As part of Artefact Sound, STUK and Sound in Motion present the long awaited Belgian live debut of أحمد [Ahmed], the quartet of Pat Thomas (piano), Seymour Wright (alto saxophone), Joel Grip (double bass) and Antonin Gerbal (drums) lifting the legacy of the mighty Ahmed Abdul-Malik to a new dimension. In this superb double bill 1984 — the adventurous trio of turntablist Mariam Rezaei, reed player Sakina Abdou, and guitarist/composer Kobe Van Cauwenberghe — will present their debut LP, ‘The Forward Process’, on Dropa Disc.

The performance will be preceded by a conversation with the members of  أحمد [ahmed] . A publication with texts by and about the band, published by In vitro in collaboration with Echoes of Dissent (KASK School of Arts), will also be presented on this occasion.

Timing:

Stek Workspace
16:00 – 18:00
Conversation & publication about أحمد [Ahmed] by Echoes of Dissent & In vitro

Soete Zaal
19:45 doors
20:00: 1984: Kobe Van Cauwenberghe – Mariam Rezaei – Sakina Abdou
21:30: أحمد [Ahmed]

أحمد [Ahmed]: Pat Thomas – Seymour Wright – Joel Grip – Antonin Gerbal (UK/FR/SE)

أحمد [Ahmed] brings heavy rhythmic music based on repetitive patterns and swinging syncopations. A powerful punch in the stomach that subsequently transitions into a deep feeling of ecstasy. The foundation for the quartet is the music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, a now deceased New York bassist and composer who introduced Arabic and East African influences into jazz music. His thoughts and melodies shine through in the music of  أحمد [Ahmed], which is formed by some of the best European improvisational musicians: Pat Thomas (piano), Antonin Gerbal (drums), Joel Grip (bass), and Seymour Wright (alto sax). Their albums — released from 2017 to the present — are unparalleled journeys that excel in technique and endurance. But أحمد [Ahmed] is a band that you really have to see live, and now you can do so for the first time in Belgium during Artefact Sound.

1984: Mariam Rezaei – Sakina Abdou – Kobe Van Cauwenberghe (UK/FR/BE)

1984 brings together three restless experimentalists, all born in that hauntingly symbolic year: saxophonist Sakina Abdou, turntablist Mariam Rezaei, and guitarist/composer Kobe Van Cauwenberghe. Following a residency at STUK (March 2025), a concert at the Summer Bummer Festival (August 2025), and a three-day recording session at the Dropa House studio (September 2025), the trio now presents its debut LP, ‘The Forward Process’, via the Dropa Disc label.

Inspired by a passage from Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘The Dispossessed’ and by Zooid, the unique harmonic intervallic system of Henry Threadgill, 1984 translates dystopian echoes into vibrant, utopian noise. The trio composes and plays complex, collective, and dreamy music in which every element moves independently yet remains interconnected.