We invite friends to shout about what they’re into. This month: Mike Pony of Submerge Festival!
More on them at:
submergefestival.co.uk
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RROSE
St Thomas the Martyr Church | 19th Nov
Rrose is a mystery; a veteran producer with an alter ego who lives for atmospheric, industrial sound, also straddling experimental house and techno. Rrose takes her name from artist Duchamp’s own pseudonym with her biography playfully stating: “Born 1969. Died 1909.” She stands in the shadows on stage, going by he and she interchangeably, in an implied interrogation of gender norms.
I discovered Rrose through her 2011 release Waterfall on the now defunct Sandwell District label. It’s an all-consuming masterpiece of spiralling synths, foggy effects and solid bass beats; a perfect piece of queered techno. Rrose’s productions are tactile and bodily, with her work an attempt to create “an immersive space that deals with the faculties of sensory perception.” She’ll be playing a DJ set at Submerge Festival and also performs James Tenney’s percussive piece ‘Having Never Written a Note for Percussion’ on a large gong at our ‘Ghosts’ concert. It promises to be a beautiful blur of reverberating sound, immersing the listener in vibrational noise amidst the beautiful surrounds of St Thomas The Martyr Church .
Octo Octa
Coroner’s Court | 19th Nov
I was looking for a producer/DJ who made the kind of house music that makes your whole body rush. I wanted playful melodies, punchy synths and chest-pulsing bass. A friend recommended Give by Octo Octa, and I fell in love with its warm sound and primal dance-floor functionality.
Brooklyn-based producer Octo Octa (Maya Bouldry-Morrison) made a big splash on 100% Silk, a label known for high-grade, avant-leaning jams. Yet her woozy, late night house and shimmering club-ready earworms have been keeping dancefloors moving since 2011. She has toured across the world, including coveted gigs at Berlin’s Panorama Bar and Barcelona’s Sonar Festival. Recently coming out as transgender, it’s a transition that has influenced her work over the course of her career. Octo Octa plays Submerge Festival at The Ascent on Sat 19th November.
FK Alexander
Coroner’s Court | 19th Nov
FK Alexander is Scotland’s premier destructivist, whose new work ‘Translucent Void’ brings together extreme noise, an axe and a strobe light. The work forms part of ongoing investigative experiments into technological rebellion, the decline of western civilisation, new animal ways and plain survival. Throughout her career, Alexander has worked across art galleries, nightclubs and punk gigs, giving her a deep understanding of art and audiences. She often uses her own body, skin and blood to question our increasingly dystopian future; her approach is not po-faced art-wank, rather raw and real. Alexander performs to a bespoke soundtrack by artist Kylie Minoise at Submerge Festival concert The Lost City, which also features artist, Fis.
Submerge Festival takes place across various venues in Bristol from 18th – 20th November. Grab tickets here and check out a trailer below.