Discovery Festival

Demdike Stare (Live A/V)

Borne to childhood friends Sean Canty and Miles Whittaker in Manchester back in 2008, Demdike Stare is the duo’s occult-themed collaboration that fuses their voracious appetite for vinyl and obscure hardware with a visual archive of VHS film into a stark, yet ethereal landscape of ambient drone, industrial, psychedelic, and more recently dub-techno sounds. With each of their releases – full albums Symbiosis, Tryptych and Elemental, as well as their exploratory Testpressing series for Modern Love – Demdike Stare catalogue an immersive and transformative musical journey that can be as soothing as it is brutal. Taking time out of their incredibly busy schedules, the pair will be performing their acclaimed audio-visual live set to an Amsterdam audience for the first time ever.

Lust For Youth

With the release of International in 2014, Lust For Youth mastermind and frontman Hannes Norvide made a sudden and unexpected turn. Previously known for his cold and solemn, reverb-drenched lo-fi sensibilities, the Posh Isolation and Sacred Bones associate linked up with longtime live collaborator and Posh Isolation boss Loke Rahbek and guitarist Malthe Fischer to produce a vibrant synth-pop masterpiece in the vein of 80’s icons Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys and New Order. Suffice it to say that when Lust For Youth takes the stage at Discovery you’ll be offered a brief, hedonistic respite to cut completely loose.

Title: M.E.S.H. (Live)

Since his move across the pond, Berlin-based U.S. expat James Whipple has been at the forefront of explorations into the burgeoning field of club culture. Releasing as M.E.S.H., his debut Scythians for fellow Berlin renegades PAN last year, united a vast network of club-oriented sounds – Berlin techno, British electronica and London grime to name but a few. This year’s full-length follow up, Piteous Gate, has already been hailed as a groundbreaking record, venturing into depths of sound design previously unheard. Add to that his residency alongside the likes of Lotic and Kablam at the now infamous Berlin night Janus, and you can be sure you’re in store for a sensory discovery you’d never dreamed of before.

Shadowed (Live)

Making their live debut at Incubate just a week prior to Discovery Festival, Shadows is the new collaborative project of Amsterdam-based upstarts Pepijn Gaalman and Casimir Geelhoed, otherwise known to their audience as Lemontrip and HOEK respectively. Aptly titled, the self-described ‘hobby’ project remains shrouded in mystery, the only soundbite out there being the ominous backing track to this year’s Discovery Festival teaser. But if their Fog Mountain releases as Lemontrip and HOEK are anything to go by, count on a maelstrom of meticulously produced club constructions that shy away from the light.

Malawi

What started as a collective of like-minded fellows spinning their favorite records at the original Basis digs on the Vijzelstraat has gotten well out of hand. Following lauded sets at many a club and festival around the country, the three- or four- or five- or whatever constellation show up on the night-piece were promoted to TrouwAmsterdam residents in the club’s final summer and have become a staple of Amsterdam nightlife ever since. From scoring a heady night of experimental sounds at Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ to capping off an electrifying club night, Malawi are as versatile as the sum of their varied parts. And while you may never know which Malawi you’re going to get, one thing’s for certain, you’ll never be disappointed.

Orpheu the Wizard!

Working behind the scenes as co-founder of Red Light Radio, initiator of vinyl haven Red Light Records alongside Tako and graphic designer for Rush Hour and Dekmantel, Orpheu de Jong has a formidable and direct if somewhat concealed impact on the local music scene for the past decade. That said, the past 6 months have seen a dramatic shift. With an unparalleled knack for uncovering the most of obscure of musical gems and weaving them into his infectiously eclectic sets, he’s been toting his The Wizard! alter-ego to popular acclaim at all manner of festivals – Pitch, Het Kabinet, Dekmantel AND Mysteryland. Witness the resurgence of one of Amsterdam’s finest selectors.