A groundbreaking music project which brings together Croydon-based musicians from different backgrounds and genres to collaborate on brand new compositions will perform at Boxpark next week (4pm-7pm, Sunday 2 December).
Run by award-winning musician and composer Shri Sriram and funded by the council’s cultural partnership fund and Arts Council England, Croydon Composers features 16 Croydon-based musicians paired into eight duos.
The aim of the project is to bring together musicians with backgrounds ranging from Afrobeats to jazz, classical Indian music, folk and reggae, to write new music together, resulting in exciting and unique compositions.
The project made its debut at Croydon International Mela in 2017, featuring 10 Croydon-based musicians paired into five duos performing brand new material they’d written together.
This year the project has expanded, including more collaborators and launching Young Croydon Composers, bringing young musicians and composers aged 8-19 in order to write and perform new music together. This has involved music students from Croydon Music and Arts working with Indian classical students of Sangeetha of the UK and urban music youth from Music Relief.
All compositions have been produced by Shri Sriram, artistic director of Drum the Bass, together with project manager Shirin Sriram and music business affairs consultant Michael Fuller.
Croydon Composers and Croydon Young Composers will perform to well over 1,000 people on December 2. Entry is free, with tickets available from the Croydon Composers website or at Boxpark Croydon’s events page.
Shri Sriram said: “This year we’ve expanded the project to work with 16 musicians who have been paired up to write and perform new material. We’re now itching to get onto the stage at Boxpark Croydon on 2 December. We’re very grateful for the support of Croydon Council and Arts Council England who have been enthusiastic from the start.”
“Croydon Composers is a fantastic project which brings together musicians across genres and across communities, to create some really exciting collaborations. It’s a true celebration of the rich diversity of Croydon’s cultural scene and of the emerging talent we are so proud to have in our borough.”
Councillor Oliver Lewis, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport
The performers for Croydon Composers 2018 include:
• Indian classical singer/songwriter Rajesh Raman with Togolese singer/songwriter Dédé Davi
• Turkish drummer Tansay Omar and British jazz/blues singer/songwriter Gill Manly
• Indian classical percussionist Prathap Ramachandra with Guyanese spoken word artist Amen Noir.
• 4Afro beats keyboard player/singer/songwriter Silvastone with Croydon Composers’ producer and Indian bassist/flautist/percussionist/songwriter Shri Sriram.
• Indian classical singer Prachi Ranade with Shri Sriram.
• English folk/choral singer/songwriter Katie Rose with Indian classical singer/guitarist/pianist Mithun Mohan.
• Iranian jazz singer/songwriter Mitra Djalili and Angolan rapper/singer/songwriter Unorthodox Kings.
• British dancehall/reggae rapper Stush with Shri Sriram
