With the Alpine cold on its way, and that all too unwelcome visit from that cheeky Krampus only just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to pop over to the land of mountains and streams, fill up on wurst and beer, and get in on the first seasonal waves of Gemütlichkeit. What’s more, Austria’s Elevate festival seems to be hosting one of the year’s finest festival lineups.
Now in its tenth iteration, the annual Elevate festival has brought an excellently eclectic selection of contemporary music from around the world, alongside critical and political discourse, to Austria’s picturesque second city of Graz. Previous visitors have included Merzbow, Carla Bozulich, Damo Suzuki, Fuck Buttons, Peverelist, Haxan Cloak, Wrekmeister Harmonies and countless more – while the festival also plays host to dozens of brilliant artists from Austria’s own undersung and highly active native underground.
The festival takes place on and around the Schloßberg (castle-hill) in the middle of the city, overlooking the its breathtaking red roofs and distant mountains. Austrian acts gracing the stage this year include Viennese live techno trio Elektro Guzzi, house-infused synthetic pop craftswoman (and Graz local) Clara Moto, muddy industrial nutters Fuckhead and moody folk-tinged experimental rock band band Broken.Heart.Collector. Elsewhere, special attention is getting paid to British talent, with an evening of Hyperdub acts on the Friday – including sets from Kode9, Mala and Ikonika – a show apiece from industry-warped Bristol’s brilliant Emptyset and Vessel, plus an appearance from mouthy South London poet-cum-rapper and Mercury Music Prize nominee, Kate Tempest.
As if that wasn’t enough, American minimalist composer, and wielder of a thousand of axes Rhys Chatham is due to play, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (aka Lichens) will be improvising a set of modular synths and vocals, and Shit and Shine will be doing whatever the hell it is that they do. The climax will be a headline set from none other than Finland’s Mika Vainio (aka Ø… amongst other things) of Pan Sonic. Who better to end such a festival than, one of Europe’s greatest living purveyors of experimental music, who much like the festival, is always forward-thinking, and just as likely to crush your brain with terrifying fuzz as he is to caress you in synthesized atmospheres.
Find out more about Elevate 2014 and book tickets here
Listen to a Spotify playlist of artists playing this year’s Elevate Festival here:
