About

The live incarnation of Hidden Orchestra combines the duelling beats of two full drum kits (care of Jamie Graham and Tim Lane) with piano and violin from Poppy Ackroyd, and Acheson's bass and electronics. Their recent performance at The Royal Albert Hall alongside The Pharcyde, Submotion Orchestra, Andreya Triana and Henry Wu was a milestone event building on a dizzying run of gigs this decade, from sellout AV shows at London’s Union Chapel and St John at Hackney to hundreds of headlines and festivals at home and around the world.

The new album 'Dawn Chorus' follows the ‘Night Walks’ (2010) and ‘Archipelago’ (2012) albums, which established Hidden Orchestra's beat-heavy and multi-layered sound as a favourite with music fans of all stripes, gaining praise everywhere from The Independent, Clash and XLR8R to BBC 6Music and KCRW. With releases remixed by top producers including submerse, Mungo’s Hi Fi and Floex, Hidden Orchestra’s reworks of other artists include a notable commission for Bryan Ferry’s ‘Avonmore (The Remix Album)’. Anticipation for the new album has also been stoked in recent years by hugely popular mixtapes (which have gained hundreds of thousands of streams), side-projects, and those incendiary live shows.

A sonic experimenter and nature enthusiast, Joe Acheson has always captured field recordings and found sounds to incorporate in his Hidden Orchestra music, as well as using them in his award-winning work as a radio producer and soundtrack composer. Last year saw him developing this with “Marconi & The Lizard” – an EP born of an artist residency at Cornwall’s Lizard Point, commissioned by The National Trust and British Library. Released under the Joe Acheson solo name, this project was greeted with features in The Guardian and The Independent and radio support from Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music) and Late Junction (BBC R3), creating even more interest in Acheson’s exciting musical explorations as the new Hidden Orchestra album continued to take shape in his studio. 

Support for this show will come from Poppy Ackroyd. 

Poppy Ackroyd is a composer from London, currently based in Brighton. Classically trained on violin and piano, she makes music by manipulating and multi-tracking sounds from just these two instruments.

Her debut album ‘Escapement’ was released in December 2012 and a DVD – ‘Escapement Visualised’ – featuring bespoke visuals by Lumen for each track on the album, was released in September 2014.

‘Feathers’, her second album, followed in November 2014, and builds on the concept behind her debut, with most of the sounds again coming from the violin and the piano, however this time the tracks also feature other keyboard and string instruments.

Her third album 'Sketches' it out this October. 

Poppy has worked on numerous projects with other musicians, artists, filmmakers, animators, dancers and actors. 

General Information

Guests with Mobility Impairments

Guests who use a wheelchair or experience mobility impairments are asked to call the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com so that we can assist you to find the best seat to suit your requirements.

Assistance Tickets

Personal assistance tickets are available for free for customers who would otherwise be unable to attend the venue. Please contact the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com for further information.

Box Office Opening Times

The box office (phone line and drop-in service) is open from 10am to 4pm, Mondays to Fridays. The box office is also open one hour before the advertised show start time.