Unsound festival
Encyclopedia
Unsound Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Kraków
, Poland
, dealing with evolving and mutating forms of music, as well as related visual arts.
The first Unsound festival took place in 2003. It currently occurs towards the end of October and lasts around one week. Starting out as an event focused on Polish audiences, in recent years it has rapidly developed to gain international attention. In 2010, the festival developed its program around the theme "Horror, the pleasure of fear and unease," followed up in 2011 with the theme "Future Shock," inspired by the 1970 book by futurist Alvin Toffler.
In February 2010, Unsound cooperated with local partners in New York
such as the Wordless Music series, Bunker and Electronic Music Foundation
to create a 10-day satellite event involving music, film, workshops and panel discussions. The second edition of Unsound Festival New York took place in April 2011, and a third is slated for April 2012.
Unsound has also worked on projects in other countries, especially in the region of Eastern Europe
. In particular, Unsound has worked with partners in Minsk
, Belarus
, to create mini-festivals and collaborative projects. Unsound has also worked with Berlin
organizations, such as Club Transmediale
and ~scape records
.
Unsound has produced many collaborative and commissioned projects. These include the Warhol Series, where live electronic and experimental music is played as a "soundtrack" to classic silent Warhol
films. Artists involved in this project include: Carl Craig
, nsi., Groupshow, Stefan Németh and the video artist Lillevan. According to the Unsound website, the "series refers to Warhol’s own extensive use of pre-existing material to create something new, as well as the 60s multimedia event The Exploding Plastic Inevitable
, which used Warhol’s film work as moving wallpaper projected onto a wall and musicians from The Velvet Underground
."
Another commissioned work is "Solaris," by Ben Frost and Daniel Bjarnasson in cooperation with Kraków's Sinfonietta Cracovia. Accompanied with visuals by Brian Eno and Nick Robertson, this piece premiered at Unsound Kraków in 2010, and was performed at Unsound Festival New York 2011 at Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center.
Unsound is also known for its "Bass Mutations" nights, which have taken place in Kraków and New York as part of the festival, and focus on evolving and fractured forms of bass-heavy club music.
Unsound is a founding member of ICAS (International Cities of Advanced Sound).
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, dealing with evolving and mutating forms of music, as well as related visual arts.
The first Unsound festival took place in 2003. It currently occurs towards the end of October and lasts around one week. Starting out as an event focused on Polish audiences, in recent years it has rapidly developed to gain international attention. In 2010, the festival developed its program around the theme "Horror, the pleasure of fear and unease," followed up in 2011 with the theme "Future Shock," inspired by the 1970 book by futurist Alvin Toffler.
In February 2010, Unsound cooperated with local partners in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
such as the Wordless Music series, Bunker and Electronic Music Foundation
Electronic Music Foundation
Electronic Music Foundation is a not-for-profit 501 organization that produces events, publishes and disseminates media and information, and provides access to materials relevant to the history and creative potential of electronic music....
to create a 10-day satellite event involving music, film, workshops and panel discussions. The second edition of Unsound Festival New York took place in April 2011, and a third is slated for April 2012.
Unsound has also worked on projects in other countries, especially in the region of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. In particular, Unsound has worked with partners in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, to create mini-festivals and collaborative projects. Unsound has also worked with Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
organizations, such as Club Transmediale
Club transmediale
The annual CTM Festival festival is a music and visual arts event held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1999, the festival originally focused on electronic music, but has since evolved to cover a wide range of genres under the banner "festival for adventurous music and related visual...
and ~scape records
~scape
~scape is a Berlin-based record label focusing on various subgenres of electronica and experimental music.Since the label was founded in 1999, label owners Stefan Betke and Barbara Preisinger have signed numerous artists, such as Jan Jelinek, Deadbeat, and John Tejada....
.
Unsound has produced many collaborative and commissioned projects. These include the Warhol Series, where live electronic and experimental music is played as a "soundtrack" to classic silent Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
films. Artists involved in this project include: Carl Craig
Carl Craig
Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
, nsi., Groupshow, Stefan Németh and the video artist Lillevan. According to the Unsound website, the "series refers to Warhol’s own extensive use of pre-existing material to create something new, as well as the 60s multimedia event The Exploding Plastic Inevitable
Exploding Plastic Inevitable
The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, sometimes simply called Plastic Inevitable or EPI, was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol between 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground and Nico, screenings of Warhol's films, and dancing and performances by...
, which used Warhol’s film work as moving wallpaper projected onto a wall and musicians from The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
."
Another commissioned work is "Solaris," by Ben Frost and Daniel Bjarnasson in cooperation with Kraków's Sinfonietta Cracovia. Accompanied with visuals by Brian Eno and Nick Robertson, this piece premiered at Unsound Kraków in 2010, and was performed at Unsound Festival New York 2011 at Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center.
Unsound is also known for its "Bass Mutations" nights, which have taken place in Kraków and New York as part of the festival, and focus on evolving and fractured forms of bass-heavy club music.
Unsound is a founding member of ICAS (International Cities of Advanced Sound).
External links
- Unsound Festival Official Website
- Unsound at Twitter
- Unsound at Last.fm