18/06/2025 – 20:00
OCCII
Occii & Sound in Motion present a new wave of artists from Chicago’s fertile alternative scene, Canadian, Amsterdam based, multi-instrumentalist and composer Marielle Groven and Anwerp’s SiM Sound System djs…
Macie Stewart (piano, violin, voice) presents When the Distance Is Blue, a stunning solo piano record – featuring guest appearances by Kohl and Johnson – and her debut for the ubiquitous International Anthem. The duo of Lia Kohl (cello, electronics) and Whitney Johnson (viola, electronics) presents For Translucence, a superb debut release on the iconic Drag City label, where they fuse string instruments, synthesizers, ambient sound, and radio interference into what they describe as a challenging neophonic orchestral expression. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Marielle Groven, sets out to mesmerize you on violin and Sim Sound System dj’s will provide a the right contrast to keep you on the edge.
Macie Stewart is a prominent, highly sought-after collaborator with an impressive track record. She has previously worked with Makaya McCraven, Ben LaMar Gay and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), written arrangements for Alabaster DePlume, Resavoir, Mannequin Pussy, and SZA, was part of Ken Vandermark’s Marker, and immerses herself in the art of songwriting with Finom, her duo with songwriter Sima Cunningham. For her debut, When the Distance Is Blue, she returns to her first musical love, the piano, and takes the listener to all the forgotten and lost moments that inevitably occur during intensive touring.
The debut album of Whitney Johnson & Lia Kohl has evolved over several years from their initial practice of free improvisation on viola and cello into (for the moment), this: a neophonic orchestral expression. For Translucence is a captivating and simultaneously calming experience, a vivid meditation in which layers of acoustic strings, synthesizers, field recordings, radio and sine waves enhance and blend into each other.
Cellist, composer, and multidisciplinary artist Lia Kohl is part of the new generation of experimental and improvisational musicians from Chicago. With cello, synthesizers, field recordings, and live radio, she explores the everyday and all-encompassing possibilities of sound, blurring the lines between performance, concert, and installation work. Collaborations with artists such as Circuit des Yeux, Steve Gunn, claire rousay, Steve Hauschildt, and Makaya McCraven have provided Kohl with a strong foundation in the international music world.
Violist and academic Whitney Johnson lives a double life. There is the musical entity named Matchess, and there is the sociologist of sound who goes by the name Whitney Johnson. In September 2024, Drag City simultaneously released Hav (Johnson) and Stena (Matchess), in which her two personalities musically challenged each other to create new hypnotic parallels…
Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer Marielle Groven has been based in Amsterdam since 2019. She performs on violin, piano and pipe organ and composes for various ensembles. Recent performances include the A L’ARME! festival with Jasper Stadhouders’ Polyband; the Rewire Festival with Leo Svirsky and The River Without Banks; a violin solo at the Bimhuis; The Amsterdam Wandelweiser Festival; and with Charlemagne Palestine. Her solo improvised violin project is her latest endeavour inspired by Amsterdam’s international free improvised music scene. In this she has developed a personal approach embracing her musical roots in Atlantic Canada and her background in experimental music.
