British harpist Tom Moth, and Florence and The Machine harpist extraordinaire, will perform at the Dutch Harp Festival hosted by the TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht on April 20th.
Originally from Suffolk, Tom Moth (née Monger), currently lives in Somerset, UK where he manages a busy recording schedule while working on a new solo album scheduled for release in the Autumn ‘with a couple of EPs finding their way into the public domain over the summer’.
Learning more about the music
Chatting to Tom earlier in the week, he told me more about his plans for the Utrecht concert.
‘It will be two 45 minute sets and will feature original material. The vast majority of it is very electronic based, and I’m controlling the electronics at the same time as playing the harp, so it’s pretty complex and I have to work out how I’m going to do it!’
I was interested to know more about the electronics aspect. Would we expect live-layering of loops (a technique much-loved by fellow Suffolk boy, Ed Sheeran), or would his compositions rely on pre-recorded backing tracks with live harp layered on the top?
‘A bit of both I guess: some pre-programmed elements (synths/percussion), but the harp will be live layered. Everything that has been pre-programmed will be “triggered” live as it were. Very little will be actually pre-recorded audio. This gives a bit more scope for potential improvisation.
‘I put everything through Ableton Live (a digital audio workstation designed for use in live performance and favoured by DJ’s who use it for beat matching and crossfading). So it all goes into my laptop and out the other end. Rather than using a multitude of guitar pedals, I can use both the built in and third party effect plugins. This allows me to tailor the sound easier and construct unusual effects chains.
‘I use it on stage with Florence too, but the setup I’ll be using for this gig is a little more complicated!’
Who is Tom Moth? And how did he end up playing in the British indie rock band Florence and the Machine
Tom studied at Trinity College of Music, London where he gained a degree in Harp & Composition. Inspired by artists such as Aphex Twin, 808 State, The Orb and Steve Reich, he started mixing loops and samples with his harp, often augmented with various effects. The weirder the better.
In an interview with Matt Schichter, Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and The Machine tells the story about how the harp, and subsequently Tom, was came to be part of their hugely successful band. About how their shit £100 keyboard, which they had previously used to create harp sounds, caught fire when on tour in Europe.
‘And how one day, there was a guy walking past their studio with what looked like a telephone box wrapped in a blanket. But it was a harp. So they got him in and put a harp over everything. And then he had to join the band.’
The guy was none other than Tom Moth.
Listen to the Florence and The Machine track, Dog Days are Over featuring Tom on the harp
The Dutch Harp Festival schedule
This theme of this year’s festival is Night of a 1000 Strings. Harpists from all over the world come together in the Dutch city of Utrecht for a harp extravaganza.
The World Harp Competition 2024
The three day festival will also host the World Harp Competition 2024 featuring harpists from all over the world. Follow the link below to find a full list including a number of competitors from both the Netherlands and the British Isles.
Each candidate (some of which are pictured below) provided a short video including a selection and explanation of their proposed semi-final programme. You can watch the collected videos below to hear harpists from all over the world perform on some amazing instruments. Even a 3-string harp from Italy! Like me, you may be amazed by the wide and diverse repertoire which now exists for the harp, and how this has developed over the past 30 years.
Jury members for the 2024 quarterfinal round were Anne-Marie O’Farrell – Irish harpist and Professor of Harp at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester; Charles Overton – Boston-based harpist and improviser engaged in regular performances of classical, jazz, contemporary and world music; and conductor and composer – Eduardo Diazmuñoz.
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