Having only opened earlier this summer, HEART Ibiza has already brought many new and exciting projects to perform on the white isle within its stylised, art-focused interior. Meanwhile in London, Kate Simko's London Electronic Orchestra project has been bubbling away, challenging the way we use traditional live instruments and weilding them to enliven widely accepted dance music patterns. The tune captured in this video is the collaboration between Jamie Jones and Kate Simko on One Time Game ft. London Electronic Orchestra and Jem Cooke.
We threw a few questions at Simko to set the scene; her answers and the video in question below...
What is it like playing a 'hybrid' venue like HEART, which combines so many different experiences for those who go?
"HEART felt like an ideal club for LEO (London Electronic Orchestra). We try to work in interactive visuals whenever possible, and HEART's video wall was an amazing addition to our set, with beautiful projections on different instruments during solos, etc. On a personal level the girls and I love to have fun, and had an absolute blast in Ibiza, but we also have a more serious music side and I think HEART's high-end customers appreciated that. They didn't leave after their sit down meal; they stayed and seemed to enjoy the musicianship. And then friends from Ibiza and HEART clubbers showed up and mixed right in on the dance floor. So yes, HEART has done a great job thriving outside of any one box. I really loved the diversity and taste of this club in Ibiza."
What are some of the main things you've learnt in doing this orchestral project?
"Oh wow, I've learned too much - and still so much more to learn! The backstory behind the LEO is that I moved to London in 2012 to get a masters in Composition for Screen from the Royal College of Music. I was the only student in the masters program who didn't have a background in orchestral composition. I literally started from zero and had to work out how the instruments related to each other in the orchestra, and which techniques sounded best, etc. In that process I met some strings players - a few of which are still core players in the LEO - who literally sat with me and showed me how their instruments worked. I'd make iPhone recordings, then go back home and write new score notations to try out layered against other."
"It was a game of trial and error. Some things just don't show up in the “mix” if the dynamics are too quiet, or other instruments in that frequency range are playing at the same time. The positive thing about the way I learned is that I didn't know all of the rules, so I found my own way. Some of the things I've written for instruments literally made them laugh when they saw it (like having a Baritone Sax play a low synth bass melody for two minutes straight) but then when it works, it works, and suddenly we're using classical instruments in a new way. It's all really exciting to me."
Has your work with London Electronic Orchestra has inspired other parts of your music making? And where do you plan to take it next?
"Absolutely. The opening track on my album with Tevo Howard (which is out in October on Sasha's label Last Night On Earth) is an orchestral intro. My new single with Jamie Jones has the LEO playing on it. I've written some LEO strings for Hot Natured, and plan to incorporate orchestral music into future film scores too. So yes, right now I'm super enthusiastic about collaborating with live musicians and I want to keep this moving forward. Our first LEO EP will be out in November on the Vinyl Factory, and then we have our debut album in the spring. So lots in the works, and excited for the future."
