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ANTON MAIOF Acousmatic Composer Anton Maiof - known as the frontman of artful Bristol
noise-rockers Geisha, for solo work as My Ambulance Is On Fire and as
a member of Bronnt Industries Kapital - talks about the development
of his latest project DTV, and its key hand built component 'The Orgoneophone'. |
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ARNAUD REBOTINI From disco to death metal, the Black Strobe main man's eclectic tastes
cover many bases. Here the Gallic producer goes future primitive. No
laptops, just vintage live electro/techno from his bank of analogue
synths and drum machines. Releases on Vitalic's Citizen Records, Goodlife
and Kling Klong. |
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ARTAMANOVA feat. JONNY MATTOCK (ex-Spaceman 3/Spiritualized/Lupine Howl) Conjures dirty great riffs alongside expansive atmospieces. From Russia
via Bristol, she appears in hysterical art-noise duo Staff Panic Only
Wall Unit and solo as White Nightie. This guise sees her on that wild
edge between acoustic folk and low-tech electronics - in exclusive collaboration
with JONNY MATTOCK, a master of drone-rock metronomy who kept things
locked for both Spaceman 3 and Spiritualized when both bands were at
their fiery, fuzzy peak. |
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BANJO OR FREAKOUT Bedroom explosions of broken analogue-hearted melody and splendour,
casting one errant eye out upon the same lovelorn, dub-drizzled plains
as Arthur Russell. |
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BLACK DEVIL DISCO CLUB Deep, irresistable glitterball noir from enigmatic Frenchman Bernard
Fevre, who formed the Disco Club in the late-seventies heyday of the
genre. Rephlex Records rediscovered Fevre's work and found it a new,
post-millenial dancefloor populated by disco kids looking for the 'freak'
in 'freak-out'. It's here, kids. Fill your cosmic boots. |
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BLAZEY Bristol resident and crowd murker extraordinaire, Blazey has been here
since the birth of grime. Instigator of the mighty Subloaded night with
DJ Pinch and the newest addition to the H.E.N.C.H family, he pledges
to duppy Venn with a mish mash of thunderous grime, bassline and dubstep. |
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THE BLESSING Red hot Bristol jazzers with experience alongside Portishead, Robert
Plant and the Super Furry Animals, sucking in deep and exhaling startlingly
fresh gusts of brass-rock energy. Widescreen and future/retro but no
subtitles needed. |
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BOP Bristol based multi-disciplined artists Kathy Hinde and Teresa Dillon
create special visual-sound pieces with a theatrical and electro-acoustic
inspired twist. Here with N.I.P. |
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BUCKY The wildest, funnest two-piece pop/punk juggernaut in this or any state
return to rollick Venn. Definitely a case of better late than never
- Simon & Joff will have even the most timid crowd giggling, moshing
and scratching their collective bonce at the sheer speed, energy and
undisguised JOY of it all. Get Bucked. |
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CAMPARI SAFARI Here from London town to bang the box, having played host to unhinged
hoedowns at The Lock Tavern and Hoxton Bar and guested on BBC Radio
6. A fidget / acid 88 / distortion / techno / french touch love-in -
or something to that effect. |
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CHEW MAGNA ‘I took a trip to the country, got lost, and ended up at a techno
rave near Chew Magna…’ The husky-voiced Master Chaynjis
singer meets Buoyancy main man Lukas and sparks fly. A jacking hybrid
of scuzzed up electro, glitterball indie and farmhouse cider. All roads
lead to North Somerset. |
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CHIK BUDO Spiky young UK buccaneers with the dancefloor in their pocket but room
for more. Channelling Lightning Bolt, Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem
into a fearsome compound of bass, rhythm and no-wave noise with double-headed
sax power. Skronk party. |
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CHRIS CUNDY Single reed avant-wind blower. The man who puts the guile into The
Guillemots draws all hell, parp and thunder from a bass clarinet the
size of a man. |
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COREY ORBISON Jittery no-wave with cut-up tunes and a nervous energy inherited from
the stripped-down disco-thèque. Impulsive, rhythmic/off-rhythmic
and erratic, the three-piece group boasts members of Headfall, Lesbo
Pig and The Awkward Dancers. |
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DAMIEN SCHNEIDER Simplexity….an idea explored in Schneider's pursuit of the perfect
balance between high-energy rhythms, elegant melodies, minimal sounds
and full-on tracks. Floating somewhere between absolute control and
improvised explosion, his marathon late night sets are legendary. |
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DAVE CRIDGE Born & bred Bristolian Cridge found his musical roots in the late
80's alongside the seminal westside likes of DJ Die, The Wild Bunch
and Smith & Mighty. Finding his groove in the rave scene, Cridge
played at classic nights like Universe and Helter Skelter, and was also
warm up DJ for The Prodigy - not to mention cutting globetrotting rhythms
with Up, Bustle & Out and setting up Tribe Recordings (now with
a dubstep arm, Tribe Steppaz). Here at Venn to give us a history lesson
in drum & bass. |
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DAVID HOPKINSON Artist, curator and mischief-maker David Hopkinson presents an intimate
and humorous video-turntablist rove through his extensive audio/visual
archives, reworking the familiar and fresh from years of obsessive collecting
and constructing. Expect expertly manipulated moments from sundry sources
including previous Venns, plus re-cut-up films and friends. |
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DIRTY ELECTRONICS ENSEMBLE Workshop followed by live performance led by John Richards, who brings
his dirty electronics aesthetic to Venn in the form of the Sudophone:
a DIY electronic instrument made from a junk tin can, oscillator and
grip bolt. Come join the ensemble. A unique opportunity to make your
own instrument and take part in a large group performance. The performance
will include specially written pieces for the ensemble and instrument
by Merzbow, Howard Skempton (founder of the Scratch Orchestra), Nic
Bullen (ex Napalm Death and Scorn) and Gabriel Prokofiev. |
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DJ FETT The 7" smasher from Berlin is coming to get you. DJ Fett is not
afraid of getting his hands dirty - which is why he is able to concoct
an enticing brew of crackling old soul 45s, strange beat, ecstatic jazz
and German curiousities. |
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ERGO PHIZMIZ 'Forest: Part One' Sound art's ingenious crown-freak conjures an enchanted Bavarian woodland
made of twigs, cutlery, mechanical birds and constant, ever-evolving
sound – and puts it in a room for Venn to enjoy. A three-day sonic
fairytale installation at the Scout Hut. |
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ERRORSMITH One half of legendary jacking cut-up techno duo Smith N Hack, Berlin's
Errorsmith does it just as well on his own: rattling raw glitch-funk,
fractured disco and crunchy house textures slapped about on the fly.
From the city that knows how. |
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EVIL KITTY DJS The only way to make the Venn finale make sense is to enlist these
freak-rock-funk connoisseurs. OK, so it's..sitar swirlers, glam glitches,
Turkish delights, Dutch nightmare funk, folk-rock flavours, pan-global
psychedelic beats 'n' pieces and flat-out fuzz and hammond abuse. |
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FLYING LOTUS From the family that brought you John and Alice Coltrane, self-schooled
in Dre, J Dilla and dubstep. we give you Warp's Flying Lotus: a consumate
LA craftsman delivering a live masterclass in beat machine bug-out and
woozy electro jams. Has reshaped Kelis, Madvillain and Mr Oizo to great
effect. Known to sink boats with his snares. |
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FUCK BUTTONS A bloodied but blissed-out smile of a sound from former Bristol homeboys
signed to ATP. A truly exciting post noise/rave outfit that galvanises
the UK's disparate underground music scenes. |
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HAMMERFEST by I Am The Mighty Jungulator & Stephen Ireland An unique blend of film, philosophy, literature and music, 'Hammerfest'
is a remarkable re-imagining of the films of English silent-cinema pioneer,
RW Paul. Using material from Paul's films and featuring an original
IATMJ score as well as a Stephen Ireland narrative, Hammerfest explores
Paul's work in the context of the environmental crisis, the philosophy
of Martin Heidegger, and the folk-tale 'Snow White'. The result develop
Paul's work into a metaphor for humankind's narcissistic relationship
with the natural world. |
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HAUSCHKA Captivating Dusseldorf-based virtuoso who opens up his piano and playfully
performs public operations on its innards using guitar strings, gaffer
tape and other bits of junk. John Cage, Eric Satie and Indonesian gamelan
all get a look in. |
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THE HEADS One of thee most consistently brilliant live act from Bristol in the
last twenty years. The Heads in the flesh are a howling cyclone of psychedelic
riffage that will blow everything from the neck upwards clean off -
so enjoy their eye-popping light show while you can. A rock band, you
might say. |
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THE HELIOCENTRICS A BIG band Venn highlight. This is a voyage into the real funkadelic
shit from DJ Shadow's backing band. Saturated by the eternal groove,
brimming with blown brass, hip-hop percussion and sample heavy vistas.
Fans of Madlib, Ennio Morricone, James Brown and Portishead raise yr
hands. 'Out There' out on Stones Throw. |
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INFINITE LIVEZ VS STADE FEAT. JOY FREMPONG Big Dada's puppet-wielding scourge of play-it-safe hip hop clubs together
with his buddies, Swiss electro/jazz upstarts Stade. Like Roots Manuva
caving in to the chaos. |
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JOANIE LEMERCIER (ANTI VJ) .Now focused on projections on volume, visual artist Joanie Lemercier
has moved away from conventional 4:3 screens to using the actual architecture
of a building/object/shape. His work explores the relations between
projected light, optical illusions and perception. For this special
collaboration with Murcof he will use the planetarium dome as a canvas. |
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JOE HART Minimal fuss from this ex-Bristol dweller and resident of Bloc/Baselogic,
Normalise and Westcountry Shakedown: just an arsenal of the choicest
android funk, chunky italo and deadly disco firepower, patched together
with a certain suave finesse by this field marshall of the freak zone.
Handclaps at ten paces. |
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JOHN FAIRHURST Cut-glass English guitar folk with vibrant shades of Indian classicism.
Fairhurst's debut album 'Joys Of Spring' was recorded in his shed, but
is very much global in its scope. Different strokes recall Ravi Shankar,
John Fahey and Burt Jansch, yet Fairhurst is taking his own distinctive
strides. |
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JOHN WALL A championed neo-classical sample collagist turned perennial sonic
manipulator, sharing and breaking noise with friends the world over.
Wall runs the gamut of the frequencies for Venn. |
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K.NERS A homegrown hip hop treat. K.NERS is the prize nag in the Cristal City
stable, responsible for the finest raw raps and bumping West Coast beats
to have emerged from these parts since Aspects. Hotfooting back from
recording a Radio 1 live session just for us. |
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KOEN HOLTKAMP Detailed fields of electronic rituals from a core member of key US
outfit Mountains. Clear and lush horizontal soundscapes and luminous
collages from subtly tweaked guitar and field recordings. |
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LAZERBOY Lazerboy lives in a neon bunker & likes italo, electro, cosmic
disco & romantic techno. Sometimes he leaves the bunker to play
his favourite records for other people. |
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LE VOLUME COURBE Art house song par excellence. Charlotte Marionneau and her band channel
the spirit of Nico, The Ramones and Yoko Ono into beautiful new songs.
Her songs are full of sun drenched rooms and spooky corridors, occasionally
she opens doors to let in friends such as Kevin Shields, Hope Sandoval
and Keith Tenniswood. |
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MATMOS WITH J. LESSER A rare UK appearance for the supremely intricate electronix hi-jinx
duo. Bjork's favourite sailors of sample culture's seas present concepts
and sounds carefully dissected, assembled and sequenced into outlandish
but frankly awe-inspiring tracks. Poetical, political and beat savvy,
San Fran's most mischievous are touting synth-tastic new album 'Supreme
Balloon'. |
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MC MABON AKA Gruff Meredith: formerly 'G-Man' in legendary Welsh politico hip-hop
outfit Tystion, andgenre-hopper par excellence. His idiosyncratic take
on Welsh life is these days rooted in a fertile (though slightly pongy)
bed of anarchic guitarrista-rockabilly-rap. His latest album, 'Jonez
Williamz', was recorded in the small Patagonian desert town of Gaiman-
the first Welsh-language record to be made in the former Wels colony.
Expect tales of mad dogs, air hostesses, and an unhealthy farm machinery
fetish. |
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MOHA! A jaw-dropping trainwreck at the junction of punk, skrunk and electronix
from two crazed Norwegian spirits with links to Jaga Jazzist and Noxagt.
Irresistable churning tides of the good hard stuff. |
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MORITZ VON OSWALD This is deep. He of Basic Channel and Rhythm and Sound who reinvented
techno and dub, laying the sleek and seminal guidelines for minimal
technoids such as Hawtin and Villalobos to ghost along in later years.
Nowadays this dance music legend is more dubbed-up than ever. |
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MUNCH MUNCH Tenderfoot two-cum-foursome working to a gloriously corrupted pop logic,
with Vitamin C synths and poly-rhythms beaten out on the rim of chaos
via 2 drumkits. Venn opens the trapdoor to yet more Bristol weirdness
and it's a wonderful thing. |
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MURCOF The consummate Mexican king of rich, drone-laden techno timbre plays
two very special audio-visual shows at the At-Bristol Planetarium. |
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NANCY ELIZABETH She has one the most gently powerful voices, her folk is enchanted
but matter of fact and her arrangements are to die for. Nancy Elizabeth
is going to be backed by drummer and multi-instrumentalist Paddy Steer
to make the music even more luscious and vivacious. She will steal your
heart and amuse. |
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OCTOBER Julian Smith and his Caravan label are under eager watch. Under the
guise of October he combines forensic sampling and audio recording with
a radical remodelling of the synthetic and rhythmic principles of techno
music. Absorbing fractured beats and Perlon-esque vocal edits he has
swung dancefloors in Berlin and Bristol. |
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OLO WORMS Stream of consciousness daydreams punctuated with found sounds, flights
of surrealist fancy, field recordings and tuti-fruiti sing-songs from
the sprawling multi-media collective that is Olo Worms. |
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PAUSAL Micro-orchestral insect music played with beautiful economy and minimalist
repetition. Has played with Stars Of The Lid and released on Highpoint
Lowlife. Joined by dreamy moving images. |
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PEVERELIST The Punch Drunk Records boss also releases advanced dubstep and is
a killer DJ. Arriving at a sound which references dubstep, techno and
electronica whilst remaining thoroughly unique. He has re-mixed Pole,
his releases on Skull Disco get caned by Luciano and Surgeon, and he
moves air with bass. |
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PHILIP JECK Turntable/vinyl obsessive but not your average crate digger. This renowned
sound artist coaxes eerie half-remembered textures from the surface
noise and locked grooves of junk shop vinyl. A master of the art of
decay like Fennesz or William Basinksi. |
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PHIL MINTON'S CENTURY FC 100 feral voices from Bristol's communities, all trained by vocalist
extraordinaire Phil Minton, and given a platform to perform their unique
composition. Really like nothing you will ever hear again. A unique
set of voices go in discovery of the instinctive and unusual with startling
results. MORE |
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POLE Heavy pulsating 21st century dubness from the ~scape label boss. A
huge influence on a whole new generation of computer musicians, this
is warm-blooded machine funk that inhabits the cracks between dub-step,
techno and the art of glitch. |
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PUNKSI Course he had to play. A gloriously sketchy stew of Balkan, dubstep,
house, breakcore, blagbeat, (Sea)bass and whatever random discs of fun
lurk on the floor in his car. ADD'd and proud of it. Venn calls him
family. |
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RACHEL UNTHANK & THE WINTERSET Forging links between the folk worlds old, new and other, Rachel and
her set have blown a bracing north-easterly gale through traditional
English song, casting it in an endlessly inventive and playful new mould. |
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SKELETONS & THE KINGS OF ALL CITIES Like the Dirty Projectors, New Yorkers the Skeletons smash pop into
base particles and reconstitute it with love. Languid funk/soul figures,
glory jazz, afrobeat and Animal Collective mania wrapped up in a sweet
fleshy mass. |
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SIMON WHETHAM The sounds of the rainforest replayed in high definition. Sound recordist/artist
supported by Venn on his trip to the Amazon Rainforest region of Brazil
as part of the Mamori Sound Project, who took part in a residential
field recording workshop based there as run by Francisco Lopez. These
recordings document his amazing experience. |
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SNORKEL A six piece serve ball into territories such as afro-kraut and post-jazz-rock
and electronica. Infused with tribal undertow and sonic atmospheres
this band come at us from all areas. |
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'SPEND THE AFTERNOON WITH SUNBURNED' with THE MICHAEL FLOWER BAND + ICE BIRD SPIRAL + SUNBURNED SIDE PROJECTS This band of brothers/sisters follows no rules. This very afternoon,
they are launching into new projects, solo shows and bringing in special
guests. We know there will be ecstatic rock, wild drone and electronics.
The performances could also involve The Drifter, theatre, comedy, The
Clear People, films and action painting. They do their own thing so
well, Venn has given them the boat. Highly recommended. |
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SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN Raw freak out. Playing Venn In FULL band mode and special unit sets.
This set of maverick music makers unleash a vast sound - from short
and sweet sonic assaults to crazed funk jams and sprawling half-hour
rockers. Like a wild jungle river, you never know what is round the
bend. The real deal. |
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TIGHT FIT Shake it all up at high velocity. These two ladies squeeze out booty
shake and electro anthems for MonkeyKnifeFight!. They bang faces and
make Lions roar where ever they drop. |
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TOKTEK 'Illogical hardware bending' from this Dutch sonic scientist, The outcomes
or electronic 'songs' are played via hacked joysticks and various objects
(plastic toys, records etc), creating wild tracks with colourful visual
impact. |
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TRACTOR Hardcore sound colour saturation from Bristol's scorching and embattled
3 piece. Wake up and smell the oil. |
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TWOCSINAK The tears of this clown run down his long cheek. A sonic manipulator
whose mischievous, self-obsessed and carefully constructed sound world
is delivered live in manners most surprising. Bound to beautifully dada
up the place. |
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UBERDOG A driving force behind Bristol's notorious Toxic Dancehall parties
and culture portal spannered.org, Uberdog's DJ sets are like Haile Selassie
cross-pollinating Chas & Dave with the World Heavyweight Wrestling
Championship. |
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THE WAILINGEST CATS From out of nowhere and everywhere comes a very cinematic shake down
of rockin' ramshackle, doom-jazz hell-bebop. Hard, angular guitars,
hip rhythms, crushing keys and sax are deployed with beatific decorum.
Howl. |
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WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS Tremendously hot, exotic property. A boy and a girl from Sweden sing
sweet and raw. Newly signed to Leaf, with songs that melt down glaciers.
Mary Margaret O'Hara with whiskey or Kate Bush with wings. |
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ZUNZUNEGUI Bristol-based band who mark a wild, musically lawless and HIGHLY danceable
path somewhere between El Guincho and Oxbow. Throw in Konono No. 1 melodic
surges, Boredoms-like sonic barrages and Kushal Gaya, a totemic Mauritian
frontman who prowls his stage domain like a wounded panther. |
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