Premiere: Sophia Thakur and UnFold urge you to dance on energising EP2
Multitalented poet Sophia Thakur and UnFold, a performing arts project by Lyrix Organix, have teamed to create a stirring combination of music and spoken word poetry, titled ‘Dance’.
The song is a celebration of life and “the art of music”, and it leads the way for Lyrix Organix’s forthcoming UnFold project, UnFold EP2, which is built around collaborations with rising stars of the spoken word circuit.
The visuals for ‘Dance’ – directed by David Fitzpatrick – make their debut here on Fringe Frequency. They are as energetic as the song itself.
Speaking about the creation of ‘Dance’, Thakur said: “It was written for one of my best mates that passed away just over a year ago. He was a poet. He pushed me to do poetry and I’ve kept him in the focus point since graduating, which is when I first got involved with UnFold.
“The message itself is to celebrate the nuances of life, the niches of life, and find the art of music in just about everything – and he encapsulated that. And UnFold encapsulates that and I’m trying to encapsulate that.”
Watch the visuals for ‘Dance’ below.
Thakur’s messages of encouragement, understanding and resilience are touching a generation of people. So far, she has attracted more than 14,700 YouTube subscribers, given two TEDx Talks, performed at Glastonbury Festival 2017 with musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra, and recently signed a book deal with Walker Books. Last December, she spoke with Fringe Frequency about her life and work.
Created by the arts collective Lyrix Organix, UnFold is a live concept led by some of Britain’s leading young poets, rappers and change-makers. The project invites them to explore their craft anew with support from a string ensemble, percussionists and visual artists.
UnFold will release EP2 on October 4 – National Poetry Day. Along with Thakur, the six-track EP also features National Poetry Slam champion Solomon OB, Barbican resident Kieron Rennie, Roundhouse poets Laurie Ogden and Chloe Florence, and “gifted wordsmith” Toby Thompson.
The vivacious rhythms on ‘Dance’ give some idea of what you can expect. The EP is a blend of spoken word and contemporary classical, new wave jazz and electronic instrumentation, and is described as “Ezra Collective meets Kate Tempest, dipped in strings and tabla”.
UnFold musicians performing on the EP include Tanya Cracknell (The Grime Violinist), Camilo Tirado (James Holden, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh), and Tim Doyle (Nubya Garcia, Chiminyo).
To accompany the EP’s release, UnFold’s musicians and poets, along with special guests, will tour London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Bristol this autumn. See full tour information on the UnFold website.
UnFold EP1 was released in 2015, and featured Toby Thompson, Sarah Eliza and Bxnjamin.
EP2 by UnFold will be released on October 4, 2018. Visit the UnFold website for further information.
Image: Lyrix Organix / Owen Davies