Dark hypnotising gothic folk comes from Marissa Nadler from Boston who on her latest album (on Sacred Bones) collaborated with Angel Olsen and Velvet Undergrounds’ John Cale. With her mesmerizing voice she will perform her songs in their most stripped down purest form. Shortparis from St Petersburg are hailed as the ‘’best Russian live act’’ and made a big impact at the recent Le Guess Who festival with their theatrical industrial post punk noise. Their live shows are a must see!
Turkish folk musician and singer Özgür Baba plays the saz, a traditional Turkish string instrument music. With his enchanting, minimalist interpretation of old, traditional Turkish folk songs he recently was invited by Amenra to play two sold out shows in Belgium. Poet, puppeteer, singer and saxophone player Ted Milton and his legendary band Blurt were one of the first bands on the infamous Factory label (Joy Division, New Order). Their avantgarde, post punk, funk, free jazz reminds of Captain Beefheart, The Pop Group en No Wave.
Brazilian all female act Rakta plays a mix of psychedelic post punk death rock influenced by Crass, BThe Birthday Party and X Mal Deutschland. Lee Ranaldo, known as Sonic Youths guitarist, returns to Grauzone and collaborates with Belgian post punks Wild Classical Music Ensemble, compromised of mentally handicapped people. Panther Modern is Sextile’s Brady Keehn’s new synthpunk band.
Los Bitchos from London brings us surfy psychedelic garage cumbia.
Dutch bands Bragolin, post-punk from Utrecht, garagerockers ET Explore Me from Haarlem, Tousch from The Hague and shoegazers Deutsche Ashram finalize the music line-up. There will also be several DJ’s including Amsterdam DJ Job Sifre, mixing wave and industrial, Parrish Smith mixes EBM and techno. Other DJ’s are Pasiphae from The Hague/Greece, and Ofra from Rotterdam, founder of Operator radio. Dj Dorien and Jelly will focus on dark sounds at Het Magazijn.
Shame is one of the most exiting of all new British postpunk bands. They have been together just over four years and in that time have been named the most viscerally thrilling new band in the UK many many times. Their sensational explosive shows, often end in a moshpit. After their praised debutalbum ”Songs Of Praise” they are now working on their second album and will play an exclusive show a Grauzone.
Japanese krautrock pioneer Damo Suzuki, frontman of the legendary band CAN, has collected a unique band featuring the best of the contemporary Japanese psychedelic scene: members of Kikagaku Moyo, Bo Ningen and Minami Deutsch will perform a one-off, not to be missed, improvisation show.
Dutch minimalist composer and lute player Jozef van Wissem brings Intriguing ambient droney soundscapes with his repetitive fingerpicking and baroque sound. He won the award for the best soundtrack at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, worked with Jim Jarmusch, Zola Jezus, Gary Lucas (Capt Beefheart), and releases records on Sacred Bones (Soft Moon, Black Marble, Moon Duo).
Cabaret Voltaire frontman/bassist Stephen Mallinder has released his first solo album (”Um Dada”) since 37 years on Dais Records. This electronic industrial legend will be playing his first solo live show in mainland Europe at Grauzone 2020!
Linea Aspera is back! They released their instant classic minimal darkwave/synthpop debut album back in 2012, played the-first-ever Grauzone festival in 2013 and went quiet after that. But after ahiatus of six years the duo is going to play a couple of highly anticipated shows in a few European cities, Grauzone 2020 amongst others.
William Maybelline, of cold wave duo Lebanon Hanover fame, returns with his soloproject Qual touching a darker, gloomier and heavier synth electro EBM sound. His new EP is out on Avant Records (Rendez-Vous, King Dude, Sally Dige) and got great reviews.
Singer-songwriter Tamaryn from New Zealand mixes dreampop, synthpop and shoegaze. On her lastest album she works together with Cocteau Twins‘ Robin Guthrie en Drab Majesty’s Deb Demure.
Amenra gitarist Mathieu Vandekerckhove en Vogue-model Kim Peers have a brandnew projecrt called Skemer. Two very different worlds collide leading into minimalistic dark wave, deconstructions that are equally brutal as they are erotic. For their exclusive first show in The Netherlands at Grauzone 2020, expect seductive vocals and dark beats.
Esya is the electronic/synth/post-punk moniker of Ayse Hassan. One of the most talentedand easily recognisable bass players of recent times who you may know from Kite Base and Savages.
In the greyness by the concrete of an isolated Amsterdam suburb you could find Dutch analog synth wizard Pascal Pinkert (also Dollkraut) working on his dark wave salvation De AMBASSADE. Dutch lyrics, oddball gloomy synth/wave and beautifully blissed-out analog jaunts. Their brandnew debutalbum at Knekelhuis Records is praised as one of the best debut albums of the year.
Japanese experimental music and performance art act Group A featuring Tommi Tokyo brings an exiting mix of avant-garde and industrial reminiscent of acts like Throbbing Gristle and early Cabaret Voltaire. Hante. is the solo project of Parisian Helene de Thoury, known of acts like Minuit Machine and Phosphor, and mixes minimal darkwave with dreamy vocals.
Sonic Youth’s frontman Thurston Moore played one song of his acclaimed new album ”Spirit Counsil” throughout the fall of 2019 but will change things a bit and will perform a special, not-to-miss set at Grauzone.
Industrial 1980’s pioneers Test Department (Test Dept) are known for their intense shows and reviews of their recent headline US tour said their performances are ”truly mind-expanding and fist-raising”. Their new 2019 album ”Disturbance” got rave reviews (”stunning album”’, ”refreshing”, ”genius opus”) from The Quietus to Louder Than War. For the first time in 30 years Test Dept will play the Netherlands at Grauzone.
New electronic post-punk trio Automatic from LA recalls Suicide, New Order, Savages and Kraftwerk.
Synth legend Legowelt from The Hague will add a new soundtrack to a classic movie of his choice.
Cabaret Nocturne‘s minimal dark synth wave got millions of views on Youtube and will get you moving on the dancefloor.
US Synth waver Black Marble will present his new album ”Bigger Than Life” that just got released on Sacred Bones (Soft Moon, David Lynch).
Savages’ gitarist Gemma Thompson returns to Grauzone, this time with trio Unmoor Kiva.
The futuristic art punk of Australian act U Bahn is reminiscent of outsider acts such as Devo and The Residents. Grauzone 2020 is their first show in The Netherlands, during their first ever European tour.
GRAUKUNST–ARTNROLL
The exhibition GRAUKUNST-ARTNROLL shows works by artists and musicians involved in the crossover between disciplines of music andart and has been curated by Belgian artist and sculptor Johan Tahon and Grauzone festival. Participating artists are Johan Tahon himself, Paulina Greta (videoartist) and Yuri Landman (musician / instrument inventor). Various art disciplines such as drawings,paintings, etchings, and more are shown by musicians Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Marissa Nadler, Gemma Thompson (Savages) and musicians Kristoffer J. Mondy, Colin H. Van Eeckhout and Maarten Kinet all (ex) members of the Belgium doom black metal act Amenra. The opening of GRAUKUNST–ARTNROLL will be on February 2ndand will be celebrated with a perusalby musician and inventor of hypercostum instruments, Yuri Landman. A mini DIY instrument buildingworkshop and reading on the work he made for this edition of GRAUKUNST. The second GRAUZINE publication will also be presented, a zine about the exhibition with text and image of the participating artists. The exhibition GRAUKUNST–ARTNROLL will run from February 2ndtill February 16th and is part of the two days of Grauzone Festival on February 7th & 8th2020.
SYMPOSIUM
During the symposium, John Robb (musician / journalist) will interview the Krautrock legend Damo Suzuki (CAN). John Robb starts a conversation with Gemma Thompson & Ayse Hassan (Savages) who both also perform with their solo projects Unmoor Kiva and Esya. In August 2019, Mute Records released a long-lost mysterious soundtrack recording by Cabaret Voltaire: Chance Versus Causality from 1979. At the Grauzone symposium we will bring filmmaker Babeth Mondini-van Loo and Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) together to solve the mystery. Both the film screening and Mallinder’s solo performance are a Dutch premiere. So many amazing artistcurated for GRAUKUNST–ARTNROLL, John Robb has to be curious where Johan Tahonget it allfrom and we get to hear their talk. Finally, there will be an “artreading” fromThurston Moore (Sonic Youth).
MOVIE PREMIERE IN THE NETHERLANDS
The documentary “Swans: Where Does a Body End”. directed by Marco Porsia will have its Dutch premiere. In the documentary, Porsia follows singer Michael Gira and the band Swans behind scenes, displays a personal portrait of the band and shows archive material that has never been shown before. With commentary by, among others, Jehnny Beth (Savages), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Blixa Bargeld (Einsturzende Neubauten, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), a special cast of people who have previously attended or will be doing this year’s Grauzone festival. The 2nd absolutely special film is “Chance versus Causality”. Directed by the Dutch Babeth Mondini-Van Loo. The film is shown for the first time in almost 40 years and has great historical value due to thelost soundtrack from Cabaret Voltaire from 1979. Mute released these recordings last year, but even the band has never seen the film. The film contains images by artist Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely and Niki De Saint Phalle. After the screening, Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) and Babeth Mondini-VanLoo will be guests at the symposium with John Robb. The Hague producer and DJ Legowelt plays his version of a soundtrack, a live-score for the two-hour 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick.
