Bant Magazine - Le Guess Who? 2017 Special

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LE GUESS WHO? SPECIAL ISSUE nov ember 2 017

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bant mag. LE GUESS WHO? special issue November 2017 cover by Furkan 'Nuka' Birgün

for the LGW? content online: bantmag.com/eng/lgw bantmag.com/eng

Bant Mag., based in Istanbul, is an independent magazine that has been bringing together new and exciting tendencies about music, film, arts and culture since 2004. Starting from the first day of its existence, Bant has been aiming to present alternative movements and subcultures both in its hometown and around the world, and chasing after young talented artists to take them along the way, and together, destroy the geographical boundaries in the world of art and culture.

This year Bant Mag. is one of the media partners of Le Guess Who?, and this is the Bant Mag. LGW? special issue you are holding. You will find a selected coverage on the brilliant program of the festival’s 2017 edition and the ravishing atmosphere that had been fascinating us for a long time.

publishers Aylin Güngör aylin@bantmag.com J. Hakan Dedeoğlu jhd@bantmag.com

editor in chief Ekin Sanaç ekin@bantmag.com

art director Aylin Güngör aylin@bantmag.com editors Sadi Güran / illustration sadi@bantmag.com Cem Kayıran / music & web cem@bantmag.com

Yetkin Nural / art & culture yetkin@bantmag.com

Busen Dostgül / web busen@bantmag.com

Melikşah Altuntaş / movies meliksah@bantmag.com Doruk Yurdesin / redaction doruk@bantmag.com

advertisement & marketing Yetkin Nural yetkin@bantmag.com

contributors Tolga Tarhan, Haluk Damar, Berkay Dağlar, Leyla Aksu, Erinç Güzel, Deniz Pasha, Sedat Girgin, Naz Tansel, Furkan Nuka Birgün, Ethem Onur Bilgiç, Burak Dak

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Kadife Sokak No: 26/A Kadıköy - Caferağa 34710 İstanbul / Turkey

ReImagIned Archetypes vIsIt Le Guess Who? 2017

The Black Power Tarot IntervIew by Yetkin Nural

A chat wIth KIng Khan, whose Black Power Tarot project wIll be exhIbIted at Le Guess Who?, on tarot, InspIratIons behInd the unIque set and workIng wIth MIchael James Eaton and Alejandro Jodorowsky.

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---------------------------------------------------------------“I feel that music was a form of illumination as well as an Empowerment. The musicians I chose reached beyond their limits, because music brought them to a higher plane.”

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Back in 2015, musician, producer, writer and artist Arish Ahmad Khan (aka King Khan) has created The Black Power Tarot together with Game of Thrones designer Michael James Eaton under the spiritual guidance of legendary surrealist filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowksy.

The project was about re-imagining the tarot archetypes, that are mostly represented through white figures, with iconic figures from African American history; mostly musicians but also magicians, comedians, authors and activists, who were chosen by Khan, created

by Eaton and approved by Jodorowsky.

During Le Guess Who? 2017 edition, The Black Power Tarot cards will be exhibited in maximum scale and King Khan will be doing readings for the festival visitors. We asked King Khan to recall the process of making the cards and here is what he had to say.

Can you tell us a bit about how you got interested in tarot cards and readings?

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In 2002, I met Sophie Crumb at a small music festival down in the south of France and asked her if she had ever met Jodorowsky. She told me she had been to one of his tarot readings in Paris.

That same day I was asked to be a part of an art show in Berlin and I told them that I wished to read tarot, even though I had no clue how to read them. So a few weeks later I showed up at the art exposition, borrowed a deck of Aleistar Crowley cards in German and made up a way to read them. Strangely enough, many people said that I was very good at reading them and it was where my obsession began.

Do you have a favorite card (or cards)? If there are, can you tell us their general interpretation?

I love the hanged man, because it is often the most feared and misinterpreted card. The hanged man in the card has purposely decided to hang upside down, so he may see the world in a completely different way than everyone else. He is also not concerned with winning or losing; he cares more about simply hanging and swaying in the wind. The card represents a

divine kind of meditation, which I find to be very powerful.

I know that The Invaders documentary about civil rights movement played an important role in the The Black Power Tarot.

How did the documentary affect you? Can you tell us your motivations and inspirations for creating the set?

I was immersed in watching all this amazing footage from Memphis, mostly a lot of which I had never seen before, lots of images and shots from the burial of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was all very powerful and one night I had a dream where I met Alejandro Jodorowsky in a strange office building and every time I approached him I would be interrupted by different women, until finally I approached him and he looked at me and asked, “Show me a card that is weird”. I gave him a puzzled look and then reached into my pocket and pulled out a very strange looking card, we both stared at it and then agreed that is was weird.

Then he insisted on falling asleep and curled up into my arms and fell asleep on my lap. When I woke up I felt

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the image, because the card shows a woman who is letting her animal speak from inside, as well as taking a risk by sticking her head in its mouth.

So we changed Ike into the Lion of Judah.

Another time Jodo misunderstood and thought I put myself in the cards as the world, he told me that my ego was too big and that I couldn’t put myself in the cards, and then I told him that it wasn’t me in the world card. It was Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the greatest gospel singers and guitarists in the world, and then he approved it.

I knew I had to make a new deck of tarot, inspired by the Marseilles deck, the path of illumination and black power.

Then how did A. Jodorowsky and M.J. Eaton get involved? What was the collaboration between you like?

I began finding the right people to represent each of the archetypes, after a year of really trying to figure out who belonged where, I was approached by Michael Eaton, an Irish artist, who wanted to collaborate with me. He sent me some of his work for the Game of Thrones, where he made some mystical maps and dragon paintings and it suddenly hit me that I had found my spiritual warrior to make the black power tarot with.

When Michael would finish up the cards, I sent each drawing to Jodorowsky to be approved by him. Jodo loved the idea and gave us his blessings. We were both very BANT MAG. BANT MAG.

honored to be considered his spiritual warriors.

How did you match the cards with the names?

Any cards that proved challenging?

It proved challenging because Jodo insisted that I do everything without my ego, so I chose the right people for the cards based on what they did and not my love for them. The people were all chosen because I felt that they followed a true path of enlightenment at a time where African Americans were treated so inhumanely by society. These people broke through and achieved a true understanding of the world where they were punished simply for being black.

19 out of 22 cards show musicians. Was there a specific reasoning on your part to pick the names heavily from musicians and not from other figures, that were significant in the civil rights struggle?

I feel that music was a form of illumination as well as an Empowerment. The musicians I chose reached beyond their limits, because music brought them to a higher plane.

What else are you working on lately? Any upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?

I have just started my own record label called Khannibalism. I have released three LPs and three singles on it thus far. I am very proud of the William S. Burroughs Are there any names that album I co-produced with were left out just because of Hal Willner called Let Me the limited number of cards? Hang You, as well as my No, but some cards I had to own new solo record called change quite a bit, like the first Murderburgers and my card of Strength featured Tina seventeen year-old daughter Turner holding Ike Turners Saba Lou’s first album entitled head open. Jodo immediately Planet Enigma. said that it must be a lion in

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Track by track

Jane Weaver’s “Modern Kosmology” IntervIew by Ekin Sanaç – IllustratIon by Ethem Onur Bilgiç

Jane Weaver has struck masses wIth admIratIon wIth her latest Modern Kosmology released earlIer thIs year vIa FIre Records. We asked Weaver 10 questIons, dIrectly Influenced by each track on the psyche-pop struck record.

Jane Weaver performs at Le Guess Who? on Sunday, 12 November, together with Perfume Genius, Juliana Barwick, Linda Sharrock, Sun Ra Arkestra, Black Lips, Yves Tumor and many more.

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“H_A_K” How did you discover Hilma Af Klint’s work? What hit you in her story most in the beginning? And how did the opening track of the album get to be named after her?

I saw an exhibition at The Tate in Liverpool about feminist avant-garde art and then while continuing and exploring certain artists, I came across Hilma’s art. Her story really captivated me, she used seances and spiritualism to channel energy for her work. I was at a creative crossroads myself and looking at her process helped open my mind really, not that I tried to replicate or have seances, but I tried to draw upon things like the energy of nature, the magnetism of the sea, etc. It also helped me visualise songs, so “H>A>K” is dedicated to her. As soon as I started on the Mini Moog, I knew it was the opening track.

“Did you see butterflies?”

What happens when the destination is the sun?

I’ve been trying to find another Map, to this love, where the destinations still intact, to the sun.

Ah, the question of Love, we get lost now and again, we gravitate towards the energy of the sun and are drawn in like magnets but then we are burnt… We’re all fragile.

“Modern Kosmology” Can you describe the setting, the moment or the feeling when the “life changing” decision to pick “Modern Kosmology” as the title for the record and this song hit you?

We bought a Philicorda organ from a charity shop and this was the first song I wrote on it.

It has a nice heavy tone to it, I wrote the vocal melody pretty quickly, I was reading about astronomy, but imagining myself as a warrior.

In battle, but drawing energy and power from other sources. Maybe I’m subconsciously taking from the film Highlander? I wanted the title to sound like a society or a school of study. It was natural that it was the track.

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“Slow Motion” If there were a place you went to when you disappeared from the public eye, where would it be? How would it be?

Wales or France, maybe both. I need a view though, a studio and lots of animals to look at. Every artist wants a creative space to work in, to be surrounded by keyboards and paint. I like simplicity, I try not to use my phone so much. Sometimes it’s good to not panic and enjoy feeling unconnected, maybe I’m nostalgic about the past.

“Loops In The Secret Society” What does it take to be a member of this secret society and what activities and actions are they into?

Hilma Af Klint’s secret society was a group of five women artists ‘de fem’ who would meet. Their work would have been deemed as unusual for the time, as it wasn’t traditional. They were redefining art and creating their own secret movement inspired by mysticism and new science. How wonderful to be part of such a group.

Seances, communicating with a higher being or a spirit guide were very popular in the 1900’s. Hilma received messages and codes and used them in her work. She then neatly documented these symbols recording them in books.

“The Architect” Can you describe the perfect environment you would want to perform this track to the crowd (other than a venue)? It can be a fictional space or a memory you visit back in time.

An abandoned futuristic Japanese theme park from the 1980’s would be ideal. The now dystopian backdrop of a once happy place echoing with the ghosts of children laughter, now covered in vines and fog… Perfect.

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“The Lightning Back” What is the one thing that made you feel like you cross to a new dimension in life lately?

I accidentally mixed travel sickness pills (the instructions were in French) and red wine recently whilst on a boat journey. It certainly felt like a different dimension, one where your legs feel like they can’t feel the stairs and my head was all fuzzy wuzzy. The next day I felt really clear minded like I’d achieved something. So maybe I did actually go somewhere? (Don’t try this at home.)

“Valley” If you were to perform this song with someone, who would you invite? What would they do? Can be anybody from now or history.

Serge Gainsbourg narrating the verses and strings by Jean Claude Vannier, in fact all the session musicians and choir from L’histoire de Melody Nelson and of course Jane B and Jane Wea. “Ravenspoint” You have described “Ravenspoint” as a road you used to go to in Angelsey, when you were a child and that there was a haunted house there. Can you describe your memories and phantasies about this haunted house a little? What did you imagine to be in there? Or have you ever tried to get in?

I tried to get in last year but there was a film crew there and security, so I had to just sit in the cove by the house and pretend I had my own private beach. That particular house is so dramatic looking against the backdrop of the sunset, the bricks look almost black. When I was younger, there was no way I’d ever walk past it. It felt like something from Hammer House of Horror. Next time I go back, I’m going to definitely get in somehow. The house seems occupied now, so I might have to work my charm.

“I Wish” Do you have any superstitions? Do you have any rituals in terms of making a wish?

I am superstitious, I salute Magpies and stuff, and I count them too. I like doing it. I went camping in France recently. At night the sky was so clear, I saw a shooting star and made a wish. Superstitions are such strong things in folklore etc. When you consider the Pendle witch trials in 1612 in the UK, if you read about it, it’s incredibly sad. A lot of women sadly murdered unnecessarily because of the hysteria of superstition.

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Sounds of rapturous tensIon

Ben Frost

Fresh off hIs latest album for Mute Records, The Centre Cannot Hold, we’re takIng a look at some of the artIst’s countless works and projects before he takes THE stage AT Le Guess Who?.

Text by Leyla Aksu – IllustratIon by Berkay Dağlar

Flooding listeners with intricate and engulfing minimalist electronic constructions of sound space, Australian composer and producer Ben Frost has been captivating with amorphous experimentations since his debut release in 2001. Now based out of Rejkjavik, Frost has continuously participated in collaborations and partnerships across various disciplines of art, weaving his sounds into the worlds of photography, dance, television, film, and opera, with provocative and disruptively visceral projects. Fresh off his latest album for Mute Records, The Centre Cannot Hold, we’re taking a look at some of the artist’s countless works and projects before he takes the stage at Le Guess Who?.

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• Coming to music from a visual arts background, Frost shared his first EP, Music for Sad Children, back in 2001.

With his instrumental takes, equal parts industrial, ambient, and classical, initially more traditional in structure yet marked by his signature sonic tension, Frost then relocated his creative home to Iceland.

• Frost’s evolving aural experiences, each with its own accompanying visual palette, came to greater attention with 2006’s Theory of Machines, followed by 2009’s widely acclaimed and snarling By the Throat, displaying a shifting balance between the synthetic and organic with each subsequent release.

• He has collaborated with a wide array of diverse musicians to date, including Nico Muhly, Thor Harris, Tim Hecker, Colin Stetson, Greg Fox, and Shahzad Ismaily. Taking part in a most fitting and intriguing pairing in 2010, Frost also embarked upon a yearlong mentorship and inspirational partnership with legendary artist Brian Eno. • Commissioned by Unsound Festival, also in 2010, Frost then got together with Daníel Bjarnason, a fellow artist from the Icelandic music collective Bedroom Community, to create the audio-visual experience SÓLARIS. Taking a morphed, adaptive, and internal approach to the Stanislaw Lem and Andrei Tarkovsky classic, their new soundtrack was accompanied by the Sinfonietta Cracovia, as well as tampered visuals by Brian Eno and Nick Robinson.

• Over the years, Frost has created work for pieces

performed by the Icelandic Dance Company, Chunky Move, and for choreographer Wayne McGregor, his soundscapes melting into movement and experimental multimedia experiences, such as with FAR and Black Marrow.

• A couple of Frost’s other regular visual collaborators now include photographer Richard Mosse and cinematographer Trevor Tweeten. Travelling together to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the striking video installation The Enclave (2013), Frost’s captured and manipulated sounds bleed over startling images utilizing jarring infrared film stock, a technology initially developed for military use. The trio would come together again the following year, embedded on a US aircraft carrier for the Channel 4 documentary Bombing Isis.

• Frost also resultantly started working on his follow-up album, 2013’s A U R O R A throughout. Marking a distinct shift in sound, with a new set of influences ranging from biology, astronomy, alchemy, and the synthetic visual designators and bioluminescent color palettes of raves, jelly fish, and data visualization, Frost’s audial offensive on dance music was followed by a release of his “V A R I A N T” EP of remixes.

• Making his first foray into stage direction that same year by adapting and inverting Iain Banks’ first-person horror novel The Wasp Factory, Frost wrote and staged the original opera with librettist David Pountney. Accompanied

by Reykjavík Sinfonia and

released as a recording in 2016, the project again brought on one of his collaborators, this time, fashion designer Boris Bidjan Saberi.

• Over the years, Frost’s sounds have also made their way over, expanding into world of television and film, as he scored 2011’s independent Australian feature Sleeping Beauty, and more recently the foreboding soundtrack’s of Iceland’s The Deep, and the UK television series “Fortitude.”

In 2017, Frost also lent his hand to the soundtrack for the newly released feature film, Super Dark Times.

• This year has also seen Frost partnering with Richard Mosse and Trevor Tweeten once again, this time for the engulfing and monochrome video installation Incoming. Utilizing thermal military surveillance technology, Incoming, shot across Libya, Syria, the Sahara, and the Persian Gulf, enters the ongoing refugee crisis, capturing a disorienting and harrowing view of reality.

• Finally, given a glimpse of his work to come with the “Threshold of Faith” EP and an introductory video doused in luminescent blue earlier this year, Frost recently released his fifth full-length The Centre Cannot Hold. An unsettling, expanding creation soaked in building tension, the album was recorded with producer Steve Albini in Chicago over the course of ten days.

Ben Frost performs at Le Guess Who? on Saturday, 11 November, together with Pharoah Sanders, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, John Maus, Shabazz Palaces, Moon Duo, Avey Tare and many more.

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The tunnel from French art rock to ArabIc synth pop

Ahmed Fakroun

Text by Haluk Damar – IllustratIon by Berkay Dağlar – Translated by Ekin Sanaç

It’s very easy to perceive a rhythm in the eastern part of the world. Because the rhythm in this geography is more of a concrete expression of people’s lives, rather than a background music. Ahmed Fakroun is undoubtedly the one special proof of this privilege. As much as he has absorbed the culture of his native land Libya, he never gave up pursuing his dreams and desires. While Fakroun has never backed down from being himself throughout this journey, his music always managed to keep pace with the rhythm of his dreams and lead him to a career as extensive as his influences. He has created the funk wonders Awedny and Nisyan, recorded with UK’s respectable producer Tommy Vance, got admired by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who has worked with a number of impressive names such as Madonna and David Bowie and famously and deservingly become globally known as the “Talking Heads of the Arabic world”.

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It goes without saying that Fakroun, whose discography has been rediscovered in the early 2000’s especially by the Balearic music collectors, started his first band in 1970 in Benghazi. Even before he became globally active, his main source of inspiration was his passion for different instruments. Among his different musical eras, the most notable is the French art rock years. And the most important aspect of his creation is that he never stuck to a specific genre. His music, embracing funk, disco, pop and synth, is best defined with the creativity and freedom coming from his affection for the French art rock. So wouldn’t you be considered an avant-garde if you kept holding on to such freedom?

Ahmed Fakroun is very good at internalizing this aspect of funk and carrying it everywhere he might travel within his career.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to evaluate songs with such different melodic structures on a musical scale.

His curiosity for various cultures, from disco to rock, from Paris to Cairo, and chasing their legacy comes from his passion to explore new ways of expression. As for today, both record collectors and the usual suspects of the dance floor are passionate about exploring his legacy. The way he sang in four different languages on Mots D’Amor’s “Love Words”, still admirable progressive and avant-garde style he created with his 1983 worldwide success I believe the track Fakroun “Soleil Soleil” and 1977 released released in 1977 named “Nojoum “Nisyan” being approved as a Al Layl” is the perfect test piece Balearic masterpiece are the first to answer this question. The song to come into mind when looked starts with James Brown-esque into the musician’s legacy. funk vocals, following a simple --------------------reggae rhythm. Later on, the percussions take control over “When I look to my the song, carrying this simple press book, I found rhythm to a cutting funk piece. the artIcles stopped In As Fakroun stops singing and 1986.” – AHMED FAKROUN the African patterned guitar solo, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - almost as hard as Zamrock comes in, the funk fever flares up. Wind It may come as a surprise instruments blow on the fire and that Ahmed Fakroun’s music is still being remembered the song changes rhythm for the today, considering the massive third time, becoming a timeless transformation music technology funk ballad. underwent in the early 2000’s.

Just like in this example, Fakroun When America bombed Libya in 1986, Fakroun lost connection is very successful at expressing with the western part of the emotional shifts within a song world. And with the efforts to and thus has the luxury to visit simplify music consumption many genres with his music. through technology coming on From time to time, funk can top of that, Fakroun was left in be overwhelmed by trends and the dark for good over twenty sometimes it can become a tool years. Moreover, during this to dignify a musician’s persona. period, the world discovered But there is one thing that will the genre “rai” –Fakroun being never die down in funk, and one of its pioneers– and didn’t that is the spiritual aspect at the even remember his name. core of its creation. I believe This is a rather familiar and

ordinary “end” for the eastern part of the world, but Fakroun’s cultural inspiration palette spreads on such a large scale that it was a matter of time for someone to remember him.

As always, a nameless hero of the underground (a record collector) took on this task.

Prince Language, a DJ based in New York, reminded the world of Fakroun’s global hit “Soleil Soleil” from 1983. Today, reissues of Fakroun’s records quickly sell out and he continues to appear on various stages in the world.

-------------------“Thanks to those DJs from all over the world, playIng and re-edItIng and refreshIng those tracks… I was very happy that these tracks are still alive in people’s minds.” – Ahmed Fakroun --------------------Ahmed Fakroun essentially presents an underground story.

The story of an artist, who refused to be bound to one culture and went after exploring new ones, and how this artist’s legacy got attributed back to him.

Fakroun and like-minded souls still create music they like, free from cultural boundaries and under difficult circumstances.

And their worst enemies are those, who are stuck in the cultural identity imposed upon them, and who have set their cultural boundaries within that “safe” zone.

Ahmed Fakroun feat. Altın Gün performs at Le Guess Who? on Thursday, 9 November, together with Thurston Moore & Han Bennink, Jerusalem in My Heart, Sun Kil Moon and many more.

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JERUSALEM IN MY heART

THE STATEMENT BEING MADE WITH THE CURATION Radwan GhazI Moumneh tells the lodestar detaIls and InterestIng storIes behInd the Jerusalem In My Heart curated program at Le Guess Who?.

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Through its expanding journey, Le Guess Who? has invited lots of creative musicians to curate the festival lineup with them. This year, festival includes special programs curated by Shabazz Palaces, Perfume Genius, James Holden, Grouper, Han Bennink and Jerusalem In My Heart.

Montreal based musician and producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh has a unique musical understanding and a relation with sounds. He has performed in the festival over the last few years with his breathtaking audio-visual experience Jerusalem In My Heart. And this year, he’s among the brains that put together this exciting lineup. Here you can find the lodestar details and interesting stories behind the curation by Jerusalem In My Heart, as written by Jerusalem In My Heart.

Text by Radwan GhazI Moumneh

Music is my everything. It has the power to make, the power to break, the power change and the power to destroy, it has the power to inspire and the power to dishearten, and it has the power to empower, and the power to, well just that, empower.

When Le Guess Who? approached me regarding the co-curation of the 2017 edition of the festival, I was overwhelmed, to say the least.

I am a working musician, and tour quite a bit, and have so for the past 15-20 years or so and am constantly at festivals, be they programmed or curated. Naturally I always have an opinion of my experience and a subjective impression of the programming. It is not something I take lightly, as I feel there is such a huge statement being made in the choice of any given selection.

I felt like for myself, I wanted my statement to be one that can touch on many aspects of what troubles me in what I see of the world. I don’t want to over intellectualize this in any way, but want to be truly honest with myself as to why I asked these artists to perform under my invitation.

Alanis Obomsawin and Linda Sharrock hold a truly special place in my heart. They both represent women who have dedicated their careers to their task(s) and have, a very long time ago, attained a level of ‘completion’ in their work that simply makes me feel like I need to be working so much harder at honing my BANT MAG.

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art than I am. They both are women, who were born and lived in what is an undeniably hostile environment that simply put, hated them for ‘what’ they are. Their identities and the politics that come with that were only compounded with the fact that they both are women, artists, strong, vocal and fucking talented.

Achievers. Do-ers. Not artists who will back down from a fight over their work. I just raised a glass of champagne with Alanis Obomsawin at her home to celebrate her 85th birthday, on the eve of the release of her 50th, yes 50th film.

Alanis Obomsawin represents the voice of the voiceless, an Abenaki artist whose work is so crucial in shedding a light on the plight of the Aboriginal population of Canada, and the United States. Her work is made with nothing short of pure love, heart and a generosity that extends so far and wide. She is one of the most inspiring people I have the fortune to meet, and I am over the moon that she agreed to revisit her 80’s masterpiece of an album, Bush Lady, at this year’s edition of the festival.

She has abandoned public performance for a long time, focusing her energy on her unbelievable film career. It is a huge moment for myself that this is happening and that I have been put in charge of assembling and directing her BANT MAG.

band, but this is nothing out of the ordinary for a woman who is used to moving mountains.

This show will be a rare opportunity. Not to be missed.

My relationship to Linda Sharrock is one of a massive fan. I, like most people, discovered her on the mind altering albums Black Woman and Paradise, both made with her late husband. My first listening experience with both of these albums was a real revelation, and an immediate ‘fall in love’ sentiment with a voice that said so much while saying no words. I was instantly drawn to her, and have followed her career since. I want to make clear that her performing is not a nostalgia trip of the past or an obsession with 60’s revivalist culture. Linda has been steadily recording and performing since then and has continuously released albums that continue to inspire and impress me, right up to her last album, the pummeling, now sold out, triple vinyl album (In) The Abyssity Of The Grounds Gods, released in 2016. Her forward vision is a big inspiration and I selfishly am so elated that I will get to meet her.

Moor Mother’s music was a mystery to me despite having preordered her 2016 Fetish Bones LP before hearing a note of it. I was drawn to Camae’s

online short videos she’d post and the audio and spoken word that accompanied these short vignettes, so much so that I bought the LP without knowing anything about it/her.

The album really caught my attention, but it wasn’t until I experienced her live that I truly was moved. A show that is so visceral and emotional, that one cannot help but feel the valleys and mountains of feelings that she asks of you to feel during her performance.

Absolutely beautiful.

Matana Roberts shares her deep emotional space with her performances. Her Coin Coin series of albums is a very engaging sonic voyage that touches many emotions for me. But, it’s not until you experience a Matana Roberts live performance that you fully understand the propositions this person is putting forth to her audience. She is a very special performer.

Although from two very different worlds, Klein and Dedekind Cut share to me an electronic sample based aesthetic. Klein’s mesmerizing album Only from 2016 was a really curious gem for me. I am not even sure how I have that record, but it was clearly meant for me to hear it, as I was taken in from the moment I listened to it. Really excited about what is to come from her next.

Dedekind Cut’s $uccessor LP from 2016 is another standout from last year. Fred Warmsley’s music has been on my radar for a little while now and he consistently has been releasing really great records.

His American Zen EP from this year is an engaging semiminimalist electronic opus. I haven’t seen him perform live, so I’m quiet excited.

grammatically odd, but the artwork and layout were so odd, that I decided to buy it. I was needless to say quite impressed by the album. She has a commanding voice backed by a band with many an electronic instruments.

The album was a real oddball mix of elements and my ears were confused, but quite impressed. She has released many albums since, and The inclusion of Abdel has focused the craft on the Karim Shaar, Farida magnificent and glorious Mohammad Ali, Nadah repertoire of Iraqi maqam, El Shazly and Toukadime and her live performance highlights different aspects of is one that is mesmerizing, contemporary Arabic musical alongside her very talented culture and its inclusion in Le band. Farida Mohammad Guess Who? is one that makes Ali has established herself me very proud. All four artists as a voice bridging an old come from very different tradition to a new audience. backgrounds and countries, and all couldn’t be more Nadah El Shazly is an different in their practice and Egyptian artist based out of art. Abdel Karim Shaar has Cairo. Her debut album just been an icon of the Lebanese came out in September of this music scene for a few decades, year, and she to me is a voice and his dedication to the of a new generation of Arab classic oriental tarab form is artists daring to step outside undeniable. His charisma on the boundaries of the norm to stage and heartfelt delivery present a ‘new’ Arabic music. touches me every single Her vocal stylization and time that I have seen him technique blew me away the perform. He has mastered the first time I saw her perform, art of taking an audience on and she continues to push the a beautiful and memorable envelope in my opinion. journey. The cherry on the cake is that he will be joined My obsession with by his incredibly talented Toukadime’s podcast dates daughter, Ranine Shaar to a few years back. I would singing along his side at his religiously NOT listen to their performance. Another must at episodes in order to save them the festival. Be prepared for for my tours, as their podcast the journey! meant that I could spend a lot of time on the road listening, I bought a Farida CD learning and analyzing the (remember those tings?) at music that Krimau & Bachir a second hand music shop play. Their dedication to 45’s 12 years ago. The CD had from North Africa is so vast, the picture of a woman on and their playlists span hours the cover, and it was simply of simply mind blowing hits titled Mawal & Maqamat from the Arab world. I am so Iraqi. Not only was the title happy that they will DJ at the

festival, and hard to imagine that they will not make the whole room shake.

I first heard OiseauxTempête perform, of all places in Beirut. They had come to Lebanon in what one would normally call a European band’s wanting to ‘experience’ something foreign to them, with the hopes of taking in some of that ‘flavour’. These guys however did not do that. They decided to get completely absorbed by the surrounding environment, and include so many of Beirut’s amazing musicians on their recordings, collaborating with them in the true sense of the word. The result, an album from this year titled AlAn or Now. Now, in the sense that this is what they lived through in their month or so long residency in Beirut. A very impressive and touching document of their experience and collaboration not only with Lebanese artists, but with a city itself.

Charles-André Coderre, is my better half in Jerusalem In My Heart. His work has since day one, never seized to impress me, and I am always excited with any and all ideas he brings to the table. His vision for what ‘film’ as not only a format, but a discipline is, is one that I find full of the re-imagination of the image and the emotion it carries. He will be premiering his new film Granular Shadow.

Jerusalem In My Heart performs at Le Guess Who? on Thursday, 9 November, together with Ahmed Fakroun feat.

Altın Gün, Thurston Moore & Han Bennink, Sun Kil Moon and many more.

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The calm before the storm

METZ

FerocIous CanadIan trIo METZ released theIr thIrd full-length Strange Peace vIa Sub Pop. IntervIew by Cem Kayıran – Illustration by Naz Tansel

Canadian noise rock band METZ is coming back to Utrecht two years after their enchanting performance. We had a chance to chat with the band’s singer and guitarist Alex Edkins just before the release of their Steve Albini engineered third record Strange Peace.

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-----------------------------------------------------------------“I WAS VERY UNANCHORED AND UNSURE OF MY LIFE AND FUTURE DURING THE WRITING OF THE ALBUM. I WAS BECOMING A FATHER AND TRUMP WAS TAKING OVER AMERICA. I FELT MY LIFE CHANGING IN VERY SIGNIFICANT WAYS, AND IN THE CASE OF TRUMP VERY UPSETTING AND TERRIFYING WAYS.” ------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the most significant notions about Strange Peace is that the record captures the amazing spell of METZ live performances with every bits. I read that you guys finished recording in 4 days. How did you guys decide to record the whole record live?

Recording the record live seemed like an exciting idea and new challenge for us.

We had never attempted it before and I think it played to the strengths of our live show. The vast majority of the tracks bass, guitar, and drums were done in 4 days live off the floor. I later did some overdubs and vocals at home in Toronto, so its not 100% live but close. Our time with Albini was very productive.

We recorded 14 songs in 4 days. Songs like “Mess of Wires” and “Drained Lake” were written a couple days before we got to the studio (that is very rare for us) and recorded in a couple takes.

It was a very spontaneous workmanlike environment.

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records, what made you guys go and work with another producer for Strange Peace?

It’s always a good idea to switch things up. Change is good. We felt that if we wanted Strange Peace to live separately from our other two LPs that we should approach it differently. We knew the songs were a big step up so we decided to break all tradition and work with Steve. On a subconscious level, I think working in a different city and studio helped us too. We tried new structures, instruments, sounds etc. and ultimately made something we are very proud of.

Just the idea of the collaboration between METZ and Steve Albini is quite thrilling and it seems like there’s a substantial outcome of the process.

How was working and sharing ideas with Albini for Strange Peace?

It was surreal and something I feel fortunate to have done.

Steve is primarily an engineer so his input regarding drum and guitar tones is invaluable.

He prefers not to get involved in the creation of songs and we are used to doing that

ourselves anyway so it was a great fit. His knowledge of his equipment and room (Electrical Audio) is really quite amazing. You’re literally watching a master at work when you are working with him. We would start at 10am and stop at 10pm. Very little time wasted very little overanalyzing. He would hit record on the tape machine, we would start playing. That was it. The simplicity of the process was incredibly refreshing.

With Strange Peace, the way that METZ deals with chaos seems to change in a distinct way. When you compare it with the first two records, Strange Peace sounds like you guys manage to engrave auditory and conceptual chaos with a characteristic approach. Songs like “Mess of Wires”, “Common Trash” and “Cellophane” invites listeners to face the grueling of the world we’re in right now in every sense. What were the main differences for you during the song writing process? Do you reckon that this is the most conceptual METZ record so far?

-----------------------------------------------------------------“WE KNEW WE WANTED TO GO IN NEW DIRECTIONS AND DIDN’T GIVE A SHIT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT THINK. IT WAS A MUCH MORE LIBERATING EXPERIENCE. IF THE SONGS GOT US EXCITED, THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERED.” ------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m not sure if you can say its a conceptual album but there does seem to be an overarching feel or theme. Its about attempting to overcome negativity, hate, and fear and live a meaningful life. I can’t offer any answers. Music is medicine for me, it helps me work through life’s impossible questions.

The name Strange Peace fabulously describes the feeling and mood I found myself in after listening to the whole record. Is there a story behind the title of the album?

The title Strange Peace refers to the eery feeling in the air right before a massive sea change. The calm before the storm. I think all the songs can be connected by that feeling. I was very unanchored and unsure of my life and future during the writing of the album. I was becoming a father and Trump was taking over America. I felt my life changing in very significant ways, and in the case of Trump very upsetting and terrifying ways.

After being in the limelight with the vastly admired two releases, how did you guys manage to overcome the expectation in creation span of Strange Peace? Was that a thing that you bear in mind during the process?

I think we succumbed to a bit of that pressure when making II. It’s not something you want to admit but looking back I know we were all feeling a little stressed and that’s got to be the absolute worst way to make music.

This time around there was none of that. We were feeling very confident and motivated to make the best record we could. We knew we wanted to go in new directions and didn’t give a shit what other people might think. It was a much more liberating experience. If the songs got us excited, that’s all that mattered.

I read that you guys recorded 14 songs in the sessions you made with Steve Albini in Chicago. Are you planning to release the other three at some point?

I hope so. It all depends on if they still feel exciting to us when we listen to them again.

I think you will hear them eventually.

I saw you guys live in Le Guess Who? two years ago and now you’re coming back. Can’t wait! What’s the first thing that comes to your mind about this festival?

I think it’s one of the best festivals in the world. We are honoured to be asked to play again. My Mom is Dutch, I love travelling to that part of the world.

For a first time listener of METZ, what kind of setting would you suggest to experience Strange Peace?

A dark club where everyone is sweaty and dancing together.

Le Guess Who? would work too.

METZ performs at Le Guess Who? on Saturday, 11 November, together with Pharoah Sanders, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, John Maus, Shabazz Palaces, Moon Duo, Avey Tare and many more.

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EkIn FIl

Changeable forms

IntervIew by Ekin Sanaç – Photo by Erinç Güzel

Welcome to Ekin Fil’s world of shoegaze and ambIent runnIng through her pedals and echoIng her heart out.

With her latest record Ghosts Inside that came out on Helen Scarsdale in June, Istanbul-based artist Ekin Fil drags the listener to somewhere deep, obscure, hidden and possibly more serene than ever within. Ekin Fil is playing Le Guess Who? 2017 as part of the programme curated by her sound mate Grouper on November 10. Welcome to Ekin Fil’s world of shoegaze and ambient running through her pedals and echoing her heart out.

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What are some of the details that define the process of creating and recording Ghosts Inside for you? What was that period like for Ekin Fil? What are the things that shaped it?

To be honest, it was a weird and rather fragile period. My life was more restless than usual and it was an emotionally intense time. But despite all the change, there was also a bizarre stillness going on. I guess I was kinda lost in the middle of all these new feelings. We were struggling with health issues as the whole family. Most of the time, I couldn’t stay at my own apartment. Everybody was sad.

Time was heavy. My connection with the outside world was weak, except for this thing. And a lot more...

It’s possible to say what differs Ghosts Inside from your previous works is the fact that it’s a lot driven with piano and keys. Was that a decision made from before?

Or did things work out like this during the process? And how has this affected the album you think?

It wasn’t a decision made from before. I always use keys when I work on music, but this time I felt like whatever I was playing, they had to somehow remain as they are, without many layers added on top. A feeling of being more direct got through to me. It was simple. Quiet.

I guess this carried the album somewhere very convenient for the given mood.

The abstractionism in your music seems to open up your songs to different interpretations and arousals.

How important is creating this space for the listener to you?

Although I don’t like saying

this much, this is something I kinda try to achieve. While building the song as a whole in itself, I believe those spaces you mention can take different forms each time both for the listener and for me. More precisely, I hope so.

Ekin Fil’s music also feels like a celebration of solitary.

What happens during live shows? Do you go into your own world? Or do you try to work a different kind of relationship with the surrounding environment?

Actually I get really excited.

And sometimes I feel like I show too much of me and this can make me feel embarrassed.

Sometimes I feel so deep and even want to cry. Of course, it’s possibly not right to think about these feelings so independently from the surrounding environments.

Maybe I’m just exaggerating, because I don’t play shows very often. But I can say they each represent distinctively difficult, and at the same time equally pleasant moments.

What are the performances you don’t want to miss at Le Guess Who? Mostly Gas. I am also curious about Radio Philharmonic Orchestra performing Lili Boulanger. I am hoping to finally watch Pruient and I was thrilled to see Big Brave in the programme. We’ll see how that works live. I also listen to Yves Tumor quite a lot lately, so that’s also curious.

You have made soundtracks for several films namely Inflame, The Seagull and The Gulf. What attracts you most in working with films and what are the approaches you use different

than creating an album?

Of course it’s very different to work on an existing story and form than making something from scratch on your own.

I think you need to be at a certain perception level in order to be able to infiltrate into those worlds. In the end, it is a group work and it’s important to be able to explain and discuss the work on your part. After reading the script or watching the film, I create basic structures according to the sound palette I imagine and send them to the director. If this also translates into the other side, we start working together.

Do you ever imagine yourself making utterly different kinds of music?

All the time. Hip hop, R&B, Turkish pop, etc.

Which character (can be fictional) have you had a crush on when you were young?

Not a crush, but I wanted to be like Sam of the Generations tv series or Lorena of Alcanzar.

What news in terms of shows, collaboration, split, etc. can you share for the coming days?

I will be playing in Ankara for the first time on October 24 at Noxus as part of an In the Void night. After playing at Le Guess Who? on November 10, I will play West Germany in Berlin on November 15, and at the end of November there will be an Istanbul date. We have also been planning a split with Kaosmos. I hope we’ll release it before the year ends.

Ekin Fil performs at Le Guess Who? on Friday, 10 November, together with Jenny Hval, Thurston Moore Group, Moor Mother, Weyes Blood and many more.

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JulIanna BarwIck

“Women that changed my lIfe” JulIanna BarwIck Is revIsItIng Le Guess Who? wIth another captIvatIng lIve show, as a part of Perfume GenIuscurated program of the festIval. One of the most unIque composers of her generatIon, BarwIck compIled a lIst of women artIsts that remarkably touched her lIfe and vIsIon. ArtIcle by JulIanna BarwIck

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Number one for me is definetely Björk. She changed my life, I really believe that. I picked up her CD from a mall in Tulsa when I was 13 or 14 and took it home, and my whole world expanded in an instant. I’d always been a fan of the weird –I had a sign in my bedroom as a child that said ‘Why be normal?’– , and everything about her appealed to all of my senses, especially as a music fanatic. I must have watched the film Vessel, a live concert of hers, 10 thousand times in high school. Then she soundtracked my move to NYC with Vespertine, one of the most beautiful records ever made. I could literally go on and on. I did get to chat with her once at a show in Brooklyn, and I was struck by how this is the one person I would most want to meet and also, wow –she’s so easy to talk to– a human. I adore her, I’ll stop there.

Close second is Tori Amos. Discovered her in high school also.

Until her (and Björk) solo women artists I was familiar with fell somewhere between Debbie Gibson and Amy Grant. So to discover a solo artist who liked to play piano and sing like I did, but was a total punk in her way, and singing pretty racy and zany stuff was a real revelation to me. Her history with the church (her dad was a minister, mine was a youth minister) really resonated as well. Superficially, I thought she was one of the most gorgeous creatures I’d ever laid my eyes on, I watched her music videos literally over and over and I can still draw her to this day without looking at anything.

An overarching power and influence in my life is the human and the music of Whitney Houston. Her record Whitney was the first record (actual vinyl) I bought for myself as a kid. Her voice and her story moves me like no other –I watched a documentary on her just last night and it left me in shambles– gone too soon.

I love the work of Janet Cardiff, in particular The Forty Part Motet, a work I saw at PS1 in Queens in 2001 I believe, right when I moved to NYC. I could hear singing from a distant room and of course followed the sounds to what opened up to a giant room with forty speakers on stands in a ring. As I walked by the speakers, I noticed that each speaker was assigned to a different singer –40 different singers with their own speakers. It blew my mind. I think about this piece very often.

As a photo major, I can’t help but bring up the spectacular work of Francesca Woodman. I saw her show at Guggenheim a few years ago and have rarely been so moved. Deceivingly simple compositions just wrought with so much intense emotion and narrative. I think of her work often as well. Literally every photography from that show is etched into my mind –that is rare. I usually breeze through museums and galleries, and the ones that stick –I never stop thinking about.

Julianna Barwick performs at Le Guess Who? on Sunday, 12 November, together with Perfume Genius, Jane Weaver, Linda Sharrock, Sun Ra Arkestra, Black Lips, Yves Tumor and many more.

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Top 10 TurkIsh psych tracks

Altın Gün

SInce the countdown to the lIve collaboratIon of Altın Gün and legendary musIcIan Ahmed Fakroun at Le Guess Who? FestIval has started, we want to take a sneak peak to the taste of the Dutch-TurkIsh psych rock band.

Jasper Verhulst of Altın Gün talks hIs 10 favourIte tracks from Turkey.

Prepared by Busen Dostgül

Özdemİr Erdoğan “Gurbet” One of the most beautiful Turkish songs of all time in my opinion.

Very melancholic. The b-side “Elele” is also great. “Karaoğlan Almanya”da and “Uzun Ince Bir Yoldayım” are two other great songs by Özdemir Erdoğan.

Zafer Dİlek “Hey Onbeşli” Zafer Dilek produced Selda’s classic debut album, but also made three albums under his own name. This one’s from his second and grooviest album. I love every song on this one. İstanbul Çalgıcıları “Köroğlu Dağları” Turkish disco at it’s best, if you ask me.

We also play this one in our live set with Altın Gün.

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Arİf Sağ “Şu Samsunun Evlerİ” This must be one of the most energetic and danceable electric saz performances of all time. I always play this one in my DJ sets.

Barış Manço “Gönül Dağı” One of my favorite Barış Manço tracks. Dark, moody, funky vibes.

Parla Şenol “Şu Başıma Gelenler” I think Parla Şenol is more famous as an actress than as a singer but she’s doing a great job on this b-side of one of her few singles.

Groovy, sexy stuff.

Figen Han “Haydi Bastır” Sexy b-side from this nude model’s only single.

Selda “Yaz Gazeteci Yaz” Among young (hip) people in the Netherlands, this is kind of a cult classic. A lot of DJs play this in their sets. A true classic from Selda’s masterpiece LP. It was also my introduction to Turkish music so it has a special place in my heart.

Erkin Koray “Estarabim” One of Erkin Koray’s many classics. Hard to pick one.

Ersen & Dadaşlar “Kozan Dağı” I love everything about this one. There’s a newer version on YouTube that you should try to avoid hearing.

Altın Gün performs at Le Guess Who? on Friday, 10 November, together with Jenny Hval, Thurston Moore Group, Moor Mother, Weyes Blood and many more.

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From A to Z

LIars

Text by Cem Kayıran & Busen Dostgül – IllustratIon by Tolga Tarhan

Always changIng and always charmIng LIars Is back wIth the 8th full-length tItled TFCF. Recorded by Angus Andrew In AustralIa, the new LIars release doesn’t faIl to fascInate. We take a look back at the journey of the band HIGHLIGHTING Important characters, trIvIas and InterestIng storIes, from A to Z.

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Angus Andrew Founding member of Liars, Angus Andrew, is the only member from the original lineup of the band, with the Aaron Hemphill’s decision to leave Liars. Andrew’s storytelling and creativity in song writing had been changing, surprising the listeners with each and every record. The brand new album TFCF is the first one in Liars discography, that is recorded by Angus Andrew alone. The album cover is sort of an homage to the departure of Hemphill, as told by Andrew in a REDDIT interview: “I felt like I was married to Aaron creatively and now that he is gone, I am alone in my wedding dress.

The record is basically the theme music for our creative relationship deteriorating.”

Berlin One of the most iconic records in Liars discography, Drum’s Not Dead, was recorded in the capital of Germany. In 2004, the band moved to Berlin to record their third LP in an East German broadcast center. Focusing more on modified drum sounds and rhythmic patterns, Drum’s Not Dead opens a vast and brand new page of possibilities for the rest of Liars discography. The conceptual record tells the story of two fictional characters titled Drum and Mt. Heart Attack with mesmerizing song structures.

Drum’s Not Dead includes some of the most significant Liars songs like “It Fit When I Was a Kid”, “Let’s Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack” and “Drum Gets A Glimpse”.

Can German’s legendary Can has been one of the most influential bands for Liars members throughout their musical journey.

While the traces of Can’s legacy can be heard in almost all of Liars’ records, ex-member Aaron Hemphill described the influence of Can in a SPIN interview five years ago with the following words: “We’re huge Can fans. We listened to Can when we first started writing songs and it’s just so inspiring. They had a huge impact on Daniel Miller, the Mute founder, and I think there’s a huge connection with Can and electronic music in sort of like the structure and the duration and repetition.”

David

Andrew Sitek You may recognize the name David Andrew Sitek from band TV on the Radio, but he’s also known as the producer of numerous artists like Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beck, Nine Inch Nails, as well as Liars. Sitek and Liars came together on May 2003 to record They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, which is way different than the debut as being a concept album. With the efforts of David A. Sitek, they created a lyrical and auditory magic in the songs.

Emblems of Another Story The sixth track of TFCF, “Emblems of Another Story” offers a serene and gloomy atmosphere. Built on some spacious field recordings and alluring bass tones, “Emblems of Another Story” is probably the most ballad-like track in TFCF.

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Fins

to Make Us More Fish-Like Fins to Make Us More Fish-Like EP is the first EP of the band, released in 2002. This EP is also known as one of the two recordings of the band as a four piece. Consisting of three songs, which include the alternative version of “Grown Men Don’t Fall in the River, Just Like That” (the first track on the debut album They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top) and two others called “Pillars Were Hollow and Filled With Candy, So We Tore Them Down” and “Every Day Is a Child With Teeth”. This EP was first released on Mute Records’ sub-label Blast First (in July), and then on Mute Records itself (in November the same year).

Gern Blandsten Gern Blandsten is the name of the label that put out the debut They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, back in 2001. The New Jersey based label was named after a character in a Steve Martin comedy. Along with their motto “Fine musical products for the socially unaccepted”, Gern Blandsten has released the debut records of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and another Le Guess Who? act Dâlek.

Harz Mountains Second full-length of Liars, titled They Were Wrong, So We Drowned was one of the earliest examples of the band’s unique way of storytelling. Liars’ 2004 release is a conceptual record, that focuses on witchcraft tales in the setting of Harz Mountains of Germany.

INXS Beck’s powerful attitude in production has led many artists to come together for a good reason. Record Club was one of the projects Beck created in 2009, and was a project where many artists and musicians (selected

by Beck) met up in a studio to cover another artist’s album in a single day, spontaneously.

In 2010, Beck picked INXS’s Kick album for the project. Angus Andrew and Julian Gross of Liars, as well as St. Vincent, Beck, Os Mutantes, Daniel Hart and Brian LeBarton came together for a period of 20 hours to cover INXS songs. Beck, then, released the outcomes, accompanied with live performance videos.

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Julian

Gross Played with the band for ten years, between years 2004 and 2014, Julian Gross has been on the drums for six Liars records. Alongside his drumming duties, he’s been quite busy with the band’s visuals. He designed the cover artworks for the band’s many singles and Mess LP. Also, he directed the fantastic visual companion of Drum’s Not Dead called Drum’s Not Bread. Working on album cover designs for bands such as TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gross has mostly focused on his visual art after his departure from Liars.

Kill

Your Idols S.A. Crary’s music documentary Kill Your Idols focuses on New York music scene’s past and present with a vast range of interviews and live performances.

Liars was one of the bands that took part in the documentary along with Thurston Moore, Lydia Lunch, Michael Gira and J.G. Thirlwell. Premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2004, Kill Your Idols won the Best Documentary award in the festival.

Luis

Cervero Probably one the best videos that Liars ever made was released in 2014 for Mess track “Mess on a Mission”. Liars members Angus Andrew, Julian Gross and Aaron Hemphill had the same moves (walking backwards up a staircase) on the green screen in a loop, and the director Luis Cervero has perfectly located them into various fantastic environments.

He also came up with the idea of giving each various accessories like a golf bag, a bicycle or a bottle of wine and placing them in banks, caves, stages and elsewhere. This video was also nominated for Independent Music Video of the Year at AIM Awards 2014.

Mute Records Mute Records is one of the most important labels in London that includes acts like Fad Gadget, The Residents, Grinderman, Wire, New Order, Yeasayer, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Stereolab, Liars, Ben Frost, The Afghan Whigs, etc. in its catalogue. It’s been 17 years since Liars members came together and had started doing strange and cool things. So, Mute Records has also been a loyal “friend” of the band for almost 15 years. Starting with the second Liars album They Were Wrong, So We Drowned (2004), all seven albums including the latest one named TFCF is released on Mute Records.

No Barrier Fun Fifth release of the Liars discography, Sisterworld, purely showcases the vast range of influences and brilliant songwriting ideas of the band. The second track of the record “No Barrier Fun” is a minimal, vivid and fluid piece. The beauty of the simplicity and comfort in Andrew’s voice and the both mystic and hypnotic atmosphere created by repetition is irresistible. You should definitely listen to the fuzzy remix of the song by Suicide’s Alan Vega aka Duetonal.

Oneida

One of the very first releases of Liars was a split EP with Brooklyn based noise rockers Oneida.

Titled Atheists Reconsider, 2002 released EP includes three songs from each band. Along with two never-before-released tracks, the two bands covered each other’s songs. Oneida put some sonic touches and screams on Liars’ Fins To Make Us More Fish-Like track “Every Day Is A Child With Teeth”, and Liars returned the favour with a cover of Oneida’s Anthem of the Moon track “Rose and Licorice”.

Plaster

Casts of Everything Opening track of Liars’ self-titled fourth studio album, “Plaster Casts of Everything” is one of the loudest and most intense songs in the band’s discography. Angus’ vocals repeat the words “I wanna run away” and “I wanna bring you too” in anxiety, while the raw and crunchy guitar riff creates a meditative impact.

The demented music video directed by Patrick Daughters is probably the best companion for such a wild song.

Quixotic In an interview with The Quietus, Liars’ frontman Angus Andrew mentioned the first time he saw the band Quixotic live. He recalled this childhood when everyone’s favorite band was Quixotic in the interview. He pointed out Mira Billotte’s fascinating drumming: “The thing that blew me away most next to the singing was Mira’s drumming. Her drum patterns, style and technique were so unique and enhanced each song.”

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Read the Book That Wrote Itself A marvellous track from the second Liars LP They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. It stands as one the first proofs that even a sound of a pen writing on a paper can be used in a Liars song.

Snail One of the visual companions of Drum’s Not Dead record was made by Angus Andrew. In this movie called Helix Aspersa, you experience the whole record while watching a garden snail wander around on a white background.

TFCF After almost three years of silence, Liars was finally back with some mysterious videos and (funny but not funny) photos of Angus in a bridal gown teasing a new album called TFCF (Theme From Crying Fountain). After Julian Gross’ departure in 2014, another old-timer Liars member Aaron Hemphill had decided to leave the band. No matter what, new Liars song “Cred Woes” was out in June and Angus was playing shows (in his famous bride costume) with a new live set-up. All of the 11 songs in TFCF was written by Angus Andrew and recorded in his home studio and outside of his studio (recording sounds like birds, air, etc.) in Australia.

UFO It’s well-known that the legendary post punk outfit ESG doesn’t fancy their songs being sampled by other producers. One of the most sampled songs in the music history, ESG’s “UFO”, was turned into a wild and raw noise punk track. Titled as “Tumbling Walls Buried Me in the Debris With ESG”, fifth track of Liars’ debut LP includes Angus’ distinctive vocal lines and sibyllic atmosphere all over the place.

Vimeo Festival + Awards Liars has been releasing a lot interesting, funny and creative video clips. Let’s remember the “Scissor” video, which was directed by Andrew Bruntel in 2010. Angus was desperate in the middle of the sea and was trying to figure out those mysterious rocks. With his skills, Bruntel created a dramatic scene both for the song and Angus. In 2011, “Scissor” video won The Best Video award in Vimeo Festival + Award, which was one the most prestigious awards in video industry.

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WIXIW

Liars is one of those bands that pursue new challenges in songwriting and production spans with each album.

Released in 2012, the sixth full-length WIXIW is one of the first and distinctive encounters of the band with electronic layers. Produced by the founder of Mute Records, Daniel Miller, it was recorded in Liars’ studio in Los Angeles. For the first time in the band’s history, a song’s title is being used as the album title.

X-Posure Right after the release of the brand new record TFCF, Liars has been the artist in residence in Radio X. As a guest of radio’s new music guru Josh Kennedy’s X-Posure show, the band played a special session for the radio including the first live recordings of some TFCF tracks.

Yoonha

Park Yoonha Park, who directed Liars' latest video “Cred Woes”, is also the genius behind the awesome video for Mess track “Pro Anti Anti”. In the video, Angus and Aaron had the chance to experience the high-tech of face recognition. Video shows every detail of the creation process, such as face scans, 3D technology and more. Later, we see Angus and Aaron’s sculptures melting in colors in a kind of dramatic way. Here is what Angus had to say in a NOWNESS interview about the video: “It’s the idea of not taking anything too seriously or at face value”.

Zen Sekizawa Los Angeles based photographer Zen Sekizawa, who has worked with artists like David Lynch, OK Go and James Corden, is the brain and eyes behind the many fascinating Liars promo photos.

Having worked with the band for Sisterworld and WIXIW, she is also the one who famously photographed Angus Andrew in a wedding dress for the cover and promos of TFCF. Liars performs at Le Guess Who? on Thursday, 8 November, together with The Soft Moon, Sun Kil Moon, Jerusalem In My Heart, Thurston Moore & Han Bennink and many more.

The Le Guess Who? ExperIence Ben ShemIe, MarIo BatkovIc and JessIca Moss descrIbe theIr prevIous LGW? experIences.

BEN SHEMIE

“Now I know that the city is more than a pretty little canal that runs past a fairytale clock tower.”

As a founder of Le Guess Who? house band SUUNS, Ben Shemie is one of the musicians that played most in the festival. He’ll be performing his solo set for the first time in Le Guess Who?’s 12-Hour Drone program. He is here to sum up his past LGW? experiences.

Photo by Juri Hiensch “Playing at Guess Who? is kind of a homecoming. Each fall, we migrate back to Utrecht to be around our friends. SUUNS has sometimes been called the festival’s house band, a secret badge of honour, as we have played there almost every year since our first appearance years and years ago. There have been a lot of really great moments, incredible performances… Lots of fuzzy late nights - missed flights as a result.

What has stayed consistent over the years is our relationship with the Guess Who? crew and the people of Utrecht.

Now I know that the city is more than a pretty little canal that runs past a fairytale clock tower. It also helps to know, that at any moment during the festival you can dip into a venue and see Swans, James Holden, Shabazz [Palaces], Julia Holter, Eric Chenaux, Total Control, Dean Blunt, Silver Apples, Cut Hands, Laurel Halo, Oneothrix Point Never, Dirty Three, John Maus, Pauline Oliveros... to name a few insane gigs I have witnessed over the years.”

Ben Shemie performs at Le Guess Who? on Sunday, 12 November, together with Perfume Genius, Julianna Barwick, Linda Sharrock, Sun Ra Arkestra, Black Lips, Yves Tumor and many more.

BANT MAG.

JESSICA MOSS

“…something more than ‘just’ a music festival.”

Best known as a member of the legendary Canadian post rock band Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Jessica Moss released her first solo full-length in spring. She’ll be performing at Le Guess Who? festival’s 12-Hour Drone program this year. Moss described her previous LGW? experience for Bant Mag. Photo by Jan Rijk “Performing and attending Le Guess Who? has, without a doubt, been a highlight of my touring life. Such an exciting and welcoming setting to perform in, such a well thought-out and inviting environment to experience new music in.

As some people very close to me are part of Le Guess Who? family, I have had the privilege of witnessing some behind the scenes elements of what goes into conceiving of each version –a year-long process that begins for the next festival mere weeks after the current festival weekend is done.

The extensive & thoughtful dreaming & scheming to make each year greater than the one before… the care and concern that goes into planning every single element, knowing that the experience of any one person attending the festival is at the heart of what motivates the tremendous amount of work that goes into creating the experience, make Le Guess Who? something more than “just” a music festival.

Being able to attend and perform at this festival is a true honour.”

Jessica Moss performs at Le Guess Who? on Sunday, 12 November, together with Perfume Genius, Julianna Barwick, Linda Sharrock, Sun Ra Arkestra, Black Lips, Yves Tumor and many more.

BANT MAG.

MARIO BATKOVIC

“They believe in the music, in the sound, in what has been played or sung, in the love, in the people!”

The Switzerland-based, Bosnia-born musician Mario Batkovic was one of the guests of Le Guess Who? Festival last year. He’s back in Utrecht as one of the guests of James Holden curated program. Batkovic describes how LGW? makes him feel.

Photo by Tim van Veen “The plane lands and you’re just somewhere, in a country. The airport is like any other and the taxi and shuttlebus are the same as always. But from the moment I stood in front of the concert venue, I knew that this time will be different. Except for the airport, everything is different at Le Guess Who? festival.

The bus driver tells me that Utrecht is a marvellous city; a city where cultures live, and the youth has a lust for art.

You believe the young driver as you’re inspired by his energy. And from the moment I met the sound engineers and light technicians, I begin to wonder: where did I land… Do they euphorically believe in an anonymous group that somehow might exist? Yes, they really do believe! They believe in the music, in the sound, in what has been played or sung, in the love, in the people! Without thinking of borders and origin! That was my first impression of LGW. Of the crew. But not yet of the audience! Waiting in the backstage, I was completely surprised by the anticipation of people from whom I knew that none of them had ever experienced my shows. And then it is time to set foot on the stage. The overfull room completely blew my mind. I was speechless after the concert and became deeply touched by the reactions. Thank you LGW! Later on, the festival became the confirmation of my experiences. At all the other concerts, there was an attentive and interested audience, believing in the music and taking their time for the sounds of the concerts. Music without borders! After this festival, you don’t remain questioning, but you’re different than you were before.”

Mario Batkovic performs at Le Guess Who? on Saturday, 11 November, together with Pharoah Sanders, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, John Maus, Shabazz Palaces, Moon Duo, Avey Tare and many more.

BANT MAG.

A passIon that catches the vIbes

Le GIg Poster?

IntervIew by Busen Dostgül

One of the most eagerly antIcIpated events of the Dutch festIval Le Guess Who? Is Le GIg Poster?’s fIfth edItIon. JorIs DIks, the Dutch artIst and the creator of the Le GIg Poster?, gIves us some detaIls of thIs year’s exhIbItIon and the past events.

Utrecht is your hometown.

What does Le Guess Who? mean to you as a music lover? When was the first time you were there? Please briefly highlight your favorite moments of the festival so far.

I’m so happy the Le Guess Who? festival is in Utrecht and is managing to surprise me every time. Every year there are a lot of bands I didn’t know about before. It’s a true musical adventure, with a lot of awesome surprises. I’m pretty sure I was somehow (as a visitor or contributor) at every edition of the festival.

BANT MAG.

There’s no doubt that Le Gig Poster is one of the most exciting notions of the festival. How did you guys join forces with Le Guess Who? Well, thank you! I was participating for some years at different poster shows, like Flatstock Hamburg, before reaching out to Le Guess Who?.

I loved these poster shows so much, I wanted to bring these to Utrecht, to my town.

It was kind of logical for me to reach out to LGW?, because the diversity of all the

different posters fits so well to the diversity of the festival.

Working together with the festival feels good and I really appreciate that we are now an official part of the festival for some time.

Every year, many artists design gorgeous posters for the artists in the line up of Le Guess Who?. What are the things you look for when doing the selection for these special posters?

I think the number one thing is, that you have to have a click with the band and music.

How things work after that is different for every poster artist. Personally, I try to work with bands who I admire in their musical approach, and it helps if we connect also on a “human” level.

The roster of Le Gig Poster? artists is getting bigger each year. Can you give us some clues about this year’s exhibition?

Yup, we’re growing every year a little bit, more and more poster artists want to join. I think the scale is good now, it fits the venue and the festival. It’s more or less a one-man operation, so it’s also the maximum of things I can arrange. This year we’ll be joining forces with Poster-ORama (a travelling poster show, with the best of the European and UK poster artists).

Looking forward to this.

I know there are going to be some awesome posters made specially for the festival. There are posters in the works for Dylan Carlson & the Bug, Shabazz Palaces, Protomartyr and probably some more.

As far as I know, you make your own alternate poster for the festival each year.

How would you describe the differences in your creative process when you work for LGW? and posters of your own?

Yes, that’s true, I try to make

an alternative poster for the festival each year. This year I’ll try to do something special, because we’ll have our 5th anniversary with the poster show. I’ll try to find visuals that catch the vibe of the festival.

The diversity, the adventure and the good atmosphere. And of course I’m listening to the playlist a lot, to hear as much of the music as I can.

You’re one of the most active figures in the European gig poster scene in the recent years. It seems like there’s a growing attention to this culture around the music world. What are your foresight about the near future of gig poster scene?

Well, I’m doing my best to bring these awesome artworks to Utrecht and show them in a nice environment. Hoping the attention grows a bit. Many of my poster friends from around Europe are setting up shows next to the Flatstock events we have. There’s Colored Gigs out of Dresden, The UK guys are putting on great stuff with the UKPA and recently we joined forces to put together PosterO-Rama, a travelling poster show. We had a really good kick off in Rostock, during the Illustration Biennale.

So I think there’s still room to grow, the scene is active and we’re serious about it. We put a lot of work and energy

in it, so it’s important for us to keep the scene healthy.

We need to be aware that the artwork is official and original and the bands/festivals we work with take us serious. I’m positive it is here to stay. How Wytse Sterk (postermaker) put it: Rock & Roll Poster Printmaking Tradition, A Passion, No Fashion!

What interesting feedbacks have you heard from the Le Guess Who? artists throughout the years about their own festival posters?

In general, we get back pretty much all positive feedback, people are amazed by the quality and diversity of the art.

There are still a lot of people who don’t know about gig posters and the Le Gig Poster? show is their first contact with it. Most people are happy they can enjoy it at the festival (and take it home).

It’s always pretty crowded and busy around the poster exhibition. Which artists will you try to see this year at Le Guess Who? Oofff, I’m not sure yet.

I’ll be definitely checking Protomartyr, Sun Ra Arkestra, Shabazz Palaces & Madensuyu.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be surprised again this year, like every year, by artists I didn’t know before.

You guys probably have some good tips for me!

BANT MAG.

RememberIng The Past

7 Amerıcan CıvIl Rıghts

DocumentarIes from

2010's

Text by Yetkin Nural

The Invaders documentary screenIng and The Black Power Tarot exhIbItIon by KIng Khan, both scheduled for Le Guess Who? 2017, InspIred us to take a look at strIkIng and Important documentarIes that came out In 2010s about the CIvIl RIghts Movement.

Freedom Riders (2010) Director: Stanley Nelson About: Freedom Riders tells the story of more than four hundred Americans who challenged the morals and norms of a racially segregated society, by performing the simple disobedience act of racially mixed interstate travelling via bus.

Why watch? A moving documentary about how a very simple and non-violent act of resistance can be retaliated with feelings of irrational hate and fear.

Quote: “There was that feeling: I’d just like punch some of these agitators right in the face. I gotta hate somebody. I got to hate somebody.”

The Loving Story (2011) Director: Nancy Buirski About: A documentary about the controversial love and marriage of interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving, set during the Civil Rights era with the backdrop of anti-miscegenation sentiments in the U.S. Why watch? To witness that love together with determination indeed conquers all.

Quote: “Maybe we’ll lose these small battles and win the big war.” - Mildred Loving

BANT MAG.

Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) Director: Göran Hugo Olsson About: This unique documentary features various 16 mm footage shot by Swedish journalists in the 1960s and 1970s found 30 years later in the cellar of a Swedish television, and edited by the director Göran Hugo Olsson.

The film focuses on and revolves around decades’ central figures of the Black Power movements such as Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and more.

Why watch? Just the striking interview with iconic Angela Davis while she was in prison is a reason enough, but there is much much more!

Quote: “It’s right to defend yourself against anything and anyone. No, we don’t believe in violence. We don’t believe in killing. We don’t believe in harming or hurting. We weren’t the ones who inflicted pain and harm on people. We weren’t the ones who kidnapped a whole culture of people and brought them to do service for us. And because we stand, and fight back, and want peace; we want to work with pride, love, and live, and grow with pride. That’s all we want.

And to say that we’re wrong –to defend ourselves is idiotic. Seriously twisted. Shame on America for that. Shame on anyone who judges someone for defending himself or his family. Shame.”

Erykah Badu

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015) Director: Stanley Nelson About: A documentary about the rise and fall of one of the most controversial and significant political organizations of the 20th Century, Black Panther Party.

Why watch? Documentary features never seen before footage, which was unearthed and digitized with great efforts that stretched over seven years.

Quote: “We’re gonna carry our guns and we’re gonna follow the police. We’re gonna maintain a legal distance. Ready to throw down, if necessary.”

BANT MAG.

I Am Not Your Negro (2016) Director: Raoul Peck About: The documentary is the vision of director Raoul Peck about the unfinished book of writer James Baldwin, the iconic figure of both black and queer struggle, which was to be called Remember This House.

The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of Baldwin’s close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Why watch? Baldwin’s masterful language was narrated

by Samuel L. Jackson and served together with an amazing archival footage.

Quote: “What white people have to do, is try and find out in their own hearts why it was necessary to have a nigger in the first place, because I’m not a nigger, I’m a man, but if you think I’m a nigger, it means you need it.” - James Baldwin

13th (2016) Director: Ava DuVernay About: A documentary about the problematic of America’s color biased justice system, exposing the ugly truth of structural incarceration of African Americans with statistics, interviews and historical facts.

Why watch? Provides a clear and focused explanation on what is wrong with American justice and prison systems even for those who don’t have any knowledge about the issue.

Quote: “The Bureau of Justice reported that one in three young black males is expected to go to jail or prison during his lifetime, which is an unbelievably shocking statistic.”

The Invaders (2016) Director: Prichard Smith About: The documentary focuses on the radicalized generation of civil rights activists made up of young college students, Vietnam vets, musicians, and intellectuals emerged in Memphis in 1967.

Why watch? Not to miss out on this oftenoverlooked group of freedom fighters who took inspiration from militant leaders like Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael and met Martin Luther King just before his assassination.

Quote: “We all had the same problem. The question was, how to do something about it?”

BANT MAG.

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