Simplon UP
Taupe + Kilo +++

Taupe are a British non-jazz trio, believing that taking risks only works if you’re willing to fail, and the band shares an understanding that there’s no wrong way to play. A decade of friendship has conjured a spooky telekinesis that anchors the band, even when their improvisations teeter on the edge of total collapse. The three-piece are an explosive live band, veering from taut metronomic precision into intentionally turbulent, unchartered territory.

A DIY ethos feeds their wonky compositions, colliding sour scatter-skronk with sludgy, doom-inspired riffs, as showcased in their anarchic debut album, Fill Up Your Lungs and Bellow (2017). Their latest album Not Blue Light (2020) is Taupe’s boldest record yet, inspired by the night when their car was almost stolen. Their exhilarating sense of discovery has earned them support from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Freak Zone and BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and Freeness, as well as support slots with acts such as Deerhoof, Richard Dawson & Circle and Melt Banana. Fizzing with ideas, Taupe are a non-jazz band that prizes surprise over any specific sound. 

Kilo+++ is a DIY and avant-garde electropunk two-piece from Groningen. Delightfully camp, Kilo+++ demonstrates urgency through electronics, bordering on eggpunk with analog synthesizer and drum machine sounds, super special samples, and signal-splitted guitar. Kilo+++ is the newest conceptual utterance from The Hands Off Project, which is an independent punk organization founded by members Tim Daniël Stienstra and Janneke de Boer. The Hands Off Project (T.H.O.P) has played the music of Kilo+++ at T.H.O.P. 06 in Vera before, but now it’s time to take the stage of Simplon UP!