APRIL NEWS

It looks like spring has unequivocally arrived, though the sunlight misleads as far as the temperatures go. It’s never felt this bright in this long. Feels deserved, after such a special KRAAK fest just about a month ago ~ we won’t be able to express in this column just how much it meant to us, but it was a special one in our kraaked-out hearts. Many strings to tie together, and it’s an understatement to say it’s hard to pick up inspiration after such an intense time (the intensity is still present). Our friends and collaborators make it all worthwhile, and there’s other kinds of strings at play too, here’s where they come in:

SOME APRIL SHOWS IN THE POLLEN

Starting TOMORROW Thursday 10/04 at De Koer, Ghent: BROAD SHOULDERING with Able Noise, Nina Garcia and DJ Workshop + XOX~ Springing times in the Ghentian courtyard straddling the shoulders of giants! Once again, we're visited by Able Noise rolling and rollicking with their trademark exploratory impetus while Nina Garcia rips up amp guts and eardrums through her blasting guitar free falls. To top it all off, DJ Workshop and XOX will bring on new tides of neuro-enhancing audio/visual awakenings.

And Saturday April 19 at VOLTA, Brussels: Futura Resistenzation with HWYUIOD, Jeugdbrand and Roxane Métayer ~ A second collab with Brussels' darlingest (and most prolific) avant-garde label two years after the last Futura Resistenzatron at Au Kalme <3 This time KRAAK & FR join forces with AB and Volta to throw together a dual release party for the upcoming record newness: on the Futura side, the inane piano thumping poetry of Antwerpian icons Jeugdbrand, while on the KRAAK side a new opus natura by Roxane Métayer, with the whole colossus flanked by the strange French post-rock improvisations of HHWYUIOD.

All past future present concert info HERE! We’ll be taking a break from shows in May as we prep something bigBIG in June, some come lest you start missing us too much.

NEW RELEASE ALERT: ROXANE METAYER - CHÊNE

KRAAK is proud to release French multidisciplinary artist Roxane Métayer’s latest LP, a precious artefact of totemic modulations unearthed from winds and words ~Chêneis collection of imitated chants and sung songs that, while they speak of real species and elements, are above all imagined tales. Métayer’s ever-present and polymorphous violin adds a wandering touch to the pieces, while other instruments that shape the environment and setting of these stories. Bells, bird calls, whistles, flutes, jaw harp, harmonica — all imitate more or less imaginary species. Each has its role and its life, down to the horsehair of the bow that rubs the strings of the violin to bring forth the sound.

Chêne is out May 15, but you can already pre-order and pre-listen on our Bandcamp this way! Some exclusive first copies will be available at the Volta show, as if there wasn’t reason enough to go 👀

ORDS & ERDS

• RADIO ROUNDUP: A couple of mentions of present/past ~ 10pm tonight on LYL Radio, associated sounds that could very well be the soundtrack to this newsletter! With tunes by Able Noise, Nina Garcia and an exclusive extra Roxane Métayer track, as well as some British sinkhole experimentation, Chinese guitar distortions, continental percussive electronics and much else to talk about, tonight at 10pm and on the Lyl archives tomorrow onwards. And last week on Radio Panik, DB popped her solo De Neus Van God cérise with a special on Japanese jazz (while GG was incidentally out living the experience in the far East!) ~ a rollercoaster of wild, spiritual and uniquely nipponian outlooks in the jazz world, listenable online here. Next Kiosk slot is Wednesday 16, and I guess we’re planning something for it, while we’ll be doing some recapping on DNVG this Friday ~ stay tuned and check all shows on our RADIO tab!
• Speaking of recapping: KRAAK Fest photos are here and have been making the round for a while, with the great Hans Van Der Linden artfully encapsulating our yearly gathering for us to look back fondly (and gigglingly) on.
• Last month’s show at Grambacht was really something special, with some of us jetlagged beyond recognition and others putting on a brave face on stage despite the belly ache. Amazing performances by Liegenaar and Leandro Barzabal + Céleste Gatier, and a wonderful exhibition (still viewable?) by Sam Rees, Manuel Padding and Baas Zontjens. Subscribe to their mailing list for more grambachting in the coming months ~ never no subsidies not stopping nobody <3333