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Second round of artists and projects unveiled for Rewire 2020

22 Jan 2020

Today we announce the next round of artists performing at the tenth edition of Rewire festival, taking place in The Hague from 3 to 5 April.

New live shows by electronic pop innovators Arca and SOPHIE, Buchla synth virtuoso Suzanne Ciani, plus genre-spanning performances from Semiconductor & Eartheater, Lee Gamble, Beatrice Dillon, Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy and Stephanie Pan & Ensemble Klang amongst the second round of artists performing at Rewire 2020. More artists and special projects still to be announced, as well as an expansive discourse programme of talks, workshops and screenings around this year’s theme of (Re)setting: examining how humans and sound relate to new listening experiences, urbanisation, the changing rural landscape and the ecological crisis.

Festival passes for the reduced price of €80 are available until 1 February at Tickets. Day tickets and artists’ performance days will be released on 3 February.

The second round of artists and projects confirmed for Rewire 2020:

33EMYBW
Arca (live)
Bbymutha
Beatrice Dillon (live)
Bec Plexus
Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy
Eartheater
Evelien van den Broek presents Biophonica
Halal & Relaxer
Lee Gamble (live AV)
Lucinda Chua
Mark IJzerman & Sébastien Robert present As Above, So Below
Nazira
Raja Kirik
Semiconductor & Eartheater present Fracture Patterns
Senyawa
SOPHIE (live)
Stephanie Pan & Ensemble Klang present Have Robot Dog, Will Travel
Suzanne Ciani
Wume

Second round of Rewire 2020 artists: In depth

British DJ, producer and songwriter SOPHIE and Venezuelan composer, DJ and performer Arca are two of the most crucial artists to emerge in the last decade. Each with a hyper-modern sound at the intersection of pop and electronic music, both artists will present exclusive new live shows featuring yet to be released material at Rewire 2020. From ultra-influential contemporary artists to one of the most important women in the history of electronic music, Buchla synth virtuoso and ‘diva of the diode’ Suzanne Ciani will perform a special quadraphonic Buchla set – the instrument Ciani devoted much of her 40-year career to.

Amongst the special projects coming to Rewire 2020 is ‘Fracture Patterns’ by UK artist duo Semiconductor and multi-instrumentalist, composer and vocalist Eartheater from the US. Featuring large-scale multi-channel video, sound and performance, ‘Fracture Patterns’ is an audiovisual investigation into the emergent properties of noise. Eartheater will also perform the Dutch premier of her new solo live show, featuring her pastoral-meets-modern club sound and three-octave vocal range.

Classically trained singer and boundary-pushing performance artist Stephanie Pan teams up with the conductorless music troupe Ensemble Klang to present ‘Have Robot Dog, Will Travel’, an ode to abstraction, to ambiguity, to words unsaid. Whilst London-based DJ, composer and producer Lee Gamble brings the audiovisual world of his current sonic tryptic, ‘Flush Real Pharynx’, to Rewire 2020. Inspired by Mark Fisher’s ‘the Semioblitz’, a spatial-based onslaught of visual and sonic stimuli, ‘Flush Real Pharynx’ reflects this year’s overarching festival theme of (Re)setting and the human-sound interaction with evolving environments, both real and imagined. One of Britain’s electronic music’s most exciting emerging talents Beatrice Dillon will present her debut album for PAN ‘Workaround’, a record bursting with ingenious sampling and stylistic fusions.

Dutch media artist Mark IJzerman and French sound artist and researcher Sébastien Robert will present the world premier of their audiovisual collaboration. ‘As Above, So Below’ is the result of an artistic research residency in Chile, investigating the logging industry that has been eroding the biodiversity of the La Araucanía region. Amsterdam-based composer, performer and producer Evelien van den Broek will present another ecologically-themed work at Rewire 2020. ‘Biophonica’ reflects on the critical issue of extinction through an immersive show featuring field recordings of extinct or endangered animals, analogue synthesis and trumpet.

Evoking global cultures, traditions and locales through sound will form a large part of the Rewire 2020 programme. Senyawa and Raja Kirik are two projects from Indonesia melding Javanese folklore with contemporary sounds to form distinctive strains of Indonesian new music. Both featuring instrument builders, Senyawa’s current album reflects on the spirituality of the land with folk metal, punk and droning guitar. Whilst Raja Kirik, who make their Dutch debut at Rewire 2020, explore dance as a vehicle for resistance and protest in the context of Java’s history under Dutch colonial rule.

The poetic soundscapes of German trio Carl Gari (Jonas Yamer, Till Funke and Jonas Friedlich) and the Egyptian singer and trumpeter Abdullah Miniawy transport us to modern Egypt, and life under the brutal oppression of the Al-Sisi regime. Meanwhile, the erratic hyper-rhythms of Shanghai-based 33EMYBW’s ‘limb dance’ provide a snapshot of China’s progressive experimental club scene. Heady hardware duo Halal & Relaxer from the US and Nazira, club promoter and fierce DJ from Kazakhstan, known for building the scene in her hometown of Almaty, join the Rewire 2020 club programme, devoted to showcasing adventurous electronic music from around the globe.

Tennessee-based rapper and vocalist Bbymutha revered for her myth-busting lyrics on sexuality, motherhood, and identity, will bring an energetic set full of new material to Rewire 2020. The album launch of ‘STICKLIP’ by Dutch singer and composer Bec Plexus, the R&B-meets-chamber pop stylings of singer-songwriter, composer, and cellist Lucinda Chua, and cosmic head trips from Baltimore duo Wume complete the second wave of artists performing at this years festival. More artists and special projects still to be announced.

Rewire 2020 programme so far:

33EMYBW
Ami Dang
Anna Meredith
Arca (live)
Bbymutha
Beatrice Dillon (live)
Bec Plexus
Ben LaMar Gay
Blacks’ Myths
Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy
Cucina Povera
Dis Fig
Eartheater
Evelien van den Broek presents Biophonica
Ex Eye
Gabber Modus Operandi
Galya Bisengalieva
Halal & Relaxer
Hildur Guðnadóttir presents Chernobyl
Hiro Kone
HTRK
Ian William Craig
James Ferraro
John T. Gast
Jon Hopkins presents Polarity
Juana Molina
Katie Gately
Lee Gamble (live AV)
Leo Svirsky & The River Without Banks
Loraine James
Lorenzo Senni
Lucinda Chua
Mark IJzerman & Sebastien Robert present As Above, So Below
Nazira
OOIOO
Pelada
Rafael Anton Irisarri & Oliver Coates
Rafiq Bhatia
Semiconductor & Eartheater present Fracture Patterns
Senyawa
SOPHIE (live)
Stephanie Pan & Ensemble Klang present Have Robot Dog, Will Travel
The Caretaker & Weirdcore
Wume
YATTA