Scritti Politti | Bas Jan

Already in 1982 Green Gartside was rhyming “Jacques Derrida” with “bossa nova,” staking out new ground that he has been reworking ever since with his project Scritti Politti.

His concept of a pop music for thinking people is not stylistically set, and encompasses noisy punk rock with a reggae feel, as well as hip-hop and melancholy folk songs. Legends like Miles Davis, Robert Wyatt, and Roger Troutman have been guests on his albums. The world has been waiting 12 years for a new work. Maybe the Wassermusik audience will get a sample.

Bas Jan

Performance post-punk: The trio around the singer, harpist, and keyboard player Serafina Steer conjures up the energy of bands like The Slits or The Raincoats; expanded with bouncy synthesizers, biting violins, and laconic lyrics about the peculiarities of the ordinary—for instance a hungover fish & chips lunch or aggressive text message exchanges. The Londoners named themselves after the Dutch video and conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader, since they see themselves more in the tradition of performance art than as musicians.