State-X New Forms

Eleven years into its mission to promote avant-garde rock, cutting-edge electronic music, and art, this festival remains as unpredictable and enamoured of uncompromising artists as ever. So many eventual superstars have graced their stages over the years (e.g. Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Sonic Youth), you’d be silly to expect anything other than a peek into the future

12-13 December – The Hague

Texts by Carly Blair

Chicks on Speed

The new album from these multimedia pop deconstructionists, Artstravaganza, features contributions from collaborators like Yoko Ono and Julian Assange, as well as some of their most ambitious work yet.

//www.youtube.com/embed/qGLCahyRFBQ

Hiss Golden Messenger

MC Taylor fronted The Court & Spark before relocating to North Carolina and forming Hiss Golden Messenger, whose countrified folk rock is as easygoing and enjoyable as a backyard barbecue.

//www.youtube.com/embed/Hkdsr-NpyDI

Atari Teenage Riot

After disbanding in 2000, these German electropunks returned in 2010, their hyperactive mix of techno, hip hop, speed metal and punk having lost none of its radical fervour in the meantime.

//www.youtube.com/embed/nyaIcfemaEg

Rich Aucoin

Something like a more earnest Dan Deacon, this Canadian makes hyperactive, Technicolor, life-affirming synth pop, and his euphoric, highly interactive live shows are the stuff of legeng.

//www.youtube.com/embed/OCu1geUteZM

Thus: Owls

Montreal-based husband-wife duo Thus: Owls’ experimental folk strikes a nice balance between warmth and melodrama. Their new album, Turning Rocks, was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize.

//www.youtube.com/embed/-Xpw4A7sREI

Mouse On Mars

This veteran German electronic duo has mastered the art of reinventing themselves, dabbling in everything from IDM to krautrock, disco and ambient with consistently exciting results.

//www.youtube.com/embed/DhA34L5y0nc

 
 For more information and tickets: www.state-xnewforms.nl