Pussykrew, photo provided by organizer
The Unsound Festival – named “one of the best reasons to hop on a plane to Poland” by Urb.com – was a huge success, as the southern city of Kraków spent week reveling in a “Future Shock” of music
This year’s edition of the festival was inspired by the futurologist Alvin Toffler’s book "Future Shock". The main theme of all the events, from concerts and film screenings to installations and discussions, were centred on the ideas found in Toffler’s bestselling title: the concept of “information overload” and the effect technological development has on society. Concerts featured performances by artists in a variety of genres, from classical and post-classical music, to electronic, experimental, and club sounds.
Unsound has gained recognition in the electronic music scene the world over and, on the heels of last years’ very successful event, this year’s festival included an equally impressive – if not more – lineup that includes acts like Addison Groove from Germany, Jacaszek from Poland, Joy Orbison from the UK and many more. Besides the club gigs, the festival features experimental, future-music themed concerts such as LXMP, a collaboration between Macio Moretti and Piotr Zabrodzki that is an Korg-driven reinterpretation of Herbie Hancock’s “Future Shock!” album.
The festival also offered discussions on music-related topics run by the website Resident Adviser and panel discussions with artists sponsored by the music magazine The Wire.
Besides offering a rich program of cultural events, the Unsound Festival is also an opportunity for members of the music industry from all around the world to meet. Artists, media representatives, curators, and cultural coordinators participate in panels, talks, lectures, and presentations. Networking opportunities for music industry professionals will be a particularly important part of this year’s edition of the festival, thanks to its coincidence with the first Kraków edition of the IETM (International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts) meeting.
The 30th anniversary meeting of this organisation, which is made up of nearly 500 members all around the world, is particularly relevant to the Unsound Festival, which is one of the founding members of ICAS (International Cities of Advanced Sound), a network of organizations dedicated to advancing progressive music and related fields of visual art, whose structures and activities are similar to those of Unsound. The IETM conference will host an appearance and presentation by the ICAS network, possibly resulting in a highly interesting collaboration between both networks. Meetings for curators and cultural coordinators will be held on October 8 and 9.
The Unsound Festival is produced by the Tone Foundation for Music & New Art Forms, a non-profit foundation based in Kraków.
Date: 9th - 16th of October 2011
Venue: Various locations around Kraków
For more information, see the festival's website.