Roly Porter + A Winged Victory For The Sullen +Thomas Ankersmit + Illuminine + Prairie

Roly Porter started his career as one half of the groundbreaking duo Vex’d. His solo work blends contemporary classical music with a post-human dystopian sound design. Not hindered by genres, his music shows influences from a dubby past as well as drones, science fiction soundtracks and folk. His second solo album Life Cycle of a Massive Star (Subtext) is a collaboration with Emptyset’s James Ginzburg, who created the album’s film. The result is an impressive experience where silence clashes with deafening noise set to an epic movie. Porter summons the immensity of the cosmos, and at the same time raises awareness of life’s transiency in a uncomfortably direct way.

Atomos is the second album by Erased Records’ A Winged Victory For The Sullen, the band of Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O’Halloran. Next to piano, drones and strings, the duo introduces more electronica, harp and modular synths into their sound. Atomos was originally created as the soundtrack for the eponymous performance by London-based Random Dance Company, led by choreographer Wayne McGregor. The result is an intense, layered and emotionally complex piece of work. 

Since 2006, sound artist Thomas Ankersmit (Amsterdam/Berlin) and his Serge Moduler synthesizer have been inseparable. During the first decade of his career, Ankersmit focused on installation art and live performances. Since 2010, he has released several albums on labels like Touch and PAN. When playing live, he mixes acoustic phenomena like reflection and vibration with a complex balance of drones, noise and sine wave sounds. With a little bit of concentration from the audience, Ankersmit’s perfect control of every tiny little sound will create an extraordinary experience for the listener. 

Illuminine started out as Leuven-based Kevin Imbrechts’ bedroom project, until Christophe Vandewoude (Isbells) joined in as producer. The two of them took to Sigur Rós’ Iceland studio to finish off the record, a dream come true for Imbrechts. However difficult to describe their sound, the Erased Tapes family comes to mind (Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, A Winged Victory for the Sullen). A clash between ambient and neoclassical. Less is more. At least in terms of sound, since Illuminine will play this gig with an extended line-up.

Prairie is a Brussels-based trio that sound post-everything: post-punk, post-rock, post-drone, post-noise, … blended into a filmic soundtrack of guitar and electronica. Their album I’m So In Love I Almost Forgot I Survived A Disaster proves that noise and melody can go weirdly hand in hand.

'Porter doesn’t just summon the epic scale of the cosmos; he uses it to tap into an awareness of mortality that cuts uncomfortably close to the bone.' (4.5/5, FACT)