Le Guess Who? 2021: The Magazine

The Magazine

2021

11–14 Nov

Utrecht

Year of Change Dear Visitor, Artist, Partner and Team, First of all, we are ecstatic to have you all in Utrecht to experience Le Guess Who? with us, at long last. From the artists, who had to jump through hoops to make their way here, the curators who were willing to stick with us throughout the pandemic, always giving new and inspiring input, and finally our audience, who again are coming from all over the globe. The commitment to make this happen together is moving and we are extremely grateful.

Of course, organizing a festival in 2021 is a gamble. There are countless unknowns, and constant uncertainties. But our logo is a question mark and it’s never been more pertinent than now.

So that’s exactly what we celebrate together this year: the uncertainty, the unknown, and the fluidity of the constantly changing world around us. Restrictions call for resourcefulness, and we find new possibilities in the process; cancellations mean new confirmations, and unexpected happenings mean new inspiration, ideas, and vision.

Our newest addition this year is COSMOS, a hybrid stage that translates Le Guess Who? to an online environment. COSMOS will feature exclusive documentaries, interviews, DJ sets and more, bringing the Le Guess Who? experience beyond Utrecht. So do enjoy this from your couch at home, your hotel room or wherever there’s WiFi. And one last shout out to the whole team that has shown perseverance over the last 2 years and are as excited as ever to make this the best edition possible.

Change is inevitable and from it we grow. We’re proud to welcome you back for this ever-changing idea that is Le Guess Who? Enjoy!

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Index Page 4

Midori Takada to present new durational sound work [ THUS TIME GOES BY ]

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Behind the scenes at Le Guess Who?

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A personal introduction to Egypt’s Mazaher, bearers of the Zar tradition

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Illustrated story: Ichiko Aoba

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Interview: Pink Oculus presents Before Wisdom

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Mega Record & CD Fair: which records would LGW artists seek out?

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Illustrated story: Pink Siifu

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‘A sudden, uncontrollable urge to dance’: the magic of Nyege Nyege Tapes & Hakuna Kulala Club Night

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Illustrated story: Siti Muharam

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Introducing U?, LGW’s new and freely accessible day program

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Illustrated story: Beatriz Ferreyra

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A new hybrid stage by Le Guess Who?

11-15 November cosmos.leguesswho.com

“I really wanted to be here with you. Instead I fly my spirit to you and wrap you up in the warm vibrations of the music.”

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Midori Takada

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Midori Takada presents new durational sound work [ THUS TIME GOES BY ]

Unfortunately, Japanese composer Midori Takada wasn’t able to make it to Le Guess Who? 2021 due to ongoing Covid restrictions. But she will be with us in Sound & Spirit. On Friday and Saturday, we proudly present [ THUS TIME GOES BY ], a new durational sound work created especially for the Jacobikerk, with sound by Midori Takada and lighting design by Peter Lemmens. The work consists of four parts: 1 – THUS TIME GOES BY is based on the thought that each tone is a member of one chord but moves freely in and out of it; each note has a personal character.

The results are a chord with rich resonance in it.

2 – INTERLUDE is made with marimba and bamboo flute ensemble. The bamboo is gathered from different cultures of Indonesia. One tone is not for one, one is for all.

3 – BLUE REMINISCENCE was composed by Midori Takada for the reminiscence of Satoshi Ashikawa, who wrote minimal music in 80’s in Tokyo. It starts with his theme “Prelude” and continues to several variations.

4 – SALVE REGINA is composed by Yoriaki Matsudaira for the Mkuwaju Ensemble in the 80’s. The original song was made by one of the oldest Roman-Catholic choirs, around the 11th century.

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Behind the scenes at Le Guess Who?

TEAM Shurooq Al-Qasemi (Reports From Other Continents Coordination) Martha de Barros Abreu (Program Intern) Wytske Bierens de Haan (Business Coordination) Marc Broer (Audio Recordings) Gijs Cals (Artist Production) Jessica Clark (International Press) Sofie van Doggenaar (Volunteer Assistent) Luis Fernandes (COSMOS Production) Johan Gijsen (General Director) Bénédicte Gold-Dalg (U? Production Intern) Zsarà Grünfeld (Marketing) Jacob Hagelaars (Program) Sam Heegstra (Program Intern) Bob van Heur (Artistic Director) Anne Marleen de Jong (Business Coordination) Dammes Kieft (Video Production) Iris van Korven (Marketing & Development) Noortje Koster (Production & Ticketing) Cees Martens (Volunteer Coordination) Gabriël Micheneau (U? Production) Margaret Munchheimer (Podcast Production) Beatriz Negreiros (Copywriting) Carly Rutten (Head of Production) Hanan de Sain (U? Coordination & Education) Danielle Silva (Marketing Intern) Naomi Smulders (Production) Barry Spooren (Head of Marketing & Promotion) Icha Taufani (Marketing Intern) CURATORS LE GUESS WHO? 2021 Lucrecia Dalt, John Dwyer, Phil Elverum, Matana Roberts, Midori Takada ARTWORK LE GUESS WHO? 2021 Koen Delaere Van Lennep

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DESIGN Van Lennep (Le Guess Who?) Daan Drubbel / Haendehoch (U?) WEBSITE Ramdath Mos FESTIVAL DECORATION Triomf, Van Lennep RESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHERS Juri Hiensch Melanie Marsman VOLUNTEERS Organizing Le Guess Who? would not possible without the help of almost 200 volunteers.

We want to thank all volunteers and subcoordinators for their dedicated efforts and for making this year’s festival an amazing experience again.

— THIS MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY Le Guess Who? CONTRIBUTIONS Stephanie Afrifa, Bant Mag., Beatriz Negreiros, Nadah El Shazly.

DESIGN & LAYOUT Van Lennep

A personal introduction to Egypt’s Mazaher, bearers of the Zar tradition

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Le Guess Who? 2021 will feature a rare performance (their first European show in over 15 years) of Egypt’s Mazaher: a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zar music: chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms used in a ceremonial event to cleanse the spirits and to clear away illness and discomfort.

We very much want to introduce you to the Egyptian ensemble, but figured that Nadah El Shazly is in a much better position to do so, since her connection to the group goes back much further. Nadah El Shazly is a producer, vocalist and sound artist from Cairo who previously performed at Le Guess Who? 2017, as part of Jerusalem In My Heart’s curation. She visited and spoke to the ensemble at Makan, Egyptian Center for Culture and Arts in Cairo.

Text by Nadah El Shazly Photography by Arno Mery Cairo, May 2021 Thanks to Sarah El Miniawy

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As I approach Sa’ad Zaghloul shrine where Makan (Arabic for “a place”) lies since 2002, omitting a small light in a rather dark corner of downtown Cairo, I recall what it was like to walk into this place for the very first time.

I was 18 or 19 years old at most. In those years, I had found refuge in fronting a punk band, seeking pleasure in chaos, and being loud and noisy. I was told about a mind blowing performance that took place in Makan, and with little expectation and plenty of curiosity I entered, unaware of what was about to take place. The element of surprise is one of the best things about seeing Mazaher for the first time. Lack of information about Zar, makes it even harder to expect what you will hear, experience and witness. Hence I will do my best to keep the element of surprise unfettered for you, even though my aim here is to introduce the world of Mazaher to you.

Little did I know back then that I would continue to go back to this place for years to come, craving the noise, broken rhythms, and Madiha’s rusty yet sweet voice, which pulls you back no matter how far you drift off.

Zar is a ceremonial event where women gather to reconcile the spirits, be it in human form or not, clearing away illness and discomfort. The ceremony is led by

women, chanting, drumming, dancing, and using polyrhythms to usher in trance, and to push the ailment out of the body. This practice has its roots in the horn of Africa, namely in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti, later on travelling to Iran and North Africa. It became very popular in Cairo, and other cities in the Arab World, merging with the spiritual side of Islamic traditions.

From the 1930s until the 1980s, Zar was practiced in Cairo in the homes of people from different backgrounds.

My grandfather recalls watching from behind closed doors as a child how his aunt danced frantically with other women in her house, and how he was mesmerized by the sound of the percussion and the singing. Zar however regressed to become a more secretive practice, when reformist and nationalist voices in Egypt deemed it backward and barbaric, while conservative Wahabi Muslims condemned it as blasphemous.

Misinformation about Zar continued to spread from the 1990s onwards, heavily stigmatising the practise. Other than the rare and very private home practice of Zar in Cairo today, and particular traditional events mostly outside of Cairo, Makan managed to document and preserve a performance version of Zar on

“The element of surprise is one of the best things about seeing Mazaher for the first time.”

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“Zar is a ceremonial event where women gather to reconcile the spirits, be it in human form or not, clearing away illness and discomfort.”

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a consistent weekly basis since 2002.

When I finally had the chance to sit last week with the chieftess of Mazaher, Madiha, she explained to me that I kept going back seeking release, and to preserve my sanity. She said that there is no right way for an audience to prepare for the show; just come, let yourself in, no need to know anything.

With a lot of misinformation circulating about Zar in Egypt, and the stigma attached to practising it, it has become more and more difficult to find accurate information and it is indeed a rarity to find someone in the new generation who still practices it. Madiha tells me about the ensemble, and how they met each other. She mentions that some knew each other since they were kids, while others didn’t meet until much later, when Ahmed El Maghraby, the founder of Makan put together the ensemble in 1998.

All Mazaher members have something in common however. They inherited Zar practise from their parents and grandparents, becoming themselves the bearers of the Zar tradition. The main instruments used in Zar are the voice and a frame drum called “mazaher” made out of animal skin, usually out of mule skin in Egypt. The tamboura, a six-string plucked lyra, as well as a leather belt adorned with sea shells and goat hooves are also commonly used in the ritual.

Madiha recounted the passing away of some Mazaher members, adding that one day when they all pass away, most probably this music will also wither away with them, with very few people left practicing Zar today.

Music forms a central part of rituals in many cultures and settings. Some rituals are public, such as national celebrations.

Others are less public, almost secretive, like many religious and mystical practices and burial ceremonies. Indeed, music and

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dance are thought of in various traditions to provide a canvas for communion and even aid souls to ascend to higher planes.

Most of the time however, contemporary ritualistic music and private ceremonies are relegated to a static past, frozen in time – instead of being understood as continuing and evolving practises – foreclosing their potential as cumulative fluid movements on a par with other contemporary practises. Mazaher ensemble is an example of how traditional and folkloric music is not meant to be frozen and displayed in museum-like contexts, least of all for its strong resonance with and engagement of audiences mentally and physically until today, and the openness of the members of the ensemble to embrace different influences and instruments in their performances time and time again. •

Mazaher performs at Le Guess Who? 2021 on Friday 12 November as part of the Hidden Musics concert series.

“Most probably this music will also wither away with them, with very few people left practicing Zar today.”

Gently hypnagogic melodies of

ICHIKO AOBA

Text: Cem Kayıran - Illustrations: Saydan Akşit // created by Bant Mag. The word “dreamer” is defined in several ways. “A person who lives in or escapes to a world of fantasy or illusion; escapist” says one. If dreams are supposed to be shelters for the soul, there’s no doubt these shelters resonate with Ichiko Aoba’s somber and gentle melodies.

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Raised in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, Ichiko Aoba’s songs take shape via her dreams.

“I write what I dreamed about a lot actually” says Aoba and suggests that she can also dream when she’s awake. As a self-taught guitar player, her songwriting took shape with experimentation and influences from Studio Ghibli’s fantastic sonic world.

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Two years after her acquaintance with acoustic guitar, Aoba released her debut album Kamisori Otome at the age of 19.

While her sonic palette expand with additional instruments, she also made some remarkable collaborations with Cornelius, Haruomi Hosono and MahiToThePeople. Back in 2014, experimental musician and producer Cornelius described her as follows: “She is really at the forefront of her generation, and she’s such a genius.

When we collaborate, all I do is play a little guitar, but she brings such focus and intensity to what she does, and she’s an incredibly talented guitarist.”

Her seventh LP Windswept Adan was released in December 2020. Labeled as a soundtrack to a fictional movie, the album is a major shift from her minimal instrumentation. To enhance her conceptual story of a young girl sent to an imaginary island called Adan, Aoba used harp, flute, woodwinds, piano and a string quartet to accompany her hypnagogic singing.

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The dreamlike aura of Ichiko Aoba’s tunes deepens with her live performance setup. Her performance recorded last year at Ginza Sony Park would be a great introduction to take the lid off of this murky experience. She’ll be touring Europe to promote Windswept Adan and one of her stops will be Le Guess Who? on November 12.

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Pink Oculus presents ‘Before Wisdom’

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“Performing is a part of my identity”, says the Dutch Surinamese vocalist and producer Pink Oculus. Two years of not being able to do what she loves the most led to a brand new sound, and new music too: her forthcoming album, ‘Before Wisdom’, is expected in 2022. At Le Guess Who?, she will premiere these songs through an Afrofuturistic collaborative show where art, scenography and music become one.

Text by Stephanie Afrifa Photography by IAMKAT

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Pink Oculus has always been an artist that alludes self love, self awareness and reinvention of the Self. “Getting closer, out the dark, I’m led by the woman I have become” - ‘Overdue’ (2015). Yet again, you have grown into an elevated version of yourself. Can you tell me more about this rebirth, and the wisdom that comes with it?

“The inspiration for the new album came from a very toxic relationship. The songs are about the relationship you have with yourself and post-traumatic spiritual growth. It’s about what you do and how you relate to yourself when you get out of such a damaging relationship. I asked myself what’s next. Am I going to be a victim or use the hurt to rise and be a wise woman? There’s this quote by Maya Angelou: “A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.” That’s what I decided to be. But during the relationship I wasn’t that wise woman yet. That’s why the album is called ‘Before Wisdom’. I sing about the journey to becoming a wise woman.”

The humbling journey of life. What did this experience teach you?

“That trauma has two sides: the painful side, and the side that expands your understanding of the world. You can’t know

what Light is without having experienced darkness. Also, you have to choose yourself at all times.”

How did this experience translate into your new multidisciplinary project ‘Before Wisdom’?

“An abusive relationship makes you feel as if you’re not safe anywhere. Not even in your own body. That’s what I’ve experienced and still experience everyday. I find myself asking if I’m at a place where I can express myself freely because my authentic expression has been doubted and attacked before. So I was like, I have to create that safe space for myself. When I perform I feel like the stage is my safe space. The audience are just spectators to my performance. Whatever I do – they have to accept it. With the help of spatial designer Dennis Vanderbroeck and audiovisual artist Boris Acket I’m creating the scenography for the show. It expands the ways in which I can tell my story.”

What defines a safe space to you?

“A safe space is a place where there’s no judgement. Where you can express yourself freely. A place where you can grow and come together with people, like-minded or not. I create those spaces but the first place to be safe is in my

“The inspiration for the new album came from a very toxic relationship.”

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“A safe space is a place where there’s no judgement.

Where you can express yourself freely. A place where you can grow and come together with people, likeminded or not.”

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body. I consciously work on making my body a safe space everyday by not judging myself and allowing my raw emotions.”

Did that translate into your music as well?

“Yes, because I make the music that feels closest to me. Also, the process of producing the music together with producer Binkbeats was a way to regain my power.

The songs on the album started as ‘Pinkstagrams’: one minute songs and videos that I shared on my Instagram. The structure and sound are different from my earlier music. I don’t stick to traditional rules in producing. It’s literally off the grid.

Every time I showed the tracks I recorded to Binkbeats he was like ‘you don’t start at the count of one’. It’s experimental and sounds more industrial. It’s actually very metal. Not the genre but the element. It still sounds very warm though. It’s me talking to myself.”

Metal. Is this where Afrofuturism chimes in?

“Aspects of Afrofuturism are more visible in the visual design of the show rather than the music. The stage becomes my temple with the help of kinetic lights.

Regaining my own power and creating a safe space can be linked to my Surinamese Maroon heritage and to the essence of Afrofuturism. You’ll have to come check out my show at Le Guess Who? to discover it.” •

Pink Oculus presents ‘Before Wisdom’ at Le Guess Who? 2021 on Friday 12 November.

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“Aspects of Afrofuturism are more visible in the visual design of the show rather than the music.”

Mega Record & CD Fair: which records would LGW artists seek out?

Lucrecia Dalt (© Camille Blake)

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For the first time since 2018, Le Guess Who? coincides with Europe’s biggest record fair: the Mega Record & CD Fair, 13-14 November at Jaarbeurs. The Quietus spoke with some of the artists performing at this year’s festival to find out just which records they would go crate-digging for.

Ghalia Benali: “Europe’s biggest record fair would be a beautiful opportunity to ‘meet’ the latest records by Mik Mäâk, Tamino and Philip Catherine, as well as an opportunity to discover many others. I’m not a music or record hunter. Music of any kind and I are like lovers who run into each other randomly with no expectations. I realised that my taste would go from Arabic contemporary and classical music; to Indian old and ethnic music; Western contemporary, alternative and baroque; musique ancienne; and jazz. The artists I named represent that harmony of all these styles: rooted in tradition, masters of improvisation, improving story-telling through the universal language of music, and creating a bond between original and contemporary. As I said, music and

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I are in ‘love’, and love is the need to be continuously inspired, and to create.

Ana Roxanne: “Deerhoof’s ‘Apple O’ was probably the most formative record for me from a Mills associated album [Ana Roxanne is an alumnus of Oakland’s Mills College, as well as Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier]. A few years before I started writing my own material, I was playing bass in an experimental band in Minneapolis in my early 20s. Deerhoof was a part of my gateway into the world of experimental music.”

Felix Kubin: “Gil Mellé’s ‘The Andromeda Strain’ film soundtrack is a very daring and unusual blend of early synthesizer music,

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Felix Kubin (© Greg Holm)

Ana Roxanne (© Yuki Kikuchi)

Vanishing Twin (© Arthur Sajas)

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Ghalia Benali (© Karim El Hayawan)

“Music and I are in ‘love’, and love is the need to be continuously inspired, and to create.”

— Ghalia Benali

Pink Siifu

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jazz and avant-garde, abstract yet with recognizable musical motifs. It still sounds incredibly fresh and timeless. And it shows how open-minded the film industry used to be for experimental film scores”.

Lucrecia Dalt: “I discovered Ernesto Hill Olvera some years ago. [...] I have this fixed memory from a restaurant in Colombia in my twenties where an old guy was playing an organ in a similar fashion to this record, ‘Los éxitos’. I love how he is extremely technical with his instrument, yet evoking the best of feelings.”

Pink Siifu: “Prolly any Signed album by Prince or anything from George Clinton discography, Scarface, always love hearing New Sun Ra too. A Bad Brains vinyl some Dungeon Family, can’t go wrong w shit u alredy love. It’s all about finding tha new shit doe. Eye was raised on these records, took road trips wit my mom wit these records, my pops would play em sometimes. Just like life lessons fr and compete time travel.”

Jean-Hervé Peron (Faust): “No specific names, but a very specific type of vinyl, the ‘ribs’ records. These are the ones made in Russia, under Stalin’s regime, when all raw material was confiscated for military purposes, and the vinyl lovers produced records on discarded X-ray films. I heard about these recordings decades ago, probably in a stoned-out-of-our-heads conversation with music freaks. I didn’t really believe it until recently when an internet friend sent me some information.

Wikipedia confirmed everything, and my curiosity was awakened anew. Those ‘ribs’ recordings are certainly a strong statement about freedom. Monsieur Stalin was not very inclined to tolerate anything that would endanger his mad ideology, and art is something that always questions the establishment, proposes

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new perspectives, suggests new ways – no good for a totalitarian regime. Even when they knew their lives were at risk, the people continued to print and distribute such records. In our western civilization, the only risk you encounter when being ‘artistically revolutionary’ is being ignored or classified as ridiculous... mais le ridicule n’a jamais tué personne.”

Phil Elverum: “I’ve been to this record fair before, sometime around 2011 or so. I got a bootleg copy of the My Bloody Valentine EP ‘You Made Me Realise’, but it sounds bad; poorly mastered, gritty weird stuff in the grooves. I think I also found a copy of ‘Lovers Rock’ by Sade on vinyl, which felt rare at that time. But, the question is about what my future desires will be...

‘Belong’ seven-inch by Eric’s Trip; any of the seven-inches in the Teeme Muusikat series (especially Veljo Tormis’ release); and ‘Paris’ seven-inch by Northern Picture Library. I’ve loved Eric’s Trip for decades and this first seven-inch is the one missing from my collection. They are my favourite band and still sound amazing to me; a beautiful balance of raw, insane, haunted fuzz/feedback, and also beauty and intimacy.”

Valentina Magaletti (Vanishing Twin): “I am always looking for a VG Mono original pressing of ‘A Love Supreme’ by John Coltrane on Impulse! from 1965. It is hardly an obscure choice I know, but it was one of my first jazz listenings when I was a teen and it became my church, my spiritual healer and my safety net. It would be the only record I’d keep if I had to pick only one from my collection.” • You can read all the interviews The Quietus did as part of this series via thequietus.com.

Unadulterated outbursts of

PINK SIIFU

Text: Cem Kayıran - Illustrations: Furkan ‘Nuka’ Birgün // created by Bant Mag. With his ever expanding sonic universe, rapper and producer Livingston Matthews -who records and performs as Pink Siifu- has provided a fresh platform for both his artistically and politically bold statements since 2014. Maintaining an adventurous attitude towards production and poetry, the propulsive force of this Alabama-born rapper’s journey lies beneath his passion, pure love of music and communally shared experiences.

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Pink Siifu’s first gateway to music was built through his family. His father was a jazz saxophonist and his mother was spinning 90’s R&B records at home all the time, but his older brother Hardy was the main reason behind Pink Siifu’s interest in rap. Trumpet was the first instrument he learned to play. However, after watching the movie Drumline, he decided to play drums and joined his school’s marching band in fifth grade. On the cover of his latest release Gumbo’! you can see an illustrated portrait of Pink Siifu in a marching band uniform.

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After giving a listen to just a couple of his tracks, one can easily notice the enormously wide array of inspirations varying through the different times and cultures behind Pink Siifu’s musical output.

Sun Ra’s Afrofuturisim, Amiri Baraka’s inspiring political activism and Ras G’s spacey approach to production are seamlessly intertwined with one another in Pink Siifu’s tunes, as he never refrains from paying homage to them in his tracks, videos and performances.

The echoes of Pink Siifu’s feverish anger towards systematic racism and inequality have been apparent throughout his career. One of the most confrontational LPs of its time, 2020’s NEGRO was a distorted, noisy and hardcore manifestation in support of Black solidarity. A year later he came up with Gumbo’!, an 18-tracks-long love letter to Black music history, a charming fusion of spoken word, soul and R&B. In a recent interview with Stereogum, Pink Siifu explains his intention behind the title: “I’m always asked what type of music I make, and I usually always tell them Black music. But then I was like, I’m gonna just start saying my shit ‘gumbo’. That’s my genre.”

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“Thunderous” would be the right adjective to describe his onstage energy. Or one may opt for “flaming”, “exuberant”, “dazzling”... To witness Pink Siifu’s unadulterated outbursts, you should take a brief look at NEGRO’s 6; a balance. a Peace!!, a live performance video directed by Matthews himself. To be a part of this collective revolt, make sure to catch his performance on Le Guess Who? this year.

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‘A sudden, uncontrollable urge to dance’: the magic of Nyege Nyege Tapes & Hakuna Kulala Club Night Authentically Plastic (© Daniel Dent)

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Forget Detroit, Chicago, and Berlin for a minute. Some of the most exciting electronic music records are being cut in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, and many are coming out of label Nyege Nyege Tapes. The collective is committed to shedding light on some of the best outsider music made in Kampala and all around East Africa.

Text by Beatriz Negreiros

Duma (© Chrisman)

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Le Guess Who? is drawing attention to the label, featuring performances from some of Nyege Nyege Tapes’ most irreverent names, such as Kenyan black metal project Duma (who are curated by Phil Elverum for the festival). The Kampala label will also bring the heat to Utrecht with Hakuna Kulala’s Club Night, in which names from the futuristic sub-label, like Turkana and Menzi, will surely shine bright.

Uganda has been the backdrop to an array of violent conflicts since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, as well as a military dictatorship that lasted until the late seventies. But, even under nearly constant war, Ugandan people still strived to live, dance and love. Traditionally, weddings would be played by Larakaraka bands (large traditional musical groups) but these became far too costly during wartime, as troupes would often consist of up to 25 members.

Turned off by the cost of Larakaraka bands, couples wanting wedding music started looking at local DJs. The arrival of easily accessible digital audio workstations like Fruity Loops in the late nineties had made the number and quality of producers flourish. They were willing to put in the work for a wedding slot, oftentimes writing

exclusive songs for the newlyweds, filming the ceremony, and, of course, performing at the party. The music sounded familiar enough; early pioneers like Leo Palayeng or Opiyo Twongweno followed closely in the footsteps of their traditional predecessors, copying percussions and call-and-response vocals. At the same time, artists were incorporating fresh ideas into the sound.

As wedding song tempos sped up and pounding drum machines slowly overtook the mix, new, exciting genres of electronic music were born – electro Acholi and acholitronix.

A few years later, Derek Debru came to Uganda and met Arle Dilsizian, who had been living in Kampala for nearly a decade. They bonded over outsider East African music, and, after meeting Ugandan percussion troupe Nilotica Drum Ensemble, they started hosting parties that brought together DJs, musicians and MCs from all over Kampala. In 2013, the effervescent sound heard blasting from the speakers in those early days got a home – Nyege Nyege Tapes.

Despite their chosen name, Nyege Nyege Tapes flourished digitally rather than physically. Although there is a demand for the cassettes themselves (which are all sold out), it was through the internet that word spread about their experimental releases. Their catalog has been praised by international media outlets like Pitchfork and The Guardian, and their roster has been steadily conquering the world, with Nyege Nyege names found in line-ups all over – including this year’s Le Guess Who?.

They also host their own music festival,

“Even under nearly constant war, Ugandan people still strived to live, dance and love.”

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Menzi (© Sophie Garcia)

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Turkana

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Nyege Nyege Festival, which has been happening since the label’s creation and features many of the same artists. It has since become the largest electronic music event in the region and one of the best worldwide, according to Resident Advisor and FACT. The label’s international appeal is similar to the one of Acholi electronic music producers in the 2000s; like wedding planners and goers, we are all looking for something we can dance to – but also something that dares to spark our curiosity.

Much of Nyege Nyege Tapes’ appeal resides in the names coming out of its fiercely experimental sublabel, Hakuna Kulala. In it, electronic music takes center stage, and the louder, the wilder and the faster, the better.

Five of the sublabels’ best will be performing at Le Guess Who? this fall, under the Hakuna Kulala Club Night umbrella, representing different nationalities; South Sudan’s Turkana, Uganda’s Authentically Plastic, the Netherlands’ DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess and De Schuurman, and South Africa’s Menzi.

Even though they land in a bundle, it would be unfair to assume all these artists are similar in any way. In fact, even though they all come under the Hakuna Kulala name, their background, sound and performance style couldn’t be more diverse.

To those intimately familiar with Nyege Nyege Tapes, this miscellaneous nature shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, they are known to put their seal on whatever strikes them as an interesting addition to their catalog – from the tamer electro Acholi mixes to pounding polyrhythms rushing by at over 200 beats per minute. If there is one thing festival goers can prepare for Hakuna Kulala Club Night is that there are absolutely no rules.

From seasoned icons to fearless newcomers, Hakuna Kulala Club Night

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welcomes a wide range of sonic and performative experiences. At times, it will be Authentically Plastic’s politically charged afro-futurism, which defies Kampala’s social conservative climate and creates a safe, fun space for queer and femme artists to explore music and themselves. At others, Amsterdam’s mixing extraordinaire DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess, who is regularly seen spinning not one, not two, but three turntables.

Hakuna Kulala Club Night’s passage by Le Guess Who? will feature a bit of everything; techno, house, dance and, most of all, as Nyege Nyege translates to in Luganda: “a sudden, uncontrollable urge to dance”. • Nyege Nyege Tapes present Hakuna Kulala Club Night at Friday 12 November, featuring performances of Authentically Plastic, DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess, Menzi, De Schuurman, and Turkana.

“From seasoned icons to fearless newcomers, Hakuna Kulala Club Night welcomes a wide range of sonic and performative experiences.”

Golden voice of Zanzibar

SITI MUHARAM

Text: Cem Kayıran – Illustrations: Rajab Eryiğit // created by Bant Mag.

While setting one foot on Zanzibar’s vast cultural heritage and the other on its future, Siti Muharam resonates the artistic legacy of taarab music through her voice. Produced by Sam Jones, the debut album Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar)was released via On the Corner Records last year and gained her a prestigious win in the Africa & Middle East category of Songlines Music Awards 2021.

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Siti Muharam’s legendary great-grandmother Siti Binti Saad became the first East African singer to be recorded 90 years ago. Known as the Mother of Taarab, Siti Binti Saad’s journey and music was the primary inspiration behind Siti of Unguja.

Some of the tracks on the record are the songs her great-grandmother wrote. In that sense, studying the songs and the process of interpretation became a personal exploration of roots for Siti Muharam.

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The irresistible fluidity of the record resides in the kidumbaki aesthetic.

Kidumbaki is a traditional Swahili musical genre, influenced by Arabic and Indian music. Generally played by small ensembles, this genre is based on rhythmic patterns provided by two “kidumbak” drums.

Like Siti Binti Saad’s early work, arteries of Siti Muharam’s songs were overbuilt on these riveting rhythms.

Oud player Mohamed Issa Matona, founder and the artistic director of Zanzibar’s Dhow Countries Music Academy, is one of the pivotal figures in this celebration of legacy. His quest and guidance throughout bringing Siti Binti Saad’s heritage back to life ends up in unearthing one of the hidden talents of the country.

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Glorified as the “golden voice of Zanzibar”, Siti Muharam’s songs are also a way of showing her respect to the remarkable female predecessors of Tanzanian culture and arts. Her performance at Le Guess Who? will mark the first time that she sings her powerful and endogenous tunes about social inequality and love in Europe.

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Under the name U?, we add a new, participative and freely accessible day program created for and with the city of Utrecht. In various neighborhoods throughout the city, including Lombok, 2e Daalsebuurt, Werkspoorkwartier, Cartesius and Transwijk, U? will host programs made with, or even fully by, local initiatives, entrepreneurs, social institutions and community centers.

Familiar activities such as the food market on Moskeeplein (Mosque Square), workshops and poetry in De Voorkamer and guided tours in the Ulu Mosque – all previously part of the Lombok Festival – will return, but this multidisciplinary program is also taking place in other, undiscovered places throughout the city. From musical performances, exhibitions, and brunches, to silent discos, boxing matches and ping pong: U? will celebrate Utrecht’s cultural life in all its diversity.

Thursday 11 November Earlier this year, we invited artists to present their work in the public space of Utrecht.

Ten concept ideas were selected, which can be admired throughout the weekend.

The artists created their works, which are about new encounters and exchanging ideas, together with the creative agency Triomf.

NIELS TEN BROEKE, JELLYFISH

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Friday 12 November

Saturday 13 November

Sunday 14 November

On Friday, U? is in Lombok. Those who would like to find out more about this Utrecht neighborhood can join a guided tour by Stories of Lombok. Greet & Meet organizes meetings with and performances by refugees who have recently moved to Utrecht. In the Stadsklooster, young artist Sarah Huygens Jawla presents fragments from the contemporary dance performance ‘Between Us’.

On Saturday you hop on your bike to visit Transwijk. On the grounds of Vechtclub XL, home to many creative entrepreneurs, you can stroll through the Vechtclub Market, drink the LGW festival beer at Brewpub De Kromme Haring and attend performances of a.o. Brussels free jazz, afrobeat and krautpunk trio Don Kapot, or the Japanese saxophonist, flutist and composer Shoko Igarishi.

U? challenges Le Guess Who? to explore new territory. De Zware Jongens (The Beagle Boys), the pop-up restaurant in the impressive Royal Dutch Mint building, hosts some live electro-pop, wave-punk and super disco. In the Public Library on the Neude square, the Flare Quartet and the Palestinian writer and publicist Randa Awad give a performance this afternoon.

Would you rather stay closer to the city center? Print studio Kapitaal is the official festival hangout this weekend, with DJ sets hosted by Stranded FM and an exhibition with work by graphic designer and illustrator Dylan Marcus McConnell, who designed the LGW beer label and previously made the album cover for OSEES’ ‘Protean Threat’.

On Sunday, U? settles in the northwest of the city. In NAR, visual artist Koen Delaere, who created the artwork for Le Guess Who? 2021, presents an exhibition with his work. This is musically accompanied by a.o. multiinstrumentalist Cengiz Arslanpay, saxophonist Otto Kokke and jazz drummer and percussionist Sun-Mi Hong. A few blocks away, boxing school Jimmy’s Gym hosts boxing matches and a showcase of hip hop artists from the Burning Fik record label.’

© TIM VAN VEEN

DON KAPOT

CENGIZ ARSLANPAY

For more info & the full program of U?, please visit leguesswho.com/u?

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Nonpareil musique concrète legacy of

BEATRIZ FERREYRA

Text: Cem Kayıran – Illustrations: Naz Tansel // created by Bant Mag

One of the most influential figures in electronic music history, Argentine composer Beatriz Ferreyra was born on June 21, 1937 in Cordoba. After studying piano in Buenos Aires, to deepen her interest in electronic music, she moved to France in the 60s where an incomparable legacy that touched the various edges of both music and technology started to take shape.

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Shortly after, she took a position in the research department of the Office de Radiodiffusion Television Francaise (ORTF) and started working with the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), a theoretical and experimental group directed by Pierre Schaeffer. Embracing the catch phrase “do and listen”, GRM provided an inspirational platform to research into audiovisual communication, audible phenomena, composition and music technologies. In 2015, Beatriz Ferreyra’s GRM Works was released via the Viennese label Editions Mego.

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Throughout her journey as one of the pioneers of musique concrète, Ferreyra composed lots of pieces for various disciplines like cinema, ballet, television, radio and many stage shows. Along with teaching in conservatory, the composer also explored the area of musical therapy. While her works generate a new musical language, in 1986 she played with actual words for her one and only radiophonic work inspired by a famous child story, Petit Poucet Magazine.

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Her compositions took their roots in perceptions, feelings and sensations.

She used tapes as her main medium from 1963 to 1997, in which everything is cut by hand and the sound is literally touched.

Although her equipment and ways of making music have become varied over the years, working with tapes caused her to gain a personal, always active and transformative approach towards sound.

Beatriz Ferreyra will perform at this year’s Le Guess Who? as part of the program curated

by Colombia born sound artist Lucrecia Dalt, which also includes Felix Kubin, Chúpame El Dedo, Tarta Relena and Sea Urchin.

Dalt and Ferreyra discussed collaborating with Pierre Schaeffer, the risks of leaving tapes on the floor and more on the 7th episode of Dalt’s radio show Pli. You can find the recordings on SoundCloud.

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Partners Funders

Creative Partners

BAK – basis voor actuele kunst, Ian Brennan, Current Obsession, Koen Delaere, Distorted Channel, Daan Drubbel (Haendehoch), Glitterbeat, IMPAKT, Kickstarter, Knekelhuis, La Vida Es Un Mus, Nimeto, NoEsUnaGaleria, Nyege Nyege Tapes, Springhaver & Louis Hartlooper Complex, Thuisgekookt, Tia Maria Produções, Uncloud, De Voorkamer, Stichting Wooko Makandie.

Media Partners

Social Partners

Venue Partners AKWAGLOT, De Basis, Bibliotheek Neude, dB’s, EKKO, De Havenloods, De Helling, Hof van Cartesius, Jacobikerk, Janskerk, Jimmy’s Gym, De Klub, Koffie Leute, De Kromme Haring, LE:EN, Lou Oudenoord, Molen de Ster, NAR, De Nijverheid, Perron West, Pieter Baan Centrum, Ping Pong Club (Perron E), Stadsklooster, Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, Stranded FM, Studio Patrick, Theater Kikker, Ubuntuhuis, Ulu Moskee, Het Utrechts Archief, De Utrechtse Boekenbar, Vechtclub XL, The Village Coffee & Music Roastery, Wishing Well West, De Zware Jongens.

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