Ensemble Offspring | The Surge

The Award Winning Australian Music Collective. Sydney’s musical maverick Ensemble Offspring, unite the most innovative instrumentalists in Australia with a broad collective of collaborators to explore new ideas through living new music. Led by acclaimed percussionist Claire Edwardes, the ensemble comprises a core line-up of some of Australia’s most well-regarded and virtuosic musicians The 1990s were a riot of transformation that redefined both Australia and the world. ‘Creative Nation’ announced the central role of art in life and society, while the Mabo decision set off a chain reaction culminating in Paul Keating’s historic Redfern Address and the Australian Parliament’s landmark Native Title Act in 1993. The internet began to insinuate itself into every corner of contemporary experience, reshaping everything it touched. The scientific community, meanwhile, spoke with increasing urgency of the mounting evidence of anthropogenic climate change, while politicians turned a deaf ear. What are the sounds of this crucial decade? Joined by Queensland band Topology and up-and-coming guitarists Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi, Ensemble Offspring revisits classics from the ’90s alongside five new commissions reflecting on the cultural, climate and political situations Australia finds itself in today. With video by Peachey and Mosig, this will be a multi-layered feast of music, ideas, lessons from the past and – with a little luck – hope for the decade ahead.