The Art of the Violin with Alban Low

Alice Barron

AWIL Violin Special
Alban Low
Alice Barron
Richard Jones

Date: 6th June 2018
Venue: A World in London, Resonance FM, London, UK
Chapbook: London Violins (p.2018, Sampson Low, ISBN 978-1-910578-77-3)


Genius artist Alban Low presents his wonderful new London Violins project on this A World in London!
Click to listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-6th-june-2018/ 

Richard Jones

For two years, Alban Low has been capturing some of our finest guests on AWIL with his pen, adding an extra luscious string to our bow and gifting bands with unique, bespoke portraits of themselves in action. It’s bowed strings that form the centre-piece for his brilliant new chapbook, London Violins, an illustrated summit of eminent musicians matching Alban’s visual virtuosity with their violins, and amongst his gallery of stars you’ll find Irish fiddler James Patrick Gavin, Indian-fusion maestro Robert Atchison, klezmer queen Olga Baron, and live on this show, iyatra Quartet’s Alice Barron and Balagan Cafe Band’s Richard Jones . In recognition of Alban’s outstanding talent, the world renowned Yehudi Menuhin School commissioned him to create an exhibition featuring some of the most prominent British violinists, working in the Jazz & World sector,  and that project has now blossomed into the first of a series of compact, colourful chapbooks, bringing art together with music, vibrant and accessible for all.  Alban’s artist eye harmonises perfectly with the musician’s ear, and his lightning one-line sketches are rich in fluidity and spontaneity, simultaneously expressing music in motion through art. Alban says, ‘‘I like the challenge of trying to represent movement on the static page, and yet you still want it to dance before your eyes. You want to hear the music in the lines .’’ With a swish of the pen,  a pluck of the strings, and a stroke of genius, hear from the brilliant mind behind London Violins on this AWIL, and the man we are so proud & privileged to have as our radio show artist-in-residence. London Violins will be stored at the British Library and at other fine institutions but grab a copy for yourself here: https://sampsonlow.co/2018/06/04/london-violins-2018-dj-ritu-and-alban-low/  

6/6/18 – AWIL 169  Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-6th-june-2018/ Production & pics by Sofia Gaetani-Morris, Norman Druker, Sophie Darling, and sketches by Alban Low. This week on SOAS Radio Djanan Turan. Click: https://soasradio.org/music/episodes/awil-263-djanan-turan  Next week Sounds Like London at SOAS and Balladeste at Resonance. #AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TWELFTH YEAR! Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4  www.resonancefm.com & 4pm SOAS Radio  mixlr.com/soasradio