Harpist, Improviser, Composer, Multidisciplinary Artist

Rhodri Davies


Events


18/10/2024 - OCCAM OCEAN, by Éliane Radigue - 7PM
Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisbon
'OCCAM RIVER XVI' for birbynė and harp (2017)
Carol Robinson – Birbynė
Rhodri Davies – Harp
Tickets

24/10/2024 - JOHN BUTCHER AT 70 - 7.30PM
Cafe Oto, 18-22 Ashwin St, London E8 3DL
w/ Rhodri Davies + Sophie Agnel + Angharad Davies + Mark Sanders + Isabelle Duthoit + moreTickets

16/11/2024 - Lina Lapelytė: Study of Slope - 3PM
HCMF, Huddersfield Town Hall
Lina Lapelytė (Lithuania, 1984)
Study of Slope (2022) 45’ UK Premiere
Texts: Living in a Land by Sean Ashton (extracts)
hcmf// 2024 Composer in Residence Lina Lapelytė presents the UK Premiere of Study of Slope, inviting listeners to experience a polyphony of individual and unique expressions while shaping and celebrating a collective voice. The Lithuanian composer-performer will be joined by members of the Rhodri Davies-formed Common Objects ensemble to perform with a choir of local singers who consider themselves to be ‘non-musical’. Here, ‘non-musical’ describes a different kind of relationship not only to tonality and music, but also to the surrounding world.In this performance, voices once silenced by Western musical traditions that exclude those who are considered to sing ‘off-key’ will be brought to the fore, overturning conventional categorisations. This live work is a musical meditation on queerness, beauty, silencing, and acceptance, constructed on the excerpts of Living in a Land, an essay by Sean Ashton which is a chronicle of a mind fighting its own oppositional nature.Tickets

18/11/2024 - Common Objects - 11:15PM
HCMF, Bates Mill Photographic Studio, Huddersfield
Free EventCommon Objects:
John Butcher saxophones
Angharad Davies violin
Rhodri Davies pedal harp / electric harp
Lina Lapelytė violin
Lee Patterson amplified devices & processes
Common Objects
Play the Heat (2024) 40’ World Premiere
Rhodri Davies formed Common Objects in 2005 for a series of concerts at that year’s London Musicians Collective Festival. The group’s members represent some of the leading musicians from the experimental, sound art and improvised music fields. At first Common Objects held a fluid membership, though recent years have seen the line-up settle to six musicians – five of whom will appear at hcmf// this year, testing the inventiveness of this dynamic ensemble.Common Objects have released three albums, beginning with Live in Morden Tower (Mikroton Recordings, 2013). The ensemble was commissioned by the AV Festival 2014, Newcastle Upon Tyne, to perform a new graphic score by Rhodri Davies called Cup and Ring, which appears on the Whitewashed with Lines CD (Another Timbre, 2015). Sonorous Matter was a 2016 project involving six UK museums. Each musician researched items from one of the collections to create an Object Score for the group to perform in situ. Skullmarks (Meena, 2018) was recorded inside the cavernous Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.Tickets

21/11/2024 - Extreme Harp - 9PM
Philharmonie Luxemboiurg, Rotondes, Luxembourg
Phill Niblock: A Cage of Stars
Rhodri Davies: Telyn Wrachïod
Tickets

About Rhodri Davies


Rhodri Davies

Rhodri Davies is immersed in the worlds of improvisation, musical experimentation, composition and contemporary classical performance. He plays harp, electric harp, live-electronics and builds wind, water, ice, dry ice and fire harp installations and has released eight solo albums. His regular groups include: HEN OGLEDD, Magda Mayas' Filamental, In Situ Ens., Cranc, Common Objects and a duo with John Butcher. He has worked with the following artists: David Sylvian, Jenny Hval, Derek Bailey, Sofia Jernberg, Lina Lapelyte, Pat Thomas, Simon H Fell and Will Gaines.For the last thirteen years Davies has been closely associated with the pioneering composer Eliane Radigue performing eighteen of her pieces. She composed OCCAM I for Davies in 2011, the first in an ongoing series of solo and ensemble pieces for individual instrumentalists in which a performer’s personal performance technique and particular relationship to their instrument function as the compositional material of the piece. New pieces for solo harp have also been composed for him by: Christian Wolff, Carole Finer, Philip Corner, Phill Niblock, Ben Patterson, Alison Knowles, Taku Sugimoto, Mieko Shiomi and Yasunao Tone.In 2008 he collaborated with the visual artist Gustav Metzger on ‘Self-cancellation’, a large-scale audio-visual collaboration in London and Glasgow. In 2012 he was the recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Grants to Artists Award, he was a Chapter Associate Artist (2016-19) and in 2017 he received a Creative Wales Award. He is a co-organiser of the NAWR concert series in Swansea.Mae Rhodri Davies wedi’i ymgolli yn y byd byrfyfyr, arbrofi cerddorol, cyfansoddi a pherfformiadau clasurol cyfoes. Mae’n chwarae’r delyn, y delyn drydan ac electroneg byw ac mae’n adeiladu gosodiadau telyn gan ddefnyddio gwynt, dŵr, rhew, rhew sych a thân ac mae wedi rhyddhau saith albwm fel unawdydd. Mae ei grwpiau heolaidd yn cynnwys: HEN OGLEDD, Cranc, Common Objects a deuawd gyda John Butcher. Mae wedi gweithio gyda’r artistiaid a ganlyn: David Sylvian, Jenny Hval, Derek Bailey, Sofia Jernberg, Lina Lapelyte, Pat Thomas, Simon H Fell a Will Gaines.Mae darnau newydd ar gyfer y delyn unigol hefyd wedi’u cyfansoddi ar ei gyfer gan: Christian Wolff, Carole Finer, Philip Corner, Phill Niblock, Ben Patterson, Alison Knowles, Mieko Shiomi a Yasunao Tone. Yn 2008, cydweithiodd â’r artist gweledol Gustav Metzger ar ‘Self-cancellation’, sef gwaith ar y cyd clyweledol ar raddfa fawr yn Llundain a Glasgow.



Solo


‘Telyn Wrachïod’, (AMGEN 009, 2024)“The result is fascinating – a simple pleasure to listen to, but conceptually a provocation. I’m reminded of Italian virtuoso Paolo Pandolfo, who plays the viola da gamba with improvisatory flair and abandon, so we think: of course they must have played like that. But while Padolfo sashays through Marin Marais compositions from the early 1700s, Davies simply improvises.” Clive Bell, The Wire, June 2024https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/telyn-wrach-od

‘Dwa Dni’, (AMGEN 005, 2022)“This is flawlessly executed, easy-to-love 21st Century roots music, elemental and celebratory; at the same time, it is very challenging music, requiring forgoing knotty notions of post-modernism. Davies’ stature substantially rests on his innovative extended techniques and daring performance propositions like setting a harp on fire. However, minimizing DWA DNI in the assessment of his work would be critical malpractice – it’s that good.” Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure, June 2022https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/dwa-dni

‘For Simon H. Fell’, (AMGEN 004, 2022)“There is no good time to lose a close colleague, but Fell’s passing when discussions had begun about the 25th anniversary of IST – their trio with Mark Wastell, who was also part of Company at the turn of the century – made it that more intense. Davies used appreciable durations of silence to shape an episodic piece, with each section benefiting from a profusion of colors from his use of his instrument’s pitch-altering pedal and the use of varied strikers and bows. There is no dramatic build-up or climax to the piece, nor is there entrenched stasis. Instead, materials waft through space, even those with low pitches and foreboding timbres. It is a minutely measured piece of unmeasurable loss.” Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure, June 2022https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/for-simon-h-fell

‘Telyn Rawn’, (AMGEN 001, 2020)“Think you know the harp? Think again. I’ve been aware of Rhodri Davies, the uncompromising, experimental harpist for decades, but seeing him perform at Green Man Festival in 2019 with Richard Dawson and their band Hen Ogledd, renewed my interest. Davies played his harp like a true rock star, but with Telyn Rawn, Davies, a master of improvisation, explores and juxtaposes a medieval Wales and the global here and now. A telyn rawn is a horsehair harp, resurrected by Davies, and the sole instrument of this album. Folk influences are strong, however, leave all your expectations at the door.The music is improvised, and the effect is both hypnotic and strange, yet familiar enough to take you with it down the flowing river. For this album, Davies studied historical text and the importance of the horse in Welsh culture. ‘Lwc i’r Ceffyl Melyn’ and ‘Erddigan Gwawr’ conjure up a galloping horse, which then trots playfully on ‘Gorhoffedd Rhisiart’ and ‘Maen Ceti’. His plucking and bowing highlight his skills and the often surprising range the instrument has to offer, with echoes of the past given a re-imagined, ambient treatment. This album will confront the listener, drawing them out of their comfortable listening habits into a new world.” Elliw Iwan, Songlines, November 2022

ROSIE MORRIS / RHODRI DAVIES 'ANGHARAT TON UELEN'

‘Transversal Time’, (Confront, core 11, 2020)“The piece also draws upon the writings of French philosopher Francois Jullien, in particular his book in Praise of Blandness. The title is a deliberate provocation, exploring the ancient Chinese celebration of the richness that lingers in subtle sounds, words and meanings…The basic idea of Transversal Time is that each musician will improvise according to individualised time systems. In preparing the piece Davies investigated all manner of time keeping devices; pendulums, water clocks, hour glasses, candles with marks on them, master and servant clocks in factories – “the way capitalists would control the workers”. He looked into various time systems, too. Some musicians in the piece will play in standard time, some in decimal time… Some play in hex time – based on 16s, last popular during the Tang Dynasty.These aren't just invisible concepts that inform the music. The time systems are the score, which we’ll all be able to see because each musician will be following a light signal that flashes on and off, like personalised lighthouses.” Kate Molleson, The Herald, April 2018https://confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/transversal-time

‘An Air Swept Clean of All Distance’, (alt.vinyl, av057, 2014)“Davies settles obsessively on tumbling phrases, arpeggios and articulate rhythms, turning them over and over, letting them develop only within strict limits, as though this fine, prolific and adventurous musician is freshly discovering a harp that has been there all along.” Julian Cowley, Wire Magazine, October 2014https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/an-air-swept-clean-of-all-distance

HELEN PETTS / RHODRI DAVIES ‘In Distortion-free Mirrors’ from AN AIR SWEPT CLEAN OF ALL DISTANCE

‘Wound Response’, (alt.vinyl, av038, 2012)“The sound is hellish but engaging – Each track ends drenched in a squeal of feedback, gasping for breath before diving back in.” Clive Bell, Wire Magazine, October 2012“Rhodri Davies thinks and plays far beyond the harp is able to.” Yasunao Tone“Rhodri Davies drags the harp into the arena of overdrive, and weaves hypnotic blocks of distorted beauty. Incredible stuff.” Lasse Marhaug“Filling the space with poignant sound and beautifully floating melodies, Wound Response makes you want to stay lost in its resonance for a long long time." Okkyung Lee

PHILL NIBLOCK / RHODRI DAVIES 'fulfilment of the event' from WOUND RESPONSE

‘Over Shadows’, (Confront 16, 2007)"In the course of making his name as an improvising harpist, he has sustained a long public argument with his instrument. He’s continually worked to confront an aural signature that’s loaded with saccharine, genteel or otherwise unpleasant associations. His excellent Trem, released in 2001, was full of jagged and surprising sounds. This recording, made in 2004 and now released on frequent collaborator Mark Wastell’s Confront label. Continues his defamiliarisation of the instrument.It would be very hard for the first time listener to guess that it was made on a harp. On this occasion Davies plays it with an E-bow – a device that produces endless sustain and which has long been part of his soundmaking arsenal. The choice might have led to another glacier-paced drone (and the world has heard enough of those lately), but what makes this such a rewarding release is the speed with which Davies shifts the sounds he is making. Instead of immersive slo-mo, Davies keeps the music mobile, drawing the listener through a succession of warm, often dissonant, acoustic states.The result is like a speeded-up Eliane Radigue, as full, harmonically rich tones ease gently into each other. The evolution of the improvisation is alert and unforced, and each new phase feels part of a developing argument. Davies’s work is about sound and sonic relationships rather than technique or spontaneous self-expression. Here, poised somewhere between improvisation and composition, he transforms the harp into a vibrant and responsive tone generator." Will Montgomery, Wire Magazine issue 286, December 2007https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/over-shadows

'Five Knots', (Compost & Height split series 007, mini CDR shared with Dominic Lash, 2008)https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/five-knots

'Camber', (track for Leonardo Music Journal CD, Volume 17, 2007)https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/track/camber

'Perdereau', Perdereau (track for London Strings, Absinth Records CD 04, 2004)“Rhodri Davies' "Perdereau" belongs more to the domain of composition than improvisation - though, as I've argued on numerous occasions, the distinction is becoming ever less important - using no fewer than four players (the other performers are John Wall, Jonathan Dunstan and Taku Unami), Davies' objective was to sound as many strings as possible, 40 out of a possible 47, and record the resulting clusters from inside the soundboard. The first section plays on the idea of decay, and the latter half of the piece concentrates on sustain through the use of e-bows. It's a solemn slab of music, in keeping with its dedication to the memory of French new music promoter and journalist Jacques Perdereau, whom Davies met at the Rencontres Européennes de Musiques Improvisées in Paris in 1998.” Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic, October 2004https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/track/perdereau-composition-for-one-harp-and-eight-hands

‘Trem’, (Confront 11, 2002)"Rhodri Davies applies free jazz and experimental principles to the harp. Not the blues harp. The Welsh harp. Trem is the finest of the three albums of his work I’ve heard, but bear in mind we’re already drawing lines in the sand of a very narrow beach. Recorded live as part of a season of experimental music at St Michael and All Angels church in west London, Davies offers up bowed detuned strings, sudden harsh plucks and prepared sounds to the ecclesiastical arches. Given that the only audience response we hear is a lone cough during an especially quiet section, they return his trust with a phenomenal sense of atmosphere. Occasional long stretches of all but imperceptible low-level rustling noise may cause some physical discomfort, but Trem is full of stunning moments of apparently random coalescence." Stewart Lee, Sunday Times, April 2003https://rhodridavies.bandcamp.com/album/trem



Groups


John Butcher & Rhodri Davies (2000-)Butcher and Davies' first duo performance (released on Vortices and Angels), in 2000, was an entirely acoustic saxophone and concert-harp improvisation. Since then they have attempted to both celebrate and dissolve their instruments’ boundaries.“Carliol” (2010) merged physical, acoustic and electrical possibilities with the harp played by air, the saxophone by physical impact; the harp as a resonator for saxophone feedback; the saxophone as a filter for electric-harp.“Routing Lynn” (2014) was a composition that interacted live with 4 channel open-air recordings made by Chris Watson.Most recently their have drawn on all of these experiences to produce multi ranging improvisations which respond fluidly to the particular acoustics and atmosphere of each situation.

Lina Lapelyte & Rhodri Davies

Rhodri Davies

Common Objects (2005-)John Butcher: saxophones
Angharad Davies: violin
Rhodri Davies: pedal harp / electric harp
Lina Lapelytė: violin
Lee Patterson: amplified devices & process
Pat Thomas: electronics
Rhodri Davies formed Common Objects in 2005 for a series of concerts at that year’s London Musicians Collective Festival. The group’s members represent some of the leading musicians from the experimental, sound art and improvised music fields. At first Common Objects held a fluid membership, though recent years have seen the line-up settle to six musicians – five of whom will appear at hcmf// this year, testing the inventiveness of this dynamic ensemble.Common Objects have released three albums, beginning with Live in Morden Tower (Mikroton Recordings, 2013). The ensemble was commissioned by the AV Festival 2014, Newcastle Upon Tyne, to perform a new graphic score by Rhodri Davies called Cup and Ring, which appears on the Whitewashed with Lines CD (Another Timbre, 2015). Sonorous Matter was a 2016 project involving six UK museums. Each musician researched items from one of the collections to create an Object Score for the group to perform in situ. Skullmarks (Meena, 2018) was recorded inside the cavernous Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.

Cranc (1999-)Angharad Davies: violin
Rhodri Davies: electric harp
Nikos Veliotis: cello
Cranc formed in 1999. They perform infrequently and rarely release any music. They began performing with an interactive, gestural and highly energised aesthetic, as documented on their first CD release, ‘All Angels’. They are now exploring calm sonic landscapes. Although they mostly use acoustic instruments, they sound shamelessly electronic.“Cranc’s improvisations have an alluring musicality, facilitating a listening experience largely unperturbed by analysis. Minutes can elapse without the listener consciously latching onto Cranc’s adroit ensemble approach, which is frequently conveyed in dovetailing whispers and murmurs…As a result, Cranc creates an unlikely deep listening experience.” bill shoemaker, the wire, April 2001Concerts include; All Angels, London [1999]; 2.13 Festival, Athens [2000+2002]; All Angels Festival, London [2001]; Free Music Festival, Antwerp [2001]; Tour of England [2003]; Printing House Festival, Dublin [2005]; NPAI, Parthenay [2007]; Q02 Residency, Brussels [2008]; Cut and Splice, London (with Mark Wastell) [2008]; HCMF (with Radu Malfatti), Huddersfield [2008]; Meteo, Mulhouse Music Festival [2011]; Festival Densités [2015].

The Sealed Knot (2000-)Burkhard Beins: percussion
Rhodri Davies: electric harp
Mark Wastell: double bass
"...Overall, they give the impression of a gradual ebb and flow of layered soundfields over a bedrock of silence. Confronted with the trio's intricately plaited tones, sometimes it's hard to tell the provenance of a particular sound - like many musicians exploring extended techniques, they're at war with their instruments...Gradual shifts and the kind of communication that develops within longstanding musical relationships are central to the group aesthetic. The slow, deliberate movement of The Sealed Knot's music often sounds semi-composed, a testament to the close bond that they have developed over the years..."Will Montgomery, "Silence is a rhythm too: The Sealed Knot”, The Wire, June 2002

Davies/Tilbury/Duch (2008-)

Rhodri Davies

Other GroupsTrondheim Jazz Orchestra (2014); Zeitkratzer (2009); Max Eastley duo (2008-); Otomo Yoshihide’s Prisoner film music project (2007-08); Otomo Yoshihide’s Core Anode (2006); Davies/Patterson/Toop (2005-); Chris Burn’s Ensemble (1997-2003); IST (1995-); Derek Bailey’s Company (2000-01); Apartment House (1999-); London Improvisers Orchestra (1998-2000); Evan Parker with Strings (1997-98); Butch Morris’s Conduction Orchestra and Ensemble #118 (1997, 2001).



Hen Ogledd


Dawn Bothwell / Rhodri Davies / Richard Dawson / Sally Pilkington

Rhodri Davies


Collaborations


Gustav Metzger: ‘Self-Cancellation’‘Self-Cancellation’, collaboration with Gustav Metzger, co-organised with Arika and LMC, funded by Esmee Fairbairn, PRS Foundation and Scottish Arts Council. Output: premiere of 11 new works in London and Glasgow, live broadcast on Resonance FM, lecture and symposium at the Glasgow School of Art and Beaconsfield, London (2008).

Ben Patterson'Ben Patterson & Rhodri Davies' performance, Studio Wolfgang Trager, Wiesbaden (14/6/2008)'A BUNCH OF OLDER, BAD BOYS' Keith Rowe / Rhodri Davies / Ben Patterson, Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden (27/5/2009)'Ben Patterson & Rhodri Davies' Alga Marghen Label Night, ARGOS Center for Art & Media, Brussels (2/12/2010)‘Music for Silent Fluxus Films', live performance with Ben Patterson & Rhodri Davies, Caligari Cinema, Wiesbaden (23/9/2012)'What Happened on the 29th Day in this Merry Month of May'
Ben Patterson, Jon Rose & Rhodri Davies, Deutschlandradio Kultur Broadcast (Recorded 14/5/2015)
'Hockyfrilla, Ben Patterson & Rhodri Davies' perform at Tectonics in the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (3/5/2015)CompositionsBen Patterson: pages to save our planet for Rhodri Davies (2008)
Ben Patterson: what music can you make from these notes? for Rhodri Davies (2008)
Ben Patterson: give me a break! for harp, piano and double-bass (2010)
ArtworkBen Patterson: HARP PROJECT (2011)

Rhodri Davies

HALF LIFE‘HALF LIFE’, with Angharad Davies for a major land-art project and theatre production in Mid Argyle, co-produced by NVA and the NTS (2007).

Composition


acousmatic, for any soundmaking object/s (2018)
untitled (2018)
transversal time (2017)
jade (2016)
for bob cobbing (2014)
cup and ring (2014)
amen (2014)
harp feedback (1736-2013) (for maria christina papadopoulou) (2013)
the remainder #2 (2013)
wound response (2012)
aqua alta (for sioned williams) (2012)
harp feedback (1959-2012) (for elfair dyer) (2012)
history of common objects (2012)
for double-action pedal mechanism (2011)
harp feedback (1854 - 2011) (2011)
the last timeplaysby_______ (2011)
7 birds (for alec finlay) (2010)
the remainder #1 (2010)
four lessons (2010)
cut and burn (2010)
harp feedback (1710 - 2010) (2010)
for soldercup (2010)
saib (for angharad davies) (2008)
becoming horse (for nikos veliotis) (2008)
palimpsest number 1 for ensemble (2008)
over shadows for solo harp and EBows (2006)
passing time for small ensemble, contact mic and resonator (2006)
common objects: 1-5 for ensemble (2006)
cilrhedyn for bass drum, EBow harp and EBow electric guitar (2005)
camber for solo harp and EBow (2004)
perdereau for one harp and eight hands (2004)
still point for ensemble (2001)
decalogue: es i wacan gyda’r iesu for ensemble and voice (2001)
trem for percussion and tape (2001)
cresis for harp and preparations (2001)
atam for solo instrument (2001)
wstrws for ensemble (1998)
lle y bwriaf angor for ensemble (1997)

Composers


Solo Harp RepertoireSelected first performancesPhilip Corner: harp on this
Philip Corner: harp work: a movement (2017)
Philip Corner: wHoly Trinitye (2016)
Philip Corner: Euphonyarp (2017)
Laurence Crane: single harmony for rhodri davies (2004)
Benedict Drew: NOTES (2011)
Benedict Drew: untitled
Barbara Ellison: HARP (2011)
Carole Finer: weave a cloth of gold for me (2006)
Carole Finer: magic carpet no. 2 (2016)
Sarah Hughes: accented and unaccented (2010)
Alison Knowles: a piece for harp (2010)
Hans W Koch: cellular sound (2010)
Catherine Kontz: tea ceremony (2005)
Joseph Kudirka: kathryn of birmingham (2009)
John Lely: cycling in… (2004)
Anton Lukoszevieze: H.ARP (2006)
Phill Niblock: a cage of stars (2012)
Gorwel Owen: rhwng y pegynau mae'n llonydd (2007)
Tim Parkinson: harp piece (2005)
Michael Parsons: constellations for solo harp (2003)
Ben Patterson: pages to save our planet (2008)
Ben Patterson: what music can you make from these notes? (2008)
Michael Pisaro: descending series (2) an index of seconds for harp and sine tones (2010)
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM I (2011)
James saunders: #[unassigned] (performed as #110204, #280604, #041204-1, and #290307) (2004/7)
James Saunders: assigned #10 (2007)
James Saunders: materials vary greatly and are simply material (2010)
Mieko Shiomi: wind music for harp (2006)
Mieko Shiomi: falling music for harp (2006)
Mieko Shiomi: passing music for harp (2010)
Mieko Shiomi: shadow music for harp (2010)
Mieko Shiomi: direction music for harpist (2010)
Yasunao Tone: ten haikus of matsuo basho (2006, revised 2007)
Taku Unami: a piece for strings and fingers (2008)
Christian Wolff: for harp player (2009)
Selected pieces for solo harpMatt Davis: 'legacy' for barbara held (2011)
John Dinwiddie: stroke #1 for solo harp with seven assistants (1973)
Pauline Oliveros: from unknown silences
Tomas Schmit: sanitas no. 151
James Tenney: august harp (1971)
Yasunao Tone: origin of geometry an introduction
Selected transcriptions with consent of the composerAlvin Lucier: on the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon (2000)
Yoko Ono: overtone piece
Ben Patterson: complete works
Dave Smith: à propos de rien
Ensemble repertoireSelected first performancesPhilip Corner: lovely music (1999)
Philip Corner: chirographic (harp, cello and violin) (1999)
Philip Corner: dualism harmonyz (2006)
Philip Corner: 2 Chords of the Rose and Cross (2003, 2012)
Philip Corner: punktus cum punktum (2002)
Philip Corner: gamelan ARPA (2010)
Philip Corner: 2 Sounds______not La Monte's (2010)
Philip Corner: EVENT VERSION FOR MUSICIANS (2010)
Philip Corner: Petali Pianissimo (2017)
Philip Corner: BowwoW (2017)
Philip Corner: some silences
Angharad Davies: cofnod pen bore / morning records (2012)
Ben Patterson: give me a break! for harp, piano and double-bass (2010)
Ben Patterson: the complete works
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA I (2012) quartet for violin, viola, birbyne and harp - silvia tarozzi, julia eckhardt, carol robinson, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA II (2012) trio for viola, bass clarinet and harp - julia eckhardt, carol robinson, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA IV (2013) trio for tuba, cello and harp - robin hayward, charles curtis, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA V (2013) quartet for tuba, cello, bass clarinet and harp - robin hayward, charles curtis, carol robinson, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM HEXA I (2013) quintet for viola, tuba, cello, bass clarinet and harp - julia eckhardt, robin hayward, charles curtis, carol robinson, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER VI (2014) duo for contrabass-recorder and harp - pia palme, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XII (2015) duo for cello and harp - charles curtis, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA VIII (2015) quartet for cello, harp, tuba and bassoon - charles curtis, rhodri davies, robin hayward, dafne vicente-sandoval
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XIII (2015) duo for bassoon and harp - dafne vicente-sandoval, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XVI (2017) duo for birbyne and harp - carol robinson, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XVII (2017) duo for violin and harp - angharad davies, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA XIV (2017) trio for harp, violin and double bass - angharad davies, dominic lash, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XVIII (2017) duo for double bass and harp - dominic lash, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XX (2018) harp duo - helene breschand, rhodri davies
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM DELTA XVI (2018) trio for harp, tuba and bassoon - rhodri davies, robin hayward, dafne vicente-sandoval
Eliane Radigue: OCCAM RIVER XXI (2018) duo for tuba and harp - robin hayward, rhodri davies

Art


70 sound objects for ‘Boxes: Reflejo – disnivel’ by Carlos Bunga. (2021)

Indoor mechanical wind harp (2021)

Wind harp at Maen Ceti (2018)
photograph by Lee Patterson

Harmonic Curve #4 (2018)
photograph by Daryl Feehely

Harmonic Curve #3 (2018)
photograph by Daryl Feehely

Harmonic Curve #2 (2018)
photograph by Daryl Feehely

Harmonic Curve #1 (2018)
photograph by Daryl Feehely

Harp Burial (2018) Power House with David Garner
photograph by Felix Cannadam

Submerged Harp (2013) Aberystwyth with Eddie Ladd
photograph by Warren Orchard

Ice Harp (2013) with Eddie Ladd
photograph by Rhodri Davies

Wind Harp (2012) Borth
photograph by Bruce Cardwell

Fire Harp (2012) Borth
photograph by Bruce Cardwell

Wind Harp #2 and #3 (2011)
photograph by Rhodri Davies

Horsehair, metal, gut, nylon (2010- 2020)
photograph by Daryl Feehely

Rhodri Davies

Room Harp (2010) Newcastle upon Tyne
AV FESTIVAL 10: photograph by Wig Worland

Dry Ice Harp (2010) The Sage, GatesheadAV FESTIVAL 10: photograph by Richard Hall

Cut and Burn (2010) Newcastle upon TyneAV FESTIVAL 10: photograph by Louise Hepworth

5 Knots (2008) Aberystwyth
photograph by Rhodri Davies

Auto-destructive harp for suspended harps, butane burners and electric whisks (2008)
photograph by Benedict Drew

Fire Harp (2007) Bangor
photograph by David Reid

Water Harp (2007) Bangor
photograph by David Reid

Wind Harp (2006) Bangor
photograph by David Reid

Rain Harp (2006)
photograph by Fiona Maclaren

Pour le harpe for harp, black beans, rice, red lentils, gunpowder tea, urad beans, nails, sand, shells etc (2006)

Articles & Interviews


‘…AS IF THE SOUNDS IN THE SPACE IMPLODE… : Rhodri Davies OCCAM I for harp’
SOUND AMERICAN No. 26 The OCCAM OCEAN Issue, NY (2021).


‘Rhodri Davies: Epiphanies’
The Wire 437 July 2020


‘Dychmygu Telyn’ Rhodri Davies
O’r Pedwar Gwynt Haf 2018


‘I Aspire to a Desert-Island Art’ Interview with Ivor Davies by Rhodri Davies
Winter 2013/14 Planet The Welsh Internationalist, Planet 212


Rhodri Davies: The Harp in Wales by Bruce Cardwell, Seren 2013


Owen Martell: ‘Dafn o Fôr’
Taliesin Yr Academi Gymreig Cyfrol 148 Gwanwyn 2013


Bravo Papa: Ben Patterson by Rhodri Davies
Musiktexte Zeitschrift fur neue music 151 November 2016


Russian translation of ‘Berlin London 1997-1999’, book chapter in Echtzeitmusik Berlin, Selbstbestimmung einer Szene / Self-Defining a Scene, CM Современная музыка February 2012


Rhodri Davies ImproJazz Magazine d’information musicale No182 Fevrier 2012


‘Berlin London 1997-1999’, book chapter in Echtzeitmusik Berlin, Selbstbestimmung einer Szene / Self-Defining a Scene, (Hofheim: Wolke Verlag, 2011).


‘Rhodri Davies’s Invisible Jukebox’, interview by Andy Hamilton, Wire Issue 318 (August 2010).


‘Rhodri Davies’, book chapter in Ashgate Research Companion to Experimental Music, (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2009).


Thriving on your mistakes Rhodri Davies interviewed by Gorwel Owen April/May 2008 Planet The Welsh Internationalist, Planet 188


‘The Art of the Gremlin’, commentary and ‘Camber’ audio track on CD companion, Leonardo Music Journal, volume 17, 2007.


‘New London Silence’ Clive Bell
The Wire Issue 260 October 2005


Rhodri Davies interviewed by Ed Pinsent
The Sound Projector 13th Issue 2005


Rhodri Davies interviewed by David Lewis Coda
The Journal of Jazz & Improvised Music Issue 315 May/June 2004


‘Silence is a rhythm too: The Sealed Knot’ by Will Montgomery
The Wire Issue 220 June 2002


Gustav Metzger 1926–2017: Rhodri Davies recalls undergoing acts of self-cancellation with the artist
The Wire, March 2017


SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY


2023 Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord (Weird World)

2023 Me Lost Me: RPG (Upset the Rhythm)

2019 Richard Dawson: 2020 (Weird World)

2019 John Butcher & Rhodri Davies: Drunk on Dreams (Cejero)

2017 Richard Dawson: Peasant (Weird World)

2017 Rhodri Davies, David Sylvian & Mark Wastell: There is No Love (Confront)

2015 Jenny Hval: Apocalypse, Girl (Sacred Bones Records)

2015 Mark Fell: A Pattern for Becoming. Featuring Rhodri Davies and Okkyung Lee (The Tapeworm)

2014 Richard Dawson: Nothing Important (Weird World)

2013 Richard Dawson: The Glass Trunk (alt. vinyl / Richie's own label / Weird World)

2013 Phill Niblock: Touch Five (TOUCH)

2012 Hose III (Unknown mix / Headz) with Eric la Casa, Moe Kamura, Axel Dorner, Xavier Charles, Sean Meehan, and JON the dog

2012 Laura Cannell & Rhodri Davies: Feathered Swing of the Raven (BRAWL)

2010 CWK Joynes & the Restless Dead: '8 Selections and Premonitions from the Tower, Vol I' (Bo'weavil)

2010 John Tilbury, Rhodri Davies & Michael Duch: Cornelius Cardew Works 1960-70 (+3DB Records)

2010 MUTA: Bricolage (Al Maslakh Recordings)

2010 Rhodri Davies, David Toop & Lee Patterson: Wunderkamern (Another Timbre)

2009 Max Eastley & Rhodri Davies: Dark Architecture (Another Timbre)

2009 Annette Kreb & Rhodri Davies: Kravis Rhonn Project (Another Timbre)

2009 SLW: Burkhard Beins, Lucio Capece, Rhodri Davies & Toshimaru Nakamura: Fifteen point nine grams (Organized Music from Thessaloniki)

2009 Robin Hayward, Rhodri Davie & Taku Unami: Valved strings calculator (Hibari)

2008 Otomo Yoshihide: Core Anode (Meenna)

2008: Angharad Davies & Rhodri Davies: Pedair Awr yng Nghymru Fydd / Brave New Wales (Fourier Transform) Compilation

2006 Rhodri Davies & Ko Ishikawa: Compositions for Harp and Sho (Hibari Music)

2006 Kahimi Karie: Nunki (Victor) with Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O'Rourke, Keigo Oyamada and Akira Sotoyama

2005 Otomo Yoshihide, Rhodri Davies & Sachiko M (LMC Members Series)

2001 Apartment House: Cornelius Cardew: Chamber Music 1955–64 (Matchless)

1998 Chris Burn's Ensemble: Navigations (Acta Records)

1997 IST: Simon H Fell, Rhodri Davies & Mark Wastell: Consequences (of time and place) (Confront Recordings)

1997 IST: Rhodri Davies, Mark Wastell & Simon H Fell: Anagrams to Avoid (SIWA)


SELECTED DVDs


2023 Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord Live (Domino)

2008 Kahimi Karie: KOCHAB (Victor entertainment)

2007 Kahimi Karie: Muhlifein (Victor entertainment)