Rose McGowan and Asia Argento
photo via @rosemcgowan

Asia Argento bringing Rose McGowan & The Breeders to Le Guess Who? fest

Netherlands festival Le Guess Who happens November 8-11 in Utrecht, with programs curated by Asia Argento, Devendra Banhart, Moor Mother and Sons of Kemet’s Shabaka Hutchings. They’ve just announced more of their 2018 lineup, which was already very cool, including some special events.

The most interesting of these, which is part of Asia Argento’s program, is arguably Future Feminism, the feminine collective here featuring NYC artists Kembra Pfahler (Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black), Anohni, and Johanna Constantine that “calls for the emergence of a feminine collective consciousness to save what remains of our world.” At Le Guess Who, they’ll be presenting “a special theatrical performance based around the 13 Tenets of Future Feminism,” featuring Kembra Pfahler, Johanna Constantine, and The Girls of Karen Black. Pfahler describes the live performance as “trying to puzzle together the pieces of a sustainable future. This is why Future Feminism was created, and this is what we’ll be singing about for the first event of this festival.” The Future Feminism project will also feature discussions and film projects, details still to come.

Also part of Asia Argento’s curation: performance artist, poet and illustrator Joe Coleman; Ian Svenonius’ Escape-ism; actress/singer/activist Rose McGowan; and prolific producer Martin Bisi performing ‘BC35’.

Le Guess Who? will also present a 15th anniversary celebration of RVNG Intl., including a selection of performances: Moscow’s Kate NV, Colombian producer Lucrecia Dalt, percussionist and collaborator with everyone Greg Fox, and UK cellist Oliver Coates. RVNG will also bring some of their FRKWYS series, which pairs contemporary artists with influential predecessors, to the fest. Finnish electronic musician Pekka Airaksinen of the The Sperm will collaborate with NYC instrumentalist/vocalist Ka Baird; and Canadian composer Ian William Craig will pair with California-based visual artist Danial Lentz.

There’s also ‘Orchestre de Nouvelles Créations, Expérimentations et Improvisations Musicales’ (ONCEIM), a 34-piece ensemble who will present two immersive pieces as LGW: ‘Gruides’, a “thrilling collision of the musical world of drone and ONCEIM’s approach to sound as a layered art form,” which is a collaboration with Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley; and ‘Occam Océan’, a “daring piece situated at the crossroads of the minimalist, electronic and spectral music worlds, which is the result of a two-year collaboration with Éliane Radigue, a leading figure in French contemporary music.”

Still more: Moor Mother’s curated events now include South African performance art duo FAKA; Amsterdam-based DJ/producer/vocalist LYZZA; and experimental musician Eartheater. Shabaka Hutchings, meanwhile, has added Orchestra Of Spheres and Martinique-born DJ Noss to his curated program.

Le Guess Whos 2018 lineup also includes previously announced performances from Art Ensemble of Chicago, Devendra Banhart, The Breeders, Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with MO Strings, Sons of Kemet XL, Ebo Taylor, Hailu Mergia, Mudhoney, Serpentwithfeet, Circuit des Yeux, Vashti Bunyan, Saul Williams & King Britt, and more. Festival passes are on sale now.