LE GUESS WHO? & U? PRESENT: TOTALLY WIRED in collaboration with ANTIPODE, OCCII, GIRLS TO THE FRONT and ZALZALA

DIY LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL, ZINE LAUNCH, SCREENING, EXHIBITION, MARKET & WORKSHOPS

This year, Le Guess Who? and U? are teaming up to present totally wired. Built on shared knowledge and collective energy, this program celebrates DIY culture, the communities that shape it, and the connections forged across borders through local scenes, diasporas and intersections.

The program features a collective zine launch, workshop, exhibition, screenings, market of local artists and distros, and a line-up connecting different shades of punk and bringing exciting and loud voices together. totally wired takes place on Saturday, 7 November, at dB’s in Utrecht and is freely accessible.

totally wired is curated in collaboration with Antipode, a project that documents underground punk and DIY culture from SWANA and beyond; Girls to the Front, an Utrecht based initiative focused on the Dutch based FLINTA representation within the punk music industry; OCCII, an independent cultural center in Amsterdam that celebrates underground music; and ZALZALA, a DIY collective that celebrates underground hardcore and punk music from SWANA.

>>> https://leguesswho.com/news/totally-wired

The lineup includes BeaBop, an Amsterdam based project that brings together ideas from noise, jazz, punk, improvisation, dissociation, hunger and whimsy; four-piece terror squad BOMBSTRAP, hailing from Manchester and Rotterdam, bringing nihilistic hardcore rooted in black alchemy and ultra violence; Gimic—a four-piece band who live and breath DIY punk—which is urgent, restless and dynamic; rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist Emirhan X, who constantly explores and pushes the boundaries of hip-hop; Bristol based underground hardcore band Sarsourصرصور—the Arabic word for cockroach—delivering raw, politically charged music self-described as “Habibi Hardcore”; Snake Eaterمارخور, with the sound of the screw horns of war against colonialism worldwide, blending hardcore punk, grind core and metal into an unrelenting sonic maelstrom; five-piece band Sublux, driven by the marginalized identities and where they intersect; all-female conceptual punk band The Earwurms, who explore how being women affects their lives and how to deal with the confusion that comes along with it; The Woman, who, with a distinct mix of alternative and experimental music, gritty poetry and visual art, creates an immersive performance that is punk in attitude, open in emotion and radical in honesty; and Berlin based ZANJEER زنجیر, who set audiences ablaze with their blistering hardcore assault, through which they give voice to the frustration, anger and hatred stemming from systematic and ongoing oppression.

dB’s oefenstudio’s, concertzaal & muziekcafé
Vlampijpstraat 63
3534 AR Utrecht
https://dbstudio.nl/

ARTIST BIOS:

Snake Eater مارخور
With grindy, metal-tinged hardcore riffs, a broken-up buzzsaw guitar tone from gear that survived a house fire, relentless d-beat and raw punk energy, Snake Eater مارخور delivers furious, abrasive sounds. Inspired by Pakistani-Punjabi poetry and musical traditions, their lyrics channel an uncompromising anti-imperialist message. Fierce and confrontational, Snake Eater is the sound of the screws horns of war against colonialism worldwide, blending hardcore punk, grind core and metal into an unrelenting sonic maelstrom.

Gimic
Urgent, restless and dynamic, Gimic‘s music twists and turns at every corner, resembling a band of four people who live and breathe DIY Punk. The rhythm section is locked in and in perfect harmony whilst the guitar tone is clean and sharp, but it’s the blood-curdling vocals that give it that confrontational and emotional edge. Imagine Minutemen’s hardcore era mixed with the angular precision of math rock and the impeccable musicianship of No Means No.

BOMBSTRAP
“For fans of No Trend, Total Abuse and dead healthcare CEO’s”, four piece terror squad BOMBSTRAP plays nihilistic hardcore rooted in black alchemy and ultraviolence. Born in the anarchistic community of Poortgebouw in Rotterdam, over the past couple of years they unleashed a tidal wave of shows through DIY stages in the Netherlands and beyond. Their debut album Big Enemy is a sonic bullet: caustic, explosive hardcore drowned in nihilism and charged with anarchic alchemy aimed straight at the heart of a corrupt society.

The Woman
With a distinct mix of alternative and experimental music, gritty poetry and visual art, The Woman creates an immersive performance that is punk in attitude, open in emotion and radical in honesty. Led by Sheyda Abolfath, the project tells the melodramatic story of the modern man in search of a soul, while portraying the world as an ugly, dirty and elusive place where beauty can be found for those who listen.

BeaBop
Emerging from Amsterdam thriving improvised music scene, BeaBop is a new quartet where noise, jazz, punk, improvisation, dissociation, hunger and whimsy collide in exhilarating ways. Bringing together four adventurous musicians for the local-international scene – vocalist Beatrice Sberna, bassist Omer Brandt, guitarist Tina Czernik and drummer Aviv Maya – the project is rooted in a community of artists constantly crossing paths through a wide range of bands and collaborations.

Emirhan X
Known for his energetic live performances and distinctive sound, Emirhan X combines raw rap with influences from punk, boom bap and a touch of experimental music. His lyrics balance confident bravado, disarming vulnerability and politically charged messages that challenge himself and his listeners to face real emotions. With his unique vocal sound, the rapper and producer effortlessly switches between powerful raps and compelling vocal lines, making his music both intense and accessible.

Sublux
A hardcore punk band with a spooky anarcho twist, Sublux move between unhinged speed, ominous doom and heavy emotional depth with big riffs, chaotic synths, a pummelling rhythm section and piercing banshee vocals. Their line-up is primarily women, primarily Asian and two-thirds wheelchair users; the band’s name itself refers to a symptom of their shared disability. Their lyrics explore grief and rage towards a societal history of selfishness and cruelty whilst also standing as a testament to the persistence of those that society deems undesirable: “No matter how much society tries to extinguish us, we’re still here.”

The Earwurms
Conceptual punk band The Earwurms wiggle their way into your ears with savory words and a shebang of sound. Born within the Montessori Lyceum of Amsterdam, they made their way into the Dutch DIY and activist stages, while over the years their identity expanded beyond music to encompass stage outfits and various visual elements. Drawing from no wave, riot girrrl, punk, math rock and art rock, their music explores the joy and understanding found in the banal.

ZANJEER زنجیر
Hardcore punk band ZANJEER (زنجیر, Urdu for “chain”) channels the fury of global injustice through fast, uncompromising hardcore, crust and d-beat sung in Urdu. Vocalist Dozakhi was a prominent figure of Lahore’s DIY underground, spending years organizing shows in basements and improvised spaces and fronting bands in a scene with few venues, before relocating to Germany in 2019 in search of an alternative to the religious fundamentalism, patriarchal norms, and sparse scene back home. In recent years, the band sharpened its attack confronting the genocide in Gaza head-on and the everyday racism and Islamophobia in Europe, fusing raw hardcore touchstones with rhythmic ideas from SWANA music traditions.

Sarsour صرصور
Fast and angry hardcore punk band from Syria and Palestine. Founded this year in Bristol, Sarsour صرصور bring their Arabic anthems and abrasive sounds to totally wired.