The second edition of Transform emerges from the combined efforts of New Forms Festival and curators LIONESSA, ADAM, and Sierra Lima. While previous editions of New Forms focused on live music and DJ sets, the Transform program devotes considerable attention to audiovisual art. Several artists utilize tools from augmented reality to present fully immersive narratives. This technologically diverse lineup is bolstered by select voices from underground QTBIPOC, SWANA, and community radio scenes brought on by the curatorial team.
A handful of artists from last year’s program return to electrify the atrium space. A hybrid project of the poetic ephemeral objects and dub-leaning IHA, i+eo will present a multimedia installation on the opening night of the festival followed by the imagined realities of Stefana Fratila & Diana Lynn VanderMeulen. After last year—and numerous appearances across the city—Evidence Doll is bringing hardcore back to KW. Subdidi returns as well, to warp the studio space alongside several DJ and live sets later in the week.
Most artists in the Transform roster develop in part through community radio. These grassroots platforms promote seamless exchanges of music across continents and oceans. The influence of underground music scenes in Shanghai takes shape in this year’s program. Cocoonics’ auditory landscapes have already received critical acclaim and her Transform debut will be no different. The deep kicks of cyber-spatial MIIIA who just recently performed at MUTEK under the alias N3ZHA will offer similar introversion, as a decade of music curation in Shanghai makes its way through the PAs. MIIIA and Cocoonics are the contributions of curator Sierra Lima:
As one of the co-curators of TRANSFORM, I wanted to shine a light on the talented artists I got to know while running community radio out in Asia. Subscribing to the idea that genres and labels can be building blocks and not boxes to jump into, my curatorial focus is on cathartic chaos and genuine connections.— Sierra Lima
Many artists have an existing presence in local music scenes. Young Dene has curated dancefloor belters at Bass Coast six times. To name a few of username’s tools: analog texture, lo-fi, and dance partially describe the style surrounding the vanguard musician. For the last two years, Yiying has brought warped realities for underground shows as a VJ while also making digital art creation and experimental music more accessible through the Fountains network. Amnesia Haze & Fares’ recent event series, Electro Djinn, combining dance and rhythmic percussion may offer a taste of the poetic, intoxicating dimensions of their anticipated performance.
The influence of Egyptian Street Meat on this year’s program emanates from curator LIONESSA:
“In curating this year's lineup for the New Forms Festival, I am proud to spotlight a selection of queer SWANA artists whose vibrant expressions often reside at the margins of both the SWANA and global art landscapes. My intention is to illuminate the richness of our culture and narratives, which are frequently overlooked, by presenting our stories to a diverse audience. As a queer SWANA artist myself, I am deeply passionate about fostering visibility and connection through art, creating a space where our unique voices can resonate and inspire dialogue within the broader community.”— LIONESSA
DJ Mikubat, is one such voice. Originally from Tehran and now based in Vancouver, Mikubat’s distinct style “LangoBit,” combines atmospheric textures with erratic rhythms. From Chicago, Nanoos effortlessly infuses Ghettotech, UK garage, hip-hop and more with diverse sounds of the Levant and North Africa. With a presence in Vancouver’s jazz scene and early experience with the Iranian Symphonic Orchestra, Saba Amrei brings their avant-garde jazz to the foreground.
Evidence Doll and DJ Nanoos will be joined by Rawan Hassan, Jada Pape, Vanessa Fajemisin, and Noor Ghazal during a panel earlier in the festival entitled: “Artists Against Apartheid - where are we now and where do we go from here?” discussing creativity and its relationship with resistance. This panel emerges as we witness settler colonialism occurring in real time within Palestine and Lebanon. With the added complexity of hosting the festival on unceded land, the Transform team recommends attending this panel at the outset of the festival.
Sound is transformation. Each curator considered this theme when bringing in artists from immediate and international communities. For ADAM this takes on a series of external and internal characteristics:
“For Transform, my curation focuses on building immersive soundscapes that feel transformative, frenetic, and cutting-edge. Inspired by the transfiguration that comes from engulfing oneself in the fringes of sound, I’ve selected artists who challenge expectations of electronic music, with a heavy focus on driving percussions and rhythmic entropy. Using intricate sound design and world-building skills, these artists pull from their respective heritages to build rich cultural soundscapes that encourage futurism, transcendence, and the deconstruction of oppressive realities. I encourage attendees to embrace the flux between chaos and the euphoric moments of bliss you find in between. Accompanied by captivating visuals from extremely talented artists, I invite you to transform between realities” —ADAM
If one artist were to encompass ADAM’s vision it’s Speaker Music. In addition to his music—exhibiting complex textural rhythms—the outspoken polymath has published a thorough account of techno’s roots in Black history and experience.
In the vein of industrial process, history, and electronic music, nothing can prepare audiences for 011668’s brutal-sweet live act. Endgame operates perfectly in this space with dystopian, augmented mixes to saturate the space.
A host of recent MUTEK acts will be playing at Transform for the first time this year. Integrating physical, virtual, and sonic material as living daydreams, Tati au Miel cultivates profound sensory experiences. Working within the themes of her recent EP Illusion, Piu evokes the opposite through her integration of ambient, organic, and synthetic percussive sounds.
Transform represents movement. No genre, format, or physical presentation can restrain the mutable experience of live media. Over the course of four days, audiences will celebrate a network of radical approaches to creation, and immerse themselves in collective transformation.
Artists
SCHEDULE
AV Gallery
Atrium
NOV 13 | WEDNESDAY
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
NOV 14 | THURSDAY
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
i+eo
Audiovisual Installation
Stefana Fratila & Diana Lynn VanderMeulen
XR Installation
“I want to leave this earth behind”
Audiovisual Installation
Stefana Fratila & Diana Lynn VanderMeulen
XR Installation
“I want to leave this earth behind”
NOV 15 | FRIDAY
Panel Discussion
Atrium
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Noor Ghazal, Evidence Doll, Nanoos, Rawan Hassan, Jada Pape, Vanessa Fajemisin
Artists Against Apartheid
"where are we now and where do we go from here?"
Artists Against Apartheid
"where are we now and where do we go from here?"
Transform: Night I
Atrium
9:00 PM - CLOSE
Tati au Miel Audiovisual Installation
Studio
9:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Mikubat DJ
10:30 PM - 11:10 PM
Saba Amrei Live
11:20 PM - 12:00 PM
Amnesia Haze & Fares Live
12:00 PM - CLOSE
Nanoos DJ
NOV 16 | SATURDAY
XR + Live
Atrium
Stefana Fratila LIVE & Diana Lynn VanderMeulen XR
“I want to leave this earth behind”
“I want to leave this earth behind”
5:30 PM - 6:15 PM
Session I
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Session II
Transform: Night II
Atrium
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Username DJ
Subdidi VJ
9:00 PM - 9:45 PM
Piu Live
Yiying VJ
10:00 PM - 10:45 PM
Tati au Miel Live
Subdidi VJ
11:00 PM - 12:00 PM
Speaker Music Live / AV
12:00 PM - CLOSE
MIIIA Live
Yiying VJ
Studio
8:00 PM - 9:15 PM
Young Dene DJ
9:15 PM - 10:00 PM
Evidence Doll Live
10:15 PM - 11:00 PM
011668 Live
11:15 PM - 12:15 PM
Cocoonics Live
12:30 PM - CLOSE
Endgame DJ
TICKETS
Earlybird Festival Pass Sold Out
Regular Festival Pass
Friday / Saturday Night
XR + Live - Session I/II
Panel Discussion & AV Gallery
Regular Festival Pass
Friday / Saturday Night
XR + Live - Session I/II
Panel Discussion & AV Gallery
$50
$60
$25
$15
by donation
$60
$25
$15
by donation
Transform Supporters
New Forms Media Society acknowledges and thanks Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, City of Vancouver Cultural Services, Metro Vancover, and the Canadian Arts Presentation Fund for their financial support.
