Annea Lockwood

I was thrilled to learn that Annea Lockwood would be the central artist in this year’s ReWire festival. Her work, overlooked for many years, places an importance on the autonomy of sound and on the relationship between nature and sound environments.

There are several concerts of her music in the festival: the iconic Piano Burning, the ensemble Yarn Wire performing the recent work The Vanishing Point, Tête-à-tête – the collaboration with her later partner Ruth Anderson, and Maze Ensemble playing from our recent CD of her music, Bayou-Borne and Jitterbug.

Autreche

Excited to hear Autechre again after about 25 years. They were a soundtrack to my university days. They are constantly reinventing themselves and their sound has not lost any of its cutting edge.

Jlin

Jlin performs this year with visual artist Florence To. I first saw Jlin about 8 years ago in ReWire, was blown away by the live set. And since then, followed all her releases. The music has its roots in the Chicago Footwork scene, with a restlessness and energy bursting beyond the usual conventions of EDM

Maya Al Khaldi & Sarouna

An act which I have never heard before, but I’m fascinated to hear is Maya Al Khaldi & Sarouna. A duo who reimagines the Palestinian folk tradition. I’m always curious of the work of artists who try and reframe traditional music in a new context, trying to project an alternative future. With the current unfolding tragedy going on in Palestine, this will surely be an emotive and highly charged concert.

Myriam Bleau

I’m very curious about the new work of digital artist Myriam Bleau. Her work creates a playful relation between generative systems, machine learning and pop culture – always expressed in a visually stunning form. The project that she is presenting this year, Hypermobility, combines laser projections with abstracted dance music elements.

Oren Ambarchi & Phew

Two greats of improvised experimental music - Oren Ambarchi will be performing with Phew (Hiromi Moritani), this promises to be a fascinating duo, where sonic exploration is combined in an emotional powerful performance.

Maze

My bandmates from Maze are doing a special concert with Sietse van Erve, AKA Orphax. Known for many years in the electronic music scene as both an uncompromising musician specializing in ambient and drone music, and the founder of the label Moving Furniture Records. For this set he will develop material from his 2020 album En de stilstaande tijd. 

Stephanie Pan & Ensemble Klang

Another chance to see The Art of Doing Nothing: a feminist manifesto by locals Stephanie Pan & Ensemble Klang first performed in Korzo at the beginning of this year. This is a wonderful set of songs on the theme of ‘doubt, vulnerability, and intuition’, that marry the incredible musicianship and virtuosity of Ensemble Klang with the clever and playful lyricism of Stephanie Pan.

The Necks

Having first heard the legendary Australian improv group The Necks about 20 years ago, I’ve got to known them personally and seen them perform many times since then. They have reimagined a form of improvisation that is so different from the mainstream, evolving an idea over a large timespan, rather than jumping from one idea to the next. Even though they have a clear identity and sound, you never know what to expect from each concert. Incredible musicians.

Andrius Arutiunian

Some of the works in the Proximity Music: States of Fragility series will be worth going to see. Naphtha, They Said by Andrius Arutiunian, alumnus composer of the Royal Conservatory but now making big waves in the art world with his exploration of enigmatic forms of music and sound cultures. Also, Myra-Ida van der Veen recent graduate of the Art Science programme at the KC/KABK whose final work I saw at the Graduation show last year, was a powerful and sonically rich performance.

Salomé Voegelin & Loma Doom

A lot of great events in the context programme of ReWire, including performance of sound theorist and artist Salomé Voegelin and sound practitioner Loma Doom. Some student works from the KC/KABK Soundscape project, that I have been involved in as a coach, Horse 1 and 2 by Juliette Hengst and Liza Kuzyakova, Scream of nature by Britt van den Boogaard and Isaac Barszo, Shells of light by Mateusz Godlewski, Akiko Mik (original co-creators Indra Joachimsthal and Haevn Aalbersberg), and Spinning Top by Pam Breedveld and Fernande Bloemen. 

CAAOSSS

Finally a great student-led initiative, CAAOSSS from the Composition, Art Science, Art of Sound, and Sonology departments of the Royal Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague, will showcase some interdisciplinary works by Amba Klapwij, Ania Osuch (Performers: Ania Osuch, Ye Ni Jeong, Zuzanna Dziedzic), Arefeh Hekmatpanah (Performer: Ghazal Faghihi), Faux (Performers: Hugo Ariëns, Otis Thomet, Pedro Latas, Quartus Vlak), and Paulius Mikalajunas, and Tadas Vinskevicius