Maurice Louca
Agnes Hvizdalek (Solo), Jakob Schneidewind (Solo)
Agnes Hvizdalek, Jakob Schneidewind: PNØ live (Admission free)
Beatrice Dillon, Kuljit Bhamra
serpentwithfeet
A spirit of musical openness and ambition is a defining characteristic of our weekly Festwochen concerts at Vienna’s jazz institution Porgy & Bess. A diverse range of musicians takes to the stage with new interpretations of jazz, modern R&B and contemporary electronic music. The American artist Moor Mother will kick off the concert series with her new project Jazz Codes. An evening in which influences from Jazz, Hip Hop and Spoken Word Poetry come together in an expressive musical statement. Another highlight of the series is a performance by experimental R&B New York singer serpentwithfeet, whose poignant songs explore themes such as Black gay love, companionship and tenderness. Producer Beatrice Dillon is joined on stage for her concert evening by tabla player and composer Kuljit Bhamra, who was also part of Dillon’s LP Workaround (release of the year by The Wire music magazine). Egyptian musician Maurice Louca and his band will combine improvised sounds with influences from Arabic chaabi and psychedelic folk. The purely acoustic concert is based on the internationally critically acclaimed LP The Luck Hour. New collaborative formats emerge when Dai Fujikura – guesting with the Festwochen commission Metamorphosis of a Living Room – proclaims on stage an expanded idea of jazz with Jan Bang, Eivind Aarset and Franz Hautzinger. And after the concert, Porgy & Bess itself becomes a Friday meeting place for all, with a DJ line-up; admission is free.
13 May, 9pm Moor Mother: Jazz Codes
Moor Mother aka Camae Ayewa is widely regarded as a unique and powerful political voice in contemporary music and spoken word poetry. In her new project Jazz Codes she uses innovative approaches to combine different genres, styles and forms of expression, from jazz to hip-hop to contemporary classical music. Moor Mother explores the interface between jazz and poetry, inspired by historical events, social issues and personal experiences. Complex soundscapes featuring multi-layered textures and haunting voices reflect the diverse themes of Moor Mother’s artistic universe.
13 May, from 10pm Festival Opening Party
DJ-Line
Dalia Ahmed (FM4)
Marshmello (NTS)
FLO REAL (Mahogani Music / A party called JACK)
Admission free19 May, 9pm Dai Fujikura, Jan Bang, Eivind Aarset, Franz Hautzinger: The Bow Maker
The Bow Maker began as a collaborative project between Japanese composer Dai Fujikura and Norwegian sound artist Jan Bang. Fujikura’s minimalist approach to composition and Bang’s electronic sound processing give rise to a timeless, subtle and immersive tonal landscape. Together with Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset and Austrian trumpeter Franz Hautzinger, the duo creates an auditory experience that transports the audience into a multidimensional sound space. The boundaries between acoustic and electronic music blur into a contemplative sensory experience.
19 May, from 10pm Festival Lounge: Jürgen Drimal I Radio Superfly
DJ
Jürgen Drimal (Easy Does It; In Heat!; Jam Music Lab Radio Sessions | Radio Superfly)
Admission free26 May, 9pm Maurice Louca: The Luck Hour
Maurice Louca is one of the most interesting figures in Egypt's flourishing music scene. Accompanied by the Lebanese trio A, Louca presents his latest LP The Luck Hour - praised by the Guardian as „transcendentally beautiful“. The all-acoustic concert features unconventional instruments and sounds, such as pipes and garden hoses converted into trumpets, guitars adapted to the scales of maqam, and strings strung with clothespins. Improvised music meets Egyptian chaabi meets psychedelic folk.
Band
Maurice Louca: micro tonal guitar
Anthea Caddy: cello
Biliana Voutchkova: violin
Khaled Yasine: gamelan, percussion
Tony Elieh: bass
Sharif Sehnaoui: prepared guitar
Liesbeth Vreeburg: harp26 May, from 10pm Festival Lounge: Monsieur Smoab I Radio Superfly
DJ
Monsieur Smoab (Rare & Well Done | Radio Superfly)2 June, 9pm Agnes Hvizdalek, Jakob Schneidewind: PNØ live
Austrian vocal artist Agnes Hvizdalek is known for her experimental vocal performances. Her radical approach has led to collaborations with underground noise music, jazz and contemporary music. Jakob Schneidewind is best known as the bass player with the Austrian techno band Elektro Guzzi. As PNØ, Hvizdalek and Schneidewind create an innovative sound experience that pushes the boundaries of acoustic and electronic music. They combine minimalist musical structures with organic improvisations, and pure vocal sounds with synthesizers and effects, prompting and manipulating each other’s output.
9pm (Strenge Kammer)
Agnes Hvizdalek (Solo)
Jakob Schneidewind (Solo)
Q & A following the concert2. Juni, 10.30pm PNØ (Agnes Hvizdalek & Jakob Schneidewind) live
10.30pm (Großer Saal)
PNØ live
Admission free2 June, from midnight Festival Lounge: Yuzu
DJ
Yuzu
Admission free9 June, 9pm Beatrice Dillon, Kuljit Bhamra
For her first appearance in Vienna, electronic musician Beatrice Dillon teams up with composer and tabla player Kuljit Bhamra. Their collaboration on the LP Workaround has already been hailed by critics as one of the most innovative electronic music albums of recent years. In an eclectic mix of various genres, the concert combines the musical worlds of the two protagonists. Glitchy beats and abstract soundscapes are overlaid with complex tabla rhythms, merging into a dynamic fusion of electronic and classical Indian music. A testimony to the beauty of musical diversity.
9 June, from 10pm Festival Lounge: Jürgen Drimal I Radio Superfly
DJ
Jürgen Drimal (Easy Does It; In Heat!; Jam Music Lab Radio Sessions | Radio Superfly)16 June, 9pm serpentwithfeet
serpentwithfeet blends complex harmonies with unconventional song structures in experimental contemporary R&B. The New York singer (real name Josiah Wise) melds emotional vocals with elements of gospel, classical and electronic music, addressing his experiences as a queer Black man in themes such as love, intimacy and spirituality. Cross-genre collaborations with artists that include Björk, Sampha and Moby are the hallmarks of a distinctive sound that has delighted critics and fans alike on LPs such as soil and Deacon. An expressive musical vision that transcends narrow genre classifications.
16 June, from 10pm Festival Lounge: Shantisan I Radio Superfly
DJ
Shantisan (One Note Samba | Radio Superfly)
