artists

2013DEAD SKELETONS

Dead Skeletons is a musical and visual art project from Iceland which is made up of the core trio of Jón Sæmundur Audarson, Henrik Bjornsson (Singapore Sling, Go-Go Darkness, Hank and Tank), and Ryan Carlson van Kriedt (Asteroid #4). The band’s startling visuals are driven by frontman Jon Saemunder Audarson, who along with Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe, has piloted the underground sensation that is Dead TV.
Dead Skeletons came into being in 2008 as an accompaniment to an installation for a show at the Reykjavik Art Museum by Jón Sæmundur. The initial song, Dead Mantra, became an underground hit, prompting the full length LP Dead Magick (A Records), released by the band in 2011.
In 2012 the trio put a much anticipated live act together for the first time with the original band and joining them earlier this year Will Carruthers (ex Spacemen 3). Dead Skeletons embarked on their first European tour to sell out crowds everywhere, including a headline performance on the Pavilion Stage at Roskilde Festival and the main act at Liverpool Psych Fest. 2013 see’s the band embark on their first US tour with slots at Austin Psych Fest and Psyco De Mayo Festival. Following America its back to Europe for Primavera Festival as well as their home debut at ATP Iceland. www.deadskeletons.com

 

LAETITIA SADIER 

Laetitia Sadier is a French multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of the legendary Stereolab. She is known first and foremost for her hypnotic vocals and leftist lyrics which made the band’s sound so distinctive. The grup was inspired by lounge-pop, bossa nova, film music and Krautrock. Stereolab earned critical acclaim for albums such as 1993′s Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements, 1995′s Mars Audiac Quintet, and 1996′s Emperor Tomato Ketchup.
Following Stereolab’s split-up in 2009, she began work on her debut album The Trip (released in 2010). Two years later she released Silencio, her sophomore and hitherto last record. Her inimitable voice can be heard on numerous albums by artists such as Blur, Mouse On Mars, Luna, The High Llamas, Tyler, the Creator or Atlas Sound. Apart from her dreamlike vocals, Laetitia plays keyboards, the guitar, the trombone and drums. In Gdańsk she will conduct the Pure Phase Ensemble 3 workshop and project together with Ray Dickaty.

 

WEEKEND

Weekend  is an American lo-fi / shoegaze trio from San Francisco (currently Brooklyn based): Shaun Durkan (vocalist/bassist/guitarist), Kevin Johnson (guitarist) and Abe Pedroza (drums). They formed in 2009 and recorded the Sports LP throughout the year at Ruminator Audio (released on Slumberland Records) . Throughout the next two years, the band found itself touring internationally with the Kills (Europe) and Wire (UK and US) and in Japan in support of the 2011′s Red EP, which marked a sonic departure from the band’s initial signature addiction to noise over clarity.
The band spent most of 2012 writing, recording and mixing the 10 songs that comprise the album once again with Monte Vallier at Ruminator. Weekend released their highly-anticipated second LP “Jinx” on July 23^rd 2013 on Slumberland Records. When asked to describe the album in 3 adjectives, Shaun Durkan stated, “Volatile. Cathartic. Bittersweet. The record is a collage of inspiration and ideas from each member of the band. Shards of experiences, images, smells, sounds molded into something we can collectively call ours.” http://weekendtheband.us/

 

PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE

Pure Phase Ensemble 3 is an international shoegaze instrumental collective created especially for  the SpaceFest! festival. Several musicians from different countries will take part in a workshop held at Laznia CCA in the beginning of December 2013. Together they will compose the music material which will be presented to the audience during the festival. The musicians will create songs based on a certain key tones also known as pure phase tones. The songs will be recorded live and then released on a CD.
Ray Dickaty, a British saxophonist improviser, in 1997-2002 a member of Spiritualized, cooperating among the others with Radiohead, Stereolab, Lush, Dr. John – will create the programme of the workshops together with Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab).

Members of Pure Phase Ensemble 3:

• Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab) – voice, guitar
• Ray Dickaty (Solar Fire Trio, ex-Spiritualized) – sax
• Małgorzata Penkalla (Enchanted Hunters) – violin, guitar, voc
• Magdalena Gajdzica (Enchanted Hunters) – flute, voc, (synth)
• Joanna Kuźma (Asia i Koty) – voice, piano (keyboard)
• Jarosław Marciszewski (Popsysze) – guitar
• Jakub Świątek (Popsysze) – drums
• Sławek Draczyński (Popsysze) – bass guitar
• Jakub Kozak (The Esthetics) – guitar
• Karol Schwarz (KSAS) – pure phase (analogue synthesizer), sound engineer

 

RAY DICKATY

Ray Dickaty Saxophonist and Composer. His musical career consists of more than 60 recordings with various artists. As a member of Spiritualized he arranged brass and played on the albums Live at the Albert Hall, Let it Come Down, andAmazing Grace. As a member of the Too Pure band Moonshake he recorded two albums and has played both with Stereolab and Cornershop as well as performing alongside PJ Harvey. With his own free jazz noise band Solar Fire Trio he has released 3 acclaimed albums and toured supporting Julian Cope. He has also recorded and performed with amongst others: Moose, Lush, D John, Durutti Column, AMP, The Duke Spirit, Six by Seven, Damo Suzuki, Slipstream, Thighpaulsandra, Soulsavers (Mark Lanegan), Sonic Youth, Suicide, Super Numeri, John Moores Revolution 9, Michael J Sheehey and The Flowers of Hell. Currently resident in Warsaw he is an active member of the Polish improvised music scene. He is also a member of the Trifonidis Free Orchestra. www.raydickaty.com

 

AMPACITY

Ampacity is a musical collective, dedicated to exploring the regions of regressive rock, with stoner and space vibes. It consists of members of Broken Betty – Jan Galbas, Sebastian Sawicz, and Piotr Paciorkowski, Wojtek Lacki, of God’s Own Prototype, as well as Marek Kostecki, who participated in recording sessions and release party gig of Broken Betty’s first LP The Sorry Eye. The project was formed as a one-time act, supposed to perform songs from the golden age of space rock, at SpaceFest! festival. However, this formula was quickly abandoned, and Ampacity started to operate as a regular band. Intensive work on their own material resulted in compositions, which rediscover sounds from early Hawkwind or Pink Floyd albums,  mixing them with post and stoner rock influences. Shorter, song-like arrangements give way to monumental, rich forms, which do not lack space for free improvisation.
Debut album Encounter One was relased on March 31st, 2013, by Nasiono Records, and was met with almost universal critical acclaim. Since the release of this album, Ampacity are constantly gigging, most recently they’ve shared the stage with Mouth Of The Architect, and played a very well received gigs at E-Lite Culture Festival in Germany, and Off Festival, Poland – one of the biggest independent music festivals in Europe. www.ampacityband.com

NIEWOLNICY SATURNA

Niewolnicy Saturna (Saturn’s Slaves) is a project of three musicians who currently live in Warsaw: Maciej Cieślak, Marcin Zabrocki and Robert Derlatka. They are renown for playing in such bands as Ścianka, Hey, Oranżada, Szuszkiewicz/Zabrocki, Cieślak i Księżniczki etc. This meeting of different experiences, opinions on arts and temperaments will certainly result in providing lots of new artistic impressions.
Niewolnicy Saturna in general consist of drums, bass, guitar, saxophone and a considerate amount of synthesizers but it doesn’t mean that everything will be clear-cut, simple and obvious.
The band work in the studio on their recordings which are planned to be released by the end of 2013.

 

TRANS/HUMAN

Adam Denton and Luke Twyman began collaborating under the name Trans/Human in 2011. Trans/Human’s concerns lie within the physical act of music making and its relationship to environment and audience. To this end, they employ several noise making devices and techniques in their performances, including mobile phones, radio, cassette tape, prepared electric guitar, processed drums, strobe lighting, contact microphones, field recordings and feedback systems. Through their collaboration the duo sought to reflect their inclination towards creating ritualized sonic and visual experiences via a series of improvised performances, resulting in releases The 8 Hour Dance (The Audacious Art Experiment 2011) and The Wider (Blackest Rainbow 2012).
Trans/Human have toured the UK and Europe, including appearances at the Festival de M.A.I. in Nice alongside Jean Marc Montera (2012), Tapette Fest in Bretagne (2012), Festival of the Mind, Sheffield (2012) and Shiny Toys in Mulheim (2013). The SpaceFest! concert will be their Polish debut. www.theaudaciousartexperiment.com/trans-human

 

STARA RZEKA

Stara Rzeka is a solo project of Kuba Ziołek, who also plays in Ed Wood, Hokei, Alameda 3, Innercity Ensemble, Kapital or T’ien Lai. This music has mostly been created in the Tuchola Forest in northern Poland. Even though it is soaked with the atmosphere of those places, it is oriented towards the future rather than the past, towards technology and the possibilities it offers rather than myths and traditions, towards objects and individuals rather than volk, towards realism rather than mythologisations or idealisations. http://stararzeka.bandcamp.com

 

JUDY’S FUNERAL

Judy’s Funeral is a noise trio from Gdynia hailed as one of the most interesting bands to have emerged from northern Poland. Among their inspirations, the band members name Jesus and Mary Chain, A Place to Bury Strangers, Beat Happening, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Merzbow and Metz. These influences combined to create their own style, which is bound to compel any fan of fuzzed guitars, reverberated vocals and powerful walls of noise. The band’s sound relies heavily on buzzsaw guitars, walls of sound, noise on noise, feedback and ear-splitting sonic explosions. Their debut EP, released in June by fyh!records, was a collection of five massive, dreamy and dark tracks with subduing power – both on the record and live. Four Track Extended Play was produced by Michał “Goran” Miegoń, known from such bands as The Shipyard or Kiev Office. Judy’s Funeral played at the Too Mainstream Festival (Poznań) and supported White Hills (US), Electric Jellyfish (AU), Our Local Gang, Vokalorkestern (both SE), Kaseciarz, Lovers in Uniforms or 1926. Judy’s Funeral had the opportunity to play in Germany (Kassel) as part of the Temporary Home project.

 

DOUG SHIPTON (FINDERS KEEPERS RECORDS/B-MUSIC UK)

Doug Shipton to znany londyński kolekcjoner płyt winylowych, autor kompilacji wydawanych na LP, DJ i współzałożyciel Finders Keepers Records. Razem z kolegą z wytwórni Andym Votelem aktywnie działa na rzecz krzewienia miłości do muzyki klasy B, wydobywając na światło dzienne schizoidalne, eklektyczne artefakty z annałów historii popu. W wolnych chwilach tropi zaś najciekawszych przedstawicieli ekscentrycznej sceny niezależnej dla manchesterskiego anty-labelu Twisted Nerve (któremu szefuje Badly Drawn Boy). Prowadzi też wyspecjalizowaną, kieszonkową wytwórnię Battered Ornaments Records, za sprawą której pojawiły się m.in. debiutanckie płyty Wolf People i The Laughing Windows.
Jako DJ miał okazję prezentować skarby ze swojej kolekcji na całym świecie, grając z takimi tuzami jak David Holmes, Jarvis Cocker, Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), czy Graham Massey (808 State). Z kolei na kompilacjach mierzył się z m.in. z The Gaslamp Killer, Bobem Stanleyem (St. Etienne) i Chrisem Geddesem (Belle & Sebastian). http://www.finderskeepersrecords.com

 

Dr. SWITCHOFF

Dr. Switchoff a.k.a. Danil Akimov is a sound artist, curator and DJ from Kaliningrad, Russia. He works in interdisciplinary fields of contemporary art, focusing on audio-visual installations and performances. He is one of the founders of Membrana/Membranoids – a sound-art group uniting “underground scientists and sound absurdists” as well as a member of various other music projects (Kaliningrad Semiconductors Community, Kratong, Pocket Band, Polyvox Orqestra, Mud-o-tronic). He uses a variety of technologies and methods of interaction for the creation of sound structures (e.g. broken hi-fi equipment, analogue Soviet synths, fields recordings or unidentified sound objects). His eclectic DJ sets showcase the best and worst of weird music from all around the world. Since 1999, he has played in underground clubs, cafes and galleries in Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Warsaw, Moscow, Riga and other cities. http://soundcloud.com/danilakimov

 

WHITE HILLS / The concert was held on 30 Sept as a part of SpaceFest! Warm-Up

White Hills’ core members are guitarist Dave W. and bassist Ego Sensation. Dave W. is the primary singer, but Ego Sensation also contributes vocals, and sings lead on some songs. Many of their songs are long instrumental pieces. Dave W. played every instrument himself on White Hills’ debut album. Current and previous auxiliary (recording / touring) members include: Antronhy (drums, various instruments), Nick Name (drums), Bob Bellomo (drums), Daved Pankenier, Kid Millions, Shazzula, and Pierre Auntour. The band is known for its prolific output, releasing recordings on many independent labels, often on vinyl only. They have released several split recordings with the U.K. band Gnod. White Hills’ live shows feature dramatic lighting and the usage of a fog machine. They have shared stages with bands such as MONO, The Flaming Lips, Sleepy Sun, Cloudland Canyon, Mudhoney, Akron/Family, Monster Magnet, Oneida, and Pontiak. White Hills play themselves in the upcoming Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive, performing their 2007 song “Under Skin Or By Name” at a Detroit music club. The scene includes also Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin, this past July. The band first worked with Jarmusch at the ATP festival in Monticello, NY September 2010 when he asked them to perform at the festival he was curating alongside The Stooges, Boris, Sonic Youth and Sunn O.
http://www.thrilljockey.com/thrill/White-Hills