Amenra invited to play at Roadburn 2017 by curator John Dyer Baizley
Stefaan Temmerman photo
Roadburn Festival 2017 curator, John Dyer Baizley, announces that AMENRA will perform a set at this year's festival.
Roadburn and the Church of Ra are certainly no strangers; and there's no doubt they’ve left an impression on the wider music community.
“As I round out the lineup for my curated stages at the upcoming Roadburn Festival 2017, I’m again thrilled to announce one of the last acts I’ve booked: the uncontested visionary of monochromatic heaviness, AMENRA. The last time I witnessed an AMENRA performance was at Roadburn 2013, when they could still fit (barely) inside Het Patronaat. The line out the door was hundreds of show-goers long, and I was somehow able to force my way inside to see the band perform. To say they blew us all away would be a grossly undersold miscalculation. They set a new standard for me that afternoon, demonstrating just how forward-thinking and discovery-rich DIY music can be; a transcendent marriage of heaviness, artistry, non-linearity, energy, and soul which vaulted from AMENRA’s stage and through the audience.
“It is with the greatest pleasure that I announce their 2017 performance will be the first “heavy” set they've done in quite some time. They were at the top of my list of invitees when I was first asked to curate, and I wouldn't skip their 013 set for any rational reason. They are the penultimate Roadburn band; they’re a modern band, they defy categorization, and they are single-minded in their commitment to an unwavering artistic vision of beautiful cacophony. If this music could take physical form, it would render mountains to dust. Those faint of heart attendees beware, this is music that leaves a trace. I’ll see you all there.”
AMENRA have recently completed work on their upcoming album Mass VI, which will be released later on in the year via Neurot Recordings. To tide you over until Mass VI surfaces, the ever prolific creative forces behind AMENRA have teamed up with fellow Ghent musicians, Raketkanon to create AMENRA X RAKETKANON X MICHAËL BORREMANS — a split 10” released in May via Consouling Sounds.
Colin Van Eeckhout will present a short documentary filmed throughout 2016, entitled Noisey Meets: Colin Van Eeckhout as part of Roadburn Cinema. Directed by Duco Coops for Vice/Noisey this short documentary follows AMENRA’s frontman at various points throughout 2016.
Colin comments: “I wanted to put emphasis on the human aspect of being a musician; everybody always pictures us living in cellars drinking blood from skulls, but there’s more to our lives than that. You see my mom, my kids, my work, rehearsal space, some spots where it all began for AMENRA in the skatepark...you see what its really like behind the scenes. The free moments we have in our lives we dedicate it all to art, creation and music. We want to give form to that world inside our heads.”
AMENRA will perform on the main stage at the 013 venue, as part of John Dyer Baizley’s curation, on Friday, April 21, 2017. Meanwhile check out remaining dates below for previously announced shows...
AMENRA ACOUSTIC TOUR
17/03 - Leeuwarden NL, Neushoorn (Afterlife Acoustic)
18/03 - Eindhoven NL, Effenaar (Afterlife Acoustic)
19/03 - Utrecht NL, Tivoli (Afterlife Acoustic)
21/04 - Tilburg NL, Roadburn Festival - SOLD OUT
28/04 - Athens GR, Smoke the Fuzz fest (electric)
12/05 - Gent BE, Vooruit theater (Afterlife Acoustic)
13/05 - Gent BE, Vooruit concertzaal (electric) - SOLD OUT
25/05 - Church St. Denijs BE (Afterlife Acoustic) - SOLD OUT
26/05 - Church St. Denijs BE (Afterlife Acoustic) - SOLD OUT
16/06 - Graspop, Dessel BE (electric)
12-16/07 - Dourfestival BE (electric)
+more TBC
CHVE SOLO SHOWS
18/03 - Effenaar, Eindhoven NL
24/03 - Muziekcentrum, Dranouter BE
31/03 - TBC
09/04 - AB, Brussels BE
15/04 - Concertgebouw, Brugge BE
20/04 - 013, Tilburg NL
6/05 - Trax, Roeselare BE
27/05 - Dunkfestival, Zottegem BE
Watch the "Charon" official video below:
Purchase CHVE's 10910 HERE.
Stay tuned for more AMENRA and MASS VI news very soon.