BRDCST is AB’s outstanding indoor spring festival spotlighting musical boundlessness. The name is a direct reference to the retro futuristic electronica-pop of the English band Broadcast that released inspiring albums like ‘Haha Sound’ and ‘Noise Made By The People’ over the past decade. Artists who feel strongly about musical innovation form the focal point for BRDCST. Our musical gut feeling will do the rest.

True to habit, BRDCST will conclude with a closing day consisting of a true mini-festival within the festival. It was the solid opinion piece in The Guardian - ‘Is Jazz entering a new Golden Age?’ – that also directly resulted in us theming the entire evening as contrary contemporary jazz.  With acts like Thundercat, Shabaka Hutchings and Yussef Kamaal, we too support the thesis that afrofuturism – a term first used in’93 by American culture critic Mark Dery in his essay ‘Black To The Future’ – is seriously gaining ground.

 

THUNDERCAT (us)
Eye-catcher on the last day of BRDCST is of course Brainfeeder-act Thundercat aka amazing bassist/Grammy-winner Stephen Bruner (who is one of the architects behind Kendrick Lamar’s classic ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’). Aside from his very diverse musical contributions to other artists (Flying Lotus - Kamasi Washington - Suicidal Tendencies), Stephen’s alter-ego Thundercat has an awesome own repertoire: Three masterful albums – produced by Flying Lotus – and a live reputation that can measure up to the biggest jazz greats.

 

SHOBALEADER ONE (uk)
Literally contrary is the equally masterful bassist Tom Jenkinson (=Squarepusher) who also likes keep up an exciting side-project: Shobaleader One. A furious quartet led by Jenkinson who sings the praises of Miles Davis’ fusion period, emanates his familiar adoration for Jaco Pastorius, and explosively reworks Squarepusher classics. Oh yeah: upcoming album ‘Elektrac’ will be released on March 10 via the fantastic Warp label of Aphex Twin, Battles, Mount Kimbie, etc and festival name-mate Broadcast.  

 

SHABAKA AND THE ANCESTORS (uk)
Musical glutton, saxophonist and innovator Shabaka Hutchings is currently occupied with at least four projects: Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, Melt Yourself Down and Shabaka And The Ancestors. He will be heading down to BRDCST with the latter – strongly African inspired – formation. This masterful musician – he is sometimes referred to as the British Kamasi Washington – released an impressive album in September ’16 on (Gilles Peterson’s) quality label Brownswood: ‘Wisdom Of The Elders’.

 

YUSSEF KAMAAL (uk)
That same Gilles Peterson also launched one of the hippest jazz-influenced acts of recent months: Yussef Kamaal! The duo – Yussef Dayes and Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu) – deals in jazz with heavy electronica basslines and piano rhythms. Debut album ‘Black Focus’ (2016, Brownswood) really hits the spot!