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

Returning this November for its twelfth edition in Bristol, Simple Things has introduced four guest curators for the first time, all from distinct creative backgrounds. Alongside performances from The Avalanches, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, Moor Mother and Olof Dreijer, curators include Squid, Shabaka, Jeremy Deller and COBRAH each assembling their own lineups reflecting their respective influences and communities.

For electronic provocateur COBRAH – whose music sits at the sweaty intersection of techno and electro BDSM, –the invitation was met with immediate excitement. "I never get to handpick [artists] like this and work with this many best of friends," the artist born Clara Christensen explains. "So that was really extra exciting about doing the show. It feels like I get to have my own club."

Naturally, that club is filled with familiar faces that reflect the network of creative relationships she's built over the years, particularly across queer nightlife, fashion, and alternative electronic music. "They're all kind of different ages and come from different musical backgrounds," she says. "I tried to find people that have a very unique thing, but we all kind of exist in a similar space."

Christensen's handpicked programme brings together fellow Swedish tourmate DJ Latex, as well as French producer and vocalist COUCOU CHLOE, who helped shape the experimental club underground as a co-founder of the NUXXE collective alongside Shygirl, Sega Bodega, and Oklou. The two also collided in 2022 when COBRAH lent her vocals to a bass-heavy reworking of COUCOU CHLOE's “WIZZ”.

Croatian electronic artist Only Fire is also featured, known for putting his stamp on “SWEAT IT OUT (TEQUILA Remix)” for COBRAH's 2024 remix EP SUCCUBUS XXXTENDED. MUCHAS PROBLEMAS, the music project of fashion designer and multidisciplinary artist Charlie Le Mindu, and known for transforming hair into surreal works of wearable art. Le Mindu has helped shape COBRAH’s extraterrestrial-inspired aesthetic, including her signature slicked-back latex hair. And who could forget the pop culture moment he created for Doja Cat, designing the full-body hair costumes worn by the rapper and her dancers during her now-iconic 2024 Coachella performance of “Demons”? Or Lady Gaga’s bird mask? Rather than simply gathering artists who sound alike, Christensen assembled visionaries breathing new life into the intersection of electronic music, high art, and fashion. "It's like a mix of DJs who are making performance-heavy music and kind of the spectrum in between," she explains

"It's nice to invite your friends, and as an artist, your work is very lonesome in a way because you create for yourself all the time," she says. "So when I get the opportunity to make something and create something for someone else, it's nice to lift up your friends and give them the space." When asked whether audiences might witness any collaborations or surprise appearances involving her curated artists, she is playfully evasive. "Well, there might be some, of course. I'm planning something," she teases. "You have to be there for it."

Taking a similar curation approach, West Country experimental outfit Squid have assembled a programme rooted in complex time signatures and improvisational traditions that inform their own work. Their selections include bandmate Anton Pearson who is appearing in a rare solo capacity, alongside alongside Bristol's Minor Conflict and Berlin trio 13 Year Cicada, both of whom have previously shared stages with Squid.

Squid’s takeover of The Island, a former Edwardian police station repurposed into a venue, brings their experimental spirit into a space with an equally unconventional history. Other venues throughout the city include Bristol Beacon, Strange Brew, Rough Trade, and the newly introduced Shredenhams skatepark space.

Elsewhere, composer and multi-instrumentalist Shabaka has invited bassoonist Joy Guidry, drummer and composer Sarathy Korwar and Ugandan percussion collective Arsenal Mikebe. Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller takes a different route, revisiting his longstanding fascination with the intersections of folk and indie electronic, with selections like Mermaid Chunky. The festival also welcomes the return of Deller’s Acis Brass collaborative project with Williams Fairey Brass Band, which reimagines acid house classics through traditional brass-band arrangements, presented by The Listening Project.

For Christensen, having spent years performing on the international festival circuit, she has noticed how frequently the same artists end up sharing stages. "I think the most fun festivals to play are the festivals that are not owned by the agents and where there's less of a political booking system," she says. She recalls performing at Tasmania's Dark Mofo, whose unconventional gothic programming made a lasting impression. "That was one of those festivals where I loved how very out of the box it was," she says.

Festivals are also among the few places where musicians can meaningfully connect with one another outside the isolation of their own touring schedules. "A lot of the collaborations I've done in my career come from meeting other musicians at festivals," she says, identifying fashion weeks and music festivals as two of the most important meeting grounds for artists. At their own concerts, musicians are typically surrounded by their established crews. Festivals, however, create opportunities for encounters between people whose work may fit within overlapping creative visions but who have never met.

"It's like an even ground," Christensen says. "We're both there for the same thing."

With new music underway, Christensen is reworking the live COBRAH show through a club-oriented extension of her recent tour, favouring a DJ-led format. The change has offered some welcome creative freedom, including the chance to experiment with new outfits and unreleased material.

"I'm excited to bring a new setlist on stage and kind of renew my album that is actually still very new," she says, referring to her debut album Hush that was released in March of this year . "It's nice to keep on evolving it." There’s no better place to do this than Simple Things, where they’re giving artists the chance to take a few risks, and audiences the chance to discover something unexpected. And as Christensen knows, sometimes all it takes is a room full of friends and a hyper-charged dancefloor to feel like a brand new bitch.