Few bands embody the spirit of punk as beautifully as The Ex (°1979).

What started out as politically engaged racket, rooted in squatting and punk ideology, grew into a phenomenon that defies categorisation. “Forward in all directions” is their motto, resulting in dozens of releases, more than 2,000 concerts around the world and one hell of a live reputation.

The late Steve Albini was a fan: “I really admire Terrie Hessels from the Dutch punk band the Ex. I’m certain that he doesn’t know the names of the notes on the strings of his guitar. But every time I see them, he does something on the guitar that makes me think, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’”

Over their 47-year history, The Ex have released around 28 albums. Within the international guitar-noise scene, they have collaborated with, among others, Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Steve Albini/Shellac and Chumbawamba. Together with legendary Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya, they released two albums and played more than a hundred shows worldwide.

On Wednesday 4 November, they present their project The Ex Brass Unbound. For this project, they teamed up with the crème de la crème of the improv scene: Rempis/Adasiewicz/Corsano, Roy Paci, Hanne De Backer, Signe Emmeluth, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark and Guro Kvale. Tickets are still available!