Last Day Deaf is more than proud to be one of the Media Partners for the 7th edition of SpaceFest!, SpaceFest! 2017, that will take place at Klub B90, Gdańsk, Poland within 1-2 December.
Within the following weeks, interviews will be hosted on LDD with all (hopefully!) of the festival’s participating bands (stay tuned!), a Q&A with the event’s organizers, a contest (within the weekend, that will run for 10 days), and a photo tribute post-event (fingers crossed!).
In addition, within the weekend, the press bio for all bands will get published in a separate post.
The event is co-organised by Nasiono Association in cooperation with the Łaźnia Centre For Contemporary Art and Klub B90.
SpaceFest! 2017 – Info
On 1–2 December, Gdańsk will host the 7th edition of SpaceFest! – a festival of psychedelia celebrating guitar distortions, noise drones and all other weird sounds created under the influence of mysterious energy from space.
This year, SpaceFest! is entering an entirely new orbit, with its new venue being the celebrated Klub B90!
Traditionally, fans of new psychedelia, Krautrock, space-rock and shoegaze will have their musical palates catered for. Festival-goers may be sure that the rich and varied line-up will provide ample opportunity to discover new artists, enjoy breath-taking visuals, immerse in the amazing, sizzling atmosphere, and spend two days in complete oblivion of the winter and cold outside.
The two days of concerts will be preceded by a workshop that will see the new incarnation of Pure Phase Ensemble –ephemeral group created specially for the festival. The musicians are going to rehearse for five days at the Łaźnia 2 Centre for Contemporary Art in the Nowy Port district of Gdańsk, The 2017 edition of Pure Phase Ensemble will be curated by Maciej Cieślak of the legendary Polish band Ścianka, who said: “We will try to invent music from scratch, and naturally fail at doing so, but let’s hope we create something interesting in the process.” Michał Gos (Oczi Cziorne, Lonker See) – one of the most prominent musicians of the Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia independent scene – will play the drums. We will also hear Nasiono Records’ very own Karol Schwarz (7faz, KSAS), who has been responsible for the musical cohesion of the PPE project from the very outset, play the bass guitar. The band’s line-up will be completed by young musicians from Poland and beyond. The effects of the workshop will be presented live on 2 December on the SpaceFest! stage in B90. The entire set will be recorded and released on CD in 2018. This will be an unforgettable edition of the Pure Phase Ensemble project!
Another band to make an appearance at SpaceFest! 2017 are Italy’s New Candys. This will be their first show in Poland. According to Drowned in Sound, New Candys sound like a “psychedelic power trip that demands your attention from its opening bars.” This is probably the first equally good and artistically moving thing that has happened to Venice since… Death in Venice.
10 000 Russos from Portugal are a formidable force within modern psychedelia; their industrial psych/post-punk has been charming fuzz-heads across the globe with its stomping, shamanic mantras and otherworldly krautrock slant. Just imagine how massive and mind-blowing it will sound at SpaceFest in B90 on 1 December – we get goosebumps at the mere thought. It will be ecstatic!
Fans of space-rock and Krautrock should enjoy the massive Mugstar, whose music is said to be the sound of 10,000 suns exploding and pulsating with repetitive beauty, like a sonic mantra. This music is fit to accompany you across oceans or deep into space. Mugstar set sail for the sun in 2002 and have since completed numerous voyages with the likes of Mogwai, Oneida and Acid Mothers Temple. The band recorded a radio session with the legendary John Peel in 2004 and have split releases with Mudhoney and Oneida.
Blind Butcher from Switzerland, on the other hand, will give us a stage explosion of space rock, glam rock, glitter, lycra and sequins – a mix that will definitely see some wild dancing and heat up the atmosphere.
Odd Couple is another band bound to give an energetic show. This duo from Berlin outgrew the age-old framework of guitar, bass and drums with a confident vehemence. Their new record breathes rock music, speaking the language of the Blues with riffs in widescreen and keyboards under the cover of night, but nevertheless structured by the skeleton of a modern interpretation of Krautrock and the repetitive punching beat of classic hip-hop productions.
In turn, Mexico’s Tajak will stage a noise-punk massacre with a touch of native tribal songs. Chaos, hypnosis, chords repeated until exhaustion and the sense of disorder. Tajak has been referred to in numerous ways, yet “apocalypse in the shape of sound” fits perfectly to what the band has achieved as their live reputation. With two albums and numerous EPs under their belts in less than three years, the band’s influences range from Stooges, CAN and Suicide, to indigenous chants and the raging screams from each member’s own mental disorders.
Another band to appear on the SpaceFest stage are Dead Rabbits from the UK. The group were one of the earlier Fuzz Club signings. Their sound takes the Brian Jonestown Massacre-inspired psychedelic rock sonic aesthetic and crashes it head on with Lou Reed’s simplistic guitar work and Jason Pierce’s absurd yet painfully human poetry.
The festival’s stage will also host two up-and-coming Polish bands that merit particular attention. 30 kilo słońca are a trio from Kołobrzeg, whose music combines elements of space-rock, improv and yass. Professional live performances and complex soundscapes are their trademark. The second Polish act are Wilcze Jagody – meaning Nela Gzowska, Ania Włodarczyk and Zosia Hołubowska – close friends in life, whose stage performances ooze their love for synth pop, shoegaze and 1980s sounds.
For anyone wanting to catch a breather between shows, the smaller room will offer film screenings and projections full of colourful, picturesque, and sometimes strongly surreal visions.
Regular guests of our festival will be happy to know that Dr Switchoff will return this year to close SpaceFest with his fantastically eclectic DJ set and absurd visuals.
Make sure to visit Gdańsk in the first weekend of December, come to SpaceFest! and experience a unique journey – not just through time, but also, perhaps more importantly, through space. The cosmos awaits!
SPACEFEST! 2017 LINE-UP
1 December 2017 | doors: 7 p.m.
New Candys (IT)
10 000 Russos (PT)
Wilcze Jagody (PL)
Dead Rabbits (UK)
Blind Butcher (CH)
2 December 2017 | doors: 7 p.m.
Mugstar (UK)
Pure Phase Ensemble 7 ft. Maciej Cieślak (PL/UK)
Odd Couple (DE)
Tajak (MEX)
30 kilo słońca (PL)
Dr. Switchoff (RU)
For more information on the festival, go to www.spacefest.pl
or www.facebook.com/spacefestpl/
Tickets are available from Soundrive Tickets and KupBilecik.pl
One-day tickets: PLN 25 (students – limited amount), PLN 35 (pre-order), PLN 45 (on the day)
Two-day tickets (pre-order only): PLN 60 (1st batch), PLN 75 (2nd batch)
SpaceFest! is organised by Nasiono Association in cooperation with the Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art and Klub B90. The festival is co-financed by the City of Gdańsk.
Our media partners: Radio Gdańsk S.A., Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto, Co Jest Grane 24, Trojmiasto.pl, Shameless Promotion, Drowned in Sound, Last Day Deaf, Róbmy dobrze, Full Moon Magazine, Uwolnij Muzykę!, Going.