Druga Godba has, over its 33-year history, built a reputation as one of the most important music festivals in Central Europe. Its overall concept, variety of new approaches and enthusiasm for “discovering” less well-known music from across the globe is unique to this part of the world. Over two days, the festival stage at Kino Šiška will feature Norwegian Jenny Hval with one of last year’s best albums, singer and activist against violence against women Inna Modja, Slovenian trio Širom with brand new material, returning guest Yasmine Hamdan with a new album, and Love and Revenge, a Lebanese project at the intersection of contemporary electronica and traditional folk music. Special Kino Šiška package tickets for all the concerts at Kino Šiška available!
Friday, 26. 5. 2017
20:00 Jenny Hval
21:30 Inna Modja
The Norwegian artist drew broader attention with her two most recent albums, Apocalypse, Girl (2015) and especially Blood Bitch (2016), which made it onto numerous best-of-2016 lists (10., The Quietus;4., The Independent; 23., Pitchfork; 26., The Guardian). The album, inspired by “bloody” themes – vampires, menstruation and 1970s horror flicks – continues to receive accolades in 2017, including the Phonofile Nordic Music Prize. Even though she might at first glance seem a newcomer, Jenny Hval gained a lot of experience touring smaller clubs before her big break, including the Mlade rime poetry festival in Menza pri koritu in 2012.
West Africa has always made its presence felt at Druga Godba and it arrives at this year’s festival with a new voice. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary pop, with strong shades of hip-hop, soul and the music of her homeland, Mali (Oumou Sangaré appears on Inna’s most recent album, Motel Bamako), this is an artist with a defiant message and a burning desire to challenge preconceptions. Rarely have personal experiences been shared more openly and bravely on stage or on record.
Saturday, 27. 5. 2017
20:30 Širom
21:45 Yasmine Hamdan
23:15 Love & Revenge
The early performances of this young Slovenian band suggested that were witnessing the birth of three singular, homegrown talents – and so it has proved. Iztok Koren, Ana Kravanja and Samo Kutin play with a quiet intensity beyond their years, vastly outnumbered on stage by their instruments, many of which are homemade but originate from places far from home, with melodies and rhythms to match. Their first album soon followed, as did a superb performance at the MENT Ljubljana showcase festival, which also caught the attention of the international press. Druga Godba will be the site of their new ritual, Lahko sem glinena mesojedka, the latest chapter in the wonderfully compelling novel that is Širom.
We first got to know Yasmine Hamdan when she made a cameo appearance in Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, which was followed by a feature-length appearance at Druga Godba two years later. This modern voice of the Arabic world has become even more musically expressive on her most recent album, which is (unsurprisingly) full of surprises: a tasty mix of acoustic and electronics that slips beneath the skin and sneaks its way into your heart. As the artist herself says, it’s a celebration of beauty and imperfection, femininity and womanhood. The springtime return of a restless spirit and musical nomad, in her rightful place on the main stage.
If Lebanese duo Rayess Bek and La Mirza, hip-hop pioneer and visual artist respectively, were in any doubt that they’d managed to create one of the most intriguing all-round live performances since Gotan Project, they’d only have to look out at the ecstatic young crowds, from Beirut to Paris, who have recently been grooving to their wicked blend of Arabic popular music and the golden age of Egyptian film. Omar Sharif on screen, Yasmine Hamdan on the dancefloor, love and revenge in your heart.
Organisation: Druga Godba in coproduction with Kino Šiška.
