New art commissioned by DD Day

DD Day has so far commissioned mainly North West England based artists working in the visual and audio arts to produce and perform creative responses to the Delia Derbyshire archive and Delia’s work in general.

This approach of bringing together archives/heritage and the arts aims to produce exciting new works of high quality that is informed by the heritage of electronic music whilst presenting a platform for dedicated artists past, present and future.

A new generation of electronic music composers and audio engineers are also being enabled and encouraged through our education programme in schools and colleges – please visit our Education page for more info.

DD Day 2023

We commissioned 4 North West England based artists to create 2 new AV works responding to the work and archive of Delia Derbyshire as well as the theme of the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who and therefore Delia’s iconic realisation of Ron Grainer’s theme tune. One pair of artists were co-commissioned with fellow Manchester music development organisation Brighter Sound.

  • Joy Ingle (music/sound) and Laura Spark (animation film/digital visual) produced ‘Cantus Terram’

 

  • Joel Foster (music/sound) and Alexis Maxwell (animation film/digital visual) produced ‘Human’ – co-commissioned with Brighter Sound

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT OUR DD DAY 202 COMMISSIONED ARTISTS

DD Day 2021

We commissioned 4 North West England based artists to create 2 new AV works responding to the work and archive of Delia Derbyshire as well as the theme of “imagination.”

  • Suzy Mangion (music/sound) and Katie Mason (film/digital visual)

 

  • MT Hall (music/sound) and Post.Liang aka Lacey Liang (3D design/digital visual)

 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT OUR DD DAY 2021 COMMISSIONED ARTISTS

DD Day 2019

    • New interdisciplinary artistic collaboration by composer Kat Lovell (electronic music) and digital visual artist Izzy Bolt (live visuals).
    • New AV work by BISHI released as The Telescope Eye EP. BISHI described her work as an electronic chamber-choral suite of music for Voice Looper, Electric Sitar, mini Mi.Mu & ROLI instruments. 

    Click here to find out more about our DD Day 2019 commissioned artists

    DD Day 2017

    • “Two Sides of Delia” – an interdisciplinary artistic collaboration by composer Manuella Blackburn (electronic music) and painter/visual artist Tracey Zengeni (live painting).
    • A special 80th birthday audio collage of archive material compiled by Dr David Butler (lead researcher for Delia Derbyshire archive) with accompanying film/video work by artist Andrea Pazos.

    DD Day 2016

    • A new archive sharing audio collage by Dr David Butler with a handmade film response “For Delia” by artist Mary Stark.
    • A new music commission “The Waking Sleep” by The Architects of Rosslyn – Mandy Wigby & Producer/Composer feat. Howard Jacobs Composer/Musician – performing a live soundtrack to a collage of films by artist and ‘movician’  Di Mainstone.

    The Architects of Rosslyn - DD Day 2016 commission from Delia Derbyshire Day on Vimeo.

    DD Day 2014

    • A new electro-acoustic music piece by composer, musician and instrument maker Daniel Weaver called “Complex Future”. Daniel was particularly enchanted by Delia’s Inventions for Radio series of pieces,  so his piece included spoken word, ambient soundscape and playing a clock chime and an old turntable with a bow.

     

    • New digital visual art work by artist and creative technologist Andrea Pazos. Andrea’s work will accompany the music performances, thereby responding to both the archive and the performed pieces of music.
    • The Consequences of Falling by Ailis Ni Riain was performed by Brendan Ball and Geth Griffiths with a newly commissioned video by Andrea Pazos.

    DD Day 2013

    • Ailís Ní Ríain  – “The Consequences of Falling” (2013) Performed by classical trumpet player Brendan Ball and double-bassists Geth Griffiths. Ailís Ní Ríain is a contemporary classical composer. Ailís’ commission is dedicated to the memory of Delia Derbyshire and loosely based on Delia’s ‘Pot Au Feu’ (1968).
    • Caro C  – “Audient, my dear” (2013) Like Delia, Caro C is an electronic music producer, performer and sound engineer but operating at a time when the technology available is in stark contrast to the complex and time-consuming techniques used by Delia and her peers.  Here is the studio version of “Audient, my dear” with visuals courtesy of Kara Blake (director of The Delian Mode) which they performed live as part of DD Day 2013 and proceeding England tour.
    • Naomi Kashiwagi – “The Blues” (2013) The Blues (Gramophonic Remix) drew upon the musique concrète techniques that Delia Derbyshire used for example, where found sounds were recorded and manipulated. The found sounds that artist Naomi Kashiwagi used for her commission were extracted from a shellac 78rpm record, The Blues: Part 1, by Artie Shaw and His Band.