Michel Doneda & “A” Trio (fr/lb)
Michel Doneda soprano saxophone
Mazen Kerbaj trumpet
Sharif Sehnaoui acoustic guitar
Raed Yassin double-bass

Lebanese improvising musicians Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet), Sharif Sehnaoui (electric guitar) and Raed Yassin (double bass) have operated collectively as free jazz unit “A” Trio since 2003. They join forces with soprano saxophone legend Michel Doneda for what promises to be a delirious improvisation fest!

Nadah el Shazly (eg) 
Nadah el Shazly voice, electronics 

Nadah El Shazly is an Egyptian singer and composer living and working in Cairo. Most recently, she was a resident composer at Stockholm’s Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) and is currently preparing the release of her debut album. Her constantly evolving live set consists of her performing solo on keyboards, electronics and vocals. She co-founded the Shorba duo with Egyptian artist Mohamed Shafiq, produced a track for the collective Nassibian Orchestra and has composed music for film and visual art.

The Cripple – الأعرج (ca/lb)
Khodor Ellaik voice, guitar, electronics
Alex Zhang Hungtai voice, sax, electronics

Alex Zhang Hungtai, the artist formerly known as Dirty Beaches, is a Taiwanese-Canadian composer and traveler, working with film, dance and other multi-disciplinary arts. His most current project is a trio with Lisbon minimalist/architect David Maranha, and free jazz drummer Gabriel Ferrandini.

One of the most promising bands in Lebanon’s rock circuit today, Kinematik is an instrumental quartet whose music blends elements of 70’s psychedelia, progressive rock and post-rock. It was formed in the winter of 2014 by Anthony Sahyoun (guitars) and Rudy Ghafari (keyboards) as a rock/electronic project with no incentive to perform but only to compose music. Drummer Akram Hajj and bassist Roy Khazen completed the lineup in the summer of 2014. Kinematik’s rock sound is both diligent and intuitional, ranging from raucous improvisational psychedelic rock to steady and mechanical electronic grooves, with frequent post-rock climaxes. Immediate points of comparison include Explosions in the Sky and Loop, as well as Can (for the potency of drummer Akram Hajj’s Motorik beats) and Tortoise (for the intricacies of their layered compositions).

Dragoș Rusu has been a constant presence in Bucharest’s underground music scene for over a decade now. A DJ, journalist and music adventurer, he is the co-founder and editor in chief of The Attic Magazine, an online music platform that covers a wide variety of music. Since 2016 Dragoș has been the artistic director and curator of the Bucharest-based Outernational Days, an annual multicultural festival of music and related arts that digs deep into various subcultures positioned at the periphery of the international sphere.