TIMINGS

With great enthusiasm, AB presents the 6th edition of BRDCST! Our annual high mass for the musical adventurer will welcome roughly 30 artists from four different continents from 7 to 9 April. 

On 7, 8 and 9 April we’ll immerse you in today’s sharpest music. 

► FRIDAY APRIL 7TH

JAMES HOLDEN (LIVE A/V SHOW) + AMBASSADE PRESENTS ‘THE FOOL’ + BRDCST CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF CAN’S ‘EGE BAMYASI’ + JOE RAINEY + TAQBIR + DEADLETTER + KLEINE CRACK & SLAGTER + KABAAL + WALTUR (BURENHINDER) + SUZAN PEETERS

What is pow wow? What does electronica pioneer James Holden’s new work sound like? And why is Moroccan punk band Taqbir on the festival bill every day? Find out all this and more at BRDCST day 1! You can also look forward to new work by Amsterdam’s Ambassade, a reworking of the Can classic ‘Ege Bamyasi’ and Antwerp horrorcore from rapper Kleine Crack. DEADLETTER will demonstrate how fiery modern post-punk can be and we will finish on the dancefloor with Waltur from the all-female rave collective Burenhinder.

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JAMES HOLDEN (LIVE A/V SHOW) (gb) 

When James Holden came to BRDCST in ‘18, he didn’t conceal his enthusiasm for the programme, declaring that ‘BRDCST is the ideal antidote for paranoia, hysteria and bubbles’. This quote resonated with us so much that we have made it the guiding principle for this edition. So it’s a logical step to get this electronic pioneer on board once again.

His fans are many: Jehnny Beth (Savages) and Jamie xx regularly include his tracks in their DJ sets while Thom Yorke took Holden along with him with Atoms For Peace. His CV is impressive, with remix work for Mogwai, Radiohead and GoGo Penguin. James Holden is literally dropping his brand-new brainchild ‘Imagine This is a High Dimensional Space of all Possibilities’ (on his own label Border Community) on the opening night. A bit of insider knowledge: Holden will actually play all the ‘hits’ from his previous albums. The A/V show is in the hands of video/visual artist Chris Innerstrings who has previously done amazing work for Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, among others.

AMBASSADE PRESENTS ‘THE FOOL’ (nl) 

Ambassade (they’ve recently dropped the definite article ‘de’) are from Amsterdam, they’re damned obstinate and, therefore, they are perfect for BRDCST. Their debut ‘Duistre Kamers’ – a combination of reverb-drenched lyrics, cold synths and echoing drum machines – was described by Boomkat as ‘as memorable as the best albums of John Maus, The Normal or Fad Gadget.’ We had the honour of hearing their brand-new (and considerably more experimental) album ‘The Fool’ in advance, and we’re even more hooked than before. Notably, Ambassade now also sing in English (and have also switched from Knekelhuis to the UK label Optimo Music), experiment more and sound more percussive than ever.

BRDCST x THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF CAN CLASSIC ‘EGE BAMYASI’ (be) 

At BRDCST 2022, Sergeant, Oï les OX, L. Jacobs and Milan W. made an unforgettable impression by reworking Can’s legendary album ‘Tago Mago’ in full. During this edition, the same group - with the addition of Brussels-based Japanese saxophonist Shoko Igarashi - put the equally legendary album ‘Ege Bamyasi’ through the wringer.

Both Rolling Stone and Uncut have placed this album on their ‘Best Albums of All Time’ lists and Stephen Malkmus (Pavement) once said: ‘I played ‘Ege Bamyasi’ every night before I went to sleep for about three years.’ Kanye West not only sampled ‘Sing Swan Song’ in ‘Drunk and Hot Girls’ (on his ‘Graduation’ album) but even borrowed the entire melody line. Borrowing a melody is one thing. Reworking a whole album: now that takes a lot of guts. BRDCST is up for the challenge and has total faith in dramatist/musician Ferre ‘Sergeant’ Marnef and his disciples.

TAQBIR (mo) 

BRDCST is so impressed by the veiled Moroccan punk band Taqbir that they’re playing on every day (!) of the festival. Their debut EP ‘Victory Belongs To Those Who Fight For A Right Cause’ features only four songs and clocks in at seven minutes. Think Cocaine Piss meets The Slits meets X-Ray Spex. Live, they are ‘a blast of compressed rage’ (The Wire).

Taqbir are serious: ‘By pushing their anger towards the sexism, homophobia and racism that lingers like a dark, poisonous fog around Moroccan culture, Taqbir play a very dangerous game. They are putting themselves on the frontline, risking potential imprisonment, death threats and more, just to escape the cultural prison they’ve grown up in.’ (The Quietus) Frontwoman Aicha (a pseudonym) and her band perform behind veils to conceal their true identities out of fear for repercussions.

JOE RAINEY (us) 

Joe Rainey is a rabid fan of pow wow chants: music made and sung by Native Americans during ritual pow wow gatherings. The name originates from the word ‘Powwow’: medicine man. On his SoundCloud he even archives recordings he made himself during pow wow rituals. In this way, Rainey recontextualises ancient pow wow chants as well as his own voice with the help of contemporary electronics wizard Andrew Broder (Fog and Hymnie’s Basement). His debut album, ‘Niineta’ was released on 37d03d (‘people’ written upside-down), the label owned by Justin ‘Bon Iver’ Vernon and Aaron and Bryce Dessner (The National). Pitchfork: ‘… arresting and unruly, centring his remarkable voice amid blasts of digital distortion, field recordings, and unrelenting rhythms.’ Bon Iver: ‘I’ve wept from pure beauty and expression.’ He added: ‘He is one of my favourite singers on the planet.

DEADLETTER (gb) 

An energetic South-London-based sextet who have breathed new life into Albion’s post-punk sound since the release of their debut single ‘Good Old Days’ (‘20). With a handful of catchy singles and masses of positive (live) reviews they are being put forward as the latest revelation within the contemporary scene. BBC Radio 6 Music plays their singles in A-rotation and the When the Horn Blows music blog opines: ‘A standout of the emerging post-punk renaissance, Deadletter retain that punky DIY feel, but colour it with scathing, intellectual political satire, harking to literature, film, and philosophy.’ A must for fans of Gang Of Four, The Fall, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem and the New York No Wave scene.

KLEINE CRACK & SLAGTER (be) 

The work of the Antwerp rapper Kleine Crack (and his crew, VHS) appeals to the imagination. The titles of his EPs, such as ‘Crack Slagter Vol. 6 6: Meer Bloed’ or its follow-up ‘Vol. 6 6 6: Meer Evil’, speak volumes. Kleine Crack gives a Dutch-language twist to the horrorcore sound of groups like Three 6 Mafia. Together with regular producer Slagter he makes demonic hip-hop full of vicious beats and grisly lyrics. His debut ‘Of Ga Dood’ came out on Burning Fik, the label of Faberyayo (De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig). He has previously worked with Zwangere Guy and, of course, as his many 666 tattoos show, the devil.

KABAAL PRESENTS ‘KÉKÉ’ (be)

With his solo project KABAAL, drummer Jakob ‘Don Kapot’ Warmenbol pushes his drum kit’s limits by integrating contact mics, an electronic drum module and a sampler. With the element of surprise front and centre in his improvised compositions, he frolics through Dionysus’ hectic playground, passing from feedback to distorted samples, (a)tonal and disorienting. At BRDCST he will present his first EP ‘Kéké’.

BRDCST BY NGHT: WALTUR (BURENHINDER) (be) 

With an open musical spirit, we head into the night with Waltur and make for the dancefloor! Waltur is part of the all-female rave collective Burenhinder, formed in 2021 with the aim of creating a platform on which to celebrate womanhood through hard electronic music. Waltur: ‘It seems as if everything that is feminine has to be cute and soft, and we want to break that stigma.’ Check out their calling card/mixtape ‘Coresphere’ and find out what it’s all about.

SUZAN PEETERS (be)

Suzan Peeters is a Brussels-based accordionist, experimentalist and improviser from Belgium. Suzan is constantly looking for new timbres and sound textures using her accordion. She experiments with the acoustic sound possibilities of the accordion and likes to create the illusion of a synthesizer sound, using the bellows in a very extensive way.  Combined with electronics she makes the line between acoustic and electronic sound even more blurry. Besides making her own songs, Suzan loves playing contemporary classical music and improvising on the spot.