayward

Charles Hayward is an English drummer/singer/composer and was a founding member of the experimental rock groups This Heat and Camberwell Now. He also played with early European improv group Mal Dean's Amazing Band and gigged and recorded with Phil Manzanera in Quiet Sun as well as a short stint with Gong. Since the late 80's he has concentrated on solo projects and collaborations including Massacre (with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith), Monkey Puzzle Trio, Albert Newton (with Pat Thomas and John Edwards) and This Is Not This Heat which toured the UK, Europe, USA and Japan between 2016-2019 performing expanded versions of This Heat’s oeuvre to unfaltering critical acclaim. Hayward’s latest group, Abstract Concrete, formed from London players from a diversity of European underground scenes, released it’s self-titled debut album in November 2023.

Bex Burch

Bex Burch is the band leader of Vula Viel. A trio consisting of Ruth Goller on bass and Jim Hart on drums. She is a percussionist with a classical training at the Guildhall School of Music. Bex focuses her compositional output to the Gyilli Xylophone, an instrument she built herself under the tutelage of Ghanaian instrument makers. First visiting Ghana as an undergraduate, on the recommendation of a Ghanaian friend, she settled in the north, with the Dagaare People to begin an apprenticeship with Thomas Segkura, a professional maker of Dagaare xylophones, or Gyilli. Vula Viel have developed a strong following over the last few years, gigging regularly and releasing a well received LP in 2017 titled Good Is Good. They are currently finishing work on a new record.

''Beautiful... Dance to it, make love to it, consume it, stare at the clouds to it ....that music deserves good reactions'' Iggy Pop, 6 Music

Evelyn Glennie

Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first person in history to successfully create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist, performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras, conductors and artists. She fondly recalls having played the first percussion concerto in the history of The Proms at the Albert Hall in 1992, which paved the way for orchestras around the world to feature percussion concerti. She had the honour of a leading role in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Evelyn regularly provides masterclasses and consultations designed to guide the next generation. She is also a leading commissioner of over 200 new pieces for solo percussion for many of the world’s most eminent composers. The film ‘Touch the Sound’ and her enlightening TED speech remain key testimonies to her approach to sound-creation.

Evelyn was awarded an OBE in 1993 and now has nearly 100 international awards to date, including the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour. Evelyn continues to inspire and motivate people from all walks of life. Her masterclasses and consultations are designed to guide the next generation.

Evelyn is currently embarking on the formation of the Evelyn Glennie Archive Collection. The vision is to open a centre that embodies her mission to Teach the World to Listen. She aims to ‘improve communication and social cohesion by encouraging everyone to discover new ways of listening. We want to inspire, to create, to engage and to empower’.

Sam Beste

Delving comfortably within the sounds of jazz, soul, classical, and electronic, Sam Beste is a rare polymath in music. He honed his skills touring worldwide with the late Amy Winehouse as her pianist, and later founded his band Hejira, where he performs guitar, vocals, and keyboards. Sam has continued making contributions to multiple solo and collaborative projects - writing, arranging, engineering, mixing - for the esteemed Matthew Herbert, Floating Points, Kano, Kindness, Clare Maguire, and Tawiah. Alongside establishing record label Lima Limo Records, in 2017 he furthered his output, scoring the acclaimed feature film Daphne, produced by The Bureau. Sam has a natural intuition to see potential in pre-existing and new ideas, and dedicates his energy to create compelling music. He currently produces and performances solo material as The Vernon Spring.

Kuljit Bhamra

Kuljit Bhamra is a prolific composer, musician and record producer whose main instrument is the tabla. He is best known as one of the record producers who pioneered the British Bhangra sound and for his many collaborations with musicians from different genres and continents.

Kuljit has worked on numerous film scores, including Bhaji on the Beach, A Winter of Love, Bend it Like Beckham and appearances on The Guru, The Four Feathers and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

He also appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Bombay Dreams, for which he performed as on-stage percussionist. He went on to write the Indian music for the West End musical The Far Pavilions and more recently, he co-orchestrated the music for the west end musical adaptation of Bend it Like Beckham in which he also performed on stage.

He is the recipient of many awards including a platinum disc for outstanding record sales presented by the much-loved BBC Radio DJ, John Peel who was a big fan of his music. His cutting-edge projects and ground-breaking educational work earned him the prestigious honor of MBE in the Queen's birthday list 2009.

In his ongoing mission to Demystify Indian Music, Kuljit recently created a new universal Indian Drum Notation System which he is currently disseminating with his company Keda Music.

Dean Valentine Smith

Born in north-west London, Dean was drawn to music from a young age singing along to his mother’s extensive record collection, soaking up all of the noises, beats and melodies that filled the house. He began playing the drums at the age of 12, falling in love with the instrument the moment he picked up his first pair of sticks. Dean studied for three years with Clive Jenner who introduced him to an array of influential drummers such as Elvin Jones, Steve Gadd and Mitch Mitchell expanding his palette across several genres.

Dean decided to start a rock band with some friends practising every weekend, perfecting his craft and harnessing a unique sound, incorporating these and more newfound influences. Dean began playing shows in the local punk-hardcore scene from the age of 16, his band quickly gathering a dedicated following and receiving considerable attention from within the music industry. After several line-up changes his original group disbanded. However, Dean continued to collaborate with other musicians who were part of London’s burgeoning experimental music scene, many of whom he still plays with to this day.

Working professionally as a session drummer since 2011, Dean has played for the likes of Sigala, Gabriella Cilmi, Liam Bailey, Kelli-Leigh, Mullally, Jordan Max, Avelino, Various Cruelties, Josh Record, This Be The Verse and many more. He has performed at many major music events worldwide including Reading & Leeds Festival, Haldern Pop, Rolling Stone Weekender and SXSW. Dean has also appeared on national and international television performing on programmes such as Barclaycard Mercury Prize Sessions, German Chart Show, Later… with Jools Holland and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Dean is also a composer and songwriter, making up one half of production duo Teenage News. Additionally, he has several solo projects including live drum/keyboard/loop experiment Orchids and a beat production project under the name VLNTN.