Presspack ZXZW 2009 1

PRESSPACK 2009

a community on independent culture. www.zxzw.nl

Presspack ZXZW 2009 2

ZXZW is the annual celebration of independent culture in Tilburg, the Netherlands. It is a festival exhibiting a diverse view on indie culture as a whole, including music, contemporary dance, film and visual arts. It brings more than 200 cutting edge artists in an intimate context to an international audience. Black metal next to free jazz. Street art next to academic dance.

ZXZW takes place from the 13th until 20st of September in the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands. From a squat to the mayors room. From music venue to museum.

ZXZW doesn’t need slogans. It doesn’t want to be labeled. ZXZW wants to clash cultures. ZXZW isn’t just a ‘festival’, it’s a community of independent minds, a spot where curious people meet. It stretches further than the festival terrain, further than the boundaries of Tilburg. ZXZW not only creates a community through digital media but it also creates a whole new festival vibe.

Visitors and artists from all over Europe recognize ZXZW as their space. Germans rent a bus to come to Tilburg.

The Shape of Breakcore 2 Cum

An American moviemaker befriends an Italian composer and start a new project. The discovery is the product. The artist, the visitor, the journalist, the volunteer and the organizer are an integral part of this feeling.

HistoryZXZW started in 2005 as an two-day festival with 47 artists. It focused merely on artists that never got the chance on other Dutch podia. Within three years it developed into a festival which spreads over 8 days and over 200 artists. The unique mixture of independent music, arts, theatre and movies generates massive national (Nieuwe Revu, NRC-Next, Volkskrant) and international press (e.g. Belgium, Germany, America, France, England and Israel).

2005 2006 2007 2008Number of days 2 2 8 8Number of artists 47 90 196 276Number of expositions 0 0 9 16Number of locations 7 11 27 34Number of paid visitors 1.300 2.600 2.700 4.996Number of visitors free program 0 0 16.000 25.595Number of own productions 0 1 17 12

It stretches further than the festival terrain, further than the boundaries of Tilburg.

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VenuesZXZW wants to bring independent culture to a bigger audience. Therefore it uses a lot of different venues. Music venues like 013 and Paradox, the library of Tilburg, galleries and museums like De Pont and Ruimte X, a synagogue, a bowling alley, the mayors room and a lot of café’s in the center of Tilburg. For one week a whole city will be dedicated to independent culture!

ZXZW wants to bring independent culture to a bigger audience.

A selection of artists that performed ZXZWRadio Birdman, Sun Ra Arkestra, Unwed Sailor, Wire, Monolithic, Japanther, Shining, Otto von Schirach, V/Vm, Sylvester Anfang, Pole, Talibam!, Black Earth, Joop Visser, Agent Side Grinder, Ceephax Acid Crew, Crippled Black Phoenix, Jacob Kirkegaard, John Wiese, Taint, The Devil’s Blood, Mik Quantius, Negativland, Pantha Du Prince, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Rhys Chatham, Yoke & Yohs, Torche, The Locust, Rise and Fall, Psychic TV, Monotonix, Knut, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, Fear falls Burning, Drumcorps, Baroness, Amen Ra, Phill Niblock, Castanets, Watain, Enablers, Pelican, Erik Smith, Peter Beste

Sun Ra Arkestra

Visitor profileZXZW draws visitors from all over the world with an healthy dose of interest in contemporary and independent arts. The festival caters the early adaptors but also the random passer-by.

Origin of visitors(based on internetsales)NL 71,1 %BE 8,58 %GBR 5,46 %DE 7,8 %FIN 2,34 %USA 0,78 %IRE 1,56 %Other 2,38%

Relationship44% in a relationship 26% Single 9% Married 2% Open relationship

Quality of festival (Points given by visitors. Investigated by the Town of Tilburg)Vibe: 8 out of 10Quality: 7,6 out of 10

Visitors recommending ZXZW to friends: 97,5 %

Age0 - 19 2,2%20 - 29 70,2%30 - 39 23,4%40 - 49 2,1%49 - 60 2,0%60+ 0,1%

Educational levelAn impressive 88% of our visitors went to University or attended Higher Education.

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VirginartyJosine Beugels / Mayors Room

Others about ZXZW“The festival looks overwhelming. 120 groups in 2 days, plus films and art programmes? My God!” (Tony Herrington, Editor-in-Chief of The Wire magazine, 2007)

“And with damn near every last square inch of the city littered with preamps and patch cords, that can only mean one thing: a killer lineup.” (Pitchfork, 2008)

“ZXZW already is the best festival of the year.” (LiveXS, 2007)

“After barely surviving a night of ‘Heavy Metal Bowling’, more out there than attack ships off the shoulder of Orion, it’s time to hit downtown Tilburg for an impossibly diverse bill. ZXZW festival operates like a transparent Temporary Autonomous Zone, tucked within venues around the centre, like a web of wonder hiding behind the ordinary local weekend hassle. (Terrorizer, 2008)

“Shining though the depressing morass of the now ubiquitous festival is a truly remarkable annual endeavor: Tilburg’s ZXZW, now in its fourth year. Put together with passion, wit, intelligence and a fervent integrity and commitment to independent culture (the festival’s subtitle), it redefines and simultaneously clarifies the potential for events of this ilk. (…)This festival truly is the most remarkable experience and needs to be witnessed by anybody who genuinely loves leftfield

music and still holds a torch for the idea that independent culture can exist without having to compromise itself or secrete itself away in an elitist hidey hole. In a word, then, ZXZW is incredible.” (Drowned in Sound.com, 2008)

“In one year’s time, the festival in Tilburg has grown to one of the most fun happenings for adventurous music lovers and scouts for alternative talents. (...) Tilburg becomes the main meeting point for anyone who wants to be hip in 2010.” (OOR, 2008)

“ZXZW has grown very big, very fast” (Volkskrant, 2007)

“ZXZW is a unique alternative festival where the mainstream Tilburg scenery (café’s, venues, etc.) goes hand in hand with the most eccentric and uncompromised in the music scene. A daring line-up of performers, bands, laptop artists and visual

artists, but it works and the weekend was just mesmerizing, meeting up with highly intriguing and interesting people, witnessing fantastic shows and just dwelling through the streets of Tilburg from one venue to another.” (Fear Falls Burning on his blog, 2007)

“Leaving this festival felt a lot like being kicked out of musical heaven” (Harryparry in a reaction on the Drowned in Soundreview, 2008)

“This festival truly is the most remarkable experience and needs to be witnessed by anybody who genuinely loves leftfield music.”

Presspack ZXZW 2009 5

Erik Smith / Svart Kunstykke

COnTACTTijs Heesterbeek

+31 6 – 422 122 13 //

Erik Luyten

+31 6 – 102 988 77 //

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