Recon fest in Leeds: from Slum Village to Blixa Bargeld

By Graham Chalmers
Recon Festival a festival of experimental and innovative music, film and art, taking place at the end of September in Leeds and Bradford.Recon Festival a festival of experimental and innovative music, film and art, taking place at the end of September in Leeds and Bradford.
Recon Festival a festival of experimental and innovative music, film and art, taking place at the end of September in Leeds and Bradford.

If you like things to be innovative and cutting edge in live music, this month sees the return of a festival in Leeds and Bradford which should be right up your street.

Recon Festival, which runs in a variety of venues in both cities from September 18-29, features a mixture of genres and seeks to bring the worlds of art, film and music together.

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The best known acts on the bill are probably Blixa Bargeld of Nick Cave/The Birthday Party fame, who plays Howard Assembly Rooms in Leeds on September 26, Scottish acoustic singer-songwriter James Yorkston, who appears at the same venue on September 27, and Detroit-based hip hop group Slum Village who headline at Belgrave Music Hall on September 29.

But Recon isn’t really about popularity or accessibility.

It’s an event which takes risks and tramples over boundaries.

The opening event, Frozen Music, for example, involves the real-time scanning of performers’ brains to melt and morph the architecture of Leeds Art Gallery!

Other events include a screening of 20,000 Days on earth, The Nick Cave film at Hyde Park Picture House and the Scratch Orchestra performing at Delius Arts and Cultural Centre in Bradford.

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Venues also include Brudenell Social Club, Wharf Chambers Co-operative Club, Hyde Park Picture House, The 1 in 12 Club, Victoria Gardens, Gallery II (University of Bradford), Fuse Art Space, Leeds West Indian Centre and The Tetley in Leeds.

For more information or tickets, visit www. reconfest.co.uk

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