Last Thursday night, Bafta-nominated Sheridan Tongue showcased his debut album Seven Days. The album is the first from Sheridan’s project IN-IS, a platform upon which the composer has created his most personal works. The eight-track album is a reimagining of classical music for the contemporary era. Sheridan’s expertise in the orchestral field, which is combined with unique electronic elements, results in a body of work which is appealing to a diverse audience.
The showcase began with a video introduction which set the scene and familiarised the audience with the composer himself. From the age of eight Sheridan’s musical dexterity became apparent, firstly learning the piano before turning his hand to an array of other instruments. His love of and talent for composition has been a constant driving force in his life and has now led up to the release of his first album.
Sheridan then took to the stage alongside two violinists and a guitarist and opened the showcase with Fjords, characterised by its endless reverberating guitars and melancholy violins. Incredibly atmospheric, it set the scene for the evening and the audience was in thrall to the exquisite melodies. The tones have quite a sombre feel and the subtle bass is akin to a heartbeat throughout.
Scarlette’s Love draws in the listener with its gentle melody and violins which convey a sense of sadness and loss. Sheridan is skilled at evoking emotions through his compositions and Scarlett’s Love in particular is so beautifully crafted as to engage all of the senses.
Our Story has a darker feel to it, with its deep bass and atmospheric electronic elements. The strings become gradually more prominent as the track builds. The track’s accompanying video served as a narrative which drew in every member of the audience. It’s open to interpretation but to me it represented love and the resulting grief and emptiness of loss of love.
Lake, with its reverberating electronic pulses and smooth violins, is a fine example of how Sheridan can seamlessly marry the traditional and contemporary to create the perfect complementary union.
Seven Days is beautiful and rousing, combining gentle keys with jagged strings. The track’s soft underbelly forms a feeling of serenity which is pierced by the haunting violins. This track provided the outro to the evening but Sheridan had a surprise up his sleeve. DJ duo One Bit had remixed the track and they joined him on stage so we were treated to an incredible club-worthy version. It was amazing to hear such a different side to Sheridan’s work and wonderful to see that he embraces artists making a fresh take on his music. Joe and Jonty added a house-esque vibe to the track: deep baseline, heavy drum pads and distorted vocals, whilst retaining the classic essence of the original. Sheridan’s violins and electronic flashes still peep through but this is a track that wouldn’t be out of place in a Friday night club mix. So the showcase was without a doubt ended on a high!
There isn’t much that compares to the thrill of discovering new music, especially that which is outside of your normal realm. Sheridan Tongue has created an album which is quite remarkable in that he’s made the classical genre contemporary and accessible to a much wider audience. The general consensus of the showcase was that the audience was left wanting more. We’d been given a small glimpse as to what IN-IS is all about, leaving us with our appetites whetted, and that’s just what Sheridan set out to achieve.
Check out the One Bit remix of Seven Days below and you can have a listen to some of IN-IS’ other tracks here. Seven Days the album is available to buy now.