The first evening of the 16th edition of the SONICA Festival brings the Slovenian premiere of the audiovisual project 'Jbal Rrsas' by the Tunisian musical visionary Deena Abdelwahed, who over the last five years has established herself as one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary cutting-edge Arabic electronic and experimental music.
Deena Abdelwahed ‘Jbal Rrsas’ Live A/V (TN)
After her beginnings in a jazz band and multiple interventions in the electronic scene in Tunis, the Tunisian producer and DJ moved to France in 2016. She signed on the Parisian label InFiné and released two EPs, "Klabb" (2017) and "Dhakar" (2020) and an album entitled "Khonnar" (2018), acclaimed by several international media such as Pitchfork and The Guardian. Her musical explorations are hopeful attempts to reclaim the elements that make up the diversity of Arabic music, drawing inspiration from electronic dance music influenced by Club music and the current avant-garde and experimental scene. She co-produced the track "an itch" that appears on Fever Ray's latest album, "Plunge" and has produced several remixes of Bachar Mar-Khalifé, Flore, Domenico Torti and Afrika Bambaataa, among others. She has also collaborated with the dance community, asked by Alexandre Roccoli to write and perform the music for Weaver in 2017. In Live set or DJ set, Deena Abdelwahed has performed on stage in several festivals and events of renown such as Sonar Festival twice, Les Dunes Electroniques in Tunisia, CTM Festival in Berlin, Dekmantel in Amsterdam, Dour festival or Mutek Festival in Mexico City and clubs such as Concrete and Dehors Brut in Paris, the Berghain in Berlin and Mutabor in Moscow, among others.
Martyna Basta (PL)
Krakow-based artist Martyna Basta’s diaristic sound shapes a delicate atmosphere that balances lush and haunting. Classically trained in guitar, the Polish composer escaped academia at the age of 18, replacing her native instrument with a synth. She soon developed a unique way of composing, involving modulated voice, electronics, and field recordings. This radical transformation was captured on her first album Making Eye Contact with Solitude released on the Slovak label Warm Winters, which introduced her as part of a new wave in the European experimental scene. After the release of her debut, she reached back for acoustic instruments like guitar and zither, establishing her unique electro-acoustic tone.
Nicola Ratti (IT)
Nicola Ratti is a multifaceted musician, composer, sound designer and professor of sound space design at Brera Academy. For years, he has been active in various experimental fields, theatre, cinema, performing arts and sound art. His approach to production relies on systems that take shape from repetition and expansion, with particular attention to the construction of environments that gravitate in relation to the space and architecture we inhabit, playing with emotional and perceptual orientations. Beside his solo work for labels such as Where To Now? and Room40, he is also part of other collaborative projects such as Bellows, NR/MA and What We Do When in Silence.
About SONICA 2024: Glocalisation
The 16th edition of the international festival of electronic music and transitory art SONICA brings a diverse selection of artists who have made a significant impact on the field of electronic and experimental music in recent years.The festival will take place from April 18th to April 20th, 2024 in Ljubljana.
Co-produced by MoTA - Museum of Transitory Art, SONICA Festival Institute.
Martyna Basta and Nicola Rattia are part of the SHAPE+ platform co-funded by Creative Europe.
Supported by Ministry of culture RS and Municipality of Ljubljana - Department of Culture
