NEW ALBUM RELEASE – Galya Bisengalieva’s ‘Polygon’
30 October 2023
What has your journey been like on the road to Glastonbury? How does it feel to be performing at one of the most infamous festivals of all time?
My journey has been a fun one, full of exciting performances, collaborations and lots of trial and error along the way. I started playing the violin when I was four years old, born and raised between Barcelona and Switzerland by bilingual parents; At 18 I moved to London to train as a classical violinist at the Royal Academy of Music. The first time I played Glastonbury, I was still a student and a member of a klezmer, d&b band and we played an afternoon slot at The Green Fields. I don’t think I really understood the magnitude of this festival back then! A few years later I played The Park Stage with elbow, as one of their touring violinists. Two years ago I played The Other Stage with Fontaines DC, after arranging three of their songs for string quartet! I thought that was the highlight of my Glasto journey – until finally, this year, I get to perform under my own name and bring my fully immersive audio visual show to the Tree stage. It’s a totally different experience, and it feels pretty amazing to be honest.
Your third and most recent album ‘Cavaglia’ is described as reflecting the ‘pristine Swiss valley’ on your website. Do you perhaps have a song in mind that could describe the chaotic landscape of Glastonbury?
Haha, possibly the song Diavolezza could relate to the Glasto chaos – however, I think my album Cavaglia, which is seeped in alpine field recordings will work perfectly in harmony with the Woodsies Area, bringing this mountain landscape to the gorgeous old British Oak and Beech Forests of Somerset.
In your mix from Classical to Electronica, what can we expect to see from your set at Glastonbury? Will it be a carefully curated list, or can we expect a few pieces of improvisation?
Both actually: It will be a carefully curated list from my album Cavaglia, with two fully improvised sections and links in between the written music. I really like taking the listeners on a journey with a laid out path, including surprises and new additions along the way. I love the fact that a live performance is different every time.
With so many incredible gifts as an instrumentalist, which instruments will you be bringing with you to Glastonbury?
I usually tour with my violin, which I use together with my fx pedal board, midi pedal and my voice. I do love to perform the Octave Viola live, because it has a gorgeous deep sound and I used it quite extensively last year, when I was performing with Bat For Lashes. The only downside of festivals is that there is usually barely time for sound check and limited set up time, so simplicity is key!
Many argue festivals are a great place to experiment with new music. If you were intending to move in a different direction with your music, what is a genre, idea, or thread that you might like to follow with your music?
I’m writing my next album at the moment, and I think I’ll possibly explore the more electronic side going forward, as well as start experimenting with writing lyrics. This is a big step for me..and in a way it is a totally new idea to my fully instrumental/choral music so far. Aside from my solo project, I have already written a few pop songs with my psychedelic indie rock band, TTRRUUCES and would like to do more of that too. I also love writing and arranging string parts, which I’ve done for Fontaines DC, Grian Chatten’s last album, as well as the upcoming Sorry album. That type of work really inspires me and opens my eyes to different influences. Who knows what the future will bring!
As a violinist, you may be aware that there has been a recent fascination in bringing classical composers into modern rave remixes on social media. If you have or haven’t come across them, what are your thoughts on the idea? And do you think it would be interesting to see a whole stage of Glastonbury dedicated to classical-rave in the future?
I’ve not actually come across them on social media, but I think contemporary festivals are programming classical acts more and more, and there seems to be a shift where the ‘contemporary classica/cinemaitc/ ambient’ genre acts as a bridge between more traditional classical music and contemporary music. Hell yes, I’d love to see Glastonbury dedicate a whole stage to classical raving in the future 🙂