The 35th Druga Godba festival will feature 16 concerts by artists from 11 countries and four continents across seven venues in Slovenia’s two largest towns. We will be joined by fast-rising London soul-Afrobeat collective Kokoroko, a group of Ukrainian purveyors of pagan rhythms with Slavic soul called DakhaBrakha, a gender-challenging artist from the heart of Brazil in Liniker e os Caramelows, the eclectic, cataclysmic rock virtuoso guitarist Yonatan Gat backed by the sounds of the American indigenous tradition, the new-old urban rhythms of South Africa’s Soweto with BCUC, and many others.
London-based quartet Ill Considered are well-known for the unplanned process of creation that goes into their work, and the fact that they do not converse between takes in the studio and never know quite where their playing will take them. The music is propelled along by a wide percussive range that deviates from expected rhythmic patterns and often features Middle Eastern styles. This is music that is untethered, minimal and subtle in equal measure, with a wild experimental streak that incorporates elements of electronic music.
Composer, trumpet player and Mercury Award nominee Laura Jurd is another representative of the latest insanely talented wave of young British musicians. She has recently made stops at all major points of the festival map, from Montreal via Molde to the North Sea Jazz Festival, and now it’s our turn. The five-star Guardian review for her debut, Together, As One, was just an appetiser for what was to come on Wonder Trail, her follow-up: delicate tones, a surfeit of imagination and a host of surprises as jazz meets synth pop and folk via lovingly crafted improvisation. This time, the young dinosaurs will breathe fire, strengthened by the presence of a DG favourite from years gone by, bassist Ruth Goller (Melt Yourself Down, Rokia Traoré).
With Yonatan Gat, something of a genre by himself, you get nothing less than a musician hell-bent on dissolving the border between audience and performer. His explosive live performances are famed for their terrifying bouts of improvisation, which border on performance art. His power trio will be joined on stage in Ljubljana by two musicians from the irrepressible indigenous American musical tradition.
Liniker’s sparkling presence and the band’s Afro-Brazilian take on soul and funk get even the shyest of audiences on their feet. Her expressive vocals challenge the prevailing social, gender and political norms – for to be poor, black and queer is Liniker’s source of power, which gives voice to marginal existences of all kinds. This group of musicians from both banks of the Amazon, headed by a 23-year-old trans artist with African roots, manages it all with lashings of colour and a firm belief in a world in which everyone can make their dreams come true. For Liniker and her Caramelows, there can be no rainbow too brightly coloured – so dress accordingly and come and join us for an evening to remember.
Tickets on sale online and at mojekarte.si outlets.
Organisation: Kino Šiška.
