Ishmael Ensemble on collaboration, inspiration and blurring the lines

From singers to harpists, Ishmael Ensemble are a collective spearheaded by producer and saxophonist Pete Cunningham.

The band will be joining a stacked lineup at the Bristol24/7 Ashton Court Mansion Takeover on March 10.

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The event marks a special occasion for Pete, with the location holding special memories as well as the band joining some great musical talent – one of which they have collaborated with in the past.

Click here for Bristol24/7 Ashton Court Mansion Takeover tickets

“I’ve been going to Ashton Court Festival since I was a kid so that place holds many happy memories for me,” Pete tells Bristol24/7.

“I’ve never actually been inside the mansion so I’m very intrigued to see what it’s like in there. Also to be on a lineup alongside artists like Pinch and Grove is really special.”

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As well as the band members, the musical collective form a community of other musicians through their work. Collaborating with a range of Bristol artists, and beyond, live on stage and on their albums.

Their headline show at Trinity in November 2022 saw artist Grove join them on stage, as well as Rider Shafique and Chris Hillier.

The band also released Versions of Light in June last year. A special version of their second album, Visions of Light, featuring a whole host of artists putting a spin on the album.

“As a producer I often get the opportunity to remix other artists but for some reason we’d never had other people reimagine Ishmael Ensemble stuff,” Pete expains.

“I set about getting a lot of the album collaborators and other friends to get involved and work their magic. I’m really happy with how it’s turned out and really feel it stands up as a solid piece of work on its own.”

The band’s most recent release is their EP, New Era, which was released earlier this month. The EP is in collaboration with MC and lyricist Rider Shafique, proving once again how versatile the collective is.

On the collaboration, Pete explains: “Rider is often associated as an MC with drum and bass and dubstep but his vocal ability far exceeds being pigeon holed, I think we both learnt a lot about our own potentials working on this EP as it was a step into new territory for us both.”

Blurring the lines between jazz and electronica, the band are not defined by genre.

“I think most of us musicians are fairly uninterested in genre tags,” Pete says.

“I’m not even sure it’s a conscious thing, I listen to and am inspired by loads of different things so it’s a no brainer that the music I make is equally varied.”

Rather, the music they create is based off what inspires them in that moment. With a fusion of genres and sounds, it’s no surprise that Pete finds Bristol and the thriving musical creative culture here as a source of inspiration.

“We’re so lucky in Bristol to be surrounded by such an incredible wealth of talented musicians and singers,” Pete explains. “Everyone really feeds off each other and I find that really inspiring.”

When asked if there was anyone in particular that he has his eye on, Pete doesn’t hesitate.

“t l k has been doing some amazing things recently and it seems to be a constantly evolving project so I’m excited to see what’s next for them,” he says.

“I’m also a bit addicted to Kinlaw and Franco Franco at the moment, they recently played a ear-blistering set (in a good way) at the final Bristol Germ event at Strange Brew the other night.

“Also our singer Holysseus Fly has some amazing solo material out this year which is incredible.”

It was announced earlier this month that the collective will be making their US debut at SXWS, the music and film festival in Austin, Texas. They were chosen by the PRS to represent the UK alongside a load of other bands.

“It’s bonkers, I still can’t quite believe it,” Pete says. “I’m sure the reality won’t sink in until we touch down.”

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With the release of their EP, their US debut and their performance at Bristol24/7 Ashton Court Mansion Takeover, Ishmael Ensemble are off to a flying start in 2023.

Do they have anything else planned for the year? “We’re doing a lot of shows in new places, there’s a big run in April, playing places off the obvious touring circuit for us – this is something we’ve wanted to do for a while.

“There’s also loads of shows further afield too including Mexico, Turkey, Belgium among others, we’re then into festival season, so it’s all systems go!”

Tickets for Bristol24/7’s Ashton Court Mansion Takover on March 10 are on sale now from hdfst.uk/E85083

Main photo: Khali Ackford

Read next:

• Grove on sexuality, power and community
• Bristol24/7 Ashton Court Mansion Takeover
• Bristol24/7 Ashton Court Mansion announce special guest announced

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