HIDDEN ORCHESTRA *live

In the organizer's words:

Hidden Orchestra is an imaginary orchestra assembled in the studio of multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer Joe Acheson from many individual recordings by guest musicians of diverse backgrounds, combined with field recordings, bass and complex drum layers. In addition to the solo studio albums, the live band has been an integral part of the project from the beginning.

The music is a melting pot of Joe's extremely diverse musical experiences and influences from a range of genres from across time and around the world, and has been described as electronic music with acoustic instruments and natural sounds. Music built on contrasts that is at once anxious and soothing, dark and light, fast and slow - full of abstract emotions open to the listener's interpretation.

In 2022, the live band Hidden Orchestra returns to its AV shows, following Joe's release of the award-winning Creaks OST for cult Czech studio Amanita Design, an album featuring Cerys Matthews and ten of Britain's best-known poets on Decca Records, and a series of multi-speaker sound/music installations in the botanical forest of Kew Gardens in Wakehurst.

The live band features Joe on bass and electronic instruments, drummer Jamie Graham, and a number of virtuoso live guests from the album recordings, including Jack McNeill (clarinets), Becky Knight (cello), and Poppy Ackroyd (piano). Tom Newell of Limbic Cinema creates stunning visual effects live on stage.