South Bank Centre, London, 1-3 June 2001

"International in its sweep, uncompromising in its substance" (Time Out), the London Musician's Collective (LMC) Festival brings together diverse acts from across the world of the avant-garde.

The first of six Women in Music Commission Fund awards (£7,000) supported the LMC's 2001 Annual Festival of Experimental Music - which had an all woman bill.

The acts for the festival were chosen because they are all great performers," said Ed Baxter, the LMC's Project Co-ordinator. "We believe there is no shortage of brilliant female performers in the Avant Garde realm, but programmers are still myopic rather than visionary. I recently noticed that one festival in Berlin, now in its 30th year, didn't have any women performers at all."

Debbie Golt of Women in Music said: "Women is Music is very pleased we could support LMC's festival which sought to redress the balance whereby women performers in the experimental field have been marginalised."

The Festival was held in the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London SE1. Programe details were as follows (tbc):

Friday 1 June
Eliane Radigue
Apache 61
Ana-Maria Avram & Luminita Fara
Miya Masaoka & Susie Ibarra
This concert featured the UK debut of Eliane Radigue, one of the pioneers in the development of musique concrete and synthesised music; plus new electronics from the phenomenal Apache 61 (see picture p.3); Romania's most radical contemporary composer, pianist Ana-Marie Avram; and amazing performance artist Miya Masaoka with American free-jazz drummer Susie Ibarra.

Saturday 2 June
Ikue Mori
Diane Labrosse Proverbs group
Susan Alcorn
People Like Us
A rare performance by Ikue Mori, "no wave" drummer and pioneer of electronic percussion in New Yorks's downtown scene. Ed Baxter again: "Ikue Mori is quite simply one of the key figures in the development of electronic music and yet is overlooked by the mainstream music scene." Plus the UK debut of "deep listening" pedal-steel guitarist Susan Alcorn; a new ensemble work by Quebec's sampling composer Diane Labrosse; and plunderphonia from People Like Us.

Sunday 3 June
Marilyn Crispell
Hug, Neumann, Kraabel, Krebs
Gail Brand
Blechtum from Blechdom
Pianist Marilyn Crispell is one of the leading lights of cutting-edge free-jazz; plus the international quartet of
Charlotte Hug (viola), Caroline Kraabel (saxophone), Annette Krebs (prepared guitar) and Andrea Neumann (destroyed piano); improvising trombonist Gail Brand; and madcap electronica from California's Blechtum.

The festival was also supported by The Wire.