Draft:Adam de la Cour


Adam de la Cour (b.1979) is a British composer, performer and filmmaker.

Biography edit

De la Cour was born in Maidstone, Kent. He studied composition at the University of Southampton with the composer Michael Finnissy.

Style edit

His work often features elements of Absurdism, satire and dark humour. It has taken the form of short film, video, concert music, studio recordings, radio plays, music with film, and installations.

Music edit

De la Cour’s music encompasses multiple genres such as experimental, free improvisation, contemporary classical, jazz, and heavy metal. His music has been performed internationally at festivals such as MATA Festival [1], Bergen International Festival [2], Melbourne Festival [3], Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival [4], and London Contemporary Music Festival [5]. It has been broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 3, ABC Classic FM (Australia), and Resonance FM.

Notable Works edit

He is the creator of BBC Radio 3’s first-ever commissioned Christmas panto, Oh, Bobby! [6], which was performed as a live radio-play at BBC Maida Vale Studios in December 2023. A version was then broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of The New Music Show. It was described in The Telegraph as:

“...weird, baffling, almost unlistenable - and therefore exactly the sort of thing that late-night Radio 3 ought to be doing” [7]

He was one of only three composers to be commissioned to write a new work for the MATA festival, New York in 2015, for which he submitted Corporate Talent Factor’s Next Top Idol! [1], a satirical work for jazz/rock trio and video [1]. de la Cour has written multiple piano works for many prominent contemporary classical pianists including Mark Knoop, Ian pace [4], and Zubin Kanga . The works commissioned by Kanga include the Transplant the Movie! [8] series, which incorporates live musical performance and film [9]. It has been described in The Wire magazine as:

"...a bizarre and often hilarious fusion of music...with the aesthetics of cult, psychotronic cinema." [10]

Graphic scores edit

De la Cour’s early work displays a keen interest in Graphic notation. Key works include The Real Imaginary Framed Existence of Ringhead and Loon, which takes the form of a 60 page comic book score, and Three Boxes and a Cube, which consists of three collapsible steel box structures and a solid brass cube. The structures are engraved with frame notated directions influenced by character and camera movement from within various cinematic works, including Werner Herzog’s Even Dwarfs Started Small and Jacques Tati’s Playtime.

Both pieces were exhibited as part of a solo show at the Centre for Recent Drawing in 2007 [11]. Three Boxes and a Cube is displayed online as part of the British Music Collection at Google Arts & Culture [12].

Performance edit

De la cour performs as a vocalist and guitarist. He has performed and premiered works by composers such as Michael Finnissy [13], Chris Newman [14], Matthew Shlomowitz [15], Alwynne Pritchard [16], Claudia Molitor [17], Neil Luck [18], and Trond Reinholdsten [19]. He has performed the vocalist role of Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire with the Austrian Ensemble Reconsil at The Arnold Schoenberg Centre in Vienna in 2012 [20]. They also toured the work, performing it in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Ensembles edit

Ensembles de la Cour has performed with include ARCO, Schopenhauer, Ensemble Plus-Minus [19], The London Sinfonietta [21] and Arn & Hammer (a duo with the composer Neil Luck). Arn & Hammer performed at the 2018 Latitude Festival on the BBC Introducing stage [22]. Their set involves spoken Arnold Schwarzenegger trivia, alongside live carpentry.

Film & Video edit

His short films have screened at festivals such as London Short Film Festival [23], Go Short [24], Supernormal and Antimatter [media art], and at venues such as Regent Street Cinema.

Adult Swim edit

His short films Puzzl (2018) [25] and Dentata Solutions (2019) [26] are featured on Adult Swim UK’s YouTube channel and he was commissioned to create the film In House for Adult Swim’s ADULT SWIM SMALLS: VOLUME FIVE - Year in Review (2021)[27].

Collaboration edit

He has collaborated with a variety of creative practitioners, including the Scottish artist Bruce McLean on the film Drumstick [28], which was first screened at the Ikon gallery, Birmingham in 2012 [29]. He has collaborated with the English composer Michael Finnissy on the two-part piano & film work Hammerklavier, the first part of which had its premiere at London Contemporary Music Festival in 2019 [5]. The work is notable for being Finnissy's first direct collaboration with a filmmaker in the creation of an original work.

He has formed a longstanding artistic relationship with composer Neil Luck, collaborating on multiple projects and co-founding the artist cooperative and net-label, squib-box, along with the composer Federico Reuben. Their collaborations have ventured into a diverse array of territories, including a unique rendition of Kurt SchwittersUrsonate [30].

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Bearthoven Buckshot". MATA Festival. 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  2. ^ Pritchard, Alwynne (2016-01-29). DOG/GOD. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via Vimeo.
  3. ^ "Zubin Kanga - Cyborg Pianist, Melbourne Recital Centre, Primrose Potter Salon - Tuesday, 11 Oct 2016". www.australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  4. ^ a b "hcmf// 2013 programme by hcmf// - Issuu". issuu.com. 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  5. ^ a b Maddocks, Fiona (2019-12-21). "The week in classical: Christmas Oratorio; 34th Christmas festival; LCMF – review". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio 3 - New Music Show, Oh Bobby! - an experimental Christmas pantomime". BBC. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  7. ^ Saunders, Tristram Fane (2024-01-03). "Radio 4's odd tradition proved an unexpected treat". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  8. ^ "Cyborg Pianist (Zubin Kanga)". Limelight. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  9. ^ Kanga, Zubin (2016-09-02). "Through the Silver Screen: The Collaborative Creation of Works for Piano and Video". Contemporary Music Review. 35 (4–5): 423–449. doi:10.1080/07494467.2016.1257559. ISSN 0749-4467.
  10. ^ Hayler, Richard Stacey,Kristen Gallerneaux,Daniel Neofetou,Neil Kulkarni,Louis Pattison,Robert Barry,Howard Mandel,Lizzie Davis,Claire Sawers,Clive Bell,Emily Bick,Mark Sinker,Rob. "The Wire 431". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 2024-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "'Harem' Adam de la Cour". a-n The Artists Information Company. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  12. ^ "Graphic Scores". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  13. ^ "Michael Finnissy - Dust (World Première)". 5:4. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  14. ^ Adam de la Cour & Michael Finnissy - 3 Chris Newman songs. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via www.youtube.com.
  15. ^ "2012 Belgium". ISCM – International Society for Contemporary Music. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  16. ^ "Alwynne Pritchard". nyMusikk. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  17. ^ Claudia Molitor's stickers @ squib-box launch event. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via vimeo.com.
  18. ^ "The Quietus | News | FESTIVAL REPORT: LCMF". The Quietus. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  19. ^ a b "Plus Minus Ensemble & Kammer Klang / James Beckett". archive.ica.art. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  20. ^ "Search". schoenberg.at. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  21. ^ "Talking up, not down: London Sinfonietta's new Blue Touch Paper series". The Rambler. 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  22. ^ "BBC Music - BBC Music Introducing at Latitude 2018". www.bbc.co.uk. 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  23. ^ "London Short Film Festival 2019 programme by London Short Film Festival - Issuu". issuu.com. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  24. ^ "Catalogue Go Short 2019 by Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen - Issuu". issuu.com. 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  25. ^ PUZZL | Original Short Film | Adult Swim UK. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via www.youtube.com.
  26. ^ Dentata Solutions | Original Short Film | Adult Swim UK 🇬🇧. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via www.youtube.com.
  27. ^ ADULT SWIM SMALLS: VOLUME FIVE - Year in Review. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via www.youtube.com.
  28. ^ "WHITECHAPEL GALLERY Special Event / AMAE/DE PINTO perform in collaboration with philosopher JEAN-LUC NANCY – Contemporary Performance". contemporaryperformance.com. 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  29. ^ "Autumn Almanac: The Voice and the Lens". The Birmingham Press. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  30. ^ "Adam de la Cour & Neil Luck perform Kurt Schwitters's Ursonate - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 2024-04-21.

External links edit

www.adamdelacour.com