Subbacultcha November 2011

By Sofia Ciechowska Illustration bi Basje Boer

Unruly Music Magazine November 2011

Food

What’s Cooking

The Intimate Issue

Pure X, Sleep ∞ Over, Wise Blood

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Win a pair of Chuck Taylor All Star Outsider boots. See ‘free stuff’ page in this publication.

THE RIGHT TO BE AN OUTSIDER

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2 7.1 1 . 2 011

Graphic Desi Gn Museu M Bre Da C U R AT E D B Y E R I K K E S S E L S C U R AT E D B Y E R I K K E S S E L S

K O E N TA S E L A A R - N L

CROSSING BORDERS IN EUROPEAN DESIGN

The Intimate Issue

This happy and laid-back constellation of people are the members of Pure X and Sleep ∞ Over, chilling out on a bed watching The Sopranos on a Thursday night in a domestic environment in Austin, where a few of them live together. Despite the fact that Stefanie of Sleep ∞ Over confesses they ‘ignore each other at all times,’ they seem to be very comfortable and in mode of general - almost intimate - relaxation. Photographer Katherine Squier went down to be a fly on the wall. Flip to page 18.

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OWEN PALLETT & NOORD NEDERLANDS ORKEST

HEARTLAND LIVE! ORCHESTRAL VERSION OF THE COMPLETE ALBUM

08 NOV 09 NOV 10 NOV 11 NOV

MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ’T IJ WWW.MUZIEKGEBOUW.NL THEATERS TILBURG WWW.THEATERSTILBURG.NL OOSTERPOORT GRONINGEN WWW.DE-OOSTERPOORT.NL

N VA IE W CT OU O DU GEB NN RO IEK ISM N P UZ EE M OVEN DH EIN

AMSTERDAM TILBURG GRONINGEN EINDHOVEN

CATHARINAKERK WWW.MUZIEKGEBOUWEINDHOVEN.NL

Content

The Intimate Issue

Sleep ∞ Over with Pure X

Wise Blood

Page 18

Page 32

Gauntlet Hair

Agenda

Page 26

Page 57

Top 5 New Music We Saw You Sleep ∞ over with Pure x The sandwitches Gauntlet Hair WISE BLOOD New Releases Featured Artist Film

10 12 16 18 24 26 32 38 42 47

Fashion Food Books 99 Problems Agenda subbacultcha shows other shows Free Stuff after midnight Overview

49 51 52 54 57 59 64 75 77 78

Autumn is here, so it’s that time when you turn up the radiator another notch and cuddle up on the couch. You know, sip a little wine, watch a movie, talk about the stuff that keeps you up at night. Too bad you’re a Subbacultcha! member and we have about a gazillion shows lined up for you.

So no time for all that, you need to go out there and smell the flowers. To make it up to you, we made the intimate issue featuring Wise Blood, Pure X, Sleep ∞ Over, Gauntlet Hair and lots more. Enjoy!

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Colophon

Who we are and what we do

Subbacultcha! Magazine is made at our office in Amsterdam Da Costakade 150, 1053 XC Amsterdam, the Netherlands www.subbacultcha.nl. magazine@subbacultcha.nl We are Editors: Leon Caren and Bas Morsch Editorial Assistant: Sarah Gehrke Design: Bas Morsch Interns: Marina Henao, Ryanne Lannoye, Freek van Heerikhuize Good Girl: Loes Verputten Printing: Drukkerij Slinger, Alkmaar Contributors: Desiré van den Berg, Carly Blair, Basje Boer, Brenda Bosma, Leon Caren, Zofia Ciechowska, Jason Crowley, Sarah Gehrke, Viktor Hachmang, Marc van der Holst, Keko Jackson, Geoff Kim, Kathrin Klingner, Steven McCarron, Bas Morsch, Martyn F Overweel, Eno Swinnen, Katherine Squier, Johanna Valdés, Gert Verbeek, Karin Wolters, Isolde Woudstra and Mario Zoots Distribution: Amsterdam: Carly Blair, Tessel Dekker, Alice Driesen, Bauke Karel, Sandrine Mary, Ana Milheiro, Fedor Oduber, Ansuya Spreksel, Stefan Stasko, Patrick van der Klugt. Utrecht: Freyja van den Boom, Janna Smeets Groningen: Wout Merbis, Hedwig Plomp Den Haag: Leroy Verbeet Rotterdam: Ruben Rietveld, Ilse van der Spoel Breda: Marjolein de Vliegher Leeuwarden: Jan Pier Brands Leiden: Anne Hillebrand Almere: Remco Brinkhuis Haarlem: Yannick Tinbergen, Bert Zaremba Nijmegen Arno de Vreng Tilburg/Eindhoven: Kevin Jansen Belgium: Kasper-Jan Raeman Pick up Subbacultcha! Magazine here (among 500 other places): Amsterdam: Kriterion, Canvas, American Apparel, Episode, CREA, De Balie, Melkweg, Paradiso, OT301, De Nieuwe Anita, Restored, Zipper, Concerto Utrecht: Ekko, ’t Hoogt, Tivoli, The Village, Revenge, Plato, dB’s Rotterdam: Worm, Rotown, Lantaren Venster, De Witte Aap, Willem de Kooning Academie If you want your bar, venue, store or business to be on the distribution list, please send us an email.

Advertising To advertise in Subbacultcha! Magazine send an email to magazine@subbacultcha.nl.

Memberships Become a member of Subbacultcha!. For only €7 a month you get free access to all Subbacultcha! shows and the monthly magazine sent to your house. Plus, you get a fresh Subbacultcha! bag. Check the website to sign up.

Cover by Kathrin Klingner Page 8

UNCOMPROMISING DANCE PERFORMANCES UNCOMPROMISING DANCE PERFORMANCES AT A CROSSROADS OF ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES AT A CROSSROADS OF ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES Explosive dance, enchanting music and intense emotional Explosive dance, enchanting music and intense emotional experiences in unexpected surreal settings experiences in unexpected surreal settings Tilburg Haarlem Den Bosch Amsterdam Leiden Tilburg Haarlem Den Bosch Amsterdam Leiden Eindhoven The Hague Nijmegen Utrecht Eindhoven The Hague Nijmegen Utrecht Rotterdam Breda Maastricht Arnhem Rotterdam Breda Maastricht Arnhem www.trashweb.nl www.trashweb.nl

Top 5

1

Last month at our office

Business trips: Launch party in Ghent

We went down to Ghent, stayed at a nice hotel room, ate the chocolates, drank the beers and enjoyed the launch of our Belgian publication with a great party at the wonderful Dokkantine. More of that please.

2

Books: Super Sad True Love Story

Review in less then 140 chcters: Shteyngart’s grim look on the near future is both dark and compelling as well as super sad and super funny.

3

Songs: ‘Top Bunk’ by Gauntlet Hair

Ok this song has been around for a while, but the record just came out so were putting it in the Top 5 anyway. Simply cause it’s THAT good.

4

Concerts: Male Bonding in OT301

What a wild show it was. Packed to the brim and a mosh pit from the very first song until the sweaty last. How is that for male (and female) bonding?

5

Dinner: Over Datum Eetclub

How often do you look at the date on the package of your food and think... ‘this still looks fine but the date says it isn’t fine’. You smell it, look at it again, and again, while your foot slowly moves towards the pedal of the garbage bin... STOP! This is the moment to stick the product in your bag, put on your coat and head down to the Over Datum Eetclub at Mediamatic. There your product - together with other overdue foods - will be transformed into a dinner which you will eat with people just as aware and responsible as you are.

Dig in! Subbacultcha! members only pay €2,50.

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Subbacultcha is all about a membership

Girls 16/11

Illustration by Eno Swinnen

Free for members

Become a member of Subbacultcha! for only â‚Ź7 a month.

The membership includes home delivery of our monthly magazine as well as free access to all Subbacultcha! shows. Plus, you get a fresh Subbacultcha! bag. Check the website to sign up.

See page 59 for the full list of shows.

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New Music

This month’s recommendations

By Zofia Ciechowska

Christian AIDS staystaystay.bandcamp.com

Yeah, so what, I know Christian AIDS were all the hype a while ago, but guess what, I’m creating an EVEN BIGGER CRAZE because these guys are so cool I think my brain might haemorrhage from listening to too much of this amazing post-rave shit. Christian AIDS produce a feverish shivering fit of bass-heavy heart thumps and trancelike synths that make you wanna raid the medicine cabinet and toss and turn at some grubby house party till dawn. Little is known about this Mancunian ensemble apart from the fact that everyone relates them to Wu Lyf, which is totally ridiculous. Please ignore all analogies of this sort from now on.

NZCA/Lines

www.nzca-lines.com London-based Michael Lovett of NZCA/Lines is the cool new indie pop star on the block. Basing his music on an eclectic mix of references to Italo Calvino, post-apocalyptic landscapes and Aaliyah, Lovett comes up with what we could call nu-r&b but let’s spit that word out and wash our mouths with soap and just say: NZCA/Lines sounds nice, he seems like a nice fellow and does a pretty good falsetto too; just follow the hype because we have a feeling he will be big, or at least relatively big.

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New Music

Replicas

www.replicasreplicas.co.uk Two Northern English girls based in London, Helena Gee and Ashiya Eastwood string together harmonies that rush through your clothes like a gust of startlingly cold air. These two exude an eerie coolness with their cooing vocals and downtempo beats, subdued guitar strums and keyboard punches. Sound the new-girl-band-crush alert: it won’t be long till you start writing ‘I HEART REPLICAS’ in Tipp-Ex all over your notebooks. Their new single is out on O Genesis Records, and their video ‘Open Arms’ is worth a gander too.

Radiant Dragon www.radiant-dragon.com

With a name worthy of being that of a video game karate warrior, you know that the man behind this project is destined for awesomeness. Radiant Dragon is Lawrence Lek’s Chinese name that his parents gave him for good luck. It looks like it worked because this dude can mix up a storm of a track. Treating his music like a travelogue, Lek conjures up frightening visions of the earth as his twisted samples veer into tormented oblivion. He’s done a fair bit of remixing and has also been remixed himself by our all-time faves Nowa Huta. His debut LP Screengazers is out on 11 November.

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New Music

continued

MSHR

www.mshr.info

MSHR is the solo audio/visual project of Portland-based Brenna Murphy. Murphy makes homemade electronic instruments called Nestar and mucks about with sound collage, web images and clever technologies to visualise sound on the Internet. How cool is that? I insist that you go to the MSHR website and scream WHAT THE EFFFF once you’ve scrolled through all the links and looked at all the crazy cyber tapestries embedded in your browser. This one is a special treat for all the Lucky Dragons and new media art fans out there. Happy browsing!

Baby Sloth Spirit

babyslothspirit.bandcamp.com Is it just me, or is everyone absolutely obsessed with baby sloths? I, for one, am completely hooked on YouTube channels featuring these narcoleptic cutie-pies. I’m guessing Bryan Kusenda of Baby Sloth Spirit is too, although very little is known about the person hiding behind this genius pseudonym. BSS screws up dance beats to create what sounds like a monkey invasion in a video arcade in the ’80s. It’s wildly unpredictable and yet head-boppingly amusing. Check out his bandcamp for some free downloads and if you really wanna stalk this man, he’s got another side project called Pagemaster you can check out.

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New Music

Elliot

thefrequencylab.bandcamp.com So this Australian dude called Elliot has surfaced out of nowhere with his short lil’ album called Found Sounds. Pretty average title aside, this man has mixed together twenty minutes of solid bass-ridden beats, shamanic samples, snapping fingers and a wee bit of fuzz to top it all off. It’s the perfect soundtrack for an alien kidnapping if you plan on partaking in one anytime soon. Have this album on the ready just in case.

DJ Salinger

myspace.com/djsalingerisgreat

It will probably take you the rest of your life to trump this dude’s moniker, sorry y’all. I accidentally discovered the best way to experience DJ Salinger. Go to YouTube, find his video ‘Laughter’ and open it in about 25 different tabs at approximately five-second intervals. Now turn up your speakers and see how long you can last before your ears melt.

Invite your friends over and see who can last longest. Get your parents and neighbours involved! Email your record times to Subbacultcha and maybe you’ll get a little treat!

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We Saw You

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Spotted at Subbacultcha

Photo by DesirĂŠ van den Bergh

What’s the best song to listen to during an intimate moment and why? ‘Seahorse’ by Devendra Banhart. Because of the way the song changes direction, it intensifies emotions.

Ruby van Vugt, spotted at the The Luyas concert in De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam on 14 October

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Features

The Intimate Issue

Sleep ∞ Over with Pure X

An eternal slumber party on ecstasy. If you think a household where dream pop stars rest their heads is anything like that, well... you’re pretty much right. We caught the shoegazing trio Pure X in bed with Sleep ∞ Over’s lone lady, Stefanie Franciotti. It was just another night in their laidback Austin crib with The Sopranos, some cuddling and good conversations. We chatted with Stefanie and Nate Grace of Pure X about bizarre dreams, art as political action and why everything being bigger in Texas doesn’t necessarily make the US of A any better.

3-way Skype chat by Johanna Valdés. Photos by Katherine Squier

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The Intimate Issue

‘Nate: Mostly it’s like, ‘Hey, what’re you doing?’ or ‘Let’s get food,’ or, like, ‘Look at this pedal.’

Generally just truth-speaking.’

Subbacultcha!: How did this house of music and pleasure come to be? How long have y’all approximately known each other?

Stefanie: Dunno. Seven years, I think.

Nate: 200 years.

S: Feels like it.

N: We were friends two lifetimes ago. I was an astronaut and she was a puritan.

S: OMG, I was not.

N: HAHAHAHA S: Puritan is Nate’s go-to insult for some reason. It cuts to the chase quick. I think the first time I saw Nate was at a party. It has to have been a long time ago because he still had braces. At my first week of college, I went to this ridiculous pool party at an apartment complex and his band were playing on this platform in the middle of the pool. It was totally crazy. I didn’t meet him then but it stands out as the first time I ever noticed who he was. He’s best friends with my boyfriend, Jesse, who is also in Pure X. Page 20

Do you guys chat online or on Facebook while you’re in the same house often or is this a special occasion?

N: I don’t have Facebook. But we chat sometimes.

S: We ignore each other. At all times.

N: Mostly it’s like, ‘Hey, what’re you doing?’ or ‘Let’s get food,’ or, like, ‘Look at this pedal.’ Generally just truth-speaking.

S: ... or it’s Nate busting into my room to read me some economy-related misery.

N: Always.

S: Occupy: Stef ’s room.

Haha, I take it you’re referring to the ‘Occupy’ protests taking place all over the United States. People in the US are starting to realise that things aren’t as they should be socio-economically and are acting up about it - occupying Wall Street and public spaces all over the country, holding rallies and protests, the works. How does all of this fit into your world?

N: Today was the first day here. I went down there for a few hours.

Sleep ∞ Over with Pure X

Features

‘Stefanie:... or it’s Nate busting into my room to read me some economy-related misery.’

S: I’m in full support of America waking the fuck up.

N: I like that people are getting together and talking. I am very grateful for that because a lot of people KNOW that we are being fucked but they can’t figure out how. I hope that something real and tangible comes out of all of this. People need to really find out more about the federal reserve, the IMF, the World Bank and about all the things we’re being sold every day.

S: I agree, but I feel like it’s more of a spiritual issue at its core. It all has roots in individual over-consumption and people equating ‘bigger’ and ‘more’ with more success.

N: Yeah man. Get spiritual. Try to open your mind.

S: More so, it’s about becoming empathetic to the human needs of others and realising that we are all here together.

N: Fuck yeah :P All here together GETTING FUCKED BY SOME OLD BANKER ASSHOLES.

S: For reaaaaaaaal - time to strap on the spiked dildo of truth and ram it up the Feds’ asses.

How do all these dirty politics tie into your hazy, dazed lo-fi sound?

S: I feel like my work is just a product of personal/spiritual exploration, but in that way I have freed myself enough to enable myself to be creative. I don’t buy into slaving away my life.

N: For real. Realise what you’re slaving for. I don’t think that art has to be like a hammer in the face to be political.

S: Exactly, I feel like just doing it [making music and art] is a political act. Our work is political because we thus refuse to identify ourselves as machines, economic cogs. We are souls, we create.

N: HAHAHAHA We don’t look to REGULATE. We look to STIMULATE. This is all very real. Give us a facet of your unseen reality, your dreamscapes.

N: http://dictionary.reference. com/browse/insular Page 21

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The Intimate Issue

Sleep ∞ Over with Pure X

S: I dreamt that my friend was getting stabbed by a very tall man last night.

N: Shit!

S: In a car, while he was buying Prozac. Then I had to go to his parents’ house. He had two hot moms and I had to search through his things to find his diary to find an answer for his death for his family. Instead, I found this file he was keeping on me.

That was my dream last night. I usually remember my dreams very vividly.

N: But did the tall dude actually save you? Cuz he killed the dude with the file...

S: Uh, no, he just murdered my friend. I dunno, it seemed unrelated.

N: But maybe your friend was plotting and that’s why he had the file...

S: Maybe... we could try to analyse it.

N: So in reality you were saved...

by MYSTERY. S: That’s not how I perceived it.

In my dream it was as if I was witness to a drug deal gone wrong. And I just wanted to help him. I wanted to bring him back to life for his family.

N: What was in the file though?

S: It was actually a file on my marketability. Hahaha N: HAHAHAHAHA

Features

S: It was about me as a musician and my ‘selling points’.

N: Oh. S: Totally absurd. I remember being really pissed off about finding it, and confused. Maybe someone will read this and analyse it...

Maybe you’ll meet someone who can analyse it at your tag-team show at OCCII - how long will you get to hang out in A’dam for?

N: Not really sure.

S: Long enough to take some shrooms and run around like a tourist.

N: Jump in the canal, swim around with the condoms and soda bottles.

S: Uh. Gross.

Yeah, that’s probably not water you want to get involved with.

N: Nah, I’ll drink it. I’ve got a strong stomach.

S: Can’t be much worse than all the fluoride and antidepressants in our tap water here.

Pure X and Sleep ∞ Over play on 19 November in OCCII in Amsterdam. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members. Other live dates: 18/11 - EKKO, Utrecht

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The Intimate Issue

Sandwitches The

The contents of a person’s bag can tell a million stories. We talked to Heidi of The Sandwitches about the secrets that hide out in her handbag.

Words by Johanna Valdés. Photos by Keko Jackson

What’s all this knick-knack on the top?

A bunch of charms that I keep in my grape change purse like rocks, rings, a piece of gold snakeskin and a marble me and my boyfriend, Johnny, found lodged in a picnic table when we went camping this year.

Who’s the gentleman surfing and playing the flute at the same time?

That’s my boyfriend. He’s not surfing, he’s standing on the beach, but it would be cool if he was surfing. We went on vacation last year to Mexico. He and I drove a crappy car down to Baja.

And what’s that cute little puppy doing in there?

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That’s my sunglasses case. I got it from an old friend of mine, Phoebe. We had been up all night in her house when I saw this case and I made her give it to me. It looks exactly like her Boston Terrier. I almost lost it last year at South by Southwest. It fell out of my bag and somebody made a substantial effort to chase me down and give it back to me. It’s a cherished possession, I would have been really sad if I’d lost it.

Who’s that clowning around on that little button?

H: That’s our drummer, Roxy.

Somebody at Grace’s work makes buttons so he made some from this photo of us dressed like clowns.

Features

The Sandwitches play on 17 November in dB’s in Utrecht and on 03 December in OCCII in Amsterdam. Both shows are free for Subbacultcha! members.

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The Intimate Issue

Gauntlet Hair

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Features

For someone who says he’s no social butterfly, Andy of Denver Rocky Mountain avant-pop duo Gauntlet Hair is pretty outspoken. The BFF’s (him and Craig on drums) have an amazing new (self-titled) album out on Dead Oceans, which we can’t seem to ‘unplay’. You can just hear the two of them having the best of times with each other. Read about Craig’s irresistibility, Home Improvement’s Tim Allen and drowning your lyrics in reverb.

Words by Brenda Bosma. Photos by Mario Zoots

Hi Andy, let’s do this?

Yes, ma’am.

So, what is gauntlet hair?

It was actually a clerk at a vintage shop who dropped that bomb. I was about to buy this Johnny Winters album for a buck and the guy behind the counter said he had gauntlet hair.

It’s really weird hair, like a helmet.

Will it get more fashionable than a ponytail or braids, do you think?

Hopefully not!

What kind of hairdo do you prefer on girls?

Short hair.

That’s refreshing. So no long American

Apparel hair hanging loosely around bare shoulders accompanied by a seductive stare?

Gauntlet Hair likes its girls to be boys. But wait, that would work as well, I suppose.

What’s great about Denver?

You tell me.

Well, it’s also known as ‘The Mile-High City’. I guess The Byrds named their famous song ‘Eight Miles High’ after it, but they were seven miles off, due to, well, you know... drugs. And Tim Allen is from Denver! But that doesn’t have to mean anything.

Haha, but that DOES mean Page 27

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The Intimate Issue

something, Brenda! I grew up on that show.

Do you use his famous Signature Tools?

Did you use them for the song ‘Mop It up’?

Haha, what? Are they on the market?

He has his own line of tools. And a midlife crisis.

Hun, his tools don’t work. Seriously, I thought that that was the humour of it... that he knows nothing about tools.

Yep, now he has lots of tools he can’t seem to sell.

I’m not buying them anyway. Actually Tim is a perfect example of what Denver does to people. They come out here to unwind and go into the chill mode. And look what it did to Tim’s career! All ruined. He got caught up in the chill.

Yeah, and fucked up a gazebo or thousand along the way.

Haha, I love this so far. I have no idea of what’s going on. Hit me again.

I’ve read you two don’t work well with other parties, but for live shows you have an extra guitarist. Do I sense some intimacy issues there?

Craig and I have become very intimate, yes. It’s been ten years now.

We’ve developed that sort of telepathic ability. Trying to involve anPage 28

other person in the writing just seems to slow us down. I suppose we’re very protective of our work, you know?

It has taken us so long to get to this point and we really just don’t want to share it with anyone else.

Does he automatically answer your (singing-) cries with a smashing (drum) whip? That kind of telepathic vibe?

Well, on the topic of intimacy: Craig’s rough in a real sexy I-wantto-make-music-with-you kind of way.

You have studied sound engineering, but didn’t mix your own album. That must feel like leaving your baby, or no, your own leg, on someone else’s doorstep. To be eaten by their dog. But maybe afterwards you respect the concept of walking a bit more?

Ha, I did the first mix of it. Then passed it on to Brian Marcus. I tend to mix for myself, not others, so what sounds good to me may sound like hell to the audience and our mothers.

But I put my baby in good hands. I’ve learned my favourite tool is EQ. Okay, haha. What about reverb?

Thought you might go to that. I do love me some reverb.

To resemble being near the Rocky Mountains, or is that echo?

Honestly, nothing that we write has to do with the mountains. It’s more personal. Intimate even.

Gauntlet Hair

Features

‘I was about to buy this Johnny Winters album for a buck and the guy behind the counter said he had gauntlet hair. It’s really weird hair, like a helmet.’

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The Intimate Issue

Gauntlet Hair

Features

‘Gauntlet Hair likes its girls to be boys. But wait, long would work as well, I suppose.’

Bingo!

Exactly, we are perfect for this issue. We have all the juicy details.

Yes, spill them please, or mop it up.

What, for instance, is ‘ You Can’t Feel It’ about?

The song actually is called ‘My Christ’ now. It’s about masochism in a way, but more so in the emotional sense. I’m trying to leave out any lyrics here.

Why? Uh, wanna find out, Brenda?

Haha, let’s focus on what intimacy is to you. Is it what Baby Spice sings about in the song ‘2 become 1’?

O man, intimacy for me comes on so many levels.

How many?

Like 46 or something.

Can you cut it down to one?

I’ll try. Not to cheese this out, but I think that writing music has become the most intimate of all. I’m not what you would call a social butterfly, I’m sort of shy and reserved. So writing has become my main form of expression. This has everything to do with

why I don’t share my lyrics and such.

The use of reverb is similar to that voice they put on those silhouetted people on TV who don’t want their identities to be reveiled. It’s sort of the same kind of shit. I can say whatever the fuck I want, and no one will ever understand anything about it.

I see, you drown the lyrics in reverb, so no one gets to hear about the Christ.

Basically.

But what if you’re quite the poet? Your mom will never know.

Haha, she knows.

You whisper in her ear?

‘Was that poetry just now?’

Or was it the wind?

But I’m not a big fan of poetry.

I’m a big plain-speaking guy.

Literally sayin’ it like it is.

You know it.

That’s the new intimate maybe. No beating around the bush, but smacking the nail on the head. Do not use a Tim Allen hammer though.

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The Intimate Issue

Features

Wise Blood

The Pittsburgh cut-’n’-paste wizard Chris Laufman aka Wise Blood seems to fill the web with his tracks incessantly. Be sure to get a physical copy of his latest EP These Wings though. There’s talk about his grand ambition to take over the world of pop. We chatted with him about, well, death, mostly. Turns out he’s slightly changed his plans towards the domination goal. ‘What are you gonna do tomorrow, Chris?’ - ‘Same as I do most of the time’ – ‘Try and take over the world?’ – ‘Just gonna work, I guess.’ But just maybe that’s the best way to someday own some ‘Penthouse Suites’.

Words by Brenda Bosma. Photos by Jason Crowley

You’re manipulating samples from mammoths such as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, aiming for world domination, and in ‘Penthouse Suites’ you sing: ‘I’m shooting for the moon, landing with the stars.’ What’s up with the megalomania?

Haha, um, I think it’s just sort of me trying to keep myself motivated, but my goals have changed. It’s weird, I think I’m supposed to be doing this, I feel like I can contribute something great, but the path there has been changing in my mind... and the ulPage 33

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The Intimate Issue

timate payoff is looking different to me now.

It’s never what you expect it to be, I guess, but perhaps you were born this way, like in a Lady Gaga way?

Yeah, that’s the idea! I feel that very strongly.

You refused a scholarship from The Juilliard School, a Mickey Mouse Club kind of training camp. Amy Winehouse got kicked out of one. Britney, Justin and Christina didn’t and they are still alive.

Not a wise choice, maybe?

Yes, maybe not a wise choice. Everything is looking a lot different to me these days, but I still believe everything happens for a reason.

Does that stem from your Catholic upbringing? That everything happens for a reason and you got to roll with it? Or is it a Zen Buddhist thing?

Well, I think it’s just about perspective. I believe that I’m here for a reason, so basically I am. Everything that happens to me is contributing to my purpose.

You came out of nowhere as Wise Blood, having worked as a cemetery undertaker before. Not exactly a ‘regular’ job.

Would you say being Wise Blood is an even odder occupation?

I think this occupation is weirder.

I appreciated life more after working at a cemetery. That’s for sure.

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I hope you are now confronted with the bright side of life. Any tragicomic Six Feet Under stories to share about your cemetery days, or have you closed that chapter?

Nothing much... sort of boring, to be honest.

There’s probably very little humour in death, huh?

I can’t really recall any.

Any irony in your music?

There is usually more sincerity in it, but there’s nothing wrong with irony though.

Your live performances are pretty sincere, very energetic, angry maybe... reminiscent of Eminem in his trailerpark days, if you don’t mind me saying.

It’s certainly not what you expect from a laptop artist. For one thing, I’d expect to see someone behind a laptop that is placed on a bar stool. Do you deliberately try and feel that for live shows you need to bring something else to the table?

Yeah, actually I do, but it was completely organic, I don’t know, that’s just how I felt like the songs should be performed, I would have a hard time just standing around.

Is this hard for you by the way? To talk about what you do?

Um, no, not really. I like it!

Good. What is pop music to you in these postmodern days of ours? And do you

Wise Blood

Features

‘The album is actually almost done, and I’m using samples differently. It’s interesting. The whole album is instrumental and it’s based on public executions in the Middle East.’ see a difference between borrowing and stealing?

O, that’s a hard one. I don’t even know, I really don’t... it’s been fucking with me lately. Sorry.

Well, that’s okay. I won’t ask about your opinion on Auto-Tune.

Okay, thanks. :) Some more about taking over the world.

What does the grand (or maybe not-sogrand anymore) masterplan entail?

I’m just trying to re-evaluate everything. I also always have to look at things in a larger context so a masterplan is something I’m always tweaking. I’m a tweaker.

Right, the perspective thing. You have to see where it takes you.

That’s the main thing.

And the use of samples is just what felt good at the time? It sometimes is very difficult to hear what’s you and what’s found footage. Would be funny (or not so funny really) if you got sued by Paul McCartney or Jimmy Page. That would definitely put you on the map.

That would definitely be interesting... and yeah, it’s just what feels right at the time when I’m coming up with a song.

Is it possible in the near future you will leave the sample path? Or will it develop into a real shtick? I can imagine it’s a very meticulous and perhaps frustrating job sometimes.

The album is actually almost done, and I’m using samples differently. It’s interesting. The whole album is instrumental and it’s based on public executions in the Middle East.

Wow, that’s downright different than for example ‘Solo 4 Claire’! Could you elaborate on this choice?

I just got really into these videos of public executions, like they really fucked with me. It was so strange watching these people preparing to die, with a crowd there watching as well. So, I sort of came up with a concept album about this process. The record is also kind of similar to David Bowie’s Low. Page 35

Features

The Intimate Issue

That’s pretty fierce.

It sounds really good to me. I guess the album essentially is a statement, but it’s more about the feelings you get watching something like that, and the grotesque interest in it.

And no lyrics? Since you have quite a way with words.

That’s just how I’m feeling. And when I have a feeling...

‘Facebook’s the same/ Twitter’s always the same/ You either update tour schedules or you play up insane.’ (@fuckwiseblood) That’s pretty funny, modern and honest.

I liked that a lot when I came up with it.

You have a strong opinion about social media. Have you tried Google+ yet?

I haven’t. I actually don’t use social media very much. I have to make a concentrated effort to sit down and post something.

I suppose if something’s good, it’ll find its way into people’s heads and hearts.

Although with ‘Solo 4 Claire’ you must have lost a great chunk of your female demographic. That truly is a rapegaze song!

That’s funny. I hope I did not lose too many female listeners. Sorry for the misogynist lyrics.

About the name Wise Blood. You’ve taken up the Hazel Motes persona from Page 36

Flannery O’Connor’s debut novel. I’ve read you can relate to him. Does your car also break down all the time?

Actually yes, it has been, funny enough... but my granddad named me Wise Blood when I was young. It sort of stuck with me. When I read the book, it floored me. I think he was a cool guy.

And tragic in a way. He tried to escape what was laid out for him. You’re trying to embrace it a little more, I hope?

I don’t know, I think. I’m trying. I don’t know how I’ll end up.

That’s wise. There’s probably no definite answer. Guess I was trying to squeeze something out of you... What are you going to do tomorrow, Chris?

Hmm, same as I do most of the time.

Try and take over the world?

Just gonna work, I guess.

A last request. Will you bring your infamous moccasins and those sweaters with the sad smiley face you have as merchandise?

For sure! I’ll have all that stuff and can’t wait for the show!

Wise Blood play on 12 November in WORM in Rotterdam. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members. Other live dates: 11/11 London Calling, Amsterdam

Wise Blood

Features

Page 37

Music Reviews

New releases worth your while

Future Islands On the Water (Thrill Jockey)

The third full-length by this Baltimore synth-pop trio was recorded in March in the historic waterfront Andrew S. Sanders House in NC’s Elizabeth City. Life at the seaside is present throughout the album, from the sounds of ropes and metal clanging against the masts of boats, through the soothing splashing of waves, to the tempos, which for the most part have slowed down to match the ocean’s tranquil rhythm.

While these songs are mellower and less danceable than those on 2010’s excellent In Evening Air, they have all the romance, throbbing rhythms, addictive melodies and stirring vocals needed to impress in their own right. Utterly charismatic frontman Samuel T Herring has described his objectives as a songwriter thusly: ‘I want you to Page 38

By Carly Blair

cry. I want you to feel the way I feel. I want to crush.’ Foolishly prideful or silly though that may seem at first glance, if you spend enough time with these songs, there’s an excellent chance he and his bandmates will succeed in all of the above.

Atlas Sound Parallax (4AD)

The ridiculously prolific bedroom pop maestro Bradford Cox is at it again. Parallax is the third full-length from his Atlas Sound solo project, which serves both as an outlet for Cox’s selfexpression and a proving ground for his many sonic experiments.

On his previous album, Logos, the most impressive songs were the collaborations (‘Walkabout’ with Noah Lennox and ‘Quick Canal’ with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadler), if only because they sounded the most confident. Here, Cox is back to work-

ing alone, but that greater feeling of self-assurance thankfully remains. The great sense of loneliness that pervades his music gives one the impression that Cox feels fundamentally disconnected from other people, and while that may be true of his interpersonal interactions in the real world, he’s at least becoming more and more proficient at connecting with the awkward, lonely nerd in his listener. This one’s a grower.

Blouse self-titled

(Captured Tracks)

Music Reviews fronted Craft Spells. It’s telling that the band’s name isn’t TShirt, or Jacket, it’s Blouse: not something that serves a simple purpose simply, but rather something optional that bridges the gap between basic and formal, something you wear to look effortlessly nice. While the suite of references they’re tapping into is so trendy it brings them to the verge of sounding generic by default, there are moments when their music can be as subtly stunning as their namesake clothing item.

The Field Looping State of Mind (Kompakt)

After posting a couple of mpfrees on their bandcamp page, this Portland dream pop trio eventually signed to Captured Tracks. Like labelmates Widowspeak, Blouse features some pretty seductive female vocals, although their music is more somber, ’80s synth-channelling, like a bummed-out, female-

Around 2009, ambient techno production whiz Axel Willner had moved from his native Stockholm to nightlife utopia Berlin, and turned The Field from a solo project into a three piece. His sophomore LP, Yesterday & Today, followed shortPage 39

Music Reviews

Continued

ly thereafter, and was a bit of a slump in comparison to his much-lauded debut. Two years later, these changes have had time to sink in. While many of Willner’s earlier influences are still present (eg German electronics, modern classical, shoegaze), the incorporation of more live-recorded instruments, and perhaps the influence of touring with live bands over the past couple of years, lend these songs a more varied and complex feel.

The title refers to the idea of having looping thoughts in your head and being unable to shake them. Like those thoughts, and also the loops which serve as this music’s foundation, these songs don’t actually go back and forth ad infinitum, but rather subtly change and move forward, so skillfully that you hardly notice how far you’ve come till it’s over, when the looping state of mind thereby induced will have you pressing ‘repeat.’

Page 40

Gauntlet Hair self-titled (Dead Oceans)

Gauntlet Hair are a Denverbased duo founded by best pals Craig and Andy. They make danceable avant-pop music that calls to mind Sleigh Bells in its blissful, speaker-bursting loudness, though when you turn the volume down a smidge you might more immediately think of Panda Bear’s soaring vocals or the abrasive oddness of The Dismemberment Plan. The obvious Animal Collective influence manages to not annoy, since beyond their vocals the main thing they have in common with them is the ability to make me want to bounce around like a ping pong ball and bellow lyrics at the top of my lungs, which is a good thing for me, if not for the poor bastards I’m sharing the dance floor with.

Youth Lagoon The Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum / Lefse)

Music Reviews allows him to craft songs that often build into anthems and without fail pack an emotional wallop, making for a touching and memorable debut.

Korallreven An Album by Korallreven It seems like I throw around the term ‘bedroom pop’ nearly as often as ‘chillwave’ of late.

While the list of genre signifiers starts to feel cliched after you’ve read them dozens of times (fuzzy production, intimate atmosphere, drum machines, reverb galore), listening to them doesn’t, when they’re well executed. Welcome Trevor Powers, the 22-year-old Boise, Idaho native behind Youth Lagoon. On his first LP, he sounds like a mentally stable Daniel Johnston, singing ridiculously sweet and sorrowful songs about shyly navigating one’s way through small-town life and the uncertainties of coming of age.

In spite of his mousy persona, limited tools at hand and lyrics which occasionally betray his young age, his flair for melody

(Acéphale)

This beachy, Balearic electropop project of Swedes Marcus Joons and Daniel Tjäder (also of the Radio Dept.) was inspired by an actual island vacation - albeit in Samoa rather than Ibiza - which Joons took a few years ago. On their debut full-length, they strongly evoke the wistful, spacey disco of Tjäder’s main gig as well as groups such as Air France. Everything here is beautiful, and those are both very nice bands, but sometimes the resemblance to other acts is so uncanny that they fail to stand out in the crowd.

Page 41

Art

Featured Artist

Kathrin Klingner

On the following pages you’ll find the work of Kathrin Klingner. Having lived in Amsterdam until recently, she’s now moved to Hamburg to follow a Masters programme in drawing. Her drawings are fine, sensitive and detailed. Kathrin also makes beautiful limited-edition hand-made publications, in which she combines drawings and xeroxed images into a unique and very personal world which is hard to grasp but feels comfortably familiar at the same time. www.thefriendlyghost.com

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Art

Page 43

Art

Page 44

Featured Artist

Kathrin Klingner

Art

Page 45

By Gert Verbeek and Basje Boer

Film

New Films and DVDs

Killing Bono

Drive

Nick Hamm, 2011

Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011

Killing Bono is not the best movie of 2011, but its title is too tempting to ignore it here. The guy with the gun is Neil (Ben Barnes), Bono’s former schoolmate. After failing to become singer of U2, he prevents his brother (Robert Sheehan) from becoming their guitarist and starts a rival band. Their career is riddled with internal conflicts, brotherly fights and unfortunate decisions, such as booking an important gig for the very day U2 will go massive during Live Aid. Neil blames Bono for all his misfortunes and decides to get rid of his nemesis. Ironically, Martin McCann, the actor portraying Bono, steals all his scenes, looking exactly like the young Vox and portraying him as the sweetest and most reasonable bloke possible. Even U2 bashers will succumb to his charms. (GV) out now on DVD

A little boy’s watching a cartoon shark on TV. Is he a bad guy, a man wants to know. ‘Just look at him,’ the boy replies. ‘Does he look like a good guy?’ By now we know the kid might as well be talking about the guy sitting next to him. In the next 100 minutes, the broody stunt driver and small-time criminal only known to us as ‘driver’ will reveal himself as this year’s least likely hero, balancing that fine line of good and evil. Danish cult director Nicolas Winding Refn combines a neo-noir plot with an overall ’80s feel that stretches from the cool photography to the ethereal synth pop soundtrack. Graphic violence tops it all off (and it is revealed that a blood-smeared face really makes Ryan Gosling’s eyes pop. (BB) In cinemas, 3 November.

Page 47

By Karin Wolters

Worn Out

Fashion

These items of clothing were worn by several people on 29 September at the Shabazz Palaces show in Sugar Factory in Amsterdam.

Page 49

TAKE C GET C ONTROL REA TIVE

web design film making game design animation journalism audio production

(S) VENING OPEN E M 18 NOV

DA AMSTER M 19 NOV DA R E T ROT

TEL: 020-6228790 TEL: 010-4117951

‘the standard in global creative media education’

w w w.sae.edu

By Zofia Sofia Ciechowska Illustration Photo

by Basje bi Basje BoerBoer

What’s What’s Cooking?

Cooking

Food

Panda Beer

Serves: 1 thirsty binge drinker Ingredients: 225g sugar 1 ½ - 2 tbsp grated ginger root (the fresher, the better!)

Juice of 1 lemon 1 tbsp honey ¼ tsp baker’s yeast Cold mineral water Equipment: Well cleaned 2l plastic bottle and funnel • Using the funnel, put the sugar and yeast into the bottle.

• In a separate bowl, mix the grated ginger root, lemon juice and honey. Add the mix to the bottle using the funnel.

• Fill up half of the bottle with mineral water. Screw cap on and shake. Add some more water (leaving about 2.5cm headspace so it doesn’t explode when it starts fermenting). Screw cap on and give it another good shake.

• Place the bottle in a warm

place for about two days or until the bottle is rock hard when you squeeze it. Once the fermentation process is done, put the bottle in the fridge overnight.

• Be careful when opening the bottle! Provided it hasn’t exploded in your face and stained your skinny jeans, strain the ginger beer through a sieve or some cheesecloth. Then pour it in a tall glass, add a sprig of mint and gulp down with gusto!

Page 51

Books

Page 52

Illustration by Viktor Hachmang

By Marc van der Holst

How to read...

Books

Philip Larkin Philip Larkin is The Beatles of poetry(1. Quintessentially British (‘one of those old-type natural fouled-up guys,’ as he once imagined himself being described), he has written some of the best stuff around, just like The Beatles. And he’s a gateway drug into poetry, like The Beatles are a gateway drug into pop music. He wrote about them, too: Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) Between the end of the Chatterley ban And The Beatles’ first LP.

work being a bit old-fashioned and formulaic) and read a few lines. If you like ’em, read the whole poem. Reread it. Learn it by heart. Copy it into your journal. Set it to music. Get it tattooed on a secret spot. It’s good to get intimate with a poem; it’s like knowing a really good joke.

Also, reciting poetry is a great way to impress boys or girls.

(Larkin might not be your best choice for it, though. He’s quite the miserable old bastard.)

(And if you don’t like this random approach, here are some of his greatest hits: ‘High Windows’,’This Be the Verse’, ‘Aubade’, ‘Toads Revisited’...

(Annus Mirabilis, 1967) they’re all fab though. Just like Catchy, comic and classic. Like you-know-who.)

Meet The Beatles. Get yourself a copy of his Collected Poems, turn 1) Though I don’t know who The Rollon your mind, read, reread and ing Stones of poetry is, I do know who’s float upstream. the Silver Jews: David Berman. Treat yourself to a copy of his Actual Air, too,

The best way to delve into this while you’re at it. treasury is to open up a random page (preferably from the second half of the book, his early

Page 53

99 Problems and the Bitch... knows the answer Beste Bitch, Ik ben relaties zat. Ik heb er domweg geen zin meer in. Ik wil gewoon mezelf kunnen zijn. Punt.

Kan ik dat maken of blijk ik dan straks m’n eigen ruiten te hebben ingegooid als ik bijvoorbeeld behoefte krijg aan intimiteit? Dank, Johan.

Ik weet natuurlijk niet wat voor nare ervaringen je hebt gehad, maar dat klinkt als “wel de lusten, niet de lasten”, Johan. Bij alle soorten relaties wordt een appèl gedaan op tijdsinvestering, inlevingsvermogen en attentheid van de betrokkenen. Zoals wanneer je moeder, na ingeruild te zijn voor een jong ding, schuchter vraagt hoe dat nieuwe rokje haar staat. Je zult even door de zure appel heen moeten bijten. Of als je partner na een ‘gender’-operatie bij je polst of je hem/haar ‘daar’ nog wel aantrekkelijk vindt. Ja, of wanneer je date tijdens een eerste afspraakje een driegangenmaaltijd heeft bereid met de pinda als ster-ingrediënt. Ik zie je al zitten met je pinda-allergie. (Het chocoladepindakaastoetje mag je vriendelijk afslaan onder het mom van “ik waardeer je keuze voor enkelvoudig onverzadigde vetten, Page 54

By Brenda Bosma Illustration by Martyn F Overweel

maar sommige mensen kunnen er maar zoveel van aan”, waarna je sexy, nee, doe maar knullig, over je probleemdijen wrijft.)

Los van het feit dat mensen positiviteit in de vorm van constructieve kritiek of een vriendelijke glimlach beter waarderen dan de harde waarheid, adviseer ik je om niet altijd jezelf zijn. Probeer een ander te zijn, terwijl je rekening houdt met jezelf. Hoe je dat doet is heel eenvoudig. Beeld je in dat die moedervlek op je kin (of waar dan ook) een mentale knop is waarbij je switcht tussen persoonlijkheden. Zo heb je de “ik veracht de pinda, het is het melanoom onder noten en peulvruchten”-Johan en de “datstretch-rokje-staat-je-echt-heelgoed-ja”-Johan. Mocht je niet aan die donkerbruine pigmentbom durven friemelen, is er ook nog altijd zoiets als de betaalde liefde. Voor die nodige intimiteit waar ik denk dat je het over hebt.

Heel veel switch-succes, B. Dear Bitch, During baking fluid comes out of the handle of my frying pan. How can I prevent this from happening?

Antoine/Ghent.

Dearest Antoine,

99 Problems and the Bitch...

knows the answer

That’s a nasty phenomenon. It happens quite often with some of the cheaper and older models.

I still hope that the anti-stick coating is intact. I recommend to keep the pan clean (rather not use a scouring pad or a de-

turgent) and be sure to dry off properly after doing the dishes.

Also try to keep the screw that connects the handle to the pan clean and dry.

Make it work, B. Page 55

Check out the best contemporary concerts, alongside free cutting-edge side programmes and after parties in the ‘Listen To This Cafe’

on 8 November go check out Owen Pallett (Arcade Fire, Beirut) play his electronic/pop mash-up in an orchestrated version.

The free side programme is curated by Gonzo Circus and features experiment

by Kreng, interviews and DJs good stuff.

Tickets €20 €10 for Early Birds Side programme is free Programme starts at 18:00 Zapp 4 plays at 20:30 After party at ± 22:00 Call het Muziekgebouw or buy tickets at the register 020-788 20 00 | www.muziekgebouw.nl

Agenda On the following pages:

Subbacultcha! concerts, art and food, totally free for members Page 59

Other shows in November Page 64 Free tickets Page 75

This is Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear photographed by Nuno Barroso in a park Lisbon.

Panda Bear plays the Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht. See page 67.

VR 4 NOV ROYAL REPUBLIC MA 7 NOV WILD BEASTS DO 10 NOV LITTLE DRAGON WO 16 NOV GIRLS DI 22 NOV THE CROOKES WO 23 NOV THE ANTLERS DRY THE RIVER

DI 29 NOV M83 WO 30 NOV CUSTOMS WO 7 DEC THE BOXER REBELLION DO 8 DEC DAS RACIST ZO 11 DEC THE HORRORS DO 15 T/M ZAT 17 DEC NORDIC GOLD: FINLAND O.A. LCMDF, FRENCH FILMS, JAAKKO & JAY, HANNULELAURI

MELKWEG AMSTERDAM - LIJNBAANSGRACHT 234A - WWW.MELKWEG.NL

See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl.

Braids

06 November - Rotown, Rotterdam 21.00 | €9 | Free for Subbacultcha! members A couple of great free shows for members in Rotterdam this month. Besides seeing Wise Blood in WORM, you can also head down to Rotown to see Montreal-based shimmering indie darlings Braids. The quartet have recently released their impressive debut album Native Speaker on Kanine Records, offering up a fine mix of delightfully delicate harmonies and noisy shoegaze instrumentals.

Wise Blood + Woud + Body II Body DJ Set 12 November - WORM, Rotterdam Starts 20.30 | €8 | Free for Subbacultcha! members

Wise Blood’s Chris Laufman samples r&b, gospel, rock, blues, hip hop and just about everything but the kitchen sink into an intricate sonic collage.

And that’s just the base coat. The final touch is Laufman’s chameleon vocals that shift properties with every track, taking us somewhere fresh each time. So come taste the rainbow, and do show up early for some haunting soundscapes by Rotterdam-based duo Woud. After the shows, Body 2 Body will bring on some of those pumping dance tracks.

Page 59

See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl.

Girls

16 November - Melkweg, Amsterdam 20.30 | €12 | Free for Subbacultcha! members Girls started out in a California garage, in the footsteps of the punk and hardcore bands that had inspired leading songwriter Christopher Owens to break away from the Children of God cult that he had been born into. Being deprived of most popular music as a youngster, as a songwriter Owens was never held back by an overload of musical references. As a result, Girls’ eclectic take on ’60s and ’70s rock and pop and Owens’ simple lyrics are delivered with such disarming sincerity that their songs are both emotionally resonant and timeless-sounding. The new album Father, Son, Holy Ghost has been getting rave reviews all around, so show up early, this is gonna be one of those nights...

The Sandwitches

17 November - dB’s, Utrecht 21.00 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members The Sandwitches are all all-girl freak folk band fresh from the Bay Area that offer cooled- down Americana mixed in with haunted harmonies. Their spring 2011 release Mrs. Jones’ Cookies is sweet, soft and gritty - you’re in for a treat!

Page 60

As a member you will also receive this magazine every month plus a stylish tote bag

Pure X + Sleep ∞ Over

19 November - OCCII, Amsterdam 20.30 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members We’ve been really looking forward to this double bill featuring two of Austin’s leading psych pop/dream gaze bands. Both acts are on tour in support of new albums that we simply can’t get enough of here at the office. With Forever, Sleep ∞ Over’s Stefanie Franciotti has moved away from the catchy dream pop realm, offering up a haunting collage of soundscapes and distant vocals. And then there’s Pleasure by Pure X, an addictive twangy slow core pop album that wraps around you like a warm blanket on drowsy autumn evening. Just what we need this time of year.

The Babies + Apneu

23 November - OT301, Amsterdam 20.30 | €8 | Free for Subbacultcha! members The Babies are a few guys and a doll. One of those guys happens to be Woods bassist, Kevin Morby. And the doll? Oh, that’s Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls. Their self-titled debut dropped off of Shrimper in early 2011, but it takes us way further back than that - we ride a Velvet Underground wave with bored Brooklyn vocals and lo-fi undertows. Way too cool to miss. Support from twangy garage rock Amsterdammers Apneu.

Page 61

See all these shows for free. Sign up at www.subbacultcha.nl.

Widowspeak + Teams

30 November - dB’s, Utrecht 21.00 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members With their charming ’90s pop feel, Brooklyn trio Widowspeak have released a thoroughly enjoyable debut album on Captured Tracks earlier this year.

Their delicate mix of twangy guitars and singer Molly Hamilton’s breathy, sexy vocals make up for a dreamy and seductive sound that calls to mind several fashionable references such as Chris Isaak, David Lynch and various druggy ’90s bands. Also on the bill tonight is Miami-based producer Teams, who just released his new album on Am Discs. Expect electronic soundscapes and groovy repetitive beats.

Over Datum Eetclub

Tuesdays - Mediamatic 18.00 | €7.50 | €2.50 for Subbacultcha! members At Subbacultcha! we’re all about independent culture of any kind. And we mean ANY kind. So how does a subversive dinner sound? Every Tuesday a different chef will prepare a fantastic feast with out-of-date ingredients that you bring yourself at the highly popular Over Datum Eetclub (‘Past the Sell-By Date Dinner Club’) at Mediamatic. Don’t be scared, it won’t kill you.

Even though the produce is past its prime, it’s still healthy and delicious.

And good for the planet.

Ignite

16 November - Mediamatic 20.30 | €7 | Free for Subbacultcha! members Fifteen minutes of fame? We’ll give you five. Ignite is a fast-paced event hosting local speakers that are sure to spark your interest. Each person will Page 62

Shows in September

Agenda

As a member you will also receive this magazine every month plus a stylish tote bag

get five minutes to pitch an idea. Anything goes as long as it’s short and sharp. So come on down for some thought-provoking entertainment.

All month: Foam Photography Museum

Open daily 10.00-18.00, Thursday & Friday 10.00-21.00 | €8 Free for Subbacultcha! members Foam celebrates ten years of existence with What’s Next; an exhibition/ magazine/research project that focuses on the future of photography. Four guest curators - Erik Kessels (KesselsKramer), Jefferson Hack (Dazed & Confused), Alison Nordström (George Eastman House, Rochester) and Lauren Cornell (New Museum, New York) project their views on this topic from four very different angles. The opening of the exhibition is on 4 November and starts at 17.30. So come on down for some live music, free drinks and great photos. Also, Foam opens a new spacious hot spot on Vijzelstraat. The first exhibition at this location is Talent, focusing on - what’s in a name - fresh photo talent from around the globe. Exciting.

Coming Up

1-12 - Widowspeak 14-12 - High Places 3-12 - Peaking Lights 18-12 - Duchess Says 7-12 - Miracle Fortress 29-02-2012 - Future Islands 7-12 - Maria Minerva Page 63

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Agenda

Focus

Museumnacht

5 November, Various locations, Amsterdam

It’s that time of the year when over 40 of the city’s museums swing open their doors afterhours to offer a fine selection of art, fashion, live music, DJs and more. That’s right, the annual Museumnacht hits Amsterdam again and we’ll be there. You should be too. But first, read all about the highlights.

Subbacultcha! @ Foam Pop-in Store Dirty Beaches + zZz DJ set

22 Tracks @ Het Scheepvaartmuseum

Once again we’ll host our very own Museumnacht party, and this year the line-up features Dirty Beaches, who plays dark and haunting road music inspired by Elvis and Suicide. After that the wilde beasts of zZz will make your arty ass move.

The courtyard of Het Scheepvaartmuseum has recently been covered with a giant glass ceiling, so that should prove to be an amazing location for this year’s official opening. Later on, the folks from 22tracks will take over the decks.

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Illustration by Geoff Kim

Agenda

Red Light Radio @ W139

Matjesdisco @ Nemo

Red Light Radio has been broadcasting cutting-edge music straight from the redlight district since 2010, and tonight they’ll host a party at Amsterdam’s finest art gallery.

The Matjesdisco folks are setting up shop in Nemo tonight, so grow your mullet, get out your tracksuit and your trainers and indulge in some mindless retro entertainment.

Bijzondere Collecties Get swept away by science with a lecture by famous neurobiologist Dick Schwaab on the human brain, check out the muscles on some real bodybuilders and play the infamous bodygame Dr. Bibber.

FOAM Wonderful line-up at Foam this year, featuring Belgian electronic noise maker Ssaliva and hazy electronic dance act Stellar Om Source.

More info on www.n8.nl Page 65

nov/dec 2011 nov / woe

beep! beep! presents

nov / vrij

le guess who? pre-party

wolf (why?) + 09 josiah liz wolf 18 pure x + sleep ∞ over i got you on tape 19 graveyard 20 le guess who?

24 festival cultfarm 02 miracle fortress 07 alamo race track 10 nov / zat

nov / zon

nov / v.a.

dec / vrij

dec / woe

dec / zat

Page 66

Focus

Agenda

Le Guess Who? Festival

Lizzi Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance photographed by Keko Jackson

24-27 November - Various locations, Utrecht Back for a fifth celebration of independent music in Utrecht, venues and clubs are uniting to open up this quaint city to a world of beats, bleeps and bawling. Across four days, representatives of the new audio underground will be showcased alongside some of the elder statesmen (and women) who originally inspired them. Highlights include:

Shabazz Palaces

Panda Bear

24 November Sub Pop’s abstract hip hop coup, fleeting between dense electronic washes and a seriously chilled-but-intense lyrical delivery.

27 November Arguably the most successful Animal of the Collective away from the hive. His 2007 album Person Pitch was a psych-soaked melodic gift. Although the newer Tomboy is a more rhythmic beast, it remains a heavy tripped-out vocal experience.

Bill Callahan 25 November The smooth folk troubadour is back to show off tracks from recent album Apocalypse.

Suuns 26 November Hyped hard, but these enchantingly crooked Canadian sonics flip between postpunk, electro disco and dense guitar pop.

Gang Gang Dance 27 November A return visit from the Brooklyn-based electronic-ethno-experimental tribe, who released their fifth album back in spring. Expect them to be on fine trippy dance form as always.

Subbacultcha! Presents: John Maus + Gary War + Givers 27 November, EKKO John Maus’ gothed-up reverb collides with his sunny synths, recalling his old pal Ariel Pink and a wealth of lo-fi icons. Tonight’s stellar line up also includes hazy dream pop trio Memoryhouse, noisy new-wave psychedelia by Gary War and some cool, catchy pop tunes by Givers. Do not miss.

And Still Corners, Anika, Com Truise, Iceage, Pink Moutaintops, Low and much more.

More info on www.leguesswho.nl Page 67

Agenda

Shows in November

Wolves in the Throne Room 31 October - 013, Tilburg 02 November - Vera, Groningen These sweat-drenched American boys may hail from Olympia, Washington, the capital of riot grrrl, and though they spend much less time on their make-up than their Scando black metal brethren, they still pack a deathly vocal squall. Their new album, Celestial Lineage, is check-full of prog punk and metal influences capable of hooking fans from the regular post-rock scene who’ve never dared dip their face into white emulsion.

Hauschka + Nils Frahm 03 November - LUX, Nijmegen 04 November - Oosterpoort, Groningen Prepared-piano maestro Hauschka was one of the main draws of the recent Night of Unexpected concerts. Here he is alongside fellow German piano experimentalist Frahm.

Expect chilly minimalism and sonic beauty.

The Horrors + S.C.U.M 03 November - Vera, Groningen Wee bits of goth, wee bits of Interpol and enough garage rock to justify the hairdresser fees. Recent album Skying offers a fair quota of melody to remind that it’s not all style over substance, and on some cheerier nights they even branch beyond their former uniform of all black.

Rewire Festival ft Washed Out, Holy Other, Dirty Beaches, oOoOO, Hype Williams, Vondelpark 04+05 November, Rond de Energiecentrale, Den Haag Rewire is a taste of all that’s new, exciting and maybe even unsettling. Old Subba faves such as Washed Out, Vondelpark and Hype Williams are worth the admission Page 68

alone, never mind getting to draw imaginary lines between oldies like Plaid and new kid on the wonky electro block, Rustie. Take some chances with the line-up and media programme and you’ll certainly be pleasantly caught off guard.

Museumnacht 05 November - Various locations, Amsterdam Amsterdam museums swing their doors open after-hours in this renowned night of art, booze, tunes, dancing, more booze and sometimes even a little science. We’ll be there. You should be too. Read more on page 64

Dirty Beaches 03 November - Paradox, Tilburg 04 November - Rewire Festival, Den Haag 05 November - Foam Pop-in, Amsterdam 06 November - Vera, Groningen You’ve gotta love this lo-fi Canadian troubadour who’s been blending rough-cut garage rock with a seedy undercurrent of rockabilly.

Read more on page 64.

Braids 06 November - Rotown, Rotterdam 24 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht Delightfully delicate harmonies and noisy pop music from Montreal based shimmering indie darlings Braids. Read more on page 59.

Silver Apples 07 November - WORM, Rotterdam Psychedelic to the core, this tripped-out outfit were making warped Flaming Lips pop and noise a couple of decades before Wayne et al had picked up instruments.

Expect an authentically weird experience charting the ’60s to the present.

Shows in November

Agenda

Holy Other plays the Rewire Festival (4+5 November in Den Haag)

Wild Beasts 07 November - Melkweg, Amsterdam These English boys sure love their overwrought ’80s pop moments, balancing on that fine line between mainstream tosh and credible pop.

Shining 08 November - Patronaat, Haarlem 09 November - Doornroosje, Nijmegen It takes some bold folks to blend industrial metal and jazz. These Norwegians are certainly something…

Josiah Wolf 09 November - Ekko, Utrecht Josiah Wolf is the elder brother of Yoni Wolf, the force behind Why? He’s also a recording and touring member of that group.

But Josiah’s own solo material is a more personal and experimental affair than Why?; recorded in the solitude of the woods, he

playfully layers drums, bass, organ, piano, bells, marimba and vibes.

Three Nights in Heaven ft Owen Pallett, James Vincent McMorrow & Sigur Rós Concert Film 9-11 November - Catherinakerk, Eindhoven This event is taking place in the wonderful Catherinakerk in Eindhoven. Expect lots of soothing electro-accoustic sounds from the likes of Owen Pallet and James Vincent McMorrow as well as a screening of the brand-new Sigur Rós concert film INNI.

London Calling 11-13 November - Various locations, Amsterdam Paradiso’s bi-annual celebration of new bands. There’s a pleasing selection of earlier Subbacultcha! tips and faves this time: Washed Out, Wise Blood, Dum Dum Girls, Veronica Falls, to name just a few.

Page Page 69

Agenda

Shows in November

Crossing Border ft The Low Anthem, St Vincent, Wye Oak, dEUS 15-19 November - Various locations, Den Haag Crossing Border may be a lit fest first and a music festival second, but it undoubtedly commands a strong line-up of bands every year. This time they’ve carefully cordoned off some must-see sets, like the nu-pop evolution of Annie Clark’s St Vincent, and the surprisingly shredding indie folk of Wye Oak.

Cant + Blood Orange DJ Set 15 November - Bitterzoet, Amsterdam Chris Taylor is a talented bugger. To the point that, when he performs live as bassist of Grizzly Bear, you start to get annoyed by the array of spare instruments he picks up, never mind his pitch-perfect backing vocals.

And now he’s proving that he can make it on his own, blending rich electronics and beats with yet more cunning harmonies.

Support comes from Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion, aka Blood Orange.

Siskiyou

ly hundreds of screenings to choose from, many being world or European premieres.

To take your pick, head to www.idfa.nl.

Girls 16 November - Melkweg, Amsterdam With Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Girls managed to release yet another outstanding pop album. Read more on page 60.

Kid Congo Powers & The Pink Monkey Birds 16 November - Effenaar, Eindhoven Dirty, sexy, noise, glam. Be it with The Gun Club, The Cramps, as a Bad Seed, or leading his own Pink Monkey Birds, Brian Tristan aka Kid Congo is always sure to bring on some of that crazed psych rock ’n’ roll.

The Sandwitches 17 November - dB’s, Utrecht 03 December - OCCii, Amsterdam Sassy girl trio existing in a sonic space between Helium, The Raincoats and Cat Power. Read more on page 60. Interview on page 29

Com Truise

15 November - Paradiso, Amsterdam 16 November - dB’s, Utrecht Siskiyou’s spacious indie folk sounds like it was recorded in a log cabin out in the woods. Last year they played an impressive set during the Museumnacht, so it sure is good to see them return to Europe in support of the new album Keep Away the Dead.

17 November - Paradiso, Amsterdam 24 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht New Jersey based producer Seth Healey aka Com Truise released his groovy album Galactic Melt in Spring and is now finally bringing his bottom-heavy mid-fi synthwave, slow-motion funk music to Holland.

IDFA

Pure X + Sleep ∞ Over

16-27 November - Various locations, Amsterdam Yes, it’s that time of year again, as documentary-makers, distributors and fans take over Amsterdam’s cinemas. There’s literal-

18 November - Ekko, Utrecht 19 November - OCCii, Amsterdam Two Austin-based psych-pop bands touring in support of their remarkable new albums.

Read more page 61. Interview on page 18.

Page 70

Agenda

Shows in November

Barn Owl 20 November - dB’s, Utrecht This San Franciscan duo are undoubtedly cinematic, creating a hypnotic sonic mesh with their duelling guitar arpeggios and walls of feedback. Embrace the mesmeric drone of their latest album Lost in the Glare and their dark stage presence.

Neon Indian 21 November - People’s Place, Amsterdam Neon Indian has just released his wonderful new album Era Extraña featuring more of his trademark catchy glo-fi pop music and tonight he’ll be playing those tunes live at People’s Place.

James Blake 22 November - Paradiso, Amsterdam Last year he was a dubstep curio. This year he jumped to number-one hype with his emotionally draining and vastly spacious self-titled debut album. But even after boisterous DJ sets and sit-down concerts this year, he’s refusing to remain stationary, with this tour matched by an EP containing his Bon Iver collaboration and a Joni Mitchell cover.

Nurses 23 November - 013, Tilburg 24 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht 22 November - Magasin 4 (Autumn Falls), Brussels Portland’s own psych pop trio Nurses just released their new album Dracula on Dead Oceans featuring more of their winsome ramshackle pop melodies.

The Antlers 23 November - Melkweg, Amsterdam Insistently lulling Brooklyn indie folk from

Peter Silberman, which, when at its best, reminds of The Shins slowed down to a crawl.

Cheveu + Orchestra of Spheres 24 November - WORM, Rotterdam 25 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht Abstract lo-fi meets slammin’ noise assaults whenever French outfit Cheveu come to town. Orchestra of Spheres are New Zealand’s electro-percussive alternative to Konono No.1.

Junior Boys 24 November - Trouw, Amsterdam Luminous electro pop and dance grooves from the Canadian production duo, back with new album It’s All True.

Tracks 24 November - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam Blending classical performance with multimedia elements and explanations by the performers of what drives their music. Acclaimed Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman takes the central role this time, so expect insights and surprises.

Le Guess Who? 24-27 November - Various locations, Utrecht Utrecht’s celebration of independent music and culture, from freakish underdogs through to old hands such as Malkmus, Callahan and Low. Read more on page 67.

Part Chimp 25 November - OCCii, Amsterdam 27 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht Brain splattering noise punk from angry Londoners who’re given freedom to scare and desecrate by Rock Action Records.

Page Page 71

Agenda

Page 72

Shows in November

Agenda

Shows in November

Het Kabinet ft The Field, Walls & Matthew Herbert 24-26 November - Studio K, Amsterdam The latest instalment of Het Kabinet Festival, organised by Dekmantel, is a threeday multidisciplinary party that ties together mood-swinging electronic music with art and performances.

The Kills 25 November - Paradiso, Amsterdam This transatlantic dark romance got back on track this year, with Alison Mosshart hooking up once more with British guitarist Jamie Hince to release Blood Pressures. A sold-out Melkweg show ensued and now they’re back to woo the city again.

The Drums 25 November - Effenaar, Eindhoven Stylistic lo-fi guitar pop stuck somewhere between Joy Division and New Order but with more defining haircuts.

Bass Drum of Death 25 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht 26 November - Merleyn, Nijmegen 27 November - Vera, Groningen Perhaps unsurprisingly (judging from their name), this young, bedraggled duo have clearly been lost to a beer-soaked garage rock universe. It seems only fair that you join them. Maybe see you on the other side with some bruised eardrums?

Captain Ahab + Anika 26 November - WORM, Rotterdam As off-kilter as you could expect from a night at WORM… Captain Ahab is an LAbased electronic duo whose off-the-wall take on DIY electro pop falls somewhere between Atlas Sound, Ariel Pink and Be-

linda Carlisle (circa 1987). Then there’s the twisted pop of Anika that’s both offbeat and off-tune yet utterly fantastic.

Fruit Bats 26 November - Le Guess Who?, Utrecht 27 November, Roepaen, Ottersum 28 November - Paradiso, Amsterdam Sub Pop’s answer to the Bee Gees? Not quite, but they’ve shown some adventure on latest album Tripper, adding to their traditionally sweet indie folk with a slice of soft pop that would make Destroyer jealous.

M83 29 November - Melkweg, Amsterdam Take an ’80s trip with Anthony Gonzalez, whose latest album Hurry up, We’re Dreaming may just splatter the entire chillwave movement against the wall. Impressively prolific throughout the past decade, his latest combo of synths, guitars, production tweaks and guest spots from the likes of Zola Jesus is marking this autumn as a potential zeitgeist moment for both the project and the scene.

Colin Stetson 30 November - Doornroosje, Nijmegen 01 December - Bimhuis, Amsterdam This experimental reeds player has already come through OCCii and Muziekgebouw this year. His sax playing is unearthly, and with only strong breath and some loop pedals, he creates a sonic primordial ooze that’s hard to resist.

Widowspeak 30 November - dB’s, Utrecht 01 December - WORM, Rotterdam Guitar twang wrapped up in a warm welcoming blanket of Beach House and Mazzy Star. Read more on page 62.

Page 73

EEN SELECTIE UIT ONS PROGRAMMA:

04/11 06/11 10/11 16/11 18/11 20/11 27/11 01/12

THE HORRORS + S.C.U.M. DIRTY BEACHES PINBACK EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY SIVERT Hﾃ郎EM KARMA TO BURN BASS DRUM OF DEATH DEATH LETTERS

Info & tickets: www.vera-groningen.nl illustratie: Gijs Deddens

Free Stuff

Free tickets and goodies

To win, sign up to our mailing list on www.subbacultcha.nl.

2X2 Tickets Rocket Cinema: King Kong vs Homework

2x2 tickets London Calling

2x2 Passe Partouts Le Guess Who? ft Gang Gang Dance, Panda Bear, Suuns, John Maus

31 Oktober De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam

11-13 November Various locations, Amsterdam

24-27 November Various locations, Utrecht

2 Passe Partouts Museumnacht

3x2 tickets Tracks

3x2 Tickets T.R.A.S.H - Safe Absence

5 November Various locations, Amsterdam

24 November Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

Until 21 December Various theatres, Holland

We’re also giving away free tickets to Com Truise, Graphic Detour and three pairs of warm Converse winter boots.

Page 75

Kom

d 25 agavon op vrijd

ber!

novem

SCHILDERS en FOTOGRAFIE, 1888 – 1915 www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vrijdagavond

28 OKT 29 OKT

12 NOV 17 NOV 18 NOV 25 NOV

D.A.F. (EXCLUSIEVE BENELUX SHOW! ) GRAND FOULARD: NOBODY BEATS THE DRUM 333'' + BARE NOIZE + DEATH LETTERS + JACK OBLIVIAN + DEM SLACKERS + VEEL MEER! LITTLE DRAGON KID CONGO POWERS & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS SHAKING GODSPEED + TRAUMAHELIKOPTER THE DRUMS + CLOUD CONTROL

Submitted photos

AFTER MIDNIGHT

Send photos that were taken after midnight to aftermidnight@subbacultcha.nl If your photo gets published, you win a good goodie This month’s photos were submitted by Gijs van Maanen (top) and Tudor Mircea Page 77

Overview of all Subbacultcha shows in November

4 November

17 November

Art Opening: What’s Next

The Sandwitches

dB’s, Utrecht Starts 21:00 | € 7 | Free for members

FOAM, Amsterdam Starts 17:30 | Free for all

5 November Subbacultcha! @ Museumnacht

ft: Dirty Beaches + zZz DJ Set

The Babies + Apneu

OT301, Amsterdam Starts 20:30 | € 8 | Free for members

6 November

Braids

Rotown, Rotterdam Starts 21:00 | € 9 | Free for members

12 November

Wise Blood + Woud + Body II Body

WORM, Rotterdam Starts 20:30 | € 8 | Free for members

16 November Melkweg, Amsterdam Starts 20:30 | € 12 | Free for members

16 November

Ignite

Mediamatic, Amsterdam 20.30 | €7 | Free for members

Occii, Amsterdam Starts 20:30 | € 7 | Free for members

23 November

FOAM Pop-In Store, Amsterdam Not free for members

Girls

19 November

Pure X + Sleep ∞ Over

30 November

Widowspeak + Teams dB’s, Utrecht Starts 20:30 | € 7 | Free for members

All month

Foam

Daily 10.00-18.00, Thu, Fri 10.00-21.00 | €8 | Free for members

Over Datum Eetclub Mediamatic, Amsterdam Tuesdays 18.00 | €7.50 €2.50 for Subbacultcha! members

Coming up: Widowspeak, The Sandwitches, Peaking Lights, High Places, Future Islands.

See all these shows for free. Join at www.subbacultcha.nl Page 78

wo 09 nov James Vincent McMorrow + Brett Dennen + Scott Matthew

Do 10 nov Happy Camper

m.m.v. Tim Knol, Blaudzun, Janne Schra, David Pino, Ricky Koole

vR 11 nov Owen Pallett

& Noord Nederlands Orkest + concertfilm Sigur R贸s - INNI

CATHARInAKERK EInDHovEn tickets via Effenaar.nl & MuziekgebouwEindhoven.nl