In Conversation with Andie Brown

The final in the series - 'Unpredictable: Conversations with Improvisers’ is a series that has grown out of a deep research into the nature of Free Improvisation.

Andie Brown is a musician, artist, maker and researcher who began her music career as a bass player during her teens. In 2007 Andie began performing and recording as a solo artist under the name These Feathers Have Plumes. Over the last decade, Andie has been experimenting with glass and electronics, creating what she has termed an “augmented glass harp”. Andie has performed extensively including at Colour Out of Space and Full of Noises Festivals and at venues such as Cafe OTO, Union Chapel and the De La Warr Pavilion. She has also taken part in ensemble works with Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides at Tate Britain and at White Cube Gallery for Christian Marclay conducted by Steve Beresford. Elsewhere, Andie has enjoyed collaborating with a diverse range of artists including Sophie Cooper, Joincey, Kelly Jayne Jones, Dale Cornish and Phil Julian but most often with artist and vocalist Sharon Gal. Since 2016 Andie has also been working with sound installation and film; in 2017, Andie was nominated for the PRSF Oram Awards and began a practiced based PhD at the University of Huddersfield. Andie is also a co-Director at Yorkshire Sound Women Network.

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'Unpredictable: Conversations with Improvisers’ is  a collection of videos that have grown out of a deep research into the nature of Free Improvisation, its history in the UK and its international connections. The collection responds to the urgent need to investigate the genre and its rich legacy. Research and filming began in 2011. It was directed and produced by artist, curator and educator Blanca Regina in collaboration with Steve Beresford and Pierre Bouvier Patron. The series was commissioned by Sound and Music for the 50th anniversary of the British Music Collection.

The series focus on twelve active performers, interviewing pioneers like Terry Day and Maggie Nicols and, from the second generation, Steve Beresford, David Toop and Peter Cusack.

Women have always been an important presence in Free Improvisation but this has not always been reflected in how the genre is seen. In ‘Unpredictable Series’ we made a point of including more women than men, particularly women with developing careers in the field.

Many of these videos have been filmed in the context of 'Unpredictable' events, and others have followed the artists into key London venues like Cafe OTO and IKLECTIK. These are two of the most important venues in the UK for freely improvised music – a genre that sprang to life in the mid ‘60s, has always had a strong community in London, but is often not fully acknowledged. 

Blanca Regina and Steve Beresford created 'Unpredictable', a series with an emphasis on Free Improvisation that features exhibitions, performances, talks, films and publications. In 2014 they were joined by Pierre Bouvier Patron.

Directed and produced by Blanca Regina

Advisor: Steve Beresford

Camera and editors: Pierre Bouvier Patron & Blanca Regina

Sound: Blanca Regina

Photographies by Tomi Osuna, Nadjib Le Fleurier, Jak Kilby and Pierre Bouvier Patron

Thanks to  Mike Figgis venues and musicians  Cafe Oto, Fielding Hope, IKLECTIK, Eduard Solaz, William Morris Gallery, Shabaka Hutchings and many more

More information at www.unpredictable.info