26th, 27th & 28th February 2009
Doors - 8pm (strictly no admittance after 8.45pm) - Midnight.
The Rain Emperor is a site specific performance event set in the eye of the storm, inspired by the music of composer Robert Jacob.
Defying conventional expectations of theatre and music, fusing live performances, visual art & secret chambers, this event will transcend the boundaries between audience, artists, sound & light.
A collaboration of some of the UK's most highly acclaimed and upcoming artists.
Using Robert Jacob’s music as a backdrop and an inspiration for the other artists who are involved; the show explores Jacob’s music in every form, slowly guiding visitors through a series of vaults, passageways and atriums using sound, movement, light, film and performance.
Shoreditch’s Village Underground makes the perfect home to this atmospheric art piece and will be transformed into a dark, mysterious world for the performance. The Rain Emperor promises to awaken a truly genuine sense of emotion; from vulnerability to excitement and exhilaration. It blurs the boundaries between the arts and invites the audience to experience the music and an entirely unexpected way.
Contemporary composer Robert Jacob was inspired greatly by his love of the rain and its rhythms and became known as ‘The Rain Emperor’ as a result.
Born in London in 1952, Robert Jacob became a professional musician in 1973. He played throughout Europe with a succession of soul, rock, blues and jazz bands on guitar, including self composed material. He worked on numerous studio and recording projects as a session musician, arranged music for various bands and ensembles and provided music for video and film.
Robert was an spnm shortlisted composer and composed music for many different combinations of instruments from Symphony Orchestra to percussion ensemble. He also had a keen interest in composing for dance and theatre.
Robert’s most recent commissions include a computer generated piece and a suite of pieces for solo Spanish Guitar, Three Dances for String Quartet and arrangements for The Dillington International Guitar Festival and providing music for two short contemporary films.
His ingenuity was never more apparent than in his work “Aquamass” (2000). Commissioned under the Year of the Artist scheme, he worked with a variety of community groups and the pupils of Bishop David Brown School to compose and perform a work in a swimming pool using the acoustic properties above and below the water, in collaboration with choreographer Vicki Balaam.
In June 2002, he conducted a research week at the Rhoda McGraw Theatre to develop a system using medical and musical technology to enhance the capacity of performers to expressively perform with music/sounds from a digital source in real-time, with dancer Caroline Lofthouse.
In 2003 Robert was commissioned by Dilliington Festival to write piece for Guitar Orchestra and Electric Motor premiered there in August 2003. His innovative approach to composition will be remembered by all who attended.
He was the founder member and MD of Naked Sunday Collective, a group combining elements of jazz, funk, hip hop, Drum and Bass and turntablism with improvisation.
‘The Rain Emperor’ is a celebration of his music and his memory.