In Pictures: What happens behind the stage?
Abel Selaocoe and Manchester Collective behind the scenes for The Oracle. Photo: Gaëlle Beri
Touring and performing is central to what Manchester Collective do. And yet for the first time we have pulled back the curtain, inviting tour photographer Gaëlle Beri to join our life-affirming show The Oracle. We hear from Gaëlle – who has worked with the likes of Nick Cave, Belle & Sebastian and Laura Marling – about her experience with the Collective and the behind-the-scenes shots that resonated most with her.
My name is Gaëlle. I’m originally from France, but moved to the UK when I was 20. Whilst I work as a music photographer taking portraits and shooting at concerts and festivals, what I enjoy most is going on tour. I’ve always been passionate about music. I first started writing and taking photos in the school paper during my studies, and after moving to London, I began to focus solely on photography.
Over the years, I started to pitch behind-the-scenes stories and through that covered a lot of festivals. My work has allowed me to travel overseas, but at times has also required me to juggle part-time jobs photographing, editing, sometimes writing… I have also worked in non-photographic jobs in the touring world too, and all these things eventually helped me build the portfolio I have today, where I can focus on photography.
I didn’t know anyone from Manchester Collective before I joined them on tour, which can be a little scary. But everyone was so friendly, and I got to know some familiar faces (even though most of the time when people were resting or going for drinks, I was often editing!)
In my photos, I look for nice moments of energy and interaction, both on and off stage. Sometimes, when the light is good it’s more about the composition, but generally I’m attracted to the energy of the performers and candid moments. My goal is for people to be able to see the performers’ personalities through the images. By the end you should feel like you know them.
There’s so much latent energy before a show, and a release afterwards. In the first photo, Abel (cello and guest director) is so happy, but there’s a sense that everyone is maybe a tiny bit stressed as they’re about to go on stage; and then I really like this last one, of Ruth (viola) and Rakhi (violin and music director) hugging straight after a show.
Some of the photos are quite intimate. These ones are like spying – looking in on Colin (cello) and Anna (violin) as they warm up. The backstage areas are sometimes small, so the musicians have to find quiet places to practise before they go on stage. I took the black and white one on the first day I joined Manchester Collective, when Abel was having a moment to himself. I snuck in, took the photo, and eventually he realised I was there. He said I was ‘like a cat’!
When the Collective rehearsed Abel’s own compositions, he would often step aside and listen back like he did here in The Bridgewater Hall. I thought that approach was quite interesting, where he separates himself from the group to feed back to them. He also gives so much energy – not only to the shows but to rehearsals too. The rehearsals were longer and more in-depth than what I’m used to with some bands on tour, who do just a quick sound check.
There’s so much contrast in these two photos from Nottingham. The first is amid the stalls at Lakeside Arts, and I would see Declan (general manager) working during rehearsal in little spots like this. In the background you can see Joe, the sound guy, and Bethany (assistant producer). I guess it can be hard to find somewhere to do laptop work behind the scenes at a concert, which is something I can relate to. Then in the other, the iPads weren’t working and everyone was making fun of Declan as he tried to fix them… It was one of those nice moments of interaction between the musicians and the broader team.
In The Oracle, the set is kind of split – one half feels more led by Abel and the other by Rakhi. In this image of Rakhi leading rehearsals, she was focussing on one of the string arrangements and trying to get some energy from the musicians. The other image feels like the opposite, alone practising on a new violin against the symmetrical backdrop of the Howard Assembly Room.
This final moment was just as the orchestra left the stage in Manchester, on my last night with the Collective. Colin had joined Abel in throat singing and Abel was congratulating him. It’s these moments of emotion that I look for.
See more of Gaëlle’s photography on her website and Instagram