American rapper Rico Nasty, British singer-songwriter Rozi Plain and folk Duo Ruut from Estonia at Pohoda 2023
Today, on International Women's Day, Pohoda Festival line-up has been symbolically expanded to include female names from the contemporary world music scene. At the beginning of July, famous American rapper Rico Nasty, amazing British singer-songwriter Rozi Plain and exceptional Estonian folk Duo Ruut will perform at Trenčín Airport.
08. March 2023
Rico Nasty is an American rapper whose blend of trap with punk vibes, the unpredictability of hyper-pop and a bit of heavy metal attitude is unparalleled in today's music scene. Millions of streams of her songs and videos are the proof. She has also had some stellar collaborations with Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Kali Uchis, Boys Noize, Danzel Curry and Aminé. She released her first mixtape, Summer's Eve, in 2014 while still in high school. More independent releases followed, but her breakthrough came in 2017 with the mixtape Sugar Trap 2. She made even more of a splash with Nasty (2018) and Anger Management (2019) which made the annual charts of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NME and The FADER, among others.
Also performing at Pohoda 2023 in July will be the brilliant British folk singer-songwriter Rozi Plain whose voice is so pleasant and beautiful that it makes you want to binge listen to all her albums. She and her homemade electronic guitar are inseparable, and the guitar is a prominent element in her work. The songs come across with great ease, interspersed with jazzy sounds and sometimes a bluesy rhythm. Earlier this year she released her new album Prize, mixed by Ash Workman, known for his collaborations with Metronomy and Christine And The Queens. Her honest approach to both music and lyrics makes her one of Britain's most innovative and fascinating singer-songwriters.
"I saw Rozi Plain in a tiny club downstairs from Jack White's Third Man Records shop in London. I knew immediately that we'd want her to perform at Pohoda. She reminded me a lot of my favourite Aldous Harding, and in the best way. Beautiful and excellently played songs that are like a musical caress, something very rare in the world," says Michal Kaščák about the booking.
Today, we have also confirmed another name that appeared at the Eurosonic Festival in the Netherlands earlier this year and was previously seen at the PIN Festival in Macedonia as well. Pohoda will host Duo Ruut from Estonia.The special thing about them is that they both play zither, both sing, and they do it all at the same time. When they perform, literally only the zither separates them. The two female voices share a musical instrument on which they not only play the strings, but also use it as a percussion instrument. It is a truly magical and intimate rendition of minimalist music, but one that breaks new ground and is maximalist in emotion. Their debut album Tuule sõnad won the Debut of the Year Award at the Estonian Ethno Music Awards 2020.
"World music is sometimes a world unto itself, producing music within a preconceived framework. Sometimes I feel sad when I see perfect musicians who give me a strange feeling of cliché. But Duo Ruut is the exact opposite. If they didn't have a special instrument in front of them, and if they didn't talk about their inspirations during the performance, you wouldn't even know they follow traditional music. Their sound is subtle but very contemporary, and the strangeness of the Estonian language adds a mysterious dimension for the Slovak listener. I have seen them many times and I will definitely see them again at Pohoda this year,” says Barbora Bodnárová from the Pohoda team about the duo's live performances.
In addition to the performers announced today, we confirmed other new names earlier this week. Legendary Ethiopian musician and composer Mulatu Astatke, known as the ‘father of Ethio-jazz' whose songs were featured in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flower, and Slovak techno DJ Nina Farrina have been added to the festival line-up. More names will be announced on Thursday and Friday.
POHODA 2023 TICKETS
Rico Nasty, Rozi Plain and Duo Ruut join other previously announced artists who will perform at Pohoda Festival from July 6 – 8, 2023. Among them are Central Cee, Jamie xx, slowthai, Arca, Caroline Polachek, Ben Howard, Suzanne Vega, this year's two-time Grammy and the BRIT Awards winners Wet Leg, SOFI TUKKER, Viagra Boys, Shygirl, AMELIE LENS, Sampa the Great, Dry Cleaning, shame, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Yard Act, PVA, Hermeto Pascoal, Jana Kirschner, Zea, Tata Bojs, and many others.