Always looking for something different, local musician Jeremy Stewart said it's time to bring experimental music to the forefront.
Casse-Tte: A Festival of Experimental Music will be presented at The Exploration Place June 15 and 16, featuring improvisation, free jazz, indie-pop, avant-garde compositions, minimalism, post-rock, and noise.
"This is totally new for Prince George," said Stewart, who was the coordinator for the 2011 ArtsWells festival that featured 300 artists. "There have been many groups, many artists who did very challenging music and they still are in this city, and there have been events for that kind of music but never anything approaching this scale."
Performing at the festival is a balance of local artists and visiting artists, who play a variety of unique music.
"Experimental music is kind of a clunky term," said Stewart, who is organizing this event by himself. "I wanted to use that term because I thought it would suggest to people that this is challenging and different and, maybe new, and I wanted to be able to cover a wide range of forms because it will encompass everything. It's incredibly diverse and draws on a lot of different traditions."
Performers at the festival will offer a great variety of musical styles that might surprise the audience.
"Some of the music that is being presented is very gentle and spacious and liberated," said Stewart. "One of the groups performing, that I won't name -- I have compared their music to a silverware drawer being shaken very gently in another room. I feel like I want to be pushed and challenged and hear something different. I have heard a lot of rock bands in my day, folk singers, been to dance parties and I think there's room for other things. I get really giddy thinking about it because we're going to have some really far out stuff. There will be something for everyone, if they're open to it. I certainly hope people will bring their kids (under 12 are free). There's not going to be anything offensive because 95 per cent of the music is instrumental."
Exploration Place came on board as a sponsor, inviting the festival into their space in a welcoming way, said Stewart, who's been thinking about hosting this kind of event for about a decade.
Casse-Tte, poetically means 'broken head', said Stewart. It's both the French term for 'puzzle' and for 'headache', he added.
Visiting artists include Nam Shub from Vancouver who performs Saturday night.
"They are very involved in the underground music scene in Vancouver, a post-rock band that I think will be really accessible to people," said Stewart. "Their music is like a journey and they do something that's challenging and unconventional while at the same time, providing a musical experience that people are really going to be able to sink into, like a big soft armchair going 200 miles per hour."
Other visiting artists include, Stanley Jason Zappa, from Oliver, Pigeon Breeders from Edmonton, Mechanics Who Can Drive from Calgary and Vancouver, and Evan Symons from Vancouver. Participating local artists include Maple You Know, The Transfiguration Good News Band, PG9o9, Ken Goudsward's PARKA, Jose Delgado-Guevara, Sebastian Ostertag, Anne Harris, Peter Stevenson, and Kaia Andal.
Each day the event begins at 1 p.m. and goes to about 10 p.m.
Festival passes are $36 each or $32 with valid student ID, available at Books & Co. Children under 12 are free of charge. For more information visit cassetetefestival.tumblr.com.
