Ben Frost

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Other standouts of the Unsound Adelaide lineup are the out-of-body power of Bristol’s Giant Swan, the brainchild of Robin Stewart & Harry Wright; an acerbic marriage of energised, aggressive dance music, quaking bass and hypnotic electronic noise; Sydney’s one-and-only Lucas Abela with one of his infamous – and increasingly rare – shows in which the main instrument is a piece of amplified glass; and the jaw-dropping audio visuals of Lanark Artefax, widely tipped as Aphex Twin’s heir apparent, in a one-off presentation by this future-thinking Glaswegian.

This year’s Unsound Adelaide also sees the return of the late night club shows – to be held at Sugar, an Adelaide institution, on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 December. The first night at Sugar brings Malaysian-Chinese producer and DJ Tzusing, whose brilliantly savage sets are full of tough industrial techno, EBM and more. Toronto DJ, producer and promoter Ciel is a Discwoman affiliate, playing techno, electro, acid and beyond, in the words of Resident Advisor, “connecting the dots between trends and forgotten sounds”. Rising Sydney producer ptwiggs is exploding the rules of heavy club music, colliding industrial sounds with hardcore techno and gabber rhythms to unsettling effect.

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Ciel

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Former Adelaide Festival Artistic Director David Sefton, and Artistic Director and co-founder of Unsound Mat Schulz return as Unsound Adelaide Artistic Directors.

The State Government of South Australia through the Music Development Office and the South Australian Tourism Commission is a major partner of Unsound Adelaide.

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UNSOUND ADELAIDE

2018 LINEUP

Friday 14th December:
QUEENS:
Eartheater (US)
Matmos (US)
Lucas Abela (AU)
Giant Swan (UK)

SUGAR:
Ptwiggs (AU) – Live
Ciel (CAN) – DJ
Tzusing (CN) – DJ

Unsound Adelaide returns to its original and arguably most beloved venue, The Queen’s Theatre, for a night that ranges from the delicate to the overpowering. In a one-off exclusive, legendary experimental electronic U.S. duo Matmos will play for the first time in Australia since 2014, with a show that will include work from their upcoming new album Plastic Anniversary. Eartheater opens with a dreamlike performance, combining digitally manipulated sounds, acoustic instrumentation, and her impressive three-octave voice, exploring the ambiguity of words, moral surreality and the evolution of sexuality in a digital age. Closing is Giant Swan, the duo Unsound dubbed “Bristol’s best kept secret” in their Kraków write up last year. Since then, they’ve pulverized audiences around the globe, from Europe’s key clubs through to Uganda and Kazakhstan. Combining punk energy and hardcore techno beats with a dash of psychedelic improv, they’re a force to be reckoned with. Cutting into the middle of the night with a brief burst of sonic terrorism is Sydney’s one-and-only Lucas Abela, who will play one of his infamous – and increasingly rare – shows in which the main instrument is a piece of amplified glass.

The disorienting energy continues until the small hours at Sugar with a late-night lineup featuring rising Sydney producer ptwiggs — who is exploding the rules of heavy club music, colliding industrial sounds with hardcore techno and gabber rhythms to unsettling effect — and Malaysian-Chinese producer and DJ Tzusing, whose brilliantly savage sets are full of tough industrial techno, plus more to be announced.

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Saturday 15th December:

QUEENS:
Yves Tumor (US)
Ben Frost & MFO (AU/IS//DE)
Lanark Artefax (UK)
Resina (PL)

SUGAR:
Emily Glass (AU) – DJ
Roza Terenzi (AU) – Live

The second Unsound night in Queen’s Theatre is packed with Australian exclusives. At the heart of the program is one of Australia’s best known experimental music exports, Ben Frost, now based in Iceland. He plays this side of the globe for the first time in almost 4 years, bringing the Oz debut of the stunning A/V show for his album The Centre Cannot Hold, created with Berlin-based visual artist MFO. Since it premiered at Unsound Krakow last year, Lanark Artefax’s A/V show has dropped jaws across the Northern Hemisphere, from Sonar, Atonal and MUTEK to opening slots for Bjork and SOPHIE. Find out why he’s widely tipped as Aphex Twin’s heir apparent in a one-off presentation of this future-thinking work. Rapidly rising star Yves Tumor recently received a whopping 9.1 from Pitchfork, for his new LP on Warp, who described it as “a benchmark in experimental music”. He also plays an exclusive premiere at Unsound, upending expectations with one of his wild, visceral shows. Opening the program in sublime, mesmerising form is Polish cello player and electronic musician Resina, who will team up with an Australian drummer soon to be announced to perform music from her album Traces, released the Fat Cat side label 130701. And yes – this is also an exclusive debut for the Unsound Adelaide audience.

The noisy ambience kicks on into the wee hours at Sugar. Roza Terenzi is the next Australian house music star in the making, mixing fidgety rhythms with lush atmospheres. Her prolific output was already tipped by Resident Advisor, who said she can’t keep still – you won’t either! Plus Adelaide’s own Emily Glass, and more to be announced.

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BACKGROUND:

Unsound Adelaide previously appeared as a themed concert series presented as part of the Adelaide Festival between 2013 and 2016, where it was a massive critical and public success. 2017 saw the return of Unsound Adelaide after a year hiatus as a standalone event. Unsound Adelaide will be presented by Random Harvest/ David Sefton, Insite Arts, who produce Tasmania’s MONA FOMA festival, and Malgorzata Plysa and Mat Schulz, the Polish-Australian co-directors of the global Unsound organisation. Unsound Adelaide is supported by the State Government of South Australia through the Music Development Office and the South Australian Tourism Commission.

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