PROGRESS BAR

Founded in 2015, Progress Bar is a club night dedicated to communal desire and collective joy. After one season in Brighton, and episodes in Vilnius, Kharkiv and Pristina, this is its fourth season in Amsterdam, this time taking place at OT301.

More than 100 artists, academics and activists from all over the planet have featured at Progress Bar, such as Elysia Crampton, Le1f, Bbymutha, Nkisi, Eaves, Klein, Gaika, DJ Nigga Fox, Sam Rolfes, Akwugo Emejulu, Ash Sarkar, Flavia Dzodan, Metahaven, Cakes da Killa, DJ Lycox, Linn da Quebrada, Flohio, James Massiah, Toxe, Evian Christ and many more.

Progress Bar is for people interested in the intersection of music you wanna shazam, looks you wanna gram, and politics that bang. Every episode starts with a 90-minute talkshow with guests talking about their work in art, music and social action, and the material conditions that shape it. After the talks we move into the club, and, having spent time listening to the artists talk, dancing to their music will be even more magical.

Lineup:

Bby Eco
Bby Eco is the recording project and DJ alias of visual artist Joris Benjamins. Hailing from Amsterdam, he co-runs the label and experimental club night SYMBYOSYS, through which he recently released his debut EP Ecodrome. By channeling a sonic entity reminiscent of Japanese new age, hypnagogic pop and post-club music, Bby Eco calls upon speculative ways to resolve balance in nature.

Exploited Body
The alias of Helsinki-based artist Noah Kin, is exploration of the toxic relationships we have with the “bodies" we inhabit - our bodies, our societies and our planet - through relentless sonic experiments that push the limits of the physicality of sound.

Hesska
A staple in the Manchester club scene, Hesska utilises her background in the city’s noise and industrial scene to inform expert selection of forward-thinking club sounds and intense rave tracks. Hesska is a long-standing host at NTS Radio Manchester, has recently taken up residency at Threads Radio and has shown her abilities as an outstanding curator at Club CITS and previously Gesamtkusntwerk.

Oli XL
Stockholm’s Oli XL has emerged as one of the most intriguing new artists in underground club music via his work as a producer, DJ, visual artist, and as head of the now defunct W-I label and its successor Bloom. As a producer, Oli has always been an artist to watch, be it his track on the PAN label’s celebrated ambient compilation Mono No Aware, or his contribution to Posh Isolation’s I Could Go Anywhere But Again I Go With You compilation.

Putin’s Happy (2019, film, dir. Jeremy Deller)
Jeremy Deller’s new single-channel film provides a unique view of the rise of right-wing populism. It looks at the often-absurd xenophobia, isolationism, and misplaced patriotism fueling the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, sentiments ironically shared by many Continental Europeans on the right.

Unsettling (talk)
Through collaboration, confrontation, conversation and complication, Unsettling is an initiative from the Rietveld and Sandberg institutes in Amsterdam that aims draw in new perspectives, and make the context of the academy more inclusive to other voices, minds and bodies. Unsettling works towards becoming an academy of the 21st century in Amsterdam – an interdependent space for brave ideas and unlearning.

More artists and speakers to be announced!

Coming for the talks? Buy a €3 Early Entrance ticket (arrive before 21:00) and get free access to the club on top!