Arcanepunk is the Copenhagen-based quintet formed in 2023, featuring Lithuanian bassist and electronics player Aurelijus Užameckis, Slovenian sax and synth player Luka Zabric, Slovak sax, bass clarinet, and electronics player Michaela Turcerová, Chilean electric guitarist Tomás Gubbins, and Norwegian drummer and electronics player Simon Olderskog Albertsen. On its debut album, Insubordinate Entities, Arcanepunk hosts more expats – Bolivian flutist-vocalist Flavia Huarachi, Belgian vocalist Marijke Maes, and British trumpeter Ben Rodney.
Insubordinate Entities has nothing to do with punk or punk-jazz. It is based on short stories, poems, and narratives that illustrate fictional characters encountering real-world challenges, inspired by the Arcanepunk fantasy-dystopian literary genre, which mixes reality with fiction, technology, and magic.
Arcanepunk creates lo-fi, psychedelic jazz with elements of electronica, trip-hop, funk, and experimental music, attempting to bridge the legacy of Sun Ra and his Arkestras, Gong’s pot-head pixies stories, the Arcane literary genre, and other mysterious stories of fictional mystic entities. The 33-minute «Opening» piece is the most psychedelic, ethereal, trip-hop piece, but the following shorter pieces are equipped with more familiar dance moves and an uplifting, powerful rhythmic drive.
Eyal Hareuveni
Aurelijus Užameckis (bass, electronics), Luka Zabric (saxophone, synthesizer), Michaela Turcerová (saxophone, bass clarinet, electronics), Tomás Gubbins (electric guitar), Simon Olderskog Albertsen (drums, electronics), Flavia Huarachi (vocals, flute), Marijke Maes (vocals), Ben Rodney (trumpet)
