Headfirst Editor's Pick
"There’s a subtle thread of Outernationalism running through the acts at the Cacophonous Sarcophagus event this Saturday. Headlined by Jerusalem In My Heart, an A/V duo who use 4x 16mm analogue projectors alongside buzuks, modular synthesis and Arabic lamentations to conjure a singular vision of contemporary Middle Eastern folk music. ‘Post-American’ artist Porest is behind many of the greatest releases for SUBLIME FREQUENCIES, though his solo material is known for it’s scathing critique of Arab-US relations, held together by a rapid-fire barrage of samples and hot takes, presented in the form of absurdist radio plays. Not quickly forgotten… The bill is topped off by local dub-sorceress Sunun. Her 12” of ghost-rhythms and raw, spacious rhythms just dropped on the unstoppable Bokeh Versions. Don’t miss this chance to hear her sound with the extra reverb of the 50ft high church ceilings. Tickets here:"
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A gig on Saturday 17th November. The event starts at 19:30.
Jerusalem In My Heart - A/V
(Montréal / Beirut)
Constellation Records)
www.jerusaleminmyheart.com
"Acclaimed electronic-Arabic multimedia duo Jerusalem In My Heart celebrates the release of their third album 'Daqa'iq Tudaiq'. Featuring musician-producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh on vocals, buzuk and electronics, joined by experimental filmmaker Charles-André Coderre on live analog 16mm film projections, JIMH will present new music and visuals in what promises to be another immersive and socio-politically charged installment of the project’s legendary live performances. Daqa'iq Tudaiq is a masterful and mesmerizing artistic statement that confirms Jerusalem In My Heart as one of the most engaged and forward-looking acts in avant-garde Middle Eastern music today".
"Experiencing Jerusalem In My Heart live is to step into a world in which contexts and meanings seem to be inherently understood and communicated, circumventing linguistic and cultural barriers. There’s no clapping between songs, there’s no commotion usually attached with gigs of hyped artists. Connected by an unspoken, mutually inferred pact, an intangible electricity lingers between the audience, the artists, and their living, breathing play.
War, torment, inner fears and self-reflection alternate with intimate, almost optimistic fragments, creating a challenging fusion and a disturbing vista of our present troubled times. Lebanon born producer, singer and buzuk player Moumneh has lived between Beirut and Montréal for most of his life, but his music, while rooted in Arabic forms, eschews geographical categorisation. Instead, he uses diverse traditions to channel thoughts and subvert the form of ideas, concepts and messages. The melismatic singing, the influences of electronic, drone and noise music are all meshed and used loosely in the composition of fractured songs. Their structures are held together by the repeating cycles of haunting images of Canadian visual artist Coderre." The WIRE Magazine
"Nothing of this will prepare the uninitiated for how special his act are" The Guardian
________________________________
Porest
(California / London)
(Nashazphone, Discrepant)
https://porest.bandcamp.com
"Porest is the music and performance outlet of post-American artist and producer Mark Gergis. Across decades, Porest has issued a trail of confounding agitprop sound art, post-globalized hate-pop, diabolical radio dramas, big songs and small songs. Porest’s blatant embezzlement of human syntax and cultural misunderstanding broadcasts vital mixed messages across all fields, forging carefully rearranged realities that both avoid and indulge the inherent trappings of art and politics.
Live and recorded collaborations have included: Negativland, Sun City Girls and Aavikko among others. The Porest project has performed across the US, Europe and the Middle East, with albums released on Nashazphone (Cairo), Discrepant/Sucata Tapes (UK), and in the US on the Seeland, Abduction and Resipiscent labels.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Mark was co-founder of the long-running experimental California music and performance collective Mono Pause, as well as its offshoot Neung Phak; performing inspired renditions of southeast Asian folk and pop music. As an archivist and producer, Mark is known for his internationally heralded global music releases on the SUBLIME FREQUENCIES and Sham Palace labels, including compilation and documentary works such as I Remember Syria, Cambodian Cassette Archives, Saigon Rock & Soul, Choubi Choubi - Folk and Pop Sounds from Iraq, Sounds from the Syrian Houran, Radio Vietnam, and his work with artists Omar Souleyman (Syria) and Erikin Koray (Turkey).
"A scathing critique of US/Middle Eastern politics might not whet your appetite but his cut n paste sampladelia and compositions are smeared with such gleeful, knowing sarcasm, it’s always an irresistible (if cynical) joy. – Tusk Festival
________________________________
Sunun
(Bristol)
(Bokeh Versions)
As a DJ, amateur ethno-musicologist or most recently live performer, Bridget Schurch's fierce passion for music can be immediately felt. Ever-seeking sublimity thru sound, her Third-Ear agape, Sunun's inspirations lie in the spiritual possibilities of music: whether that's the physicality of the dub sound-system or transcendence via percussion. For this event she has graciously offered to create a new set, inspired by her outreach trips to Serbia as well as the venue and the event itself.
"Since playing her first live set in January - Sunun's been evolving. Her set-up's a forest of wires and microphones and hand drums and harps all feeding her 20 channel desk. She dubs it old world style, but the results are always forward, always different....visceral voices and feedback washes, accidental distortions and 9th world percussions." - Daddy Bokeh
________________________________
+++ Schwet DJs playing future-shock global-fusion throughout.
Tickets from Headfirst Bristol and Bristol Ticket Shop.
£8 early bird
£10 standard
£12 door
This is a seated event, though bring a pillow and blanket for maximum results. Licenced bar at the rear, one toilet to the left of the altar.
Entry requirements:
(Montréal / Beirut)
Constellation Records)
www.jerusaleminmyheart.com
"Acclaimed electronic-Arabic multimedia duo Jerusalem In My Heart celebrates the release of their third album 'Daqa'iq Tudaiq'. Featuring musician-producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh on vocals, buzuk and electronics, joined by experimental filmmaker Charles-André Coderre on live analog 16mm film projections, JIMH will present new music and visuals in what promises to be another immersive and socio-politically charged installment of the project’s legendary live performances. Daqa'iq Tudaiq is a masterful and mesmerizing artistic statement that confirms Jerusalem In My Heart as one of the most engaged and forward-looking acts in avant-garde Middle Eastern music today".
"Experiencing Jerusalem In My Heart live is to step into a world in which contexts and meanings seem to be inherently understood and communicated, circumventing linguistic and cultural barriers. There’s no clapping between songs, there’s no commotion usually attached with gigs of hyped artists. Connected by an unspoken, mutually inferred pact, an intangible electricity lingers between the audience, the artists, and their living, breathing play.
War, torment, inner fears and self-reflection alternate with intimate, almost optimistic fragments, creating a challenging fusion and a disturbing vista of our present troubled times. Lebanon born producer, singer and buzuk player Moumneh has lived between Beirut and Montréal for most of his life, but his music, while rooted in Arabic forms, eschews geographical categorisation. Instead, he uses diverse traditions to channel thoughts and subvert the form of ideas, concepts and messages. The melismatic singing, the influences of electronic, drone and noise music are all meshed and used loosely in the composition of fractured songs. Their structures are held together by the repeating cycles of haunting images of Canadian visual artist Coderre." The WIRE Magazine
"Nothing of this will prepare the uninitiated for how special his act are" The Guardian
________________________________
Porest
(California / London)
(Nashazphone, Discrepant)
https://porest.bandcamp.com
"Porest is the music and performance outlet of post-American artist and producer Mark Gergis. Across decades, Porest has issued a trail of confounding agitprop sound art, post-globalized hate-pop, diabolical radio dramas, big songs and small songs. Porest’s blatant embezzlement of human syntax and cultural misunderstanding broadcasts vital mixed messages across all fields, forging carefully rearranged realities that both avoid and indulge the inherent trappings of art and politics.
Live and recorded collaborations have included: Negativland, Sun City Girls and Aavikko among others. The Porest project has performed across the US, Europe and the Middle East, with albums released on Nashazphone (Cairo), Discrepant/Sucata Tapes (UK), and in the US on the Seeland, Abduction and Resipiscent labels.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Mark was co-founder of the long-running experimental California music and performance collective Mono Pause, as well as its offshoot Neung Phak; performing inspired renditions of southeast Asian folk and pop music. As an archivist and producer, Mark is known for his internationally heralded global music releases on the SUBLIME FREQUENCIES and Sham Palace labels, including compilation and documentary works such as I Remember Syria, Cambodian Cassette Archives, Saigon Rock & Soul, Choubi Choubi - Folk and Pop Sounds from Iraq, Sounds from the Syrian Houran, Radio Vietnam, and his work with artists Omar Souleyman (Syria) and Erikin Koray (Turkey).
"A scathing critique of US/Middle Eastern politics might not whet your appetite but his cut n paste sampladelia and compositions are smeared with such gleeful, knowing sarcasm, it’s always an irresistible (if cynical) joy. – Tusk Festival
________________________________
Sunun
(Bristol)
(Bokeh Versions)
As a DJ, amateur ethno-musicologist or most recently live performer, Bridget Schurch's fierce passion for music can be immediately felt. Ever-seeking sublimity thru sound, her Third-Ear agape, Sunun's inspirations lie in the spiritual possibilities of music: whether that's the physicality of the dub sound-system or transcendence via percussion. For this event she has graciously offered to create a new set, inspired by her outreach trips to Serbia as well as the venue and the event itself.
"Since playing her first live set in January - Sunun's been evolving. Her set-up's a forest of wires and microphones and hand drums and harps all feeding her 20 channel desk. She dubs it old world style, but the results are always forward, always different....visceral voices and feedback washes, accidental distortions and 9th world percussions." - Daddy Bokeh
________________________________
+++ Schwet DJs playing future-shock global-fusion throughout.
Tickets from Headfirst Bristol and Bristol Ticket Shop.
£8 early bird
£10 standard
£12 door
This is a seated event, though bring a pillow and blanket for maximum results. Licenced bar at the rear, one toilet to the left of the altar.
Entry requirements:
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