Saturday 9 April

Slikback x Weirdcore “VOID” World premiere

The subversive visuals of Weirdcore are a thrilling match for Slikback, a prolific and omnivorous musician who has emerged as one of the most exciting club artists from East Africa in recent years. Known for his dark sound design and mischievous approach to sampling and composition, Slikback has found a terrific aesthetic mould for his unique fusion of contemporary club styles like techno, dubstep, jungle, breakbeat, footwork, trap and drill. London-based visual designer Weirdcore also knows how to bend genres and styles in his own visually unique ways. For over 15 years he’s collaborated with a huge range of daring contemporary artists, creating mind-bending technology-driven videos and boggling tour visuals. Together, the duo will present the world premiere of a brand new audiovisual performance called “VOID”. “VOID” is curated by Unsound, commissioned by Rewire, Donaufestival, Unsound Stine Janvin & Ula Sickle “Echoic Choir”

This collaborative performance from vocalist Stine Janvin and choreographer Ula Sickle evokes the ritual of coming together on a dance floor around music in the late hours of the night. While gathering in a nightclub has been almost impossible over the past years due to the new reality brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, “Echoic Choir” takes on the challenge of using “physical distancing” rules as artistic parameters. Relying on the power of acoustic voices and spatial resonance, the project aims to create a collective and immersive sensorial event, by placing the performers and the audience in a shared space. Sound, choreography and lights create a strong synesthetic experience that channels the embodied experience of being on a late-night dance floor. Revisiting this setting and its sensory memories, albeit within new parameters, allows for new perspectives on a familiar scenario. The spectators are invited to participate in the work through their listening and their physical presence, realising a new kind of collective ritual.

The Bug Featuring Dis Fig, Flowdan, Manga Saint Hilare

Revered for his cavernous and weighty electronic music, Kevin Martin (aka The Bug) has been an integral part of contemporary club music since the early ’90s. The Bug will be joined live by Dis Fig to perform music from In Blue, their collaborative album released on Hyperdub. The Bug will also perform his most recent LP Fire— the third exhilarating part of an incendiary urban triptych, that began with 2008’s explosive London Zoo via 2014’s mind-melting Angels & Devils—fourteen tracks that immolate the synapses, flail the body, that cinematically take you from arcing evocations of a bleak lockdowned city-scape to swooping deep-focus close-ups of Martin and his collaborators’ psyches at breaking point. He will perform Fire together with heavy-hitting grime MCs Flowdan and Manga Saint Hilare. Tirzah

Combining the sensuality of contemporary R&B with the bravado of experimental electronic music, the British musician Tirzah is subtly pushing the sonic qualities of adventurous pop forward. Armed with a remarkably soothing voice, her enigmatic, down-to-earth vocals have proven to be the perfect combination for collaborators and bandmates Mica Levi and Coby Sey’s no frills-approach to song production. Following the off-kilter soul of her debut album Devotion, Tirzah doubles down on the synthetic textures of her music on Colourgrade, a more experimental album reminiscent of Inga Copeland and Dean Blunt. And yet, despite all the sonic experimentation, either on stage or in the studio, Tirzah’s signature heartthrob sentimentality continues to shine through.

SAT APR 9

—__–___ (More Eaze & Seth Graham) World premiere

As —__–___, Austin-based multi-instrumentalist More Eaze and Dayton, Ohio-based Orange Milk founder Seth Graham craft a path to transcendence through an otherworldy clash of lush instrumentals, processed vocals and jittery samples. Their collaborative album The Heart Pumps Kool-Aid traverses the uncanny valley, riding on the waves of ethereal sounds and liminal internet aesthetics. This cinematic and sonic journey is reflected in an immersive live show, a world premiere presented during Rewire, that channels the dreamlike—and sometimes nightmarish—visions of Harmony Korine’s and David Lynch’s decaying America.

Anna Meredith

As a composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music, Anna Meredith journeys across the contemporary musical landscape with music that’s often described as “uncategorisable” and “genre-defying”. Meredith straddles the different worlds of contemporary classical, art pop, techno, largescale installations and experimental rock with playful, eclectic and energising music that has garnered her many accolades, including a MBE for Services to Music in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Rewire 2022 will see the maverick artist and her band performing material from her latest album FIBS, alongside other work.

Anna Von Hausswolff “All Thoughts Fly”

The music of Anna Von Hausswolff lingers between the melancholic and ecstatic. Inspired by folklore, fairy tales, literature, poetry and cinema, the Swedish multi-instrumentalist evokes layered narratives and dense storyworlds with her unique music that channels classical, post-metal and sombre pop. Her earlier albums combined opaque instrumentations with urgent vocals, but on her latest album All

Thoughts Fly, Von Hausswolff isolated a church organ as her only musical tool of expression. The result is an intimate and captivating sonic journey that transposes the 16th-century instrument to highly distinctive, contemporary compositions. At Rewire, she will perform live on the church organ of De Grote Kerk.

bela European premiere

The South-Korean musician bela has found a way to transpose sheet music of Nongak, a traditional form of Korean folk music, into riveting power electronics that breaks through conventional rhythmic patterns and tempo limitations. The resulting EP Guidelines offers a singularly propulsive form of mind-bending electronic music that sounds refreshingly alien, but remains steeped in tradition. Performed live during Rewire, bela will introduce their contemporary fusion of Nongak with experimental club music. Cheb Runner “Angry Immigrant” World premiere

Producer Cheb Runner (real name Reda Senhaji) is a musical hurricane rooted in the Moroccan soil, exploring the West European electronic musical landscapes. Nurtured by both worlds, he represents a new sound of in-betweenness. During this hour long live-set entitled “Angry Immigrant” he will be supported by artist Salim Bayri. “Angry Immigrant” is a musical tribute to 10 years of immigration in Brussels.

Coby Sey

Hailing from South-East London, vocalist, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Coby Sey has emerged as a distinctive presence in the exciting intersection between contemporary club, DIY-art, and music production. This prolific performer and producer offers a shifting, disorienting vision of club music. As a long-time collaborator with Mica Levi, Tirzah, Babyfather, Klein and Kwes, Coby’s recorded work spans the realms of live instrumentation, sample-based productions and experimental music, melding recognisable motifs of, amongst others, hip hop, drone, jazz and grime into a dubbed-out anaesthesia. Live, these dreamlike compositions are imbued with a heavy, uneasy dancefloor energy, often abetted by intimate live vocals. With his debut solo LP on the way, Coby will be joined by London friends and collaborators to stage his distinctive, open-door approach to music at Rewire 2022. Presented in collaboration with Carhartt WIP Dis Fig

Best known for her barbarous and genre-ranging DJ sets, at Rewire 2022 the New Jersey born, Berlin-based artist Felicia Chen (AKA Dis Fig) will present her unflinching live show. Based around her debut album Purge, released on New York collective and experimental label Purple Tape Pedigree (PTP), Chen explores her own vulnerability via a palette of noise, power electronics and orchestral composition that treads the line between the brutal and the sublime. Chen’s own voice is at the heart of the album and performance, which ranges from tender choral moments to agonising screams and back again.

Dasom Baek

Dasom Baek uses various looping techniques to breathe new life into traditional Korean woodwind instruments such as the

Daegeum, Sogeum and Saenghwang. Combined with the physical presence of Dasom Baek’s voice, these instruments conjure holistic, multi-sensory experiences through piercing loops and dizzying musical phrases. Her contemporary approach to these traditional instruments can be mesmerising, gripping, soothing or unsettling. Her hypnotic live performance is a near-ritualistic experience that’s equally grounded in traditional music, performance art and avant-garde compositions.

Eartheater featuring LEYA and guests

Eartheater’s soundworld is one of opposites. Gliding between the serene and the turbulent, contemporary club sounds and pastoral folk music, digital punctuations and classical composition, multi-instrumentalist, composer and vocalist Alexandra Drewchin has forged a striking signature over four albums. Flexing a threeoctave vocal range, provocative lyrics and curious wordplay, Drewchin’s songs are multilayered and rich in meaning, imbued in a cheeky spirituality that defines the Eartheater project. 2020’s “Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin” released on tastemaking label PAN, further expanded the scope of her vision as Eartheater, in which she balances the unabashed prettiness of acoustic harmonic songs with the dissonant gestural embroidery of oblique instrumentals. Joined by harpist Marilu Donovan and violinist Adam Markiewicz of LEYA, alongside two flutists and a cellist, Eartheater will perform a new live show based around her latest album at Rewire 2022.

Ecko Bazz

Merging the sounds of hardcore UK grime with dancehall, American trap and ferocious Lugandan lyrical style, the Ugandan rapper Ecko Bazz has become a unique phenomenon exploding onto the Eastern Africa hip hop and grime scene. His forceful and poignant club music is now taking the world by storm. His explosive debut album Mmaso—recently released on Hakuna Kulala—promises to be a hard-hitting tour-de-force that interrogates violence, religion, drug abuse and poverty in Uganda through the lense of Ecko Bazz’ distinctive musical personality. Kenyan club futurist Slikback is also billed on the album as one of the producers of the abrasive rap cuts. Presented in collaboration with Carhartt WIP

Eddy Rakovic

Eddy Rakovic is a DJ and producer based in The Hague. Working with sounds since 2013, he has developed a wide yet singular musical style that feeds into the scene of his city. He worked for several years at the recordstore 3345 and is one of the driving forces behind Plaza, a recently sprung platform giving a stage to new voices.

Evian Christ European premiere

Under the moniker of Evian Christ, Joshua Leary managed to distil various innovations of 2010s club music into one forceful musical project. Taking cues from southern trap, euro trance, stadium-sized EDM and the emerging stylistic traits of deconstructed club, Evian Christ blew up undercurrents in electronic music to a widescreen, 4K blockbuster experience. His early self-released tracks garnered him a production credit on Ye’s seminal rap album Yeezus and roused dancefloors worldwide thanks to his frantic, strobeladen deejay-sets. Having taken time out to focus on his fledgling Trance Party clubnight, the seminal producer is finally back with new music of his own. In advance of the release of his highly anticipated debut LP on WARP Records, Evian Christ presents a first listen to his much-awaited new material, accompanied by a spectacular liveshow designed and operated by frequent artistic collaborator Emmanuel Biard.

Flock (Bex Burch, Danalogue, Sarathy Korwar, Al MacSween, Tamar Osborn) World premiere

Bex Burch is a composer, percussionist, producer, and instrument maker. Employing the gyil (Ghanaian xylophone) in new and unexpected ways outside of its traditional setting, she has carved out a unique sonic space for herself in which she embraces new musical challenges across a range of percussive instruments. Flock, her latest collaborative project, is perhaps the percussionist’s most ambitious work to date. It features intuitive rhythmic interplay between her and Sarathy Korwar, Al MacSween (Maisha), Dan “Danalogue”

Leavers (The Comet Is Coming) and Tamar Osborn (Collocutor). The music is a perfect encapsulation of an ever-shifting sound that Bex Burch refers to as “messy minimalism”. The exciting, avant-jazzy collaboration is a powerful example of how improvisation can be utilised as a tool for composition.

Golin

The Amsterdam-based, Japanese-American artist Golin blurs the lines between mainstream pop and envelope-pushing electronic music. Recalling the cybernetic pop experimentations of SOPHIE, AG Cook and like-minded hyperpop-innovators, Golin’s jittery and skittish pop songs sparkle with a radiant personality. Through her distinctive sound, Golin offers a unique musical perspective on the way that her art can mediate contemporary experiences of cultural and physical displacement. Golin’s most recent solo EP Crush is a compelling showcase of herself as singer-songwriter, producer and performer. This playful, exciting and catchy collection of synthetic and ethereal earworms is an electrifying invitation into Golin’s idiosyncratic sonic world. Presented in collaboration with Carhartt WIP Holly Childs & Gediminas Žygus

Writer and artist Holly Childs and artist Gediminas Žygus fold critical reflections on ecology, memory and media theory into hybrid performances that combine bespoke choreography, dense spoken word, experimental film and intense electronic music. The starting point of their second album Gnarled Roots, released on the Subtext label, was 9/11 — in the words of the artists — a cataclysmic and highly theatrical event that has permanently reconfigured media, surveillance and capital on a global scale. Naturally, the result is an equally anxious and pensive work that explores binaries and duplication, puzzles and paradoxes, collapse and destruction.

jaimie branch “Fly or Die”

Over the last decades, the Brooklyn-based trumpeter and composer jaimie branch has

been on the forefront of the contemporary American jazz scene. Known in Chicago and New York for her spectacular live shows, branch has taken a no-limits approach to jazz that’s open to any sound, genre, gender and style. What holds everything together is her radiant presence and a playful dynamic between the musicians on stage. After having extensively played parts of it on stage, branch finally released her debut solo album Fly or Die in 2017. It’s a powerful piece of music that doubles as a scorching indignation of the political crisis at the heart of the United States and the rest of the world. It’s fruitful formula — or rather: the lack of any formula — ushered in an even more experimental, but no less compelling sequel in 2019. This Rewire alumnus and contemporary jazz-innovator will perform her politically charged and sonically adventurous masterpiece Fly or Die and its equally riveting sequel Fly or Die II live on stage.

Jana Rush

Chicago born and raised, it’s safe to say that Jana Rush is deeply familiar with the inner-mechanics of footwork, the exciting house mutations that have shaped the sonic identity of the windy city. Her 2017 album Pariah was a masterclass in the dynamic tension between frantic subbass and spacious headroom; a footwork masterpiece that brought the genre to new heights. With Jana’s most recent album, the 2021 Planet Mu release Painful Enlightenment, her craft is becoming even more distinct. Letting loose some of the more conventional rhythmic characteristics of the Chicago sound and incorporating challenging jazz samples, Painful Enlightenment is a deeply personal work that’s wellversed in both the world of footwork and experimental electronic music. Presented in collaboration with Carhartt WIP

Jenny Hval

Inspired by pop luminaries like Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson, the Norwegian singersongwriter Jenny Hval has carved out her own and unique space on the boundary of contemporary pop and avant-garde music. Multidisciplinary and transgressive by nature, her polyphonic artistry is seamlessly interwoven between musical, literary, visual and performative modes of expression.

Combining elements of electronic music, jazz, rock and pop, Hval’s sound shifts from project to project. What brings all her output together — either individually or in collaboration with peers like Håvard Volden and Susanna Wallumrød — is a literary and intertextual depth to her finely crafted, dreamlike music. Her most recent album Classic Objects is a stunning and cinematic journey through Hval’s identity and subconsciousness, exploring, in her own words, “what ‘just me’ could mean.”

Joachim Badenhorst & Roman Hiele World premiere

The improvisations of Belgian clarinettist and saxophonist Joachim Badenhorst meet the distinctive electronic music of Roman Hiele with their first collaborative performance as a duo. Badenhorst has established himself as a key figure in contemporary European jazz, by founding the KLEIN label and performing notable solo and collaborative projects. He has previously worked with producer Roman Hiele (who has a new record coming out on STROOM) but the eclectic pair have never performed in a duo setting before. During Rewire they will fuse their particular artistic sensibilities into a thrilling new whole. Commissioned by Rewire. Presented in collaboration with Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond.

Mathijs Leeuwis

Pedal steel guitarist, composer and “explorer of sound” Mathijs Leeuwis transforms his analogue instruments in complex and evocative tape-loop based compositions. Constantly looking for new sounds, methods of composition and ways of creating music, Leeuwis often deconstructs his work to rebuild it under new configurations. The results are often lush musical pieces that bring a tinge of Americana into thick layers of ambient. During Rewire 2022, Leeuwis will bring new renditions of his solo compositions to the stage with Dutch guitarist Marzio Scholten, Mathijn den Duijf on electronics, Reggy van Bakel on percussion/electronics and vocalist Theo Decloedt. Collaborating with visual artist Janine Hendriks, this unique collaboration will traverse the prolific sonic landscapes of the bright composer and performer.

Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble and Bang on a Can All-Stars “MEMORY GAME”

As part of a special focus programme on Meredith Monk, Rewire presents this performance of MEMORY GAME by Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble and Bang on a Can All-Stars. Drawing from Monk’s extensive catalogue of groundbreaking compositional work, New York chamber outfit Bang on a Can All-Stars joins forces with Monk and members of her ensemble to present nine reorchestrated pieces from Monk’s varied theatrical productions, most prominently The Games: a science fiction opera. As the title implies, it’s not only a fitting retrospective of Monk’s lasting artistic triumphs, but also a compelling reminder how Monk’s music can play with our expectations in poignant and compelling ways. Mika Oki

The Brussels-based deejay, visual artist and producer Mika Oki delivers eclectic, hard-hitting and surprising dance floor sets with prolific selections that range from jungle, UK bass and gqom to dark electro, mesmerising trance and heavy EBM. By animating a wide range of vocal samples, experimental sounds and electroacoustic music extracts, she plays like a sculptor with a duty to create an unsettling atmosphere. Percussive but generous, erudite yet uninhibited, Mika Oki’s unique mixes deliver sights and sounds to behold.

Mira Calix (1970—2022 †)

Mira Calix tragically passed away on 25 March. The South-African born and British-based artist was due to perform her

new show origins — movement is freedom at Rewire 2022 on Saturday 9th April. Mira was not only a hugely talented artist and composer, she was also a beautiful, caring human who touched the lives of everyone who had the honour of working with her. Having released numerous forward-thinking albums on Warp Records, she pushed the boundaries between electronic music, classical music and art in a truly unique way. She will be sorely missed, and our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends.

M Lamar “Machines and Other Intergalactic Technologies of The Spirit” World premiere

M Lamar is a composer who works across opera, metal, performance, video, sculpture and installation to craft sprawling narratives of radical becomings. Fully embodying his Afro Gothic aesthetic, M Lamar creates stylistically bold works that critically engage with the status quo. His latest of academically-informed modern opera pieces Lordship And Bondage: The Birth Of The Negro Superman combines modern classical music with black and doom metal to reflect on the African Americans’ experiences of enslaved and liberated consciousness. During Rewire the artist will premiere a new work called Machines and Other Intergalactic Technologies of The Spirit, a piece that is heavily inspired by Sun Ra’s retro-futurist sci-fi projections on the mind and spirit.

Nelly

There’s a captivating duality to the music of Nelly, a Netherlands-based producer and deejay with Indonesian roots. When behind the DJ booth, Nelly distils dark musical forces into high energy sets, rich in atmosphere and dense with emotion. Impactful hypnotism, explosive rave, stylish trance and growling machines colour her powerful sets, and make for moments of true escapism and non-stop physical workouts. Away from the club, Nelly threads fluid musical stories that draw on a wide array of genres. They explore the darker side of her psyche and investigate the diasporic nature of her family history. Her storytelling audiovisual projects, mixtapes and photography draw on intergenerational trauma and how to deal with it.