Subbacultcha magazine - issue 10

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— Subbacultcha quarterly music magazine Issue 10, Winter 2017 1

New Music for New People

Subbacultcha is an independent Amsterdambased platform devoted to new music.

We unearth the best emerging artists and bring ‘em to alternative stages near you. We make this unruly magazine to let you in on all you need to know.

Become a member for â‚Ź8 a month and always get into our weekly shows for free.

Come hang out. subbacultcha.nl

FRI 1 DEC / Location: Bimhuis

DUO X88

Vicky Chow + Saskia Lankhoorn FRI 5 JAN

FIBER x THE REST IS NOISE Alessandro Cortini, Demdike Stare & Michael England, Macular, Sabrina Ratté, Izabel

SAT 13 JAN

STARGAZE

Music of Boards of Canada, Nik Void, Qasim Naqvi

MON 19 FEB

CIRCUIT DES YEUX

A GET-TOGETHER OF POP AND ELECTRONICS

WED 4 APR / Location: Bimhuis

JOSHUA ABRAMS & NATURAL INFORMATION SOCIETY FRI 13 APR

SUGAI KEN + YASUO SUGIBAYASI Lullabies for Insomniacs label night

tickets MUZIEKGEBOUW.NL / THERESTISNOISE

— Tads Thots shot by Lois Cohen at de Efteling, NL read more about Tads Thots on p. 34 05

Issue 10

Dear reader, The truth may be out there, but in a fast-paced and everchanging world, a moment of introspection can be critical.

We’ve made it a habit to round up each year with an inward perspective – supporting our Local Area Network.

That’s what sparked Subbacultcha into existence to start with. Local bands, friends, friends of friends, ‘you-reallycan’t-miss-this-show-tonight’ kind of conversations.

Over a decade later, with an international scope to swoon over, we readjust our spotlight to shine on local talent.

The pages dedicated to our upcoming L.A.N. Party are overflowing with just that – filled with photographers, writers, organizations and artists that keep pushing boundaries and making great music.

Local and beyond, we sense a growing antagonism, a relentless critique of insincere ‘progressiveness’, an attitude very apt for our times. The impact of streaming music, the lingering consequence of systemic power dynamics and the need for change – it’s on all of us to remain critical, equally so on ourselves, in order to constantly evolve and sometimes, to stay the same. Listen to the whole album. Be inspired by unexpected sounds.

Take note, take moments, check in, tune out.

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Contents

For your consideration

Circuit des Yeux

13

Interview by Julia Yudelman Photos by David Kasnic

Yuko Yuko

40

Interview by Callum McLean Photos by Piet Oosterbeek

L.A.N. Party section

18

47

Dodomundo

Gulf Stream or Riptide?

Interview by Mateusz Mondalski Photo by Amie Claire Galbraith

by Carly Blair 55

20 Technically Female Tim Koh

by Jo Kalinowska

Interview by Maija Jussila Photos by Isolde Woudstra

57

22

Click Click Club 58

Yaeji Interview by Zofia Ciechowska Photos by James Emmerman 24 stargaze Introduction by Derek Robertson Photos by Lonneke van der Palen 29 Tads Thots Interview by Deva Rao Photos by Lois Cohen 34 08

About Last Night 60 Upcoming shows 62

Colophon

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Subbacultcha quarterly music magazine Issue 10, Winter 2017 Front cover: Yaeji shot by James Emmerman in New York, USA Publishers: Leon Caren and Bas Morsch

— Subbacultcha quarterly music magazine Issue 10, Winter 2017

Editor in chief: Roxy Merrell

1

Art director: Tjade Bouma Graphic Design L.A.N. Party section: Lin Ven Copy editor: Brittany McGillivray Advertising and partnerships: Loes Verputten (loes@subbacultcha.nl) Contributing writers: Carly Blair Zofia Ciechowska Maija Jussila Jo Kalinowska Callum McLean Mateusz Mondalski Deva Rao Derek Robertson Julia Yudelman Contributing photographers: Lois Cohen Amie Claire Galbraith David Kasnic Piet Oosterbeek James Emmerman Lonneke van der Palen Isolde Woudstra Contributing illustrator: Xaviera Altena Printer: Drukkerij GEWADRUPO Arendonk, Belgium

Subbacultcha Team Shows and bookings: Robert Lalkens Online editor: Maija Jussila Design: Liz Klaver Production and finance: Anne-Nynke Knol Interns: Henry Buckley, Carolina Calgario, Valerie Ntinu, Lin Ven Thank you: Evelyn Andoh, Rhamier Auguste, Lucille Barker, Matt Barlow, Nienke Bernard, Hanna Blom, Alette Boogman, Ronan Brosnan, Lee Canham, Alex Christodoulou, Jason Clark, Isabelle Cotton, Tessa Dekeukeleire, Daniel Encisco, Alena Ethembabaoglu, Marlene Fally, FotoLabKiekie, Veronica Gonzalez, Martine Haanschoten, Faith Hardman, Annemijn Von Holtz, Karolina Howorko, Daniel Ibarbo, Jimmy Jimeno, Ilias Elliot Kapa, Jan van der Kleijn, Patrick van der Klugt, Niels Koster, Gábor Kuncevics, Loulou Kuster, Gido Lahuis, Jente Lammerts, Yennhi Le, Crys Leung, Alyssa MacGregor, Cecilia Orozco Martinez, Callum McLean, Laura Vargas Mora, Ky Naylor, Phyllis Noster, Sofie Ooteman, Isza Parchini, Sandra Zegarra Patow, James J. Robinson, Randy Schoemaker, Monika Simon, Kaitlyn Smeeth, Lucile Tommasi, Vicky De Visser, Ana Vojvodic, Bonnie van Vugt, Katharina Wahl, Laurien Winckels, Tirino Yspol, Milah van Zuilen Subbacultcha office: Dr. Jan van Breemenstraat 3 1056 AB Amsterdam Netherlands Contact: editorial@subbacultcha.nl © photographers, artists, authors, Subbacultcha quarterly magazine, Amsterdam, December 2017

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★★★★

Va n d e r e g i s s e u r v a n LOUDER TH A N BOMBS en R EPR ISE

“U T TER LY SPEL L BINDING” THE PL AY L IST

★★★★

“A V ISUAL ST U NNER” HOL LY WOOD R EPORTER

een f ilm van JOACHIM TR IER

7 DECEMBER IN DE BIOSCOOP

3ast www.imaginefilm.nl

Vrijkaartjes winnen? Kijk op www.subbacultcha.nl hoe je mee kunt doen

Subbacultcha magazine

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Recent finds from our editorial team

Music

Laurel Halo Dust

Music

A. Savage Thawing Dawn Parquet Courts’ frontman Andrew Savage debuts his solo project, A. Savage on Dull Tools.

In true Savage form, yet even more intimate, the LP features raw reflections, unexpected hooks and a string of featured friends (think members of Woods, Ultimate Painting and Psychic TV).

Since Laurel Halo’s third studio album Dust dropped on Hyperdub this summer, its broken songs, shattered vocals and seemingly gravitydefying sound has had our hearts and heads swirling. The American-born, Berlin-based artist proceeds to stray, stretch and elude straightforward classification – this time resulting in ‘breezy, broken songs, based on woody instrumentation, sub-bass and restless intricate electronics’.

asavage.bandcamp.com

Documentary

Out of this World

laurelhalo.bandcamp.com

Website

Millennial Headline This just in: How millennials are killing the aviation industry. Also: Why have millennials fallen out of love with Six Flags? Step 1, observe something changing in society. Step 2, write an article blaming it on millennials. Embrace the blame at its delusional best, with the Millennial Headline Generator.

Looking to uplift the commonplace take on ‘queer documentary’, Out of This World shines spotlight on the lives and work of queer creatives in Johannesburg. Directed by Matt Lambert and hosted by Mykki Blanco, it captures some of the community’s most influential creatives and activists, including the art collective that’s been tugging our heart strings as of late, FAKA. watch te documentary on i-D

millennialheadline.com

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MURAKAMI WEEKEND DATE: SAT 13 & SUN 14 JANUARY LOCATION: CRUISESHIP SS ROTTERDAM

JAPAN

PEPIJN LANEN JELLE BRANDT CORSTIUS

LITERATURE

PETER BUWALDA GEORGINA VERBAAN DOLF JANSEN

ART

JASPER KRABBÉ SCAPINO BALLET ROTTERDAM JAPANESE WORKSHOPS AND MANY MORE!

MUSIC

JETT REBEL JAZZCAFÉ

WILFRIED DE JONG DE LIKT LAVINIA MEIJER

FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION

WWW.MURAKAMI.NL

Subbacultcha magazine

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Recent finds from our editorial team

Instagram

Music

History of OverPlucking

Kojey Radical Can’t stop listening to ‘In God’s Body’. With this dark and groovy new album, Kojey Radical has found the perfect balance between art and activism. soundcloud.com/kojeyradical

Music Our new fav instagram account is dedicated to the golden age of pencil-thin eyebrows, documenting the icons responsible for many-a-stunted eyebrows today. Thanks a lot Drew. ‘Because everybody makes mistakes.’

Moon King Hamtramck ‘16

@historyofoverplucking

Music

Mobilegirl Poise Berlin producer mobilegirl has been keeping busy. Now signed to Discwoman and still tight with Stockholm’s Staycore collective, mobilegirl tops off 2017 with the release of her debut EP Poise. The six track collection soars and stretches beyond the horizon, driven by synth melodies and scattered drums. In its expanse, Poise tells tales – euphoric, tempered, resolute. Recommending.

Arbutus signee Moon King, aka Daniel Benjamin, drops an addictive lo-fi pop gem ‘In & Out’; off Toronto-born Benjamin’s upcoming EP Hamtramck ‘16 that found its genesis in the Detroit neighbourhood of the same name. Making Hamtramck his home in 2016, Benjamin explored the unfamiliar, embarked in collaborations and developed a growing obsession for underground dance music – epitomized in Moon King. Band interests on Facebook list synthpop, house, disco, Prince and the Bee Gees. Need we say more? soundcloud.com/moon_king

soundcloud.com/mobilegirl

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They live in complex societies The Saprophage by Nathaniel Mellors & Gwendoline Christie. Official Selection IFFR 2013

Meet the humans of Planet IFFR

International Film Festival Rotterdam 24 January – 4 February 2018

IFFR.com

Subbacultcha magazine

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Recent finds from our editorial team

Track

Music

Sassy 009 Pretty Baby

Torben Unit & Money $ex Records

Bedroom-banger-meets-captivating-club-tune with Sassy 009’s ‘Pretty Baby’. Built up with pulsating layers of swirling bass and sultry croons, the hazy, throbbing dance track is an ode to the emptiness of obsessing over someone without knowing them. Immediately hooked on the Oslobased trio, made up of friends Sunniva, Teodora and Johanna. Keepin’ our eyes on this one. soundcloud.com/sassy009

Tech

Hater Dating App

Berlin-based Torben Unit (formerly known as Max Graef band) caught our eye by making new sounds, blending in different electronic elements in a way that’s really got us going. Really fun crew that also run a label called Money $ex Records, which while we’re at it, is totally worth looking into. Buncha young people doing a buncha cool stuff.

Torbenunitband.bandcamp.com moneysexrecords.bandcamp.com

TV Had enough of obliviously swiping through strangers? Tired of chatting with bots? Try something new – and, according to great thinkers like Alain de Botton, a much more durable approach to love: bond over the things you hate. Hater lets you swipe (options: love/hate) on subjects like ‘gym selfies’, ‘gender stereotypes’, ’ ‘prime numbers’ and ‘the brexit’ and makes matches based on your answers. Taste and hobbies are but fleeting; hate can last a lifetime. Haters gonna date.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 09 Larry David turned 70 this year, but that didn’t stop him from releasing a fresh new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Once again it’s a touch of pure genius. Laugh your hearts out darlings. hbo.com

haterdater.com

17

NEW MUSIC introducing you to fresh artists we admire

Yuko Yuko SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA NETWORK

Interview by Callum McLean Photos shot by Piet Oosterbeek in Amsterdam, NL

ORK

L.A.N. ARTISTS

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA NETWORK

For a mop-haired youngster from Friesland, Elias Elgersma is going places. Today, quite literally so, as he chats on the move.

But also in the sense that across his different aliases he’s made quite a name for himself as a prolific purveyor of loosefitting, lo-fi guitar pop, and bright, collagic music videos.

Elias nailed this formula long ago, and now joined by his band (including sometime bassist, sometime singer Marrit) Yuko Yuko is tearing it up and starting again, slipping confidently into a more buttoned-up sound. Clean harmonies, vintage warmth and neater arrangements define the new Yuko Yuko – one you’d take home to meet your folks. Still only at the texting stage of our relationship, I catch Elias over Facebook Messenger find out how Yuko Yuko is now coming of age.

Yuko Yuko

‘It’s as if humankind transformed in the ‘80s.’

For a while now you’ve had your fingers in a lot of musical pies. So what is it that makes Yuko Yuko, Yuko Yuko?

For the past 4 years we were somehow focusing a lot on what makes a song very danceable or heavy or pumping and stuff. But at some point that gets really boring to do. The new sound is more like something an ex-Beatle or an ex-Beach Boy would make – overly mature, even though we are all very young.

It’s a very weird combo.

Well, don’t delete your Facebook! It’s beautiful website. Yesterday, I was also in a discussion about social media – that it’s all moving towards Instagram stuff. I’m more of a Facebook guy. And to those being stuck in a Facebook friend zone: you should call! There’s this call function on Messenger and it’s free!

People are really too afraid to call these days. So, give her a nice call buddy, and it’ll be fine.

Despite all those contemporary references, ‘80s nostalgia also seems to be a common thread across your different projects — what’s so magical to you about the Decade of Cringe?

The ‘80s were so damn overly heavy in everything. Cos of all those new digital technologies, everything got so weird in that decade. Like movies, music, haircuts. It’s as if humankind transformed in the ‘80s. Actually, a couple of years after WW2 we started to evolve into creatures with too many fantasies to handle.

But in the ‘80s it really exploded!

yukoyuko.bandcamp.com

Your 2016 record was called More Than A Facebook Friend (although here we are again on Facebook..) What’s your advice for those of us still stuck in the Facebook “friend zone”?

between ‘right and wrong’. And to me it felt like a lot of artists wanted to make some Trump song just to show their own ‘goodness’. That’s what ‘Mistaken Millennial’ is about.

Thanks mate! ‘Mistaken Millennial’ also seems pretty in tune with our social media generation — how do you see the place of your art in the age of fake news and alternative facts?

My ‘art’ doesn’t have any place in this whole debate. Almost nobody’s music does. That whole thing with 30 artists making a Trump song really irritated me.

It’s really this thing of choosing sides

— Yuko Yuko play L.A.N. Party on 15 December at De School. L.A.N. Party is free for members.

Find the L.A.N. Party section on p. 47.

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NEW MUSIC introducing you to fresh artists we admire

Dodomundo SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA NETWORK

Interview by Mateusz Mondalski Photos shot by Amie Claire Galbraith in The Hague, NL

ORK

L.A.N. ARTISTS

20

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA NETWORK

We can clearly see a rise of interest in club artists coming from Eastern Europe. The hype around Kiev’s notorious crew Cxema and Warsaw’s DIY rave Brutaz are only singular examples of this sonic tidal wave. In a similar vein, we’re glad to present Dodomundo – an up-and-coming club selector from Vilnius who calls The Hague her new home. Dovile Stalioraityte is already a resident at Bar None and she’s set to play our next L.A.N. Party at Amsterdam’s De School.

Dodomundo

‘My musical interests shift constantly, so it’s hard to tell what I’ll be playing in a year or so.’

What have you been up to recently?

What do you find to be the most exciting thing happening in your life right now?

On both a social and musical level, I feel like I need to re-establish my identity because of the new environment I’m in.

It’s an interesting process. Being here also raises some questions, like, what it means to be Eastern-European and how this position is perceived through the real-time Western gaze.

What’s the story behind your name?

I started off playing tropical-influenced music, mainly baile funk and a lot of tracks with Portuguese vocals. There was this one track back then, a remix of Mastiksoul & Gregor Salto’s ‘Toca Bunda’ with the line ‘todo mundo’ repeated in it. The catchiness of the line got me into shouting it like ‘dodo mundo’ cause my nickname had always been ‘dodo’ and I just couldn’t resist singing it that way. So when I had to play my first official gig, the promoters asked for my name and I just went with Dodo Mundo - Dodo’s World.

I do enjoy that the name is genderless and with that it removes some of the bias in how people sometimes tend to perceive female artists.

How did you get into music?

My interest in music started from a young age and took different forms throughout the years. I finished a music school, played the piano and was singing in choirs. Being an ‘alternative’ teen also made its mark to my relationship with music, as I was always trying to listen and search for the weirdest shit out there. When I moved to Vilnius for uni I met a friend who happened to be a DJ. We were always discussing club music and he encouraged me to start DJing as well. In the beginning I had my phases of playing specifics genres, but that quickly shifted to playing more of a mix of styles. Right now I’d say I play a mix of ‘internet’ music, but that doesn’t actually say anything. My musical interests shift constantly, so it’s hard to tell what I’ll be playing in a year or so.

soundcloud.com/dodomundo

Settling in here! I just moved to the Netherlands this summer, and have been exploring the country and its cultural landscape. I started working at Sonic Acts two months ago and playing some first shows, which I feel lucky to have here already. It helps to be welcomed by the Bar None club series where I am playing as their resident DJ every month. Also, still trying to understand how the Dutch food chain starts and ends with bread only.

— Dodomundo plays L.A.N. Party on 15 December at De School. L.A.N. Party is free for members.

Dodomundo also plays Bar None on 27 January at OT301. Show is free for members.

Find the L.A.N. Party section on p. 47.

21

NEW MUSIC introducing you to fresh artists we admire

Tim Koh SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA NETWORK

Interview by Maija Jussila Photos shot by Isolde Woudstra in Amsterdam, NL

ORK

L.A.N. ARTISTS

22

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA NETWORK

Not often do we get the pleasure of harbouring an undercover indie rock star in our neck of the woods. Beyond being a dexterous multi-instrumentalist and deep thinker, Tim Koh boasts a musical CV just shy of two decades, performing with the likes of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and Gang Gang Dance. Now turning a leaf and finding his way in Amsterdam, Tim Koh is debuting his solo project. Onset by the first time he casually dropped by our old office at Da Costakade, we delight in the opportunity to host one of his premiere solo performances, at the heart of our community: this year’s L.A.N. Party. We caught up with Tim Koh in the midst of a lifechanging moment to reflect on space, place and time.

Tim Koh

‘I’m often alone here so I find myself more calm, spending more time thinking things through, working on myself.’

Where are you at the moment?

I’m in Los Angeles right now, visiting some family. I’m from LA and I’ve lived here for most of my life. For the past couple of years though I’ve made Amsterdam my home. I’m starting to find a nice community of people here like Subbacultcha, Red Light Radio, Red Light Records, Sandberg Institute; they’ve all been so open and welcoming.

I’m grateful.

I’d say it plays a big effect on me as a person, but not always in my creative process. I draw often from little situations or moments that are happening around me, but somehow my core ideas are always drawn from memories of my youth and of Los Angeles.

I imagine living in Amsterdam has been a change from LA in many ways. How does the change translate to your music?

It was not easy acclimating into the culture and the climate the first couple years but I’ve really grown to love Amsterdam so much! I don’t like the gentrification of course, but I think there’s still some ways around it and the city is really open-minded and free if you’re around the right people here.

It’s been hard to choose what to sacrifice. As a foreigner, you’re kind of stuck in the middle, not sure if one should give up their own cultural identity to acclimate into another society, or hold onto your own cultural identity and

not be integrated into the society that you live in. Know what I mean? I’m often alone here so I find myself more calm, spending more time thinking things through, working on myself.

Apart from physical journeys, your musical one extends close to two decades.

What are some major turning points that stand out within this journey?

soundcloud.com/lamaraba

You’ve moved around the world quite a bit, living, touring and travelling. How does that influence your creativity?

First off, playing with Ariel (Pink) has been a dream come true and life changing. I’ve really grown so much through that whole experience. I love him and his music so much. My collaborations with Gang Gang Dance and Prince Rama have also been such wonderful, familial interactions. I spent an evening in Barcelona once sitting with Mayo Thompson; it was his birthday. He told me lots of life stories; from then on I thought about music differently.

— Tim Koh plays L.A.N. Party at De School on 15 December. L.A.N. Party is free for members.

Read the extended interview at subbacultcha.nl.

Find the L.A.N. Party section on p. 47.

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Interview

Rising Brooklyn producer on reflective blazers and emotional trap music

Yaeji Interview by Zofia Ciechowska Photos shot by James Emmerman in New York, USA

Rising Brooklyn producer, vocalist and DJ, Kathy Yaeji Lee met with us days before the release of her EP2, this autumn’s breakthrough sound that’s making us simultaneously wipe away stray tears and sweatdrops on the dancefloor. It’s an 18 minute collection of soft ambient waves morphing into hazy, emotional trap tones and catchy house beats, all adorned by Yaeji’s sighed, chanted Korean and English lyrics. What shines through Yaeji’s audio-visual abstractions is 24

a thoughtful self-acceptance of one’s own weirdnesses and anxieties, achieving catharsis through a solitary bedroom dance and a packed warehouse rave alike.

We caught up with Yaeji on a crisp autumn afternoon to hear about riding bikes in the dark in Chinatown, finding spaces that feel like home and running out of plates to feed curry to the throng of friends crammed into her apartment.

Yaeji

25

Interview

You released EP2 and people are buzzing about it. What’s the story behind it?

Rather than being just one type of story, EP2 is a documentation of how I’m growing and changing; it’s very varied. Since my first EP, I’ve been writing more tracks and then curating them. My first release was more concise in terms of sound, there was a specific palette. With EP2, I tried a lot of different things because I was just curious as to how I can translate my sound. ‘Drink I’m sippin on’ is already a departure from my first release just in terms of genre, and then there are other loose and ambient tracks focused on my voice and emotions and another one that’s a happy rave; you can just be in your room dancing alone to it. I’m curious to hear what people think about these different moods that I’ve expressed.

Your video for ‘drink i’m sippin on’ shows 26

you roaming around New York’s Chinatown in reflective blazers. The track itself has a very distinctive sound that’s new to your fans.

The track came together when I was in LA during the summer and was listening to a lot of hip hop. I talked to my manager about making a trap song to switch it up since I’d been focusing on dance music. I thought it might be interesting because the way I hear myself on my tracks is sometimes similar to the flow of rappers. I was curious to frame the concept for this track in that way. We came up with the basic beat for it and sat with it – the synth part didn’t come until later, so it was a hard, straight up trap song. I wanted to make it softer and more emotional and that’s how it came to be what you’ve heard. In terms of what I wanted to express with ‘drink i’m sippin on’, I know it sounds like I’m talking about alcohol, but it’s this metaphor for knowing you’re acting a fool

Yaeji

but you’re your most genuine self, and you don’t give a fuck. This is me and I’m weird. It’s a confident, emotional and vulnerable track.

In a way, it became a form of emotional trap music.

others. That’s when I get emotional, recall memories and sometimes cry. You know that energy that’s trying to rip through your body?

It doesn’t only come from the DJ, it comes from the people dancing around you, it’s this collective energy that I love.

What about the ‘80s style blazers that you’re all sporting in the video?

I was inspired by my mom. I’m an only child and she was like a sister to look up to and copy. I was looking through her photos from college when she met my dad. These oversized coats with shoulder pads were a thing.

They’re interesting because they’re not quite a feminine form with their broad-shouldered silhouette. At the same time, the blazers looked really beautiful and delicate on her and I thought that there was a nice contrast of feeling empowered, pretty, beautiful and comfortable by wearing one. I wanted to do that in the video, because the song is about empowerment and being yourself. I got these blazers from a four storey thrift store across from my place in downtown Brooklyn. I didn’t know my friends’ sizes, so I had to imagine what they’d look like in them. The bigger, the better. I modified the blazers by sticking reflective stickers on them to shine at night.

I rode a bike in the video, which I built myself.

I love bikes.

‘The pairing of dancing and crying is very cathartic and physical,’ is something you’ve said before. Tell me more about that feeling.

To me, it’s about introspection in the club, when you get into these grooves. It’s like when I was Christian by choice for 2 years of my life and I went to church camp and everyone got so tired and sleep-deprived singing, and you’d just let yourself loose and have this cathartic sensation. I almost feel like that when I’m at a late hours warehouse rave, dancing for hours in one place, not drinking water, you’re just there, locked into this groove. You get into this meditative state of being in your head while surrounded by

‘You know that energy that’s trying to rip through your body?

It doesn’t only come from the DJ, it comes from the people dancing around you, it’s this collective energy that I love.’

‘Music is the most inclusive language of all – I’ve realized this over and over. I really hope music continues to be the way I find others and others find me.’ How have you approached your bilingual music-making to connect with others?

My Korean lyrics began to materialize when I started singing. In the very beginning, I never thought of myself as a singer. I recorded my voice to take down melodies, but then I slowly started adding words. I chose to sing in Korean because it would hide the meaning from my college classmates at the time. I found it easier to express myself when the songs were in a language that they couldn’t understand. I was less obsessed about whether something was cheesy or boring. I prefer to abstract because telling a story is too much for me. As an instrument, I realize that there’s something very beautiful about the phonetics and textures of the Korean language, so it makes me glad that some say it sounds like ASMR. But once I started putting my music online, the internet is global and I got busted! All the Koreans can understand everything that I say on my tracks! And there was comfort in that realization. It’s like I was so scared of being judged, but then I realized that everyone was 27

Interview

doing it from the beginning. That’s when I realized that I don’t mind sharing the meaning with everyone. In the video for ‘Therapy’, I had the lyrics subtitled, but you can find the Korean translation for all my tracks now.

‘As an instrument, I realize that there’s something very beautiful about the phonetics and textures of the Korean language, so it makes me glad that some say it sounds like ASMR.’ You’ve had many different homes in the US and Korea. When do places start feeling like home for you?

I was born in the US and lived here until I was 9 years old. After, we went to Korea where I stayed until college for which I came back to the US. It’s a quite a unique experience, which I’m grateful for now. I was always the new kid and had to adjust. I’ve got past the point of being bothered by questions like ‘Where’s home?’. Sometimes people are genuinely curious and I don’t blame them.

Sometimes I say that I’m from Korea and they asked me North or South, which I find bizarre.

I think during my whole childhood, I never really quite figured out how to feel at home anywhere. Maybe in college, I realized that what makes me feel at home is my immediate surroundings. It had something to do with location, I guess, but it also had something to do with the people I interact with every day.

In college in Pittsburgh, I was able to find a tight-knit community where music was our common denominator in the niche under28

ground we belonged to. In New York, I found another amazing group in Brooklyn who are into music and art. It’s common shared interests with others that truly make me feel at home. Wherever I go, just the fact that I know that these people have my back, that I can hit them up whenever, makes me realize that home has become less of a physical location thing for me.

You’ve invested a great deal in finding your people and building a community with them.

There was a lot of excitement when I moved to New York. The sheer amount of shows that I went to in a year was astonishing, and I met so many people that way. I started this night called Curry In No Hurry, which is a series of dinner hangouts. The idea came from going to all these shows, meeting all these people, but never getting to know them because everyone’s drunk and it’s too loud. So I decided to cook curry for them at my place and they would bring music that we could listen to together. We did that for about a year and we found that our shared love of music really connected our community.

What do you throw in your curry and set mixes?

My mom sends me Japanese curry cubes, which form the base. I make vegetarian curry with onions, potatoes, carrots and a bit of apple sauce which adds depth, trust me. One time, I managed to squeeze sixteen people in my small apartment! We didn’t have enough plates so we had to eat straight out of a pot, it was pretty crazy. I make the guests put on the music, they bring records and cassettes.

We take our time sipping on drinks.

— EP2 was released on GODMODE on 3 November. soundcloud.com/kraejiyaeji

Introduction

stargaze

Introduction by Derek Robertson Photos shot by Lonneke van der Palen in Amsterdam, NL 29

Introduction

Searching, yearning, looking above and beyond for deeper connections; ‘we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.’ Oscar Wilde’s renowned words are an apt description for s t a r g a z e. No ordinary band, they are a collective; of people, yes, but also of inquisitive minds and principles, an ethos that transcends mere instruments and egos. ‘It’s a certain spirit,’ says Merle Scheske. ‘The group develops on it’s own.’ And despite being one of the founding members, there’s no room for any primus inter pares posturing; their ‘all for one’ approach to creativity and curation is precisely what makes their performances such stellar events. Marrying modern orchestral composition with alternative music, they constantly push the boundaries of what a contemporary classical collective should be; performing with Iceage for Boiler Room; recording with electronic maestros POLIÇA; covering Boards Of Canada songs acoustically… the list is endless.

— S t a r g a z e play The Rest Is Noise on 13 January in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. we-are-stargaze.com Read the interview at subbacultcha.nl

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stargaze

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Introduction

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stargaze

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TADS THOTS Interview by Deva Rao Photos shot by Lois Cohen at de Efteling, NL 34

Interview

After decades of relative insularity, Dutch rap finally seems intent on breaking free of its bordered constraints.

Where previous generations were content with domestic fame and locally-sourced musical reference points, the current wave is hungrier – their periphery is wider, their goals are transatlantic and they have the internetnurtured artistic palette to make it happen. Tads Thots – a member of berserking Amsterdam collective SMIB – epitomizes that broadened scope. There’s his sneering swagger on ‘Fukboiproof’, his hypnotic, dead-eyed hook on ‘Pay Me Net Depay’ and his sugar-glazed autotune melodics on squad cut ‘Skeemen’, to name just a few of the weapons at his disposal. With successful singles by fellow crew members Yung Nnelg, Ray Fuego and GRGY paving the way, Tads Thots’ upcoming EP might just take them truly worldwide.

What do you have in the works right now?

The EP is basically done, I’m just mixing it. I’m putting the last pieces on it. All the songs are done, being engineered and shit. It’s coming out, but it’s stalled now because I can’t tape the final bits. I fucked up my voice!

[Laughs] That’s impossible, man. I wish I was more generic… I’d find somebody who could do that shit for me.

You need to cut down on identity. My main question though is: does the EP slap?

It’s gonna slap so hard.

That sucks, man.

It’s fucked up! And it’s been like this for like the last month… But it’s gonna change the world when it drops.

Can’t you find, like, a vocal impersonator?

I believe it. It feels like SMIB’s art has what it takes to cross over, more so than any prior wave. Thoughts?

Definitely. That’s why we’re SMIB Worldwide!

We know it goes beyond Holland, man.

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Interview

A lotta [Dutch music] is doing numbers that’d almost make you think it has what it takes to go there [outside the Netherlands]. But still I know that, in sound, it’s so Dutch. It’s like Black Pete… it flies in Holland, but anywhere else, it’s like ‘what the fuck?’

‘Holland’s not progressive at all, man. You have people trying to like, be risky, and do drugs on TV. They call that progressive.

It’s just a word they use.’

Ready for the world. But are you still fuckboi-proof?

Yeah man! That [‘Fukboiproof’] was like my first song man, shit…

Still slapping.

For sure. Wish I could put it on Spotify but it’s not my beat, it’s Tyga’s. Somebody let Tyga know I killed him on his own beat!

We were just in the studio and I heard this Tyga song… it’s wack. But the beat’s fire, so yeah, killed them.

That was like, I didn’t want to ask GRGY ‘yo, send me beats, I wanna rap!’ I wanted him to want to send me beats, because he knows I’m gonna kill them. That’s what I did with ‘Fuckboiproof’ and he was like ‘damn, why didn’t you ask me to send you beats?’ Just the way I wanted it.

One of my worst fears is being considered a fuckboi. Historically, my main approach there has been to stay indoors and minimize all human contact, but I figure that might be counterproductive to life in general…

Nah, that’s definitely the way. That’s the way.

Fair. But how else can one avoid fuckboi status?

You’ll be fine as long as you stand up for what you believe in. You can’t be on one thing one day and dismiss it the next. I mean, you can change, but even change, it happens naturally. You have to be consistent.

Noted. So, I find it interesting how Dutch culture prides itself very vocally on progressiveness…

Ha! It’s not there bro, it’s not there.

But they insist. It’s this weird conservativeprogressive hybrid. Why is that the case?

Holland’s not progressive at all, man. You have people trying to like, be risky, and do drugs on TV. They call that progressive. It’s just a word they use. Like “inclusiveness”. It means nothing. It’s fuckboi shit in itself; it’s not consistent. They say it, but don’t do it.

That’s basically why we created SMIB. To have our own world, create our own destiny. Ain’t shit out here, unless we make it. Real shit.

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Tads Thots

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Interview

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Tads Thots

Holland doesn’t have a history of people standing up to shit, I think that’s the biggest thing. Obviously, the status quo is never gonna be the same people complaining about nothing changing. So it has to be the other side, and that’s us.

Jay Zed. Seven.

Middle Class Homie Quan.

Nine.

‘That’s basically why we created SMIB. To have our own world, create our own destiny. Ain’t shit out here, unless we make it.’

How prevalent is, like, aggressively pro-lyrical rap conservatism in the Netherlands?

It’s the same [as elsewhere]. I think Dutch music culture… it’s just now getting its own personality. It was never this big and this diverse. And it’s not even that diverse. It’s just starting to shape itself.

So even that debate, it’s not even the oldversus-young debate. You have young people like ‘where are the bars?’ and ‘where’s the substance?’ There’s people who can adapt to change, and people who can’t.

We might just go with that one… Yung Adult.

Eight.

Ok well, there’s a lot of Lil prefixes, so I was thinking of just going with Lil. Yeah, that’s a good one. Definitely an eight.

It’s risky.

Lil’s on the table. Any closing words for the kids? What’s the trendiest current drug?

Tell them to get on that Xanax wave.

Is that the best message for the youth?

Man, fuck the youth.

This is true.

I’ll do my part. Maybe it’d help if I join SMIB? I ask this in every interview but it’s yet to work out… but, in preparing my application, I’ve churned out some potential rap names for myself. Can you rate them?

Let me rate that shit!

Okay. I have above average height, so I was thinking: Tall D. That’s gonna be a five.

69Pac. Six.

— Tads Thots plays his EP release show on 1 December at s105, De School. Show is free for members. soundcloud.com/tadzio-whatevadefuk

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Interview

Avant-folk powerhouse on reclaiming intuition and the conduit of music

Circuit des Yeux

Interview by Julia Yudelman Photos shot by David Kasnic in Chicago, USA 40

Circuit des Yeux

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Interview

‘It’s a relief to be back,’ says Haley Fohr, the dazzling mind behind Chicago-based avant-folk outfit Circuit des Yeux. After a considerable hiatus spent touring as Jackie Lynn, Fohr’s cocaine-queen alter ego, Fohr, has returned to Circuit des Yeux with a fresh album and a new lease on life. The latest release in her impressive repertoire, Reaching for Indigo, is equal parts celestial and cinematic. Synthesizers, strings and guitars swirl around inexorably and infectiously, grounded

by Fohr’s signature baritone, which swings 42

between operatic intonations and primal howls. Speaking to Fohr as she prepares for her upcoming tour, you immediately get the sense that the 28-year-old wouldn’t have it any other way. For Fohr, songs don’t stand alone as individual singles, but form part of an entire journey – one that emanates straight from her heart and spirals out into the cosmos. In our Spotify-obsessed world, we may be told that the LP is dead. But with Reaching for Indigo, Fohr proves there is indeed life after death. You just have to intuit it.

Circuit des Yeux Why the colour indigo in Reaching for Indigo?

Indigo is a really interesting colour. Colours have frequencies, like a number attached to them, kind of like a frequency in audio. But with indigo, it’s never really been scientifically defined. It’s a spectrum on a rainbow, but scientists have never really agreed on what exactly indigo is. In human culture, it’s been celebrated and honoured for centuries as the sixth chakra, which is intuition, or the third eye. I find intuition really hard to utilize in today’s world. With the internet, and the swiftness of the media, and overpopulation, I just feel overstimulated. So for me it was kind of like, returning to intuition and following that internal knowledge.

I know that you’re a big advocate of home recordings. Why is that so important to you vs. working in a studio?

I guess initially it stemmed from my means.

I’ve never had a large budget for recording and everything I’ve done, I paid for myself.

Now that I’m, you know, deep into my discography, when people approach me with money, I have a hard time taking it, just because there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and ownership is so hard to hold onto these days. But also artistically, I’m more comfortable when your mind’s not on the clock. I think you’re able to re-approach some songs and accompaniment in like, a more careful way. Each song that Cooper and I captured is basically because we had ample amount of time at home. We would try something out and then really dig in because we had the freedom to do that. For instance, with overdubs and the arrangements, Cooper and I get pretty deep. Like on ‘Brainshift’ there’s a backing vocal part that’s 16 or 18 vocals stacked on top of one another.

You’ve put so much care and time into this album despite, as you said, our fast-paced digital world, and losing some ownership of your stuff. Like, when I google your name the

first thing that comes up is Spotify. Does that bother you?

Yeah. I do think that to be a working and successful artist in today’s time, you have to be malleable, you have to bend. I think one of my strong points is how prolific I am, which might not have worked in the ‘60s or the ‘80s. People digest things so quickly now that it works in my favour. Things like Spotify and streaming, I really don’t like. I don’t think it’s good for my music. This new album isn’t on Spotify, which wasn’t necessarily my decision, but in hindsight I think, I don’t write singles. I write albums. And I think it should be listened to in a cohesive whole. Live, we’re going to do the same. Do it from start to finish. If I’ve learned anything from releasing this record, it’s that there’s still a marketplace for that.

‘To be a working and successful artist in today’s time, you have to be malleable, you have to bend.’

Totally. Well, I have to ask. Your alter ego Jackie Lynn is awesome. Is that like a David Bowie / Ziggy Stardust kind of distinction?

Yeah I mean, I did some research and I thought the way that David Bowie approached Ziggy Stardust was pretty inspiring, pretty effective. I’ve gotten a lot of comparisons to Chris Gaines – [country singer Garth Brooks’ alternate persona], which I’m not inspired by at all. [Laughs] But yeah, I do think it’s pretty individual. I wasn’t trying to repeat anyone else’s artistic steps, and I really gained a lot of perspective through that project.

What kind of perspective?

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Interview

Well, I thought I was untethering myself from identity in a lot of ways, but in fact I think it was the opposite. I take a lot of time to write, so this was supposed to buy me time for this Reaching for Indigo album, but in fact I just created a second band that people kind of cared about. So that was a lot of responsibility. And on a technical, selfish side I just wanted to write smaller songs – shorter songs that were easier to digest – and like, sing more words, and be more of a poignant lyricist instead of going existential all the time, which is something I have to do just to deal with my mind sometimes.

ryone wants to know what you are going to do in the world. So just surviving as a musician has been a goal of mine, and I’m doing that. What I didn’t expect is how everything I have in my life now has been brought to me through music. Like, all the people in my life. It’s kind of insane. All the beautiful gifts that I’ve been given have been through the conduit of music. That’s really profound, and really rewarding. I guess in a career sense it’s been a pretty slow burn. But I’m one of those artists: I just know I’m going to do it forever. I think I have pretty loyal fans. I might not have like, the most amount of fans, but I think they’re pretty with me.

‘Everything I have in my life now has been brought to me through music.’

They’re in it for life. I definitely noticed that.

[Laughs] Yeah. So I mean hopefully 10 years, 20 years from now I can still say the same thing, and just keep doing what I’m doing.

How do you feel getting back to Circuit des Yeux now, after doing that other persona?

It definitely felt like a departure, and I guess I feel the largest difference in a live context.

When I’m performing as Jackie Lynn, and Jackie Lynn’s doing her thing, it’s fun but there’s something missing — something’s not satiated. I have such a hunger to return back to my heart and what’s coming from the demon side of me. Practicing and rehearsing for this tour, it’s just so fulfilling. It’s all about challenging my voice and trying to go as far as I can vocally; everything just feels so real and personal as Circuit des Yeux, so it’s a relief to be back. The mysterious thing that people don’t talk about: where your heart’s at really does make a difference.

You’ve been doing Circuit des Yeux for 10 years. Back when you were a teenager, where did you think music would take you?

I mean, it was definitely a dream. As a young teenager, you’ve got so much potential, eve44

— Circuit des Yeux plays The Rest Is Noise in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ on 19 February. Show is free for members. Reaching for Indigo was released on Drag City Records on 20 October. circuitdesyeux.bandcamp.com

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FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER 2017 DE SCHOOL, AMSTERDAM

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L.A.N. PARTY - 15.12.17 - DE SCHOOL, AMSTERDAM

Let’s talk about L.A.N.

by Leon Caren Maybe it’s the season, or maybe it’s just the fact that we’ve been doing this for so long. In any case, with the L.A.N. Party coming up, I feel the need to redefine why we’re doing what we’re doing. What is this Subbacultcha ship that we’ve been sailing on

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for all these years? In a way L.A.N. party is exactly how Subbacultcha started back in 2004.

We wanted to support our local scene, create a community, start a fire. Not a real one, obviously. But one that would blow up in the face of all bullshit mainstream music media. So we organized an event called Subbacultcha, with all the finest local artists we could find.

Much has changed since then. For one thing, mainstream music media have kindly pulled their own respective plugs. Now what we have is a fragmented media landscape, with lots of voices and lots of opinions. And amongst all the noise it’s even harder to define what’s real and what’s product placement. But there’s still a lot of great new music, and a need to make that music heard. A need to support those artists who are going against the grain, doing something different.

So at the heart of it, many things have stayed the same. And I’m of the utmost conviction that the only way to stay true to yourself is by changing constantly. As long as you keep redefining your starting point, you’ll be fine.

Don’t be afraid. The worst that can happen, is that you end up like Eddie Vedder, singing ‘I changed by not changing at all’ which is another way of saying that you’ve become a con48

servative asshole who feels that the best has already happened.

So I tried to make a list. A set of rules concerning artists that we want to support.

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Here it goes: 01. Music should be art not entertainment (which does not mean art cannot be entertaining).

02. Music should follow the same rules as art; 03. Which means there are no rules; 04. Just frameworks in which artistic expression takes shape.

05. As an artist, you need to find your own voice within these frameworks; 06. And if the framework doesn’t fit your voice then stretch it, bend it, destroy it; 07. Or create a new framework.

08. Be aware of the ability you have as an artist to reflect on what is happening around you; 09. Both on a personal as well as on a social and political level.

10. Be an activist if you are one, or a poet if you need to be.

11. In any case be bold, be relentless, be critical.

12. Make music like your life really depends on it (this is not a fucking hobby).

It’s simple really.

— Leon Caren co-founded Subbacultcha in 2004

L.A.N. ARTISTS BAR NONE PRESENTS: ANG3L SP1DER 22:30 // Muzieklokaal Having debuted at ADE, this duo is now bringing their murky electronica and ambient soundscapes to L.A.N. Born in the dark corners of the Bar None scene, they’ve fast gained a glowing and well-deserved, live reputation. Catch them now, on their ascent; it’s sure to be a hell of a ride.

THE REST IS NOISE PRESENTS: DOLLKRAUT BAND 19:30 // Muzieklokaal No one repurposes old music quite like Dollkraut.

Taking tunes from the past and making them glitter and shine in whole new ways, his sets are cinematic and sweeping, exploring the nooks and crevices of history for nuggets of pure sonic gold. soundcloud.com/dollkraut

GLAMCULT PRESENTS: ANYA DORADI 21:30 // s105 Quietly sentimental and subtly stylish, this new project from Idiott Smith’s Roy Veenstra and Adriaan Bon scans like a modern interpretation of Sting (but in a good way). Their music is super smooth, sweeping through your brain like a warm Mediterranean breeze. soundcloud.com/anyadorari

CHARLIE & THE LESBIANS 20:45 // Garderobe

FENNA FICTION & ANDREI VILCOV 23:45 & 01:30 // Muzieklokaal

Two heads are better than one, and this promises to be a glorious meeting of two incredible musical minds; Vilcov, a crate digger extraordinaire who hasn’t been on the decks for some time, and Fenna Fiction, a bright new talent currently stamping her mark all over radio & clubs. soundcloud.com/fennafiction

KORFBAL What unholy racket is this? Teen angst turned up to 11, that’s what. With songs called ‘Fuck You Up’, it’s pretty obvious what’s inspiring this punk trio to make their blistering, goth-tinged songs. Live, they’re an absolute riot – literally – so don’t say you haven’t been warned. soundcloud.com/charlieandthelesbians

21:15 // Garderobe Bring your dancing shoes, for Korfbal will set your toes-a-tappin’. Deliciously jangly indie is always as fun as it is addictive, and with riffs a plenty – they borrow from garage rock as much as pop – this lot have hit the motherload. soundcloud.com/subroutinerecords/ korfbal-attak

BAR NONE PRESENTS: DODOMUNDO 22:00 // Muzieklokaal Some music defies characterization. Music like Dodomundo’s, which is pop, but not as you know it.

Frighteningly modern, it sounds like a mish-mash of every major trend from the last five years (in a good way). The result is deliciously moreish. soundcloud.com/dodomundo

LAMELLEN 00:30 // Muzieklokaal There’s a smooth, retro ‘80s sheen to Lamellen’s music; ‘Horse Massage’ could be a long lost deep cut from a Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The drums are crisp, the loops are concise and the vibe is very much sunset over Venice Beach. lamellen.bandcamp.com

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L.A.N. ARTISTS OOO 19:45 // Garderobe

Out Of Order is no ordinary punk band. Eschewing all out thrash and a furious blitzkrieg of noise, the trio has settled on something slower and altogether more melodic, that carries hints of ‘50s girl groups and doo-wop alongside post-punk’s darker edges. outoforderpunk.bandcamp.com

ORPHEU THE WIZARD 02:00 // Club ‘One foot in the cosmos’ says his bio, and it’s true: Orpheu’s sets tend to be otherworldly experiences. A musical magpie, his skill lies in unearthing hidden gems and confounding expectations, taking clubbers to places they didn’t even know existed. soundcloud.com/orpheuthewizard

RAY FUEGO 21:45 // Garderobe There’s a dark, sinister undercurrent to Ray Fuego’s doom rap. Some serious low-end, sampled church bells and trap drum loops provide the perfect backing for his biting social commentary and vignettes of life on the streets. soundcloud.com/rayxfuego

THE DAILY INDIE PRESENTS: RELAX HEAD MAN 19:15 // Garderobe The kaleidoscopic swirls that feature in the video for ‘Corona Girl’ give a good indication to their musical inspiration; seventies psychedelia, the Summer of Love, jangly guitars. And as a soundtrack for tuning in and dropping out, it’s pretty far out man.

ORDER PRESENTS: RICKY STAGGS 20:30 // Muzieklokaal

PETERSBURG ORDERER

PETERSBURG ORDERER

20:30 // s105 Lo-fi and shabby, Petersburg Orderer’s songs revel in their messiness. Clattering drum machines and looped samples abound, but so do skeletal acoustic tracks picked on a battered guitar. One thing remains constant though: sweet melodies and solid gold songwriting swimming through the craziness. soundcloud.com/petersburgorderer

RADIO RIETVELD 19:00 // Cafe Ah students, fervent believers of radical thought and idealism. They’re also great at radio, promoting a vibrant and eclectic mix of music from all over the globe. This will be the first time Radio Rietveld attempts to live stream their shows; expect excursions into eletronica, ambient and something called ‘nightcore’. soundcloud.com/radio-rietveld

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Some music is resolutely of its time. Auto-tuned vocals, slick, ice-cold production, skittering drum pads; Ricky Staggs could only exist today. But his raw lyrics and emotional punch set him apart from all the other pop wannabes and R&B crooners. soundcloud.com/rickystaggs

ROBERT BERGMAN 04:30 // Club If you’re gonna call yourself the ‘Disco Devil’, you better be good. And Robert Bergman is good. Very good. His stripped-down bangers certainly bring the noise and focus on the very essence of what makes a dancefloor tick. soundcloud.com/robert-bergman

L.A.N. ARTISTS SWEAT TONGUE 20:15 // Garderobe

while others have the seductive charm of latenight slow jams. soundcloud.com/yoneta

YUKO YUKO

The free-form craziness of Sweat Tongue apparently has a name; ‘no rock’ they call it. And it’s not just the rules of rock they ignore – pretty much any formal structure has been jettisoned in favor of shards of noise, dissonant guitars and guttural howls. soundcloud.com/sweattongue

TEREKKE 23:00 // Club Downtempo house is a deeply hypnotic place, one of subtly morphing sounds and gentle repetition, where techno’s hard edge has been replaced by a warm, woozy embrace. Like clubbing on valium, if you will. soundcloud.com/terekke

TIM KOH 19:45 // s105 There’s a seductive, off-kilter groove to Tim Koh’s music — it comes as no surprise when you realize he wielded bass for Ariel Pink. His songs chug determinedly along, pausing now and again for psychedelic little detours that let his quirkiness shine through. soundcloud.com/lamaraba

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22:30 // s105 The haze that Elias Elgersma’s music swims through is part Marc DeMarco, part Ariel Pink; zany, but knowing it. And just like those two, his luscious psych-pop has charm and warmth by the bucketload; it’s impossible not to be swept up by the fuzzy madness and infectious enthusiasm. yukoyuko.bandcamp.com

ORDER PRESENTS: YUNGGODS FT. FOSA YG & LOOPEY YG 21:15 // Muzieklokaal

With fierce intensity, Yunggods is the new generation of bims artists, here to extend the SMIB Worldwide network. Representing the new department tonight, Fosa YG deals in stark, moody rap and hip hop. With tracks stripped down to skittering beats, a few loops, and some serious low-end, his passionate lyrics and showmanship are given the space to shine. soundcloud.com/smib-worldwide

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BAR NONE PRESENTS: YON ETA 23:00 // Muzieklokaal Yon Eta is a musical chameleon. From slinky R&Blite to bright, bubblegum pop, his music is a shimmering kaleidoscope of styles and motifs; some songs sound like they’ve overdosed on Haribo,

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SUP

L.A.N. PARTY L.A.N. PARTY L.A.N. PARTY L.A.N. PARTY

METABLE

CLUB

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s105

CAFE

23.00

00.00

TEREKKE

01.00

DODOMUNDO

RAY FUEGO

21.00

ORDER MOTHERSHIP

KORFBAL

15.12.17

RAVEN AARTSEN

ANYA DORARI

FOSA YG & LOOPEY YG

YUNGGODS

CHARLIE & THE LESBIANS

SWEAT TONGUE

20.00

ORDER MOTHERSHIP

RICKY STAGGS

ORDER MOTHERSHIP

TIMETABLE

RAVEN AARTSEN

KUNSTLOKAAL

PETERSBURG ORDERER

MUZIEKLOKAAL OOO

19.00

RAVEN AARTSEN

TIM KOH

CINEMA

DOLLKRAUT BAND

GARDEROBE RELAX HEAD MAN

15.12.17 TIM

22.00

EXHIBITION: TIJDGENOTEN #4 - BEAUTIFUL DISTRE

EXHIBITION: TIJDGENOTEN #4 - BEAUTIFUL DISTRE

RADIO RIETVELD W/ MUSIC AND PERFORMANCES

02.00

METABLE 23.00

15.12.17 00.00

TIMETABLE 01.00

15.12.17

02.00

TIM

03.00

FENNA FICTION & ANDREI VILCOV

LAMELLEN

FENNA FICTION & ANDREI VILCOV

YON ETA

ANG3L SP1DER

ESS

YUKO YUKO

ESS

03.00

04.00

ORPHEU THE WIZARD

05.00

06.00

07.00

ROBERT BERGMAN

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OUT NOW

Point of view

Gulf Stream or Riptide?

by Carly Blair illustration Xaviera Altena My earliest memories of having my own music are of sliding a tape into my Walkman and immersing myself in my own private world. As beloved as those experiences were, when CDs became the norm I tossed my Walkman and cassettes aside without a second thought. Our relationship with music has been repeatedly reshaped by this kind of technological breakthrough, and the disruptor du jour is streaming services.

Over the past decade, streaming has grown to become the most popular musical medium. While the convenience of storing music in the cloud is undeniable and it’s amazing to have access to a seemingly infinite selection of songs, the way streaming is influencing how we listen to music - and how music is made – has some fairly troubling implications. Rather than mindlessly go with the flow, let’s pause to think about where all this is headed.

Before I get too hysterical, it is worth noting that the medium has always influenced what we hear. When radio dominated, short songs with long intros made time for ads and DJ chatter. Vinyl limits the length of albums, and when CDs came out album lengths rose. MP3s put the emphasis back on singles, and with streaming the need to own music has become irrelevant, shifting the metric of success from sales to sustained listens over time.

How to attain these listens is where shit starts to get weird. These days many people listen to playlists built on tracks recommended automatically or by curators, generally driven by data rather than editorial preference. A song has to stream for at least 30 seconds to count

on Spotify, so if an artist wants to stay on these influential playlists – and get paid - they can’t get skipped.

The industry is devising shrewd ways of accomplishing this.

Song intros are getting shorter, and hooks are appearing earlier and more frequently. Some artists are molding their music to fit popular playlists, predicting what will blow up - or at least not get skipped. Though cynical, these efforts don’t seem misguided: look no further than the popularity of playlist-style albums and mood-based playlists for proof that for many listeners, the vibe is more important than narrative or even personality.

Generic pop music isn’t new, nor is popularity and recommendations influencing whether you hear a song or not, but the extent to which computers decide what we listen to nowadays creeps me out. Does relying on data really make sense when it comes to art? What about our humanity? Are we really going to stop seeking out music ourselves in favor of passively receiving whatever comes recommended by strangers who digitally resemble us?

Maybe I am being hysterical. Maybe it’s ridiculous to define oneself by one’s taste in music so much. Maybe we’ve been generic all along, but the fact that we listened to music in relative isolation enabled us to assume the specialness of our taste. Maybe none of it matters.

In any case, as long as true creators either ignore or push the boundaries of current technology, great music will continue to be made.

We should cling on to it like the life ring it is.

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Point of view

Technically Female

by Jo Kalinowska illustration Xaviera Altena This year I’ve noticed renewed interest in locating women in music technology; DJ/production workshops lead by women for women, collectives supporting women in electronic music and techno; academic conferences discussing the history and influence of women… These challenge the current reality that (for instance) Music Technology taught in the UK is comprised of almost 90% white, male students: a direct result is lecturers, industry specialists, musicians, are predominantly taken from this unvarying pool. Technology begins to feel very masculine, but I’m beginning to wonder if the masculinity lies instead in the way we assume to relate to technology: one of asserting control.

Historically, the boundary between human and technology has been blurred by cis-female identity. Helen Hester takes us back to the ‘60s when female employees began to be contrasted with newly available office technologies; the trouble with female employees, we’re told, is ‘their errant embodiment, their capacity to distract and be distracted, their irritating habits of sociability and maternity’. The traditional clerical workforce – white, cis-gendered, middle class, and, let’s not forget, female – a crude device, delegated to save managerial (read: male) labour. A device open for upgrading and replacement by newly available office technologies.

This delegation of labour to machines, results in the ‘feminization of technology’, and we begin to hear technology as female. Take iPhone’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa, each an amalgamation of women, machine and work; digital assistants with female voices, all

referred to as ‘she’ in marketing materials.

Perhaps this feminization should be seen as a reflection of reality, after all, service workers are comprised, in general, of young females (before we begin to consider race, class and sexuality). Let’s also remember that stereotypical female qualities – care, empathy and altruism – tell us that women are more suited in nature to service work and emotional labour. *Sigh* This ties into Nina Power’s extensive discussions on the female voice in public space. She argues that the prevalence of pre-recorded, disembodied, robotic, yet recognizably female voices that we hear everywhere, from trains to phone messages to supermarket tills, are very much in conflict with the real-life representation of female interests in public space. In other words, the under-listened-to political voice of women is ironically the voice chosen to be heard in these spaces.

The gendering of technology is, of course, wholly artificial, yet it results from deliberate (often man-made) decisions which continue to materialize the female-as-server/server-asfemale, unearthing an interesting overlap between the supposedly opposed fields of nature and technology. It is within this fold that we can begin to disassemble not only the perception of music technology and techno as being male-only pursuits, but the systematic use of gendering as a tool for preserving control.

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Click Click Club

Click Click Club Subbacultcha through your eyes

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Click Click Club means future #tbt material by our members. We hand over a disposable camera at our shows and you show us what you see.

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The Click Click Club Sera Akyazıcı, Esther Alisson, Kendal Beynon, Kelvin Dijk, Elizaveta Federmesser, Margot Gabel, Maya Goodwill, Camilla Heath, Leah Heaton-Jones, Annemijn von Holtz, Michelle Janssen, Stewart Kelly, Lotte Koster, Hector Garcia Martin, Maxi Meissner, Anna Mynte, Lisa Poelen, Sarah Stone, Aglaya Tomasi Want to join our Click Click Club? Pick up a camera at the cash desk of one of our next shows or shoot an e-mail to clickclick@subbacultcha.nl for more info.

01. At the OMNI show at OT301 02. At the Kirin J. Callinan show at De Nieuwe Anita 03. At the Kirin J. Callinan show at De Nieuwe Anita

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04. At the Issue 09 Magazine Release Party at De Nieuwe Anita 05. At the Smerz show at Muzieklokaal, De School 06. At the Issue 09 Magazine Release Party at De Nieuwe Anita 07. At the Kirin J. Callinan show at De Nieuwe Anita 08. At the Fade to Mind showcase at Muzieklokaal, De School 09. At the Petersburg Orderer Release Party at s105, De School 04

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Subbacultcha magazine

Click Click Club Subbacultcha through your eyes

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— All s105 shows are sponsored by Jupiler.

Thanks to FotoLabKiekie for developing our negatives.

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About last night

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Subbacultcha magazine

About Last Night We drop by a member’s place the morning after a show

Name: Lin Ven Age: 24 Subbacultcha Member since: July 2017 Show: Smerz at Muzieklokaal, De School Day job: Studying at an art academy, interning at Subbacultcha Dream job: Studying at an art academy How was the show last night?

Cigarettes After Sex. What does today look like?

Pretty chill. I’m busy packing all my stuff since I’ve temporarily lived in Amsterdam for my graphic design internship at Subbacultcha. I’m moving back to The Hague where I’ll graduate in graphic design coming June.

I enjoyed it a lot! I was familiar with the music of Smerz, but they really get their music to the next level in their live performance.

Today’s soundtrack?

What went down? Give us your best new story (made last night).

What Subbacultcha show are you looking forward to next?

I’m not sure how it happened, but after the concert we ended up dancing to Britney Spears at our office for at least another hour.

It felt a bit like a crime to lose it on guilty pleasures after such a nice concert by Smerz but yeah, what to do about it.

IAMDDB in Melkweg on 3 December <3.

Get lucky?

I got Britney and Smerz on the same night, damn lucky!

How’s your head?

Surprisingly fresh.

ABRA – ‘Fruit’.

Got any advice for the people?

Together with my friends I’m working my ass off making the web series ANNE+. Why it’s worth watching? It’s a series about the love life of a girl in Amsterdam. You follow her through different relationships as we all know them: everything from one night stands till the possibility of love. She also happens to be gay. We try to break through the narrative by not only talking about the struggles of coming out, rather just following a persons life. Go watch it! Find it on Facebook as anneplus.

What time did you get home?

Relatively early.

What’s the best music to wake up to?

‘Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby’ -

— Want to let us in on your ‘woke up like this’ situation after a Subbacultcha show? Email editorial@subbacultcha.nl to talk about last night.

Text Roxy Merrell Photo shot by Annabel van Royen

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Subbacultcha

Upcoming Shows Highlight: Lomboy 18 January, Cinetol

Lomboy sounds like an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;80s montage, panning over a pinkcellophane-tinged sunset as we collectively smile among ourselves, relishing in that sweet thing we call love. Frontwoman Tanja Frita embellishes synth-heavy ballads with an addictive off-beat rhythm and romantic croons. Let yourself travel to a better place with Australia-born, by way of Sweden, Spain, Belgium and now Parisbased Lomboy. soundcloud.com/lomboy-music @lomboy_music 62

Subbacultcha

Upcoming Shows All shows free for members Sign up for €8 a month at subbacultcha.nl 03 December

20 January

IAMDDB + WWWater

Subbacultcha x

Melkweg

Wham! Wham! Day Party Sign, Groningen

06 December Walter TV + Niko OT301

10 December Aldous RH + das bisschen Totslag Butcher’s Tears

15 December L.A.N. Party De School

17 December Jakob Ogawa Sugarfactory

30 December Eyeshadow: Altin Gün + Ghost World Eye Film Institute

20 January Coals

De Nieuwe Anita

27 January Bar None presents: MM, Mina, Anni Nöps, Ang3l Sp1der, Dodomundo, Yon Eta OT301

15 February Gun Outfit + Relax Head Man OT301

19 February Circuit des Yeux Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ

08 March Chynna Paradiso

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Free access to the best concerts and events.

Join us for €8 a month. subbacultcha.nl

at the Issue 09 Magazine Release Party at De Nieuwe Anita, shot by Subbacultcha’s Click Click Club

New Music for New People