The Irrepressibles

"Flamboyant", "fantastical" and "unfathomable", composer and artist Jamie McDermott leads a 10-piece orchestra of artist-musicians set to unravel hearts and unpick preconceptions - open your eyes and ears to the enchanting world of The Irrepressibles.

Since their invention by singer Jamie McDermott in 2002, The Irrepressibles have caused the worlds of classical orchestration, couture fashion and sonic experimentation to collide. With incredible tales of his journey, each piece reaches a state of playful abandon or intense emotion.

With this passion and visual flair The Irrepressibles place an emphasis on creating spectacle. From bespoke installations at the V&A, the National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Roundhouse, to media grabbing spectacles at leading European Festivals such as Britain’s award winning Latitude Festival (2007, 2008, 2009) The Irrepressibles continue to collaborate with international artists to create astonishingly unique live performances.

Using real-time collaboration with sound artists, film, makeup artists, avant-garde costume, set and dance, the collective invent extraordinary worlds for their music to inhabit. Their 'performance art pop' has been compared to artists such as Laurie Anderson, Sparks, Goldfrapp, early Bowie and CocoRosie.

Though this is where the comparison ends. The Irrepressibles' sound is like nothing heard or even imagined before. Jamie McDermott's "superhuman" vocal range soars above intricate polyphonic arrangements. His voice kaleidoscopically mixes jazz 'crooner', counter-tenor and glass-shattering soprano. Songs slide effortlessly through Gershwin-styled verses, samba-riddled bridges to end in baroque ornamentation. The resulting sound is a perfectly androgynous musical style, but one pivoted in real stories of metropolitan life and uncompromising passion.