Turntablist and sound artist NikNak will perform at Riga’s 1983 bar (Vagonu street 21) on December 5, with opening artist Elvi Soulsystems. A DJ workshop will also be organized on December 9. The events are organized as part of NikNak’s sound art residency in the city in collaboration with experimental music festival Skaņu Mežs and EU-supported sound art project tekhnē. Tickets to the concert can be purchased at www.ticketservice.lv; they cost 15 EUR, with the first 50 tickets being available for 10 EUR. Admission to the workshop, however, is free.
Elvi Soulsystems
Always managing to exist on the very fringes of the current state of the so called dance music
culture in Riga, Elvi Soulsystems has been performing for something like two decades now. His is a balancing act between not being afraid of flirtation with broad audiences, accessibility on the one hand and sheer, uncompromising integrity on the other. Over time his ability to surprise an audience in any given setting has not wavered. The definitive wild card of the scene he always holds the tension of the opposites – light and dark, heavy and easy, loud and barely audible. even longer than playing music, he has been making it – be it on his own as ELVI or within collaborative projects like ELVI/DUNIAN. As a curator he’s been a part of the development of the more gritty part of the Latvian scene – from heading club ONE ONE to co-creating the Klik
Klak series, House Purgatorio and CTyK. On the flipside the same man also brings sunshine and lightness when playing together with long time friend Judzhen as the duo Riga Graduate School of Love. Since 2020 Elvi Soulsystems has also started a record label called _too contemporary releasing his own music and that of enigmatic artists without a definitive location of origin.
NikNak
NikNak (aka Nicole Raymond), an artist well-known for her creative and boundary-breaking work, has gained worldwide recognition with her unusual albums, remixes, and engaging performances. In 2020, she made history as the first Black Turntablist to receive the prestigious Oram Award that recognises women and gender diverse artists who are innovators in the fields of music, sound and related technologies. Not limited to any one genre or role, NikNak excels in composing, sound design, DJing, and electronic arts. With multiple releases, collaborations, and live shows, NikNak stands out in the music industry for her unique style. Featured in various publications as a rising star, NikNak continues to advance the boundaries of sound innovation with her complex turntablism and spatial music production.
From December 4 till December 12, NikNak will be in creative residency in Riga. She will be working on a new sound art installation which will eventually be exhibited at gallery “Smilga” (34A Eduarda Smiļģa street).
NikNak’s concert and residency in Riga are supported by the European Union and The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.
Workshop
NikNak’s DJ workshop, focusing on work with turntables and CDJs, will happen on December 9 at Kanepes Kulturas centrs (15 Skolas street). The event starts at 18:00, and admission is free.
It is organized in collaboration with DJAkadēmija, a theoretical, practical and soulful monthly event with ELVI a.k.a. Elvi Soulsystems.
