Deep Hedonia: ARK01 – Previewed

Deep Hedonia are back, this time with a regular night exploring the boundaries of Liverpool’s underground scene…

As much an idea or philosophy as they are a promotions team, Deep Hedonia hit the ground running when they burst onto the Liverpool scene earlier this year, knocking the ball out of the park with their first booking, the broodingly ambient Laurel Halo (whose album Quarantine ends the year atop The Wire’s top 50 releases of 2012).

Now, with a number of gigs under their belts and a growing reputation for taking calculated risks and programming challenging shows, this evening sees their new regular night, ARK, get underway. So what’s it all about? “ARK… celebrates live electronica from Liverpool, giving an insight into the possible future of the city’s dance and electronic scene,” so say the guys, who promise that it will feature the cream of Liverpool’s underground.

Aiming to be “the night where musicians and audiences meet and support a new aesthetic of live dance acts in Liverpool”, just who are the acts prepared to carry the responsibility? Sharing the burden are Isocore and recently signed Bantam Lions (who, incidentally, is readying a split 12’’ with John Heckle). There will also be appearances from Deep Hedonia affiliates Acrobat and Kepla, and debut performances from Tomasu, Lunar Modular and False Light.

While the emphasis here is clearly on Liverpool-based artists, ARK’s offer is – not inconsiderably – augmented by the innovative Berlin-based Steven Warwick (AKA Heatsick) and London’s genre-busting duo Yola Fatoush (who earlier this year were a Guardian band of the day). For those familiar with the scene, or at least a handful of the acts involved, tonight should prove something of an irresistible draw.

Just in case the line-up is so ‘underground’ that (like us) you’re coming across some of these names for the first time, a helpful mixtape (False Light’s First Jam and My Presence Here by Yola Fatoush are amongst our faves) has been put together featuring each of the acts making up ARK01. And who knows, this time next year, one of those names – as with Laurel Halo – may well appear on end of year lists.

ARK01: An Exposition of Liverpool Electronica 7pm @ Drop the Dumbells £5 OTD