Three extraordinary musical artists working at the intersection of classical and electronic music.

An evening of piano, strings and electronics in the beautiful setting of St Matthias Church, Stoke Newington. 

DOORS AT 6:30PM. Accessible venue. Drinks available at our cashless bar.

THE HILLSIDE PROJECT

The Hillside Project is composer Josh Hill’s space to collaborate with artists, filmmakers and musicians, and experiment without deadline, brief or restriction...

Josh is a composer, pianist and drummer based near London, UK whose diverse musical influences and interests are reflected in his work, a mellifluous jumble of melodic neoclassical cinematic ambient improvised jazz and folk, with piano as its starting point and evolving with influences from his extensive musical experience with drums, percussion, electronics and technology.

The Hillside Project has released a series of acclaimed singles and EPs, taking in piano improvisation, contemporary jazz and cinematic electronica, and Josh released his debut album Ocellus in early 2021, twelve pieces for solo piano written and recorded over three days in a barn in Oxfordshire whilst a storm raged outside. Ocellus explores the theme of extraordinary adaptation in nature (and human nature) and was launched with a livestream piano performance from Josh's studio which featured three collaborative films with filmmaker Ricardo Sanchez.

Josh will launch his new album The Available Light tonight, an ambitious, dynamic, dark yet joyful work for piano, string quintet, percussion and synths.

thehillsideproject.com

VILLEMIN

VILLEMIN grew up in an eclectic musical environment, between her mother’s lyric soprano rehearsals and the CDs bought by her older brothers. The family library contains music by Poulenc, Arvo Pärt, Ravel’s piano concertos and 90’s albums by Massive Attack and Björk. She is immediately taken by the hypnotic languor and rich orchestration of the latter.

Although she was trained as a violinist at the conservatory, (where she entered in Grenoble at the age of 7 before continuing in Lyon and Paris to study pedagogy, composition and orchestration) the piano and keyboards are always intimately present in her life. Her great grandmother gave her mother a small organ, telling her that it would bring comfort to her daily life. Villemin spent most of her free time there, headphones on, from the age of four until early adulthood when her mother gave her a piano when she moved.

Later, VILLEMIN produced music for theatre, dance and advertising, developing an orchestral and atmospheric style. After several years of collaborating with classical and contemporary ensembles as a violinist, but also with shoegaze bands for whom she made arrangements and a video clip, she developed her own language through a pared-down approach. Thus, she undertook the writing of her first EP on the piano, the instrument that allows her to render the entirety of her emotions.

villeminmusic.com

JOSH SEMANS

Josh Semans is an ondes Martenot player, composer, and producer based in the north-west of England.

Working from a converted attic studio, Josh’s work is uniquely textured, employing a range of instruments, sound-sources, and processes. A keen improviser, his creative process is a cocktail of exploration, repetition, and abstraction.

Josh regularly collaborates and works with other musicians and composers, having recorded and performed alongside Adrian Utley, Charles Hazlewood, Luke Sital-Singh, Hainbach, Simeon Walker, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, and many others.

As well as appearing on various BBC Radio programmes, and creating the LABS Ondes Musicales in collaboration with Spitfire Audio, he has performed on Tony Award-winning Alex Baranowski's score for A Christmas Carol, Volker Bertelmann's score for Against The Ice, and Lena Raine's soundtrack to RPG video-game Moonglow Bay.

Josh's ambitious second album, funded by the Help Musicians 'Do It Differently' fund, will be a collection of pieces for ondes Martenot, electronics and string quartet.

joshsemans.com