COBRAH is building her own club of collaborators for Simple Things festival

In an innovative move for its twelfth iteration, Bristol’s Simple Things festival has introduced a guest curation model, entrusting prominent artists to shape their own stage lineups. This year, among these curators is Swedish electronic artist COBRAH, who has crafted a distinct roster reflecting her artistic network and community.

The festival, scheduled for November, expands beyond traditional programming by allowing musicians to handpick collaborators, thereby fostering a more personalized and interconnected festival experience. COBRAH, known for her boundary-pushing blend of techno and electro with thematic overtones, embraced this opportunity to assemble what she describes as her own club, populated by peers and creatives she deeply respects.

Her selection includes a diverse array of artists unified not by genre conformity but by shared experimental and performative sensibilities. Notable names on her lineup feature fellow Swede DJ Latex, with whom she has toured, and French producer-vocalist COUCOU CHLOE, a key figure in shaping underground club music through the NUXXE collective. COBRAH and COUCOU CHLOE’s artistic paths intersected notably in 2022 on a collaborative remix.

Complementing these electronic innovators is Croatian artist Only Fire, whose prior work features on COBRAH’s 2024 remix EP SUCCUBUS XXXTENDED. The lineup also includes MUCHAS PROBLEMAS, a multidisciplinary project spearheaded by Charlie Le Mindu, a fashion designer whose surreal hair-based creations have influenced COBRAH’s distinctive aesthetic and contributed to high-profile pop culture moments such as Doja Cat’s 2024 Coachella performance.

Rather than curate a homogeneous sound, COBRAH’s approach embraces a spectrum of talents that bridge electronic music, avant-garde fashion, and high art. This strategy highlights her intention to elevate her community, granting space to artists whose work resonates with her own creative philosophy.

Across the festival, other guest curators bring equally compelling visions. The experimental rock band Squid, hailing from the West Country, curate a program that reflects their complex musical influences, featuring solo and collaborative performances by members and associates. Their takeover of The Island, a venue with a unique history as a repurposed Edwardian police station, underscores the festival’s embrace of unconventional spaces.

Composer Shabaka Hutchings contributes a lineup that melds jazz-inflected percussion and global rhythms, while Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller revisits his longstanding engagement with folk and indie electronic music through curated acts and his brass reinterpretations of acid house classics.

COBRAH’s participation comes after extensive touring and coincides with the ongoing evolution of her live show. She is transitioning towards a more club-oriented, DJ-led format, allowing for creative experimentation with new material and stage presentation. This shift reflects her desire to continually refresh her debut album, Hush, which debuted earlier in 2024.

Importantly, the artist-curated framework at Simple Things offers musicians a rare platform to connect beyond their usual circuits, fostering collaborations and encounters that might otherwise be improbable amid the isolating demands of international touring. COBRAH acknowledges this dynamic as a catalyst for creative growth and community reinforcement.

While she hints at possible surprise collaborations during her set, details remain under wraps, adding an element of anticipation for attendees. Overall, the festival’s novel approach signifies a deliberate move away from conventional booking politics towards an artist-driven ethos that nurtures inclusivity and innovation.

Simple Things 2024 thus stands as a notable example of how festivals can reinvent themselves by entrusting artists with curatorial agency, creating spaces that celebrate diverse artistic voices and encourage dynamic collaboration across genres and disciplines.