Improvisation | 2022 - present
Oöm
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Oöm (formerly Wellspring Collective) is a collective of five women hailing from different locations, drawn together by their shared love of collaborative vocal improv. Meeting several times a year on creative residencies, the collective enjoys pushing at the edges of vocal improv, following threads which take their fancy, getting geeky, and probably a bit weird. Their signature sound tends to include delicious harmonic and rhythmic travels, experimental sounds, and stories spun from the air - with a healthy dose of comedy.
Oöm released their first album under the name Wellspring Collective in 2021 and is excited to be releasing their first album as a five in March 2024!
Oöm is Kate (Southampton, UK), Emma (Leeds, UK), Phoebe (London, UK), Tara (Rotterdamn, Netherlands) and Kate (Lisbon, Portugal).
Wellspring Collective
Oöm started its life as the Wellspring Collective, the coming together of Kate Smith, Katherine Mellors, and Emma Coleman.
In May 2021, the three met for one day in London to explore different starting points as inspiration for collaborative vocal improvisation. These ranged from vocal techniques, such as 'slides' and 'in-breath', to genre, like 'village call' and 'lullaby', to roles, such as 'solo' and 'support'. With their explorations caught on film and recorded by Alessandro Mariscalco, the trio ultimately decided to release a full 8-track vocal improvisation album, SOURCE.
Coming from different cities, and never having sung together as a trio, this project truly captures the makings of one day, a moment in time.
SOURCE
A new album of collaborative vocal improvisation