Festival Preview: Sharpe Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia, April 25-27, 2024

Manon Meurt, The Dharma Chain, Žen, Vanessa Weisz

festival preview: Sharpe festival, Bratislava, Slovakia, April 25-27, 2024,

April 22, 2024
By James Thornhill
Photo by Tereza Kunderova
Web Exclusive

I'll level with you, I'm partial to Bratislava's Sharpe festival! For music discovery it's great, a small event with decidedly big ideas and one of the friendliest places on Earth.

I'm such a fan that a year after they collapsed my lung (well they didn't, but one of my bags deflated either during or on the way back from the 2023 Sharpe) I'm back for another one of their parties. Why; Because if you want to uncover inner sounds from Slovakia, the region and the rest of Europe (and the planet), there's no better place.

Yes, I've seen everything from glitch-accordion to twisted post-punk and desolate neo-classic amongst great pop and jazz there – that's why I keep coming back. You never know what you'll get in its confines Nová Cvernovkaand that's the fun of it!

The conference it's sure to train my addled mind with thoughts from some of the best minds in the industry on big topics, centered around the conundrum of “how the hell do we make enough money to eat from music these days?” and “why does Daniel Eck set out to destroy the world?”, or similar important but less silly topics.

That's the point of writing these previews, is to guess what an event I haven't attended yet might be like. All I know is that, the way Sharpe is, it's going to be incredible. These are some of the acts I'm looking forward to seeing in Bratislava this year.

Жен

I lost Жен on Ment for clashing with Avalanche Kaito, but I'm so glad I got a chance to fix that! Their genre-defying recorded approach makes them one of the most interesting bands in Europe. They are part of it Moonlee Records roster, which is always an endorsement of quality! Their sound beautifully straddles the line between shoegaze and experimental electronics, with pop and jazz flourishing in the mix. Yes, I have to see it.

Courtyard

What's in the water in Ireland right now? Something must be fueling the explosion of vibrant musical creativity born on the Emerald Isle right now. This Dublin batch is no different! A blinding collision of techno, noise rock and industrial music Courtyard it sounds like Scaler jamming with the Gilla Band with the spit of the Death Grips – a sonic punch of a clown you'll enjoy! I'm looking forward to it.

Vanessa Weiss

Slovak artists have a real knack for subverting the pop genre! Vanessa WeissHer dream pop takes on dark electronica with deep storytelling and seductive melodies.

The Drin

What exactly is Drin? To these ears the American six-piece represents that punk ideal before it became uniform, modern. The wild abandon and disdain for the genre and scenes that Pere Ubu, Devo, B-52 and the like made, this punk adventure that was more exciting than the trichord reductionism of many of them! Essentially post-punk, they've got the bite, but they pack in exciting habit, krautrock precision and some kitschy ideas that don't fit but do. This promises to be a marvel on the live stage.

T'ien Lai

Emotional, masked Polish experimental trio T'ien Lai don't do what is expected. They make a haunting, exciting dance noise inspired by world beats. In case you were wondering about the name of the band, it is inspired by the fictional cigarettes of the TV series “The Man in the High Castle”, which translates from Japanese as “heavenly music”. SOLD!

Manon Mert

Consistently one of the best Czech shows Manon Mert Create impressive tracks full of emotion, hypnotic rhythms, smooth vocals and reverb-drenched guitars that often reach impressive crescendos. The new album on Minority Records is positioned as one of the best releases of 2024 and they deliver it all with precision and power live. Unacceptable.

The chain of Dharma

A five-piece that traded the sunny climes of Byron Bay, Australia for the urban cool of Berlin, The Dharma Chain make a kinetic, danceable style of soul in the garage rock tradition. Shoegaze walls of sound, cool rhythmic movement and hypnotic psychedelic instrumentation drive this acoustic force forward.

And this, of course, only scratches the surface and undoubtedly does not even contain the best that we will see in Bratislava. Sharpe, after all, is the place for surprises, the unexpected gems.
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