Five of the most innovative experimental artists, composers and instrument designers from across the UK have been announced as the winners of this year's coveted Oram Awards, an event held in partnership with The Radiophonic Institute and PRS Foundation.
The annual event celebrates women, trans, non-binary and gender-expansive artists who are pushing the envelope of creativity in sound, music and related technology — previous winners include Loraine James, Klein, Venus Ex Machina, Francine Perry aka La Leif, and No Home.
Oram Awards 2024 Winners
- Hanna Tuulikki, a British-Finnish artist, composer and performer based in Glasgow whose hybrid approach to sound blends vocal improvisation, voice processing and composition with manipulated field recording and electronics to tell stories about reworlding in times of biospheric crisis. Currently, Tuulikki is studying migrating birds to ask how we might shift our understanding of migration as disruptive and view it instead as a process central to all life on earth, focusing on the extraordinary marsh warbler in particular. The marsh warbler composes its song by ‘sampling’ other bird species that it hears around the world during its first year of life.
- Lola De La Mata, whose work explores listening and hearing practices, tinnitus and aural diversity, experiences of chronic illness as well as disrupting the embodied etiquette of classical music performances. Her 2024 debut album, Oceans on Azimuth, was inspired by her experience of severe tinnitus and featured sonic landscapes crafted from throbbing heartbeats and tinnitus phantoms reimagined through musical instruments made from glass, metal and even ice.
- London-based Italian musician Eleonora Oreggia, who in addition to creating performances and interactive installations using light, sound, dust, and electromagnetic fields under the moniker xname, is the creator of REBUS, a novel musical machine that can be played by plucking electromagnetic waves.
- The Silver Field, the project of East-Midlands based musician Coral Rose Kindred-Boothby, who performs using modular synthesizers and other self-built instruments, weaving together songs and soundscapes with samples, analogue synthesis and live vocal manipulation, creating a rich and dream-like tapestry of sound.
- Dali de Saint Paul, a prolific collaborator and a prominent figure in Bristol's improv scene. The raw vocalist has been experimenting since 2012, with her frequently-improvised approach blurring the sonic lines between instruments, and destabilises spatial and linguistic borders. She embodies a polyphonic, politicised act of womxn through the ages.
No Bounds Festival
The Orams have also announced a new collaboration with No Bounds Festival, Sheffield, UK, which will see the winners showcased throughout the event. As part of the festival, the organisation will also be hosting a day of events at Gut Level, Sheffield’s newest community space for queer, LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people. It will take place on Saturday 12 October in collaboration with Key of She Collective (KoS) and The Radiophonic Institute, and will feature a three-hour improvisation and play workshop where attendees can experiment with synthesizers and experimental electronics.
More information can be found on the Oram Awards website.
