Commissioner

Arts Council England

The fourth episode of the Silent Spaces series arrives at 19th Century education centre, Hawkwood College in Gloucestershire, for composer, lyricist and sarod player Soumik Datta's Fields of Hope.This film from the series directed by Souvid Datta tells a tale of three young siblings who gradually absorb a message of a greener, fairer, more mindful future, brought to them from three figures who emerge from the forest around Hawkwood: renowned cellist Matthew Barley, British Asian singer Ashnaa Sasikaran, and composer, lyricist and sarod player Soumik Datta.[imgtoken data:1]The track builds on nature’s sounds and harmonies to critique consumerism and overconsumption, while paying tribute to the venue’s conservational ecosystem. Souvid Datta’s film spans across Hawkwood’s orchards, greenhouses and natural waste management systems - reminding us that venues are not just their respective buildings but exist within wider eco-scapes. Ultimately, through music, the children rediscover their role within nature, gaining an urgent awareness of humanity’s climate impact.The film follows previous episodes in the Silent Spaces series, shot at celebrated venues closed by the pandemic, including the British Museum and the Royal Albert Hall.&nbsp;

United Kingdom

Souvid Datta

Melanie Cura Daball

Sdfilms

Soumik Datta Arts

Jerzy Gudjonsson

Classical Crossover

Soumik Datta 'Fields Of Hope' by Souvid Datta

Soumik-Datta-'Fields-Of-Hope'-by-Souvid-Datta

The third episode of the Silent Spaces&nbsp;music series, in which composer/performer&nbsp;Soumik Datta held&nbsp; performances in some of the UK's leading venues when they were unable to open, takes us to&nbsp;a deserted Royal Albert Hall, on its 150th anniversary during the winter lockdown of 2021.Souvid Datta directs the performers thoughout iconic building, with&nbsp;a duet of strings ringing through vacant corridors, voices echoing through empty aisles - and a lone dancer appearing through the shadows of the great hall. Each artist leads the viewer along a rare journey through the venue’s hidden corners, dressing rooms, rooftops and up, towards the majestic Albert Hall stage.Soumik composes, song-writes and performs on sarod while singing lead vocals and rendering a powerful spoken word poem calling attention to the plight of creatives during the pandemic and our collective need for shared cultural spaces.

Monique Jonas

Mithun Gill

Classical

Modern Composition

Soumik Datta 'Empty Places' by Souvid Datta

Soumik-Datta-'Empty-Places'-by-Souvid-Datta

Souvid Datta presents Episode 2 of the Silent Spaces series, following last month's <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2021/04/28/soumik-datta-messengers-souvid-datta/70635">Messengers</a>.Many of us have been limited to confined spaces during the pandemic, the impact felt both on our minds and bodies. In this second episode set in Manchester, brothers Soumik and Souvid Datta invite the viewer to break free of lockdown constraints, celebrating the power of movement and our physical bodies.Steeped in a history of Olympic swimming teams, baths, a Post Office and a train station, the industrial Mayfield area -&nbsp;now repurposed as a nightclub - embodies the true spirit of rejuvenation and change.The concept is composed and performed by Soumik Datta on live electronics, with a team of prolific Manchester based contemporary dancer-choreographers.&nbsp;The beats build from soft, organic drips (recorded on site) to a pulsating EDM hook, charting the positive impact that dancing and letting loose has on the body and our mental health.A vibrant showcase of sound and visuals, the promo plays on everyday dichotomies to achieve the dynamic concept - light and dark, movement and stillness, reality and fantasy - which form together to produce something poignant and hopeful.&nbsp;

Minal Mehta

Instrumental

Soumik Datta 'Movement' by Souvid Datta

SILENT SPACES | Movement {Episode 2/6}

Souvid Datta directs a poignant, emotional promo for Messengers.&nbsp;For brothers Soumik and Souvid Datta, life was affected profoundly by lockdown. Like many of their peers, work immediately dried up and suddenly Soumik and Souvid were tested by the fragility of their mental health. This all took place under the backdrop of the George Floyd murder, the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement and a new and mainstream conversation about race and identity.Journeying into&nbsp;London’s British Museum for the first chapter in Datta's Silent Spaces series - which breaks the silence of iconic cultural spaces, out of action due to Covid - the performance features rising soul singer Amahla,&nbsp;saxophonist Yasmin Ogilvie and star dancer-choreographers Monique Jonas and Ihsaan de Banya sharing the space.The video production was a painful experience for the brothers, with director Souvid&nbsp;asking himself why the injustice of unequal power relations between the UK and its colonial subjects, in the museum, had been celebrated for so long. Yet the staff welcomed and supported these debates, making it overwhelmingly an exercise of empowerment and self-emancipation.Shot in a naturalistic yet elevated way, the video celebrates the artistry of every performer on screen, and the amalgamation of different skills and a shared confidence creates a powerful and palpable sense of creativity.&nbsp;The pivotal spoken-word section, written and performed by Soumik was filmed beside the bust of museum founder and&nbsp;slave owner, Sir Hans Sloane. Soumik’s piece addresses the burden of forgiveness, the guilt of complicity, the mental health cost of racism and the DNA pain of the wider immigrant experience.Powerful and important work.&nbsp;View the trailer for the Silent Spaces series <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJWe2C5LiLc" target="_blank">here</a>.

Timberland

Composer

Soumik Datta 'Messengers' by Souvid Datta

Soumik-Datta-'Messengers'-by-Souvid-Datta

Joseph Delaney's latest collaboration with Naked, plunges once again into the world of BDSM-flavoured&nbsp;Techno Goth, with this eye-opener for industrial-electronic outfit Bite.Following his video for the band's Drome and other works featuring the band's music, Delaney reveals the extreme bondage culture, from dungeon to dining hall, in ways that are extreme, experimental, harrowing and also very stylish. And Bite lead singer Agnes Gryczkowska is the compelling focus throughout.&nbsp;The video was made in collaboration with SORT: a multidisciplinary project born out of the underground queer/noise/techno crossover communities founded in 2015.

Arts Council England

Commissioner

Videos featuring Arts Council England

2021 (4)

2019 (1)

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