THE EX

Since 1979 The Ex has been operating beyond categorization. Born out of the punk explosion, which made everything possible, the band remained curious. Using guitar, bass, drums and voice as departure points The Ex kept exploring musically undiscovered areas: the early 1980s saw collaborations with jazz musicians and an Iraki-Kurdish band. Later on the group found partners such as Kamagurka, Tom Cora, Sonic Youth, Han Bennink, Jan Mulder, Ab Baars and Wolter Wierbos. In 2002 The Ex set up a lively musical exchange with Ethiopia, which eventually led to two CD recordings with the legendary sax player Getatchew Mekuria.

After 35 years, more than 25 albums and around 1800 performances the band still works independently, without record companies, managers or roadies. Because of this work ethic of doing it all yourself The Ex still is a great example for other forward-thinking bands and musicians. ‘Staying a bird, staying independent, free if you will, for three decades, that takes skill and something else, something more like heart’ (music journalist John Corbett on The Ex).

"An Ex show is a shared experience, they take the audience on a musical adventure to places no one has been before. They are the most interesting musical unit in the world today...Go and see the Ex and you will hear rhythms you have never heard before...a sweaty seething party, an uplifting, joyful celebration. They have brilliantly proved that playing music with this sense of wild-eyed fun and radical political edge and this adherence to all that was good and great about the positive politic of the punk and post punk period can actually fucking work" - The Quietus

AFEWORK NEGUSSIE

Afework Negussie is a versatile musician and singer from Gondar in northern Ethiopia. He has a background in the Azmari, and he is also partly trained at the National Theatre in Addis Ababa. Azmari are the voice of freedom of expression in Ethiopia. They improvise constantly, and have commented on politics, religion and everyday life. Their style is very specific, both provocative and humorous.




JOHN BUTCHER

John Butcher is a saxophonist of rare grace and power, who has expanded the vocabulary of the saxophone far beyond the conventions of jazz and other musics, to encompass a staggering range of harmonics, multiphonics, overtones, percussive sounds, and electronic feedback. But his playing is far more than merely an array of special effects: it's characterised by an intensity that propels it into strange new places that are both incredibly beautiful and deeply exhilarating.

"When he was finished there were audible exclamations from the audience and the question was asked, not for the first time: “why does no one else play saxophone like that?”" - Dalston Sound, review of John Butcher at Cafe OTO, 2012

RICHARD DAWSON

Richard Dawson was, until he appeared at TUSK and Supersonic festivals in 2012, the North East of England’s hidden jewel – a skewed troubadour who sings and plays guitar with a rare intensity and singular style. His voice has been compared to everyone from Tim Buckley to Richard Youngs while his guitar playing recalls Sir Richard Bishop and Zoot Horn Rollo and, combined with the inescapable snare of his lyrics, means surrender to his music is inevitable.

2013 saw Dawson go from local legend to touring Europe twice, performing at festivals such as Latitude, Supernormal, Incubate and SOY and being lauded by Late Junction, The Wire, The Quietus and many more. He ended the year with his album The Glass Trunk being named Leftfield Album Of The Year by Stewart Lee in the Sunday Times, being placed at Number 4 in The Wire's albums of 2013 and being hailed as one of Record Collector's albums of the year.




VALENTINA CAMPORA

Valentina Campora graduated at the AHK – Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten – Modern Department in 2005. In 2009 she also graduated at the D.A.M.S. Faculty of the University of Literature and Philosophy of Genova, Italy. She danced and collaborated, among others, with Jakop Ahlbom (NL), Chiyo Ogino (J), Manuela Tessi (IT) and Cristina Planas Leitao (PT). Valentina has collaborated to the choreography of SUPERNOVA, the most recent successful work of Gabriella and she often teaches with her in Dutch dance academies, workshops and festivals. Together with Gabriella Maiorino and Adrian Sneeuw she is a co-founder of CLANCARNAL.




RATTLE

Rattle are a drumming duo based in Nottingham and comprised of Theresa J Wrigley (Highs) and Katharine Eira Brown (Lows). Both musicians also play drums for two other well respected bands, with Theresa in Fists and Katy in Kogumaza. Rattle play minimalist rhythms that remain both hypnotic and danceable heavily thanks to the delicate vocal melodies which accompany their beats. Their sound recalls This Heat or ESG whilst remaining uniquely their own.