photo: Daughters of Reykjavík

At the festival weekend Explore the North (19 - 21 November 2021) you can choose out of feminine rap from Daughters of Reykjavik, the poetical post punk from Sinead O’Brien, the vulnerable touch in the songs of singer-songwriter Anna B Savage, the multi layered music of singer Fågelle or wander away with lute player Jozef van Wissem.

There is also the musical poet Nyk de Vries with Artvark Saxophone Queartet, or reflect thinking with the scientists Roman Krznaric and Warda El-Kaddouri. Last but not least, the author Tobi Lakmaker is daring to start a conversation with colleague writers about gender and auto-fiction with the book ‘De Argonauten’, written by Maggie Nelson.

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE

Who are they?

Daughters of Reykjavik

Daughters of Reykjavik started in 2013 with different group formations to disrupt the world of manly rap scene in Iceland. The group consists of nine female rappers. All with a very different backgrounds. There is a designer, but also a sex therapist and none of them are afraid of giving their opinion. In their music the themes as feminism, freedom and empowerment plays an important role.

Roman Krznaric

The actions we make today, have an impact on the future. The call of making long term decisions is growing bigger every day. If we want to be good ancestors and be memorized positively by our future generations, Roman Krznaric, a leading public philosopher and co-founder from The School of Life in London, thinks that this makes the perfect moment to act/ is the right moment to act. To use our capacities to create solutions for our progeny. At the festival he is talking about his most recently published book ‘The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-term Thinking’.

Sinead O’Brien

The Irish Sinead O’Brien mixes her spoken word and singing with art rock and post punk with many guises. In 2020 she made her successful debut with her album ‘Drowning in Blessings’. Her lyrics are about her observation and vision on the world around her. O’Brien live-performances are intense and penetrating, which brings her music to another level.

Tagelyk - Nyk de Vries & Artvark Saxophone Quartet (in co-production with Poetry International)

The musical flexibility of saxophone quartet Artvark and the power of poetry from the poet Fryslân Nyk de Vries makes ‘Tagelyk’ a special/ an extraordinary theatrical experience. ‘Tagelyk’ is a production where language and music empowers each other and melts together into a poetry-musical production that goes beyond language and music on their own.

Arvark is teamed up with Rolf Delfos, Bart Wirtz (alto sax), Mete Erker (tenor sax) and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone sax). Nyk de Vries is literary performer, who makes work on a regular base where poetry is combined with music and visuals.

Anna B Savage

The British singer-songwriter Anna B Savage puts questions in her music about her experience world and feelings. On her album ‘A Common Turn’, she sings about sexuality, insecurity and without any reasons, about birds. Her songs are melodious, frank, vulnerable and with a touch of dark humor.

Jozef van Wissem

The Dutch composer & lute player Jozef van Wissem is self-taught. His music is diverse and timeless. He composed music for the game ‘The Sims (2013)’ and released a variety of solo-albums. He also made music for Carvaggio’s painting ‘The Lute Player’ in the Hermitage. He won the Soundtrack-award of 2013 at the film festival in Cannes for the movie ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ from Jim Jarmush (a cooperation with stoner rock band SQÜRL) and reached a much broader audience. In 2020 he released the album ‘Ex Mortis’ where he sings for the first time and started in 2021 his tour.

Warda El-Kaddouri

Why do you think what you think? It’s a question not much people think about. Still, it’s a good idea to reflect on it. Daily, we are exposed to dominating stories. That’s not bad, but excludes other perspectives subconsciously. Journalist and doctor in literature Warda El-Kaddouri analyzes these thinking patterns and looks critically at it.

Fågelle

The Swedish singer Fågelle makes experimental music with many layers. She combines soundscapes with pop and intimate but powerful vocals. She has a unique style mixing guitars, vocals and electronic street sounds (like the subway sounds in Moscow) into organic and expressive music. Her music is about sexuality, power(lessness) and existential questions.

Tobi Lakmaker

In 2016 ‘De Argonauten’ from the American writer Maggie Nelson came out. It’s a book about her relationship with Harry, but above all a plea about fluidity. A whole generation of young Dutch writers read and admired Nelson. Because of her fluid variety with essays, poetry and anecdotes with daring and sometimes brutal honest descriptions of queer love.

He is going to use the book ‘De Argonauten’ to lead a conversation with colleague writers about auto-fiction and mixing up genres and reflections on gender within their own work.

Tobi Lakmaker (1994) writes columns for ‘De Groene Amsterdammer’ and ‘LINDA.meiden’. He studied Russian and literary studies for a short time and finished his study Philosophy in 2018. He debuted with one of the most talked-about books of 2021: De geschiedenis van mijn seksualiteit (translation: The History of My Sexuality).