LIVE: 

Jules Buckley with the Heritage Orchestra- ‘New York: Sound Of A City’

featuring: Sharon Van Etten, Serpentwithfeet, Nitty Scott and Hercules and Love Affair

Venue:  Late Night BBC Prom 35, Royal Albert Hall

Date:      Wednesday 8th August 2018

With a reputation for smashing the formalities of the concert hall with his boundary-breaking,   rulebook-ripping, eyebrow-raising BBC Proms, orchestral composer, conductor and arranger Jules Buckley  presents BBC Prom 35; ‘New York: Sound Of A City’

His thirteenth prom is part of the Late Night BBC Proms programme from where his most pioneering and highly acclaimed successes have emerged.  Buckley’s  ‘Ibiza Prom’ in collaboration with DJ Pete Tong saw the Heritage Orchestra blow away a generation of dance music fans with a night of dance music classics, while ‘Grime Symphony’  paid homage to the UK’s thriving scene featuring  the some of the genres biggest stars; Wretch 32, Stormzy and Krept & Konan.

 Given carte-blanch from the BBC Proms to curate, programme and deliver his own creative vision, Buckley, with Heritage Orchestra co-founder, Chris Wheeler, present ‘New York: Sound Of A City’, an evening of eclectic sonic magic from the city that gave birth to disco and hip-hop and nurtured gospel, indie, punk and more.  The city has a sound that is impossible to categorise, so ‘Sound of a City’ is a ‘snapshot’ of the sound of New York – contemporary music as it’s happening at the moment, experimental, visceral and dynamic.

“The sound of New York is very, very difficult to define” Buckley told the BBC, “it’s developed and become so fragmented over the years that we couldn’t really confine it to one genre … it’s super-eclectic and super-diverse. That’s why we decided to go with this “snapshots” outlook. Instead of saying: “This is what’s going on right now” we’re saying: “This is some of what’s going on right now”.

Joining Buckley and his Heritage Orchestra are some of the hottest and most diverse artists the city has to offer. Guests include the sparse and confessional singer Sharon Van Etten, with the ground-breaking dance music project, Hercules and Love Affair adding euphoric, swooning electronics. Also joining the cast is Brooklyn-based Afro-Latina rapper and poet, Nitty Scott  who seamlessly blends traditional hip-hop with  the sounds of her Puerto Rican heritage.   Also performing is tThe self-described pagan gospel maverick serpentwithfeet (Josiah Wise) whose visual drama compliments his uniquely hypnotic sound

Speaking to the Independent, Wise reflects on a certain electricity about New York that he believes infiltrates the music that emerges: “The way it’s so compact and people interact with each other influences the tempo, that energetic ping pong. On all fronts the city is always on overdrive; we hear that in the way people create.”

Read Jules Buckley in conversation with the BBC here https://bbc.in/2mCrZrr

and in conversation with the Independent  here https://ind.pn/2mumwCF

Prom 35:  Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP
Box Office 020 7589 8212

Doors 22:15pm