Supersense: Festival Of The Ecstatic Announces International SUPERDRONE Line-up

Supersense: Festival of the Ecstatic has announced a sublime line-up of International Artists taking part in the immersive, durational spectacle that is SUPERDRONE, presented as part of White Night Reimagined on Saturday 24 August, 7pm - midnight.

Focusing on the timeless impact of drone music, SUPERDRONE is a five-hour durational concert on the stage of Art Centre Melbourne's State Theatre. Supersense curator, Sophia Brous and Arts Centre Melbourne will bring together a line-up of visionary artists from across Australia and around the world to collaborate in an evening of first-time collaboration and unrepeatable artistry, exploring the beauty and impact of drone music.

SUPERDRONE will feature internationally renowned composer and electronic musician Oren Ambarchi, Melbourne kraut kosmische duo Black Cab, iconic UK sound experimenter Graham Lambkin, cult frontman of UK/AU band Liars, Angus Andrew, Sydney electronic artist Lucy Cliché, visionary Indonesian vocalist Rully Shebara of Senyawa, transcendent drummer Tony Buck and organist Chris Abrahams of The Necks, Indigenous songman Fred Leone and multi-instrumentalist Samuel Pankhurst of Yirinda, contemporary classical trio Golden Fur and Sophia Brous herself, in a one-off event free to-the-public as a part of White Night Reimagined.

Set within the underground labyrinth of the breathtaking State Theatre complex, the supersensory event will be performed as a continuous concert of magnificent vibration across the Supersense weekend's central Saturday evening.

Drone, a musical technique based on sustaining notes and texture, stretches back to the earliest forms of human artistic expression, persisting as an infinite thread through musical history - from the digeridoos of Indigenous song lines, to the rituals of Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It has continued to thrive in every form of music since, refracted in the blinding revelations of The Velvet Underground, spiritual jazz, techno, ambient music and 20th century minimalism.

Directed by Supersense curator Sophia Brous with Arts Centre Melbourne, the event features an extraordinary line-up of musical innovators from across Australia and around the world.

"SUPERDRONE is a total environment that explores the beauty, power and transcendence of the drone tradition. It will unify the senses and intensify a collective experience of sound and time. It's a space to lie down inside and stay a minute or an eternity," says curator Sophia Brous.

SUPERDRONE can be experienced from 7pm - midnight on Saturday 24 August as part of the Supersense festival and provides an opportunity for as many people as possible to experience the wonder and ecstatic joy of Supersense. Visitors who would like to extend their experience can visit the Australian Music Vault which will remain open until 2am or attend one of the ticketed Supersense programs on this date including Supersense MINIMAL, Robert Wilson performing John Cage's Lecture on Nothing and Medium by Rianto or check out the full three-day festival program online.

Supersense: Festival of the Ecstatic, created by Arts Centre Melbourne, with Australian New York-based performer and curator Sophia Brous is a hypnotic collision of music, performance, dance and theatre from 23 - 25 August, 2019. The third iteration of the intoxicating exploration of ecstatic performance is the most bold, distinctive and cross-disciplinary yet. Featuring icons of music, theatre, dance and performance ritual from five continents, Supersense is presented over three days in the underground labyrinth of Arts Centre Melbourne.

Ticketed performances include groundbreaking jazz group The Art Ensemble of Chicago in their 50th Anniversary tour (USA) sublime NZ songwriter Aldous Harding, Californian music enigma John Maus (USA), prophetic electronic and R&B artist Moor Mother (USA), the Cunningham Centennial Solos performances (USA), divine troubadour Marlon Williams (NZ) with The Impossible Orchestra (AUS), mind-blowing Indonesian ritual trio Setabuhan (INDONESIA), Tasmania's post-punk duo The Native Cats (AUS), and many more.