Edgelands 2026: Plaid + Dhangsha + A’Bear

, starts 8pm. This gig s for a standing audience. Part of the EDGELANDS festival of leftfield / experimental music running 15 / 16 / 17 & 18 October. https://colchesterartscentre.com/edgelands-2026/ The headline act for EDGELANDS this year is the mighty electronic duo PLAID. On the cusp of their 30th year with Warp records, now is the time to reflect on the massively important presence of Plaid, aka Ed Handley and Andy Turner. An institution since the late 80s, they’re monumental cornerstones for any self-respecting electronic music fan; mainly as Plaid, but also under aliases including The Black Dog and Balil – not to mention their work with Bjork. Playful and wondrous, their 11th album ‘Feorm Falorx’ is generally gentler than the dark angularity of its predecessor ‘Polymer’, but it’s no less deep, and maintains the melodicism for which they’re loved. It’s still highly rhythmic too – traversing ‘Set If Off’ hi-hats, digitised harpsichords, mangled mandolin, cascading strings, rude basslines, mercurial grooves and even a touch of goth guitar. Keen advocates of technology, here they manage to sound cutting edge, but also warm, human and nostalgic – purveying a sort of high-tech-retro-futurism. As usual they’re ever evolving, but there’s also line traceable right back within their own music. From their maverick early releases until now, they’ve embraced new methods of synthesis and explored diverse musical styles, maintaining a thread that spins through the early hip hop of their youth and beyond – to the sounds of the 60s and 70s that inspired it.  Plaid have toured extensively and collaborated widely over the years, writing for and performing with sonic researchers, percussion groups, solo artists and orchestras – most recently for the BBC Concert Orchestra. They have written for computer games and scored several feature films, one of which, ‘Tekkon Kinkreet’, was awarded the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. https://plaid.warp.net/ DHANGSHA “Dhangsha” (Bengali for ‘destruction’) is the project and alias of electronic artist Aniruddha Das. Dhangsha operates at an intersection of bass culture and experimental noise, exploring minimalism, repetition and fragmentation. With the western “back-beat” having been jettisoned, his sequenced, overdriven kicks syncopate like traditional hand drums, underpinning metallic clave hi-hats and alien call and response motifs. Known for his visceral live sets, Dhangsha has performed throughout the UK and Europe, including repeat visits to renowned noise venue Cave12 in Geneva. He has appeared at both Iklectik and Cafe Oto in London several times, and twice at Industrial Coast, Middlesbrough. Festivals he has performed at include “Electric Spring,” “Supernormal" and “Bone-Iklectik,” Barcelona. https://dhangsha.bandcamp.com/music A'BEAR A'Bear is a London-based psychedelic electronic project led by multi-continental musician, producer, and DJ Janine A'Bear. Known for cosmic polyrhythms, warped vocals, and dreamy textures, key releases include the albums Glammy Racket (2024) and Altered Fetes (2025). https://www.instagram.com/a_bear_sounds/?hl=en  https://www.facebook.com/abearsounds  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZd PAWK1ng B4i SHe Huij Q5w

Venue: Colchester Arts Centre, Church Street, Colchester, Essex CO1 1NF.

Event type: Experimental.

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