The Commission:
Factory Free-set is a new collaboration between Vulliamy Murray Bennett Trio and acclaimed Hull writer and director Maureen Lennon.
Inspired by Vulliamy’s vivid memories of working in Hull factories during the late 1990’s and using interviews with Hull’s current factory workers, the music explores unsung stories, dreams and experiences from within the factory walls.
Seth Bennett (Double Bass), George Murray (Trombone) and Aby Vulliamy (Viola/Vocals) create site-specific responses, pushing their acoustic instruments to the limits, using powerful combinations of composition and free improvisation, exploring mechanical versus humanity, monotony versus unpredictability, tedium versus creativity for this exciting new project.
Artist Biography:
Double Bassist Seth Bennett is ‘The most original double bassist working in Britain today’ (Lancaster Jazz Festival) and ‘One of the country’s most virtuosic and restlessly innovative musicians’ (Sheffield Telegraph). Violist Aby Vulliamy is ‘one of Yorkshire’s best kept secrets’ (Record Collector) and grew up in Hull, returning in 2021 to live in the East Riding of Yorkshire. George Murray’s trombone playing is ‘bulbous’ (Mojo Magazine) ‘doleful’ (Record Collector) and ‘splendidly booting’ (The Wire).
Formed in 2011 in West Yorkshire, the Trio have an impressive combined discography spanning nearly all genres. They play, compose, arrange and improvise new music together in a wide range of ensembles, most notably Swiss-based Afro-dada-punk-rock-tropical-pop band Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp. As Vulliamy Murray Bennett Trio, they create innovative site-specific responses, using their acoustic instruments to create evocative soundscapes and breath-taking musical journeys, incorporating attuned and inventive spontaneous improvisations alongside moving and powerful compositions. The Trio are renowned for pushing their instruments to the limits of their functioning; mimicking sounds from nature and industry in inexplicable ways.
The Trio’s new collaboration with award winning Hull writer and director, Maureen Lennon (Associate Artist of Middle Child Theatre, Leeds Playhouse FUSE Writer 2019 and Sphinx30 Playwright) will undoubtedly lead to exciting, moving and unexpected places. Maureen’s work often involves engaging with communities, with a perfect balance of playfulness and seriousness, expertly identifying and nurturing important themes and crafting exciting and powerful stories from seemingly mundane starting points.
Maureen Lennon