Making a Sonic Wave

Posted on 12th September 2026

Sonic Wave evenings have been showcasing talented musicians at the Cut in Halesworth for some time now, but this was the first expedition for Françoise Lamy and Graham Daniels to Diss, with a contrasting double bill.  First up was Ríoghnach Connolly, accompanied on the keyboard by John Ellis. It’s hard to credit that only a few weeks ago, I stood in a field with thousands of other people at the Wilderness Festival, watching Connolly wow a huge crowd with her haunting flute playing and soulful singing. It was a magical afternoon, but judging by her raucous laughing I suspect she was equally at home in the intimate setting of the Corn Hall. Her song choices were drawn from all corners of the British Isles, from a soothing lullaby to the lively Bedlam Boys. Teasingly, she tried her best to be curmudgeonly, but instead filled the room with infectious joy.

Graham Daniels, trading as Addictive TV, has visited over thirty countries in search of indigenous instruments, and has recorded over three hundred musicians, each filmed improvising and then sampled. This creativity is repurposed by Daniels in live performances using MIDI controllers, samplers and laptops. He triggers loops, adjusts timings and remixes in real time. Synchronized with the visuals of the musicians, you’d think they were all playing together.

He was joined on stage by František Holčík on EWI and Alejandro de Valera on fretless guitar for the second half of the evening, alongside countless other musicians on screen, as the Orchestra of Samples. At one point, de Valera found himself accompanied by his younger self, captured years ago. After a number of exhilarating improvisations, the trio were joined by local singer-songwriter Ellis (no relation to the keyboardist), someone Daniels met at one of the Corn Hall’s open mic nights. He clearly has an eye for talent, as the song she performed was mesmerising. It was a shame we only got to hear one number. Perhaps next time. Further collaboration followed, as Ríoghnach Connolly and John Ellis returned to the stage to contribute to the final few numbers.

The inevitable encore followed. Fittingly, the audience joined the musicians on screen in handclapping, after which an evening that combined technical wizardry with superb musicianship from all over the world finally came to a close. The rousing endorsement from the audience was proof that this is exactly what we should see more of at the Corn Hall. I look forward to the speedy return of Sonic Wave.