Soft Centre Announce Four Day Festival, 'UNFURL'

SOFT CENTRE have announced their new festival UNFURL will take place across four days from the 24th of November until Sunday the 27th of November across six unique sites across the city of so called Sydney on Gadigal, Gweagal and Bidjigal land. 

The event will focus on sound and digital art and experimental performance, reflecting the imprint's well adored curatorial ethos. The promoter has consistently platformed radical new ideas across a range of mediums with music and art at its focus since 2017. 

The weekend commences on the Thursday night with a concert of ritual music at St. Baranabas' Church in Broadway featuring Indonesian duo Senyawa and new doom metal outfit Rinuwat performing their debut album Dua Naga with sacred instruments from the gamelan gong kebyar. Also joining them will be Troth and Tarquin Manek performing a live set as Silzedrek.

Friday night will see UNFURL take over an abandoned cinema in Chinatown with an audiovisual variety show with a live set from FITNESSS, the debut live performance of Spider Gang member SOLSA, as well as DJ Stev Zar presenting a hybrid DJ/live performance ritual titled AN.IĆ. WeiZen Ho will present Stories from the Body #1, #6, #7, which will be a participatory opening performance inspired by Malaysian folklore and Horse Macgyver will present a new A/V show.

If the first two days weren't stacked enough, Saturday's program will continues wow. On Saturday morning the festival will stage a discourse event at converted Petersham church Greenhouse Studios. Jon Smeathers will present a DJing workshop that transforms YouTube into an instrument, followed by a panel moderated by Cool Room co-founder Anuraag Bhatia which features Rami Abadir, Rully Shebara, Chuquimamani-Condori and Em Fishpool.

As the sun sets the program continues to a secret location for a dark rave experience with performances from Kombumerri artist salllvage presenting a hybrid DJ/live set titled DEEP GECKO ENERGY, which will explore Indigenous futurism through bass and D&B alongside DJ sets from Anuraag, E3P and a secret international guest.

Sunday afternoon will see UNFURL head to the Calyx (home to the biggest green wall in the Southern Hemisphere) in the Royal Botanic Gardens for performances from Egyptian IDM producer ABADIR, rising electro-pop star VOLTA HYMN, dub & post punt from Mx-Ai and Ying-Li Hooi and DJ sets from akka. The Calyx will also host a commissioned collaboration between Budawang sound artist EFT and viola virtuoso Mara Schwerdtfeger and a closing DJ set and live performance from Aymara composer Chuquimamani-Condori. 

Throughout the week UNFURL will host a social hub at Poor Toms Gin hall with extended DJ sets from local selectors. They will also operate a soon to be announced SOFT CENTRE Discord moderated and hosted by Zourrybot AKA Audrey Pfister.

You can grab the full event details via their website HERE.