Brisbane Powerhouse presents ΩHM 2024

Brisbane Powerhouse announces the return of ΩHM Festival of Other Music following its spectacular debut earlier this year. Curated by Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Program Director Brad Spolding and celebrated composer Lawrence English, the festival’s 2024 edition promises to captivate audiences with a provocative program of cutting-edge music, boundary-pushing performances and pioneering art.

Audiences can experience a fusion of music, performance, and movement at ΩHM from 28 February – 20 April 2024, with a program of immersive international and Australian talent, featuring Yothu Yindi, Michael Rother, Drab Majesty, Boris and works by Kim Gordon, Stephanie Lake, Chunky Move and more.

“From Japanese metal gods BORIS to electronic Krautrock luminary Michael Rother (NEU!) and legendary Australian First Nations collective Yothu Yindi, OHM 2024 presents the most influential artists in contemporary art today. After a massive first edition, we are excited for OHM’s return with a bigger free program, inviting locals to catch artists like WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc), Penelope Trappes, The Wilds and Chunky Move at no cost. For our second festival, we have also added an extensive program of new contemporary dance soundtracked by composers like Anna Whitaker and Robin Fox, featuring local company ADC alongside the stunning Stephanie Lake Company. Rounding out the multi-artform celebration, Sonic Youth founder Kim Gordon presents her first-ever exhibition in Australia” said Brad Spolding, Arts Program Director Brisbane Powerhouse / Co-Curator of ΩHM Festival of Other Music.

Few artists have shaped Australia’s cultural and political landscape like Yothu Yindi. The Yolngu legends made 1990s Australia sit up and listen with hits like “Treaty” and “Tribal Voice” resonating across the nation. Since bursting onto the scene in the late 1980s, the pioneering band made history as the first Aboriginal band to peak on the ARIA singles chart and gain international recognition. With sounds stretching from tribal Yolngu beats and vocals, to contemporary electronica and thumping rock ‘n’ roll, a political heart is beating throughout it all. Now thirty years on and featuring original band members alongside fresh talent from the next generation, this revamped supergroup from far North East Arnhem Land continues to honour the music and movement sparked by its founders. As words from their timeless anthem “Treaty” reverberate into present-day conversations, this is a band, and a message, that will make you think, feel and move when they perform exclusively for ΩHM.

Legendary artist Michael Rother opens the festival with a concert celebrating 50 years of NEU! A founding member of the influential German band NEU!, Rother has left an indelible mark on music for half a century. NEU!’s 1972 self-titled album shattered conventional rock structures, blazing a trail for artists like Brian Eno, David Bowie, Radiohead, and more. Join ΩHM in celebrating 50 years of NEU! as Michael Rother hits the stage alongside long-time collaborators Hans Lampe, Franz Bargmann, and Vittoria Maccabruni.

Teeing up for an audio-visual triple bill, for one night only, the LA duo, Drab Majesty will perform an Australian-exclusive experience to the 1980’s science fiction film, The Arrival, morphing post-punk with sci-fi elements. While leading French audio-visual duo Franck Vigroux and Antoine Schmitt, combine their distinctive worlds to create electronic soundscapes in their latest work ATOTAL – CHRONOSTASTIS-TEMPEST. Alongside this, Filipina-Australian multi-artist CORIN and Malaysian-Australian video artist/director, Tristan Jalleh will explore the concept of a collective heightened consciousness during a time of crisis in their work Lux Aeterna.

Japanese three piece, Boris, return to Australia as they mark 30 years. Renowned for their ground-breaking conceptual projects like Absolutego and Flood, Boris continually redefines the sonic landscape and pushes music boundaries with sludge rock, drone, metal, punk, noise, and psychedelia. Known for their live performances imbued with seismic intensity and epic crescendos, don’t miss the opportunity to immerse yourself in their recent releases, Klatter and 04092001, when they unleash at ΩHM.

Formed in Sydney in the late 80’s, enigmatic cult band The Necks have been acclaimed as “the greatest trio on Earth” by The New York Times. For over 30 years, they’ve crafted their sound through a distinctive blend of experimental jazz, avant-garde rock, and minimalist transcendence, not adhering to a particular genre. Never repeating the same performance, The Necks deliver stunningly improvised shows.

Canadian electronic musician, producer, and composer, Tim Hecker, is a revered icon of his generation, with an illustrious career spanning decades and a devoted following that includes luminaries like Brian Eno and Aphex Twin. Hecker takes audiences on an improvisational journey, manipulating organ sounds to create dramatic shifts in volume and texture. Sharing the stage is the electronic maestro Loscil and improvising alongside them is vibrant Brisbane ensemble Topology.

ΩHM will also feature performances by the British/NZ indie darlings The Veils in support of their latest double album … And Out of the Void Came Love. While two of New York’s most notorious performers, Lydia Lunch and Joseph Keckler, will come together for the Tales of Lust and Madness, an intimate evening of provocative musical poetry. The Award-winning ensemble Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra, comprised of 20+ BIPOC, First Nations, disabled, non-binary and trans artists, will perform their latest alt-pop and experimental work, Companions with guest-vocalist Erin Fitzsimon (aka INIGO). The work explores the accessibility requirements of the performers, including light, motion, sound, and physical accessibility.

That’s not all, music-lovers! Enjoy free shows from multimedia duo Arka Kinari, Zamrock band WITCH, Brisbane’s rock band The Wild, who are reviving their 2013 project Pornography, and post-genre Dots+Loops, celebrating their special 10th-year anniversary show, which will creatively blend classical concerts, underground club gigs, and experimental art shows to offer diverse and thought-provoking live art in urban settings.

VISUAL ART EXHIBITIONS – FREE

Cultural icon, Kim Gordon, best known as the founding member of Sonic Youth, transcends her musical roots into a dynamic world of art with two exhibitions at ΩHM.

Objective Projection, will showcase a compelling fusion of 2D works titled Picture-Window and video installations of her work Los-Angeles-June-6-2019, where Kim Gordon fearlessly wields a guitar in a thought-provoking commentary on surveillance and urban life.

Playing across two nights of ΩHM, Gordon’s Proposal For A Dance is an elevated and disorienting video work. Featuring two female rockers wielding electric guitars and wearing Rodarte dresses, creating sound through their movements, the piece cleverly satires the traditional, heroic gestures of male rock guitarists.