St. John’s Church in Hackney have announced that they are set to play host to an impressive series of performances across the summer and autumn. Hosted by Moringa, the St. John Sessions find a number of experimental and electronic acts – from both the UK and further afield – taking over the church’s resonant space for the night.
First up, in June, William Basinski, fresh from his performance last month at the Denovali Swingest at London’s Scala, will be headlining. For more on Basinski, click here to read his in-depth interview with Quietus editor John Doran from last year, which explored the history behind his iconic Disintegration Loops as well as many other stories that have informed his approach. He’s joined by Editions Mego mainstay Christian Fennesz and London musique concrete/noise explorer Helm (click here to read our recent interview with the latter and listen to an excellent mix).
Other particularly Quietus-friendly evenings include a show on 29th August from London techno deconstructionist Actress. It sounds like a particularly intriguing and unique proposition: we’re promised that he will "drift away from the dance floor of [last year’s album] RIP with a night of unique audio-visual experiences in direct response to the architecture and atmosphere of the Church."
In September there’ll be a double header featuring Canada’s Tim Hecker and noise/techno firebrand Pete Swanson (it’ll be interesting, to say the least, to see how Swanson’s frayed and overwhelmingly noisy music translates to a church situation).
The full list of St. John Sessions runs as follows (with a hint that more might be announced):
JUNE
27th – William Basinski + Fennesz + Helm
In association with Art Assembly
JULY
11th – Nils Frahm + Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet)
In association with Bird on the Wire
AUGUST
29th – Actress + Special guest TBA
In association with Bird on the Wire
SEPTEMBER
19th – Tim Hecker + Pete Swanson + Vessel
In association with Bird on the Wire
