ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is the Music Conference and Showcase Festival (18-20 January 2023 in Groningen, The Netherlands) With 4000 delegates, showcases by more than 300 artists and a conference with panels, keynote speakers, interviews and meetings, ESNS is the key exchange and networking platform for European music, European artists, international music industry professionals and organisations. This is the VERA program for today:

20:10
Thala (GER)
German artist THALA developed a love for scuba diving and shimmering early ‘90s shoegaze music while working on the Canary Islands. Returning to Berlin, she threw herself into busking, open-mic nights, and the full- blown pursuit of music. Her latest EP, ‘In Theory Depression’ marks her most introspective writing yet, often paired with widescreen, cinematic melodies that recall the dazzling soundscapes of Mazzy Star, the witty bite of Liz Phair and the subtle but bittersweet alternative pop of Juliana Hatfield.

21:30
W!ZARD (FRA)
If their first album was forging an instrumental and progressive rock-oriented sound influenced by complex math rock rhythms, members of French noise rock band W!ZARD now declare their songs have evolved into a more lyrical, shorter and direct post-hardcore format. It reflects their self-critical, emotional state of mind: “It’s also an analysis of a world that’s running to ruin. It’s full of angriness, dementia and violence…”. W!ZARD are recording their new album with Amaury Sauvé (Birds In Row) and it should be out in February 2024.

22:50
UNIVERSITY (UK)
Four inquisitive individuals that came together by way of fate’s ties to the universe, UNIVERSITY are an English rock band diving into all of life’s existentialism. An exploration of adolescence, self-identity and a slight mania, their recently released debut EP ‘Title Track’ is “like getting punched in the face by a gorilla but then being cuddled afterwards”. UNIVERSITY sit in their own patchwork world, combining textures both vintage and futuristic.

00:10
Den Der Hale (SWE)
Swedish post-psych outfit Den Der Hale filters itinerant rhythms and atonal melodies through heavy effects, where harsh layers of noise are contrasted by animated bass lines and propulsive percussions. This seemingly chaotic amalgam was born when the quintet started experimenting with more complex and aggressive sounds. The 2021 debut album ‘Harsyra’ saw the band dabble in folk-inspired kraut, gritty psych, and post-rock. Den Der Hales second album, ‘Pastoral Light’ will be released on Fatcat Records in February 2024.

01:30
NZE NZE (FRA)
Possessed rhythms and a guttural voice, NZE NZE was born in 2021 following a residency at Red Bull’s Paris studio. Bringing together the three heads behind Sacred Lodge and the duo UVB76, the French project combines haunted chants, surgical production, and dusky atmospheres. At the core we find the Fang warriors (Central Africa) and their stories, while all around, sounds ironed through modular patches and effects pedals swirl. Music that draws on industrial music, dub and post-punk.