Oram Awards

19/07/2024

Have you heard about SSTRAPP?

SSTRAPP is a Summer Jam which has just started at Bidston Observatory Artistic Research Centre in Wirral, Merseyside and is a full ten days of sonic and somatic experimentation.


The program itself will be scheduled collectively, developing over 10 days (til the 28th of July) as they share and explore.

There will be a synth lab set up, with loads of amazing synthesizers, samplers, effects pedals and other audio equipment that you can use. With two special SSTRAPP broadcasts on people can bring their own usb sticks and be ready to play some tracks. There will be also walks and sound baths, listening sessions and field recording expeditions, composition and mixing tutorials, and working in small groups to explore various practical and theoretical ideas, thinking through the creation of diagrams, and collectively directed towards group performances and installations.

Two whole weekends dedicated to performances, music and dancing. Expect the return of SSTRAPP favorites like the megaloop, auditory world-building, hoover symphonies, dome sonifications, and voice-modulated hyper/sludge karaoke.

In other news, SSTRAPP co-founder, composer and sound artist Maeve AKA & Oram winner will also be a holding an improvisation and workshop with synths/experimental electronics as part of our event at in Sheffield. Date will be announce soon, watch this space.

To book your space at SSTRAPP or a day visit please contact [email protected]

More details and sliding scale pricing can be found at link in stories or via bidstonobservatory.org/

12/07/2024

We are excited to collaborate with artist No Home for the first time and honored to have them as part of the IKLECTIKA Experimental Music & Book Fair at the !
No Home, the London-based artist Charlotte Valentine, has been making music for almost a decade. No Home believes that “you need to have layabouts in society to create interesting culture – not interesting culture that you can commodify, but interesting culture that you can just enjoy.”
Described as a “punk producer” and “DIY experimental artist” by The Wire Magazine, No Home will be presenting a 30-minute performance of various songs from their catalogue. As one of the 2023 ORAM Awards winners, this performance is in collaboration with the Oram Awards.


Ticket link in bio.

📍 Colour Factory
📅 Sunday 14 July
🕰️ 12pm - Late
nohome

10/07/2024

Oram Award International Winner has launched .online.sea, the cultural and sound innovation platform connecting women, trans, non-binary & gender non-conforming electronic musicians across Southeast Asia.

Its first release showcases debut as LnHD with ‘Slave Insticts’ EP [link to listen in our stories]

‘Slave Insticts marks a bold departure from Lynn’s previous album Jamadevi, delving into the pulsating world of Southeast Asian experimental club dance music, and mirroring her defiance and resilience as a political exile from her homeland in Myanmar. The EP presents a searing critique of global hypocrisy, juxtaposing the empty gestures of online political activism with the harsh realities of oppression and lost freedom.’

Align Online has also been collaborating with Singapore’s leading underground q***r party collective, and together they’re curating talented female and q***r musicians and DJs from Southeast Asia’s contemporary electronic music scene for a monthly feature on Hong Kong Community Radio every Wednesday of the 2nd week.

Make sure to tune in on this week’s episode featuring , Myanmar based DJ & producer at 00:00 HGK / 6:00 PM CEST / 5:00 PM BST

28/06/2024

01/05/2024

Postponed til new week, new link to sign up available soon x

25/04/2024

Join Grants Manager Beka Bee for this free online webinar for The Oram Awards 2024, covering top tips, a walkthrough of the application form and a live Q&A.

https://calendly.com/prsfoundationfeedback/the-oram-awards-2024-how-to-apply-webinar?month=2024-05

The UK category of the Oram Awards in partnership with PRS Foundation is now open for applications – deadline 6pm on Tuesday 4th June.

The Oram Awards recognise women, trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists who are innovators in the fields of music, sound and related technologies in honour of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Daphne Oram.

22/04/2024

Applications for the UK Category of the Oram Awards 2024 are now open.

The Orams is a platform for the most innovative artists working on sound, music and related technologies.

Any individual who meets the criteria below can now apply:

Age 18+
Women, Trans, Non-binary & Gender Expansive artists
Are based in the United Kingdom
Create high-quality original new music and sound
Innovate in sound, music, and associated technologies
Through their work have demonstrated that they deserve increased recognition are ready for this opportunity and will use the PRSF bursary and Oram Awards mentorship program for future creative and professional development

The Oram Awards is based in the East Midlands. We are dedicated to supporting urban, rural and regional artists from across the UK.

Please share this opportunity with those that you think are deserving of recognition.

Click the link in our bio to apply.
oramawards.com

PRS Foundation The Radiophonic Institute

19/04/2024

In partnership with the PRS Foundation, applications for the UK Category of the Oram Awards 2024 will open to the general public from Monday 22nd April to Tuesday 4th of June (6 weeks)
The Orams is a platform for the most innovative artists working in sound, music and related technologies.

Any individual who meets the criteria below can apply

Age 18+
Women, Trans, Non-binary & Gender Expansive artists
Are based in the United Kingdom
Create high quality original new music and sound
Innovate in sound, music, and associated technologies
Through their work have demonstrated that they are deserving of increased recognition
are ready for this opportunity and will use the PRSF bursary and Oram Awards mentorship program for future creative and professional development
The Oram Awards is based in the East Midlands. We are dedicated to supporting urban, rural and regional artists from across the UK.

Please share this opportunity with those that you think are deserving of recognition.
Click the link in our bio for more details on how to apply.
oramawards.com

PRS Foundation The Radiophonic Institute

12/04/2024

Looking forward to check No Home's upcoming performance at ICA this Sat, April 13th supporting Still House Plants.

In the meantime, you can listen to their show at Kings Place during our 2023 event or watch the full performance on YT: https://youtu.be/VTVi6rXLWdM

29/03/2024

Check an excerpt of Hannan Jones' performance at Kings Place
during our 2023 ceremony event or watch her live on our YouTube channel below

https://youtu.be/eIBMobT6FWY

11/03/2024

To celebrate , we've put together a collection of playlists compiled by the Oram artists & the team. Sharing the music from the Oram artists, artists that inspire us & from new artists that we would like to shine a light on. Listen below

Celebrating innovation in sound, music and related technologies and elevating the work & voices of Women & Gender Diverse artists oramaward...

08/03/2024

Few copies available of Daphne Oram AN INDIVIDUAL NOTE OF MUSIC, SOUND AND ELECTRONICS up on our website and Bandcamp: oramawards.bandcamp.com

Oram’s contribution to electronic music is receiving considerable attention from new generations of composers, sound engineers, musicians, musicologists and music lovers around the world. Following her death, the Daphne Oram Trust was established to preserve and promote her work, life and legacy, and an archive created in the Special Collections Library at Goldsmiths, University of London. One of the Trust’s ambitions has been to publish a new edition of Oram’s one and only book, ‘An Individual Note of Music, Sound and Electronics’, which was originally published in 1972. With support from the Daphne Oram Archive, the Trust has now been able to realize this ambition.

‘An Individual Note’ is both curious and remarkable. When commissioned to write a book, she was keen to avoid it becoming a manual or how-to guide, preferring instead to use the opportunity to muse on the subjects of music, sound and electronics, and the relationships between them. At a time when the world was just starting to engage with electronic music and the technology was still primarily in the hands of music studios, universities, and corporations, her approach was both innovative and inspiring, encouraging anyone with an interest in music to think about the nature, capabilities and possibilities that the new sounds could bring. And her thinking was not limited to just the future of the orchestra, synthesizer, computer and home studio, but ventured, with great spirit and wit, into other realms of science, technology, culture and thought. ‘An Individual Note’ is a playful yet compelling manifesto for the dawn of electronic music and for our individual capacity to use, experience and enjoy it.

This new edition of ‘An Individual Note’ features a specially commissioned introduction from the British composer, performer, roboticist and sound historian Sarah Angliss.

Published by The Daphne Oram Trust and Anomie Academic

06/03/2024

Here you can check an excerpt of CIL's show at Kings Place during our 2023 ceremony event performing along with her two collaborators Lluís Domènech Plana and Lorenz Okello-Osengor and using her own Juniper.

Juniper is a motion-reactive instrument Cil built as part of her undergraduate thesis. It’s a fascinating tool she uses to manipulate sound, from live loops, to elements of synthesis.
We recommend putting on your headphones to be completely absorbed into this 20-minute sonic journey and watch the performance in full on our YouTube:

https://youtu.be/PP0h5eFRGME

16/02/2024

Check an excerpt of Rempit Goddess' performance at our ceremony and event at Kings Place or watch it in full on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL2MrKQ8kqE

We recommend putting on your headphones to be completely absorbed into this 20 minute sonic journey.

16/02/2024

2023 Oram Awards ceremony & event recap

18/01/2024

Last year we introduced a new short video series that showcases past winner’s journeys and projects, as they share their stories from their unique perspectives.

First was Una Lee with the Irish traditional quartet Landless. Next up we’d like to talk about Maria Sappho, the 2021 winner who’s working with mushrooms and AI.

Maria's groundbreaking work has led to the creation of Ostoyae, an extraordinary instrument born from her interest for luthiery and her collaboration with the community-based AI project Chimère.

In this video, she explains the interactions of all these elements and how these trans-species connections led to create music.

“AI [has the] ability to assist in the development of new technological methodologies and design plans. Mushrooms have attention to vibration, environmental change, and complex networked communities. Humans [bring skills in] craft and physical building, facilitation, and creative framing.”

To learn more click: https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/p=69502

08/12/2023

in London is facing eviction from its current location at the end of 2023.

If you've had the opportunity to visit the Old Paradise Yard studios complex near Waterloo Station in South London, then you're most likely familiar with IKLECTIK - an amazing indoor/outdoor venue staging some of the most exciting artists and projects in experimental/DIY electronic music happening right now.

Grassroots venues like Iklectik are fundamental to the survival of the music industry. They are spaces that help artists get their creativity seen by more people and ultimately enable artists to sustain a career in the arts.

The Orams have worked with the dedicated and much loved Iklectik team on events over the last two years so today we ask you to help save IKLECTIK and keep this amazing venue alive and thriving.

Spread the word, sign the petition, share our post and get yourselves down to the Old Paradise Yard in Waterlook throughout December. The line-up is awesome!

Further information about the development can be found at the following link:

https://www.iklectik.org/saveiklectik

29/11/2023

This year, we had the pleasure of collaborating with Manchester-based ceramicist and sculptural installation artist Carla Lavin to craft a unique set of physical awards for our winners.

Inspired by the dynamics of sound and music creation, the awards took shape through a process involving an extruder and a custom die shaped like the Oram Awards logo, which itself was derived from Daphne Oram's mesmerising Oramics sketches.

Rather than aiming for perfect uniformity, Carla let the clay follow its natural curves, creating a three-dimensional form that showcased both the artist's hands and fostered a collaborative relationship between the material and the creator.

This method draws a clear parallel to Daphne Oram's approach with her Oramics machine and connects with the physicality inherent in the music-making of our award recipients.
To emphasise the raw materiality and organic process, the awards were intentionally left unglazed, enhancing their tactile and haptic qualities – a deliberate choice to encourage recipients to interact physically with the awards.

The result is a collection of distinct and beautifully warped awards!
PRS Foundation The Radiophonic Institute

25/11/2023

We are still glowing from Kings Place, last Sunday.

Thanks to everyone who travelled from far and wide, took part in the workshop, panel and celebrated this year's eight award winning artists for innovation in sound, music and related technology.

Big big thanks to the Distribution Of Power collective who kicked off the day with a synthesis workshop, followed by a fascinating panel with Oram winners Nat Sharp Chaines & Rempit Goddess discussing their use of sound and music technology to explore identity and so much more.

Thanks to Frances Morgan for facilitating the panel, hosting the awards and the presentation about Daphne Oram.

And to all the performing and award-winning artists afromerm, Hannan Jones, No Home, Viktoria/Rempit Goddess, Natalie Roe, Geo Aghines and Helen Anahita Wilson.

A special thanks goes out to our amazing Orams production team. We are a small and dedicated team based all over the UK so coming together is just as important and fun for us.

We will be sharing other highlights of the event over the coming weeks. Watch this space 👀

Partners: PRS Foundation, Arts – British Council and The Radiophonic Institute Arts Council England

16/11/2023

As part of the Oram Awards event on November 19th at , we will discuss how music technology provides a safe place to explore identity with past and present Oram winning artists Cee Haines (), and this year’s International winner Viktoria ().

This panel is dacilitated by Frances Morgan, a music and arts critic and a researcher in histories of electronic music, with a PhD in Critical Writing from the Royal College of Art in collaboration with the Science Museum. Formerly the Deputy Editor of , Frances has contributed to numerous publications including Sight & Sound and Frieze, and currently lectures in Sound and Music Theory and Media & Culture at the University of Lincoln.

This panel will be held in Kings Plance, St Pancras Room at 4.45pm

Register at link in bio/stories.

11/11/2023

DISTRIBUTION OF POWER - SYNTH WORKSHOP

During our day at Kings Place London on 19th November, collective Distribution of Power will be holding a 2.5 hour workshop in synthesis play.

Distribution of Power is a collective workshops that prioritises space for individuals who identify as female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+ and people of colour and carers. They are inclusive of disabilities and neuro-divergent access needs. Their focus is to diversify access and learning probabilities for those who are curious to learn how synthesisers sound and behave and access resources, research and reading materials connected to themes of community, identity and sound. The workshops offers a place for adults to play, listen and take away any knowledge relevant to participants and their practice.

Facilitated by d.o.p. collective members & Vivienne Griffin (both recipients of the Oram Awards) and they will discuss what synthesisers are and how we use them in our individual and collective practices. You will be introduced to your very own synthesiser from the d.o.p. library and encouraged to learn how these instruments behave and sound with guidance and support from d.o.p., working towards a group improvised display towards the close of the session.

You do not need to bring any synthesisers to this event, we will supply them. Please bring headphones with a jack if you have these (we will also have spares to supply) and if you wish to take a recording of your practice on the synth you are very welcome to bring your recording device with any necessary cables you might need for this.

This workshop will be filmed/photographed

Book now at the link below, limited space.

https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/contemporary/distribution-of-power-synth-workshop/

04/11/2023

"I am delighted to receive an Oram Award and be amongst the incredible cohort of creatives! Daphne Oram has had a huge influence on my work and will always inspire me to be a female composer in the industry."

Natalie is a composer and performer based between Cardiff and the West Midlands. She recently graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with a first-class degree in acoustic and electronic composition. It was in Natalie's year abroad, studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland where she found her love for performing with electronic instruments. Most of Natalie's performances are centred around the Modular Synthesiser and often include Max MSP patches or Super Collider coding, live acoustic instruments, live visuals and multi-speaker array live spatialisation. Alongside her electronic music composition and performance, Natalie loves composing acoustic music too and has previously written for BBC National Orchestra of Wales, The Flying Bedroom Theatre Company and the Berkeley Ensemble. Combining the acoustic and electronic sound worlds is at the heart of Natalie's work and something which she continues to explore in her music.

04/11/2023

"I wanted to say a big thank you to the jury for awarding me and it's a big honor to be in great company of present and past winners alike. With this bursary, I would like to get studio time/space to make my third album and develop as a musician."

No Home is the artist name of London-based Charlotte Valentine. Their first album “F**king Hell”, a mix of noise rock and pop, was released in June 2020 and was named one of the “The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020” by Pitchfork. “Young Professional”, the most recent album released in November 2022 is an experiment in pop music. They have collaborated with artists such as SASAMI and Maria BC and played with artists such as Space Afrika, Moor Mother and Big Joanie.

03/11/2023

"I wanted to say a big thank you to the jury for awarding me and it's a big honor to be in great company of present and past winners alike. With this bursary, I would like to get studio time/space to make my third album and develop as a musician."

No Home is the artist name of London-based Charlotte Valentine. Their first album “F**king Hell”, a mix of noise rock and pop, was released in June 2020 and was named one of the “The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020” by Pitchfork. “Young Professional”, the most recent album released in November 2022 is an experiment in pop music. They have collaborated with artists such as SASAMI and Maria BC and played with artists such as Space Afrika, Moor Mother and Big Joanie.

PRS Foundation
The Radiophonic Institute

02/11/2023

“My creative journey revolves around Palestinian traditional and folkloric music, encompassing field recordings, and vocals. I'm interested in the prospect of combining these elements to envision the potential sonic landscape of Palestinian liberation in the future. By extracting samples from archived traditional Palestinian music, I attempt to revive the narratives, wisdom, and auditory essence of the past. These fragments engage with contemporary field recordings from Palestine's current sonic backdrop, reimagined through electronic sound manipulation and compositional experimentation, offering a glimpse into an evolving sonic scape. Experimentation is my tool for reshaping musical paradigms and tonalities, aiming to dismantle colonial influences.”

Maya Al Khaldi مايا الخالدي is an artist, musician and composer from Palestine, based in Jerusalem. Maya’s work explores voice and the music of the past and present, working with archival materials to imagine the future. Her debut album “عالم تاني – Other World” is inspired by Palestinian folklore, influenced by the present, to imagine a sonic future. All songs include either lyrics, melodies, or recordings from the audio archive of the traditional Palestinian music of the Popular Art Centre مــركز الفـــــن الشــــــعبي in Ramallah, Palestine.

Listen here: tawleef.bandcamp.com/album/other-world

Arts – British Council
The Radiophonic Institute

02/11/2023

"Receiving the Oram Awards for 2023 is significant in acknowledging the presence & determination of Southeast Asian women in the development of electronic music innovation which I am deeply honored to be part of. The bursary provided will be used to launch an online network tool that connects Southeast Asian women practicing electronic music via social media. With this tool, they will be able to share ideas & information about their work & practices to a broader network."

Part of the Southeast Asian experimental electronic scene, Victoria Yam moves between worlds as easily as she slips between her two experimental music projects, VIKTORIA and Rempit Goddess. Spending her time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the producer and DJ boldly ventures into the farthest, darkest recesses of industrial club music, whipping up missives from the underground - playing across Asia such as Boiler Room for Maho Rasop Festival in Bangkok, Naarm's speed at Final in Taipei, The Alex Blake Charlie Sessions Festival in Singapore, Pesta Pora Festival in Jakarta, Orbitware in Bali, Nhạc Gãy in Saigon & many more.

Listen to her recent remix of Wishmountain (Matthew Herbert)'s track 'Headrush': shorturl.at/qxL06

British Council Malaysia
The Radiophonic Institute

02/11/2023

“I am so thrilled to join the Oram community of creative innovators! My huge thanks to PRS and to this year's judges. With the support that this award provides, I'm now looking forward to completing the recording of my current sonic life writing project and up-skilling for the next adventure.”

Helen Anahita Wilson is a composer, sound artist, pianist, improviser, and practice-based researcher. Re-imaginings and sonic transductions form a major part of her output, exploring new ways of telling stories and sharing biomedical information through music and sonic arts. Based at SOAS University of London, she works at the forefront of sonic life writing with a special focus on experimenting with South Asian rhythmic theories as mechanisms of expressive narrative. She has toured extensively throughout Europe and India and works across a broad spectrum of performances from solo piano projects to live extended radio arts and plant-derived installations. Recent commissions include HCMF - Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Brighton Dome and Festival, and Bloomsbury Festival.

helenanahitawilson.com/

PRS Foundation
The Radiophonic Institute

01/11/2023

'To be recognised in the honour of Daphne Oram, a figurehead and force who reshaped the landscape and pushed the boundaries of what was sonically possible, is a privilege! The Oram Awards ignite a bright legacy of women in music and sound and I am grateful and extremely proud to be acknowledged within this trajectory of womxn who are continuously innovating and pivoting sound and music. The Oram Award's bursary presents an exciting opportunity for me to delve into uncharted sonic territories and experiment with equipment of my own. It will also afford me the essential time to fully engage in studio-based production.'

is an interdisciplinary artist of Algerian and Welsh origins and raised in Binjareb Noongar Boodjar, based in Glasgow, Scotland. Hannan is anchored in themes of identity; exploring hybridity within language, rhythm and world-building associated with cultural and social migration. Using sound to not only reclaim her histories, but also explore the space between them, adopting a sampling technique whereby collected fragments of sound, and their abstracted musical values, are reassembled to reflect a personal perspective. Acting to echo both collective and autobiographical experiences of migration, language, chaos and origin, Hannan is guided by improvisation, and intuitive responses to the sonic sphere using electronics alongside archival materials. Beginnings emerge utilising techniques such as field-recordings sampling, electronics, musique concrète, and analogue recordings. Hannan employs samples and layers of audio materials to create alternate possibilities, reclaim parallel histories, and reimagine connections as a foundation.

Currently, Hannan is the Rhubaba Choir's artist in residence in a long-term project 'Mixed Signals: Collective Tuning’. She has released on WEAPONISE YOUR SOUND, Optimo Music and in self-initiated pursuits.

hannanjones.com

PRS Foundation
The Radiophonic Institute