Final announceMENTs!
Just a good three weeks until the music madness in Ljubljana begins. You already know how it starts. On Wednesday, 31 Jan, the hard-hitting Young Fathers and Algiers will be the first to grab you, then 70 varied musical expressions from all over Europe will hold you firmly in the grasp of concert pleasure. The musical selection will conclude at Klub K4, one of the ten venues of the fourth MENT Ljubljana festival and conference. As of 22 Jan, day tickets will also be available online and at other sales points.
The newest festival venue, the Slovene Ethnographic Museum, will host an audio-visual performance by the Spanish Antropoloops and his innovative approach to ethnomusicology, the Polish singer-and-double-bass duo of Maniucha i Ksawery, and the Slovenian singer Katja Šulc with Romani poetry set to music. The stage is curated by beehype, the most global music webzine, co-created by over 90 music journalists, bloggers and deejays. At MENT, beehype will also host a presentation of the best music videos from all over the world, as well as a talk about music-related language barriers and particularities.
One of the most recognisable Slovenian rock bands is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. During their colourful career, Elvis Jackson have taken their catchy mix of ska, punk, reggae, hardcore, metal and irreplaceable jokes to over 1,000 gigs. They’ll celebrate their 20th with a new album, their sixth, but first, they’re hitting MENT.
Friday night will be shaken up by the last and latest announcements, Vakula from Ukraine and Slovenians Soter Amun, Levanael, Lara and Lavka, while YGT and Koloah will take part in the first arrangeMENT, a musical artistic residency during which they’ll create a joint EP. The festival will also feature performances by producers and deejays Borka, FLO and Whynnel, and by the six-headed Slovenian ensemble of experimental musicians Kikimore.
Dorit Chrysler, acclaimed composer and producer, will present the background of her music story and lead a free workshop on playing the theremin, the only instrument that requires no physical contact. This year, MENT Ljubljana is again organising the extremely well-received appointMENT project; the second instalment of the music poster exhibition by Slovenian and foreign visual artists will be on display at the DobraVaga Gallery from 25 Jan to 3 Mar. And at the Kapelica Gallery, Alexei Borisov will tackle the cellF neuronal synthesizer.
The conference invites music professionals to speed networking sessions with the Liveurope platform, the INES festivals, Slovenian clubs and concert organizers, international festivals and the Austrian live market. Meanwhile, the day conference programme will feature keynotes by Seymour Stein, a living encyclopaedia of rock ‘n’ roll history, Helen Smith, the first lady of independent music entrepreneurship and publishing, and Mary Anne Hobbs, one of the most influential deejays and music curators.
Check the entire MENT Ljubljana Conference programme here.
Locations: KINO ŠIŠKA / AKC METELKOVA MESTO / ORTO BAR / OLD POWER STATION / HOSTEL CELICA / SLOVENIAN CINEMATHEQUE / KLUB K4 / DOBRAVAGA / SLOVENE ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM / KAPELICA GALLERY
DAY TICKETS
Tickets for each concert evening will be on sale as of Monday, 22 Jan, and will cost 15 EUR per evening.
Festival pass (all three days, all concert venues):
→ Super Early Bird (limited amount) = 25 EUR (sold out)
→ Early Bird (limited amount) = 30 EUR (sold out)
→ presale (until 30 Jan) = 35 EUR
→ during the festival (from 31 Jan to 2 Feb) = 39 EUR
PRO pass (festival and conference):
→ Super Early Bird (until 16 Nov) = 49 EUR
→ Early Bird (from 17 Nov to 15 Dec) = 59 EUR
→ presale (from 15 Dec to 30 Jan) = 69 EUR
→ during the festival (from 31 Jan to 2 Feb) = 79 EUR