nonclassical: Vari/ations – An Ode to Oram

Marking 100 years of trailblazing composer Daphne Oram, nonclassical presents Vari/ations – An Ode to Oram at the Barbican this December.

A pioneer of electronic sound, Daphne Oram was far ahead of her time, co-founding the BBC Radiophonic workshop in the 1950s and becoming a towering figure in experimental music. In her centenary year, nonclassical celebrates her exploratory spirit with an evening of music from six of today’s most exciting sonic innovators, celebrating Daphne Oram through the work of these leading gender-marginalised electronic composers.

Musical direction for the evening comes from award-winning producer and musician Marta Salogni, weaving together performances alongside TAAHLIAH, Deena Abdelwahed, Félicia Atkinson, Nwando Ebizie and xname in a celebration of Oram’s legacy across electronic music. The six artists make use of samples from Oram’s own sound archive, with reel-to-reel tapes, self-built instruments, and the Mini Oramics machine originally conceived by Oram. Alongside these samples will be CDJs, sample pads and more as these artists channel Oram’s boundary-breaking ethos into forward-looking, genre-defying live performances, each on a living homage to her influence.