Deepsky
Percussionist Koen Wijnen and guitarist Carmen Raats take you into their musical universe, where dark ambient textures and burrowing grooves take hold. Wijnen is a familiar face as the drummer of experimental trio Frimangron, a band that regularly invites guests to Paradox to create performances that find an exciting middle ground between composing and improvising. Carmen Raats, meanwhile, wields the axe in bands such as Witte Wieven and Scarlet Stories.
As Deepsky, these two musicians avidly court the cosmic and metaphysical, inspired by planets, micro universes and prehistoric eras; in other words, things that feel distant and abstract. Wijnen and Raats take you beyond time and space through their lush musical improvisations; you’ll shake your head in disbelief that only two musicians can produce such an abundance of sound and texture. A must-see for fans of the later Talk Talk material, Godspeed You! Black Emperor or And So I Watch You From Afar.
Ni
You wanna get nuts? Then let’s get nuts! French genre-hopping mad hatters Ni give you free reign in unleashing your inner court jester. From berserker rage noise rock to twisted math jazz, this irksome foursome embraces chaos with demented delirium. Ni’s newest LP is called Fol Naïs, which literally translates to “born mad”, in case you didn’t get the memo.
That being said, these paladins of pure pandemonium actually have a method to said madness: their all-embracing maximalist whims are basically their way of saying that they’ve created a musical environment where every band member can express themselves in a free and unfiltered fashion. Which means you better expect the unexpected when they take the stage.
Who knows, the next Ni record may be a collection of twee love ballads, but at Roadburn’s Paradox lineup, these guys will embody their gloriously grotesque selves. And just in case they won’t let you pass, best bring them a shrubbery. Ni! Ni! Ni!
OTTLA
The bird most certainly the word for Belgian experimental rockers OTTLA. The brainchild of Bert Dockx (Dans Dans, Flying Horseman), the music of OTTLA does feel like entering a microclimate where birds aren’t afraid of humans, but curious and inquisitive. The band’s second full album Vogel – the Dutch term for bird– fuses styles like jazz and post-rock is played in a generous, spontaneous way, painting musical landscapes that ooze with color, flavor and light.
It’s music that warms you like sunlight through an attic window, or supple waves tickling your feet at the seashore. But in equal measure, OTTLA unfolds in boisterous cacophony. Music that puts a luminous welcome sign out to the world, inspiring you to savor each sound, taste and image coming your way. OTTLA is a panoramic, electrifying and always transforming affair.
Raw Fish Heavy Jazz Jam
Prolific Danish jazz guitarist Teis Semey is known as an enfant terrible in his field. He mixes punk and avantgarde with his Teis Semey Quintet and exploring more ethereal pastures with his choral folk project Midnight Mess. With Italian drummer Giovanni Iacovella, he forms Raw Fish, a duo that creates deconstructed pop that draws elements from hip-hop, neo-psychedelia, punk rock and electronic music. They are a wholly unpredictable affair on stage, and no show ever unfolds the same way.
To this day, Raw Fish is its own universe with its own playbook, and people have been running themselves dizzy to try to compare them to anyone else. Which makes this duo the perfect candidate for Roadburn’s annual Heavy Jazz Jam at Paradox. Raw Fish will be accompanied by Teresa Costa (flute), Alice Legget (alto saxophone) and James McClure (trumpet).
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