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International electro-pop stars headline Stimul Fest

For three weekends, experiments in sound

By Tony Ozuna
For The Prague Post
October 3rd, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Avant-garde guitarist Fred Frith plays the final night of the festival.
Stimul Festival

When: Oct. 6, 13, 20 and 21
Where: Divadlo Archa
Tickets: 290 Kč in advance, 350 Kč at the door, available through Ticketpro, Tickeportal and at the venue
For more information, check www.stimul-festival.cz or www.archatheatre.cz

With the motto “experiment is the future mainstream,” the Stimul Festival brings to Prague some of the best contemporary musicians who are merging experimental and improv rock, jazz and electronica into their own unique forms. This fall’s concerts, on three successive weekends at Archa Theater, all feature first-rate acts.
Headlining the opening show (Oct. 6) is the German trio Kreidler, playing a remarkable minimalist and futuristic electro-pop music. Kreidler has developed a wide appeal, almost like a new Kraftwerk with stunning videos to match its music. The threesome has performed live throughout Europe, Asia and North America in techno dance clubs, rock clubs and classical concert halls. It’s played the prestigious Sonar and Roskilde festivals, as well as museums and galleries, including New York City’s MOMA and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Opening acts for this night include the experimental electro-folk singer Hans Appelqvist from Sweden, a hip-hop/electro-rocking Polish jam band called Bassisters Orchestra and Italian DJ Okapi.
The following weekend’s show (Oct. 13) features what should be the highlight of the festival, the enigmatic Japanese guitarist and noise master Keiji Haino. Now in his mid-50s, Haino records for the famed Japanese label Psychedelic Speed Freaks, and has been playing more or less the same wall of noise for over 30 years. He always dresses in black, wears black sunglasses and keeps the concert rooms pitch-black for his shows. Haino’s fury on the electric (or even acoustic) guitar is unmatched; lately, he is also assaulting the keyboard and other instruments. Though he is a devout Buddhist who insists that his music is meditative, Haino plays it at an ear-piercing level, so be forewarned. Don’t bring flashlights; candles are usually set on the stage.
Opening for Haino are two noteworthy acts. My Cat is an Alien is a glamorously noisy rock-star/sound performance improv duo, brothers Maurizio and Roberto Opalio from Turin, Italy. Trapist, a highly regarded trio led by Vienna-based guitarist Martin Siewert, plays a more minimalist space-rock soundscape with electronic gadgets galore and occasional noisy or straight-up jazz grooves.
The third weekend offers two nights of music. The first (Oct. 20) will be another sound assault with the hard-driving, progressive hip-hop group Dalek from Newark, New Jersey, which brings together the urgency and lyrical attack of Public Enemy with a solid backbeat, topped off with static guitar fuzz and straight-up noise a la Glenn Branca. In their mellower moments, Dalek moves into a darker ambient zone with shards of an industrial groove, mixed in with a toned-down and more decipherable rap attack, yet still with verbal venom.
Opening for Dalek is an improv electro-jazz supergroup, Regenorchester XII, featuring trumpeter Franz Hautzinger, who has played extensively and recorded with Derek Bailey, guitarist Otomo Yoshihide of the New Jazz Orchestra, Christian Fennesz on free-form noise-laptop, bassist Luc Ex of the legendary Dutch punk band The Ex and modern jazz drummer Tony Buck from The Necks. Also on this evening’s bill, is MoHa!, a very noisy duo from Norway via Berlin and Afghanistan.
The second night (Oct. 21) features the godfather of avant-garde guitarists, Fred Frith from the United Kingdom, best-known as a founder of the English art rock group Henry Cow. Frith has worked with Bill Laswell (in a trio called Massacre), Brian Eno and the Residents, as well as Iva Bittová. Opening for Frith will be French guitarist Noel Akchote, who leans into avant-garde and melodic improvisation with equal zeal.
With the wide spectrum of musicians playing under the umbrella of the Stimul Festival this year, there is something for everyone — provided your taste runs to nondiluted improv and a good dose of noise.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at tempo@praguepost.com


Other articles in Tempo (3/10/2007):

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