14 New Artists Announced For Grauzone Festival 2024
Featuring exclusive performances by The Soft Moon, Föllakzoid, Benjamin Herman, Twin Tribes, Jennifer Touch, Melenas, Curses, and more.
From Friday 9 to Sunday 11 February 2024, the eleventh edition of Grauzone Festival will take place in The Hague, attracting thousands of visitors worldwide. In addition to previously announced artists such as Cold Cave, She Past Away, Drab Majesty, Buzz Kull, Powerplant, SDH, General Dynamics, Harsh Symmetry, The Underground Youth, Bestial Mouths, Skemer, among others, the festival has now presented new names, including The Soft Moon, Twin Tribes, Föllakzoid, Benjamin Herman, Jennifer Touch, Melenas and Curses and more.
LA’s The Soft Moon has built a longstanding connection with Grauzone and performed several times. The Soft Moon’s music is a captivating blend of influences like industrial, post-punk, and electronic music. Twin Tribes, the rising stars of the darkwave scene from Texas, create a unique mix between both the dark and the romantic of darkwave and post-punk.
Also attending the 2024 edition of the festival is world-famous Dutch saxophonist and musical visionary, Benjamin Herman. His incredible versatility has led him to explore an array of genres, from traditional jazz to Afrobeat, punk jazz to film scores, all while fronting the groovy New Cool Collective. During Grauzone he will perform Nostalgia Blitz, a record that ventures into uncharted musical territories. This album, shaped by mutant disco, death jazz, and nihilistic nu soul, adds another layer to Benjamin’s eclectic discography. Influenced by artists like James Chance, John Lurie, and Hans Dulfer, he has always strived for atonal, arty, and conceptual saxophone music. Nostalgia Blitz pays homage to these influences while pushing the boundaries of his own artistry.
All the way from Mexico come Föllakzoid who create mesmerizing rhythms, drawing inspiration from the ancient music of the Andes. They blend elements of psychedelic rock, krautrock, and electronic music, which showed at large festivals like Primavera Sound and Roskilde. Curses, hailing from Berlin, deliver a captivating fusion of dark-romantic post-punk elements with the electrifying energy of the electronic body music spectrum. Skelesys (Argentina, based in Berlin) is a producer, DJ, and bass player of Curses. He masterfully combines guitar, electronics, and vocals, promising an electrifying and immersive experience on stage. Get ready to witness his captivating live performance at Grauzone, where he’ll be making his debut appearance in Holland.
Jennifer Touch is also from Berlin, collaborated with Curses, and is ready to make her first appearance at this year’s Grauzone. Touch successfully draws from electro-pop and disco influences, combining 80’s vintage synths with industrial soundscapes, delivered with a visceral post-punk snarl. More music from Berlin is by artist Gloria de Oliveira. She delves into the realms of ethereal wave, dark ambient, and dream pop. Her recent album, Oceans of Time, is a collaborative masterpiece with David Lynch’s long-time sound designer, Dean Hurley, and just got released on the label Sacred Bones.
Melenas’ garage-fuzz-pop-reverbcore sound is a magnetic blend of The Feelies, Stereolab, accentuated by shimmering guitars, sweet melodies, and infectious rhythms. Notably, in 2021, they gained recognition for their celebrated cover of Grauzone’s classic tune “Eisbär”. Now, in 2023, they’re brimming with energy, gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated third album, Ahora.
London artist Nuha Ruby Ra, a rising force in the music scene, made waves in 2022 with her singles “My Voice” and “Self Portraiture” on Brace Yourself Records. These follow the critically acclaimed How To Move EP from 2021, solidifying Nuha’s position as one of the country’s most exciting and thought-provoking new talents. Another talent from the UK is Maria Uzor with a mixture of electro, trip-hop, and bass-techno, Uzor takes listeners on a captivating sonic adventure.
A brand-new act from Brooklyn is Lathe of Heaven who recently released their debut album on the New York label Sacred Bones. They draw inspiration from anarcho-punk legends like Crass and Flux of Pink Indians. More from the US: Spike Hellis, an experimental industrial and EBM duo hailing from Los Angeles. Something not to be missed.
At last, Grauzone is happy to give a stage to Dorpstraat 3, the rising stars of Dutch underground music, providing a unique sound that is inspired by acts such as ZZ & de Maskers, Kraftwerk, and captivates a fusion of post-punk and synthwave.
Grauzone Festival 2024 takes place in the pop venues Paard, Het Koorenhuis, The Grey Space In The Middle, De Zwarte Ruiter, De Barthkapel & Paardcafé. In addition, there will be an extensive Graukunst exhibition, performances, film program, and seminars that will be announced later this year.
The current lineup of Grauzone 2024 can be found below. While early bird tickets are already sold out, weekend & group tickets are available on Grauzone’s official website with individual day passes going on sale soon.
In the meantime, make sure to boost your excitement, by rewatching our aftermovie of last year’s edition of Grauzone!
Lineup
Grauzone Festival (NL)
Featured Image by Tineke Klamer
