An Interplanetary Night

Since 2018, Space is the Place en BIMHUIS organise progressive programs of adventurous jazz and improvised music under the guises of Interplanetary & Intergalactic Nights. Expect genre-hopping and boundary-crossing acts, with creative minds from our vibrant local scene as well as international tastemakers. This new edition of An Interplanetary Night features bands alternated with smaller line-ups. Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones This five-piece formation from Brooklyn, New York pushes the boundaries of free jazz, composition and electronic forms, with the raw riotous energy of ‘spiritual punk’. Amirtha Kidambi sets the tone with vocals, poetry and the drone of her Indian pump organ harmonium. Using her voice as an instrument, she deals with issues such as power, colonialism and fascism. The band members are not shy to confront and resist through their saxophones, bass and drums. As such, a sense of ancestral energy pulses through their performances; it feels as though they are not alone on the stage, but are rather carried along by an old knowledge buried deep within the music. Amirtha Kidambi previously played on our stage in Mary Halvorson’s band and she made waves at forward-thinking festivals such as Rewire and Le Guess Who? Czajka & Puchacz Pianist Kaja Draksler has found her musical match in drummer Szymon Gasiorek: both explore the outer limits of their instruments through improvisations and both like to sing. The duo debuted with predominantly acoustic album Bivališča, and followed up shortly after with the retro-avant-pop single ‘Entschuldigung’ under the name Kiebitz & Uhu. This tension is also present on their recent album Flapping, which moves between free improvisation and experimental songwriting. Kaja Draksler made her mark on the Amsterdam improv scene. Now she’s back in her native Slovenia. Polish drummer Szymon Gasiorek has also found his place in the Slovenian scene. Ludvig Søndergaard Sekstet As the winner of the Keep an Eye The Records competition, drummer Ludvig Søndergaard was given the opportunity to create his dream band. With these major talents from Amsterdam, he combines and fuses opposite types of composition: intimate piano songs that immediately captivate the listener, and intricate sonic constructions full of irregular rhythms, twelve tone series and electronic experiments. This reflects the division between the Danish countryside, where Ludvig grew up, and the big cities he lived in: Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. Creature Dances, the first album by the group, appeared on DOX Records, Gerri Jäger With Argument with Reality, drummer Gerri Jäger ventures into a new direction. His solo project for drums and electronics is now expanded with live visuals created in collaboration with filmmaker Alek Riquelme. It combines self-made and collected video material, and explores themes such as addiction, (non)politics, parenthood and nature. Here Gerri remains grounded in his own expressive language: mixing genres to create a dynamic and unpredictable experience that shifts between power/fragility, minimalism/chaos and boredom/rapture. Gerri Jäger previously played on our stage in, among others, Knalpot, Naked Wolf en Minute Made Music.