exlRuth / Mark Leckey

exlRuth
Romeo's Fall

Romeo’s Fall is an original score for voice by artist and composer exlRuth (Ruth Hughes), a new work traversing romance and romanticism in a post-industrial North East England. Performed by countertenor Nik Rawlings with accompanying double bass from Caius Williams, the vocal composition sits within a sonic collage of field recordings and drones mixed live by Hughes.

Drawing from traditional forms of 12^th century choral music, classical romanticism and Makina, a contemporary dance music genre local to Hughes’ native Sunderland, Romeo’s Fall leads the audience through a mythic, emotive landscape that reaches beyond the physical.

Hughes evokes this transcendence in a work informed by congregation, community, euphoria and speed, exploring the meeting points of contemporary dance music cultures, traditional hymnal form, and the sonic appropriation and influence of regional industry.
exlRuth is one of three recipients of Somerset House Studios’ Music and Sound Residency, a 15-month residency for experimental music and sound shaped by Somerset House Studios in collaboration with artist mentors Paul Purgas, Nkisi, and Gaika.

Mark Leckey

Contemporary artist Mark Leckey presents a new performance work for Assembly's 2024 programme. Making use of a variety of media, including film, sound, sculpture, and performance, the Turner Prize winner's versatile practice focuses on the relationship between popular culture and technology, tackling the subjects of anxiety, class, and nostalgia.