Posted in Whathaveyou on January 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
As recently announced, early next month, both Aluk Todolo and Insect Ark will take part in Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul, being held Feb. 3-5 at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn. Almost immediately thereafter, the two experimentalist outfits — from France and Brooklyn, respectively — will head to the West Coast for a five-evening run of shows that will no doubt involve several late-night drives as they make their way in between Seattle and Los Angeles. The amount of geography involved in such things can be staggering.
You can see in the dates below that the shows are dirt cheap. Eerily so. For two bands who should probably play exclusively in museum settings, it feels excessively easy on the wallet in a way that says Aluk Todolo are about to experience one of the most crucial aspects of touring in the US: not being paid well enough. So if you go, make sure you buy all the merch. That’s my recommendation to balance things out.
From the social medias:
ALUK TODOLO + INSECT ARK USA 2017
Aluk Todolo will be back in February 2017 for two sets at NYC’s Stardust VI, and will team up with the instrumental doom drone band Insect Ark for a week of shows on the West Coast. Last time Aluk Todolo played in the USA was under the stars of Stella Natura Fest, in 2012. Since then the band has released Occult Rock and Voix, two milestones in their discography, an adventurous and magical exploration of black metal, psychedelic rock and jazz.
Aluk Todolo & Insect Ark: Feb 3,4,5 New York – Stardust VI – St Vitus Feb 7 Seattle – Highline w/ Caligula Cartel, Serpentent. $12 advance / $15 at door. Feb 8 Portland – High water mark w/ Miserable, HZ, High and Fragile. $10 advance / $13 at door. Feb 9 San Francisco – Elbo Room w/ Common Eider King Eider, Alaric. $12 advance / $15 at door. Feb 10 Sacramento – The Colony Feb 11 Los Angeles (Glendale California) – the Complex w/ TBD. $12 advance / $15 at door.
ALUK TODOLO (Grenoble, France) is an instrumental power trio performing Occult Rock since 2004. Their music is a methodical exploration of the powers of musical trance. Part occult black metal fiend and part snide kraut menace, the band conjures rabid obsessive rhythms and abyssal disharmonic guitars, subliminal spiritualist vibrations and bizarre, magick summonings. ALUK TODOLO reduces psychedelic improvisation to a bare, telluric instrumentation, in which dry, spare percussion grievously mines the scrapes, shrieks and shimmer of mutated guitar and bass. The band’s sound is monolithic and stabbing, hypnotic but unpredictable, minimalist yet teeming: a dangerous, noxious coil of all things black.
INSECT ARK is an instrumental doom-psych duo based in NYC / Portland (Dana Schechter – bass, lap steel, synths / Ashley Spungin – drums, synths). Schechter plays/has played with M. Gira’s Angels of Light (Swans), Wrekmeister Harmonies; Ashley Spungin also plays in Taurus. Since the band’s inception in late 2011, Insect Ark have toured internationally, had their music used in feature films, and released 5 records/singles. A new full-length LP is currently in production for a 2017 release.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 9th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Is there such a thing as a post-festival? I suppose finding out might be the mission of Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul, which is set to take place over a viciously-curated four-night span at Brooklyn’s venerated Saint Vitus Bar, with the likes of Insect Ark, Absu, Aluk Todolo, Obliteration and many others performing. The event has a kind of manifesto for its purpose that you can see below, and knowing that it’s headed up by writer/photographer/organizer/etc. Stefan Raduta, if the point doesn’t get driven home by the 900 words that follow, let me just say outright that this is clearly a work of passion brought to life. Raduta is among the most deeply, intensely driven individuals I’ve ever met in music — that includes artists — and I’ve no doubt that every second of these nights has been pored over and thought out to the utmost. Blood, sweat and tears? That’s just the start of it when it comes to anything Stefan does. Dude is ready to prolapse organs for something he believes in.
Dig it:
Stardust VI to feature performances by Slagmaur, Aluk Todolo, Absu, Obliteration
Book presentation and lecture by Metastazis
From February 2nd to February 5th, 2017, Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul will take place in Brooklyn, NY at Saint Vitus Bar. Although appearing on the surface to be a conventional “music festival,” Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul is anything but “conventional.” Presented by the Stardust NYC collective, Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul will not only feature music performances by the likes of Absu, Slagmaur, Aluk Todolo, Obliteration, Dispirit, Lluvia, Lycus, Blood Incantation, and Hail among others – 22 bands in all, with 23 total performances – but will also feature a special book presentation and lecture by acclaimed artist Metastazis.
For the past five years, Stardust NYC has endeavored with their Stardust series to present, simply, an artistic event for artists and art lovers. It is completely democratized from the bog-standard “copy/paste festival.” There are no “headliners” nor openers; every artist is considered equally amazing and important, part of a unique fabric binding together great art; and the curation itself – and its fluidity across each day’s performance, all carefully selected – is diverse, esoteric, and exotic. In essence, it’s for us.
“We started the Stardust Series five years ago with the genuine intention of creating an atypical platform that will help the underground music scene in its full diversity and splendor,” the collective write. “As part of that mission, we want to deliver a high-quality curation meant to support true artistry and passion. We believe that actions always speak louder than words, and we continue on our path of celebrating unknown Greatness.”
“More than anything, we envision Dark Nights Of The Soul to be a unique and genuine event of discovery,” they continue, on the topic of the sixth installment. “We’d like to see people want to open new doors for themselves, to get out of their comfort zones and completely lose themselves in the Moment. To be utterly shaken from body to soul by something completely new is a blessing, and many times life-changing. This is the true live experience we aim for each and every time.”
Where else can you witness the first US performance of Norway’s singular Slagmaur – itself a rarity, on any continent – alongside America’s equally singular Absu? Or the occult krautrock of France’s Aluk Todolo alongside the gnarly death metal of Norway’s Obliteration? Or an event that gives equal footing to freak folk, black metal, and ambient drone?
Take Madison Mandrake, for example, a stunning freak rock/dark folk entity from Oakland, whom Stardust NYC discovered in the woods of Cascadia at this year’s Thirst For Light Festival. Here’s a band with just one EP out yet who will play after Absu, so they can take the audience even further away from this world. They represent the quintessential artist for Stardust VI – Dark Nights Of The Soul: completely unknown to the world, but utterly sublime, cathartic, and exotic. They are the Heroes; they are the perfect embodiment of the artists who have chosen to suffer and sacrifice all they have in order to bring things of awe, sorrow, beauty, and wonder into this often grey and banal world. Like many of you reading this and like every other artist on the bill, they have chosen this life of financial uncertainty, relationship instability, pinnacle highs and soul-crushing lows so that they can share their beauty with the world, with us. We should cherish them, embrace them, and learn how to show our gratitude for their sacrifice, because if we don’t, we’re going to ask ourselves one day what happened to our music?
Not only that, but Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul will witness the book release of Metastazis’ Fire Work With Me. This nearly 300-page book presents a broad selection of many of the visual productions created by the graphic design studio Metastazis the past 15 years. And it goes way beyond the mere compilation of album covers: Fire Work With Me offers more than a decade of documents, studies, and often unpublished texts. Since the early 2000s, Metastazis leader Valnoir has worked with over 70 bands and artists, including the likes of Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Sunn O))), Laibach, Alcest, Watain, Blut Aus Nord, Paradise Lost, Arcturus, Ulver, Samael, and Amorphis among many others.
And yet, his work exceeds by far the limits of common musical illustration; Fire Work With Me hereby reveals a wide range of projects that flirt with contemporary arts and the fringes of legality, including cooperation with the North Korean state. Many leading figures in the worlds of design and music, such as David Vincent (Morbid Angel), Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver), Erik Danielsson (Watain), and MkM (Antaeus) as well as Steven Heller (honored by first lady Michelle Obama for the National US design award), Mirko Ilic, Miran Mohar (NSK), and Morten Traavik exclusively contributed to this publication by providing their own texts and articles. At Dark Nights of the Soul, in addition to the US premiere of the book, Valnoir will give a special lecture on the fourth and final day, February 5th.
As a leadup to the launch of Stardust VI – Dark Nights of the Soul, an exclusive full-album stream of Slagmaur’s forthcoming (and LONG-awaited) Thill Smitts Terror will be revealed in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, the full and final lineup is as follows:
Saturday, February 4th Lluvia Obliteration Young And In The Way Reptilian A God or an Other Inculter Insect Ark tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1393729
Sunday, February 5th Slagmaur Madison Mandrake Absu Spectral Voice Lycus Aluk Todolo Hail Metastazis – Fire Work With Me US book premiere and lecture tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1393745
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 18th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Great googly-moogly, Roadburn. If Roadburn 2017 didn’t already have your attention when it announced Coven as part of its first revelations for next year’s lineup — and it should have, make no mistake — then this should do the trick. The list is, frankly, overwhelming, and it speaks both to how immense the scale of Roadburn has become and how much the event continues to strive to push the boundaries of what it does. The first acts for the day curated by Baroness‘ John Dyer Baizley? Magma and Chelsea Wolfe. SubRosa playing two sets, one of which is comprised of this year’s magnificent For this We Fought the Battle of Ages (review here) in full, the other a stripped-down, at least semi-acoustic version of the band. Leif Edling of Candlemass debuting his new project The Doomsday Kingdom. Slomatics, Dylan Carlson of Earth, Wretch, Inter Arma, Crippled Black Phoenix (hope they’re on the Main Stage; fingers crossed), Woe, Ahab, so many more it’s astounding.
If Roadburn 2017 was like, “Okay, that’s it. We’re done.,” could you really argue with what’s been put together already? The terrifying thing is they’re still just getting started.
Fresh off the PR wire:
New names added to Roadburn Festival 2017 ahead of ticket onsale
• MYSTICUM to bring their incredible stage show to Roadburn 2017 • CHELSEA WOLFE and MAGMA are the first names confirmed for John Dyer Baizley’s curation • THE BUG VS DYLAN CARLSON OF EARTH confirmed for a special Roadburn show • DEAFHEAVEN finally make their Roadburn debut at the 2017 edition • SUBROSA to play two exclusive sets • …and more.
ROADBURN FESTIVAL is pleased to add new names to the bill for Roadburn 2017. The 22nd edition of Roadburn Festival will take place April 20-23, 2017 at the 013 Venue, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
MYSTICUM have been confirmed to play the main stage at Roadburn 2017, bringing their distinctive brand of black metal to Tilburg. Back in 1996, MYSTICUM wrote the rulebook, for what industrial black metal should be with their debut album, In The Streams of Inferno – and then swiftly torched it. Renowned for their incredible stage show, MYSTICUM have some clear intentions for Roadburn 2017: “We shall invade your minds and tear your souls apart.”
MYSTICUM will play the 013 venue on Saturday, April 22.
John Dyer Baizley has confirmed the first two names for his curated event: CHELSEA WOLFE and MAGMA.
Describing himself as “a loyal devotee of her songwriting, performance and recorded output”, John echoed many Roadburn attendees in calling for the return of CHELSEA WOLFE to the Roadburn stage. Having performed at the festival in 2012, and again this year as part of Converge’s Blood Moon Set, we’re thrilled to have CHELSEA WOLFE back in Tilburg.
Unequivocally one of the most talked about moments in the history of Roadburn was MAGMA’s overwhelming performance at the 2014 festival. These seminal progressive rock pioneers went down a storm, and to this day, we still hear so many attendees talking about MAGMA’s set, and craving their return for Roadburn.
Both acts will perform on Friday, April 21 at the 013 venue, as part of John Dyer Baizley’s curation.
Although they come from disparate sonic universes, THE BUG (electronic music wizard Kevin Martin) and DYLAN CARLSON (mastermind of the massively influential EARTH, who have graced Roadburn with their presence in 2009 and 2011) are nevertheless two of the more revered names in experimental music as a whole. Their paths crossed in 2014, when they surprisingly teamed up on a Record Store Day exclusive release. Americana meets industrial, minimalism meets pulsating dance beats, metal meets electronics… who knows what can happen when THE BUG meets DYLAN CARLSON OF EARTH? One thing is for sure, the walls will shake.
THE BUG VS DYLAN CARLSON OF EARTH will perform at the 013 venue on Saturday, April 22.
DEAFHEAVEN’s appearance at Roadburn has been a long time coming. As divisive as they are inclusive, DEAFHEAVEN have thrown the field wide open with regards to what it means to be a metal band. They have managed to bring extreme metal fans to the same room as shoegaze and post-rock/metal fans; their music doesn’t simply tick all those genre boxes, it plays join the dots with them – just as we like to do at Roadburn Festival.
DEAFHEAVEN will play at the 013 venue on Thursday, April 20.
SUBROSA’s For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages has been out less than two months, but at Roadburn HQ it not only hovers near the top of our album of the year lists, it is marked as a future classic. We are delighted to have the Salt Lake City five-piece perform the album in full at Roadburn 2017. Not only that, they will perform SubRosa – Subdued; a not-quite-acoustic set with all the passion at a fraction of the volume of a regular SUBROSA set.
SUBROSA will perform For This We Fought The Battle of Ages at the 013 venue on Thursday, April 20, and Subrosa – Subdued on Friday, April 21.
• CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX will fuse progressive rock, post-rock and righteous, guitar-driven heaviness. Prior to their Roadburn appearance, Crippled Black Phoenix will play Doornroosje, Nijmegen (NL) on December 10. • DÄLEK will bring a different kind of heaviness to the Roadburn stage, and comment “Some people might wonder why a hip-hop act was added to the bill… we intend to show them why.” • AHAB will play The Call of the Wretched Sea in full • ZHRINE bring a slice of Icelandic darkness to Roadburn • AUÐN join their Icelandic brothers, delivering windswept, atmospheric black metal • ALUK TODOLO will perform latest album Voix in full • ZU bring their frenzied experimentation to Roadburn 2017 again • INTER ARMA will make a triumphant return to Roadburn, and no doubt deliver yet another stunning performance • Leif Edling’s THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM will make their live debut at Roadburn 2017 • Karl Simon brings his post-Gates of Slumber band WRETCH to Roadburn for their European debut • Thick tones, soaring melodies, and bone-crunching rhythms will be the order of the day for SLOMATICS • WOE bring their passionate and potent American black metal to Tilburg • ULTHA will be making a bid for the heaviest set of the day when they perform • EMPTINESS will blend black metal and power electronics
Tickets for Roadburn 2017 will go on sale from Thursday, 20 October 2016. They will be available to purchase in person from the 013 venue, Tilburg, The Netherlands from 6.30pm local time – and ticket buyers are invited to the pre-sale party at the venue featuring Ortega and Gomer Pyle. Tickets will go on general sale at 9pm (NL and mainland Europe)/ 8pm (UK)/ 3pm (East Coast USA)/ 12 noon (West Coast USA). Tickets can be purchased fromthis link.
For more information on the pre-sale party, clickHERE.
Posted in audiObelisk on July 20th, 2011 by JJ Koczan
The march continues! I guess that’s what happens when you have something like 35,000 bands playing on three stages over the course of four days — you come out of it with a motherload of audio. This time around, new sets surface from Black Math Horseman, Aluk Todolo, Incredible Hog and Dutch natives Beaver, who were actually the only one of these four that I saw at the fest. Plenty to dig into, as always. Here are the links:
Perpetual gratitude to Walter and Roadburn for allowing me to host these links. Roadburn‘s audio streams are recorded and mixed by Marcel van de Vandervoort and his team at Spacejam. Roadburn 2011 took place April 14-17, at the 013 Popcentrum in Tilburg, Netherlands.
