On my travels back to the UK, my train of thought was focused on the electronic music diversity witnessed in the city of The Hauge. From the 8th-9th of April, I glimpsed at the anticipated Rewire festival, which took over 12 renowned venues in The Hauge (The Netherlands, near Amsterdam) – and blessed European music lovers with every single technical sound under the sun.
Rewire is a multi-venue, city festival dedicated to showcasing electronic music and all its types, artists and sounds. This year the festival started with top tier artists such as Marina Herlop, Aya ft. Sweatmother, Helm, Tirzah, our favourite from the weekend; Blackhaine. BFTT, Kode9 and the one everyone was waiting for… DEBONAIR.
Marina Herlop is a conservatory-trained composer, vocalist, and pianist, and was the first artist we witnessed at the festival. On the night she has recently expanded her sound set of tools to a more cybernetic side of music. Marina used processed human voices and synthetic electronics to play with konnakol syllables and Karnatic rhythms.
Then it was time for aya and Sweatmother to take to the stage of the main venue PAARD. Producer aya (formerly known as LOFT) has discovered ways to bend her poetry, voice, and production abilities into freakishly beautiful electronic songs, and that was surely the case during her set at Rewire 2022. aya distorted her club music origins into a nightmare realm of art and critique by fusing the growling low-frequency ranges of dubstep, grime, and drill with alienating sound design and hyper-personal lyrics.
On the Friday night at PAARD, the nighttime, hardcore ravers surfaced as the harder, more melodic music rose. This saw Tirzah perform in room one and built the night’s tensions with her sensuous harmonious warm-up set.
Then we ventured over to room two to see the highly-anticipated Blackhaine present artistic brilliance on the stage. As a performer, dancer, and musician, has re-established himself as one of the most ferocious representatives of the British counter-culture. A fantastic multidisciplinary artist who channels British despair and austerity in compelling and dramatic music, dance, and video work. On the night he and his two fellow musicians altered the vibe of the whole festival and morphed a moshpit, channelling his classic British traditions (you would have thought we were in the depths of the Manchester grime scene). Not only that, but Eartheta came out during the set to hype up the crowd – she jumped off the stage into a dive and was carried around the room like the Mama Racha she is!
Alongside the music entertainment, the festival also hosted many installations, film showcases, and even partnered with fashion label Carhartt for a Saturday afternoon of daytime raving in a local record shop called 3345. This was another of our favourite moments, especially when they spun out the classic ‘London Bridge’ by Fergie (we danced SO hard to this!)
Saturday’s favourite performances started with Eartheater ft. LEYA & guests took us on a glided journey between serene and turbulent sound sensations. Then witnessing Cobey Sey solo performance after his co-set with Tirzah the night before, he brought a whole new East London vocal element to the festival, reminiscent of our magazine hometown. After, Golin the Amsterdam-based Japanese-American artist blurred the lines between mainstream pop and envelope-pushing electronic music. Her physical aesthetic and persona resonated with us in a new light, as we now keep our eyes out for this artist.
Another highlight of Saturday was Kate Bush inspired artist Jenny Hval with her pop soundwaves. The Norwegian singer-songwriter has carved out her own distinct niche in the nexus of modern pop and avant-garde music, which was a sight to behold. As the sun sets on the city skyline more triumphant artists such as Chicago born and raised house artist Jana Rush, Southern trap, euro trance, stadium-sized EDM musician Evian Christ and the leading light of the London’s rave underground scene TSVI performed, and wow, we were wowed!
Seizing the slow vibes of Sunday, many of the day’s artists were matched perfectly with the festival atmosphere, bringing the weekend to a euphoric end. Japanese sound artist FUJI|||||||TA used his hand-built pipe organ on stage. The instrument has eleven pipes, a blacksmith’s air pump and no keyboard, making him one of the most unique artists on the Rewire line-up.
Then Debit from New York brought avant-garde production techniques into the fold of experimental and often club-focussed music. Her stage set-up was also loved by us, as she lit sage and other herbs while she played – giving a sense of her spirituality alongside the music. Speaking to her at the festival she comments, “when an artist is being their authentic self on stage it works best, especially with electronic music, there are so many elements that people forget and it’s important to showcase your personality within that performance.”
Oregon singer Grouper showcased her foggy veil of fuzzy static sound. Her emotionally penetrating melodies and dreamy vocals shine through the hazy sound design like dazzling stars on a foggy night. Then we heard SKY H1’s rave-crushed tunes, which blurred the borders between the thriving current club sounds of drum and bass, grime, dubstep, and techno. In a theatre set-up, the performance was emphasised by the intense strobe lighting, pulsating into our eyeballs.
Finishing the festival on a high, the well-known Italian composer Caterina Barbieri headlined the Amare concert hall. Her technical perception of sound is guaranteed and was not shy on the night. Caterina presented a site-specific show featuring new music and a rework for four voices by Evelyn Saylor of Ecstatic Computation’s opening track Fantas.
Already missing the eardrum smacks, dark rooms and intimidating strobe lights, memories sit with us that will be cherished forever thanks to Rewire 2022.