17 May 2026

Mike Cooper

A founding member in the 80s of the rebel free improv trio The Recedents ( with Lol Coxhill and Roger Turner) Mike Cooper has been active since the early 60s in a multitude of diverse musical genre. Now in his 80s he returns to London for a few exclusive dates with his DNA ( Digital Nomadic Arts) set up -small portable digital devices for creative music making.

Matt Clark & Khabat Abas

Matt Clark is a guitarist and improviser based in SE London.

His work sidesteps traditional notions of harmony and melody, instead exploring the random and unexpected within improvisation around twelve tones, and the sonic possibilities of unorthodox techniques.

Khabat Abas is a cellist, composer, and interdisciplinary artist from Kurdistan working at the intersection of free improvisation, sound art, and performance. Her practice explores time, space, and memory through an expanded sonic language drawing on everyday sounds, noise, and the physicality of listening.

Tansy Spinks, Mark Wastell, Gus Garside & Adrian Southby

Tansy Spinks is an artist and improviser who has played at tate Britain, the ICA, V&A, Café Oto, I’Klecktik, Hundred Years Gallery and has exhibited widely.

Mark Wastell is a versatile improvising musician who has played a central role in the British improvised music scene for over a quarter of a century.

Gus Garside is concentrating these days on improvised music, free jazz and contemporary music, double bassist plays in several different groupings including his longstanding string trio Arc (with Sylvia Hallett and Danny Kingshill).

Ade Southby is a Brighton based multi-instrumentalist equally at home exploring song form and free improvisation. He is a core member of Brighton’s Safehouse Collective and regularly collaborates in the heady free improv scenes of London and Brighton with many players, most frequently in duos with Matt Clark or Mark Wastell. When improvising he favours prepared guitar and alto clarinet. Today he will utilise the former.

Paul Pignon

Paul Pignon was born and grew up in the UK. Began playing jazz at 15. Studied physics at Oxford. While there made first forays into non-idiomatic improvisation (1961). Abandoned Ph.D research at Oxford in favour of music. Moved to Yugoslavia. Cofounder of the Radio Belgrade Electronic Studio. 14 years working with the Synthi 100 there, originally custom built for the Studio. Active as composer of chamber, vocal electronic and improvised music, leading the group I nteraction. In 1986 moved to Sweden, composing and developing computer music software at E MS. Member of FST and Fylkingen (board member). Producer at Fylkingen 1988-1992. Active as composer of electronic and instrumental works, and real-time composer on single reeds, didgeridoo, recorders, WX5, voice, laptop; currently with B OP, SoundQuartet, BONON, 2+ (with Liisa Pentti), The Great Learning Orchestra, and many ad hoc ensembles in Sweden and abroad. π with Virpi Pakhinen and Amit Sen.