We don’t care if you’re a broken husk after King’s Day, another important weekend is upon us.
There’s no better place to be this Friday and Saturday than The Hague’s Rewire Festival, where a whole mass of our favourite artists are converging to perform, discuss and interact in a series of gigs, workshops and installations around the Dutch city.
Offering out-there electronics, jazz and improv, noise and sound art as well as cutting-edge club sounds by night, we could recommend almost any of the acts on the the bill – but we’ve picked five to get you started.
Turn the page to find out more, and see the rest of what’s on at Rewire’s website.
1. Alessandro Cortini
Friday – 21:30-10:15
Analogue synth fetishist and Nine Inch Nails collaborator Alessandro Cortini will perform Sonno, the stunning album he released on Dominick Fernow’s Hospital Productions last year. Recorded in hotel rooms using a Roland MC 202 and a delay pedal, the tactile and glacial mood of the record should ease you into the weekend gently.
2. Holly Herndon
Friday – Korzo I, 23:45-00:30
Her new album Platform is a head-spinning, pin-sharp exploration of technology, consumerism and the shady spaces between dance, pop and abstract electronics – but seeing Holly Herndon live is where it all comes together, as she demonstrates her philosophy of the laptop as a true instrument. For Rewire, she’ll be performing her brand new audiovisual show to accompany the album. Hear Holly Herndon’s FACT Mix.
3. Mbongwana Star
Saturday – Korzo I, 15:00-1600
Mbongwana Star are a newly formed seven-piece band fusing the clatter of Congolese rhythms with throbbing post-punk bass and electronics – imagine Konono N°1 signing to DFA. Like their Konono forefathers, the band have built their own makeshift electrified versions of traditional African instruments. Watch Mbongwana Star on FACT TV.
4. Julianna Barwick
Saturday – Oud Katholieke Kerk, 20:15-21:10
Julianna Barwick has long been flooring us with her quasi-devotional loop music channelling ambient, choral, shoegaze and new age, and her Rewire performance promises to be nothing short of transcendent. The Brooklyn-based musician will be joined by Maarten Vos and four vocalists inside The Hague’s Old Catholic Church for a show comprising material from her two most recent albums, Nepenthe and The Magic Place. Hear Barwick’s FACT Mix.
5. DJ Stingray
Saturday/Sunday – Hoop I, 03:00-04:00
The masked man Sherard Ingram flies in from Detroit to lay down a masterclass in true techno and electro from the Drexciyan lineage – there’s no better way to round off all that Serious Fun you’ll be having. Hear Stingray’s Urban Tribe FACT Mix.