Media Kit – March 2Nd 2020 July 1St

july 1st – 5th 2020

Media Kit – March 2nd 2020 july 1st – 5th 2020

Media Briefing: Monheim Triennale Programme

Monday, March 2nd 2020 at 2:00 pm Location: Zum goldenen Hans, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 14, Monheim am Rhein, Germany

Timeline

2:00 pm Introduction with the mayor of the city Monheim am Rhein, Daniel Zimmermann, curator Swantje Lichtenstein and artistic director Reiner Michalke. Presented by: Markus Müller, Head of Communication and Marketing.

2:45 pm Visit at former Shell refinery barrel filling plant, located at Rheinpromenade (along the Rhine river banks), the main venue of the Monheim Triennale. After the festival, this historical building dating from the 19th century will be converted into the so-called Kulturraffinerie K714, a multifunctional event hall in Monheim. Planned completion in 2023.

3:45 pm The media briefing will be concluded at the Comfort Hotel Monheim, Rheinpromenade 2, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany.

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About The ‘Monheim Triennale’ is an international music festival aiming to document ground-breaking artistic positions in contemporary music. From 2023 onwards, the Monheim Triennale will take place at a three-year interval at the Kulturraffinerie K714, an industrial building located directly along the Rhine river which is currently being converted into an event venue. In July 2020, there will be a first trial version of the festival. Artistic director is Reiner Michalke.

The Programme The sixteen artists invited to the Monheim Triennale 2020 are developing special program- mes and exclusive projects which will be per- formed in the course of the festival, in the most diverse constellations. Each of the selected artists represents different facets of contemporary music, but they are united by one factor: the ability and courage to break new ground during their artistic process. This is their mission for the Monheim Triennale. The festival programme will evolve gradually, presenting ground-breaking positions of current improvised, composed and popular music, while interacting in a joint context at eye-level. The programming presented today concerns the festival’s two largest venues: the future ‘Kulturraffinerie 714’ (K714) and the new event ship of the shipping company Köln-Düssel- dorfer Rheinschifffahrt ‘MS RheinGalaxie’. The programming at the smaller venues will be arranged by the festival musicians themselves in various line-ups and therefore will only be announced progressively closer to the festival date.

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Wednesday, July 1st 2020

9:00 pm, Rheinpromenade Marcus Schmickler (DE) ‘Entwurf einer Rheinlandschaft’ Marcus Schmickler_comp for electronic music, narrator, soloist, solo wind instruments, EOS Brass Octet, percussionist, Rheintöchter, accordion orchestra, choir, amateur musicians. The Monheim Triennale will open on 1 July 2020 with a commissioned composition by Marcus Schmickler. The composer will stage a large-scale open-air concert on both sides of the river Rhine, exploring the relationship between near and far in music, lyrics and performance.

Thursday, July 2nd 2020

6:00 pm, K714 Phillip Sollmann (DE) ‘Gegen die Zeit II’ Phillip Sollmann_string instruments and live electronics John Gürtler_wind controller and live electronics Dirk Rothbrust_percussion The Berlin duo Sollmann & Gürtler will open the second festival evening, the first night at the Kulturraffinerie K714. Wind converters, string instruments and live electronics are used. In Monheim they will modulate each other with a feedback system. They will be supported by the drummer of the Ensemble Musikfabrik, Dirk Rothbrust.

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7:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Ava Mendoza (US) ‘Unnatural Ways’ Ava Mendoza_git Tim Dahl_b Sam Ospovat_dr With ‘Unnatural Ways’ Ava Mendoza has developed a deeply personal, raw and strong sound. In their unpredictable live shows, her trio pushes the boundaries of notated music to its musical origins in noise rock, free jazz and metal.

8:00 pm, K714 Sam Amidon (US) ‘The Following Mountain’ Sam Amidon_voc, git, bjo, vl Stian Westerhus_git Kris Davis_p Robert Landfermann_b Greg Fox_dr Based on Sam Amidon’s 2017 album by the same name, this festival-specific convening of Triennale musicians’ fuses Amidon‘s folk-based song-writing and original composition with expansive improvisation.

9:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Sofia Jernberg (SE) ‘Four አራት’ Sofia Jernberg_voc Samuel Yirga_p Ole Morten Vågan_b Andreas Werliin_dr Both grew up in Ethiopia but create their work in different genres. Rising star of Ethio-Jazz Samuel Yirga meets vocal technique virtuoso Sofia Jernberg for the first time.

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10:00 pm, K714 Lakecia Benjamin (US) ‘Pursuance: The Coltranes’ Lakecia Benjamin_sax line up tba A cohesive walk through the lineage of the artform Jazz. In her latest project, Benjamin pays tribute to two of the greatest musical innovators of the 20th century: John and Alice Coltrane.

Friday, July 3rd 2020

5:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Kris Davis (US) ‘Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrock’ Kris Davis_p Ingrid Laubrock_sax These exceptional New York-based musicians have collaborated and played many different projects together over the years since 2013. After the release of their first duo album in 2019, they will be featuring compositions from both musicians.

6:00 pm, K714 Jennifer Walshe (IE) ‘EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT’ Jennifer Walshe_comp, voc Mivos String Quartet: Olivia de Prato_violin, Maya Bennardo_violin, Victor Lowrie Tafoya_viola, Tyler J. Borden_cello In ‘EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT’, Walshe considers our relationship with technology and the internet’s encroachment on every aspect of life. The work is scored for vocals, string quartet, and film. Walshe performs with the Mivos Quartet.

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7:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Greg Fox (US) ‘Quadrinity’ Greg Fox_dr Angel Deradoorian_fl, voc Michael Beharie_git Justin Frye_b Expanding Greg Fox‘s solo work on his electroacoustic setup to a live quartet with traditional jazz instruments, this band will take you on a journey through sound, interweaving high energy rhythms with dreamlike soundwaves.

8:00 pm, K714 Sam Amidon (US) ‘Folk Songs’ Sam Amidon_voc, git, bjo & EOS Kammerorchester Returning to his roots in Vermont and recalling his Appalachian travels, Sam Amidon will perform distinctive reworkings of traditional American songs – murder ballads, mountain songs and folk hymns – accompanied by a chamber orchestra.

9:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Julia Úlehla (CA) ‘Dálava’ Julia Úlehla_voc Aram Bajakian_git Dylan van der Schyff_dr James Meger_b Tyson Naylor_acc, keyb As a tribute to the 100-year-old Moravian folk songs transcribed by Julia Úlehla’s great-grandfather, these musicians from Vancouver develop their own intense, touching, thrilling versions of these songs.

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10:00 pm, K714 Stian Westerhus (NO) ‘Stian Westerhus & Fennesz’ Stian Westerhus_git Fennesz_git, elec Fennesz, a key figure in electronic music, meets the Norwegian guitarist Stian Westerhus, who uses his guitar as a source for a whole range of feedback techniques and amplifier manipulations.

11:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Terre Thaemlitz (JP) ‘DJ Sprinkles’ DJ Sprinkles is the deep house DJ persona of Terre Thaemlitz. Sprinkles is not concerned with mass appeal and focuses on sniper-sets aimed at a long-gone generation of angry and depressed queer HIV/AIDS activists, unafraid to cry on the dancefloor.

12:00 midnight, Sojus 7 Lakecia Benjamin (US) ‘Soul Shakedown’ Lakecia Benjamin_sax Melodie Nicholson_voc Devone Allison_keyb Shelley Spruill_b Eric Brown_dr Ready to join the party? This crew will make you sweat, bringing a super high-energy, fun, danceable and grooving show to Monheim, mixing it all up – funk, soul, hip hop and jazz.

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Saturday, July 4th 2020

5:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Jennifer Walshe (IE) ‘Jennifer Walshe/Mario De Vega/Tomomi Adachi’ Jennifer Walshe_voice Tomomi Adachi_voice, live electronics, self-made instruments Mario de Vega_elec Jennifer Walshe is not just a composer but also a performer with a penchant for improvisation. Walshe has invited Japanese performer, composer, sound poet, installation artist and occasional theatre director Tomomi Adachi and Mexican artist Mario de Vega, known for his electronic improvisation and use of infrasound, to a joint improvisational performance.

6:00 pm, K714 Kris Davis (US) ‘Mother/Country’ Kris Davis_p Ingrid Laubrock_sax line up tba A brand-new collaboration between Kris Davis and Bulgarian filmmaker Mimi Chakarova on a special project: a 45-minute silent film dedicated to social justice, set to music by Kris Davis, and played by artists from the festival programme.

7:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Ava Mendoza (US) ‘Ava Mendoza & Tatsuya Yoshida’ Ava Mendoza_git Tatsuya Yoshida_dr A member of the renowned progressive rock duo Ruins, and undoubtedly one of the most important drummers to come out of the Japanese avant-rock scene, Tatsuya Yoshida has been invited by New York City guitar-immolator Ava Mendoza for their first ever encounter on stage.

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8:00 pm, K714 Shabaka Hutchings (GB) ‘Ensemble for Upliftment and Spiritual Unity’ Shabaka Hutchings_comp, sax, cl Siyabonga Mthembu_voc Mthunzi Mvubu_sax Danalogue_keyb Theon Cross_tuba Ariel Zamonsky_b Gontse Makhene_perc Betamax_dr Eddie Hick_dr Tumi Mogorosi_dr Tom Skinner_dr & EOS Kammerorchester Combine his three bands – Shabaka and the Ancestors, Sons of Kemet, and The Comet Is Coming – then expand further with a chamber orchestra. The dream project of Shabaka Hutchings will be a world premiere, his cosmic creativity exploding into a full firework display.

9:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Stian Westerhus (NO) ‘Stian Westerhus Trio’ Stian Westerhus_git, voc Ståle Storløkken_keys, elec Erland Dahlen_dr, elec These three major protagonists of the contemporary Norwegian music scene will mix jazz, rock, noise, ballads and folk music.

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10:00 pm, K714 Greg Fox (US) ‘Black Sabbath Cover Band Rehearsal’ Greg Fox_dr Angel Deradoorian_voc Nick Zinner_git Mick Barr_git Brad Truax_b Having it raw and dirty – Greg Fox is paying tribute to his own metal roots, honouring the legendary Birmingham heavy rock band, with a crew of great musicians, playing their European premiere.

23:00 Uhr, venue tba Efdemin (DE) Phillip Sollmann, aka Efdemin, kicks off the late-night hours with an abstract ambient acid set.

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Sunday, July 5th 2020

12:00 midday, venue tba Terre Thaemlitz (JP) ‘Ambient DJ set’ In addition to her DJ Sprinkles persona, Terre Thaemlitz frequently DJed at New York‘s first regular all-ambient party Electric Lounge Machine back in 1993. In lieu of her usual long-form audio-video and piano performances at European festivals, Thaemlitz will deliver a rare ambient DJ performance.

3:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Julia Úlehla (CA) ‘Bios and Zoe’ Julia Úlehla_voc Aram Bajakian_git Julia Úlehla and Aram Bajakian create live music accompanying two films by Julia’s great-grandfather – biologist and music ethnologist Vladimír Úlehla. A meditation on the vitality which brings life to the earth is created through real-time interaction with the life forms on screen.

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4:00 pm, K714 Sofia Jernberg (SE) ‘The Dreams Of Our Future’ Sofia Jernberg_comp, voc Ariadne Greif_voc Eivind Lønning_tp Mette Rasmussen_sax Mats Gustafsson_sax Eva Lindal_vl Anna Lindal_vl Cory Smythe_p Ole Morten Vågan_b Raymond Strid_dr & Kinderchor A brand-new project by Sofia Jernberg which is pouring children’s dreams into lyrics and having them sing these songs together as a choir with music played by a who’s who of the Scandinavian improv scene – commissioned by Monheim Triennale and Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, with support from Arts Council Norway.

5:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Marcus Schmickler (DE) ‘Lehn/Schmickler meet Corsano’ Marcus Schmickler_computer Thomas Lehn_synth Chris Corsano_dr In this world premiere, pioneering synthesiser-improvisation duo Lehn and Schmickler meet New York-based Chris Corsano, combining analogue and digital sound generators with acoustic drums.

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6:00 pm, K714 Pan Daijing (CN) Continuing with her experimental storytelling through sound and performance, Pan Daijing will present a site-specific composition at the Monheim Triennale.

7:00 pm, MS RheinGalaxie Shabaka Hutchings (GB) ‘Shabaka Hutchings & Kris Davis’ Shabaka Hutchings_sax Kris Davis_p A coming together of old-and-new-world, male-and-female, saxophone-and-piano, in the most intimate constellation our music can provide.

8:00 pm, K714 Robert Landfermann (DE) ‘RHENUS’ Robert Landfermann_comp, b Sebastian Gille_sax Percy Pursglove_tp Elias Stemeseder_p Jozef Dumoulin_rhodes Kathrin Pechlof_harp Jonas Burgwinkel_dr Christian Lillinger_dr Assembling this band exclusively for the Monheim Triennale, Robert Landfermann integrates some of Europe’s best improvisers in a tribute to his birthplace along the Rhine River.

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The Timetable

‘ShabakaHutchings & Kris Davis’ MS Rhein MS Galaxie Thaemlitz Terre Set’ DJ ‘Ambient Julia Úlehla ‘Bios and Zoe’ SchmicklerMarcus ‘Lehn/Schmickler meet Corsano’ Shabaka Hutchings

Sofia Jernberg ‘The Dreams Of Our Future’ Daijing Pan Robert Landfermann ‘RHENUS’ Sunday July 5th 2020 K714

Lakecia Benjamin ‘Soul Shakedown’ Sojus 7

Stian Westerhus Stian Westerhus ‘Stian Westerhus Trio’ Jennifer Walshe Walshe/ ‘Jennifer Mario De Vega/ Tomomi Adachi’ Ava Mendoza Mendoza & ‘Ava Tatsuya Yoshida’ MS Rhein MS Galaxie

Rehearsal’ Greg Fox ‘Black Sabbath Cover Band Shabaka Hutchings’ Shabaka Hutchings’ ‘Ensemble for and Upliftment Spiritual Unity’ Kris Davis Kris ‘Mother/Country’ Saturday July 4th 2020 K714

Lakecia Benjamin ‘Soul Shakedown’ Sojus 7

Terre Thaemlitz Terre ‘DJ Sprinkles’ Julia Úlehla ‘Dálava’ Kris Davis Kris ‘Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrock’ Greg Fox ‘Quadrinity’ MS Rhein MS Galaxie Stian Westerhus Stian Westerhus ‘Stian Westerhus & Fennesz’ Sam AmidonSam ‘Folk Songs’ Jennifer Walshe ‘EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT’ Friday July 3rd 2020 K714

’ አራት Ava Mendoza ‘Unnatural Ways’ Sofia Jernberg ‘Four MS Rhein MS Galaxie

Lakecia Benjamin ‘Pursuance: The Coltranes’ Sam AmidonSam ‘The Following Mountain’ Phillip SollmannPhillip ‘Gegen die Zeit II’ Thursday July 2nd 2020 K714

Marcus SchmicklerMarcus ‘Entwurf einer Rheinlandschaft’ Wednesday July 2020 1st Rhein- promenade

11:00 pm 12:00 midnight 10:00 pm 8:00 pm 5:00 pm 7:00 pm 9:00 pm 12:00 midday 1:00 pm 2:00 pm 3:00 pm 4:00 pm 6:00 pm Time

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The Venues Imagine a place where music is coming into existence. What would it look like? We’ve asked this question ourselves – and brought to life a large festival site, which could not be more diverse: From ship to industrial hall, from chapel to socio-cultural centre, right at the most magical place in the city – the banks of the Rhine River in Monheim. The main programme takes place at both the Kulturraffinerie K714 and the event ship MS RheinGalaxie. The fringe programme will be presented at the other venues and will be announced closer to the festival date.

K714 Main venue is the Kulturraffinerie K714, an industrial building from the 19th century. It was formerly used as an oil barrel filling plant and later as a warehouse. One day after the Triennial finishes, the conversion into a state-of-the-art, multifunctional event hall will begin. The grand opening is planned for 2023.

MS RheinGalaxie The MS RheinGalaxie, the latest event ship by the shipping company Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) Rheinschifffahrt, will be launched in May 2020. 85 metres long and 14 metres wide, the new venue will host concerts at the Monheim Triennale.

Sojus 7 The ‘Sojus 7’ is a socio-cultural centre in Monheim am Rhein, run by volunteers. Formerly a beetroot factory, this cultural meeting place now pulsates as an interface between different music genres and events.

Marienkapelle In 1418, this chapel was built of wood and replaced by a late gothic chapel made of stone in 1514. For centuries, it was considered a landmark of the town of Monheim, visible from far away. A lot happened during the centuries. Situated on the banks of the river Rhine, the church did not only survive every single flood, but also both world wars without damage.

Deusser Garden Famous painter August Deusser once lived in the ‘Deusser House’. He drew his inspiration from the adjacent garden. Today, this house documents the 1800-year history of Monheim am Rhein. Deusser‘s drawings of the ‘Marienkapelle’ and the former Gethmann cabbage factory (now Sojus 7) illustrate how ever-present these places were even back then.

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The Curators The curators of the music festival‘s inaugural edition are performance artist and professor of aesthetic practices Swantje Lichtenstein from Düsseldorf, music curator Louis Rastig from Berlin, Managing Artistic Director Rainbow Robert from Vancouver, Creative & Brand Consultant Meghan Stabile from New York City and journalist and cultural manager Thomas Venker from Cologne.

About Monheim Monheim am Rhein – a completely normal small town? Located between Düsseldorf and Cologne, the city on the river Rhine is indeed a gem. Since 2013, the city has been debt-free and is continuously investing in families, infrastructure and culture: no fees for daycare centres, bicycle paths are preferred over roads, free Wi-Fi and, from April 2020, free local public transport for Monheim residents.

For further information and inquiries:

Markus Müller Head of Communication and Marketing Monheimer Musikfestival GmbH Kapellenstr. 42 40789 Monheim am Rhein Phone +49 (0)2173 - 999 4605 [email protected] www.monheim-triennale.de

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