Hastings Fat Tuesday hosts SONICS 2020

SONICS brings some major names in electronic and experimental music to Hastings Fat Tuesday this year, with artists Plaid, Leila and DJ Food headlining the weekend event that also includes much local talent, workshops and talks. Nick Weekes gives us a guided tour.

SONICS launched last weekend in Wow and Flutter records with live acts and DJs throughout Saturday, culminating in an impromptu jam by Endwell Productions and Warrior Squares. The music writer and experimental composer David Toop gave a talk on Tuesday night and he will also be performing at St Mary in the Castle over the coming weekend with Rie Nakajima.

Over the weekend of 22-23 February SONICS has at least eight free workshops, talks, and free events in the daytime featuring Abstract Source, Trevor Watts, David Toop and Tim Exile. The evening sessions promise to be extravagant with sound and visual, and Saturday’s runs until 2am. The evening sessions are a bargain at £10 each, or both nights for only £16!

My recommendations: Go to the lot if you can! Catch Plaid on world tour at a bargain price with Leila in support on Saturday. The journey through the soundworlds of Massicot and Johanna Bramli (harsh/soothing) building up to the melodic and unique Plaid, followed by a late set from Leila.

Sunday has the amazing Scratchtastic (sic) Mr Thing, the bewitching new hip hop of Gawd Status and DJ Food’s Kraftwerk remix climax to the irreverent second evening session. Don’t miss The Village Metronome on Sunday either – hailing from Brede, of all places, these youngsters do experimental rock with curious jazzy twist, tempo shifting and wild excursions that seem to twist the room out of shape!

So much to recommend. Tim Exile, a musician and programmer will introduce his new mobile app that allows people to easily jam from different locations in real time. There is a strong female contingent dispelling the myth that electronic/experimental is a male stronghold, with Rie Nakajima, Jilliene Sellner, Leila and Johanna Bramli, and not forgetting Swiss art rockers Massicot, another must-see.

Download a handy printable guide here Sonics 2020 Calendar

Buy tickets to the two evening sessions at or online via Hastings Fat Tuesday (links below). Remember: a day ticket costs £10 and a weekend saver £16. They can be bought at Wow and Flutter Records (8 Trinity Street, Hastings TN34 1HG) or online (day tickets for Saturday and Sunday, weekend saver).

Or you could try your luck on the night…

More information

Saturday 22nd Feb

1pm-5pm FREE ENTRY

Blackmarket VIP

• Crunchy Bat (local teenage experimental punk, all must witness  this!)
• Trevor Watts, Veryan Weston, Grassy Noel & APE (full on jazz/poetry blast)

St Mary in the Castle

• Abstract Source
• David Toop & Rie Nakajima
• Project Dark: Records from the Archive
• Mordant Music: Travelogues

8pm-2am, ticketed

Blackmarket VIP

• Plaid (live/AV) – headliner
• Leila (DJ Set)
• Johanna Bramli
• Massicot
• plus Sonics DJs

Workshops and talks on Saturday – all FREE

12:30pm at Jenny Lind: Women In Electronic Music Panel/Q&A.

2pm at St Mary in the Castle: Jilliene Sellner.

2pm at Hastings Contemporary: Sonic Arts Collaborative Composition Workshop – Johanna Bramli.

Sunday 23rd Feb

1pm-5pm Workshops and talks, FREE

12pm at Jenny Lind: A Digital Sound Workshop with Cutlasses

2pm at Hastings Contemporary: Tim Exile.

7pm-11pm, ticketed

BlackMarket VIP

• DJ Food – Kraftwerk: Klassics Kovers & Kurios (DJ/AV set) – headliner
• Gawd Status
• DJ Mr Thing
• The Village Metronome
• plus Sonics DJs

* * *

SONICS Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/Sonics2020Hastings

Some videos

Plaid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSzH4DMo618

Leila https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWE6PgY5jA

Gawd Status https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb-knOhQPTk&list=RDeb-knOhQPTk

DJ Mr. Thing boiler room set https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tBvHNOQAJA

The Village Metronome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnCPGfW5f2M

Rie Nakajima https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIFK6LrmHww

Tim Exile (featuring Nile Rodgers :)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AHZQ3-R-_4

Johanna Bramli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOSqVbWkIXo

 

 

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