They say it’s a good day if you don’t have to use your AK, but we’ll settle for a day when we get to announce the addition of a Polish hip-hop legend and five other excellent artists to the OFF Festival 2016 lineup: Anohni, The Kills, Thundercat, Kaliber 44, Willis Earl Beal, and FIDLAR.

Anohni
Anohni calls her debut release “an electronic record with some sharp teeth.” The voice and charisma familiar to fans of her work with Antony and the Johnsons returns in a new and original context on an album recorded in collaboration with Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke, two of the leading names in contemporary electronic music. Hopelessness juxtaposes dance beats with political lyrics that touch upon such topics as mass surveillance and drone warfare. Anohni takes her work to the stage with an unexpected twist, performing inside a live avatar.

The Kills
At the turn of the century, the American singer Alison Mosshart and the English guitarist Jamie Hince reinvented the sound of British garage rock, giving us something as loud and dangerous as it is catchy and sexy. And while in recent years Alison has spent more time appearing alongside Jack White in The Dead Weather than with her own band, and the tabloids have devoted more coverage to Jamie’s private life than his music, The Kills are just as deadly onstage as they’ve always been. Much time has passed since the 2011 release of Blood Pressures, the duo’s last album to date, and the word is that they’re working on a new record. Let’s hope we catch a glimpse of things to come this year in Katowice.

Thundercat
Stephen Bruner has lived and breathed music since the day he was born. His father, Ronald Bruner, Sr., played the drums for The Temptations and Diano Ross, while his brother, also a percussionist, has collaborated with Wayne Shorter and others. For a couple of years, the two brothers made up the rhythm section of hardcore legend Suicidal Tendencies. But Stephen’s true musical love lies elsewhere: it’s jazz and its ilk, it’s soul, funk, and hip-hop, and finally, it’s an original blend of all the above genres — a blend with which Thundercat charms his listeners on his own albums and as a guest musician for such artists as Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, and Kamasi Washington. We’re proud to host an artist of his caliber at the OFF Festival.

Willis Earl Beal
A charismatic outsider from Chicago who’s hard to keep up with and impossible to label. When critics and fans — enchanted with the rawness of his debut album Acousmatic Sorcery and the fervor of Nobody Knows — pigeonholed him as “new dark soul,” Beal opted not to mine the genre that brought him success, instead redirecting his efforts into musical experimentation. The result was the 2015 LP Noctunes, with its poignant, lazily-flowing hymns, brimming with pain and longing. But to truly comprehend the phenomenon that is Willis Earl Beal, you need to see him in concert, where neither emotion nor vocal talent can be faked — and you’d be hard pressed to find a more authentic singer.

FIDLAR
This is what it sounds like when you let a little sunlight shine into the garage. California’s FIDLAR (short for Fuck It Dog, Life’s a Risk) will sweep you away with their skate punk energy and laid-back surf rock riffs. There’s no way you’re not going have fun with these guys at a summer music festival, though the lyrics on their latest album, Too, are no mere party anthems: quite the opposite, in fact. They’re a warning about what happens when partying takes over your real life. Unless your drug of choice is music, that is.

Kaliber 44
Kaliber 44 needs no introduction in Poland and particularly in Silesia. They’re a living legend, one of Poland’s first hip-hop bands and the only one of their kind, though their psycho-rap style continues to inspire legions of imitators. If we could wait 16 years for AbradAb and Joka to release their latest album, Ułamek tarcia, we can wait another few months to see them live at the OFF Festival, especially now that we know what to expect. The brothers are back in top form and they can look forward to “a whole year of hands in the air,” to quote a line from one their new tracks.

Experience the best in alternative music this summer at OFF. Already confirmed acts: Anohni, The Kills, Mudhoney, GZA, Lush, GusGus, Thundercat, Napalm Death, Jaga Jazzist, SBB, Sleaford Mods, Lightning Bolt, Andrew Weatherall b2b Roman Flügel, Brodka, Kaliber 44, Daniel Avery, Clutch, Beach Slang, Willis Earl Beal, Flatbush Zombies, Machinedrum, Yung Lean & Fidlar.

OFF Festival Katowice 2016 – August 5th – 7th
More info and tickets: www.off-festival.pl

Contact:
Nikki McNeill | Global Publicity
nikki@46.32.240.39