Use Knife, Saif Al-Qaissy & Hussein Shikha

Use Knife is the alter ego of Stef Heeren and Kwinten Mordijck, two members of Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat. Use Knife started from a shared love for analogue modular synths and electronic outsider music. In March 2020 the band released a first EP Tropentarn on the English label House of Mythology (Current 93, Zu, ...) and Ghent's Wool-E Discs, blending post-punk, experimental pop and newer new beat into a unique entity.

Last summer, Heeren and Mordijck met Iraqi musician Saif Al-Qaissy during auditions for a new dance performance by Seppe Baeyens and Ultima Vez. Saif plays darboeke, daf and riq, among others, and is a member of Babylon Trio and Nawaris. After many wanderings he ended up in Belgium, he now lives and works in Brussels.

During an online search the band met Antwerp-Iraqi visual artist Hussein Shikha, who was artist in residence in Het Bos last year. Hussein studies Iraqi carpets and the Sumerian stories, myths, symbols and patterns they represent. By means of self-proclaimed 'virtual weaving' he investigates how he can translate these carpets into animation. He also integrates pictures and videos of Mesopotamian swamp lands into his digital imagery. He will use his visual language to create visuals for the live show.

After successful music residencies in Arts Centre Vooruit, music club N9 and Trix, the quartet wants to deepen their collaboration with this STUK residency, preparing a future release and live set. Use Knife stands for dark electronica, techno 2.0, Arabian percussion and vocals, samples, tape loops, reed experiments and whirling digital image manipulation.