KRAAK invites: Aya Suzuki, Younes Zarhoni

“For its seasonal return to form, STUK invites KRAAK to partake in its annual STUK START homecoming with a vitrine into our shared recent history. We'll be collectively presenting two KRAAK artists and former STUK residents: namely, multi-instrumentalist Aya Suzuki and sound artist Younes Zarhoni, who both finished last year with STUK residencies under their belt which facilitated their 2024 debut releases on KRAAK. Exploring these intimate links within a larger frame is the best way to kick off a new tide of sonic adventures, with an ear in the now and an eye to the future.”
- KRAAK

• Aya Suzuki

Multi-instrumentalist Aya Suzuki is, in no uncertain terms, a compelling musician who skillfully infuses classical training with pure artistic vision. With this show, we celebrate her debut release on KRAAK, Winged Seeds, which was recorded during her 2023 residency at STUK and is a testament to her virtuosity. Clay pots, vibraphone, aluphone, different bowls and, of all things, rice, are her tools for conjuring arrestingly vibrant atmospheres. Her prodigious command of percussive techniques goes hand in hand with her gift for poetic improvisation, as sound and silence have an equal and deliberate weight that charge each moment, suspending time and place into a magical stasis.

• Younes Zarhoni

Antwerp native Younes Zarhoni has been consistently performing and making music for just about a decade now. A longtime staple of the local electronic music scene with his hypnotic techno outings as YZ, Zarhoni’s latest focus is on the compositional power of pure harmony and silence: namely, his polyphonic renditions of medieval mystical poetry, sung in multiple voices and left to solemnly radiate beyond their given spatial grounds. Stripped of all instrumental accompaniments, what you get is Gregorian chant meets Boyz 2 Men, sparse stanzas that tread under an elusive referential threshold, conjuring visions of architecture and archaism, madrigals and MTV, the sacred and the profane ~ ostensibly disparate elements that seamlessly fold themselves into the radicality of the compositions.

About KRAAK

KRAAK is a nomadic organization that supports adventurous music through concerts, records & more. They curate the renown KRAAK Fest and have released albums for artists like Floris Vanhoof, Ignatz, Vica Pacheco, Razen, Sleaford Mods, Bear Bones Lay Low, U.S. Girls, Köhn or Limpe Fuchs.