Text by CLOT Magazine
L.E.V. Festival, one of Spain’s most acknowledged avant-garde festivals, opens a new chapter in its history. For the first time, the festival leaves its traditional venue of La Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura, located in the city of Gijón (Asturias). It goes South to Matadero Madrid, the biggest public-run art space of the capital city.
The 3-day event will host a mixture of international and local artists, including numerous CLOT favourites. Morton Subotnick, Lilievan & Alec Empire revisiting together Silver Apples classic Silver Apples of the Moon. James Ferraro’s premiere of Requiem for Recycled Oboe and Flute in collaboration with digital artist Maotik. British heavyweights Emptyset will present their last A/V show entitled Blossoms. Italian multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Cortini will introduce his new album Volume Massimo. Plaid, Aïsha Devi, DJrum, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Eli Keszler & Nate Voyce and HP, aka Haswell & Powell, complete a dense and diverse lineup.
On the Spanish side, the bill completes with Francisco López, one of the most acclaimed sound artists in his field, with a career that spans more than 40 years and will play on Sunday. Avant-drummer-by-electronics prodigy RRUCCULLA who had an amazing 2019 with gigs at SXSW, Sónar and Primavera Sound, will perform her entirely self-made A/V show. Asturian producer Skygaze plays his latest album Bloom. Finally, relentless visual artist Marta Verde will perform along with local techno to IDM producer Tensal.
Besides, the festival opens its traditional focus on classic experimental genres like Ambient, IDM or Techno to include newer trends and emerging artists, including Sega Bodega, Babii, Oklou & Krampf, Recsund and Hidden Jayeem set to appeal to a younger generation of listeners and dancers.
L.E.V. has its inaugural day on October 17 and will use most of the spaces at Matadero: Nave 16, Nave 0, Plaza Matadero, Cineteca Madrid and the “Taller” will host shows. A new section, including immersive experiences and virtual worlds, will also be included in the programme under the name Vortex (VRTX). Soundscape, an immersive sound system, will be set for the shows taking place at Nave 16.
