Otomo Yoshihide + Bneleti + more

**Turntables as percussion instruments, archives, and weapons. After a sold-out concert by Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band, the band leader returns to A4 after some time.

This time in a more intimate, but equally explosive and somewhat unusual improvisational lineup: two turntables and drums. The legend of Japanese (and long ago also world) experimental music meets Emilie Škrijelj and Toma Malmendier in a lineup that once again pushes turntablism from the exhibitionism of DJ technique to a full-fledged improvisational instrument: fragile microtextures, crackles, and musical fragments break into rhythmic breaks, noisy eruptions, and unexpected moments of silence.

Otomo Yoshihide is an internationally renowned musician across the genres of improvised music, noise, electroacoustics, and film soundtracks—he is often referred to as one of the most important improvisers and composers of today. Škrijelj and Malmendier also form the duo Les Marquises, which has made a name for itself with its spontaneous electroacoustic improvisation, full of humor and ingenuity.

Bneleti (ბნელეთი), named after a pre-Christian Georgian word that translates as „Land of Darkness,“ is a project by Ben Wheeler. Its sounds come from seemingly disparate sonic realms: encompassing the complex counterpoint of Georgian polyphony, the bends and embellishments of Azerbaijani guitar, and the aesthetic sensibility of Pacific Northwest hardcore, the music embodies Wheeler’s growing flood of influences and traces his development as a performer, composer, and musicologist.

And to top it all off, there is always a different and surprising performance by the ever-changing resident ensemble at A4 – the Bratislava Improvisation Orchestra. Since 2023, the ensemble has been a loose group of musicians playing acoustic and electronic instruments and devoted to freely improvised music.

The event was supported by public funds from the Fund for the Support of the Arts and the Bratislava City Foundation.

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