The Nowhere! Festival is here again!
Audio Foundation is very proud to present the third iteration of its public airing of sheets!
This biannual festival presents four days and nights of marginal music, adventures in sound outside the mainstream, extreme sonic experiences and buzz, hum, crackle, splurge n splat!
See below for the lineup, full programme, and artist info, and Under the Radar to purchase tickets to (day 1., day 2., day 3., or a festival pass).
LINEUP:
The Terminals // The Coolies // All Seeing Hand // Dark Matter // Pumice // Stapleton – Elborado – Kraus // Gate // Thistle Group // Creamy Mami // Fuck Chairs // Richard Maybe’s Passion For Nature // Droszkhi // File Folder // Evil Ocean // Drorgan // Diamante Hoops // Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs // Power Nap // Alphabethead – Dryson – Henderson // Axes to Grind // Petrichor // Negative Nancys // M.E.L. // Universal Joint // R. Langabeer – Chrisstoffels – Bonehead // Nell Thomas – Jonny Marks // SL // Mark Williams // Unknown Tofu // Psychick Witch // Diana Tribute // him // Dadson – Smith – Buckton – Inaba // Emperical
PROGRAMME:
day 1. – Thursday 3 November @ Audio Foundation, doors open 7.30pm
$10 presales // $15 on the door.
Tix available from UTR
Fuck Chairs
Thistle Group
Diamante Hoops
Evil Ocean
File Folder
R. Langabeer – Chrisstoffels – Bonehead
day 2. – Friday 4 November @ Audio Foundation, doors open 8pm
$15 presales // $20 on the door.
Tix available from UTR
Jonny Marks
Pumice
Negative Nancys
Dark Matter
Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs
Stapleton – Elborado – Kraus
Alphabethead – Dryson – Henderson
+ DJ Rosy Parlane
day 3. (matinee) – Saturday 5 November @ Audio Foundation, doors open 2pm
koha // no presales
Musical Electronics Library Performance
Nell Thomas – Jonny Marks
Gate
Mark Williams
Empirical
day 3. – Saturday 5 November @ Whammy / Wine Cellar / Backroom, doors open 8pm
$15 presales // $20 on the door.
Tix available from UTR
The Terminals
The Coolies
All Seeing Hand
Universal Joint
Richard Maybe’s Passion for Nature
Droszkhi
Power Nap
Petrichor
Sol
Erika Grant
Creamy Mami
day 4. – Sunday 6 November @ Audio Foundation, doors open 4pm
$10 on the door // no presales
Dadson – Smith – Buckton – Inaba
him
Drorgan
Unknown Tofu
Axes to Grind
Diana Tribute
Psychick Witch
ARTIST INFO:
The Terminals
Warranting comparison to This Heat, The Terminals are as celebrated as they are preeminent, known as much for the dark (at times humorous) lyrics of Staptleton, delivered by Cogle with a voice dredged from the depths, as for their sprawling, noisy avant-rock.
Since the mid-1980s, The Terminals have been applying an unmistakeable South Island discontent to the tradition of psychotic white blues inherited from such varied sources as the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, 1960s surf punk, Pere Ubu, and the early works of John Cale.
In a broader sense there are the two Terminals – positive and negative – and when the oppositely charged wires cross, electricity arcs in a ragged blue flame and white gold sparks fly. From sublime contemplation to expansive electric wig out in a flash.
The Terminals, ‘Uncoffined’
The Terminals, ‘Black Creek’
The Coolies
This legendary and unpredictable trio, the enfant terribles of NZ punk, have been blurting out random batches of high order garage spew since 1997.
Through sheer weirdness and strength of vision, they create music that parallels aspects of underground noise from the forests of Olympia Washington, the squats of West London, and the basements of Dunedin. Without resorting to formal revisionism, they’ve managed to take the basics of the early Rough Trade sound and smudge it with fingers dipped in the art-readymades of NZ’s underground pop groups and their own fevered experimentalism.
The Coolies, ‘Kaka’ (Feeding Tube, 2015)
The All Seeing Hand
Wellington trio The All Seeing Hand mash together a mind-melting combination of turntablism, drumming and throat-singing to create a sonic force that is better off being heard than described.
The All Seeing Hand, ‘Fog and Debris’ (2014)
The All Seeing Hand, ‘Swarm’ (2016)
Dark Matter
Dark Matter will bring a chill to your spine. Featuring a number of Christchurch’s most dedicated, Dark Matter were the Christchurch sound before most of you were even born. While the vocal flourish of Steven Cogle recalls Roxy Music, the continued relevance of an ensemble like Dark Matter over Roxy Music can attests to the richness of the musical moment that birthed it.
In Dark Matter, trusted names like Steven Cogle, John Chrisstoffels, John Billows, Joanne Billesdon, Nicole Moffat and Michael Daly continue into the 21st century, but more than just an update on the Christchurch Sound, Dark Matter craft any punk nostalgia into an overwhelmingly romantic whole.
Dark Matter, ‘Tomorrow’ (Siltbreeze, 2014)
Dark Matter, ‘Broken’ (Siltbreeze, 2014)
Pumice
Everything Pumice owns is broken. Uninitiated audience members might think he is fucking up ’till half-way through when it becomes clear they are witnessing a perfect solo ballet of mini-cassettes, modified guitar, foot-pedal drum-kit & short-circuiting spring reverb croon.
Deep into a genius career, Pumice still surprises with his subtle mastery of broke-down sounds, slowed-down Magic Band rhythms, crumbling chord organ hymns & tragic ballads that reach deep into the very soul of Flying Nun/Xpressway/Root Don Lonie For Cash anti-pop pop music.
Pumice, ‘Greenrock’ (Soft Abuse, 2007)
Pumice, ‘Land’ (Soft Abuse / Stabbies etc., 2013/16)
Pumice, ‘Puny’ (Soft Abuse, 2016)
Stapleton – Elborado – Kraus
Playing together for the first (and possibly only) time, Stapleton, Elborado, Kraus are a trio not to be missed!
In addition to his drumming with The Terminals, Peter Stapleton has had a long a celebrated career delving deep into the pools of improvisational avant-rock with acts including Eye, Flies Inside the Sun, and A Handful of Dust.
Mick Elborado has been a stalwart member of many fine Christchurch bands, most feted among them being Scorched Earth Policy, The Terminals. Against this, his work in song-based experimental rock n’ roll outfit, Second Hour, evokes a kind of Messthetics vibe, between guitar wash and blur, subtle textural keyboards.
Future-primitive Saturnian import, Kraus (The Murdering Monsters, The Aesthetics, The Futurians, Olympus), together with these two, er, fairly important, long-term members of the NZ music world will without doubt catapult you into the æther.
Gate
Gate is the solo outlet of Michael Morley (The Dead C, Wreck Small Speaker On Expensive Stereos). Ranking in the company of Jandek or Loren Connors, Morley is the rare artist that record-hounds love to unearth: an isotope in the body, Pop, radiating an invisible influence with scores of micro-batch releases and an unmistakably intimate performance idiom.
Gate, ‘Known Ghosts’ (2016)
Gate, ‘Moonrise’ (Kye Records, 2015)
Gate, ‘Trees’ (2010)
Thistle Group
The subtle, textural manipulation of sound which characterises Claire Mahoney’s (Olympus, It Hurts) solo project, Thistle Group, is at once striking and fragile; unforgettable while always in the midst of fading.
Thistle Group, ‘Live at Whammy Bar, 8.10.15’ (Stabbies etc., 2016)
Creamy Mami
Creamy Mami is the performance moniker of Rachel Duval. A wait-and-see mystery, a Problematic Diva who uses Creamy Mami (and Diamante Hoops) as coping mechanisms for her constant discomfort.
Creamy Mami, ‘Screamy Mummy Mix’ (2015)
Fuck Chairs
Fuck Chairs are an art/music duo, examining rave culture and hallucination performed by robots, avatars, monsters and ghosts. To initiate, mix one part M. Morely, to one part M. Oliver and simmer over a low heat.
The Fuck Chairs, ‘Internet Speed’ (2016)
The Fuck Chairs, ‘Terror Cell’ (2016)
Richard Maybe’s Passion for Nature,/p>
Dunedin-death-disco outfit, Richard Maybe’s Passion For Nature, will have you swaying like a pro.
Richard Maybe’s Passion for Nature, ‘Live at the anteroom, 25/06/2016’ (2016)
Droszkhi
Delving deep into the atmospheric wilderness of original composition, Drozskhi distills Soul, Disco, New Wave, New Romantic, House, Techno, Trip-Hop, Nu-Jazz, into something quite otherworldly. A rare and mysterious beast, glimpsed only under blue moons.
Droszkhi, ‘Violet November’ (2013)
Droszkhi, ‘Live at The Commercial 23.03.2013’ (2013)
File Folder
File Folder: Beth and Robert talk loudly over ironing boards, still.
File Folder, ‘Find a Pumpkin’ (2015)
File Folder, ‘a bit of bugs’ (2015)
Evil Ocean
A product of random mutation and selective retention, Evil Ocean are full of thick fuzz guitar, churning riffage riding the rinky-dink ticky-tock of the manic, machine-sounding percussion.
Evil Ocean, ‘Evil Ocean’ (2009)
myspace.com/evilocean/music/album/evil-ocean-13541580
Drorgan
Hermione Johnson and Ben Holmes’ wetsuit-wearing, organ/drums duo Drorgan play a futuristic Neanderthal stomp which will have you reminiscing for times long past, dislodging memories which have been buried deep within the reptilian brain. As they float the surface, you will return to primal time you had forgotten that you’d forgotten.
Drorgan, ‘Honey Pot’ (2015)
Drogan, ‘Tuesday Riot’ (2015)
Diamante Hoops
Diamante Hoops is the coping mechanism of Rachel Duval, a Problematic Diva who also performs as Creamy Mami.
Diamante Hoops, ‘Shitcycle’ (2012)
Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs are a Wellington 3-piece featuring members of Orchestra of Spheres and MarineVille. Joining the dots between ESG, The Shaggs and The Red Crayola the band is a meld of skitterish post-punk energy, vocal harmony and beatnik raps about musical fandom, Wellington Zoo and who will do the dishes on Sunday.
The band recently released a track on Ae Fond Kiss, a compilation album released by German label Zelle featuring Dunedin-affiliated musicians setting Robert Burns’ poems to music.
Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs, ‘His Hands Are Normal’ (Epic Sweep, 2013)
Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs, ‘Top Hat and Funny Face’ / ‘Is there Logic in Pop’
Power Nap
Power Nap is Chris Cudby, one half of New Zealand synth-duo Golden Axe. Cudby’s work as Power Nap has been described as ‘Chill hypnotic-grooves, collaged keyboard synth-pop and positive-affirmations in music. Dance music for a generation of buffered streams.’
Kind of like GA’s chilled out lil bro, Power Nap ensures a throbbing analog synth work-out.
Power Nap, ‘Night Business’ (Crystal Magic Records, 2013)
Power Nap, ‘Do You Like Dogs?’ (VMRecordings, 2016)
Alphabethead – Dryson – Henderson
Alphabethead – Dryson – Henderson are another one-off trio you will curse yourself for missing (so don’t).
Once New Zealand’s Champion Turntablist, Alphabethead is now an explorer of sound, existing adrift in the sonic cosmos, somewhere between the constellations of Hip Hop, Free Jazz and Experimental Rock. For over 10 years, Alphabethead has breathed life into the skeletons of redundant vinyl, melding together previously unheard combinations of sound to form new musical landscapes. Sitar and Theremin can duet with Tibetan Monk chants and a Mingus horn section, all atop a rhythmic backdrop of voodoo drumming and bowed double-bass! Expect to hear wonderfully strange sounds coaxed from the turntable, untried aural unions and mechanized, scatterbrain beats.
Alphabethead, ‘Quartz Plumage’ (2014)
Phil Dryson is a dark horse. Moonlighting with blackened Auckland metal outfit Inside Arkham, his extensive work within Auckland’s experimental community would likely come as a surprise to many who know him.
Phil Dryson (3-1+1 w. Ivan Mrsich & Hermoine Johnson), ‘Live at bFM Bombathon (2015)
Jeff Henderson is a massive blowhard.
Jeff Henderson, ‘A’ (Postmoderncore, 2004)
Axes to Grind
Axes to Grind are a newly emerged Auckland collective that brings together an assortment of artists from various musical backgrounds, including (but not limited to) Dorian Noval, Steven Huf, Rohan Evans, Mason Fairey and Oscar Dowling. A Lynchian slice of slow noise that conjures up images of wet streetscapes at midnight.
Axes To Grind, ‘X’ (2016)
Petrichor
Petrichor is the performing moniker of Auckland artist Daisy Wells. A Petrichor set is an exploration into aural experience where layers, motions and textures perpetually unfold in auditory imagination.
Petrichor, ‘onset’ (2016)
Petrichor, ‘Bedlam’ (2016)
Negative Nancys
Negative Nancys are the parallel-world, punk spinoff of Richard Maybe’s Passion for Nature featuring Mick Elborado on guitar.
M.E.L.
The Musical Electronics Library of Auckland (M.E.L.) is a free lending library of homemade electronic musical devices in Auckland, New Zealand. For the 2016 Nowhere! Festival, members of M.E.L. will take over the AF building for an afternoon of spatialized performance on hand made electronic instruments.
Pat Kraus and Nell Thomas discuss the opening of Wellington’s own M.E.L.
Universal Joint
Universal Joint are an improvisational, experimental sound act comprising of Elise Bishop and Sarah Bingle. Bisho and Bingle’s wealth of experience in spontaneous music making, coupled with their appreciation for particular quality of sound, forms a space for contemplation, and celebration, in which a sometimes raw, and other times tender music emerges.
3Way (Elise Bishop, Sarah Bingle, and Kirsty Porter) ‘Live at Te Manawa’ (Markham Recording, 2013)
Elise Bishop in Aux Assembly, ‘Sideways’ (Sabbatical Records, 2006)
R. Langabeer – J. Chrisstoffels – Bonehead
Rounding out the duo of Nowhere! trios is that of Rosie Langabeer, John Chrisstoffels and Bonehead.
Rosie Langabeer creates music and sound for any occasion, including dance, theatre, film, public space. She can be found performing regularly in a variety of settings ranging from concert halls, to basements, to art galleries. Her methods are evolutionary with a large focus on improvisation and collaboration.
Rosie Langabeer, Interactive homepage
www.rosielangabeer.com
While also a dab hand behind a film camera, John Chrisstoffels’ career in music is marked most recognisable for his work in Dark Matter and The Terminals.
Bonehead (Andrew McMillan) is an Auckland-based improviser, composer, and sound artist.
Bonehead, ‘Live EP at Bodega’ (2014)
Nell Thomas – Jonny Marks
Nell Thomas (Orchestra of Spheres) is a multi-instrumental experimenter, cosmic voyager, and Pyramid Club organiser. She has written music for film and dance, as well as collaborating with most (if not all) of Wellington’s finest.
Jonny Marks (Dodecahedrons, Flower Orphans, Microsoft Voices) is an extraordinary vocalist as evidenced by his work with The All Seeing Hand. Perhaps less well know is his work on analogue synthesiser.
Be sure not to miss the opportunity to witness these two fine artists in duo.
Nell Thomas live w. Susan Alcorn, Tristian Carter, and Tom Callwood (2015)
SL
Sam Longmore is an artist, electronic-musician and writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. His work combines field recorded material with electronics informed by auditory spatial awareness and geography.
Mark Willams
Mark Williams is a man about town, with many fingers in many pies. In addition to directing Circuit, his current bands include Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs & Tapioca Dragon, and he often pops up in different combos at the Pyramid Club.
Mark Williams in Tapioca Dragon, ‘Truffle Pigs’ (Burning Log Recordings, 2016)
Tapioca Dragon, ‘Live at The Crypt’ (2013)
Unknown Tofu
Unkown Tofu are the Unknown Rockstar and Corporal Tofulung, previously based in Seattle and now residing in Auckland.
Unkown Tofu, ‘Live at Canadian Embassy Echo Chamber’ (2015)
Psychick Witch
Psychick Witch is thee process by which a love undying can be performed sonically in infinite wisdom. Guitars unstringed play the music ov thee mind’s eye. To Nowhere! they bring the lineup you wish you saw including rev SF O’Reilly on helltraps and queen Celia Mancini on vokillz, and the cosmic the cosmic saturations of Louise Mahoney.
Psychick Witch, ‘Howling Metal’ (2015)
Diana Tribute
Diana Tribute are Auckland’s premiere Psych-Noise-Groove outfit; a Kraut-Goth Kiwi supergroup whose penchant for dance rituals, brief moments of clarity, and racket are inexplicably beautiful. The group brings together members of Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing, Street Chant, Sharpie Crows and Civil Union, and have employed the services of a smattering of guest vocalists to carve out their tropical-industrial niche.
Diana Tribute, ‘Cock-Shaped Copper Pipe (feat. i.e. crazy)’ (Freezing Works, 2014)
Diana Tribute, ‘Red Biennial’ (Freezing Works, 2016)
Empirical
Marcel Bear and the instruments he creates are collectively known as Empirical. Best known of these are the Shimsaws: 6 instruments of stretched bands of steel and piano wire with pickups that are amplified and played by bowing, rocking, tapping and generally trying to keep them under control.
After an extended incubation, a seventh shimsaw hatched, and this time its made of wood. A distillation of the second and third shimsaws, it is human scale with a band of shim and twin piano wires. It will be getting its first outing at the Nowhere! Fest, and combined with the second shimsaw, two Concord amps and one Mr. Rosy Parlane….well it will be a test to see if the wood is mightier than the saw.
Empirical, ‘La Gloria’ (Imperial Records, 1996)