Concert by Still House Plants and Jairus Sharif & Mustafa Rafiq

Western Front is pleased to present a concert by Still House Plants. Since forming at the Glasgow School of Art in 2015, the London-based trio of Jess Hickie-Kallenbach, Finlay Clark, and David Kennedy have developed one of the most idiosyncratic forms of art rock, capable of containing free improvisation and neo-soul. From a bare-bones set-up of vocals, guitar and drums, they draw on sampling and slowcore to eschew conventional song structure.

Their latest album If I don’t make it, I love u ebbs and surges with flickering rhythms and raw emotional candor, while Hickie-Kallenbach’s guttural vocals carve lucid melodies out of fragmented and looped phrases. In both their recordings and live performances, Still House Plants cultivate a distinct interplay between irregular grooves and spontaneous artistry, finding intimacy in repetition and release.

The evening will open with a set by duo Jairus Sharif & Mustafa Rafiq. Together they explore the influence of their shared environment, their own cultural histories, and chosen ideals through improvisations that stretch into territories where drone, noise, and jazz lurk.

About the Artists

Still House Plants are a UK-based three-piece collective made up of Jess Hickie-Kallenbach, Finlay Clark, and David Kennedy. From a minimalist approach of guitar, drums, and vocals they bridge elements of sampling, slow core, and repetition to make music with a melting pop heart.

Mustafa Rafiq is an artist and musician born to Fijian immigrants, based in Edmonton, Canada. His practice researches relationships between blackness, nature, divinity, sound, and time. As a musician, his work combines spoken word with ambient, jazz, and Indian classical traditions. He creates soundscapes using guitar, saxophone, electronics, percussion and voice; and scores for dance, theatre, and podcasts.

Jairus Sharif is a self-taught saxophonist, instrumentalist, improviser, and producer based in Calgary, Canada. Drawing from an evolving collection of electronics, traditional instrumentation, and homemade tools, his work combines free improvisation, live looping, sound collage, folk traditions, and hip-hop mysticism to generate ecstatic sound sculptures.

Accessibility

The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. While plans for a full building upgrade to facilitate access for wheelchair users are still underway, events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available virtually via high-quality livestream here. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.