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ANGEL OLSEN // Photo – Angela Ricciardi

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Perth Festival’s star-studded Contemporary Music program has just got a whole lot bigger and better with an array of new artists completing a full takeover of Northbridge hotspot The Rechabite.

International, national and local DJs and bands – along with the major Edinburgh Fringe hit show Happy Meal – showcase a gamut of goodness from edgy underground artists to 90s punk rock legends, queer club nights and the latest global beats for a whole month from 9 February.

Following a fantastic audience response, extra tickets are now on sale for Mdou Moctar (Niger) and Future Islands (US) on top of extra shows recently announced for punk rock royalty Peaches (Canada) and Bikini Kill (USA).

Other international treats include the irresistible sounds of Mykki Blanco (US), indie-pop favourite Soccer Mommy (US) and the tender power of Nakhane (South Africa), whose fans and collaborators range from Elton John and Black Coffee to Nile Rogers and Perfume Genius.

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MYKKI BLANCO // Photo – Irakli Gabelaia

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New additions include 10-year-old Noongar hip-hop sensation Inkabee, making his live debut in his dad Flewnt’s Boorloo Block Party celebration of deadly music and culture. Inkabee joins local DJs and First Nations hip hop stars BARKAA, Kobie Dee and MissGenius, backed by a band including horns and vocals, produced by Tani Walker under the Musical Direction of Optamus (Downsyde).

Joshua ‘Flewnt’ Eggington said “I’m very proud to be able to debut my son Inkabee on a platform built by myself and my team with the support of Perth Festival. Inkabee’s debut is exactly what the concept of Flewnt’s Block Party is all about – showcasing and supporting Boorloo’s emerging Bla(c)k artists.”

Friday nights bring the dramatic dancefloor revelations of In The Basement to The Rechabite’s Goodwill Club, featuring surprise drops from some of Good Company Records’ favourite DJs from around the world. And all weekend long, The Rechabite’s Hello Rooftop DJ Series hosts Perth’s finest DJs laying down chilled beats and party tunes to enjoy before or after a Perth Festival show.

Electronic dance music fans are in for some special Saturday night treats when international DJs and producers set alight all three levels of The Rechabite at Interzone and MikeQ. Qween Beat label founder, MikeQ (US) makes a special Festival appearance, presented by GARBAGE, in a night showcasing the Ballroom scene, alongside local collectives NestFM and ALT.

Interzone unlocks a specially synchronised curation by Move, Outer Body, Good Company Records, The Monarchy and Personal Space at The Rechabite. This highly anticipated ‘enzoning’ offers a boundless evening across three levels with three distinct dancefloors featuring Peach (UK), András (Naarm), In2stellar (Naarm), Ernest & Young, Spi-C, Yosi, Montana – plus two very special mystery DJs as part of Good Company’s In The Basement series.

The final weekend is rounded out with the unique classical and hip-hop-influenced beats of producer Leon Vynehall (UK).

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FUTURE ISLANDS // Photo – Devin Yalkin

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The diverse Rechabite program has something for everyone. Perth Festival’s Rechabite takeover opens with the joyful non-binary rom-com Happy Meal, direct from the Edinburgh Fringe, and Australia’s queen of soul Emma Donovan with The Putbacks.

Explorers of experimental electronic music must not miss the Australian premiere of Anthony Pateras’ A Dread of Voids, creating sonic illusions through orchestration and tape manipulations with his quintet of the same name (voice, clarinet, contrabass, bass flute, piano and electronics). And Perth five-piece instrumentalists Grievous Bodily Calm are supported by Melbourne outfit 30/70 for a high-energy night of electro-jazz, house and break beat.

Away from The Rechabite, art and music align in two very different shows at exciting new venues.

Tickets are still on sale for Festival headliner Björk and her spectacular live show Cornucopia – including 18 members of local Perth choir Voyces conducted by Dr Robert Braham OAM – in a cybersonic Garden of Eden brought to dazzling life inside a purpose-built pavilion in Langley Park.

At Perth’s new Liberty Theatre, audiences are invited to create their own audio-visual journey by dipping in and out of the six-hour performance of Gradient with composer Olivia Bettina Davies, trumpeter Callum G’Froerer and video artist Nick Roux. Presented by Tura, Gradient features multidirectional projections and a roaming performer breaking down the traditional barriers between composer, performer and audience.

Tickets on sale NOW

BOOKINGS AND FESTIVAL INFO: HERE

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Bikini Kill @ The Hollywood Palladium // Photo – Debi Gel Grande

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SOCCER MOMMY // Photo – Sophie Hur

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Perth Festival

Founded in 1953 by The University of Western Australia, Perth Festival is the longest-running international arts festival in Australia and Western Australia’s premier cultural event. The Festival has developed a worldwide reputation for excellence in its international program, the presentation of new works and the highest quality artistic experiences for its audience. For 70 years, the Festival has welcomed to Perth some of the world’s greatest living artists and now connects with hundreds of thousands of people each year.

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AMNPLIFY – DB