BRDCST is back again. On April 8, 9 and 10, BRDCST showcases the best of avant-garde pop, futuristic hip-hop, grime, African black metal, Chicago footwork, jazz, electronic music, contemporary classical, improv and more.

SUNDAY APRIL 10th

Colourgrade by English singer-songwriter Tirzah was one of the best albums of 2021. We are thrilled that she’s coming to bring BRDCST to a stylish close. The same applies to Jenny Hval, whose latest album Classic Object is an avant-garde pop gem. Without a doubt, the most radical act on the bill is Duma. Imagine, if you can: hardcore punk-trash metal-breakcore-industrial noise.

BRDCST is also proud to welcome percussionist Bex Burch as artist-in-residence. Burch brings a unique fusion of jazz, post-punk and minimalism built around the sound of her Ghanaian xylophone. She presents three of her percussion projects at BRDCST: Vula Viel, her collaboration with Leafcutter John and another one with Flock.

Exclusively for BRDCST we asked Oï les OX, Joachim Badenhorst, Sergeant, Lennert Jacobs and Milan W. to reinterpret Tago Mago – the legendary album by the German krautrock band Can – in full. And that’s not all. You can also look forward to the experimental electronics of Grid Ravage and the unique sound of composer Dasom Baek. She’s bringing her traditional Korean flutes to the party.

Finally, on Sunday you can find out for yourself why we think ---__--___ is making the most intriguing music today. And why Iggy Pop is such a huge fan of the Belgian violinist Catherine Graindorge. Wow! What. A. Day.

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JENNY HVAL (no)

She claims to have been inspired by pop greats such as Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson. Norwegian singer-songwriter Jenny Hval, however, has had no difficulty staking out her own territory on the frontier of contemporary pop and avant-garde. Her work can be called multi‑disciplinary at the very least, employing musical, literary, visual and performative forms of expression. She is playing a limited number of European shows in support of her soon-to-be-released album Classic Objects. Her travels will take her to London, Paris and Berlin as well as festivals like Rewire and BRDCST. Welcome to the wonderful world of Jenny Hval!

TIRZAH (uk) 

English singer-songwriter Tirzah gave us one of the best albums of 2021: Colourgrade. Pitchfork agrees with BRDCST, having nominated the album for the Best New Music category and placing it at the top of its End of 2021 list. Famous group Rough Trade Shops did the same. The New York Times described her album as “a fluid excursion through the contours of club music, noise, R&B and electronic music.” Her experimental blend of pop, post-grime and R&B sounds extremely intoxicating and even, as also described, “as intimate as a crumpled handkerchief”. We are incredibly proud to welcome her to BRDCST.

NYEGE NYEGE TAPES PRESENTS DUMA (ke) 

Without a doubt the most radical act on the BRDCST 2022 bill: African duo Duma. Duma can best be described as an uncompromising uppercut of hardcore punk-trash metal-breakcore‑industrial noise with equally uncompromising black metal vocals (it’s no wonder duma loosely translates as darkness). Despite their radical nature, they have been embraced by the Sub Pop label – who released their latest and 7th album – and artist Jesse Kanda, known for his work with Arca and Björk. Mdou Moctar, another fan was lucky to remix some of their tracks. Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie) invited them to Le Guess Who? when he curated it. Duma is the final act at BRDCST. Nothing will be the same again.

BRDCST CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF CAN’S TAGO MAGO

The legendary album of German krautrock band Can, Tago Mago, turned 50 in 2021; an über-classic of the same calibre as the likes of Kid A and Amnesiac by Radiohead. Noticeably few artists have attempted to cover songs from this album, with the exception of The Fall, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Flaming Lips. BRDCST has challenged Oï les OX, Joachim Badenhorst, Sergeant, Lennert Jacobs and Milan W. to reinterpret Tago Mago from start to finish... and we have total confidence in them.

CATHERINE GRAINDORGE (be) 

Catherine Graindorge is a Belgian violinist and composer who released her second solo album, Eldorado, in 2021. The record was produced by PJ Harvey sidekick John Parish and came out on the cool Glitterbeat Records sub-label tak:til – also the label of Jon Hassell, Park Jiha and Širom. With strings, harmonium and just the right amount of electronics, she tells a highly personal tale that leaves no one unmoved. Even Iggy Pop is a fan: “She does great stuff!”

---__--___ MORE EAZE & SETH GRAHAM (us) 

---__--___ is the musical alter ego of More Eaze and Seth Graham. They put out one of the most intriguing albums of 2021: The Heart Pumps Kool‑Aid. British pop musician David Sylvian let slip: “The future sounds like this.” And he’s right. We also read: “It’s dark and isolating. This music hurts, but it also embraces.” Again, spot on. Their hyper-intimate, electro-acoustic ambient with hints of Auto-Tune in the vocals and black metal screams feels like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night. Could they be the great discovery of BRDCST 2022?

BRDCST ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE: BEX BURCH (uk)

BRDCST is extremely proud to welcome the English percussionist (and Berlin resident) Bex Burch as artist-in-residence. Burch is best known for her unique fusion of jazz, post-punk and minimalism, based around the sound of her gyil, a Ghanaian xylophone. Both Iggy Pop and radio icon Gilles Peterson sing her praises. BRDCST presents three of her percussion-based projects: Vula Viel, and her collaborations with Leafcutter John and Flock. Bex Burch: “It feels exciting and beautiful and vulnerable to share these three projects with an audience.” You’re more than welcome, Bex!

VULA VIEL (uk)

“Dance to it! Make love to it!” exclaimed Iggy Pop on hearing the post-punk-inflected West-Ghanaian rhythms of Vula Viel. The heartbeat of this group is based on the unique sound of the gyil. The Ghanaian xylophone is expertly played by Bex Burch, who spent three years in Ghana mastering the instrument. Vula Viel combines the unique sound of the instrument with the minimalism of Steve Reich, jazz and post-punk. For fans of Konono N°1, Tortoise and Portico Quartet.

BEX BURCH x LEAFCUTTER JOHN PRESENT ‘BOING!’ (uk)

‘Boing!’ is the musical outcome of a number of lockdown Zoom sessions between Bex Burch (Vula Viel) and Leafcutter John, referred to by Time Out as “one of the UK’s most fearlessly inventive electronicists”. The result can best be described as minimalist percussion meets exuberant synths. The Guardian: “Together they seem to warp space and time... a thoroughly compelling session. ★★★★”

FLOCK FEAT. BEX BURCH x DANALOGUE x SARATHY KORWAR x …  (uk)

The top-quality London label Strut Records (who you may know from Orlando Julius or their many Sun Ra compilations) gave Flock “an open offer to create a new, completely freeform project.” The result? A brand-new partnership between five open-minded key figures in the London jazz scene: Bex Burch (Vula Viel), drummer Sarathy Korwar, keyboard player Danalogue (The Comet Is Coming w/ Shabaka Hutchings), pianist Al MacSween (Maisha) and clarinettist Tamar Osborn (Collocutor). This promises to be a stunning world premiere for Flock.

Line up:

Bex Burch:                  gyil

Danalogue:                 fender rhodes

Sarathy Korwar:          drums, tabla

Al Macsween:              (prepared) piano

Tamar Osborn:              bass clarinet, soprano sax

GRID RAVAGE PRESENTS ‘GRID RAVAGE’ (b)

Grid Ravage mainstay Yves De Mey is no stranger to AB. He has performed a handful of times here under his moniker Eavesdropper, the highlight being in support of grandmaster Amon Tobin. His experimental electronica is at its best in Grid Ravage and with jazz drummer Louis Evrard (Ottla) and cellist Gino Coomans (Sheldon Siegel) beside him. Their debut is out soon on the Antwerp Dropa Disc label (Fred Van Hove, Farida Amadou, etc.) and sits somewhere between the Vladislav Delay Quartet and Moritz Von Oswald Trio.

DASOM BAEK PRESENTS MIRROR CITY (KOR)

Dasom Baek is a composer, a teacher, and player of the daegeum and sogeum: traditional Korean bamboo flutes. Her experimental contemporary music is rooted in Korean instrumental traditions. Prior to 3voor12 (VPRO) she was one of the revelations of the SXSW festival in ’21. The word ‘spellbinding’ has been used to describe her music. At BRDCST, she will present her fresh new second album, Mirror City.