Sote + Noise Diva

The Rest is Noise and Diaspora Radio present two artists who use electronic (dance) music as a platform for experimental performances. Syrian-born DJ and producer Noise Diva is carving a niche for herself in Amsterdam with her ground-breaking sets and productions that elevate the dance floor to new heights. From his home base Tehran, Ata Ebtekar, also known as Sote, experiments with club sounds and electronics. Tonight, he will perform tracks from his latest album Sound System Persepolis, according to the press release ‘his most intense album yet, made to move the body and stimulate the brain.’ 

The live set of Noise Diva weaves noise music with powerful female voices, transforming the club into a sanctuary for women and trans bodies. Through hard-hitting drums and intense soundscapes, it offers a spiritual healing journey. This performance draws from Diva’s deep research into PTSD caused by the relentless violence faced by women and queer communities. The live set features genres like drum and bass, breakbeat and flutes and keys inspired by her motherland. Sote also ventures off the beaten path by combining club music with dynamic noise and even traditional acoustic instruments. Both have been invited by Diaspora Radio, which produces programmes about the diaspora from West Asia and North Africa, with music as a unifying factor.

(*)Niloufar Nematollahi (1998, Esfahan, Iran) is a writer, translator, artist, and activist currently based in Amsterdam. With a background in fine arts as well as Middle Eastern studies and international relations, she has conducted research on the literary genre of Farsi oil fiction and the politics of electronic dance music in Iran. Her current research revolves around feminist conceptualizations of contemporary labor politics in Iran.