John Maus: Cancellation

Such is the title that FM4 coined earlier today (Tuesday) for the upcoming Elevate programme, which kicks off tomorrow evening in Graz. With idiosyncratic genre jugglers such as DJ Koze, Nurse With Wound, Cakes da Killa, Ben Frost and John Maus, Elevate is once again at the forefront of avant-garde pop festivals. Unfortunately, the excitement is tainted by a bit of melancholy: One name has been taken off the bill. As it is with fools, you never know what they're really up to. John Maus, the great, the irreplaceable, the (promoted) existential philosopher among synth-poppers, had to unexpectedly cancel his entire European tour. That's what his agency told us. According to his agency, John Maus’ Elevate appearance will definitely be rescheduled for the future.

In the meantime we are looking forward to a more than fitting replacement: Jimi Tenor himself has accepted our unbelievably spontaneous invitation and is now being flown in from Helsinki to perform at this year's final concert. With his mixture of dadaesque industrial and jazzy house music, the exceptional Finnish musician has infused some of the great classics into the last 30 years of club culture. With his ever-changing and different solo improv programme, he will be playing the Orpheum this Sunday following Ana Threat and Greg Fox.

We are very pleased with his spontaneous confirmation and with him, we are looking forward to a humorous conclusion of the festival!