Kirjakahvilan ulkoilmakeikkakausi avataan alkuillan antifasistisella synkkistukikeikalla lauantaina 30.5. Ei pääsymaksua, ei ikärajaa, ei natseja! // Punx for Seitan Fest fundraising meets gothic anti-fascist solidarity at an open air gig on Sat 30 May. Early show. Free admission, all ages, no nazis!

19.00 enter
19.15 Svarta havet | dystert mörker, Åbo
20.00 Slowkill | darkwave/dreampop/shoegaze, Sthlm
20.45 VAR | electropunk/coldwave/minimal synth, Hki/Gbg
21.30 Absturz | post-punk/darkwave/gothic, Gbg
22.00 onwards into the night

Read more about the bands below, but first things first:

Kirjakahvila has recently started to receive more and more gig requests from bands and organisers who want to switch venues, usually in Turku or Tampere, due to certain political and structural concerns, usually related to venues coddling fascists. One such request came from the Swedish Inåt Bakåt Records which needed a new place for their bands to play on the last weekend of May. We already had plans for the evening in question, namely a Punx for Seitan Fest fundraising event meant as a start to our open air gig season and a farewell to our ”house band” Svarta havet, since their vocalist Lotta and guitarist Joakim (our baker) are leaving to the archipelago for the summer to run their Café Skolan on the island of Nötö (unpaid ad!).

After exchanging a few emails with Inåt Bakåt, we decided to combine the two gigs into a glorious portrayal of cross-genre darkness and community. The title is a reference to a gig held at Kirjakahvila 10 years ago, in April 2016, feat. Nattliv from Gothenburg, Stereotypia from Helsinki and Suudelmat from Turku. Stereotypia had also played at the first Punx for Seitan Fest in 2015, and Suudelmat was to play at the festival in 2016 and again later on the 10th anniversary edition.

Come support Kirjakahvila, Punx for Seitan Fest, and especially musicians who live up to their anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian principles! Synx & punx forever united!

ABSTURZ
Bandcamp | Instagram
Hidden deep underground, the roughest yet purest gothic diamond of Sweden delivers striking melodies, playful beats and beautiful harmonies carried by a voice that cuts even through the darkest of clouds. You may hear hints of Siouxsie Sioux or X-mal Deutschland in Absturz’s music, but in a more modern and unrestrained form – straight from the decayed streets of Gothenburg!

SLOWKILL
Bandcamp | Instagram
Shimmering guitars, drum machines and dark, evocative bass pads. Stockholm-based Christian Williamsson combines reverb-drenched shoegaze with dark and dreamy tunes. This extremely productive one-person project expands into a blooming live band that resembles a mixture of darkwave-esque Jesus and Mary Chain and The Cure. Slowkill has ventured deeper and deeper into melodic darkgaze with the sophomore ”Shores of Erebos” album that was released in March through Inåt Bakåt Records.

VAR
Bandcamp | Instagram
Var is a Helsinki/Gothenburg-based electronic music collective rooted in minimalist cold wave. They explore themes of gender, class and alienation in modern society, and have been compared to e.g. Anne Clark, although their expression goes beyond 1980s nostalgia. Var released their first cassette and have been performing live since 2024.

SVARTA HAVET
Bandcamp | Instagram
Svarta havet emerged from the Finnish DIY punk and political hardcore scene in 2018. While the members bond over a shared affinity for punk music and community-first ideals with a focus on anti-fascist, feminist, trans and queer politics, their definition-evading music is harder to put into boxes. Nevertheless, they are known for being heavy both in sound and lyrical themes, and are often referred to as an ethereal amalgam of post-hardcore and antifa post-black metal. Svarta havet are currently recording their third album.

THE MINI-TOUR GIGS
28.5. HElsinki, Lepakkomies: Absturz, VAR, Cats of Transnistria, DJ Rudder, Kiddo
29.5. Tampere, Vastavirta, Nightshift Club Fest: Absturz, Slowkill, VAR, OvO, Uhrisavu
30.5. Turku, Brinkkalan piha, Synx & Punx United! vol. 2: Absturz, VAR, Slowkill, Svarta havet