For details of Bela Emerson..s other projects, go to www.cellobela.com
Influences
lots & lots of people and things. like: Steve Reich, My Bloody Valentine, Thelonious Monk, Slint, Mrs Pilgrimm, Tony Moore, Same Actor, Kate Bush, Pixies, His Name Is Alive (first three...), the Mambas, People Like Us, Robin Guthrie, Virginia Astley, Queens of the Stone Age, Jeff Buckley, Sonic Youth, John Gray, Kirsten Elliott, Susanne Lambert, Into a Circle, Astor Piazzolla, Aphex Twin, Gustav Holst, A C Marias, Siouxsie and the Banshees, John Zorn, Music for One, Charlottefield, Talk Talk, Nina Simone, Frank Zappa, PJ Harvey, 4AD, The Chameleons, Sun Ra, Warp, Powers of Ten soundtrack(first electronica I ever heard), Teahouse Camp, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Captain Beefheart, Dif Juz, Bjork, Juana Molina, Radiohead...
Sounds Like
"Emerson never conceals her talent with indulgent echo-chamber play, and beautiful rich melodies are never far away, summoned up by her skilled, gripping fingers. Man, I bet she could open a jar of pickles just by looking at it. On Hespera, remarkable sonic textures rub up against each other to the extent that I would say the instrument’s true voice is unleashed, rather than being buried under a pile of studio effects. In fact, make that several true voices – she makes her instrument speak in tongues." Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector, November ..08
"Bela Emerson makes her instrument speak in tongues" Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector
"Spontaneous music of extreme beauty and power" Venue magazine
"A more captivating, physical performance you are not likely to see." Brighton Source
"Excellent!" Mark Russell, Mixing It, BBC Radio 3
"My favourite concert: Bela Emerson, Ladyfest Brighton; she touched me so deeply with her cello playing and beautiful, passionate appearance... she got me in tears" Charlotta Kerbs, The Tumbling Dice
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Combining electric cello with loops and effects, Bela Emerson strives constantly to explore the potential and extend the boundaries of the instrument's place in contemporary music. Passionate and exciting, both musically and visually, she captivates audiences worldwide. She has recently incorporated musical saw & tenor viol into her solo sets.
Bela's performances are the stuff of legend: spontaneous, intense, and exhilarating. Her command of her instruments and ability to attune to the uniqueness of the moment combine to produce music that is always different and frequently spellbinding. Using an array of electronics, pedals and effects that take the cello way beyond its usual sphere, Bela builds layers of rhythm and sound not just from strings and bow, but from every bit of the instrument. Sounds are looped, take on lives of their own, bounce off each other, drop in and out... The effect, as anyone who's heard her will testify, is mesmeric.
Though in her element as a live performer, Bela has captured a healthy slice of the excitement of her performance on five solo recordings: 2003's Kissing Nettles received extensive radio play - notably on BBC Radio 3's 'Mixing It', Totally Radio and played in full as a live set on Passion 107.9 The second CD, Cables, was released on Quiet Records in 2004, and Bela did her bit for the vinyl revival in 2005 by releasing a 7” single, Scythe e.p. (on Brighton's own The Slightly Off Kilter Label) launched with a stunningly powerful Hallowe'en performance in St. Andrew’s Church that left some dazed locals mumbling about ‘'gig of the year'’. 2005 also saw Bela perform live on BBC Radio (as part of Brighton Festival), do two UK tours - 8 dates in July and 12 dates in November - and win over the crowds at Glastonbury, Big Green, Brighton, and Shambala festivals.
Between 2006 & 2008, Bela toured Germany with vj Stephen Wolff; she also collaborated with Stomp for the world premiere of their highly-acclaimed production the Lost & Found Orchestra for Brighton Festival, performed at Aldeburgh Festival’s extraordinary Faster Than Sound (with Tim Exile), Bestival, & three Ladyfests, played live sets on Resonance FM, plus shared bills with A Silver Mount Zion & Wolf Eyes amongst many others.
She also performed ten dates at Sydney Opera House with the Lost & Found Orchestra, solo in Sweden, Finland & the UK (including a solo tour with Hot Roddy) including live sets at Supersonic, Quwack(e), Ladyfest Finland, Big Chill, Ortom, & Sonic Boom, as well as releasing live album Laurasia (Drama Queen). She also composed & performed the soundtrack to Tereza Buskova's award-winning film Wedding Rituals. She toured with Drei in Switzerland, in Brussels & Holland with The Mercurial Ensemble (Ryan Teague (Type Records), Sefa Steer/Rhodri Davies, & Tom Edwards), performed a solo UK split tour with Men Diamler and a six-week solo tour of the USA & Canada.
Bela released a new studio album, Hespera, on BiP_HOp at the end of 2008 [to great acclaim - see reviews in myspace blog] and recently completed four soundtracks (inc. SchMovies On The Verge, and Tereza Buskova's Forgotten Marriage), as well as recording with The Damned, a thing that makes her very happy. In winter 2008/09, Bela joint-headlined a six-week European tour with Lianne Hall and performed a 30-date run with the Lost & Found Orchestra at London's Royal Festival Hall.
So far in 2009, Bela has collaborated in the studio with Philippe Petit (as featured on The Wire’s March issue CD & live at Cafe Oto) and Dan Grantby, and live with Tim Exile (Bloc) and Artamonova - and also with the Lost & Found Orchestra at Amsterdam’s beautiful Theater Carré. Upcoming are further collaborations with Nick Pynn, Tim Exile, Jacquemo, and The Dirty Cakes. Bela may release more vinyl this year…she’s working on it.
RELEASES: Hespera (BiP_HOp 2008)
Laurasia (Drama Queen 2007)
Subaqua (Gruenrekorder 2006) - track on AudioArt03 compilation
Scythe 7" vinyl (The Slightly Off Kilter Label 2005)
Cables (Quiet Records 2004)
Kissing Nettles (Drama Queen 2003)
Bey Bela. Good to see you this weekend. I know you can't make it yourself, but for any interested Brighton fans - Bellows are launching our Troop EP, featuring Bela Emerson, at the Komedia studio bar on October 28th. Plus Twenty-One Crows and The Vainglories, and DJ Darius Akashic.
Type PR and Slowfoot Records Present... Date: Thursday 15th October Snorkel Richard Miles & Bela Emerson Tomas Hiltz Venue: The Basement, 23 Kensington St, Brighton. Doors: 8-11pm Tickets: £5 adv Resident Records 01273 606312/£6 on the door/£5 concession
The Slightly Off Kilter Label sok032 cd-r edition of 50
release date: 1st October 2009
Described by Rinus Van Alebeek, organizer of Das Kleine Field Recording Festival in Berlin, as 'a novelist', Simon produces episodic and dramatic works, composing from field recordings he has gathered during numerous projects and international travels. Simon has worked with Scanner and Francisco Lopez and performed alongside Fennesz and Philip Jeck. His work has taken him to countries including Iceland, Mongolia, Brazil and Estonia, and he has had recording projects released through Entr'acte, Trente Oiseaux, Lens Records, Con-V and Gruenrekorder. Simon's release for Slightly Off Kilter is a recording from a performance at the Grey Area Gallery in Brighton in March 2009, and is published by Touch Music.
“In a way, memory is a commodity that Simon Whetham deals in. While he was performing, the sounds he had selected put me in mind of the sounds of my own travels, the places that I have lived, and visited; I recalled the sounds, smells, past events, old friends...” - Honest Music For Dishonest Times
For all Brighton-based folk: Bellows (formerly John The Savage) launch their Troop EP, featuring Bela Emerson, at the Komedia Studio Bar on October 28th. Bela herself can sadly not join us for the gig, but the brand new EP will be on sale. Also performing live for your pleasure: experimental electronica from The Vainglories and alt folk from Twenty-One Crows.
HI BELA, REALLY ENJOY LISTENING TO YOUR TUNES, I LOVE AMBER, I FELT LIKE I WAS FLOATING ON A LEAF DOWN A BROOK CENTERING AN ENCHANTED FOREST, THE SWING IN SKINY FINGERS HAD ME SWAYING IN MY SEAT I GET SO LOST IN YOUR SONIC DREAMSCAPES, YOUR MUSIC REALLY IGNITES THE IMAGINATION THANK YOU. IF YOU HAVE THE TIME PLSE GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK ON MY MUSIC. WARM BLESSINGS AND KINDEST REGARDS ARBRESSENCE
we have revived 'feral bela' for when we play in leeds on saturday, and we have also written a new song called 'ambulance of love' inspired by the wedding.....as ever, a powerful muse. we hope you are having a great time in scotland...and we will see you in september. lots of love, the grannies xxx
Hey Bela thanks for the add! Still loving your strange magical mythical musical magic - Was blown away when i first heard you perform!! If you're near leeds at any point in the future i'd love to do a couple of tracks together (perhaps recorded in the woods.....) hmmm jx
what are you doing in munich? coming up to berlin, too? lots of love, xx
29. Mai 2009
5 Jahre Zentrale Randlage (http://www.zentrale-randlage.org) Konzert, DJs, Party
Prater-Foyer, Kastanienallee 7-9, 10435 Berlin. U2-Eberswalder Straße
Live * Society Suckers (Kool.Pop, PeaceOff, Mental Ind., Lux Nigra) - http://www.society-suckers.com) * Magnum38 (Shitkatapult) - http://www.magnum38.com
DJs * DJ Pure (crónica, Mego, d0c) - http://pure.test.at * marius reisser (stillavailable, dense) - http://www.myspace.com/mariusreisser * DJ Poingi (Clash of the Titans) - http://www.myspace.com/djpoingi
Visuals * sansculotte (Clash of the Titans) - http://sansculotte.net
possible the best Psychedelic Orchestra along with the rockiest prog masters along with the delectable harmonic mistresses of soundz... will definitely be playing at...
"The Greenhouse Effect" Hove 63 Church Road, Hove BRIGHTON, BN3 2BD Sat 25 Apr 2009 - Whimwise - That Legendary Wooden Lion The Wellingtons
