{"id":14910,"date":"2019-05-22T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/castthedice.org\/?p=14910"},"modified":"2019-11-20T18:25:23","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T18:25:23","slug":"first-wave-of-artists-announced-for-le-guess-who-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/?p=14910","title":{"rendered":"First wave of artists announced for Le Guess Who? 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Le Guess Who? has just announced the first round of artists for its 13th edition, taking place in various idyllic venues across Utrecht from 7-10 November. Joseph Shabason, Tyondai Braxton, Mary Lattimore, Conrad Tao, Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids,\u00a0Minyo Crusaders and Angel Bat Dawid are\u00a0amongst those confirmed to perform this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Le Guess Who?<\/strong><\/a> celebrates its 13th edition this year and so far, the organizers had only announced the list of its curators: Fatoumata Diawara, Jenny Hval, Patrick Higgins, The Bug, Moon Duo, and Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed. Each year, Le Guess Who?’s curators contribute to the festival with their own selections, enriching an already magnificently diverse program featuring both emerging and well-established artists, traversing geography and genre. Today we get a first glimpse at some of their selections, as well as the first names from the general line-up.<\/p>\n

Avant-garde composer, guitarist, and producer Patrick Higgins\u00a0displays his creative vision with a sublime programme. His curation includes young\u00a0pianist and composer Conrad Tao<\/strong>, whose work as a soloist includes recitals in Paris, London, Munich, Berlin\u00a0and\u00a0appearances with\u00a0the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphonies, among\u00a0many\u00a0others. Also invited is Brooklyn based cellist, composer, and sound-artist\u00a0Leila Bordreuil<\/strong>,\u00a0experimental\u00a0violin and harp\u00a0duo\u00a0LEYA<\/strong>,\u00a0incredibly adventurous\u00a0violist and violinist Miranda Cuckson<\/strong> and Berlin based vocalist Stine Janvin<\/strong>,\u00a0who explores and stretches the\u00a0flexibility\u00a0of the voice and its surroundings.\u00a0Higgins will also host the classical-electronics hybrid of prodigious composer and musician\u00a0Tyondai Braxton<\/strong> and Canadian\u00a0virtuoso\u00a0Vicky Chow<\/strong>,\u00a0who\u00a0is also\u00a0the pianist for Bang on a Can All-Stars, New Music Detroit, and a founding member of piano sextet Grand Band, and piano duo X88.<\/p>\n

Prolific British musician and producer Kevin Martin aka\u00a0The Bug\u00a0returns to Le Guess Who? in 2019 as a guest curator, hosting\u00a0Caspar Br\u00f6tzmann Massaker<\/strong>,\u00a0hot on the heels of their albums reissue program on Southern Lord, legendary duo\u00a0Earth<\/strong>\u00a0celebrating 30 years with their new album\u00a0Full Upon Her Burning Lips<\/em> and South East London-based Jah Shaka Sound System<\/strong>,\u00a0active since the early 70\u2019s and known as the king of the roots reggae Jamaican sound system. The Bug\u2019s curation further includes multidisciplinary artist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe<\/strong>, the hypnotic blend of jazz, country, noise and minimal electronica of Berlin based Polish instrumental trio LOTTO<\/strong> and Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force<\/strong>, the project of techno pioneer Mark Ernestus with a revolving cast of Senegalese sabar musicians. Some of The Bug’s other projects will also take to the stage at Le Guess Who?, including his trio\u00a0King Midas Sound<\/strong>, featuring\u00a0poet Roger Robinson and vocalist Kiki Hitomi, and Zonal<\/strong>, his duo with Justin Broadrick,\u00a0set to perform with\u00a0Moor Mother<\/strong>. He has also lined up the world premiere of his collaboration with London\u00a0based Japanese vocal performer Hatis Noit<\/strong>,\u00a0whose\u00a0music\u00a0draws from a variety of genres and traditions, including western classical music, Japanese folk, whispering, and poetry reading.<\/p>\n

Known for performances and an artistic output that embraces a variety of arts forms and vehicles for expression, Jenny Hval\u00b4s curation reflects precisely that. Joining her bill is experimental composer and poet F\u00e9licia Atkinson<\/strong>, with a new album called\u00a0The Flower And The Vessel<\/em> coming out this July, the quirky and experimental\u00a0Alina Astrova (Inga Copeland, Hype Williams) under her new alias Lolina<\/strong>, and the otherworldly experimental rock of Moon Relay<\/strong>,\u00a0 a four piece orchestra who draw influences as disparate as krautrock, techno, no wave, surf rock and free jazz. The Norwegian multidisciplinary artist has also invited the wonderful and inimitable multi-instrumentalist and improviser Richard Youngs<\/strong>, whose album Belief<\/em> was one of our 15 Album Picks of 2018, Canadian Los Angeles-based musician and musicologist Sarah Davachi<\/strong>, Swedish, Ethiopian-born, Oslo-based singer and composer Sofia Jernberg<\/strong> who describes herself as a “maker of things”, and DNA? AND?<\/strong>, the Oslo-based collective formed in 2013 that brings together kids with learning disabilities with professional musicians to play improvised music. Jenny Hval will present her new interdisciplinary piece<\/span> The Practice of Love<\/em> together with an ensemble of musicians and artists.<\/p>\n

Psych-kraut stalwarts\u00a0Moon Duo\u00a0invited cosmic afro jazz mavericks\u00a0Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids<\/strong>, minimal synthesist and experimental composer Michele Mercure<\/strong> with a recently released retrospective anthology,\u00a0Beside Herself<\/em>, featuring tracks from her early cassette releases, Liz Harris’ new project Nivhek<\/strong>, with a new record composed during and after residencies in Portugal and Russia, and experimental harpist Mary Lattimore<\/strong> who pushes the boundaries of her instrument using effects and an improvisational approach. On Moon Duo\u00b4s bill is also the blissful and pastoral sounds of Prana Crafter<\/strong> and Tr\u00e4d, Gr\u00e4s och Stenar (Tr\u00e4den)<\/strong>, hugely influential on Sweden’s DIY and ‘progg’ culture.<\/p>\n

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Le Guess Who? has become a privileged stage for rare performances and unique collaborations and continues to pride itself on nurturing them. Amongst those confirmed to play is singer-songwriter, producer and actress from Mumbai<\/span> Asha Puthli<\/strong>, known for merging traditional Indian influences with contemporary Western pop and Pakistan\u2019s 75-year old Ustad Saami<\/strong>, a master of the pre-Islamic vocal style known as Surti, passed on from generation to generation since the 13th century, and of which he is the only practitioner left in the world. There\u00b4s also an exclusive European performance in store with legendary Ethio-groove performer Ayalew Mesfin<\/strong>, performing with Boston\u00b4s Debo Band<\/strong>. Mesfin’s work came to prominence last year with the release of his compilation album Hasabe (My Worries)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot more on offer for the 13th edition of Utrecht\u2019s Le Guess Who?, with the first performing artists within the general line-up now announced. Appearing on the bill is talented Toronto based composer and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason<\/strong> whose beguiling and affecting album Anne<\/em>, in the realms of jazz and ambient, is among the finest releases of 2018, cult nurse-turned-musician Doug Hream Blunt<\/strong>, accomplished jazz composer and drummer Makaya McCraven<\/strong>, Chicago-based clarinetist, vocalist and composer Angel Bat Dawid<\/strong>, Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon<\/strong>, the loop-heavy, psychedelic groove of Chilean trio F\u00f6llakzoid<\/strong>, the afrofunk sound of Ghana\u2019s highlife singer, composer and instrumentalist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley & His Sekondi Band<\/strong> and the Rajasthan folk of Lakha Khan<\/strong> mastering its traditional string instrument, the sindhi sarangi. Also announced are French collective Oiseaux-Temp\u00eate & Friends<\/strong>, Visible Cloaks, Yoshio Ojima & Satsuki Shibano<\/strong>, Tokyo based 10-piece big band Minyo Crusaders<\/strong>, and Somalia\u2019s Dur-Dur Band<\/strong> with their exuberant pop funk.<\/p>\n

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Many more artists will be added to this initial tremendous line-up over the next few months, including the curated programs of Fatoumata Diawara and Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed. But it is already clear it will be an adventurous musical paradise, covering just about all music spectrums. Full details of the line-up so far, tickets and other info can be found on leguesswho.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Le Guess Who? has just announced the first round of artists for its 13th edition, taking place in various idyllic venues across Utrecht from 7-10 November. Joseph Shabason, Tyondai Braxton, Mary Lattimore, Conrad Tao, Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids,\u00a0Minyo Crusaders and Angel Bat Dawid are\u00a0amongst those confirmed to perform this year. Le Guess Who? celebrates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1715,2081],"class_list":["post-14910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-le-guess-who","tag-le-guess-who-2019"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14910"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14930,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14910\/revisions\/14930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}