Giles Terera, the Olivier Award-winning West End star of Hamilton, performs the world premiere of Black Matter, a new song cycle composed while he observed life on the changing streets of London’s Soho over a tumultuous summer in lockdown.
A solo concert with Giles accompanying himself on guitar and piano, Black Matter was recorded with multiple cameras and will be streamed globally on demand from March 24 – 31.
Giles, who won the Best Actor in a Musical Olivier as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, said: “I live in Soho, London. I was there throughout last summer. I saw Soho shift from deserted tranquillity, where the only sounds were birds and church bells to the noise and heat of demands for social justice and civil unrest. I saw couples and families sneaking bike rides and I saw violence – protests and peacemakers, homelessness and empty properties. People helping each other and people hurting each other. I saw confusion and hope and strength. I found myself taking my guitar and writing about what I was seeing and feeling and thinking. My aim was to respond immediately to what I was  experiencing. How do we communicate in this atmosphere? How do we find love and balance and strength?”
Filmed during lockdown at Soho’s Crazy Coqs with multiple cameras, with Giles accompanying himself on guitar and piano, these are songs of protest and joy and anger and love.
Drawing on Giles’ eclectic musical influences, Black Matter comprises of 12 new songs – ballads, jazz, blues, funk and groove – brought mesmerisingly to life.
