NL premiere

Hiromi Moritani’s project Phew is a buried gem of the experimental music canon. With bonafide punk origins and collaborations under her belt with the late composer and pianist Ryuchi Sakamoto and krautrock legends Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit of Can, Phew’s oeuvre spans a vast array of underground sounds: from the no-wavey synth-hymns of her 1981 self-titled debut; to the poppy, shoegazing, industrial undertones of Our Likeness (1992); and the eerie, incandescent drones of her more recent works Vertigo KO (2020) and New Decade (2021). During these decades of music making as Phew, two things are constant: Moritani’s dynamic, compelling voice, and her commitment to unfettered experimentation. “I am always just thoroughly angry as an individual,” Moritani says in an interview with The Quietus. Although far removed in time from her origins in 70s punk outfit Aunt Sally, the turbulent punk spirit of music as resistance flows through Phew’s compositions and performances as she yells and whispers in equilibrium, always leaving the audience with something to consider. At Rewire 2024, Phew presents a new live set including voice and electronics.

*This is a seated concert