We launched our hcmf// Artist of the Month series in February and will be continuing to highlight Fielding Talent artists with the platform throughout 2021. With these features, we’ll be offering musicians from our artist development strand the chance to go in-depth on their work, providing us with insights into what they do while showing us what they’re working on at the moment. This March, we’re delighted to welcome Specimens as our Artist of the Month.
Specimens is Alex Ives, an experimental musician and curator based in South London. Enamored with ambient music, his work as Specimens has travelled the genre’s spectrum. His albums Sculptures and In the Dust of Idols draw inspiration from legendary names such as William Basinski and Lawrence English. His pieces on these records hold and contain hidden intensities, the more volatile moments of his music held under a labyrinth of texture. Last year, he threw out a complete curveball, releasing Cafe Songs, a sparse and immediate record led by melodic sax improvisations. Throughout March, we’ll take a look not only at these records, but at two upcoming releases Ives is currently working on, focused on collaboration and personal identity.
Ives also co-runs First Terrace Recordings, a label based in South London. Undeterred by definitions of ‘experimental’ music, they’ve dabbled in free jazz, drone, harsh noise and choir singing. We’ll be learning about First Terrace first-hand, with Ives offering some stories about the label’s conception and highlighting some of its key releases.
Throughout the month, you can access all of our stories on Ives’ work from his Fielding Talent page. We can’t wait to share more!