Geoff Kirkwood

Geoff Kirkwood is an artist who uses music to explore his identity as a working-class man from the North East of England.

For the last decade Geoff has been touring the world as the DJ and dance music producer Man Power and in February 2020 he released his debut album Billy Mill Is Dead under the alias Bed Wetter.

As one of Sage Gateshead’s Artists in Residence 2020, Geoff is supported by the institution in his plans to fuse electronic music with orchestral accompaniment from the Royal Northern SinfoniaFor this work Geoff will integrate a combination of industrial field recordings, community interviews and archive material, to create an ambitious performance piece which allows him to further connect with and celebrate his region and its people.

With the support of the Live Work Fund, Geoff intends to utilise the support, guidance and mentoring to create a sustainable practice as an artist. The Live Work Fund will enable him to explore and experiment ways to use his voice to tell the story of his region, encourage participation from groups which are traditionally underrepresented in the arts and develop his practice through creating experimental performances and installations.

Geoffrey Kirkwood, Man Power, image credit: Eleanor Weitzer