Le Guess Who? festival unveils details of second edition of Hidden Musics

02 September 2021

This November, Le Guess Who? festival will enrich further still the diversity already brought in from stellar guest curators and a line-up boasting an abundance of incredible artists with the return of Hidden Musics. First unveiled in 2019, Hidden Musics is an ambitious program that pays special attention to musical traditions and artists from secluded regions of the world, giving audiences a unique chance to experience rare performances. Perfectly tailored for the festival, the program sprouted from a collaboration between Le Guess Who?, Grammy-award winning music producer, activist and author Ian Brennan, and Ljubljana based American musician, record producer and Glitterbeat Records founder Chris Eckman.

Tuareg guitar band Etran de L’Aïr, an Agadez based family collective who represent the multi-ethnicities of Niger, is one of the bands performing as part of Hidden Musics. Tunisian-Belgian singer, dancer, poet and actress Ghalia Benali will also bring her golden voice and charismatic stage presence to a Le Guess Who? stage in Utrecht, presenting Hadret Ishq, an anthology of the repertoire of Sufi poets, both ancient and contemporary.
Also appearing on Hidden Musics is celebrated Hungarian singer Monika Lakatos of Olah Romani descent and Egyptian ensemble Mazaher who are inspired by the Zar music of Egypt, a healing ritual of music and dance led by women, that is on the verge of extinction.
Russian label Ored Recordings, an ethnographic record label that has been documenting and recording artists native to the North Caucasus, will partake in this year’s Hidden Musics edition, presenting performances from Jrpjej and Zaur Nagoy.

For a taster of what to expect, take a look at the trailer below.

Le Guess Who? will take place 11-14 November in idyllic venues scattered around Utrecht. Tickets and other info can be found on leguesswho.com.

Listen to Maurice Louca’s new single ‘Higamah (Hirudinea)’

01 September 2021

Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Maurice Louca had previously shared the transcending lead single ‘Bidayat (Holocene)‘ from his upcoming album Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour). Now the incredible composer and producer is enticing us again with a magical new track called ‘Higamah (Hirudinea)’. Wrap your ears around it.


Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour) is out on September 24th through Sub Rosa and Northern Spy

New Patrick Shiroishi’s solo album, Hidemi, out in October

31 August 2021

Photo: Kristin Cofer

There’s an exciting new release from American Dreams just around the corner. Come October 29th, Japanese American saxophonist and composer Patrick Shiroishi will release a new solo album titled Hidemi. In his previous record, Shiroishi explored themes of everyday life in Japanese-American concentration camps. “The concentration camps that Japanese Americans had to go through has been a major part of my work for the last couple of years,” he remarks. Named after his grandfather, Hidemi Pat Shiroishi, Hidemi is dedicated to him and focus on his personal experience after getting out of Japanese-American concentration camps.

A multilayered woodwind effort, Hidemi was written and performed in its entirety by Shiroishi, who recorded it mostly recorded in one take. The album, describes the press release, “brings the listener through tension and release, showcasing something unfiltered, beautiful, and ultimately hopeful, a testament to perseverance and grace.”

The compelling ‘Tule Lake Like Yesterday’ is the first single to emerge from the upcoming record. Speaking about it, Shiroishi comments:

“When I hear the phrase ‘I remember it like yesterday,’ I think of some sort of positive celebration or great time with friends/family. However, in this instance, it is through an opposite angle; a life changing event filled with uncertainty, chaos and hope slipping away. After my grandparents were imprisoned at Tule Lake and released four years later, that time stuck with them for the rest of their lives…even when i asked my grandmother to tell me about the time spent there when i was 16, 57 years after she was released, her affect totally changed as she shook her head and left it at that.”

Listen to ‘Tule Lake Like Yesterday’ below.

Time Wharp releases double single Ingenue

27 August 2021

Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist and producer Kaye Loggins aka Time Wharp is gearing up to release a full-length album, Spiro World, in early 2022 through Leaving Records. Preceding the album, Time Wharp has shared a staggering and hypnotic double single, Ingenue, described as “a two-track song document of transfeminine splendor showcasing the genre-shifting artist: modern spiritual synth jazz a la Terry Riley & Don Cherry via the title track, and kraut band recordings with friends in the tradition of Neu! via ETGSS.”

If this double single is anything to go by, we’re in for a treat when the album lands next year. Here’s ‘Ingenue’ .