There’s less than one week to go before Le Guess Who? takes over Utrecht. With over 150 artists set to perform, how do we make sense of such a monumental line-up? We made a list of the artists we’re most excited to see and asked them for their recommendations.
Oiseaux-Tempête
Performing Thursday 9th November at De Helling, curated by Jerusalem In My Heart
Photo: As Human Pattern
French collective Oiseaux-Tempête, the core duo of Frédéric D. Oberland and Stéphane Pigneul, released AL-‘AN ! الآن (And your night is your shadow — a fairy-tale piece of land to make our dreams) earlier this year and we fell completely for the album. Partly recorded in Beirut last year, it radiates and reflects its cultural diversity and social and political atmosphere. Euphoric and tumultuous, beautiful and urgent, enigmatic and emotive, their rich soundscapes also draw from their improvisational energy and genres aplenty, from post-rock and free-jazz to Arabic music and electronica. Today Frédéric and Stéphane tell us which three acts they’re most excited to see at the festival.
“So hard to pick up three names in this killer line-up! We could have chosen the 12hours drone feat. Jessica Moss, Yann Gourdon, Lea Bertucci, Ashtoreth… – Dälek – Linda Sharrock – Matana Roberts – or Alanis Obomsawin performing ‘Bush Lady’… These are three acts we might be in the audience shaking heads:
BIG I BRAVE
Performing Thursday 9th November at Pastoefabriek
“Theses guys get everything a power-trio should be: direct and ecstatic, loud and graceful. Their last album ‘Ardor’, recorded by the mighty Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart) is a total blast! We will miss their tour in France in the upcoming weeks so we are delighted to be able to see them live at Le Guess Who?!”
Pharmakon
Performing Sunday 12th November at EKKO, curated by Perfume Genius
“Behind the cure and poison oriented moniker and sometimes harsh sound, Margaret Chardiet questions the link between body, flesh and feelings.
It can be creepy, dark and scary, but it speaks also about hope and light hidden in the human nature.
We definitely won’t miss the fury and anger on stage, as we follow carefully her work recently.”
Ahmed Fakroun feat. Altin Gün
Ahmed Fakroun’s Official Website
Performing Thursday 9th November at TivoliVredenburg
“The Lybian legendary crooner and multi-instrumentist Ahmed Fakroun meets the psychedelic vibes of Dutch-Turkish Altin Gün. Prepare yourself to dance.”
Le Guess Who? will take place 9-12 November. For the full line-up, tickets and more info visit leguesswho.com. And stay tuned for more artists we’re excited about picking their own Le Guess Who?’s Who.