New music and city culture festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW), taking place 25th – 29th March in Tallinn, Estonia, has revealed the first names joining its 2020 music line-up. The showcase night, presented by PROTO Invention Factory and St Petersburg’s creative hub Sevkabel Port at the Nobel Hall in the historic Noblessner Foundry will feature US noise-rock giants A Place To Bury Strangers, Russian avant-pop provocateurs Shortparis and celebrated shoegazers Joensuu 1685 from Finland.
Showcase tickets are on sale at Piletilevi. The first 100 tickets are on sale at a discounted price of €25, going up to €30. The TMW 2020 Festival Pass for €55, and the Conference + Festival Pass for €175 are on sale at shop.tmw.ee.
TMW 2020 is presented by Telia Estonia.
One of the new locations of this year’s TMW festival is the Nobel Hall in the historic Noblessner Foundry. This former non-ferrous metals foundry will see PROTO Invention Factory, St Petersburg’s creative space Sevkabel Port and Stereoleto festival joining forces to showcase world-renowned NYC industrialists, and Russian, Estonian and Finnish sound alchemists of the new era.
Often called one of the loudest bands of our time, A Place to Bury Strangers (APTBS), led by guitarist, singer and guitar pedal artisan Oliver Ackermann, have gained notoriety for their unwavering devotion to creating noise rock collages and unpredictable, confusing live gigs. They often create new songs live from scratch and sabotage sound technicians’ efforts with refined cruelty. “When something goes wrong on-stage, a lot of bands will crumble under the pressure,” says Ackermann. “We like the idea of embracing the moment when things go wrong and turning it into the best thing about the show.”
Bombastic St. Petersburg art-rock troupe Shortparis have been heralded as “the best Russian live act”. They’ve continued to build an international reputation for jaw-dropping ritualistic performances since their explosive gig at Tallinn Music Week 2017, in reference to which the British weekly The Observer audaciously stated: “Post-punk is still alive and well, dwelling in Russia.” At TMW 2020 the band will present their latest album “Tak Zakalyalas’ Stal’” (“Thus the Steel Was Tempered”), released last November by Universal Russia.
Crafting beauty from chunks of hypnotic noise, Joensuu 1685 have been burning brightly since 2008. With reverb pedals plugged in and amps turned all the way up, these celebrated Finnish shoegazers are getting ready for their return to Estonia.
LUNA, one of the most successful representatives of Ukraine’s new wave of female artists, will thrill the Nobel Hall with allusions to 90s mass-culture and slick pop lullabies from last year’s LP “Trance”.
Estonian talent will be represented by an instrumental electronic group MODULSHTEIN, who combine ambient sounds with IDM, future jazz, filigree musicianship and novel visuals.
TMW 2020’s full music programme and the rest of the Sevkabel Port & Stereoleto showcase line-up will be announced on the 4th of February.
More information about the curators and venue.
Sevkabel Port is a modern creative space and art hub on the site of the former Sevkabel factory on Vasilievsky island in St Petersburg. Red-brick industrialism meets wall-size murals, eateries, music clubs like Morse and various festivals, incl. Stereoleto, in St Pete’s hippest scene. More info: sevcableport.ru, instagram.com/sevcableport
Established in 2002, Russia’s longest-running independent music festival Stereoleto has become one of the most recognisable symbols of St. Petersburg, alongside the Hermitage and Zenit football club. The festival has featured Massive Attack, Crystal Castles, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, David Byrne, Future Sound of London and Tommy Cash, among others. More info: bestfest.ru
The Nobel Hall in the historic Noblessner Foundry that hosts the Sevkabel Port and Stereoleto showcase is situated in the former non-ferrous foundry. Opened to the public in October 2019, the PROTO Invention Factory in the Noblessner foundry offers a unique experience unlike anywhere else in Europe, combining innovative tech attractions and an atmosphere of Jules Verne-era inventions. More info: PROTO invention factory
Noblessner is located close to Tallinn’s seaside, neighbouring the Kalamaja district and the Seaplane Harbour maritime museum. Once a major submarine shipyard of Imperial Russia, it has now turned into a seafront quarter, open to the people and the sea with its historic industrial buildings, a promenade, a marina, and residential developments. More info: noblessner.ee
TMW 2020 music festival will take place 25th – 28th March in North Tallinn, with central hubs located in Telliskivi Creative City and Port Noblessner. The TMW 2020 conference will take place at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), 27th – 28th March. In addition, the festival seeks to boost its core programme with free city stage gigs, public talks, art gallery tours, kids’ workshops and urban space explorations.
TMW 2020 is presented by Telia.
TMW is founded and run by Shiftworks OÜ. The festival’s music programme is organised jointly by TMW and Damn.Loud Agency.
TMW’s strategic partner is the national music industry development centre and export office Music Estonia.
European Regional Development Fund supports TMW’s international marketing activities introducing Tallinn and Estonia as an attractive culture tourism destination during 2019–2020.