Remembering the appearance of carefully chosen names like Meuko Meuko, OMSK Social Club, and Animistic Beliefs at last year’s Mutation Part II, this year will be no less provocative. Amsterdam Noord will, once again, be transformed into an experimental playground across six venues exploring the relationship between art, ecology, technology, and the non-human sensorium. Here follow our favourite events of this year’s edition.

Opening concert with Perila

In collaboration with Entrée, FIBER kicks off the programme at the Concertgebouw with a live act by Berlin-based artist Perila. She is the co-founder of one of the very first Russian online radio stations dedicated to experimental music called radio.syg.ma. Her work is mostly ambient, though her sound extends to the realm of the corporeal, often inviting her listeners to embody immersive states of being. During her opening performance, she will take us through her research on sonic architecture based on ideas of ‘evaporation’, which, coupled with the distinct acoustics of Concertgebouw, will foster an exploration into the textural logic of her music.

Location: Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

Date: May 11, 20:30 - 23:00 CET

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Signal Transmutations by Spekki Webu & Matti Vilho (live A/V)

If you’re looking to expand your perception of sound and its endless shape-shifting forms, then you’ll probably want to check out Spekki Webu and Matti Vilho’s premiere of Signal Transmutations at Noordwaards.

As described by the artists, Signal Transmutations explores the questions of reincarnation by travelling through tribalistic transmissions. Expect a journey into the seemingly inaccessible spaces of the subconscious mind, where a combination of hypnotic ambient and psy-techno will restlessly fuse with kaleidoscopic visuals and a fair amount of spiritual awakening. For this special performance, the characteristic industrial aesthetics of Noordwaards will provide the ideal stage for an expedition into the unknown.

Location: Noordwaards, Amsterdam

Date: May 12, 21:00 - 5:00 CET

Katarina Gryvul & Alex Guevara (live A/V)

This collaboration between Ukrainian sound artist Katarina Gryvul and Peruvian digital artist Alex Guevara is a timely one. Operating between the personal and the collective, this live audio-visual performance brings together fragments that reflect on the artistic journey of both artists. The result is an emotionally intense exploration of oneself in the chaotic and uncertain times we all live in and experience daily. Katarina’s transcendental voice and Alex’s immersive visuals will act as a portal into the fragmentary fragility of reality.

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The performance was created as part of the long-term Rybachka initiative by Borshch magazine editor Mariana Berezovska. Rybachka aims to bring together artists from different backgrounds to deconstruct pain together, raise awareness of the less obvious consequences of war and violent conflict and seek ways of healing through artistic means. The development of the premiere and the Rybachka project was supported by CTM Festival.

Location: Noordwaards, Amsterdam

Date: May 12, 21:00 - 5:00 CET

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Shoal & Orah present Terugblik (live A/V)

In collaboration with Something Something, Fiber Festival presents the premiere of  Terugblik by Dutch DJ and producer Kenny Kneefel (aka Shoal) and Italian visual artist Deborah Mora (Orah). The artists will transform the raw and technical high-ceiling space of Noordwaards into an ethereal and chimerical imaginary where past memories dance together in the present future. Terugblik is also a moment of celebration for the release of Shoal’s new album of the same name. Expect to get drawn into the surreal world-building performance of these highly skilled human beings. 

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Location: Noordwaards, Amsterdam

Date: May 12, 21:00 - 5:00 CET

Vox supreme

The Traumgarten’s label-head and DJ, Vox supreme, is the promoter of a rich and diverse mélange of music genres, often described as being characteristically surprising in their delivery and composition. Jounes (aka Vox supreme) has developed a quite distinct and performative way of messing with rhythms that don’t abide by conventional music expectations. Expect an abnormal set that will take you to unexplored mental and physical territories.

Location: Noordwaards, Amsterdam

Date: May 12, 21:00 - 5:00 CET

FIBER x Garage Noord with LCY & Mbodj

Again, this year, FIBER Festival has joined forces with Garage Noord to deliver an unmissable club night with a diverse and powerful line-up.

Among the participants are London-based producer, DJ, and visual artist LCY, and Barcelona-based DJ and music programmer Mbodj. LCY is a natural world-builder. Their sound can be described as an ongoing dialogue between experimental ambient and different music genres such as grime, and jungle. This unusual composition of different sonic realities results in the emergence of sharp-breaks, rough percussion, and experimental synths.

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Mbodj is quite a visionary. The Barcelona and Dakar-based DJ delivers a mix of genres defined by experimental sounds, breaks, dancehall, and bass. Through her future-forward musical vision, she always seeks to create a communal space for her audience. She is the co-founder of Jokkoo Collective, a group of artists from the African diaspora (based in Spain) exploring electronic and black experimental music through various events. 

Location: Garage Noord, Amsterdam

Date: May 13, 23:00 - 07:00 CET

Floating Codes by Ralf Baecker

Amsterdam’s new creative centre Door Open Space is a blessing. Located in the Noord of the city, the warehouse offers its industrial space for exhibitions, dance and theatre performances, and nightlife. This year, FIBER’s exhibition will host a diverse panoply of artists working at the intersection of art, science, technology, and sound.

Ralf Baecker’s ‘Floating Codes’, in particular, is one project you should be looking forward to visiting. The installation is a visual representation of the performativity of artificial neural networks. An interactive conversation between networks will take place as the viewers enter the space, allowing them to explore the centre of the neural system. We suggest you take a good dive!

Location: Door Open Space, Amsterdam

Date: May 11-14 (ongoing exhibition)

Symposium Session 2: Playing Worlds with Aditi Srivastava & Jordan Edge

As part of session two of the FIBER’s Symposium, two artists from the UK will draw us into their speculative fictional worlds through performative lectures. 

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Working at the intersection of communication, interaction design, and moving image, London-based new media artist Aditi Srivastava will talk us through her research on mycelium and the internet, connecting the two in relation to the colonial and capitalist history of India. 

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On the other hand, artist Jordan Edge (aka Kiik Amor), also from London, will give us an introduction to their artistic practice as an ongoing multispecies entanglement consisting of a hybrid combination of sound, sculpture, and performance art. Can we push our own boundaries of understanding and imagining through playing, chanting and listening?

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Location: De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam

Date: May 13, 14:30 - 16:00 CET

Symposium Session 5: Patterns in the Noise with Aimée Theriot-Ramos, Emile Frankel, Arif Kornweitz

Arif Korweitz will start session five with a listening experience. After that, all three musicians will give a small presentation about the rapidly changing world of music and related practices, with a particular focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

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Patterns in the Noise wants to open up a discussion about the ways in which technological developments are slowly, yet vividly entering the creative world. What is this role of technology in creative expressions? What are the ethics of using AI?

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Location: De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam

Date: May 14, 14:30 - 16:00 CET

Go to FIBER’s website for the full festival program and more information.