OUTERNATIONAL

DAYS

The Attic presents

OUTERNATIONAL DAYS
- First edition -

Outernational Days is a music festival happening in Bucharest on July 1-3, presented by The Attic
Magazine, in partnership with Control Club. The pilot edition brings a specific music of certain nations or regions
around the world, as well as a series of discursive events.

Outernational is a relatively new term used in musicology and it refers to contemporary musical
genres particular to peripheral cultures that do not identify with western norms. Outernational is situated at the
opposite end of international. Outernational works on its own, unique ways of making itself popular, not through
mass-media like international music but rather by being discovered and brought to light by passionate people.
Outernational is a global phenomenon although it draws from cultural and geographical peripheries like Central
Asia, East Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, including Romania.

The Outernational movement is characterized first and foremost by diversity, most of the bands drawing
heavily from the traditional music and the cultural heritage of the area in which they activate. Outernational is
not defined as a stand-alone genre but rather as a global trend to discover human values that are specific to
some communities and that are meaningful to others as well.

Many musicians nowadays try to get back to the roots, to find the primary functions of music, to set
it free from the dogma, to revive the feeling of belonging to an authentic culture, and to pin down cues in this
quest. Music is a key element in finding these values.

The project aims at providing a fresh, contemporary perspective on the anthropology of Outernational
music and to open the road to an inclusive society through the benefits of music.

Outernational is an emergent cultural movement that gathers proportions on a global scale and in
Europe respectively but alas is not widely known in Romania. Except for the Outernational concert series
organized by The Attic magazine in collaboration with Control Club, and few punctual events, the artists have
no means to reach the public otherwise. The concerts organized by The Attic proved to be a success and the
massive attendees numbers showed that there is a potent public with a desire to learn more.


Consequently, if the interest showed is not prompted, the enculturation will be stopped, putting Romania
off the map of contemporary trends once more. At the same time, Outernational is not stylistically defined: at
the micro level, it could range from jazz to funk to turbofolk to psychedelic progressive rock, to disco to freeimprov, to electronica, so it has a potential to activate a wide audience with different taste in music, different
social layers, different age.

Control Club is probably one of the most active places in Bucharest, focused on alternative to
mainstream music, with a portfolio of over 2000 events with local and foreign artists as well. Also, Control Club
already has a diverse and constant attendance, which can stand as base for building an audience directly
interested in the Outernational music. Most of the events that the club holds are sold out, with the help of a very
efficient own communication platform, which brings extra value to the projects and lowers the risk of attracting
too few participants to the event. Furthermore, there are the past Outernational events that were successful,
hence the ability to attract an interested public.

The National Museum of Contemporary Art is a landmark for its tradition in producing performancetype events, art installations and talks. This is why we considered MNAC as an appropriate place for developing
the activities of this part of the festival.

The regular followers and visitors of the museum are a very good fit for the target of the festival. MNAC
will receive the logistical and production support for the discursive events and multimedia installations that are
part of the project.

The Outernational Days project was born out of a cultural need of exploring a very wide musical specter,
to which the Romanian audience lacked access until now. As the Outernational concert series already exists, in
which The Attic is a partner, we had access to a vast musical offer.

Initially, The Attic editorial team proposed a list of approximately 15 bands and 10 musical curators,
musicologists and documentarians. We attempted to choose musicians that come as close to the specific,
authentic sound of the geographical space to which they belong, spaces which is other than an European one,
as in Europe, the cultural globalization process works well enough for the audience to easily reach the already
existing cultural products on the market. We chose geographical areas that represent Africa (Northern Africa,
Congo and Burkina Faso), Middle East (Egypt, Lebanon) and Asia. We checked the availability of the proposed
bands, and we have reached a shorter list that currently makes up the program that the festival is proposing.

We considered as essential in the artistic program the cultural exchange between Romanian and
foreign musicians, thus we have introduced Romanian bands and musicians in the program: Raze de Soare
project, Khidja debut, musician Harry Tavitian, who will perform for the first time with Turkish musician Okay
Temiz, through a commissioned concert, and Dan Armeanca with his current band. Also, there will be more
performances as DJ sets with music originating from certain areas and ethnicities, selected by Romanian
artists / curators Ion din Dorobanti, Paradaiz, and a part of The Attic editorial team.

Moreover, a significant part in composing the artistic program was the introduction of curatorial
activities that will bring further information to the Outernational concept. As the phenomenon is still new and
unexplored in Romania, a theorization and thoroughgoing study is needed. The proposed curatorial activities
have the mission of also validating the concerts from a cultural point of view.

We therefore chose the documentarian and sound artist Vincent Moon, who has been travelling to
numerous culturally inaccessible areas from around the world, from Northern Africa to Cambodia, Thailand,
Brazil, Chile, Mexico and South America. He will present a series of documentaries made over time and will
propose an unique performance with his wife, Priscilla Telmon - a live cinema, mixing different video and audio
sequences with trance rituals, shot from all around the world.

At the same time, French artist and documentarian Laurent Janneau will present, through the Kink
Gong project, a series of 3 mixed media installations, divided in 3 rooms. In every room there will be a specific
Asian instrument, as well as photography and audio installations. Therefore one of the rooms will be dedicated
to gong orchestras from Cambodia, with a gong brought from Laos. A second room will be dedicated to wind
instruments that can be found in Laos, China and Vietnam. The third room will be dedicated to wind harps,
typical to the areas in Laos and China.

The percussion workshop held by Okay Temiz will take place in the last day of the festival. Registration
for the workshop will happen 30 days before, online, through the special section of the festival and integrated
on The Attic website www.the-attic.net. We granted Okay Temiz total freedom in choosing his participants
and future students in his percussion workshop, to increase the spontaneity and experimental degree of the
project, as well as the direct, lively interaction between the artist and his audience.

THE ATTIC

The Attic is a platform for representation, research, analysis, archiving and dissemination of musical
cultural goods that is specific to marginal communities and social groups or subcultures. Launched on 19th
December 2014, and running up to present day, The Attic has two main components: a online magazine and a
series of concerts that engages artists from and outside Romania. The strategy for the following years entails
widening the areas of activities to organizing cultural events, art installations, new and mixed media materials,
debates, conferences and workshops.

Although the common denominator for the areas that raise our interest is music, our purpose is to
transcend the medium and push the bar forward to investigate the ways in which the sound is shaped by the
socio-cultural context. We are searching for the cultural goods that have the characteristics of being authentic,
original, innovative and meaningful.

Music is the most popular form of art and the oldest because its the easiest to assimilate by cultures
that are different from one another. The Attic is focused mainly on the cases where music did not benefit from
great exposure to the general public although its content or techniques were innovative. We believe that
presenting these cases is necessary in order to contribute to the larger perspective of the musical universe
and its reflection and impact in our everyday life.

Another point of interest for The Attic is observing and researching listening stances and the ways
in which different groups interact with musical acts. Over the time, The Attic developed an eclectic audience
and connected collaborators who share the same passion for music. The team has a strong multidisciplinary
background, ranging from musicians, artists to journalists and curators and uses a strong interdisciplinary
approach to understand the social phenomena derived into and from music.

The online musical magazine encompasses interviews with musicians and bands from all around the
globe, themed articles and essays, case studies on social and cultural trends that derive from music, reviews,
live and recorded radio shows organized by themes, narrative journalism on exotic musical genres, news etc.
We consider that music has the power of bridging the gap between cultures, favoring social inclusion and that
is why we sought that the structure of the website and the contents would promote inclusive categories and
ways to treat a certain topic.

OUTERNATIONAL DAYS
Program

July 1 st (Night)

Control Club, sala Berlin (concerts and thematic DJ sets):

22.00 - 23.00 - Khidja live (commissioned work)

23.00 - 23.30 - pause
23.30 - 00.30 - Maurice Louca (trio) (Egypt)
00.30 - 01.00 - pause
01.00 - 02.00 - Konono No 1 (Congo)
02.00 - 02.30 - pause
02.30 - 04.30 - Andy Votel (Finders Keepers)
04.30 - end - Bootty Carrell

Control Club / small room and terrace (thematic DJ sets):

19.00 - 23.00 terace - Gabriel Leacu & Pantazic

23.00 - 01.00 small room - Bogdan Scoromide
01.00 - 03.00 - Paradaiz DJ set
03.00 - 05.00 - Victor Stutz

 JULY 2 (day):

JULY 3 (day):

MNAC (National Museum of Contemporary Arts):

MNAC (National Museum of Contemporary Arts)

14.00 - 15.00 - opening

15.00 - 16.00 - Kink Gong presents Tiger Gong (mixed media installation and conference)
16.00 - 16.30 - pause
16.30 - 17.30 - Vincent Moon presents Petites Planetes conference moderated by Rabih Beaini
17.30 - 18.00 - pause
18.00 - 19.00 Vincent Moon and Rabih Beaini presents live video cinema performance
19.00 - 19.30 - closing
*14.00 - end permanent mixed media installation with documentaries from Far Off Sounds.

JULY 2 (night):

Control Club, sala Berlin (concerts and thematic DJ sets):

22.00 - 23.00 Raze de Soare (live) (RO)

23.00 - 23.30 - pause
23.30 - 00.30 - Okay Temiz and Harry Tavitian (commissioned work / worldwide premiere)
00.30 - 01.00 - pause
01.00 - 02.00 - Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band (Burkina Faso)
02.00 - 02.30 - pause
02.30 - 03.30 - Dan Armeanca & band
03.30 end Rabih Beaini

Control Club / small room and terrace (thematic DJ sets):

19.00 - 23.00 teras - Somebodys Daughters (debut)

23.00 - 01.00 small room - Andrei Rusu (Khidja)
01.00 - 03.00 Hisham Mayet (Liban) (Sublime Frequencies)
03.00 - 05.00 Flore (Khidja)

14.00 - 15.00 - opening

15.00 - 16.00 - Phillip Schmickle & Radu Malfatti live performance Outernational

16.00 - 17.30 Panel discussion The Outernational Condition with Paul Breazu (Paradaiz), Hisham
Mayet (Sublime Frequencies records), Andy Votel (Finders Keepers records), Rabih Beaini, Vincent Moon,
Booty Carrell (Finders Keepers records), Ion Dumitrescu moderated by Francis Gooding

17.30 - 18.00 - pause

18.30 - 19.30 Artist Talk: Dan Armeanca (Moderated by Ion din Dorobani &Paul Breazu)

19.30 - 20.00 - pause

20.00 - 21.30 Percussion workshop with Okay Temiz

21.30 - 23.00 Closing concert on the terrace: amanul Mut presents Taraf de Haidouks
(commissioned work)

*14.00 - end permanent mixed media installation with documentaries from Far Off Sounds.

MEDIA PARTNERS

International Partners:

The Wire magazine will publish several news pieces about the festival on their July print edition and on
their website. They will also promote the festival on their social media channels and through their newsletters.
A journalist named Francis Gooding will attend the festival, will write a report on The Wire and also he will host
a panel discussion called The Outernational Condition, which will take place during the festival, on July 3, at
National Museum of Contemporary Arts. The speakers of the panel are Rabih Beaini, Vincent Moon, Andy
Votel, Bootty Carrell, Romanian musicologist Sperana Rdulescu, Romanian artist Ion Dumitrescu (Future
Nuggets) and researcher Paul Breazu (Paradaiz).

The Quietus magazine will publish several news pieces and features about the festival and the
participant artists, on their website. They will also promote the festival on their social media channels and
through their newsletters. A journalist named John Doran will attend the festival and will write a report on The
Quietus.

http://thequietus.com

Red Light Radio, a radio station from Amsterdam, will attend the festival and will do audio/video live
streaming sessions of some of the concerts and performances from the festival. They will also promote the
festival on their social media channels and through their newsletters.

http://redlightradio.net

Kaput Magazine from Koln will publish several news pieces and features about the festival. They will
also promote the festival on their social media channels and through their newsletters.

http://www.kaput-mag.com/en/

Intergalactic FM from The Hague will promote the festival on their social media channels and through
their newsletters. IFM will also stream live (audio/video) some of the concerts and performances from the
festival.
https://intergalacticfm.com/

Local Partners:

Vice Romania
Veioza Arte
Radio Guerrilla
Paradaiz Association
Sunete Magazine