Opening of PRZEMEK BRANAS’ exhibition Model of the Head of a Man Who Missed Out on Everything and ANJA RONACHER’S Ruach – both curated and presented at GALERIA LETO – as well as RAFAŁ DOMINIK’s presentation of the animated beauty of Vviktoria, a work connected with his design for Ephemera’s visual identity with the sound by LUTTO LENTO. This exhibition will take place in Art Info Gallery.

The festival’s opening night event includes RESINA, one of Poland’s leading musicians, experimenting with the sound of the cello and electronics, blurring the boundaries between seemingly extreme musical genres. She is currently working on her third album, previews of which will be heard tonight. Following, the atmosphere will amp up with Kenyan rap sensation MC YALLAH taking the stage with Debmaster. (Fun fact: MC Yallah first performed in Europe at Unsound 2019 as part of a long collaboration between Unsound and Nyege Nyege.) Presented with We Are Europe. The fun continues for the opening night of Ephemera with a boat party featuring NAPHTA, who just released his debut EP on Tańce, mixing contemporary rhythms with Polish folk. FACHEROIA is a Crimean-born Warsaw-based DJ playing house, garage and electro, playing B2B with Barka resident R.KAMIONEK. 

ALYONA ALYONA has been dubbed the ‘sensation of Ukrainian rap’, her subjects ranging from body positivity to female empowerment. Opening is Poland’s 1988, whose intense, bass-heavy sound is affected by dub, ambient, jungle and hiphop. Unfortunately bbymutha has had to cancel the first part of her European tour, which includes the Warsaw Ephemera show on 27th August. LYZZA will perform as a replacement, alongside Alyona Alyona and 1988 live.

In the first year of the pandemic, Unsound – the producers of Ephemera Festival – created a 6-hour show called ∞ o’clock (infinity o’clock), involving the visual work of Irish artist and filmmaker DAVID OREILLY and six musicians performing music. The piece was repeated three times, to create a 24-hour stream. Now, with lockdown lifted in Warsaw and audiences able to return to IRL venues, ∞ o’clock live will be presented for the first time as a 6-hour live show with an audience sharing the experience collectively in a room, with OReilly’s visuals projected on a large scale, abstract animations designed to relax your attention and give your imagination space to explore. KMRU, FÉLICIA ATKINSON and EARTH TRAX were all involved in the original presentation, and will perform alongside Poland’s ALEKSANDRA SŁYŻ and Russian artist PERILA. SOFIE BIRCH will perform a special show featuring Warsaw vocalist ANTONINA NOWACKA. During the event, Warsaw poet and artist ZUZANNA BARTOSZEK will read text from her new book. Opening is Quarantine Dreams, by OReilly, which layers narrated dreams from the first pandemic lockdown with formless music, and stunning geometric imagery. Incense and herbal tea will complete the setting. We will soon add another artist to the lineup, with shows timed to end just before the sun rises over Warsaw.

Especially for Ephemera, SIKSA performs a special version of her new show Cudowne i pożyteczne. This show involves work by visual artist Łukasz Przytarski, and the creation of a collectible book described by Siksa as a ‘fairy tale’, including text and illustrations. In Polish and English, his book will only be available to those who attend the event, and is intended to be an integral part of it.

Taking place across two stages, Ephemera will take over Warsaw’s Lunapark for this special event, bringing in our own heavy sound system and playing with the space. Flipping the switch on the usual night rave, the fun starts in the late summer afternoon until 11pm, showcasing euphoric dance music from Poland, the US and UK, with a strong focus on queer artists. LORAINE JAMES has released one of the albums of the year on Hyperdub, the acclaimed Reflection, exploring drill, R&B, techno and more. AYA (aka LOFT) is a transgressive live performer, breaking down barriers and expectations from the audience as she moves through different genres of club music. As a DJ JULIANA HUXTABLE reaches euphoric rave-inspired peaks through unpredictable paths, while OCTO OCTA‘s rich, dazzling and emotive sets are sure to put a smile on everyone’s face. YOUNG MAJLI is a member of the Wrocław-based Regime collective, blending r&b, hip hop and new club sounds, while DOGHEADSURIGERI DESTITUTE and Oramics plays hybrid sets full of rhythmic switch-ups. Representing Warsaw is producer, DJ and vocalist AVTOMAT, a member of the Oramics and Ciężki Brokat collectives, as well as a co-curator of this event. He will play B2B with the Italian percussive maestro TSVI. Joining the event will be also Canadian DJ CCL – responsible for one of the most popular mixes in the Unsound podcast series; and Polish live acts ZAMILSKA and WE WILL FAIL. This is sure to be one of the Warsaw club events of the year! It starts early in the day so we could enjoy the last days of summer dancing together. Full schedule coming soon!

Polish electronic musician Andrzej Nowak was set to perform at the first edition of Ephemera in 2020, but due to the pandemic he could not come, having found himself stuck on an island in the Pacific. Now Andrzej will finally appear at TR Warszawa in a performance directed by ANNA KAWON and GRZEGORZ JARZYNA, written by FILIP LECH  and PIOTR KUREK and performed by ANDRZEJ NOWAK himself.