Expect some weird and wonderful sounds emanating from The Hotel Esplanade Basement this year, thanks to experimental new music specialists, Ossicle Duo.

Ossicle Duo (trombonist Benjamin Anderson and percussionist Hamish Upton) are all about the exploration and extension of sound. Based in Melbourne, the Duo have been celebrated for their performances of contemporary art music, winning the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Contemporary Masters Award in July 2019. 

The duo are excited to work with some of the best new voices in composition and performance in 2019-2020, showcased in their Espy Underground Sessions Series.

In the series, Ossicle Duo invite local and international guest musicians to join them for an experimental improv jam in the basement of the Hotel Esplanade. Together they’ll explore radical noise production, extended playing techniques, and the strange and intimate connection between some bizarre instrument combinations. 

The guest for this second session is Pheobe Green, a violist with a keen interest in all things experimental. Pheobe has commissioned and premiered works from composers including James Rushford, Helen Gifford, Robert Davidson, Rae Howell, Wally Gunn and David Chisholm, and is a regular improvisor at Make it up Club and Elision at the Brunswick Green.

The Espy Underground Sessions would not be possible without the support of the City of Port Phillip through the Cultural Development Fund and the Hotel Esplanade through the Arts Program.