13. Jerusalem In My HeartQalaq
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh first played a Capsule gig when he was in a punk band called Cursed. I had heard of Jerusalem in my Heart and saw them play at Le Guess Who?. Also, they’re on Constellation Records, which is the same as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and a number of other fantastic bands. It was something I’d never really heard before in terms of that mixture of electronic music and Arabic music. And then when they play live, it’s a duo with Erin [Weisgerber] who makes these really beautiful films on 16mm film that are projected live. They came and played in 2019 and we got on really well. Radwan did an in conversation with Daniel Higgs, who was originally in Lungfish, and who was performing at the festival that year. It felt like there was a connection in terms of like his punk roots, but equally that he really knows a lot about new music that’s happening now.
I think the beauty of inviting guest curators to Supersonic, as we are with the Decolonise Fest, is that the festival is about the idea of discovery. While I know a fair amount, and I’m always reaching out to people to get recommendations and spend a lot of time in the lead up to the festival listening to a lot of music, it’s also really great to work with people who can bring a set of artists that aren’t on my radar at all. It brings a freshness and a sense of discovery for me as well as for the audience.
Farida Amadou is one of the guest artists on the album, but she will also be playing at Supersonic. He’s also invited Jessica Khazrik and also Bint7alal who will also be playing. Jerusalem in my Heart will also play and then Erin will be presenting a film programme as part of the festival.
