David Toop's new publication Into The Maelstrom will be launched at Cafe Oto on Sunday June 5th. The evening's events include Evan Parker, Elaine Mitchener, Angharad Davies, Steve Beresford and Sylvia Hallett.
Into The Maelstrom: In this first instalment of acclaimed music writer David Toop's interdisciplinary and sweeping overview of free improvisation, Into the Maelstrom: Music, Improvisation and the Dream of Freedom: Before 1970 introduces the philosophy and practice of improvisation (both musical and otherwise) within the historical context of the post-World War II era. Neither strictly chronological, or exclusively a history, Into the Maelstrom investigates a wide range of improvisational tendencies: from surrealist automatism to stream-of-consciousness in literature and vocalization; from the free music of Percy Grainger to the free improvising groups emerging out of the early 1960s (Group Ongaku, Nuova Consonanza, MEV, AMM, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble); and from free jazz to the strands of free improvisation that sought to distance itself from jazz. Published by Bloomsbury Academic
Visit the Cafe Oto website for full details and to book: www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/david-toop-into-the-maelstrom
*Contact event organiser for finishing times