• FULL TIMETABLES HERE

The first full BRDCST festival day brings plenty of great stuff, including a line-up curated by Tirzah and a programme in the Church of Notre Dame aux Riches Claires. On Friday 5 April you can discover Tirzah, Coby Sey, Loraine James, Mica Levi, Meril Wubslin, Anja Ngozi, BRDCST celebrates Can’s Future Days, Brìghde Chaimbeul, LIONSTORM, Amor Muere with Mabe Fratti and Ellen Arkbro.

18:00 – 18:50 @ AB Flex > bunk (curated by tirzah) (VK)

Present at the personal invitation of Tirzah. And also deliberately undercover with an alias. Let the guessing begin! We are already fans. Also from her album 'touched by an angel'.

18:30 – 19:30 @ AB Club > BRDCST CELEBRATES CAN’S FUTURE DAYS (1973) (BE)

During BRDCST 2022 and 2023, Sergeant, Oï Les Ox, L. Jacobs, and Milan W. made an indelible impression by completely reworking Can’s legendary albums Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi. Also during this edition, this crew – again with Brussels-based Japanese saxophonist Shoko Igarashi – will put the equally legendary Can album Future Days through the wringer. “’Future Days’ remains one of the band’s most significant works, forming an unofficial ‘Damo’ trilogy alongside ‘Tago Mago’ and ‘Ege Bamyasi’, demonstrating the band at the height of their career”, writes Far Out. Future Days was the last Can album with Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki and according to Mojo “Their most restful and spacious, flooded with air and sunlight”. The album made it into their ‘The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made’ chart.

19:20 – 20:00 @ AB Flex > MICA LEVI (curated by Tirzah) (UK) 

From punk to refined film soundtracks brimming with classical music: multi-award-winning composer Mica Levi has no problem conjuring it up. Levi is also Tirzah’s musical right-hand. What’s more, together with Coby Sey, they form the collective CURL, and with Alpha Maid they last year released the Lo-Fi EP spresso. Their visit to AB with Micachu & the Shapes now dates back to ’09, so: welcome back, Mica!

20:00 – 21:00 @ Rijke Klarenkerk > AMOR MUERE (MX)

One of the most exceptional albums of 2022 was that of Mabe Fratti, a cellist and singer from Guatemala who is based in Mexico. Her album Se Ve Desde Aquí was showered with praise and inclined toward both Arthur Russell and Kate Bush (minus the hits). In the meantime, Fratti has launched two new projects: Titanic (with multi-instrumentalist Hector Tosta) and Amor Muere (Spanish for ‘love dies’), an experimental collective with the likes of sound artist Camille Mandoki, violinist Gibrana Cervantes and tape manipulator Concepción Huerta. Their debut a time to love, a time to die was described by Pitchfork as “avant-garde compositions grafted from gritty electronic textures, discordant strings, and soaring vocal melodies”. 

20:15 – 21:00 @ AB Club > MERIL WUBSLIN (curated by Tirzah) (BE/CH) 

Compelling and intriguing trio that shuttles between Brussels and Switzerland. Their upcoming album Faire Ça will again be released via top label Bongo Joe (see too: Derya Yildirim, Ndox Electrique, Nusantara Beat, …) and is produced by – not coincidentally – by Tirzahs ‘significant other’ Kwake Bass. Anything else to add, Meril Wubslin? “What a pleasure and honour to take part in one of the best festivals of the year, with such amazing artists.”. Well: All praise to Tirzah!

20:30 – 21:30 @ AB Flex > COBY SEY (curated by Tirzah) (UK) 

Rightly described by Clash Magazine as “One of the most distinctive original artists at work in London''. Producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Coby Sey is also a long-time collaborator with Tirzah (and to be heard on Devotion and Colourgrade, amongst others), Mica Levi, and Klein. His debut Conduit bathes in post-grime and meanders between jazz, dub, noise, experimental electronica, and trip-hop.

21:30 – 22:20 @ AB Club > BRÌGHDE CHAIMBEUL (UK) 

The first bagpipes at BRDCST are a fact! And then straight into a prominent leading role. Caroline Polachek immediately fell for the sound of Scot Brìghde Chaimbeul : “I have a soft spot for bagpipes: when I hear them, I have to cry. I played her album The Reeling to death – so that’s lots and lots of tears.”, she says of it. The latest Brìghde album Carry Them With Us is the result of her collaboration with Colin Stetson. Her inspiration, she says, is “rooted in dark Highlands folklore, including seductive men who transform into creatures that drown women and humans desperate to communicate with birds”. What makes her so unique? “She has developed an innovative style on the Scottish smallpipes that emphasises rich textural drones and a trance-like constancy of sound.”

21:30 – 22:30 @ Rijke Klarenkerk > ELLEN ARKBRO PRESENTS “CHORDS for organ” (SE)

Sweden’s Ellen Arkbro – once a student of minimalist La Monte Young – has a great fondness for organs and will present her 2019 piece CHORDS for organ in the nearby Church of Notre-Dame aux Riches Claires. For this, she will make use of the modern classical organ of organ builder Patrick Collon, one of the most prolific Belgian organ builders of the second half of the 20th century. NPR on Arkbro: “She shifts monochromatic tones like a Rothko painting”. We also read that: “Her chordal textures spread out like invisible sculptures — diamond formations for the listening mind”.

21:45 – 22:45 @ AB Flex > LORAINE JAMES (curated by Tirzah) (UK) 

Her previous Hyperdub albums For You & I and Reflections were praised for their apt portrayal of her reality as an independent, black, British queer artist. The Line of Best Fit: "Loraine James has been reshaping IDM into her own expressive, vulnerable image”. She really hit the spot with her latest album Gentle Confrontation. “Lorraine James continues to prove why she is so vital in the electronic music scene. Never afraid to push boundaries or show vulnerability, James creates a compelling world of sound. An incredible achievement”, writes NME of it. Incidentally, James already reworked a Tirzah track on Highgrade, the remake of Tirzah's second album Colourgrade. 

23:00 – 00:00 @ AB Flex > TIRZAH (UK) 

Tirzah recently surprised us with her intriguing third issue trip9love…??? described spot on by Boomkat as “just inarguably, inexplicably, touched by genius”. But her experimental mix of pop, post-grime, and R&B does sound extremely intoxicating. The best quote about Tirzah comes from Gonzo Circus: "She does not sing in the hope of convincing, and does not exhaust herself in exaggerated vibratos, melisms, or rasps. It is singing as an intimate form of speech, and that is precisely why she enchants so deeply". Especially for her second BRDCST appearance, she curates an evening with musical kindred spirits. “Some of my closest connections in music have been felt listening to these artists. I'm honoured and so chuffed they are going to be sharing the stage, and playing for us all”, she says.

00:00 – 01:00 @ AB Club > LIONSTORM (NL)

LIONSTORM is, in their own words, the very first queer rap act from The Netherlands. This duo from Amsterdam - Skerrie Sterrie and Vuige Muis – recently stormed the Dutch underground with their rebellious, activist hip-hop and punk about squirting and inspecting erections. “Lionstorm is rauw, vies, sexy en confronterend”, headlined Trouw. But LIONSTORM also makes a point of contention: ”We zijn net zo duidelijk en direct over onze seksualiteit als dat veel mannelijke Nederlandse rappers duidelijk zijn over de seks die ze met vrouwen hebben.” Their lyrics are also a form of protest against the hetero-normative standard. They already impressed last year at BRDCST, and they now return with brand new work. 

01:00 – 03:00 @ AB Club > ANJA NGOZI (DJ) (curated by Tirzah) (GB)

This London DJ and artist already has several EPs to her name and runs the collective/label Síbín (pronounced: shu-bean). Her eclectic DJ sets “centre around soulful tunes, lo-fi beats and experimental waves”. Ngozi already reworked a Tirzah track for Highgrade, which was also tackled by Arca, Actress, and Lafawandah. 

Are you curious about the full line-up from April 5 to 7? You can find it here.

Festival pictures © Daria Miasoedova