Author: pierre

John Fordham

“These were remarkable reinventions by two fearless originals, but they were devoted to illuminating the emotional cores of timeless old songs.”

Alexander Hawkins / Elaine Mitchener Quartet

Rob Harford

“It might have been their debut performance as a quartet, but the wealth and depth of individual talent shone through. Hopefully we won’t have to wait “all of [our lives]” for another gig. Sublime stuff.”

Vocal Crossings

An Evening of Experimental Music from the Sub Rosa label

Stephen Graham

“…Performing with a skilful Leon Michener on muted piano behind her, E.laine gave us a semi-improvised…performance where she moved seamlessly between voice styles such as avant-garde, torch song, jazz and even shards of pop. Quoting from ‘Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered’ amongst other things, the performance was intensely parodic, but also had something deeply felt to add to the satire. Hers is a stunning instrument, comfortable across her wide range in any dynamic and mode of articulation, with a stunning facility of control, and her set was one of the highlights…”

Henry Grimes, Bobby Few, Mark Sanders, Elaine Mitchener at Café Oto, 26 April 2013

Geoff Winston

“…Mitchener’s presence had the touch of Abbey Lincoln’s vocalisations with Max Roach and this concert indicated a musical coming of age for her, having briefly guested with Grimes on Café Oto’s stage in 2011. Working both with texts and with improvised freedom in the spirit of Phil Minton’s exotic vocal flights, she kept Grimes and Few on their toes with tremulous, animalesque jitterings and a charged, expressive undercurrent – there was no chance of this being a heritage act!”

 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Cheltenham, UK — review

Mike Hobart

“Their performance was as stunning as it was fresh and further collaborations are, let’s hope, in the pipeline.”

Artist’s Statement: Classically-trained vocal artist Elaine Mitchener on privacy and intimacy

Ben Miller

“My work is constantly evolving as I develop ideas and work with different artists, being challenged along the way. I approach each project with the excitement of something new and rewarding and, even if it doesn’t work, that’s okay because that’s an object lesson in itself.”

Industrial Intimacy: An Interview with Elaine Mitchener

John Wadsworth

“Industrialising Intimacy is a new way of working for me as it combines structured notational form, vocal improvisation, and movement that has been developed in R&D. I’m very excited to experience the outcome.”

Freedom of movement

Philip Clark

“Conceived and performed by London based vocalist Elaine Mitchener, Industrialising Intimacy flickers into life at the point where any attempts at categorisation are doomed to fail. Mitchener herself calls the piece “An original work of contemporary music theatre, performed […] in collaboration with Dam Van Huynh, George Lewis and David Toop.” But its mash-up of composed music, free improvisation and input from a choreographer meets inside a hybrid form that has little to do with how modern composition, improvisation or dance are usually perceived.”

24 February 2017

[vc_row content_text_aligment="" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Institute of Contemporary Arts, London Mưa (Rain) - R&D as part of Various Stages Festival led by Mahogany Opera Group. A movement opera inspired by the ancient art of Vietnamese