One of the most enigmatic sound examples of this time, Demdike Stare have been exploring the dark reaches of electronica for almost two decades. The duo from the mythical city of Manchester is a human archive of obscure and transgressive music. Sean Canty is a renowned record collector and regular curator for Andy Votel’s Finders Keepers; Miles Whittaker (aka MLZ/Pendle Coven) is the producer and DJ who Andy Stott welcomed into his Modern Love early on. From the meeting of such titans comes a band that, over the course of a long list of editions, continues to populate one of the most recondite and mind-blowing magnetic fields on this planet.

Defying any possible attempt at categorisation, Sean and Miles work simultaneously and transversely with expressions of dark ambient, jungle, industrial or dusty, forgotten B-series soundtracks. There is a very organic expression in the sensory dynamics that take place amidst the hallucinatory machinery they command. It’s a philosophy of taking the force of the nature of things and then working meticulously to transform chaos.

Percorrendo as elementares compilações dos primeiros EPs, numa trilogia que ainda hoje soa inacreditável, entendemos as origens de onde esta força saiu. Inspirados no nome de uma alegada bruxa queimada viva no século XVII, paira uma vez mais essa necessidade de resgate histórico – e como extrapola, por instinto, para a especulação de um esoterismo sónico. Evocam o gelo dos Autechre, a radiação dos Throbbing Gristle ou o horror vintage de Carpenter com semelhante destreza, enquanto mantêm o radar numa envolvente e permanente instalação de som transformado em imagem. Com Wonderland e Passion mereceram reconhecimento por um público mais vasto assim como rasgadas prosas de arrebatamento por parte da imprensa musical. Isto com o entendimento de que continuam a ser antimatéria pura (e um dos mais fiéis refúgios à previsibilidade criativa).

Depois de uma passagem pelo festival bracarense Semibreve, em 2014, esta visita dos Demdike Stare a Lisboa será um dos momentos altos nesta temporada. Para sempre uma carta fora do baralho e um concerto com aquele óbvio sentido de obrigatoriedade. NA

Living on the outskirts of Lisbon, Vanderley Neves, also known as Van Der, had his initial contact with electronic music through Kuduro, House and Techno, later expanding his interest in the ramifications of the latter. As a creative, Van Der has increasingly adopted an interdisciplinary approach, collaborating with exhibition projects, sound installations and music made for the dance floor. His releases can be found among the following publishers; Kepler Live, Obra, Osler Records and Glow Papers. Van Der also joined Patch Point, a modular synthesizer store, having worked in the showroom. Recently, he joined Reif, a collective that was born between Berlin, Paris and São Paulo, created by Portuguese artist Marcelo Alcaide, which brings together creative minds like Jeff Mills, Wolfgang Tillmans or Richie Culver. As a DJ, he has played in places such as Planeta Manas, Vago, Music Box, Arroz Estúdios, Lux Frágil, Sala Lisa, Outra Cena, Passos Manuel, etc.Vanderley is co-responsible for the programming of the cultural association Arroz Estúdios, and is also co- founder of the Escuro collective and curator of Sub-Séries, a platform with a monthly residency at Quântica Radio, focused on contributing to the dissemination of local electronic music.