KEEP.SPACE.FEST #2

AT DE NIJVERHEID – Nijverheidskade 15, Utrecht

A day full of boundary-pushing performances between electronics, jazz, and everything in between: KEEP.SPACE.FEST 2. After a memorable first edition, we’re back to Utrecht with infectious energy on Saturday 27 September.

Expect sets that will make the CFX sound system rumble in the main hall, along with surprising performances spread across multiple stages at De Nijverheid. From avant-garde electronics and folk — as you’ve come to expect from the Keep it Moving crew — to the improvisational flair and jazz sounds of Space is the Place!

LINE-UP:
Bioluminus | Brigadera: Gabriel de Oliveira & Beatrice Sberna | Culture Shock presents Khorshid Dadbeh + Desirée Coumans | Edgar Nevermoo | Farzané | Gerri Jäger solo + ft. Beatrice Sberna & Stijn van Beek | Iris van Peppen & Hugo Ariëns | Journey of Taro | Lucija Gregov | Martin Kosorín | Mary Oliver | Mees Siderius | my Ssister lisa (Thomas Hell + Chananja) | Phantom Wizard | QBAE | Tember

Bioluminus
Free jazz trio Bioluminus combines the propulsive flow of energy music, with a subtly attuned approach to collective improvisation. Defined as “a combustion machine of musical ideas and interaction”, their music breathes through the exceptional interplay of Argentinian saxophonist Ada Rave, Canadian contrabassist Aaron Lumley and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert – balancing groove, melody and experimentation.

Brigadera: Gabriel de Oliveira & Beatrice Sberna
From the sinister lullaby ‘Satan 3’ to the provocative punk jazz of ‘Alternative Scene’: throughout the years Italian singer Beatrice Sberna and Brazilian guitarist Gabriel de Oliviera have created a stylistically varied range of songs to be released on their debut album. Influences from Italian cantautori and Brazilian folk are cheerfully blended together.

Culture Shock presents Khorshid Dadbeh & Desirée Coumans
Tar and setar player, and multi-instrumentalist Khorshid Dadbeh channels her Iranian musical heritage through performance and education. At KEEP.SPACE.FEST she performs with singer and voice sculptor Desirée Coumans, who invents new sonic worlds by altering her voice into unique sounds.

Edgar Nevermoo
With the motto “hands in the air and go all out on the dancefloor“, Edgar Nevermoo exclusively spins vinyls of Cumbia, Exotica and Tropical tracks. As a self-proclaimed idiot, he prides himself on playing records by “like minded drunk people” with false organs, annoying flutes and way too loud accordions.

Lucija Gregov
A cellist, improviser and sound artist working at the intersection of acoustic and electronic sound, Lucija Gregov creates fluid and transformative sonic landscapes. She integrates cello with analogue synthesizers, field recordings and the custom-built instrument Knurl to investigate interactivity, polyphony and deep listening as tools for improvisation and experimentation.

Farzané
Live computer music improvisation, 20-25’.
Farzané’s performance emerges from her ongoing exploration of improvisation with machine learning agents, employing selfdeveloped gesture recognition techniques. Through alternative approaches to knowledge representation, she crafts moments of encounter between human and machine—each bringing their distinct capabilities and constraints to the collaboration. The result is a sonic dialogue that bridges two fundamentally different modes of musical understanding, where limitations become as generative as affordances in shaping the emergent sound.

Gerri Jäger solo + trio with Beatrice Sberna & Stijn van Beek
Gerri Jäger presents the new boundary-pushing audiovisual live set Argument with Reality. featuring Beatrice Sberna and Stijn van Beek. With a dynamic blend of drum kit, electronics and live visuals, the performance delves into themes of addiction, politics, parenthood and nature. Expanding on Jäger’s evolving solo project, the work merges self-made and collaborative video material with contributions from filmmaker Alek Riquelm, creating a multi-layered sensory experience.

Iris van Peppen & Hugo Ariëns
Emergent composers Hugo Ariens and Iris van Peppen work together since 2019. They share their interest in creating sensorial landscapes through textures, complexity, simplicity, the hypnotic and punk. Hugo is a composer playing prepared guitar and Iris is a choreographer.

Journey of Taro
A journey into music and technology.
Inspired by travelling, culture and sound system music, Taro creates a sonic world, shaping mystical worlds with hypnotizing atmospheres to immerse into stories based on ancient myths, legends and folklore, driven by a foundation of rhythms.

Martin Kosorín
In his artistic work, Martin Kosorín creates sound and interactive scenography for contemporary dance performances. His main interest lies in exploring how modern technologies can be used in art. At Keep Space Fest he will present the premiere of a solo project focused on the reconceptualisation of the guitar.

Mary Oliver
Violin, viola and Hardanger fiddle player Mary Oliver is a performer in the areas of free improvisation and avant-garde jazz. Vital energyof the improvising community, locally and internationally, she is also a key member of the renowned Instant Composers Pool (ICP) orchestra.

Mees Siderius
Drummer-composer Mees Siderius creates rhythmically layered sound sculptures tailor-made for the moment. His interest in innovative percussive textures and collaborative energy led him to the art of improvisation and interdisciplinary performance.

Phantom Wizard
Nature, afrofuturism, jazz, and hip-hop have come together to form Phantom Wizard’s ethereal work. The artist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist of Surinamese descent was born and raised in the Dutch capital and embarks on a deeply personal yet profoundly universal journey, punctuated by experimentation and improvisation. Onstage, he is interlocked with his own multifacetedness, rendering his art moving to those who watch him play.

QBAE
QBAE is the performing core of collective-label KB_: a rotating ensemble hosted by Gabriel de Oliveira and Niels Luteijn. With a mixed emo/afro/impro approach, the Brazilian and Caribbean references of this guitar-plus-drums duo take on a hardcore edge, coded through languages of instant composition and pop.

Tember
tember is an avid collector of the weird, the dissonant, the obscure and the curious. swimming in an ocean of sound, tember enjoys the vibrations that go against the current. his sets are an interplay between heavy sub-frequencies, vocal screeches, ‘noise’ and manic drum-infested rhythms. but… if you catch him on another day… it might be very different, for the common thread is unpredictability.

Thomas Hell & Chananja
Thomas Hell & chananja combine various genres, ranging from nostalgic trip hop, tender experimentalism and a blend of guitar music and field recordings. Guided by seagull sounds, a love for Arthur Russel and a fascination with shiny objects they attempt to find a way forward in an increasingly incomprehensible world.

KEEP.SPACE.FEST is organized by Space is the Place in co-operation with De Nijverheid & translocale fantastique Keep it Moving, a crew devoted to the finer aspects of music through a non-ego-driven approach that encompasses community radio, performance nights, club gigs, handcrafted stage designs, visual arts, fundraising, and more, on the intersection where warm grooves and ice-cold electronics meet.