YL Hooi is the project of Valya Ying-Li Hooi, inhabiting a subtle and mysterious realm of furtive, dubbed-out song, sparse electronic percussion, and distant winds. Active in the Melbourne underground scene since 2017, Hooi is a member of Kallista Kult and has recorded and performed with artists including Jonnine Standish (HTRK),
Her debut album Untitled (first released on cassette by Altered States Tapes in 2019 and reissued on LP by Efficient Space in 2021) was widely praised. Moving seamlessly from angelic song to gritty tape gunk, Hooi’s work opens onto a multitude of genres and directions while retaining a distinctly personal stamp through her obsessively zoned-out dub production tactics. ‘These are songs that seem to emerge in plumes of smoke, magician’s tricks conjured from the ether’
Both live and in the studio, Hooi’s work is produced in close collaboration with Tarquin Manek (known for his eponymous solo work on Blackest Ever Black). In the live setting, the pair use voice, trumpet, bass clarinet, guitar, bass, drum machines and synths to reimagine the carefully produced studio material anew for each performance, keenly aware of improvisational possibilities and the vicissitudes of audience, venue, and acoustic space. Touching on the fringes of many genres and traditions – post-punk, minimal synth, dub, krautrock – Hooi’s protean music is haunted and seductive, her voice trailing off into an echoed infinity anchored to body-shaking foundations.
Windtal (Jakob Vasak) is a sound-artist based in Vienna. With a deep-rooted enthusiasm for sculpting intricate soundscapes, Windtal‘s compositions encapsulate a sensitive portrayal of life’s multifaceted emotions and experiences.
Guided by an insatiable curiosity to explore the boundaries of sound, he adeptly interweaves acoustic nuances with electronic elements, forming a sonic tapestry that beckons listeners on a journey of introspection. Each composition unfolds as a narrative, encouraging the exploration of sentiments, memories, and the fluid nature of existence.
A universe made of rhythms, puzzled to find the right body reactions to it. Hylut evokes a memory that fluctuates between a forgotten past and some troublesome future. When her voice arises though, time takes a leap and lands on a cloud of smoke in early morning. After distortion there comes spring. Or Sirens. With alluring pain. Tempting. (V. Eberhart)
Lucia Kagramanyan is a Vienna-based Dj also known as a host of NTS radio show Panorama Yerevan, which is showcasing solely Armenian music in its huge variety. Lucia is researching Armenian music and makes it accessible via one-hour episodes that focus either on different genres or moods, mixing together old and new recordings. Her balance between obscure and obvious and digger highlights as a selector and DJ can be heard on radio waves of Palestinian Radio Alhara, and past guest shows on Red Light Radio, Reform Radio Bristol, Rinse Fm, Operator Radio in Rotterdam, and others.