Friday 22 May 2015, 8pm
Cult German label Denovali Records return to OTO for the first night of the London edition of their annual festival. Since 2005, Denovali have drawn a loyal following for their roster of experimental sounds, ambient, drone, indie and electronica to darkjazz, jazz or piano and string driven modern compositions. Denovali have been running their festival events since 2007 in Essen, Germany - featuring performances from the likes of Tim Hecker, Sunn O))), William Basinski and Andy Stott - before expanding to host events in London and Berlin in 2013.
Tonight sees performances from Edinburgh-based electronic duo Dalhous, Brazilian composer, percussionist and electronic musician Ricardo Donoso, US-born London-based electronic musician Karen Gwyer, and Edinburgh-based composer Matthew Collings.
The second night of the festival will be held at St. John at Hackney Church with John Hassel, Fennesz and Greg Haines.
Since 2007 Denovali curates and organizes international music festivals. The first editions took place in Essen, Germany - since 2013 Denovali presents similar events in London and Berlin. Focussed on various forms of experimental and adventurous music the lineup offers a wonderful opportunity to discover a wide range of international Denovali artists live and is rounded off by various renowned non-label guest artists. A hallmark of the festival is the renunciation of the headliner principle: all artists are receiving the same attention - the length of each artist's concert is equal. In addition to the musical program the festival features changing specials like an experimental film cinema, installations or lectures.
Past editions of the festival included guest artists like Andy Stott (uk), Anna von Hausswolff (dk), Barn Owl (usa), Ben Frost (au), Biosphere (no), Bohren und der Club Of Gore (ger), Brandt Brauer Frick (ger), Demdike Stare (uk), Fennesz (a), Greg Haines (uk), Hauschka (ger), Hidden Orchestra (uk), James Holden (uk), Kammerflimmer Kollektief (ger), Moritz von Oswald Trio (ger), Murcof (mex), Nils Frahm (ger), Oneohtrix Point Never (us), Oval (ger), Pinch (uk), Porter Ricks (ger), Sunn O))) (us), Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (can), The Haxan Cloak (uk), Thomas Köner (ger), Tim Hecker (can), Ulrich Schnauss (ger), William Basinski (usa).
Dalhous is the Edinburgh-based duo of Marc Dall and Alex Ander releasing music on the London label, Blackest Ever Black. They released their debut album “An Ambassador For Laing” in May 2013. Their July 2014 follow-up “Will to Be Well” saw the band moving towards a more structured and melodic sound.
“Obscured beneath layers of re-sampled noise, stopped short by a dreamy fadeout or left at the edges of the mix not even long enough to linger in your memory, the sounds of Dalhous take on suggestive power as they spend time with you, wandering the moors of interiority to find the temporary answers tumbling there.” – Tiny Mix Tapes
Ricardo Donoso is a composer, percussionist and electronic musician from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who currently resides in Boston. After having studied composition at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory he has participated in a slew of projects over the years, most notably playing drums for avant-death metal unit Ehnahre and being one half of the ever morphing experimental electronic duo Perispirit. Ricardo's musical vocabulary draws as much from contemporary composition, drone, to techno and noise. Whether on his multifaceted albums or in live performance Donoso’s main interest lies in building and manipulating an immersive sound world that blurs the line between light & dark, hope & despair and the past & future – creating a truly timeless & transcendent experience.
He has released music on esteemed labels such as Digitalis, Further Records and Hospital Productions and has toured throughout North America, Europe & Asia. His first three albums – Progress Chance (2011), Assimilating The Shadow (2012) and As Iron Sharpens Iron, One Verse Sharpens Another (2013) – were widely celebrated by specialized vehicles such as FACT, Clash and Resident Advisor. Pitchfork Media called it: “dream-state dance music,” while Exclaim (CA) called it “one of the most compelling and satisfying electronic albums of the year” which culminated with performances at the illustrious Sonar Festival in both its Barcelona & Sao Paulo editions in 2012. His music has been described as a sort of ‘anti-techno’ where polyrhythmic structures and meticulous textures blur any semblance of a bar line, instead collapsing in on itself for moments of striking isolation.
On releases for No Pain in Pop and Opal Tapes Karen creates digital psychedelia, toying with kosmische repetition, manipulated vocals, drone and expansive electro pop. She's been compared to OPN and Julianna Barwick, and her latest work brings to mind Prurient's recent dabbling in dark techno.
“Gwyer parents a frosty ambience that chills the ear whilst skeletal percussion – influenced by her love of Malian music – ripples like pebble-struck water." DIY (on 'Needs Contimuum')
Matthew Collings is a Scotland-based composer. Not only being a solo recording and live artist, he collaborates regularly with artists from all kinds of fields including musicians (e.g. Dag Rosenqvist from Jasper TX and Denovali label mate Talvihorros), dancers and filmmakers. He’s responsible for several installations using custom-made software, which have been exhibited at Burning Man Festival in San Francisco or Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts. His work for films includes a specially commissioned live score for Dziga Vertov’s 1929 silent classic, ‘The Man with the Movie Camera’ and an invitation to work on ‘The Invisibles’, a commission from Amnesty International. Before settling down in Edinburgh, he lived in Iceland for six years, where he wrote a number of albums issued under the name of his lo-fi/ambient project “Sketches for Albinos” and where he met fellow collaborator Ben Frost. His music can be roughly described as 'an elemental whorl of electro-acoustic (de)composition' (Boomkat.com), ranging from tiny delicate moments of intimacy to all consuming noise. Strongly influenced by avant-garde guitar music, it calls the minimal music of Steve Reich or Gavin Bryars to mind in like manner.
