Nonclassical is a British independent record label and night club founded in 2004 by

Gabriel Prokofiev Gabriel Prokofiev (born 6 January 1975) is a Russian-British composer, producer, DJ, and Artistic Director of the Nonclassical record label and nightclub. Early life Gabriel Prokofiev was born on 6 January 1975 to an English mother and a Russi ...

, grandson of

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

History

Nonclassical has released fourteen albums, each following a concept of recording new

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

and then inviting a selection of musicians and producers from various genres to remix it. Artists such as

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

(

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...

, Vex'd,

Max de Wardener Max de Wardener is a British composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist known for his scores for film and television and his work in jazz, classical, world and electronic music. Career Since graduating from York University and the Guildhall Scho ...

Simon Tong Simon Tong (born 9 July 1972) is an English guitarist and keyboardist who was a member of the Verve between 1996 and 1999. He has played with Damon Albarn on tour with his bands Blur and Gorillaz, and as a member of the Good, the Bad & the Que ...

(

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

and The Verve),

KREEPA kREEPA is a group that perform electronic music and musical improvisation founded by John Richards and Hilary Jeffery in 2000. The group performs a type of industrial jazz and electro-noise. Career The group began with recordings of extended ...

, Dominic Murcott, John Maclean (

The Beta Band The Beta Band were a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style was described as being "folktronica", although it was mainly a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, experimental rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experimen ...

& The Aliens),

Mira Calix Chantal Francesca Passamonte (28 October 1969 – 25 March 2022), known professionally as Mira Calix ( ), was a South African-born, British-based audio and visual artist and musician signed to Warp Records. Although her earlier music is almost ...

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...

Tim Exile Tim Exile (or Exile) is the recording alias of Tim Shaw, a producer and performer of electronic music spanning drum and bass, IDM, breakcore and gabber. History A classically trained violinist, he began experimenting with electronic music ...

, and Gabriel Prokofiev have done remixes for the label.

Nonclassical club nights

Nonclassical hosts regular live music nights to promote a new alternative classical music scene in London. The nights have been held at a number of East London venues, including Bloc (Hackney Wick), The Shacklewell Arms, Red Gallery, Cargo, the Horse and Groom, The Macbeth,

XOYO XOYO is a nightclub in London. It is located on Cowper Street near Old Street station in Islington. History The two-room club opened in 2010, occupying a converted print works. It was bought and renovated by The Columbo Group. Eats Everythi ...

, and

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

. The events present live contemporary classical music in 'gig' or 'club' settings, alongside DJs playing a mixture of modern composition, electronic dance music. Representative artists featured in DJ sets include

Tansy Davies Tansy Davies (born 29 May 1973, Bristol) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. She won the BBC Young Composers' Competition in 1996 and has written works for ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Or ...

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

, Errorsmith,

Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Alarm Will Sound Alarm Will Sound is a 20-member chamber orchestra that focuses on recordings and performances of contemporary classical music. Its performances have been described as "equal parts exuberance, nonchalance, and virtuosity" by the ''Financial Times' ...

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

. In 2012, Nonclassical began hosting larger scale events at London's XOYO nightclub. These have featured high profile DJs and producers such as Juan Atkins, Nathan Fake,

Optimo Optimo Espacio ('Optimum Space') was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on ...

and Alex Smoke, and large live ensembles including a 52-piece string orchestra. In 2020 James McIlwrath won the Nonclassical ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition with performances of

Alison Knowles Alison Knowles (born 1933) is an American visual artist known for her installations, performances, soundworks, and publications. Knowles was a founding member of the Fluxus movement, an international network of artists who aspired to merge diff ...

’ ‘Shuffle piece’, Neil Luck’s ‘THING’, and Oogoo Maia’s ‘Sisyphus at Work’.

Releases

References

External links

Nonclassical.co.ukNonclassical on Facebook
{{Authority control Contemporary classical music Record labels established in 2004 British independent record labels