Poster by Mila Bisbrouck (@kidiikat)
To close off a pretty eventful first year of activity, Ekumen collaborates with les ateliers claus to present a night filled with varied experiments in sound and performance. Some sparse, some expansive, some acoustic, some electronic, all affecting and poetic.
Arnica Montana
Hélène Blondel, a.k.a. Arnica Montana.
It's been roughly three years since Hélène Blondel fell in love with analogue sound synthesis. Since then, as Arnica Montana, she's been exploring and crafting her very own electronic instruments. Her goal is to let the synths play for themselves, to leave room for chaos in an ecosystem of modulations, resonances and (de)phasing — to foster a playground for electricity, who is, after all, the main character of her project. For the human bystanders, the result is a medicinal music, a strong massage for the brains.
Artist's links
Instagram: @arnica._.montana
Arthur Chambry
The artist Arthur Chambry.
Arthur Chambry lives and works in his den/studio somewhere in Brussels. There, he plays music, crafts instruments, writes stories & songs, he dances and gesticulates. He only leaves his burrow to find wide open spaces where the acoustics can carry his sounds, his texts and his voice. Alone, as a duo (with Ugnė Vyliaudaitė as Sans Âge or with Radio Hito as Zanc), in groups, in caves, churches, old warehouses, he strives to bring stories to life amongst a complex orchestration comprised of old wooden clogs, inflators, PVC flutes, bells and other stuff.
You can relive the story of "La Seuz" on his latest LP, brought out by Futura Resistanza in 2023.
Recommended listening
Arthur Chambry, La Seuz (Futura Resistanza, 2023).
Arthur Chambry, Concert solo (Festival Sonic Protest à Paris, 2024).
Artist's links
Personal website: arthurchambry.com
Instagram: @arthurchambry
Florence Cats
The artist Florence Cats, photographed by Joseph Hogan.
Florence Cats oscillates between many art forms: music, sound art, visual art, writing and acupuncture. On her spare time, she also organises multidisciplinary (sound) art events in the centre of Brussels. She plays the prepared theremin, interfering with an array of objects, with water, voice, radio waves and field recordings.
Her ongoing collaborations include work with violinist Clara Levy and with electronic musician Diana Duta.
Her latest release, We are now approaching Mo i Rana, was brought out in October on Hitorri, a sub-label of the renowned Japanese label Ftarri.
Recommended listening
Florence Cats, We are now approaching Mo i Rana (Hitorri, 2024).
Florence Cats, YS (Edições CN, 2022).
Florence Cats, correspondances (frissons cassettes, 2021).
Artist's links
Personal website: https://fcats.hotglue.me/
Instagram: @cats_florence