Unbound Listening

In our online series Unbound Listening, hcmf// joined forces with British Council to present three events telling stories from across the world of new music. Focusing on the  challenges currently facing cultural communities and organisations, we connected with artists and cultural leaders using their work as a response to local, and global, situations. The emphasis was on sharing experiences, collective thinking, and how we work together, across borders, to make a habitable music world.

Our speakers were drawn from new music communities across the globe. They shared perspectives from their local scenes, and looked towards the future, navigating the peripheral nature of music communities swept up in political, economic and ecological crises. Each event combined listening, learning and conversation, culminating in performances, commissioned audio-visual pieces, Q&As and essays.

Unbound Listening builds on long-term relationships that have enabled international new music producers and programmers to attend the annual festival and forge connections with the British contemporary music sector. Responding to the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, the project embodied that spirit of connection, welcoming international voices into a digital space – one that in some ways allows in more voices, and more stories. Unbound Listening offers a window into new music in different parts of the world, opening up conversations and complementing the festival’s showcase of new UK music.

Check out the full archive of Unbound Listening events, as well as an introduction to the project from the British Council’s Cathy Graham, below.