Sled Island and Exclaim! present: Liturgy, BIG|BRAVE, Maryam Sirvan and more

Liturgy

Since 2009, Liturgy has been both a critical darling and a lightning rod for conversation about what is and isn’t black metal. Like their contemporaries Deafheaven, Liturgy draw from a foundation of extreme music but tear apart so-called “rules” with each release. Their albums have featured everything from synthesizers to bagpipes, and while there’s a vocal minority among metal fans who like to gatekeep and shout down defectors from genre constraints, Liturgy is a band that has proved itself beyond these semantic arguments. 

From cemented classics Aesthetica (2011) and The Ark Work (2015) to bold newer works H.A.Q.Q. (2019) and Origin of the Alimonies (2020), the band has undergone many a lineup change and frontwoman Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix’s own gender transition. Through countless challenges and breakthroughs, Hunt-Hendrix’s fiendish howls, apocalyptic shredding and compositional spontaneity always remain at the forefront. 

Always flipping the script, the band makes its Sled Island debut in support of new album 93696, perhaps Liturgy’s most straight-up metal album to date. It’s yet another surprise in a career chock full of them, and one we eagerly await.

 

BIG|BRAVE

Sled Island-goers may remember the thunderous power of BIG|BRAVE from the 2015 festival, when the minimalist post-metal trio was chosen to perform by guest curator Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The Southern Lord mainstays return to the festival with three acclaimed releases in tow — Vital, a volatile set exploring gender and race, Leaving None But Small Birds, a traditional folk-inspired collaboration with fellow Sled faves The Body, and their latest LP Nature Morte, a heaviest yet effort just released this past February.

 

Maryam Sirvan

Maryam Sirvan is an Iranian sound artist, vocalist, and composer based in Calgary. Her works explore different possibilities of blending noise, processed voice, field recordings, and electronics. She has been half of the multidisciplinary duo NUM since 2010. She has released three solo albums as well as several releases with NUM.

 

State n Division

Vivid, abrasive and transportive, electronic composer Carlos Arteaga works in glitch-forward experimental music to create a tactile sensation of sound. Part drone, part club music thrown into the garbage disposal, his compositions feel like reaching the pool in an oasis only to discover that it’s filled with battery acid.

 

 

About Sled Island

The Sled Island Music & Arts Festival is a five-day, multi-venue festival taking place June 21 - 25, 2023. For more information, visit SledIsland.com. 

Everyone has the right to feel safe and included at Sled Island. All festival attendees agree to abide by Sled Island's safer spaces and inclusion policy, which can be found at SledIsland.com/SaferSpaces.

Sled Island acknowledges Calgary as the traditional territory of the Blackfoot and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Ĩyãħé Nakoda First Nations, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley First Nations. Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.

Please note: This is an 18+ event.