The Radiophonic Workshop, plus Bugged Out takeover, & more for Bluedot 2018

Bluedot 2018

Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd July 2018
Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre and Arboretum, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK119DL, England MAP
£169 for the weekend, £59.75 any day

Daily capacity: 5,000

Last updated: Fri 29th Jun 2018

The third edition of Bluedot, which takes place at Jodrell Bank Observatory, in Cheshire, from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd July 2018 has just added to the attractions on offer this year.

The Radiophonic Workshop will be playing a live set featuring iconic sounds and visuals from across their 60 year career, and will also be ‘artists in residence’ at the festival. Using everything from the latest binaural recording techniques to the humble iPhone they will be collecting sounds from around the festival site and working them into compositions that embody the spirit of curiosity, creativity and collaboration at the heart of the Bluedot experience.

Paddy Kingsland, Peter Howell, Roger Limb, Dick Mills (who joined the Workshop back in 1958 and worked with Delia Derbyshire on ‘that’ famous sci-fi theme tune) and Mark Ayres will be joined by Kieron Pepper (formerly of The Prodigy) and members of the current BBC Research & Development team who will help create a contemporary version of the Radiophonic Workshop in the Operations Room in the Star Pavilion beneath the big dish at Jodrell Bank. Over the course of the festival visitors, fellow artists, authors, DJs, scientists and festival-goers will be welcomed to participate in their sound world with a live, in-situ, demonstration of radiophonic composition. The equipment on hand will include everything from early tape machines, synths and oscillators used on pioneering works such as the Doctor Who theme, through to the latest in synthesis and digital processing heard on the group’s current releases.

Mark Ayres, Workshop member and curator of their extensive back catalogue says:“It is a very exciting prospect to be recreating the workshop in a site-specific way. We are thrilled to be celebrating our 60th in such an exciting way. We played Bluedot last year with our friends Orbital, and had a wonderful time. This year we are back with something different, creating new work in the moment in the shadow of the great telescope. How? We don’t exactly know yet but that has always been part of the fun…and all very radiophonic.”

Professor Tim O’Brien, Associate Director of Jodrell Bank says:“It wouldn’t be right unless we also included some sounds from space. The Radiophonic team will work with resident astronomers to access Jodrell Bank’s archive of weird and wonderful signals to help create a truly cosmic soundscape.”

The Radiophonic Workshop's Iive set on the main stage will feature music and visuals from across the Workshop’s 60 year career including excerpts from Douglas Adams’ HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, classic Doctor Who and some of the BBC radio and TV’s most iconic output.

Elsewhere the festival’s electronic music lineup expands to include Mission Control area takeovers. Joy Orbison, Not Waving, Lemmy Ashton,and Holly Lester join the line up as part of Bugged Out's takeover and inner city electronic will host Helena Hauff, Ralph Lawson, and Kerouac.

They join a line-up that already included headliners The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips, and Future Islands, as well as Gary Numan, Little Dragon, Roni Size, Gilles Peterson, UNKLE, Booka Shade, The Orb, Public Service Broadcasting, Little Dragon, Baloji, Adrian Sherwood, Mad Professor, Hookworms, Vessels, and many more. For the details so far including day splits where available please see the line-up page.

buy tickets now >

Tickets are on sale, currently priced as follows:-
adult 3-day (Fri-Sun): £169
teen (aged 11-15) 3-day (Fri-Sun): £79
child (aged 6-10) 3-day (Fri-Sun): £25
infant (aged up-to 5) 3-day (Fri-Sun): free but needs ticket
Thursday add-on: £29 for weekend ticket holders; £35 as standalone ticket.

There are also installment plans available.

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