A nervous system reset.
One minute, the sound vibrates through you, your hairs pulled on end. The next: a blissful calm descends. There’s furious amplified sound and then mysterious, holy light to slow the pulse back down…
Ever felt overstimulated by your phone screen? Ben Nobuto’s ‘SERENITY 2.0’ is a glitched-out collage of frenzied strings, percussion and electronic samples. It cycles restlessly through Japanese pop, news anchors and vocal-fried YouTubers – but the calm after the doomscrolling is worth the ride.
Musician and DJ Nabihah Iqbal has a similarly eclectic approach to art and music. Her work takes her everywhere, from Boiler Room raves to the Turner Prize. ‘What Psyche Felt’ is the artist’s first classical commission – it takes its title from a poem by John Keats, mirroring the Romantic poet’s effusive enthusiasm for the beauty of nature. The piece will be given its world premiere by the Collective, with Nabihah joining us live for all five dates.
The finale? Eric Prydz’s colossal house anthem ‘Opus’, reimagined.
‘What Psyche Felt’ is commissioned by Manchester Collective with support from our Commissioning Club.
Dates
13 Mar – Leeds – Howard Assembly Room
14 Mar – Manchester – Royal Northern College of Music
15 Mar – Liverpool — Tung Auditorium
19 Mar – Nottingham — Lakeside Arts
23 Mar – London — Southbank Centre SOLD OUT
Check back for times, ticket prices and access info once booking links are live
Setlist
Bryce Dessner Aheym
Dobrinka Tabakova Insight
Ben Nobuto SERENITY 2.0
Nabihah Iqbal What Psyche Felt (world premiere)
Sebastian Gainsborough Squint
Eric Prydz arr. Ben Nobuto Opus
Approximate runtime: 70 mins plus interval
SERENITY 2.0 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST →
Programme notes →
Line-up
Rakhi Singh Violin
Julian Azkoul Violin
Alex Mitchell Viola
Alice Purton Cello
Beibei Wang Percussion
Nabihah Iqbal Electronics (‘What Psyche Felt’)