Cambridge Electronic Music is thrilled to present a heightened quad surround-sound show within a stunning immersive visual experience! Featuring three deeply intricate live AV sets from Waterflower, Stormfield and Force Majeure… expect a high-octane sensory fusion of avant-pop, hyperpop, techno, industrial and experimental dub with smouldering bass, mind-bending synthetic textures and otherworldly live foley sound design… to syphon audiences through into another dimension!
Waterflower is the experimental project of multi-faceted eco-futurist artist Sabīne Moore. Using plants and mushrooms as instruments, the Riga, Latvia-based artist explores the world of the avant-garde and its borderless terrains, taking electronic music to interesting dark places both in sound and subject. Through Waterflower’s sound, they create a unique blend of avant-pop, hyperpop, and digital hardcore, and create music that speaks to the urgent need to protect and preserve our natural world. In addition to their raw and powerful music, Waterflower’s live shows feature synced video animations, creating an immersive and multi-sensory experience.
Waterflower’s roots in the underground music scene go back to 2006, when they first gained recognition as bedroom pop and noise act Kroffork, releasing their music for free on last.fm. As one of the first female solo acts in electronic music in the Latvian underground, Sabīne Moore has been making a name for themselves for over a decade.
With a critically acclaimed album (nominated for two Latvian Zelta Mikrofons awards) and a music video selected to compete in the Riga IFF Baltic Music Video competition, Waterflower is an artist to watch out for. They are not only a musical talent, but also a visual artist whose work can be exhibited in galleries as well as discovered in underground clubs.
In addition to their work as Waterflower, Sabīne Moore also performs as drag king Bill Lagoon.
Stormfield was schooled in the nascent strains of LFO, Aphex Twin, Black Dog, Autechre and the early infections of dark, techy jungle like Photek and Source Direct. A 4-year stint living in Brixton (south London) and its colossal dub soundsystems left him with a permanent need for crushing basslines, while electro influences lent elements of acid and glitched out textures. All of these have left a permanent impression on his approach towards music ever since, partly leading to the creation of Combat Recordings in 2004 to further the sound.
Force Majeure is one of the latest musical projects from Nick Ronin, a London-based audio/visual artist with over twenty years of gigs and artistry behind him. This project is a new stepping stone in the artistic career of someone who was born from the more rave-orientated British underground DIY scene. Here, the lack of a dancefloor focus provides a good opportunity for him to explore the more experimental and abstracted side of his musical tastebuds.
Although a devoted fan of synthesis, this project is chiefly concerned with how far recorded audio – vocal noises and foley-style sounds – can be manipulated and processed into thoroughly electronic realms. Bar a few obvious analogue synth sounds, all of the final Force Majeure output is the result of granular, spectral and effect processing and all of the sounds have been performed and recorded by the artist at home.
For more information, artists spotlights and more… consider following the Cambridge Electronic Music social media below or follow on Eventbrite/AllEventsIn.
Instagram: @cambridgeelectronicmusic
Facebook: Cambridge Electronic Music
Cambridge Electronic Music LinkTree
*This show has been moved from The Alexandra Arms*
Jadu Heart are Diva-Sachy Jeffrey and Alex Headford, from London and Huddersfield respectively.Following in the footsteps of cult boy/girl bands before them such as Pixies, My Bloody Valentine and Belle and Sebastian, they have grown outside of the music industry slowly building their own world & an army of die-hard fans largely under the radar. Despite recent success with coverage at Fader, The Times, Dazed, The Independent, Crack and multiple A-list records at BBC 6Music (plus a Maida Vale session for BBC Radio 1) it is still surprising to most that they have 300 million streams with 250,000 streams added a day.
THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE VENUE ASKING FOR TICKETS
Flyte is the project of English songwriters Will Taylor and Nick Hill. The pair met at secondary school, eventually settling in Hackney, London. Taylor’s parents were both English teachers and inevitably, various literary influences trickled into the duo’s music; the band taking it’s name from Sebastian Flyte of Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited”.
After the release of two critically acclaimed albums, they have established themselves as an influential mainstay. “The Loved Ones” (2017) recorded with Burke Reid (Julia Jacklin, Courtney Barnett) in the Australian outback, explored the ways in which people struggle to process love. The albums’ crafted storytelling and ambitious, harmonic arrangements earned it the title ‘Best British debut of the year’ from the Sunday Times.
Second album “This Is Really Going To Hurt” (2021), took them out to Los Angeles to work with collaborator Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver). Seeing the sound move into a more simplistic and confessional mode, focusing entirely on the aftermath of relationships ending.
Our near-legendary Christmas party at the Portland Arms returns. We are delighted to have joined forces with the fantastic Accelerants (https://www.theaccelerants.com/), who themselves will be celebrating their 10th anniversary. Expect the usual shenanigans with, no doubt, a smattering of seasonal tunes!
Proceeds to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (https://jdrf.org.uk/)
Join us for a knock-out tournament of darts with a difference.
Using our interactive ‘Smart Darts’ boards you can play a variety of games such as killer and the legendary Bullseye along with a live compere and host. Prizes for the winners and drinks promo’s and free-to-play retro arcade machines for the spectators.
THE INFERNAL SEA
theinfernalsea.bandcamp.com
I’m sure these guys need no introduction, but they are getting one anyway! THE premier UK black metal band that is currently on the scene, they’ve released banger after banger and have played here, there and everywhere.
CELESTIAL SANCTUARY
celestialsanctuary.bandcamp.com/
Cambridges own Celestial Sanctuary hit the Portland for the first time ever! These guys have released absolute top-tier albums and have played with some of the biggest acts in metal up and down the country! Proper good death metal!
TERRA
terrauk.bandcamp.com
Astounding Cambridge-based band that specialise in epic blackened soundscapes! Check out their latest release ‘Für Dich Existiert Das Alles Nicht’ now!
EXISTENTIALIST
existentialistuk.com/
existentialistuk.bandcamp.com/
5 piece Blackened Death Metal Band hailing from the depths of Essex, UK.
THE GREY
thegrey2.bandcamp.com/
We all know these guys by now! Absolutely excellent instrumental post-rock/metal three piece straight from Cambridge!
Ahead of what looks like being an incredibly busy 2024, we thought it was time to take stock and throw a bit of a party with some of our favourite new locals.
Blue Cinema blend 80s synth pop textures into classic shoegaze/dream pop like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, The Cure and more.
Headcheck bring some very Shame style vibes to proceedings, with snarled vocals and off kilter guitars.
Merry Christmas to all our customers and gig goers!
Pub and venue is CLOSED Christmas day and Boxing day, open as usual Wednesday 27th.
R*E*P*E*A*T Christmas Extravaganza
Rap and Riffs
Our traditional anti-Xmas party and launch of our new 12″ Vinyl album
Beets and Leeks
starring
Acid Alchemist
Furious, feather boaed and frantic cross dressing face painted rock upstarts from a sleepy village in Cambridge.
instagram.com/acid_alchemist_band
The Monoliths
Teenage psychedelic post-punk metal mayhem with an ear for unexpectedly massive sounds and unlikely time signatures. Their healthy disrespect for their elders and lessers hasn’t stopped them packing out venues across London and the South East.
instagram.com/themonoliths/
plus
A top notch selection of Rappers curated by the almost notorious JDrly
https://www.instagram.com/_jdrly/
and young performers to open at 7ish
£5 in aid of Love Music Hate Racism- advance tickets from WeGotTickets.com soon
A Traditional R*E*P*E*A*T (anti) Christmas Party
Private Event in the Venue
Countdown the new year with us at The Portland!
Our NYE events are legendary, and this year will be no different. Featuring live music from brass party band Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble, plus disco, buffet, cocktails and drinks promotions, expect a lively atmosphere and great vibes.
Grab your mates and make this year’s celebration one for the books!
Tickets available from the bar and online from 1st December.
COLONEL SPANKY’S LOVE ENSEMBLE:
If you think the best thing to come out of Cambridge is 107 Nobel Prize winners, you’ve clearly never seen Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble. Formed in 2009, the brainchild of the city’s ten finest funk-mongers came to life within the hallowed halls of Clare College, Cambridge, when a group of undergrads spotted their mutual appreciation for bombastic Riot Jazz and the infectious rhythms of New Orleans Brass bands.
With memorably high energy cover performances that span genres as diverse as pop, rap, jazz, funk and ska, the Love Ensemble have appeared on stages alongside the likes of Tinie Tempah, Basshunter, Laura Mvula and Gentleman’s Dub Club.
Specialising in knees-up dancing, sing-alongs, raucous rapping and sexy saxophone solos, the Love Ensemble will twist anything from 80s pop to smooth soul into the unique Colonel Spanky’s sound.
We will be closed from the 1st of January, re-opening on Thursday the 11th at 4.30pm
We will be closed from the 1st of January, re-opening on Thursday the 11th at 4.30pm
We will be closed from the 1st of January, re-opening on Thursday the 11th at 4.30pm
Pingback: Music scene must be heard! | There's something about Mill Road
Pingback: Eliza and the Bear | GrapevineLIVE
Pingback: Independent Venue Week 23rd-29th Jan | The Portland Arms | Cambridge's premier pub and venue
Pingback: What's on in Cambridge in May 2022? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: What’s on in Cambridge in June 2022? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: What’s on in Cambridge in July 2022? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: What’s on in Cambridge in August 2022? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: What’s on in Cambridge in September 2022? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: What’s on in Cambridge in October 2022? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: Best Things To Do In Cambridge
Pingback: Best Things To Do In Cambridge
Pingback: What’s on in Cambridge in July 2023? Cambridge Events Guide -
Pingback: Things To Do in Cambridge