The Utopia Strong + Daniel Thorne

Amorphic proudly present a true SUPER GROUP – The Utopia Strong + Immix Ensemble’s Daniel Thorne on Wednesday the 26th of July at IWF Substation.

Featuring world snooker champion Steve Davis and left-field visionary Kavus Torabi – whose extensive list of projects includes Knifeworld, Cardiacs, Gong, Guapo and The Holy Family, plus Michael J York, once part of the Coil collective and, latterly, Torabi’s cohort in Guapo/The Holy Family, – are a collective of music obsessives with a shared outlier sensibility, first pooling their love of all things strange and experimental on their long-running radio programme, The Interesting Alternative Show.

The Utopia Strong’s compelling 2019 debut set the template: synth-heavy instrumentals salted down from long-form improv pieces. Through Bandcamp, they’ve since issued three album-length live recordings on limited-edition vinyl, all of which sold out in a heartbeat. Clearly, this thing has legs.

Supports comes from Immix Ensemble’s DANIEL THORNE.

Daniel Thorne is a composer and saxophonist fascinated by the infinite shades of possibility that exist between the notions of acoustic and electronic, and composition and improvisation. This blurring of lines is at the heart of his music, creating a unique sonic world that obscures and detaches his instrument’s sound from its typical associations.As the founder and artistic directer of Immix Ensemble, Daniel frequently creates music with other artists. His collaboration with the experimental electronic artist, Vessel, resulted in ‘Transition’, which was released on ErasedTapes in 2016. In 2017 he worked together with the acclaimed modular synthesist, Luke Abbott, to create a four-part suite, ‘Basic Forms’. He has also provided arrangements for artists such as Charlie Cunningham, Jane Weaver and Bill Ryder-Jones. Most recently he has collaborated with Forest Swords on’Trespassing’, a new work created for the 2019 PRSF New Music Biennial.Parallel to his work with Immix, Daniel has been developing a unique compositional voice of his own. His piece, ‘Iroise’ was included in the ErasedTapes 10th anniversary boxset, 1+1=X. His debut solo album, ‘Lines of Sight’ -an exploration of the idea of perspective that was inspired by aerial images and the juxtaposition of synthetic and organic – was released on Erased Tapes onMarch 15, 2019.
Praise for ‘Lines of Sight’:

“Constructing rich and layered pieces that juxtapose dense, pulsing patterns of saxophone with imposing electronics”—Uncut

“Lines of Sight is a place where experimental electronica, avant-garde jazz and classical collide… has the grandeur and presence to fill a cathedral”(8/10)—Mixmag

“Lines of Sight offers solace and intrigue, delight and disturbance”—DJ Mag

“You know you’re in for something special for as soon as ‘From Inside, LookingOut’ tears the album open, with thick layers of warped sax that spread and melt across seven minutes of virtuoso movements between ambience and blasting noise”(8/10)—Loud And Quiet

“Daniel Thorne’s Lines of Sight is an extraordinary, expansive step forward”(8.5/10) —The Line Of Best Fit

“An exhilaratingly beautiful work full of blinding light and doomy shade”(8/10)—The 405