DURHAM, N.C. — For its 11th annual event,
Moogfest is going to explore the themes of Protest, Transhumanism and Hacking Systems.
The festival, which is devoted to art, music and technology, will be held May 18-21 at several walkable venues throughout the downtown Durham.
"We think a little differently about what it means to be a festival. Rather than growing year after year, we’re more concerned with how we can make a bigger impact with everything we do. Our community of makers has the power to design a beautifully innovative and equitable future. It’s our responsibility to provide a platform that encourages them to create this change," Moogfest Creative Director Emmy Parker said.
Some of this year's notable performers and speakers include:
Sleep Concert - New age musician, composer and laughter meditation workshop leader Laraaji will team up with Stones Throw/Leaving Records, a hand-curated cassette driven label, for an all-night sleep concert. This will mark Laraaji’s debut eight hour sleep concert, which he says “participants will imagine their self in the present time of a sincere desire, dream vision being fulfilled. Gentle ambient celestial sounds and tones unfold over an eight hour period with zither, and various instruments supporting rest and trance, in an extended yoga SAVASANA. Participants awake with a 15 minute guided laughter meditation.”
Nona Hendryx - She will present a performance and demonstration of her wearable tech instruments. Her career has spanned decades and put her at the forefront of funk, soul, R&B, pop, hard-rock, new-wave and new-age music. She was a member of the iconic trio ‘Labelle’ famous for their hit "Lady Marmalade."
Stranger Things score - Grammy Award Nominated Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of S U R V I V E, Austin’s retro-leaning synth act, will present music from their original nostalgia-flickering score to Netflix’s ‘acclaimed series ‘Stranger Things’ ahead of the slated release of the popular show’s second season in this year. Audiences will be fueled with nuances of forbidding eerie and sparse droning analog synths tinged with noirish ambient flourishes and menacing atonal extraterrestrial compositions.
Wolf Eyes - A spearhead of the U.S. noise scene for nearly two decades, Wolf Eyes is teaming up with Trip Metal Fest for a workshop and conversation. Through their own use of technology with sonic protest, Detroit’s notorious noise band recently allowed fans to download their back catalog from their band camp for a donation going towards various marginalized charities representing reproductive rights, LGBT causes and pro-immigrant foundations.
"We have never been activists, but in this day and age it has become clear that we need to use our music as a carrier signal to fight against all forms of prejudice. Rather than boycotting North Carolina, we are excited to participate in building a network of artists and activists by collaborating with Moogfest," Wolf Eyes said.
RVNG Intl. - The Brooklyn-based record label known for numerous experimental dance and electronic artists will host its own program at Moogfest this year co-presenting two workshops with Portland’sVisible Cloaks who explore "fourth-world undercurrents in modest Japanese ambient synth and pop music” and Canada’s 1970s synth pop pioneers Syrinx.
Durationals - Moogfest continues its durational sound installation series. Pure sonic immersion will take place over three days of Moogfest. Each performance will unfold over a span of three to four hours, where anything can happen. This year’s highlights feature artists who will host the audience in intimate spaces while creating never-before-seen personalized sensory experiences.
Tickets for Moogfest are
on sale now. Festival passes are $249 and VIP passes are $499.
