Electro-noise duo the Yellow Swans formed in Portland, Oregon, in 2001, with the intention of combining punk’s confrontational stance with the aggressively electronic sound of glitch. Like many other noise artists, Peter Swanson and Gabriel Mindel Saloman self-released several CD-Rs and cassettes of their music, as well as issuing EPs and 7″s on labels like Collective Jyrk and Chronditic Sound. Despite frequent tours and gigs with artists including Tussle , 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Xiu Xiu , and Japanther , the Yellow Swans recorded their debut album in 2003. Bring the Neon War Home was released by Narnack in summer 2004; the duo moved to Oakland, CA, just before the album’s release. The group’s second album, Psychic Secession, arrived in fall 2005 on the Australian label Numerical Thief and was remastered and reissued that year by Load Records . They continued to churn out CD-Rs and 7″s throughout 2006 and 2007, culminating with their third full-length, 2007’s At All Ends, which had a more polished, Krautrock-inspired approach. The following spring, Swanson announced that the duo was disbanding. Two years later, Yellow Swans’ final album, Going Places, was released via Type. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

NIKA is the experimental side project of Nika Danilova (Zola Jesus). Under the NIKA moniker she explores the formless realms of a primal sonic expression. For fans of noise, power electronics, and early ZJ material.

Carlos Giffoni is a Venezuelan experimental musician and writer currently residing in Los Angeles. His transnational avant-garde music summit No Fun Fest and his celebrated New York record label No Fun Productions vitally propelled the trajectory and strengthened the cultural camaraderie of noise and improvised music worldwide.

The Venezuelan artist’s solo and collaborative work with Merzbow, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Nels Cline, Zeena Parkins, and Prurient, among many others, earned him a reputation as one of experimental music’s most-known contemporary performers. Carlos works with modular synthesizers, computer software, and found physical objects to create expressive abstract sonic landscapes.

Carlos has released music with No Fun Productions, Important Records, Ecstatic Peace, Load Records, and Ideal Recordings among others. His music has also been featured in fashion shows and campaigns by Jil Sander, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Prada.

Devi Mambouka’s evolution is rooted in her past informing her present and future. Born to a Gabonese ambassador and a Singaporean mother makes her a child of the world, and one who learned to tap into her inner magic to overcome trauma, abuse, and addiction. Play at Night, her debut album under the moniker Masma Dream World, is the resume of such learnings and experiences. Abruptly moving from Africa to the Bronx at 12 years old yielded intense challenges, but singing was a refuge and music was an escape. Influenced by the likes of Amel Larrieux, Toni Braxton, and Zap Mama, Play At Night challenges your preconceived relationship with darkness, guiding you to step into it. The album encompasses elements of butoh (a Japanese spirit-led performance art), the theta frequency, and the need to hold sacred space. This space is a prime opportunity to awaken one’s power source from within.