Stream new concerts from Jasdeep Singh Degun and David Brewis

New concerts by David Brewis and Jasdeep Singh Degun are available to watch online this Autumn

Launching a new strand of filmed concerts from the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, two recent events from two of the North of England’s most distinctive musical talents will be available to watch online this Autumn for a strictly limited 30-day period.

Filmed during live performances in May 2023, the concerts by David Brewis and Jasdeep Singh Degun will be available to watch on Opera North’s ONDemand channel from Monday 25 September – Tuesday 24 October 2023 with prices starting at £5 for access to each concert film.

Jasdeep Singh Degun: Anomaly

Concert film available on demand from Monday 25 September – Tuesday 24 October 2023.

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Filmed live at the Howard Assembly Room, Leeds in May 2023, watch composer, sitarist and Opera North Artist in Residence Jasdeep Singh Degun joined by an eight-piece band for a hometown performance of his acclaimed debut album Anomaly.

“Anomaly is my way of shining a light on Indian classical music, on the music that comes naturally to me as a product of my surroundings as well as my training”, says Jasdeep.

Following his work in 2022 as composer, co-music director and soloist on Opera North and South Asian Arts-uk’s groundbreaking opera Orpheus, Jasdeep was joined by a large ensemble of collaborators from across the Indian classical, western classical, and jazz traditions to showcase his performance, composition, and collaborative prowess on the concert stage for the Anomaly tour. Jasdeep’s band for this date included Kaviraj Singh (santoor) and Kirpal Panesar (esraj) from the Orpheus ensemble.

Written and recorded under the mentorship of Nitin Sawhney, the album ranges from inspired sitar solos to cinematic orchestral excursions. Its innovative music is delivered with contemporary flair, but always rooted in the ancient repertoire of raags, the frameworks used in the improvised performance of Indian classical music.

David Brewis: The Soft Struggles

Concert film available on demand from Monday 25 September – Tuesday 24 October 2023.

Watch online

Field Music’s David Brewis brought a ten-piece band to the Howard Assembly Room to perform his new album The Soft Struggles.

All-acoustic and jazz-inflected, The Soft Struggles takes one step away from Field Music’s eclectic palette and instead leans into the luminous spontaneity of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and the breathy, string-laden chamber pop of Colin Blunstone’s One Year, with several tracks built around a single day of live recording at Field Music’s studio in Sunderland.

“There’s something a bit magical about a bunch of musicians together in a room being thrown in at the deep end,” says David, “So many of my favourite records were made quickly by musicians sitting a few feet from each other, playing songs they’d never even heard before the session began. That’s what I tried to do with this album. A chord sheet, a set of lyrics, a brief chat about tempo and then, okay comrades, see you at the other side.”

The ensemble featured Admiral Fallow’s Sarah Hayes on flute and piano, leading lights of North East jazz, Faye MacCalman and John Pope, on saxophone/clarinet and double bass, strings from regular collaborators The Crude Tarmac Quartet, Alan Hull, award-winning singer Eve Cole and David’s brother Peter on drums.