Manchester Collective is the daring and disruptive arts organisation founded in 2016 by Rakhi Singh and Adam Szabo, challenging convention with fearless programmes of classical and contemporary music, fuelled by unexpected collaborations. A few months after their debut EP, they have released their first full-lenght called The Centre is Everywhere which is out now via Bedroom Communnity.

According to the press release, The new album is a statement of intent: a representation of Manchester Collective’s musical world featuring sensuous music for string orchestra, that takes the listener on a journey through wildly contrasting emotional states. Featuring the world premiere recording of Novello Award-nominated composer Edmund Finnis’ The Centre is Everywhere, alongside Arnold Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night and Philip Glass’ String Quartet No.2 Company, the music spans 120 years but adds up to one compelling listening experience – from drama and despair, to weightlessness and transcendence.

Producers Brendan Williams (Go Go Penguin, Dutch Uncles), Valgeir Sigurðsson (Björk, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Feist) and Manchester Collective’s Adam Szabo have utilised a number of unconventional recording and production techniques in the creation of this record. Unusually for a classical release, the album features dramatic changes in musical perspective throughout, resulting in a dynamic listening experience.

Finnis’ The Centre is Everywhere was commissioned by Manchester Collective in 2019 and will also form the centrepiece of the Collective’s forthcoming audio-visual experience, ‘Dark Days, Luminous Nights’, which will premiere at The White Hotel in Salford later this year.

Check the full streaming below.