mouse on the keys and Oavette join Portals Festival 2025 line-up

Tokyo avant-garde jazz trio mouse on the keys and Nagoya’s experimental rock newcomers Oavette have joined the 2025 line-up for Portals Festival 2025, happening May 24th and 25th at Hackney’s EartH, a former 1930s Art Deco cinema turned thriving venue. Known for spotlighting both established and up-and-coming experimental artists, Portals 2025 is shaping up to be one of the festival’s most varied cards yet.

mouse on the keys

Formed in 2006, mouse on the keys will bring their genre-blurring sound to the Portals stage, hot off the release of their latest full-length album, ‘midnight’, which drops November 1st. This marks their first album in six years since ‘tres’ in 2018. Known for fusing jazz, funk, and post-rock, the Tokyo-based trio layers intricate piano, rich keyboard textures, and powerful drumming, creating a sound entirely their own. Following recent changes with Takumi Shiroeda now on piano and keyboards, Japan’s avant-garde mainstays will return to the UK to bring their genre-blurring sound to the Portals crowd.

Oavette

A newer name in Japan’s experimental rock circuit, Oavette join the bill with a sound driven by polyrhythmic guitar, bass-heavy grooves, and hypnotic, layered rhythms. Their self-titled debut LP, released in 2023, has already turned heads, establishing them as a fresh force to watch on the international stage.

Held in EartH’s beautifully restored space, where Art Deco architecture meets cutting-edge events, this year’s Portals Festival offers a fitting backdrop for boundary-pushing acts. A staple in London’s progressive music scene, the festival will also play host to the likes of post-rock legends yndi halda, French math-rock innovators Totorro, and Chinese post-punk act FAZI / 法兹.

Tickets for Portals Festival 2025 are available now via DICE.

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