Ether – Southbank Centre’s annual music festival of innovation, art, technology and cross-arts experimentation – has long been presenting one-off collaborations and groundbreaking work from the likes of Kraftwerk, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke, and David Byrne.
This year it returns from 16 – 24 April with a mix of rock iconoclasts, rap trailblazers, audiovisual experimenters and contemporary-classical innovators. Highlights include Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Trio, Gil Scott-Heron, Chris Cunningham and the complete works of musique concrète pioneer – and formative influence on Frank Zappa – Edgard Varèse.
The confirmed line-up is as follows:
Fri 16 April – Edgard Varèse, 360 Degrees (Queen Elizabeth Hall)
Fri 16 April – Stereo MC’s vs The Bays, + The Herbaliser (Royal Festival Hall)
Sat 17 April – Glass, Gorecki And Turnage (Royal Festival Hall)
Sun 18 April – Edgard Varèse, 360 Degrees (Queen Elizabeth Hall)
Mon 19 April – Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Trio (Royal Festival Hall)
Tue 20 April – Gil Scott-Heron, Speech Debelle (Royal Festival Hall)
Wed 21 April – Broadcast, Micachu & The Shapes, Oliver Coates (Queen Elizabeth Hall)
Thu 22 April – Health, Chrome Hoof (Queen Elizabeth Hall)
Fri 23 April – Chris Cunningham, Beak (Royal Festival Hall)
Sat 24 April – Will Dutta, Plaid, Max De Wardener, John Richards (Purcell Room)
More details here