High Technology and Dusty Tapes
We’re glad to announce three new additions to the Radio 3 Presidency Stage lineup: the American duo YACHT, the DJ act Awesome Tapes From Africa, and the melancholy Asia i Koty.
YACHT
This American duo — Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans — expands to a quartet at live performances. The name of the band is purportedly short for Young American Challenging High Technology, which does in fact correspond with their sound: frenetic, dancy electronic music with a slight psychedelic twist. No wonder YACHT was snatched up by the New York label DFA (co-owned by James Murphy of the late LCD Soundsystem), who released the band’s latest album, See Mystery Lights, and is set to come out with their next, Shangri-La, this June. Jona used to dance and serve up PowerPoint presentations at live shows; who knows what YACHT is up to these days? We can’t wait to find out.
Awesome Tapes From Africa
An ethnomusicologist (by day) and DJ (by night), Brooklyn’s Brian Shimkovitz has spent the last few years exploring the extraordinarily rich world of undiscovered African music. He has sifted through hundreds of tapes unknown outside of Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Senegal, and has been sharing his discoveries on a blog titled “Awesome Tapes From Africa.” The set you’re going to hear at the festival is a lively, dynamic incarnation of the blog: great fun and an invaluable lesson on the hidden history of music.
Asia i Koty
Asia i Koty is a solo project by Folder vocalist Joanna Kuźma. Her heart-rending songs (they’re that beautiful and sad) are frugal in form, with just an acoustic guitar and an occasional piano in the background, but are chock-full of emotion and are inspired by the work of PJ Harvey and Cat Power. Her debut release, Asia i Koty EP, came out on Nasiono Records in 2010.