Essential Information
| Type | Events and festivals |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Date and Times | Friday 11 July 2025 | 7pm and 8.30pm |
| Prices | £10 |
| Discount for Members. Not a member? Join now |
Celebrate the opening of Ocean Court at the National Maritime Museum with an evening of live music, natural wonders and inspiring surroundings.
'Ocean Songs' is a new collection of songs celebrating our ocean planet, its mythology, natural wonders and as-yet-undiscovered depths. The music is performed by specially formed ensemble Blue Machine, featuring intricately layered electronics with live strings, winds and vocals.
"Like our oceans, the project defies divisions and boundaries, bringing together contemporary classical, jazz and rock musicians with inspiration drawn from the world of science," explain the artists.
Blue Machine takes its name from the award-winning book by scientist Helen Czerski. This performance will use sound to transport the listener through some of the least explored areas on Earth, taking in their natural wonders and examining our human impact on the ocean along the way.
On the night, a live ensemble will combine conventional song with overlaid narratives and instrumentation from conch shells to bowed strings. The musicians have worked in collaboration to layer sampled sounds such as ship’s bells with musical motifs and spoken-word contributions from scientists.
Ocean Songs is funded by First Light Festival CIC, Oceans Rising, Royal Museums Greenwich and Messums East.
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About Blue Machine
Nic Pendlebury has been a leading figure in contemporary music for over 30 years and was the violist and founder of the acclaimed Smith Quartet. The group commissioned over 200 works and recorded albums for Sony, BMG, Decca and Signum Classics. He now pioneers new repertoire for the electric viola, and is Head of Strings at Trinity Laban.
Composer Colin Riley’s ‘extraordinarily strange and beautiful’ (BBC) work blends new technologies, song writing and classical forms. His music has been performed by many leading soloists, ensembles and orchestras and he is a frequent collaborator. He has a regular blog, Riley Notes, and is published by Composers’ Edition.
Together Nic and Colin are co-directors of Sonic Collaborations, which has produced the Ocean Songs project, having previously worked with Royal Museums Greenwich on site-specific audio experience Cutty Sark Soundscape.
Steve Pretty is perhaps best known as founder and leader of Hackney Colliery Band, described by BBC Radio 2 as 'one of the greatest live bands that we have in this country'. He also composes for TV, film and the stage, and his fascination with the evolution of music from its earliest origins has led to the 'wide ranging and insightful' (Guardian) podcast Steve Pretty On The Origin of the Pieces, as well as an increasing obsession with conch shell instruments.
London-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Lottie P is a multi-faceted and prolific musician who splits her time between her Rough Trade-signed band Goat Girl and other solo and collaborative endeavours. While predominantly an alternative rock trio, Goat Girl’s three highly praised albums journey through many different sounds. Lottie P’s vocals also feature in Cutty Sark Soundscape, notably in the song ‘Ebb and Flow’.
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