Search: King Champion Sounds
King Champion Sounds
Fronted by Kenia-born musician Ajay Saggar, King Champion Sounds are an impetuous, eight-headed band from The Netherlands and England. Fronted by the inimitable G.W. Sok (former singer of the iconic D...
Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends
Oiseaux Tempête’s cross-cultural, multi-genre improv rock has a tendency to unfold in places of turmoil, recording records in Greece, Turkey and Lebanon in the past. The core duo of Fr&eac...
King Ayisoba
In recent years, Ghanaian star King Ayisoba ascended the West African pop charts with his futuristic approach of traditional styles. A master of the ancient kologo instrument - a two-stringed lute -,...
Insert Blank Records
Insert Blank Records is very proud to present to you their very first real-life showcase event. The new record label worked hard to build a diverse and joyful organization that represents the exciteme...
Ping Pong & DJ’s (2021)
Somewhere close to the sounds of trains leaving and entering Utrecht Central Station, you can find the Ping Pong Club. Ping Pong & DJ’s will take place in this industrial former warehouse. P...
Listen to Turkish psych group Baba Zula live at LGW14, ahead of their return to Utrecht
Turkish psychedelic music group Baba Zula performed the opening set for the legendary Selda Bağcan at Le Guess Who? 2014. We now bring you the recordings of the show, ahead of the band's return to Utr...
ZONAL (Kevin Martin & Justin Broadrick) announces debut LP, shares 2 tracks
ZONAL is the collaborative noise, dub and industrial project of Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug, King Midas Sound) and Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, JK Flesh). The group now announces their debut full-length album, to be released this fall via Relapse Records. The first two tracks; 'Cage Version' and 'No Versio...
Black Power Tarot reading by King Khan
Musician Arish Ahmad Khan – better known as King Khan – will read ‘Black Power Tarot’ cards for festival visitors. It’s a series of tarot cards he created with filmmaker...
Saul Williams & King Britt present 'Unanimous Goldmine'
In one corner, the shamanistic Saul Williams, actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism. In the other corner, cleric of eclecticism King Britt, accomplished Phill...
King Midas Sound
Since its inception a decade ago, King Midas Sound’s gloom-ridden transmutations of dub, lover’s rock and ambient music have made an unyielding impression. Producer Kevin Martin (The Bug)...
Christopher C. King
Hidden Musics Christopher C. King’s relationship with the folk traditions of Epirus, a mountain region connecting Greece with the southern parts of Albania, occupies a special place in his hear...
Black Power Tarot Exhibition by King Khan & Michael Eaton
Under supervision of surrealist filmmaker and spiritual guru Alejandro Jodorowsky, King Khan and Game of Thrones-designer Michael Eaton created ‘The Black Power Tarot’. The cards are depic...
Film: The Invaders
‘The Invaders’ talks about a generation of civil rights activists who originated from Memphis in 1967, consisting of students, Vietnam veterans, musicians and intellectuals who were inspir...
Scene Report: Istanbul, Turkey
Turkish Glimpse: A Look at Global Modern History through Turkish Songs offers a glance at Turkey’s wide ranging musical heritage with a distinctive point of view. Murat Meriç, a renowned...
Fhloston Paradigm
Fhloston Paradigm is one of the many groundbreaking excursions of renowned Philly producer, musician and DJ King Britt. Hyperdub debut ‘The Phoenix’ and this year’s follow-up ‘...
Lighthouse: Films by Paul Clipson
Paul Clipson is a San Francisco-based experimental filmmaker who often collaborates with sound artists and musicians. His Super 8 and 16mm films aim to bring subconscious visual abstractions to light....
Rizan Said
The King of Keyboard himself, Rizan Said, remains one of the most famous and influential musicians from Syria. He’s made a name for himself as composer for all kinds of Syrian artists, as well a...
Fhloston Paradigm (DJ)
As one of the many groundbreaking brainchilds of renowned Philly producer and musician King Britt, Fhloston Paradigm will return to Utrecht to host a DJ set featuring impulsive experimentation, cosmic...
ZONAL feat. Moor Mother & Nazamba
Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Goldflesh, Napalm Death) and Kevin Martin (The Bug, King Midas Sound) initially consolidated their mutual love for abrasive noise, dub and industrial as Techno Animal. If that...
Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy
When Alogte Oho was a boy, all he ever dreamt of was to join the church choir. When he turned thirteen, he did so and quickly ascended to stardom as a Frafra-Gospel artist. But in his twenties, a seri...
COSMOS Embassy: Mexico City, Mexico
In partnership with Sonido ConfirmacionMEXPOSURE, a simulation of a pirate television signal disguised as an institutional TV channel, is a place where independent artists come to find a space to expr...
"Anything you set out to find, you’ll find it here": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico We speak to Daniel (Danny) Alvarado Chávez, head of Sonido Confirmación, an independent project made to ‘represent and connect Mexico City through images and music’, while diving into the capital's music scene. Every minute, new acts mushroom across the city&rsquo...
Talk: Investigating Missing Sounds with Raymond Antrobus
Abundantly accoladed, London born poet, Raymond Antrobus will share in a performance and interview (with GRAMMY-winning producer and author Ian Brennan) what it means to him to be an ‘investigat...
Cinema Perdu
Cinema Perdu is the moniker of Utrecht-based Martijn Pieck, who has also been involved in woodbender and the [law rah] collective. Fascinated by urban found sounds, he works with manipulated samples a...
Exclusive: listen to Fhloston Paradigm's unreleased track '...THE MOON', feat. Heru Shabaka-Ra
Following this year's highly acclaimed and healing album AFTER..., Fhloston Paradigm aka King Britt gave us this unreleased track before his live solo set at Le Guess Who? 2017. '...THE MOON' feature...
Typhonian Highlife
It is no wonder that this Spencer Clark project is inspired by eighties cult horror movies, such as ‘Hellraiser II’ and ‘Pin’. Every album released under Typhonian Highlife sou...
Sound in Motion
Movement alters sounds, sounds alter movement, this is what Pablo Molina and Vincent Schoutsen envision behind their collaboration, Sound in Motion. They are shaping each other's realities via a micro...
Nonsense Note
The ongoing project Nonsense Note began with several pages of notes with instinctive drawings. The album is a collaborative work composed of sounds and videos created by various musicians from around...
Sound in Motion
Movement alters sounds, sounds alter movement, this is what Pablo Molina and Vincent Schoutsen envision behind their collaboration, Sound in Motion. They are shaping each other's realities via a micro...
Ambient Listening Sessions X U? presents: Kaðlín Ólafsdóttir
Kaðlín is a composer based in The Hague, whose work reflects on deterioration by drawing parallels between the imperfections of memory and technology. She creates ethereal soundscapes by co...
Read: "the crowning glory of Coventry"; PAM meets up with Pa Salieu
In an interview with LGW partners Pan African Music (PAM), Pa Salieu, a Coventry-based rapper and the king of UK-rap talks about his debut album, the history of Coventry, initial and current inspirations, and more. At just 24 years old, Pa has successfully collaborated with big names like Jorja Smith and FKA Twigs. He also dippe...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Bandung, Indonesia
Bandung-based community radio NORRM and the LaMunai record store provide us with an introduction to Indonesia’s eclectic and diverse underground sounds.Their collaborative film captures the crea...
[moosdohmen]
[moosdohmen] creates live analogue beats and modular bleeps. Combining dub, glitch, modbap and lo-fi ambient sounds, he forges a sound completely his own. He has also made podcasts for the Ambient Vau...
Colleen announces new double LP; listen to 'Subterranean (Movements I-II-III)'
French artist Cécile Schott, aka Colleen, is fearless when it comes to her willingness to explore new ways of expressing herself as a solo performer. Now, she announces Le jour et la nuit du réel: her first double LP and the follow-up to the glistening ambient pop of 2021's The Tunnel and the Clearing. Le jour et la...
William Basinski
Best known for his famous four-part masterwork ‘The Disintegration Loops’, William Basinski has been a vital figurehead in the New York art scene for over three decades. Starting his music...
Nadah El Shazly
Nadah El Shazly is one of the most versatile and progressive Egyptian musicians. The Cairo-based artist garnered that status by immersing herself in many different stylistics, including jazz, classica...
Natasha Kmeto
Natasha Kmeto's music sounds like pure pop exposing itself under the x-ray machine: fully-formed, but its anatomy and innards laid bare for all to see. Her albums ‘Crisis’ and ‘Inevi...
Ahmed Fakroun feat. Altin Gün
Libya’s Ahmed Fakroun is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and pioneer in modern Arabic music. As a rhymist (based on a form of Algerian folk music dating back to the 1920s), he is one of the...
tUnE-yArDs
As kaleidoscopic as tUnE-yArDs manages to sound, it's always remarkable how she seems to pull sounds out of the hat by sampling a modest drum set, a small detuned ukelele or her own elastic vocals. On...
James Holden & The Animal Spirits
Electronic explorer James Holden is not only a musician, he’s also a producer, remixer, and the founder of the Border Community label, where he releases the music of equally genre bending electr...
Jerusalem In My Heart
Jerusalem In My Heart is the main project of Lebanon-born, Montreal-based artist and producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh. Moumneh collects sounds and melodies, both archaic and futuristic, to create a trans...
Listen to OCnotes' DJ mix for KEXP's Midnight in a Perfect World
"OCnotes is known for his wildly unpredictable and consistently on-point DJ sets, which could be considered snapshots of his comprehensive appetite for original sounds," as we wrote in our bio fo...
Lea Bertucci
New York musician/composer Lea Bertucci threads the needle between the physical and abstract. The soothing movements she creates with alto saxophone, electronics and bass clarinet interact with device...
Colin Stetson
Driven by trance-like repetition and adventurous spirit, Colin Stetson’s performances are an unworldly display of sonic inventiveness and emotional release. Exploring the full scope of his instr...
Lucrecia Dalt (2018)
Colombian experimental producer Lucrecia Dalt creates multilayered and surreal dimensions through sound. Whip smart electronic compositions are shaped into atmospheric sounds, complemented with tradit...
Record Collector Magazine premieres Scott Fagan performing 'South Atlantic Blues' at LGW16
Scott Fagan’s lost 60s classic South Atlantic Blues is a gorgeous synthesis of Donovan-ish pop, jazz, R&B and Caribbean sounds plus a grandiose vocal delivery that recalls Scott Walker and B...
Sibusile Xaba
Equal parts acoustic guitar visionary and urban mythologist, South-Africa’s Sibusile Xaba creates a wonderful blend of African folk, flamenco and jazz. Supported by expressive fingerpicking and...
Lucy Railton
Lucy Railton’s voice has bloomed from the root of more than 25 years of classical instrumentalism. The cellist and electronic composer’s acclaimed 2018 solo debut 'Paradise 94' marks a new...
Ahmed Fakroun: rediscovered pioneer in modern Arabic music, live with Dutch-Turkish act Altin Gün
Ahmed Fakroun is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, raï singer (based on a form of Algerian folk music from the 20's) and pioneer in modern Arabic music. As a kid, Fakroun already developed a f...
Announcing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2017
The full line-up for Le Guess Who? is now revealed, with 60 acts completing the program - check out the full line-up here. The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda performed by...
Cüneyt Sepetçi
Clarinet master Cüneyt Sepetçi and his Orchestra Dolapdere are among the greatest musicians Turkey has ever produced. Not just adept at blasting out Turkish gypsy music with firecracker fe...
Ill Considered
Here’s a first impression of London four piece ensemble Ill Considered to spark your curiosity: their self-titled LP sounds like free-wheeling jams left on the cutting room floor for Curtis Mayf...
Emel Mathlouthi
Singer-songwriter and producer Emel Mathlouthi combines the vibrant sounds of psychedelic folk with heavy electronics and atmospheric melodies. She gained global recognition when her recording 'Kelmti...
Hot Snakes
In the early 2000s, Hot Snakes rose to combine Rocket From The Crypt’s walloping garage rock anthems and Drive Like Jehu’s feverish post-hardcore stabs. With aforementioned bands reuniting...
Yonatan Gat & The Eastern Medicine Singers
Yonatan Gat became known as a member of revolutionary Israeli punk band Monotonix, as well as an acclaimed recording artist. After powwow drum group the Eastern Medicine Singers initially turned down...
Philipp Bückle
As Teamforest, German musician and filmmaker Philip Bückle already released recordings via internationally renowned labels like Morr Music, Aesthetics and Eglantine Records. In 2014, Bückle...
Afterparty
While the festival’s numerous performances spread all over the city of Utrecht, there will be one moment we all come together, and that is at the afterparty. The line-up will feature dub-king Ke...
Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed
Fashion designer Iris van Herpen and sound artist Salvador Breed curate a lineup of artists and performances symbolizing their highly intertwined aesthetics, developed over years of collaborating on n...
Jenny Hval's The Practice Of Love
Whether it’s a stage, a computer screen or a page from a book: Jenny Hval’s multi-disciplinary work aims to break beyond these confining zones to form a deeper connection with her audience...
Mariel Roberts
Cellist and composer Mariel Roberts plays her instrument of choice like an actor performs a scene, completely engrossed and enraptured within the composition’s totality. As both solo performer a...
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker
Caspar Brötzmann has embraced a similar vocation as his father, free jazz legend Peter Brötzmann: disrupt conventions through the virtues of noise, innovation, and chaotic physical performan...
Maarten Vos + scenography by Nick Verstand
Composer Maarten Vos is what you’d call a voyager: he transforms traditional instrumentation into newfangled sounds and wields technology like something intricately human. Known as much for his...
破地獄/Scattered Purgatory
Taiwan duo Scattered Purgatory is named after a Taoist ritual that redeems and releases souls from a state between life and death. As it turns out, they adopt this notion quite literally in both perfo...
Stranded FM
Having become somewhat of a mainstay in Utrecht, Stranded FM celebrate and share music from all over the globe, becoming the city’s bastion for discovering fresh sounds. During their four-year r...
Shortparis
Russian collective Shortparis is all about tension, friction and disruption, obscuring the boundaries between audiovisual theatre, techno raves and punk rock performance. Whether it’s shattering...
Stream Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program's new LP 'Stargate Music'
Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program recently released a new album via Leaving Records titled 'Stargate Music': an astral ode to women and a spiritual reflection on earthly life, which features...
Ko Shin Moon
The duo Ko Shin Moon are entertaining in a similar way as back when you changed the instruments of sample tracks on a keyboard, just out of sheer curiosity how it would sound. Musicians Axel Moon and...
Thurston Moore, Sudan Archives, Meredith Graves and Weyes Blood get Tarot readings at Le Guess Who?
"Tarot," says King Khan, shuffling a deck of cards rhythmically back and forth, "was designed to give power back to the people." - Dazed At Le Guess Who? 2017, King Khan and Game of Thrones...
Introducing: Kate NV depicts everyday life in Moscow through otherworldly, playful electronica
Moscow-born Kate NV creates bustling and colorful electronic soundscapes that intrigue and inspire. Normally, she's a guitar-wielding post-punker and performer within Moscow Scratch Orchestra. But as...
Playlist: New & Notable at Le Guess Who? 2018
As every year, an important part of the Le Guess Who? program is about making new discoveries; experiencing new sounds and artists that might become new personal favorites in the future. To help you e...
Don The Tiger
Berlin-based, Spanish-born musician Adrián de Alfonso has collaborated with names like Lydia Lunch, El Guincho and Le Guess Who? curator Lucrecia Dalt. However, it is on his own that...
Read: Pitchfork interviews Neneh Cherry on the records meant the most to her throughout her life
Ahead of the release of her new album ‘Broken Politics’ this Friday, Pitchfork has interviewed Neneh Cherry, stating that “even by pop vanguard standards, it’s fair to say Nene...
Listen to Sourakata Koite's newly reissued tracks 'Ha-Madi' and 'N'na'
Armed with a West African cross between a lute, bridge and harp, troubadour Sourakata Koite uses his special modified Kora to interpret his Senegalese roots. He is also a griot, which means he is a story- and history-teller and singer. Picked up by music blog and record label Awesome Tapes From Africa, Koite will soon reissue his debut al...
Jacco Gardner: "Mysteriously, the things I feel connected to just find their way onto my path"
Before debuting his immersive multimedia-performance Somnium at this year’s Le Guess Who?, we had an extensive chat with Dutch musician, songwriter, and composer Jacco Gardner. About Dutch explorers, silent film soundtracks, Zambian rock legends, strange peninsula’s and of course, his upcoming LP Somnium. Jacco Gardner, sitti...
Otto Kokke
KULTUS, a solo project by Otto Kokke, is exploring the lines dividing music from sound. Stripped of all rhythm and melody, KULTUS songs are all about creating a physical sound that is much larger than...
Cengiz Arslanpay
Cengiz Arslanpay is a multi-instrumentalist, sound designer, music technologist and a composer. For this performance Cengiz teamed up with Klaas Hekman, a phenomenal improvisor from Rotterdam. Togethe...
Velvet-Rebel
Velvet-Rebel’s dynamic and energetic sounds carry an important message of living fully with a mysterious dark edge. His use of a tight rhythmic spine of drums combined with bass with acceleratin...
Homemade Empire
Ambient drones, cowboy psychedelia and fuzz folk - that's how singer-songwriter Bart de Kroon AKA Homemade Empire from Utrecht describes the sounds with which he takes us back to the future. With his...
Ayman Maas
Joey van der Kaaij and his neighbor Nuno Monteiro began experimenting recording together in a studio in a student building in de Bijlmer, Amsterdam. That collaboration has transformed into Ayman Maas...
Film: Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA
“I want to make more music,” was the reaction of Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto when he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. Not long after his treatment he started m...
Listen: The Bug and Burial release new EP 'Dive/Rain'
The Bug (Kevin Martin) and Burial (William Bevan) have once again teamed up. Their new two-track EP 'Dive/ Rain' was released under the moniker Flame 2. 'Dive/Rain' is The Bug and Burial's second joint release, following last year's 'Fog/Shrine' (Flame 1). You can listen to 'Dive/ Rain' below. Dive / Rain by Flame 2 "Flame 2 sees the ve...
Listen: Prana Crafter releases new split-LP 'Symbiose'
Prana Crafter summons cobwebbed guitar meditations, kosmische drones, and mystic acid folk mantras. In their 2018 Best Albums-list, Aquarium Drunkard described William Sol’s project as “an alchemist of dark voodoo boogie that is entrancing and hypnotic.” In collaboration with Tarotplane, Prana Crafter has now relea...
Context: Turkana - Artist portrait by Pan African Music
After attending a workshop in deejaying and music producing by East African platform Femme Electronic, model Anita Kevin decided to try it herself. Watching her do her thing as DJ Turkana, we would be...
Liliane Chlela
Lebanese producer and hybrid DJ Liliane Chlela makes purposeful music; be it as a soundtrack to film and dance or to make listeners reflect through a cutting-edge sonic experience. Her sound - self-de...
Animistic Beliefs (live)
Animism is the idea often found in indigenous belief systems that everything possesses a spiritual essence. A pre-colonial tradition connected with Marvin’s Moluccan and Linh’s Vietnamese-...
blondewednesday
blondewednesday's omnivorous ears are never turned off. She traded her home country Portugal for Rotterdam to revel in the open space between the club microcosm and experimental music. Part of Pantrop...
San Farafina
In San Farafina's mixes, future bass, garage, afro-house, reggaeton, and many more genres cohabit, giving way to an ethereal fusion inspired by her eclectic upbringing. Based in Montreal, the DJ combi...
LGW19 curator Jenny Hval releases new album 'The Practice Of Love'
Jenny Hval’s output has been consistently evolving throughout the years. In her music, moments of melodic beauty light up like quivering candles within a pitch black solitude of sonic abstraction. Hval's new album, 'The Practice of Love', is no less ambitious and proves a thrilling exploration of Hval’s unique examination of t...
Talk: Digging Against The Algorithm
Let’s face it. Algorithms play a significant role in how we find music today. With digital platforms offering us more of what we already know, this panel considers how we can work against algori...
Talk: Music Programming in 2022 & Beyond
With an increasing abundance of music events in recent years, the competition for audience engagement within the cultural sector is as high as ever. In light of everything visitors have to choose from...
Talk: The Music Journalist as Gatekeeper
As music and media are so closely connected, we often underestimate the role of the music journalist in the distribution of music. At one point, a portal from obscurity to recognition, music journalis...
Revealing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2021 with 70 new program additions
Le Guess Who? exists to bring people together through art and music, and despite the uncertainty of the times we have continued to work toward that end. Some things might change, and some things will change, but we have put together a festival for 2021 that we are extremely proud of, and will bring it to you in whatever form possible.&nbs...
aural conduct: Luke Cohlen b2b Mary
Luke Cohlen is a DJ and programmer whose sounds tread a variegated landscape, from quiet introspection to trippy and rhythmic club-terrains. Through an inherent drive to spotlight music and artists wo...
Joram Feitsma
Joram Feitsma composes neoclassical, minimal, melancholic piano music with an electronic twist. In October, he released his new album 'Stroom', with both music and poetry, that arrives at deeper groun...
Twan Bracco Gartner
On the quays at De Nijverheid you will find the annually renewed open-air art exhibition KunstKoers. Prick up your ears as you wander along the art works, so you won’t miss out on composer and s...
Ambient Listening Sessions X U? presents: Omit Iwik
Omit Iwik (Iris van der Sluis) is an ambient and experimental DJ and musician from Utrecht. Through soundscapes of manipulated field recordings, collected sounds, samples and guitar loops, Omit Iwik t...
Olmo Lungring
Due to visa denial, this performance will be on distance and projected on screen in the venue. Named after a mysterious spiritual realm in ancient Himalayan myths, Olmo Lungring is the solo side-proj...
Kelman Duran releases new album 'A Night In Tijuana' on Scorpio Red
Dominican-American producer Kelman Duran has released his new album 'Night In Tijuana'. The album is the first release on his own label Scorpio Red, that he started together with visual artist Annie Mackinnon. Apart from music, the label will also release commissioned essays and prints by artists. Over the past years,...
Scott Fagan performing 'South Atlantic Blues' - Live at Le Guess Who? 2016
Scott Fagan together with members of Trembling Bells perform Fagan's lost 60s classic 'South Atlantic Blues' in full at Le Guess Who? 2016. AboutFor every generation-defining icon, there’s an equally impressive talent who fizzled into obscurity. Scott Fagan’s lost 60s classic South Atlantic Blues is a gorgeous synthesis of...
Yama Warashi
Born in Japan, Yoshino Shigihara had been based in Bristol until settling in London. Her 2019 move inspired 'Crispy Moon', the project’s biggest record yet, released last May. Having fully immer...
Nala Sinephro
On 'Space 1.8', Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer, and musician Nala Sinephro’s debut record, music is a delicate, yet powerful, force. The London-based artist, who composed, produced, perfor...
B. Cool-Aid
You can only mix so many flavors of Kool-Aid before its colors start to smear. Hereby lies the inspiration behind vocalist Pink Siifu and producer Ahwlee (pronounced “Ali”)’s group n...
Scene Report: Mexico City, Mexico. Part I
Street vendors are often referred to as merchandisers who use public spaces to sell their products and services. In Mexico, street vendors go back to the pre-Hispanic times, when people started sellin...
About Cosmos
COSMOS amplifies local scenes from around the world. We connect international music communities and share their stories. COSMOS is an ever-growing network of partners that support, inspire, and educate one another.
COSMOS Embassy: Slemani, Kurdistan-Iraq
In partnership with Space21Hardi Kurda, a sound artist and curator of Kurdistan-Iraq’s first experimental festival, Space21, takes us on a listening journey to the city of Slemani and its cultur...
COSMOS Embassy: Slemani, Kurdistan-Iraq
In partnership with Space21Hardi Kurda, a sound artist and curator of Kurdistan-Iraq’s first experimental festival, Space21, takes us on a listening journey to the city of Slemani and its cultur...
COSMOS Embassy: Bethlehem, Palestine
In partnership with Radio AlharaRadio Alhara presents an unprecedented collaboration between Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist and puppeteer Yara Asmar, electronic musician Sary Moussa, and Bethlehem...
Scene Report: Anzoategui, Venezuela
Collaborative, mellow sounds, a fusion of traditional Afro-Venezuelan music with jazz and hip hop: this is what Motherflowers and Orestes Gómez, two of the most vibrant Venezuelan music project...
Scene Report: Caracas, Venezuela. Part I
Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, is hidden inside a valley and surrounded by a mountain range known as El Ávila. But how does it sound? Salsa, rap, joropo tuyero, traditional Afro-Venezuelan mu...
COSMOS Embassy: Lisbon, Portugal
East Side Radio is an online radio platform streaming from Lisbon’s East Side, Portugal. It’s designed to be a hub connecting widely recognized domestic and international talent. This COSM...
Nala Sinephro
On 'Space 1.8', Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer, and musician Nala Sinephro’s debut record, music is a delicate, yet powerful, force. The London-based artist, who composed, produced, perfor...
Listen to Tampa rap duo They Hate Change's new LP 'Finally, New'; curated by clipping. for LGW22
Tampa's They Hate Change is a project born out of the duo's more-than-encyclopedic sonic knowledge. In between East Coast hip-hop influences and hyperlocal bass-music leanings, Dre and Vonne bond over their omnivorous appreciation of everything from grime to emo. The duo recently released their new album 'Finally, New' via Jagjaguwar to...
Ahya Simone
Detroit-based multidisciplinary artist Ahya Simone's practice is populated by a careful probing of Black identity, aesthetics, and community building - and it is crawling with exciting references. Bro...
Listen/read: Favorite Stereolab tracks by artists from their LGW23 curation
For Le Guess Who? 2023, Stereolab have curated an eclectic program, highlighting their various interests and inspirations. We've asked artists from their curated program to choose their favorite Stereolab track, what the band means to them and/or what it means to be curated by them. Listen to the playlist by artists from the Le Guess Who...
Keenan Mundane
When Dutch rapper Keenan Mundane grabs the mic, there’s no choice but to listen. Inspired by the sounds of foreign agents such as JPEGMAFIA, Earl Sweatshirt, and MF Doom, Mundane chews up his in...
Sterk Spoor x Corner Shop
Bouldering is a fiery and spectacular form of climbing. A boulder is a clump of rock, and bouldering literally means climbing a rock. Since there are no rocks in the Netherlands, we climb walls with a...
Model/Actriz
‘Dogsbody’, Brooklyn-based quartet Model/Actriz’ first album, crashed onto music listener’s radars earlier this year like a seismic sea wave. It is easy to see why Cole Haden a...
Keenan Mundane
When Dutch rapper Keenan Mundane grabs the mic, there’s no choice but to listen. Inspired by the sounds of foreign agents such as JPEGMAFIA, Earl Sweatshirt, and MF Doom, Mundane chews up his in...
Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN)
The Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) connects and supports like-minded community radios with the shared goal of establishing a more sustainable and long-term future. ICRN’s activities...
Pop-Up Radio: AZEEMA FM
AZEEMA is a print magazine, online platform, community, and creative agency exploring the strength and creativity of women and non-binary folk of the Global Majority with a focus on WANA+SA.A grassroo...
Pop-Up Radio: Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN)
The Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) connects and supports like-minded community radios with the shared goal of establishing a more sustainable and long-term future. ICRN’s activities...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Sharjah, UAE
In partnership with Sharjah Art Foundation. Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and inc...
Listen to voice artist Hatis Noit's new album 'Aura'
Hatis Noit's musical awakening took place at the tender age of sixteen during a trek to Buddha's birthplace in Nepal. One morning when staying at a women’s temple she came across a female monk singing Buddhist chants whose otherworldly sounds moved her so intensely that she was instantly aware of the visceral power of the human voic...
Boys of Summer
Boys of Summer take you into the world of Americana with warm guitar sounds. The nostalgia covered songs of well-known bands such as The Rolling Stones and heroes such as Springsteen and Neil Young. A...
Talk: Producers as Creative Miners & Boundary Crushers
Heba Kadry is a mastering & vinyl cutting engineer born in Egypt and currently based in Brooklyn. She has worked with notable artists such as Björk, Holly Herndon, Nicolás Jaar and man...
Talk: Producers as Creative Miners & Boundary Crushers
Heba Kadry is a mastering & vinyl cutting engineer born in Egypt and currently based in Brooklyn. She has worked with notable artists such as Björk, Holly Herndon, Nicolás Jaar and man...
Le Guess Who? Celebrates Monumental 100th Festival Recording in Online Archive
Le Guess Who? is celebrating an impressive milestone with the publication of its 100th festival recording: dub-reggae ensemble African Head Charge live at Le Guess Who? 2023. Over the years, the festival has continuously expanded its online recording archive via leguesswho.com/recordings. The archive reflects the eclectic nature of Le Gue...
Rana Ghose x Hardi Kurda x Nikhil Chopra present: String Pulses
Three people. One will be in "character". One may not be. The former will be reacting to what the latter does sonically. The latter will be generating cues for the former to send back to him. The thir...
COSMOS Live: Rana Ghose x Hardi Kurda x Nikhil Chopra present: String Pulses
Three people. One will be in "character". One may not be. The former will be reacting to what the latter does sonically. The latter will be generating cues for the former to send back to him. The thir...
Le Guess Who? & U? present Phantom Wizard
Phantom Wizard is an artist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist of Surinamese descent who is born and raised in the Dutch capital. He embarks on a deeply personal yet profoundly universal journey, punctuated by experimentation and improvisation. Nature, afrofuturism, jazz, and hip-hop have come together to form his ethereal work. He use...
Indofuturist Sanctuary: A COSMOS Goa Residency Recap
In the spring of 2023, COSMOS – Le Guess Who’s? global music community – organized its first artist residency in Goa, India. Over the past few years, Goa has become a sanctuary for artists and freewheeling spirits of all kinds, including REProduce-founder Rana Ghose. In collaboration with Rana, COSMOS created a space for...
Thomas Hell
Thomas Hell is a DJ, producer & music programmer interested in music as a means for communication and cultural expression. Alternating between softer sounds or harder styles, depending on the mood...
Nusantara Beat
Amsterdam-based six-piece Nusantara Beat has quickly amassed a cult following, largely due to their exciting new take on Indonesian tradition. By infusing the sounds of traditional Indonesian songs fr...
Nusantara Beat
Amsterdam-based six-piece Nusantara Beat has quickly amassed a cult following, largely due to their exciting new take on Indonesian tradition. By infusing the sounds of traditional Indonesian songs fr...
Caterina Barbieri + Space Afrika with MFO
When you merge the transformative power of Italian musician and composer Caterina Barbieri with Space Afrika’s spacious urban dubscapes (plus the unique visual narration of Marcel Weber or MFO),...
Chebedajha
Operating in the vicinity of intense states of anxiety and pleasure, discomfort and relief, the experimental sound of Chebedajha challenges perception and sensitivity to become part of the collective...
Arts of Resistance x Linangan
Linangan and Arts of Resistance are hosting a multi-media exhibition combined with a public program in Bibliotheek Neude, Utrecht as a part of U?, the free program connected to Le Guess Who festival....
Nomono’s Ambient Hang-out // Hosted by Too many birds
Too many birds exists on the precipice of music and nature. Music writer Ruben van Dijk (Front, OOR, et al.) is drawn to sounds that renegotiate our relationship to the world around us and blur the li...
The Anonymous Project
Le Guess Who? premieres a new format as part of its 2023 festival edition. The Anonymous Project is a new avenue for artists to present their work and for listeners to discover it. During The Ano...
Photo series: COSMOS Live by Melanie Marsman
COSMOS was born out of Le Guess Who?’s mission to platform adventurous sounds that have the power to enrich lives. It’s a hub for experimentation and inspiration, and an ever-expanding network of creative minds. Through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies, COSMOS connects international music communities and...
De Saffier & Kaffeetaria Presents
De Saffier en Kaffeetaria will get wild! Together, they are showcasing their most valuable gemstones on their own stage. They will host an extensive and eclectic collection of singer-songwriters, DJs,...
Premiere: King Champion Sounds - 'Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah'; new album 'For A Lark' released during LGW
Formed by Kenya-born musician Ajay Saggar in 2013, King Champion Sounds are an impetuous, eight-headed band from The Netherlands and England. Fronted by the inimitable G.W. Sok (former singer of...
Watch: King Champion Sounds release new video 'Memory Is Imagined'
Leading up to their forthcoming album 'For A Lark', set to be released on the exact same day as their performance at Le Guess Who?, King Champion Sounds has shared a new video for 'Memory Is Imagined'. Premiered via Louder Than War, this track is a deeply psychedelic and transformative song featuring heavy guitar action courtesy...
Revealing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018 + day tickets on sale now
We're proud to reveal the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018 with 47 new additions to the program. Starting today, day tickets for the festival are also on sale. The final additions to the Le...
Track of the Week #18: Boogarins - 'Foimal'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we dive into the psychedelic, fleeting world of the Brazilian psych rockers Boogarins. Exploring their...
Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends - Live at Le Guess Who? 2019
Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends gave an overwhelming and immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2019, joined on stage by G.W. Sok (King Champion Sounds, formerly The Ex), Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band), Mondkopf and Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart, also LGW17 curator). Oiseaux-...
Stream: full performance of Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends at Le Guess Who? 2019
Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends gave an overwhelming and immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2019, joined on stage by G.W. Sok (King Champion Sounds, formerly The Ex), Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band), Mondkopf and Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart, also LGW17 curator). Oiseaux-...
Oiseaux-Tempête share video for new single 'He Is Afraid And So Am I'
Oiseaux-Tempête will release their new album 'From Somewhere Invisible' on 18 October: a collaboration with former Le Guess Who? artists Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart, also LGW17 curator) and Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band), as well as G.W. Sok (King Champion Sounds, for...
Listen: Mudhoney release 10th album 'Digital Garbage'
Even after thirty years of pioneering the grunge movement, the Seattle icons of Mudhoney still got enough fire left in them; a big, raging wildfire, in fact. Mudhoney's 10th studio album 'Digital Garb...
Oiseaux-Tempête release LGW19 performance for Bandcamp Friday, featuring Jessica Moss, Mondkopf, and Radwan Ghazi Moumneh
Oiseaux-Tempête gave an overwhelming and immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2019. For Bandcamp Friday, the cross-cultural, multi-genre improv group now officially release the recordings of Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends live at Le Guess Who? 2019. For this special performance, titled Oiseaux-Tempête & Frien...
"Champion of an obscure Ainu lyre": Read Songlines' feature on OKI
As a part of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people, OKI celebrates Ainu folk, while blending it with reggae, dub, throat singing, and Irish, African, and Central Asian tradition. Songlines recently featured the artist in their magazine, focusing on the tonkori, the rare lyre instrument traditionally played by the Ainu, and h...
Beatmaker, DJ & 'king amongst cratediggers' Kutmah added to Le Guess Who? program
We couldn’t resist: we’ve added beatmaker, DJ & 'king amongst cratediggers' Kutmah to the line-up for Le Guess Who? 2017. This will be a DJ set on Friday, 10 November in TivoliVredenbu...
Interview: Emel Mathlouthi: "The most important thing is to be truthful"
Ahead of her performance at Le Guess Who?, we catch up with Tunisian singer, musician & artist Emel Mathlouthi while on her way to a performance in Washington DC. It became a talk about being challenged by collaborators, the Arab Spring and the role of social media, being categorized by singing in Arabic, and the importance of being t...
Introducing: Sudanese/London collective The Scorpios bring life-affirming soul & vintage psych funk
Listening to the life-affirming soul and vintage funk of London collective The Scorpios, you probably won't be surprised to find out most of its members originate from Sudan. After fleeing the fundame...
Breakdown: Paddy Steer's Otherworldly & Wonderful DIY Weirdcraft
To fight the ordinary, Paddy Steer does the extraordinary. Surrounded by knobs, wires, keys, and wearing self-made, Sun Ra-inspired costumes, Paddy Steer looks and sounds like a music wizard from anot...
Listen: DJ Haram joins Teklife to deliver a dazzling set of trap and B’more bounce.
Last week, Discwoman-affiliated producer DJ Haram joined renowned footwork crew Teklife to deliver a dazzling mix of ramped-up trap edits, B’more bounce and distorted non-Western...
Introducing: Poema - a fixture in the life of every student in Utrecht joins LGW18
This year, Le Guess Who? will feature three new venues for the official music program: WAS., BASIS, and Poema. All of them are part of Utrecht’s buzzing nightlife and are among the most prominent clubs in town. This time, we introduce you to Poema: a fixture in the life of every student in Utrecht. Did you know Utrecht is one of th...
Meridian Brothers share new video for 'No Me Traiciones'
The Bogotá-based sextet Meridian Brothers offer a very distinctive and playful take on tropical sounds like salsa, cumbia and reggaeton in an electronic context. The band have now shared t...
Playlist: Club Cuts - explore the club-affiliated music of Le Guess Who? 2018
Le Guess Who? 2018 features a wide variety of club & dancefloor-oriented music, which we've now brought together in one playlist for you to explore. Check out the 'Club Cuts of Le Guess Who? 2018'...
A force of celebration & hardship: listen to Isokratisses perform the polyphonic folk songs from Epirus at LGW19
On November 9, 2019, the Greek polyphonic vocal ensemble Isokratisses gave a rare performance at the Jacobikerk during Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Founded by Anna Katsi, the group dedicates itself to the polyphonic singing of Poliçan, an ethnic Greek village in southern Albania. All the members are...
Relive Saul Williams & King Britt's 'Unanimous Goldmine' performance at LGW18 via Red Bull Radio
Red Bull Radio has premiered the full recording of 'Unanimous Goldmine', the collaborative performance between actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism Saul Williams; and accomplished Philly-based musician, DJ, author and producer King Britt. On the explicit invitation of M...
Listen to a 7-hour playlist with King Britt productions & remixes
Accomplished Philly-based musician, DJ, author and producer King Britt has shared a playlist with his collected productions and remixes, chronicling the musical development through his vast catalogue...
Footwork legend RP Boo announces new album ‘I’ll Tell You What!’
The originator of footwork music and one of Chicago’s finest producers RP Boo will release his new album ‘I’ll Tell You What!’ on 6 July via Planet Mu. Leading up to his new LP...
Ethiopian funk pioneer Hailu Mergia releases his first album in 15 years
Before Hailu Mergia fled to America in 1981, his group Walias Band was a guiding light in Ethiopia’s thriving nightclub scene. In America, Mergia ended up driving cabs for almost 30 years, but h...
Introducing: acoustic guitar visionary & urban mythologist Sibusile Xaba
With a wonderful blend of African folk, flamenco, bossa nova and jazz, Sibusile Xaba is slowly conquering the hearts of audiences outside of his home country South-Africa. His sound - both playful and...
Donato Dozzy announces sound installation album '12H' on Lorenzo Senni’s Presto!? Records
Donato Dozzy has a rare ability to work his way into peoples’ minds in both contemporary and classical settings. Now, the Spazio Disponibile boss will debut on Lorenzo Senni’s Presto!? Records with a two-hour-long album titled '12H', due out on October 25. The music is a summary of the material that...
Tracing the Roots: Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Great Black Music, Ancient To The Future
In the mid-1960s, Art Ensemble of Chicago sprung from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Ever since, they have been celebrated as one of the most remarkable free ja...
Stream/download: The Wire shares Saul Williams & King Britt's 'Unanimous Goldmine' performance at LGW18
Le Guess Who? 2018 curator Moor Mother invited actor, screenwriter and noise poet Saul Williams and Philly-based musician, DJ and producer King Britt to present the collaborative performance 'Unanimous Goldmine' at the festival. These two great minds gave an exclusive, one-time collaborative performance entitled that was named after...
King Khan & Michael Eaton present The Black Power Tarot at Le Guess Who? 2017
If you're a regular Le Guess Who? attendant, then surely you know musician/producer/writer/artist Arish Ahmad Khan, known by the stage name of King Khan. The artist also played the festival back in 20...
"The heaviest record I've ever made, but also the quietest": King Midas Sound interviewed by The Vinyl Factory
Since its inception a decade ago, Kevin Martin (aka The Bug) and Roger Robinson's gloom-ridden transmutations of dub, poetry and ambient music as King Midas Sound have made an unyielding impression. This year, the duo returned with 'Solitude', a bleak and barren spoken-word/ambient record that laments the crumbling of a relationship....
Read: Drowned In Sound interviews Saul Williams ahead of his LGW performance
Ahead of his one-off, improvised, and non-rehearsed performance with King Britt at Le Guess Who?, Drowned in Sound interviewed musician, poet, actor and screenwriter Saul Williams about what we c...
"How Rizan Said became the King of Keyboard": video interview by Cairo Liberation Front
Over the past two decades, Rizan Said has made a name for himself as composer for all kinds of Syrian artists, as well collaborating extensively with Omar Souleyman. In the process, his distinctively...
Listen: King Britt shares new Fhloston Paradigm track 'Run'
King Britt / Fhloston Paradigm's music features impulsive experimentation, cosmic ambience as well as more structured techno leanings. Britt now releases a new Fhloston Paradigm track, entitled 'Run'. Set on embodying afro-futurist ideals, this pulsating track has a threatening, ongoing drive which haunts you down to the ve...
Revealing the curators & initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018
We're very pleased to present you the curators and initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018. A gentle reminder: current 4-Day Festival Passes are available until Thursday, 7 June, and will increa...
LGW TV content now online, feat. Reports from Other Continents, Vunk on Vacation & more
Following the launch of LGW ON, our very own online TV channel which streamed mid-November 2020, we are now sharing a lot of programs and video content that premiered on the channel via our YouTube account. We've published the videos as part of our new Reports from Other Continents project; all episodes of our alternative travel sho...
Revealing the first curators & initial line-up
The first curators are announced for the 11th edition of Le Guess Who? 2017, each hosting a range of inspirations and befriended artists, and also performing themselves. Perfume Genius invites a.o. Bu...
Coco María presents Club Coco: vital new music influenced by vintage sounds
When DJ and artist Coco María moved from Mexico to Europe, she brought the hidden gems of Latin American musical culture with her. Growing up surrounded by music, Coco María not only grew fond of the sounds of her childhood but also developed a love for sharing them with the rest of the world.
Born out of this passion of hers is the show ‘Club Coco’, hosted on Worldwide FM, on which Coco María shares the best of contemporary and heritage music rooted in Latin sounds. A captivating exploration of African rhythms that lie embedded within Central and South American music, ‘Club Coco’ is as colourful and memorable as Coco María herself, leaving listeners in a joyful and energetic mood.
Éliane Radigue: a personal quest in exploration of sound
On Thursday, 8 November (the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2018), French experimental orchestra ONCEIM will perform twice in Utrecht’s iconic Dom church; a collaboration between Le Guess Who? a...
Listen/read: How seven trailblazing LGW artists reimagine their cultural & musical heritage
You can also listen to this story – below or via your favorite podcast app. Words by Julian BrimmersAudio by Cheri PercyCover photo by Gianfranco Bello For 16 years and counting, Le Guess Who? has strived to create a space for generations of music lovers and makers to come together. A podium, where icons of their trade n...
Watch a stunning live session with Alabaster dePlume at Oxford's Covered Market, presented by Upcycled Sounds
Composer, saxophonist, and storyteller/poet Alabaster dePlume will be Le Guess Who? 2021’s Artist in Residence this November. Now, Upcycled Sounds in collaboration with OCM presents a beautiful and intimate session with the group, captured at Oxford's Covered Market, in which they perform a composition based on the poem 'B...
Selda Bagcan to perform at Strange Sounds From Beyond
Our hero Selda Bagcan will play Strange Sounds From Beyond, Amsterdam, on June 25th. Relive her magical performance at Le Guess Who? 2014 via the Soundcloud playlist below:
"It was the right place at the right time": COSMOS Goes Behind the Scenes in Montréal, Canada
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with POP Montréal In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Ever since Le Guess Who?'s very first edition, there's been a strong bond with POP Montréal’s 20+ year long history of platforming cutting-edge music. Fo...
Listen: Kojey Radical releases new grime-meets-jazz single ‘Water’
The multitalented British-Ghanaian Kojey Radical dropped a new, smooth-as-silk hip hop tune named ‘Water’. This soulful track also features Atlantic vocalist Mahalia and the grime-meets-ja...
Listen: Kelman Duran drops new mixtape 'MOON CYCLES III'
LA-based Dominican producer Kelman Duran has just released his new mixtape 'MOON CYCLES III', once again featuring a highly distinctive combination of minimalistic reggaeton beats, chopped up voc...
Video portrait: Moor Mother on free jazz as a liberation technology and curating at LGW18
"I call free jazz a liberation technology, and it’s very essential to anything that I make. It has to have that conductor running through my music for it to be successful, or for me to get acros...
Listen: ZONAL and Moor Mother team up on 'On The Range'
Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) returns to Le Guess Who? for the third consecutive year. After being curated by Jerusalem In My Heart (2017), and being a festival curator herself (2018), she now teams up with ZONAL, the project of Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Goldflesh, Napalm Death) and Kevin M...
Photo series: Hidden Musics at LGW19, captured by Melanie Marsman
In collaboration with producer Ian Brennan and Glitterbeat Records founder Chris Eckman, Le Guess Who? presented the first installment of Hidden Musics during the 2019 edition of the festival. Now and in the future, the project aims to present global music traditions that normally don’t reach our shores, often from more remote...
Slumberland feat. Sainkho Namtchylak - Live at Le Guess Who? 2021
Belgian musician, composer, and instrument maker Jochem Baelus aka Slumberland and experimental Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak gave a collaborative performance during Le Guess Who? 2021 at Utrecht’s Jacobikerk. With Slumberland, Belgian musician, composer, and instrument maker Jochem Baelus creates hypnotic krautrock and post punk...
Zonal share title track of upcoming album 'Wrecked'
ZONAL has shared the title track to their forthcoming album 'Wrecked', which is out on 25 October via Relapse Records. ZONAL is the collaborative noise, dub and industrial project of Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug, King Midas Sound) and Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, JK Flesh). The album contains...
ZONAL release 'System Error' featuring Moor Mother, from upcoming album 'Wrecked'
ZONAL, aka Kevin Martin (The Bug) and Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, JK Flesh) release their first single 'System Error', featuring vocals by Moor Mother. The track is taken from their upcoming debut album 'Wrecked', which will be released on 25 October via Relapse Records. Besides 'System Error' the album contains several collaborations wit...
LGW19 curators Jenny Hval, The Bug and Moon Duo announce new albums
Three of the Le Guess Who? 2019 curators have just announced new albums and released new music to go along with it: Jenny Hval Norwegian avant-pop artist Jenny Hval will release her new album 'The Practice of Love' on 13 September via Sacred Bones. At Le Guess Who?, she will present her new performance baring the same title as the album...
JPEGMAFIA traces his eclectic childhood influences in Billboard interview
In a new interview with Billboard, experimental producer JPEGMAFIA discusses the elements from his childhood that have influenced him and his music.Including Biker Mice From Mars, Conker's B...
The Fader premieres Kojey Radical's new video for 'Soak It Up'
Today, The Fader premiered the intimate and hauntingly beautiful video of Kojey Radical's collaboration with UK producer MJ Cole, entitled 'Soak It Up'. Accompanied by a highly affecting vid...
Why you should experience Pharoah Sanders live at LGW17, according to Fhloston Paradigm
Fhloston Paradigm aka King Britt: "My parents were collectors and my mother was exposing me to more spiritual jazz as a kid. I heard music he did with Don Cherry & Sun Ra first. Opened up sonic p...
Stream Fhloston Paradigm's new album 'After...'
Fhloston Paradigm is one of the many groundbreaking excursions of renowned Philly producer, musician and DJ King Britt. His new album has just been released, entitled 'After...', and featuring collabo...
Watch/read: ZENITH x Zilzal by Rogier Boogaard
For U? 2023, Utrecht-based collective ZENITH and independent, Palestinian sound platform Zilzal join forces at the former Pieter Baan Centrum that serves as a powerful channel for 00970, gbw9, RAGASA, and Noise Diva to express their “current mental situation.” Photographer Rogier Boogaard documented a part of the artists ZENIT...
Watch: Slumberland collaborates with Tuvan voice artist Sainkho Namtchylak, considered the first female overtone artist
With Slumberland, Belgian musician, composer, and instrument maker Jochem Baelus creates hypnotic krautrock and post punk colored with distorted exotica. Recently, he started collaborating with Sainkho Namtchylak, a 64 years old voice artist from Tuva, an autonomous republic in Russia north of Mongolia. Namtchylak is regarded as the...
LGW & Gaudeamus collaborate to present ONCEIM in Utrecht's stunning Dom Church
Thursday 8 November, on the opening night of this year’s festival, we present two performances by ONCEIM in the Utrecht Dom Church, in collaboration with contemporary music organization Gaudeamus. ONCEIM, short for ‘Orchestre de Nouvelles Créations, Expérimentations et Improvisations Musicales’, is a French...
Meet Moroccan Gnawa master Maâlem Houssam Guinia, curated by James Holden for LGW17
Maâlem Houssam Guinia is the son and successor of the late Maâlem Mahmoud Guinia, an emblematic figure in the practice of West-African Gnawa music. Maâlem means 'master musician', an...
Photo series at U? 2022
Utrecht based photographer Rogier Boogaard captured documentary photo series of artists involved in the festival.
De Utrechtse fotograaf Rogier Boogaard heeft artiesten die betrokken waren bij het festival vastgelegd in documentaire fotoseries.
Listen/read: Cheikha Rabia: a destiny tied to the continuous reinvention of rai, by Lafawndah
This November, Le Guess Who? will feature a special performance by Cheikha Rabia, a renowned singer with over five decades of experience in reinventing rai music. Her performance will be a collaboration with Esraa Warda, a prolific dancer expert in traditional North African dance forms. Both artists hail from Algeria, but currently, Cheikha Rabia lives in Paris.
After having performed at Le Guess Who? in 2019, we asked Yasmine Dubois - also known as Lafawndah -, a singer, songwriter, producer and director to visit Cheikha Rabia at home in Paris. There, they talked about Rabia's background story, what rai means to her, and the refreshing opportunities that pure coincidence offer.
Words by Lafawndah
Audio by Cheri Percy (music recorded by Lafawndah during interview)
Photography by Alexia Fiasco; view the full photo series here
"Lifting each other up to cross the finish line": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Accra, Ghana with Oroko Radio
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with Oroko Radio In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Within the first two years of their existence, Oroko Radio has come from a beautiful idea to a globally renowned fixture in independent broadcasting, connecting the dots between Accr...
"We construct a different narrative": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Athens with stegi.radio
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Athens with stegi.radio In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. The scene in Greece has undergone a renaissance of sorts, with Athens becoming a hotspot for creative minds from around the world. Needless to say, this development hasn't...
Introducing: Black Midi: storming UK’s underground with piercing, tense noise rock
We would like to introduce you to Black Midi: part band, part mystery. Despite the fact that they've got almost no online presence and are still unsigned, the group has already garnered praise from me...
Coucou Chloe discusses music & fashion for Crack Magazine's 'Aesthetic'
Coucou Chloe's malformed take on pop music is as mind-melting as it is urgent, ripping the elements of hip-hop, industrial, sampling and electro-pop asunder. The French artist and producer is also the co-founder of burgeoning label/collective NUXXE, and some of the tracks released via the label have also found their way onto fashion week...
Listen to Ami Dang's folkloric & transcendental album 'Parted Plains'
Ami Dang takes her listeners to higher states of mind through meditative sounds. The Baltimore ambient musician fuses sitar, voice, and electronics to create east-meets-west transcendental music. On her latest solo record 'Parted Plains', she draws inspiration from South Asian and Middle Eastern folkloric narratives. Dang c...
Listen: Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble release new song 'Keep Your Mind Free'
Chicago's Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble have released a new song from their upcoming album 'NOW', to be released on April 9th. With a mix of pulsing trumpet sounds, 'Keep Your Mind Free' originated from the reflection that Covid-19 has different outcomes for each group of society, especially for people in prison...
Watch: Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with Metropole Orkest Strings live at LGW18
Continuing the legacy of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar is considered to be one of the world’s most renowned sitar players. In 2018, she performed at Le Guess Who?, together with Austrian percussionist and Björk collaborator Manu Delago and the 27-member string section of the Metropole Orkest, conducte...
Listen to 'Space 1.8', Caribbean-Belgian composer & harpist Nala Sinephro's cathartic debut album for Warp Records
Nala Sinephro is a composer, producer, and musician of Caribbean and Belgian origin, whose music is a blend of jazz, folk, field recordings, and meditative sounds. She recently released her debut album 'Space 1.8' via Warp Records. Hailed as 'Best New Music' by Pitchfork, the outlet describes the album as "a benchmark in ambient jazz feat...
Klein announces new album 'Harmattan'; watch the video for 'Hope Dealers'
South London musician, composer and multi-disciplinary artist Klein's work sounds delightfully disheveled - ghostly R&B tracks not meant for the world to listen to. Next month, she'll return with 'Harmattan', her newest album, to be released November 19th via Pentatone. Klein wrote, produced, performed, and mixed the album hers...
Interview: Pink Oculus presents Before Wisdom through collaborative show where art, scenography and music become one
“Performing is a part of my identity”, says the Dutch Surinamese vocalist and producer Pink Oculus. Two years of not being able to do what she loves the most led to a brand new sound, and new music too: her forthcoming album, ‘Before Wisdom’, is expected in 2022. At Le Guess Who?, she will premiere these songs thro...
Niño de Elche - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
"This is flamenco punk", said Niño de Elche towards the end of his performance at Le Guess Who?. It's a fitting statement: the Spanish musician, who is also called a 'singer, poet and omnipresent master of ensorcelling souls' has been challenging conservative and picturesque perceptions of flamenco for over two decades. You can re...
Watch: KeiyaA features in Solange's Saint Heron's short film 'Passage'
Neo-soul sensation, singer and producer KeiyaA stars in Solange's Saint Heron's 'Passage', a short film created in collaboration with avant-garde collective Standing on the Corner. The short was recorded to celebrate the 2021 International Woolmark Prize, an award that honors fashion talents from around the world who showcase th...
Kickstarter x Kapitaal host LGW Hang Out with live interviews, listening sessions & art exhibitions
Like last year, Utrecht’s beloved independent print workshop Kapitaal will transform into the official Festival Hang Out during Le Guess Who? 2019. Through live interviews, listening sessions, art exhibitions with select LGW? performers and all things print and sound, Kapitaal will transform into a three-day meeting...
Watch: Japanese minimalist composer Midori Takada talks to The Vinyl Factory in short film
Japanese minimalist composer Midori Takada has always been very productive throughout her decade-spanning career, immersing in African tribe spirituals, classical music and minimalist greats like Stev...
Blanck Mass amongst final line-up additions + announcing venue hosts
Today, we announce three final line-up additions for Le Guess Who? 2018, including a performance by British electronic musician/producer Blanck Mass. We are also sharing some venue hosts during the festival; find their descriptions below & see when/where they are hosting in our downloadable time schedules. Blanck Mass Sin...
Watch: Emel Mathlouthi releases stunning video for 'Kaddesh'
Tunisian singer-songwriter and producer Emel Mathlouthi combines the vibrant sounds of psychedelic folk with heavy electronics and atmospheric melodies. Following the release of her album 'Ensen' last...
Listen: Anoushka Shankar traces her heritage with lesser-known recordings by her father Ravi
In a new episode of Red Bull Radio's Open End, sitar player Anoushka Shankar traces an arc of Indian classical music, from lesser-known recordings by her father Ravi to modern works. Equally, in...
Watch: short doc about Japanese ambient master Chihei Hatakeyama
As a part of their video series 'toco toco', Japanese content platform Archipel made a short documentary about ambient musician, sound artist, mastering engineer and record label founder Chihei Hatake...
Breakdown: The Thriving & Roaring Sound of Colin Stetson
In this new breakdown-series we analyse and extract the groundbreaking work of pioneers in their line of musical duty. In this article, we explore Colin Stetson’s unconventional approach to the...
Listen to Liars' Angus Andrew's mixtape with songs he likes to blast backstage
"I consume more music backstage on tour than at any other time. It’s essential for me as a ritual to have sounds blaring in the green room from load-in to load-out. Partially I think this is so...
Listen: Pan African Music premieres the recordings of Les Filles de Illighadad at Le Guess Who? 2016
In collaboration with Vrije Geluiden, we recorded one of the performances of Niger's Les Filles de Illighadad at Le Guess Who? 2016. Pan African Music now premieres these recordings, ahead of the rele...
Gospel trinity The Como Mamas reveal new album 'Move Upstairs'
"I used to get chills listening to Elvis Presley, but on Sundays, secular sounds took a back seat. My grandfather was a big churchgoer, and on Sunday morning the radio was on the gospel station." So...
OCnotes: a wildly unpredictable yet razor-sharp sound explorer, curated by Shabazz Palaces
Born in the Southwest of the United States as Otis Calvin III, OCnotes was influenced at an early age by skateboard culture and developed a fascination for cartoons, as well as receiving musical educa...
Manchester cult figurehead Jane Weaver: hypnotic pop and acid folk turn thrillingly cosmic
Jane Weaver’s official biography starts with the sentence “abusing, evading and obliterating 20 years of whimsical pop trends”. Indeed, it could almost be seen as a personal slogan....
LGW19 curator Jenny Hval shares new song 'Ashes to Ashes' from upcoming album 'The Practice of Love'
Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Jenny Hval's multi-disciplinary work aims to break beyond the confining zones of a certain genre or discipline to form a deeper connection with her audiences. Now, the Norwegian avant-pop artist announces her new album 'The Practice of Love' (out 13 September 13 via Sacred Bones), and shares its first singl...
Sustainability
With the motto of Listening is the Way Forward, Le Guess Who? exists to promote sounds that are often overlooked, and to platform fresh perspectives on what is possible in music. Artists from all over the world push the boundaries of expectations and offer an insight into the unprecedented diversity of human creativity. Our mission: A pl...
Unearthed: An exclusive interview with Abdullah Ibrahim published by The Wire in 1984
This November, Le Guess Who? will feature a spellbinding solo piano performance by Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa’s most eminent pianist, anti-apartheid activist and a world-respected master musician. Abdullah Ibrahim's effervescent music is instantly recognizable, taking the audience on a journey through gospel and jive, American jazz and classical music. Once heard, his music holds a special place in the heart of the listener.
To find out more about Abdullah Ibrahim's life, inspirations and faith, as well as the role his music plays in the freedom struggle, read this in-depth interview by Graham Lock.
***
This article was published in The Wire Magazine issue 8, October 1984. It is reproduced here by permission of The Wire and Graham Lock. A slightly different version of the article was published in Graham Lock’s book Chasing The Vibration (Stride, 1994).
Watch: Vrije Geluiden sessions at LGW22, featuring Hatis Noit, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Noori & His Dorpa Band + more
VPRO Vrije Geluiden were present at Le Guess Who? 2022 to capture several sessions with festival artists in TivoliVredenburg. Over the next couple of weeks, these will go online every Sunday. The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar Jajouka is the name of a hidden village in the Jebala foothills of northern Morocco. Here, The...
"It feels like you have done your part": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Khartoum, Sudan
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Khartoum, Sudan We discuss LGW Embassy: Khartoum, Sudan with Hassan Kamil: a talk about portraying another image of the continent, the country, and the city; how music in Khartoum grew to be ‘a form of resistance’; and how it is home to a rich array of meaningful, beautiful, and unique sounds; dif...
"Anything you set out to find, you'll find it here": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico We speak to Daniel (Danny) Alvarado Chávez, head of Sonido Confirmación, an independent project made to ‘represent and connect Mexico City through images and music’, while diving into the capital's music scene. Every minute, new acts mushroom across the city&rsquo...
COSMOS Reveals 2023 Embassies and Live Program at Le Guess Who?
COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s globe-spanning initiative that amplifies exciting music scenes from around the world. Through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies, COSMOS connects international music communities and shares their stories. Now, COSMOS reveals the 2023 Embassies, together with its first-ever live program,...
Watch: They Hate Change - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
Tampa rap duo They Hate Change performed at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by clipping., following the release of Finally, New; their debut album for Jagjaguwar. Relive the ecstatic performance below with our concert film, featuring two unreleased tracks produced by John Carroll Kirby and Zach Witness: AboutTampa&rsq...
Presenting the Film & Discourse Program for Le Guess Who? 2023
After last year's success of full rooms, beautiful films and interesting conversations, we are bringing the Film & Discourse Program back to Le Guess Who?. We are excited to present our full program and the partners we created it with. Film Program This year, Le Guess Who? once again collaborates with IDFA (International Documentary...
ZULI shares 'Komy' EP
The work of multi-talented sound artist Ahmed El Ghazoly (also known as ZULI) has spilled over Cairo's borders onto the rest of the world, garnering support from the likes of Aphex Twin and Autechre. The Egyptian producer now returns with his newest EP, Komy. The EP features Haykal, Dakn, Cocktail Party Effect, and Maoupa Mazzocche...
Kapitaal & Stranded FM host official LGW23 Hangout
We're thrilled to let you know that the great Kapitaal, Utrecht's independent print workshop, together with online radio station Stranded FM, will once again host official Le Guess Who? 2023 Hangout on Friday, Saturday & Sunday during the festival. Find Kapitaal at Paardenveld 5B (behind the palmtree!), where they host live per...
Announcing the first COSMOS 2024 Embassy: Santuri East Africa
COSMOS x Santuri announce first 2024 Embassy Ahead of their first-ever electronic music summit, Kilele, COSMOS sits down with Santuri co-founder and director David Tinning as well as Nairobi staples Nyokabi Kariũki and KMRU. For a full decade, the Santuri organisation has been supporting, highlighting, and releasing a mix of con...
Listen: Shabazz Palaces remix Gonjasufi for new album 'Mandela Effect'
Gonjasufi has just released his new remix album 'Mandela Effect', and gathers an impressive list of collaborators for the album. The album was released on Warp and features a.o. Le Guess Who? artists...
Stream 700 Bliss’ debut EP ‘Spa 700’
Combine Moor Mother's everlasting, raging voice with DJ Haram’s dissonant Middle Eastern melodies and hard hitting club beats, and the result is the noise-infested yet cleansing sound of Philly...
South African guitar maestro Sibusile Xaba releases debut LP ‘Unlearning/Open Letter to Adoniah’
Earlier this year, Sibusile Xaba unleashed his astonishing, spiritual sound through his debut double album ‘Unlearning/Open Letter to Adoniah’. Supported by expressive fingerpicking and hu...
Track of the Week #1: Kojey Radical – 'If Only'
Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. First up is a current LGW office favorite, from the British-Ghanaian poet-turned-rapper who is already being ha...
Sudanese/London collective The Scorpios release new single 'Mashena'
Having fled from the fundamentalists in their home country of Sudan, the original members of psychedelic group The Scorpios established themselves in London during the 80s. After releasing their self-...
Watch Soweto's BCUC present a fusionist 'Africangungungu' session for Red Bull Music
Started out as a social gathering in their native township of Soweto, BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) is an South African alliance of guitarists, djembe players, flute artists, and spoken wo...
Listen: The Vinyl Factory in conversation with Hello Skinny's mastermind Tom Skinner
For Vinyl Factory's monthly Soho Radio Show, Hello Skinny's mastermind Tom Skinner joined VF editor Anton Spice to introduce his latest LP 'Watermelon Sun', alongside a handful of its influe...
Track of the Week #6: Sons of Kemet - 'My Queen Is Harriet Tubman'
Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's one of the projects of jazz superforce & festival curator Shabaka Hutchings, who released t...
Chicago footwork originator RP Boo releases new album 'I'll Tell You What!'
RP Boo is the originator of footwork music and one of Chicago's finest producers. Now he has released his new album 'I'll Tell You What! via Planet Mu, which is his first album since 2015's 'Fingers, Bank Pads, and Shoe Prints'. It shows off RP Boo's raw experimentalism, floating free between abstraction and precision, for which RP Boo has become known over the years. Recently, RP Boo already released a few tracks from 'Ill Tell You What!' via a mixtape for Noisey Mix.
"I always move on with what’s to be unexpected, not afraid at all and let the results speak for itself with room to learn, as well for shaping what’s to come."
- RP Boo in an interview with Noisey (April 2018)
RP Boo’s performance at Le Guess Who? 2018 is curated by Moor Mother. This curated program also features The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, 700 Bliss, DJ Haram and many more.
Listen: Saul Williams shares new single 'The Flaw You Worship'
The shamanistic Saul Williams is a singer, rapper, poet, actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism. At the moment, Williams is working on his Kickstarter film pro...
GAIKA releases debut album 'Basic Volume'
Exploring a multitude of musical influences and concepts about contemporary black British music, GAIKA releases his debut album 'Basic Volume' today. Reflecting on dark, uncertain times with a co...
Kojey Radical releases new double single '97: Pure'
Kojey Radical is at it again. The hyper-productive rapper, dancer, model, illustrator and video artist recently released a hauntingly beautiful video for 'Soak It Up': his collaboration with UK produc...
Nicole Mitchell releases new album 'Maroon Cloud'
Today, improvisational composer and flutist Nicole Mitchell releases her new album 'Maroon Cloud' via FPE Records. The record sees Mitchell featured in a drumless chamber quartet together with so...
Track of the Week #15: Georgia Anne Muldrow - 'Great Blacks'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we zoom in on an old-school-esque hip-hop track from LA-based producer, musician and vocalist Georgia Anne Mu...
Orchestra of Spheres share first single 'Koudede' from upcoming album 'Mirror'
Orchestra of Spheres send their listeners on a reflective voyage of sonic discovery on their new song 'Koudede'. With the track, the adventurous psych pop group share their love for the Tuareg and Nig...
Stereogum navigates the many styles of Yves Tumor with 9 essential tracks
The enigmatic pop experimentalist Yves Tumor wins over new audiences every time he releases new music. Over the years, he has explored the most extreme genres, using harsh noise, field recordings...
The Quietus interviews JPEGMAFIA about journalism, Throbbing Gristle, and 'Veteran'
Ahead of his appearance at Le Guess Who? 2018, The Quietus has interviewed lo-fi rap and trap producer JPEGMAFIA. In the interview, he talks about the study of journalism the curr...
Watch: Neneh Cherry performs ‘Kong’ on ‘Later with… Jools Holland’
Neneh Cherry performed her new song ‘Kong’ on BBC Two's ‘Later with… Jools Holland’ this week. The track is taken from her upcoming album ‘Broken Po...
Amsterdam-based DJ/producer/vocalist LYZZA releases new EP 'IMPOSTER'
Born and raised in Brazil, DJ/producer/vocalist LYZZA is becoming a familiar face during radical, underground club nights all over the world, from Amsterdam all the way to Shanghai. Now, she releases...
Listen: JK Flesh releases new EP 'In Your Pit' via The Bug's PRESSURE label
"With his pioneering industrial metal band Godflesh, Justin Broadrick writes songs built on concussive beats, apocalyptic riffs, and feral howls. It’s music made for an audience who, during live shows, reward the storm of sound with rapt attention. But when Broadrick performs in techno clubs as JK Flesh, he wears a hoodie that...
Revealing the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019
We're pleased to reveal the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019, dedicated to boundary-crossing music from all over the world. The first 87 acts include very rare performances by Asha Puthli, Ustad Saami, and Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band, as well as the curated programs by Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins and The...
Listen to Earth's new album 'Full Upon Her Burning Lips'
With their new album ‘Full Upon Her Burning Lips’, Earth's core duo of Dylan Carlson and Adrienne Davies tap into the Platonic ideal of Earth— an elemental band, where every guitar note and every strike on the drum kit carries the weight of the world. Carlson describes the album saying: "I wanted this to be a &lsqu...
Listen: The Bug's Kevin Richard Martin releases solo album 'Sirens'
Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) has released 'Sirens', the first solo album under his own name. The album, released through Room40, is about the arrival of parenthood, and the complex and tumultuous journey Martin and his wife went through in the first month of their son's life, when he had to undergo t...
Prison Religion releases new music featuring Rabit and Eartheater
Noise-rap duo Prison Religion has released new music in anticipation of its upcoming album 'BEACHHEAD', to be released in July. In May, Prison Religion already released 'XNF NTC / B.O.O.T' featuring experimental noise-maker (and LGW18 artist) Eartheater. Now there is the second track 'Candy', a collaboration with experimental el...
Listen: Mala collaborates with Joe-Armon Jones and Nubya Garcia on new track 'Scratch & Erase'
Responsible for some of dubstep’s most iconic cuts, DJ, producer and label owner Mala is now part of a select group of producers taking it to thrilling forward-thinking pastures. His newest track is a collaboration with Joe-Armon Jones and Nubya Garcia. 'Scratch & Erase' is part of the compilation album 'Unti...
Listen: Prison Religion releases 2 tracks from upcoming album: '70 Mg' & 'Metal Mouth'
Richmond, Virginia-based collage-rap/noise duo Prison Religion show that the heaviest of music is often-times economical and raw in its execution. Following the release of their 2018 EP 'O Fucc Im On The Wrong Planet', the group is set to release their new album 'BEACHHEAD' in July. The new album is characterized by "an avant-club me...
Mary Lattimore releases stirring new 15-minute song 'Quintana'
Los Angeles-based harpist Mary Lattimore is having a creative streak the last couple of years. Last year, she released her critically acclaimed album 'Hundred of Days', and back in March she teamed up with Mac McCaughan on the collaborative LP 'New Rain Duets'. Now, she releases a stirring and wondrous 15-minute compostion...
Revealing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019
Following the announcements of the curated programs by Fatoumata Diawara, Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed, Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins, and The Bug, we are now proud to reveal the full program for Le Guess Who? 2019. New additions include the premiere of AEAEA (Patrick Higgins & Nicolas Jaar), Aldous Harding, Deerh...
Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) & Hatis Noit share exclusive track ahead of their live premiere at LGW19
The Wire Magazine shares an exclusive collaborative track from Le Guess Who? curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) and Japanese voice artist Hatis Noit, entitled 'After The Storm'. Listen to the track and read a statement about the duo's collaborative project here on The Wire's website. To receive a free download of t...
Photo series: 4 days of The Bug's curation at LGW19, captured by Juri Hiensch
As a defiant experimentalist ceaselessly exploring sonic extremities, contrasts and frictional collisions, The Bug's obsession with beats, bass, body horror, and dub technology has been mirrored throughout his turbulent, mutating career. Le Guess Who? residential photographer Juri Hiensch spent four days with Kevin Richard Martin aka The...
Timetable & last program additions for LGW21 revealed + limited Saturday Tickets to go on sale
With just one week until the 14th edition of Le Guess Who?, the organization shares the timetable and last program additions for this year’s festival. Aside from some cancellations, the Utrecht festival for boundary-crossing music and culture now announces 41 final program additions, featuring live music performances, film screening...
Relive Le Guess Who? with lots of exclusive audio & video recordings
Visit our recordings section for lots of exclusive audio & video recordings of Le Guess Who? performances. The first 2019 recordings are now being made available, with more to come soon, but you can also discover the performances of older editions, featuring a.o. Art Ensemble of Chicago, Saul Williams & King Britt, Kadri Gopa...
Experience the true soundsystem culture with Jah Shaka Sound System x Krackfree at Le Guess Who?
Jah Shaka is an absolute pioneer in sound system culture and has been spreading his message of love and spirituality across the world for over 40 years. On Saturday, 9 November, he will bring his legendary dubs to Le Guess Who? for a 4-hour set, performing on Krackfree Soundsystem, a collective operating from Eindhoven. The soundsystem c...
Lees: Zware Metalen interviewt Le Guess Who?-curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug)
Zware Metalen, het grootste e-zine in het Nederlandse taalgebied voor metalliefhebbers, sprak uitgebreid met Le Guess Who?-curator Kevin Richard Martin, beter bekend als The Bug. Het resultaat is een enerverend gesprek met een specifieke gedachte, aldus Zware Metalen: wat kunnen metalheads leren van Kevin's roekeloze a...
Listen to Girl Band's new album 'The Talkies'
Four years on from their acclaimed debut album 'Holding Hands With Jamie', Girl Band are back with 'The Talkies', out today via Rough Trade. This Irish wrecking crew has become one of the most fearsome live units of the decade thanks to their shredding and propulsive performances. 'The Talkies' is as devastating as it is ja...
DJ Firmeza drops new EP 'Ardeu'
Following his 2015 debut 12” and numerous international forays, DJ Firmeza’s new EP ‘Ardeu’ sees the free-spirited Portuguese artist inject devilish detail into his productions at no expense to his signature. All four cuts are intensely rhythmelodic and include two highlights revolving Firmeza&r...
Girl Band release new track 'Salmon Of Knowledge'
Girl Band will release their sophomore album, 'The Talkies' on 27 September via Rough Trade. The Irish post-punk group already shared 'Shoulderblades' and 'Going Norway' from the record, now they are back with new track 'Salmon Of Knowledge'. The track is named after a creature from Irish mythology, and was once in the running for the tit...
Watch: Yves Jarvis shares new video for 'Sugar Coated'
Montreal-based musician, producer and composer Yves Jarvis shares his new video for ‘Sugar Coated’, taken from his latest album ‘The Same But By Different Means’. Yves Jarvis is known for his auteur approach to music making; composing, performing, and recording everything on his albums himself, resulting in mu...
Girl Band shares video for new song 'Going Norway', from upcoming album 'The Talkies'
Dublin's Girl Band has released the new song 'Going Norway' from the upcoming album 'The Talkies', which will be released on 27 September via Rough Trade. Going Norway' follows the previously released 'Shoulderblades' and comes with a both disturbing and witty video that was directed by Bob Gallagher; watch below. Girl Band's Dara Kiely...
Read Visible Cloaks' guide to 'serenitatem', their album with Yoshio Ojima and Satsuki Shibano
Portland duo Visible Cloaks recently released 'serenitatem', their collaborative album with Japanese musicians Yoshio Ojima and Satsuki Sibano as part of the long-running FRKWYS series from the New York label RVNG Intl. Originating from the exchange of MIDI-based musical ideas, this is music that blurs concepts be...
Watch: Yves Jarvis shares self-directed video for '360'
With his new album 'The Same But By Different Means', Montreal-based musician, producer, and composer Yves Jarvis is included in the 2019 Polaris Music Prize Long List. Consisting of a collection of suspenseful, gauzy post-R&B vignettes, Yves Jarvis is known for his auteur approach to music making, c...
Read: The Quietus publishes exclusive interview with Liz Harris (Grouper) about Nivhek
Under the name Nivhek, Liz Harris (Grouper) recently released double album ‘After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house’, consisting of opaque assemblages of Mellotron, guitar, field recordings, tapes, and broken FX pedals. It ranks among Harris’ most stark, primordial work: fragile, feverish, ominous, an...
Girl Band and Tropical Fuck Storm join Le Guess Who? 2019
The Irish first class agit-rock outfit Girl Band and the extraordinarily abrasive yet undeniably catchy Australian psychpunkers of Tropical Fuck Storm will join Le Guess Who? 2019 in November. Girl Band also just announced their new album ‘The Talkies’; listen to the first track from the album below. Girl Band Prep...
Thank you!
Thank you for your donation! With your support, we're able to continue to showcase underrepresented sounds that otherwise would not be heard. Photo: Loop at Le Guess Who?, by Erik Luyten.
LGW18 artist portraits by photographer Juri Hiensch
Photographer Juri Hiensch from Utrecht has been involved in Le Guess Who? since the very start. This year, he has captured a stunning series of artist portraits at the festival again, featuring the likes of a.o. Rodrigo Amarante, Kelsey Lu, Kadri Gopalnath, Circuit des Yeux, Swamp Dogg, JPEGMAFIA, Colin Stetson, Saul Williams & King B...
Le Guess Who? Collaboratorium: a deep dive into experimental territory
Before TivoliVredenburg opened in 2014, Le Guess Who? had its headquarters at beloved pop venue Tivoli Oudegracht. This year, we are happy to return to our roots with a very special project: Collaboratorium, a musical laboratory where we invite artists to dive deep into experimental territory. Collaboratorium, hosted by American singer-s...
New Zealand's Orchestra Of Spheres release new album 'Mirror'
Filled with whimsical forays into glossed up afro-funk, psychedelic disco and sprawling electronics, New Zealand's Orchestra Of Spheres have released their new, bewildering album 'Mirror' via Fire Records. Opening with the almost-ten-minute-long title track, their album is a mainly instrumental exploration of energies and atmospheres...
Watch 'Right Here Is Home', The FADER's short documentary on JPEGMAFIA
The FADER presents ‘Right Here Is Home’, a new documentary about rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA. The documentary displays JPEGMAFIA visiting the Bell Foundry in Baltimore, which was one of the first places where he connected with a creative community. He also explains how the city’s collective fight against police b...
Watch FACT Magazine's 'Against The Clock' session with footwork originator RP Boo
Besides being one of Chicago’s finest producers, RP Boo is also known as the originator of footwork music. His music is of a propulsive and repetitive nature: rapid, bouncy beats have a weightless feel, floating free between abstraction and precision. Ahead of his performance at Le Guess Who?, FACT Magazine visited RP Boo in...
Track of the Week #23: The Scorpios - 'Mashena'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. As the festival is getting closer and closer, we dive deeper and deeper into this year's worldly, prismatic line-up. This week, we highlight the elated mix of Arabic rhythms, raw Eastern funk and vintage psychedelia of The Scorpios. Having fled from the...
The Mauskovic Dance Band release ecstatic new track 'Things To Do'
While The Mauskovic Dance Band, brainchild of producer and multi-instrumentalist Nic Niggebrugge, is based in Amsterdam, the group create an ecstatic and exotic fusion of Colombian rhythms, 70’s afro-beat and hypnotic disco. To celebrate their UK debut mini-tour, the group is set to release a 7" single;...
Watch: Sons of Kemet perform 'Your Queen Is A Reptile' for Boiler Room & Mercury Prize
Sons Of Kemet's new album 'Your Queen Is A Reptile' (released in March via Impulse!) is the "jazz" choice for nomination in this year's Hyundai Mercury Prize. Ahead of the event, the band gi...
Track of the Week #16: JPEGMAFIA - '1539 N. Calvert'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. Last week, we highlighted a classical and timeless hip hop track of Georgia Anne Muldrow. This week, we shift phase...
Introducing: BCUC's sensational Soweto Afro-psychedelia
The sensational Afro-psychedelic collective BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) started out as a social gathering in their native township of Soweto, South Africa. Even with a relatively short h...
Video portrait: Shabaka Hutchings on Impulse!, curating at LGW, and music as joyous celebration
"It feels like signing with Impulse has given validity to the way I've perceived my music act. It is a legitimate part of the jazz canon" We meet up with jazz superforce Shabaka Hutchings in Utrecht...
Track of the Week #12: Sibusile Xaba - 'Open Letter to Adoniah'
Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we offer you an extraordinary mix of bossa nova, flamenco, jazz and prog folk, courtesy of ...
"An Innovative Flutist With an Afrofuturist Vision": New York Times interviews Nicole Mitchell
In a recent interview with The New York Times, award-winning Flutist Nicole Mitchell speaks about her influences for her acclaimed album 'Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds', as well as the role o...
Watch: George E Lewis & Art Ensemble's Roscoe Mitchell in conversation at CTM 2018
During the latest edition of Berlin's CTM, two jazz pioneers and members of the AACM - Art Ensemble of Chicago's Roscoe Mitchell and music professor George E Lewis - spoke about th...
Read: Emel Mathlouthi on why she doesn't want to be classified as 'voice of the Tunisian revolution'
Singer-songwriter and producer Emel Mathlouthi gained global recognition as a protest singer when her recording 'Kelmti Horra (My Word Is Free)' became an anthem of the Arab Spring. But, in a recent i...
Watch: Hello Skinny perform 'Rashad' live at Church Studios for NTS
Hello Skinny, the project founded by Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, takes inspiration from a.o. UK jazz, Jersey house, R&B, hip-hop, footwork and Arthur Russell-minimalism. The nods to footwor...
GAIKA shares new single 'Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)'
With his debut album 'Basic Volume' out 27 July on Warp, vocalist and producer GAIKA now shares his new single 'Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)', co-produced by SOPHIE. With Jamaican a...
Premiering Sun Ra Arkestra's LGW17 recordings, spanning decades of the Sun Ra legacy
With their cosmic jazz celebration, Sun Ra Arkestra was one of the closing acts of Le Guess Who? 2017. We're pleased to now bring you the full recording of this show, spanning decades of the Sun Ra le...
Watch: Black Lips perform live for The Pyles Sessions
When performing in San Diego last June, Black Lips also visited Signature Sound to perform some tracks from their latest album 'Satan's Graffiti or God's Art?' in session for FTW New Music....
Sarah Davachi explores meditative music for Red Bull Radio
Canadian artist Sarah Davachi's creates immersive soundscapes with a playful exchange between ancient acoustic instrumentation and analogue synths. For the newest edition of Red Bull Radio, Davac...
Listen to Moor Mother's FACT mix 593
Working from her base in Philadelphia, Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother, has taken a wide range of influences and distilled them into an essential, idiosyncratic sound best evidenced on last year’s...
Video portraits: Elza Soares, Julia Holter, Lee Ranaldo & more at LGW16
Le Guess Who? & de Volkskrant bring you video portraits of artists performing at Le Guess Who? 2016. We meet legendary Brazilian protest singer Elza Soares before her performance, and talk...
FACT premieres exclusive playlist by The Bug for Le Guess Who? 2019
FACT Magazine have just premiered a playlist personally put together by The Bug for his curation at Le Guess Who? 2019, featuring a.o. King Midas Sound’s gloom-ridden dub, spoken word and ambient; juggernaut industrial/metal outfit Godflesh; Jah Shaka, an essential figure within the British dancehall and dub scenes of the 70s;...
Listen: Shabaka Hutchings' personal playlist for his curated program at LGW18
Jazz superforce Shabaka Hutchings curates his own program at Le Guess Who? 2018, hosting a variety of inspirations, interests and like-minded artists. Now, he has put together a personal playlist...
MIKE shares new single 'Red Jacket 6'
New York City rapper MIKE releases new single ‘Red Jacket 6’, which he produced with DJ Blackpower, Tony Seltzer and RedLee. It is his first material since the release of last year's 'Beware Of The Monkey'. The new single arrives ahead of MIKE’s Young World festival. In July, the freely accessible festival returns t...
Listen to Sudan Archives' debut album 'Athena'
Today, violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives (Brittney Parks) releases her debut album 'Athena' via Stones Throw. The album is filled with deeply textured tracks that feel contemporary, groovy and powerful at the same time. Parks started to play violin at a young age, which she learned by playing in her local church choir...
Watch: Nihiloxica live at Le Guess Who? 2023
Nihiloxica exploded out of Kampala in 2017 with their groundbreaking fusion of Bugandan drumming and UK bass. The band explores the darkest depths between two separate cultures of dance music, uniting abrasive club electronics with raucous percussive energy. At Le Guess Who? 2023, the group presented their late latest album 'Source of De...
Listen: MIKE live at Le Guess Who? 2023, curated by Slauson Malone 1
As part of Slauson Malone 1's curation at Le Guess Who?, New York City rapper MIKE performed live at the festival with tracks from all across his discography and an emphasis on material from his 2022 album Beware of the Monkey and its follow-up, Burning Desire. Tune in below. "A magnetic stage presence fused with one of the most...
Watch/listen: SANAM - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
Lebanese free-rock, post-folk sextet SANAM performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2023, following the release of their debut album 'Aykathani Malakon'. Relive the performance with our concert film, and the audio recording of the show below: About SANAM's music is akin to a ritual, somewhere between a marriage and an exorc...
Watch: Niño de Elche live at Le Guess Who? 2023
"This is flamenco punk", said Niño de Elche towards the end of his performance at Le Guess Who?. It's a fitting statement: the Spanish musician, who is also called a 'singer, poet and omnipresent master of ensorcelling souls' has been challenging conservative and picturesque perceptions of flamenco for over two decades. You can re...
Watch: Stereolab live at Le Guess Who? 2023 concert film
Recently, we celebrated the 100th festival recording being included in our online recordings archive. Now, we are elated to share the concert film of Anglo-French avant-pop group and festival curators Stereolab live at Le Guess Who? 2023. Hailed as one of the most influential and fiercely independent groups of the 90s, Stereolab's influe...
12-Hour Drone in former factory Pastoefabriek: from sitar and cello bass drones to shamanic noise
An immersive event and all-encompassing experience, 24-Hour Drone is a roving, international series presented by Basilica Hudson and Le Guess Who?, featuring musicians and sound artists...
Initial line-up announced for 24-Hour Drone 2018 in Hudson, NY
Originated in Utrecht as a collaboration between the festival and long-term partners Basilica Hudson, 24-Hour Drone is a roving, international series featuring musicians and sound artists experimentin...
Lucy Railton's solo debut 'Paradise 94' is out now
Cellist and electronic composer Lucy Railton recently released her solo debut 'Paradise 94', marking a new chapter in her long-term engagement with contemporary music. Released on Boomkat’s...
Track of the Week #5: Beverly Glenn-Copeland - 'Ever New'
Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's the new age & folk-jazz pioneer who has been curated by Devendra Banhart as well as Moor Mo...
Premiere: Jozef van Wissem shares new song 'Bow Down' & presents new album at LGW18
Enter the dark, mythical world of minimalist composer and acclaimed lute-player Jozef van Wissem. Accompanied by his baroque instrument, Van Wissem creates highly distinctive sonic soundscapes by blen...
Stream: Oliver Coates releases new album 'Shelley's on Zenn-La'
London cellist, composer and producer Oliver Coates has released his new album 'Shelley's On Zenn-La' via RVNG Intl. The inspiration for the album was a legendary nightclub in the city of Stoke-on-Tre...
Introducing: Alabaster DePlume: a graceful blend of poetry, jazz and British folk
Ever since their performance at Le Guess Who? 2018 has been confirmed, Alabaster DePlume's latest record 'The Corner of a Sphere' has been on high rotation in our office. We'd now like to introduce yo...
Track of the Week #21: Lonnie Holley - 'Sometimes I Wanna Dance'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we highlight a track of acclaimed improvisational maverick and storyteller of the highest order: Lonnie Holle...
Haco collaborates with Takako Minekawa, Dustin Wong and Tarnovski on 'Kannazuki'
Japanese musician and sound artist Haco has released a new collaborative ambient piece with Japanese composer and musician Takako Minekawa, former Ponytail guitarist Dustin Wong and the Czech experimental artist Tarnovski. The track, entitled 'Kannazuki', is a live recording of the collaborative, one-off improvisational show of...
Read The Vinyl Factory's story about how Dur-Dur Band defined Somali funk
Somalia's legendary Dur-Dur Band played a major role in the 1980s nightlife of the capital Mogadishu. After reissues by Awesome Tapes From Africa and Analog Africa, Dur-Dur Band's mix of vibrant funk and traditional Somalian rhythms earned renewed recognition globally. The Vinyl Factory's longread tells the story about how the Somalian C...
Listen: Jenny Hval shares new song 'High Alice' from upcoming album 'The Practice of Love'
Norwegian singer, producer, novel writer and Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Jenny Hval has released a new song called 'High Alice'. It is taken from her upcoming album 'The Practice of Love', which will be released in September. In a statement accompanying the release of the song, Hval says that 'High Alice' felt like the narra...
Listen to a unique collaboration between Ahmed Ag Kaedy and Marjo Smolander on new single 'Tenere'
Tuareg guitarist Ahmed Ag Kaedy has released a new single called 'Tenere' in collaboration with Finnish musician Marjo Smolander. Marjo plays the Finnish traditional instrument Kantele and together with Kaedy's enchanting guitar playing, the sounds blend together as one. Even if you can't understand the words they're both singin...
Listen to South African collective SPAZA's soundtrack album 'UPRIZE!'
South African collective SPAZA released their new album ‘Uprize!’ last month. It was recorded in 2016 as the soundtrack for Sifiso Khanyile's 2017 documentary of the same name, which tells the history of the 1976 uprisings in Soweto against the racist apartheid government. On the album, the SPAZA ensemble displays a mixture o...
The New Yorker picks Etran de L'Aïr's cellphone-recorded 'No. 1' as album of the year
Etran de L'Aïr are a wedding band based in the town of Agadez, an urban center of the desert, and a city renowned for the production of music – in particular the electric guitar and the so-called “desert blues”. The name Etran de L'Aïr translates to “the Stars of the Aïr,” the mountainous regi...
Revealing 46 program additions for Le Guess Who? 2021
It is true that making plans for shows and festivals in 2021 is a bit of a gamble. But Le Guess Who? believes that it’s important to have something to look forward to. In the spirit of cautious optimism, we are proud to announce the second round of confirmations for November 11-14 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Le Guess Who?’s...
Galya Bisengalieva announces remix album 'Aralkum Aralas' and shares first track featuring Jlin
Kazakh/British violinist and composer Galya Bisengalieva has announced the new album 'Aralkum Aralas', which features remixed tracks from her 2020 album 'Aralkum'. This new collection of remixes will be released 15 October via One Litte Independent and includes contributions of a.o. Moor Mother, Coby Sey, Nazira, Jing, and CHAIN...
Niger's Etran de L'Aïr share new single 'Toubouk Ine Chihoussay'
Hailing from the town of Agadez, which is known as “the gateway to the desert”, Etran de L’Aïr capture the pulse of everyday life at weddings, baptisms, political events, outdoor soirees alike. In 2020, The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich picked the group's 'No. 1' as her favorite album of t...
Listen to multidisciplinary artist Lucinda Chua's exclusive mix for Bleep
Utilizing little more than her voice, a cello and an array of effects, South London multidisciplinary artist Lucinda Chua composes ambient pop songs that feel both intimate and colossal. Earlier this year, Lucinda Chua released her beguiling 'Antidotes 2' EP, "a haunting four-song set of slow-burning ambient chamber-pop, w...
Niger's desert blues group Etran de L’Aïr announce new album 'Agadez'; listen to 'Adounia'
Etran de L'Aïr, the best of Saharan rock, has been in the game for 25 years. They're well-known for their hypnotic sound and sun-bleached melodies. This family band of brothers and cousins shared a common ancestry; in the shadow of the grand mosque, Etran's members are all the sons of nomadic families who settled in Agadez's small ne...
Support Le Guess Who? with a regular or one-time donation
Le Guess Who? is an ever-changing format: we are always full of new ideas and looking for new ways to do what we do. In order to keep developing the festival the upcoming fifteen years on the same level as we did the last fifteen, we could use your support. Over the past fifteen years, we have developed into a platform that showcases...
Tokyo-based hip-hop trio Dos Monos share epic collaborative track with Japanese novelist Yasutaka Tsutsui
‘Dos City’, Tokyo-based hip-hop trio Dos Monos’ 2019 debut album which balanced jazz and hyperactive verse spitting, became an introduction to the group’s uncompromised and intense sound. As we wrote in the trio's biography: "a certain promise of more purely original cacophony to come." Now, Dos Monos share a new...
Read via Bandcamp: "Five Ainu Artists Revitalizing Indigenous Japanese Music", featuring LGW22 artist OKI
OKI's identity, as a part of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people, is central to his person and his art. His music, as heard on this year’s ‘Tonkori in the moonlight’, celebrates Ainu folk - while blending it with reggae, dub, throat singing, and Irish, African, and Central Asian tradition. Now, Bandcamp h...
Watch Romani singer Mónika Lakatos in session at Festival Imaterial, captured by Vincent Moon
Mónika Lakatos was born in Budapest to an Olah Gypsy family, and it was her family and community who taught her to sing. In 1996, she became the first Romani singer to win Hungary's most popular talent show. With her powerful vibrato, both polished and gruff, she continues to collect accolades as an ambassador for her community&rsq...
Introducing Siti Muharam, the 'golden voice of Zanzibar' & great granddaughter of taarab legend Siti Binti Saad
Zanzibar singer Siti Muharam, the great granddaughter of famed taarab singer Siti Binti Saad, brings a modern twist to taarab on her debut album ‘Siti of Unguja'. Her show at Le Guess Who? 2021 will mark her first ever European performance. Taarab is a popular music genre in Tanzania and Kenya, combining musical elements from A...
Read Pitchfork's interview with Arooj Aftab, "the Defiant Singer Who’s Reimagining Traditional South Asian Music for Today"
Performing at Le Guess Who? 2021 as part of her first ever European tour, the Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab, listed by NPR as one of the top 100 young songwriters, talks to Pitchfork for an in-depth interview about her new album 'Vulture Prince', her inspirations, family, and the journey to escape the obvious. Inspired by the wo...
Read Bandcamp's feature about São Paulo guitarist Kiko Dinucci
São Paolo-guitarist, producer and songsmith Kiko Dinucci has been exploring myriad sounds throughout his career. His latest solo album 'Rastilho' is built around his rhythmically fierce acoustic guitar playing. Bandcamp has published a feature exploring Dinucci's affinity with both post-punk and samba. The article d...
MIKE - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
As part of Slauson Malone 1's curation at Le Guess Who?, New York City rapper MIKE performed live at the festival with tracks from all across his discography and an emphasis on material from his 2022 album Beware of the Monkey and its follow-up, Burning Desire. Tune in below. "A magnetic stage presence fused with one of the most...
LGW & Basilica Hudson announce return of 24-HOUR DRONE; initial program revealed
For the sixth consecutive year, Le Guess Who? and Basilica Hudson present the all-encompassing and immersive 24-HOUR DRONE: EXPERIMENTS IN SOUND & MUSIC in Hudson, NY, taking place Saturday, April 25 - Sunday, April 26, 2020. Tickets are available now. An experimental music and sound program, 24-HOUR DRONE featur...
Listen to all Stranded FM festival & radio shows from Le Guess Who? 2019
Utrecht's Stranded FM celebrate and share music from all over the globe, becoming our city’s bastion for discovering fresh sounds. During their four-year run, this Dutch underground radio station is built on a sense of community, a fertile DIY-mindset, plus a wholehearted love for cutting-edge music. During Le Guess Who?...
This week on BBC Radio: recordings of Ayalew Mesfin, AEAEA (Patrick Higgins x Nicolas Jaar) + Sofia Jernberg interview
There's lots of Le Guess Who? to hear this week on BBC Radio. First off, on Friday night (November 22 at 23:00 GMT), BBC Radio 3's Late Junction will premiere audio recordings of Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin's first ever European live performance at Le Guess Who? 2019, as well as a section of the live premiere of AEAEA at th...
Get in the mood for LGW19 with our Radio Show, hosted by LGW programmers Bob van Heur & Jacob Hagelaars
Can't wait for Le Guess Who? to take off next week? We know how you feel. So, to fill in the hours that still await us (or at least, two of those hours), we now present you our first Le Guess Who? Radio Show. Hosted by Le Guess Who? programmers Bob van Heur and Jacob Hagelaars, they guide you through the extensive 2019 program and p...
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley announces new album '11th Street, Sekondi', shares first single 'Black Woman'
Ghanaian saxophonist, singer and guitarist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley returns with a brand new album, entitled '11th Street, Sekondi', and now shares the first single 'Black Woman'. On the album, named after the area of West Ghana where he grew up, Ambolley looks back at the area and musical styles that shaped his life. '11th Street, Sekond...
Le Guess Who? expands Untitled program with film festival, live interviews, Angel Bat Dawid's sonic healing session, more
Along with exploring the festival program, visitors of Le Guess Who? 2019 can also immerse themselves in various activities during the day throughout the city of Utrecht, including the ‘Untitled’ program. Untitled made its debut as part of Le Guess Who? 2018. We're eager to expand the programming to include more daytime...
Afrofuturism & ancestral magic: PAPER interviews mystical duo OSHUN
Neo-soul/R&B/rap duo OSHUN channel the beat wizardry of J Dilla, the activism of Fela Kuti and the nonconformity of Sun Ra. With their music, the duo preach spirituality, rebirth, identity, unity and the blessings of Mother Earth with an Afrofuturistic center of gravity. Using digital and acoustic sounds, heavy drums...
Efterklang shares video for new single 'I dine øjne', from upcoming album 'Altid Sammen'
The musical trademark of the Danish band Efterklang is a tapestry of acoustic and electronic elements. These Danish pop adventurers express boundless enthusiasm with each radical new undertaking. Now, the group have shared the video for their new single 'I dine øjne', featuring the astonishing Helena Christensen, who also worked th...
Read Bandcamp's feature about the "thrilling and fantastical" story of La Bruja de Texcoco
Mexican mystical phenomenon La Bruja de Texcoco (literal translation: 'The Witch of Texcoco') recalibrated her classical teachings to create an astonishing tapestry of traditional Mexican music, baroque and jazz, playing various string instruments, percussion and harp. Having recently released her debut 'De Brujas Peteneras...
Stream: Korean duo TENGGER release new album 'Spiritual 2'
Pan-Asian group TENGGER's ‘new age drone magic’ sees them adding flourishes of harmonium, drum machine and vocal improvisation to the drone/ambient genre. Following the premiere of their new album earlier this week via The Fader, the band now release 'Spiritual 2' officially: seven tracks deeply inspir...
Read: excerpt from Jenny Hval's latest novel 'Paradise Rot' + interview with Huck Magazine
Jenny Hval’s first novel 'Paradise Rot', which was released in Norway in 2009, has recently been translated into English by publishing company Verso Books. In an interview with Huck Magazine, she explains that the book is "an opportunity to understand my lyrics in a different way, and my music in a context where words have a higher...
Jerusalem In My Heart release new album 'Daqa'iq Tudaiq', co-commissioned by Le Guess Who?
Jerusalem In My Heart is an audio-visual happening with roots in both Montréal and Beirut, combining the best of both worlds. Figurehead Radwan Ghazi Moumneh has been nursing the craft of...
Interview: DRINKS: "Nonsense is a good reaction to everything that’s going on"
DRINKS are set to return to Le Guess Who? with a fresh batch of offbeat psych pop vignettes. We linked up with eternal nomads Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley via FaceTime to talk about living off the grid...
Track of the Week #24: Kadri Gopalnath - 'Bhagyada Lakshmi Baaramma'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. Almost a half year ago, we started off with Kojey Radical's powerful and stirring track 'If Only'. Now, twenty-four weeks later, we have highlighted some of the most remarkable musical treasures of this year's line-up, ranging from Katey Red's fast-paced...
Kapitaal: Official Hangout of Le Guess Who? 2018
This year, Le Guess Who? will have its very own, official festival hangout, hosted by Kapitaal: a Utrecht-based -open- studio for screen-, etch- and risoprint. A meeting place with a proper program, filled with exhibitions, lectures and music, owners Carlien and Ramon create a social place where craftsmanship, design and pop-culture meet....
Introducing: WAS. - from a raving punk celebration to stunning club beats
This year, Le Guess Who? will feature three new venues for the official music program: WAS., BASIS, and Poema. All of them are part of Utrecht’s buzzing nightlife and are among the most prominent clubs in town. In this feature, we introduce you to the pop-up nightclub of WAS.; a place where many electronic music freaks are assured t...
Neneh Cherry releases new album 'Broken Politics', produced by Four Tet
After an absence of 4 years, Neneh Cherry made a phenomenal comeback by with the single 'Kong' earlier this year. Following up with two more breathing tracks, she now releases her fifth solo album 'Broken Politics'. Produced by Four Tet, Neneh Cherry expands her ever-widening sonic palette on a political-charged record that...
Track of the Week #17: Anoushka Shankar - 'Boat To Nowhere'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we dwell on the emotional instrumental track 'Boat to Nowhere' by renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar. 'B...
Jerusalem In My Heart announces new album 'Daqa'iq Tudaiq', co-commissioned by Le Guess Who?
Jerusalem In My Heart, the project of Lebanon-born and Montréal-based artist Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, announces its new album. Entitled 'Daqa'iq Tudaiq', the record will appear on 5 Octo...
A Genre In Motion: Lydia Lunch & New York No Wave
Le Guess Who 2018 will host the influential Lydia Lunch and her Big Sexy Noise. How did Lunch become the revered anti-establishment figure she is today? This article offers a brief exploration of the...
Beverly Glenn-Copeland: “I was making music for a generation that had yet to be born”
A classical singer. A multi-instrumentalist. A transgender artist. An experimental pioneer of electronic music. A children’s show composer and actor. A Buddhist practitioner. A psychotherapy co-...
Track of the Week #8: DRINKS - 'Corner Shops'
Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's 'Corner Shops' by Tim Presley (White Fence) and Cate Le Bon, who together form the pleasan...
Ravelin Magazine catches up with sound artist & abstract turntablist Maria Chavez
Meet Maria Chavez: a Peruvian avant-garde sound artist who approaches the turntables as an instrument of transmission. Ravelin Magazine caught up with the cutting-edge artist to talk about her hi...
“Living on Wit”: Popmatters interview Vashti Bunyan
In 2014, Popmatters published an in-depth interview with the legendary singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan. Leading up to to release of her last album ‘Heartleap’ that same year, Vashti Bunyan...
Le Guess Who? 2018 included in Songlines' International Music Festival Guide
"There is a wealth of truly wonderful music waiting to be discovered; yet music is also about politics, history, ethnicity, the environment and so much more". With those inspiring words, Songlines in...
The 17 favorite performances of LGW17, as chosen by you
Every year in our visitors survey right after the festival, we ask you what your favorite performance of the festival. Below are your 17 choices of Le Guess Who? 2017. We're pleased to also share the...
Listen: Orphax shares new album 'Somniatores'
Moving Furniture-founder Sietse van Erve aka Orphax is performing as part of our 12-Hour Drone during Le Guess Who? 2017 on Sunday, 12 November. Now, he shares his new album 'Somniātōrēs', the follow-...
Lost Horizons' share video for 'Score The Sky' + new song 'I Saw The Days Go By'
Lost Horizons, the collaborative project formed by Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins and Richard Thomas of instrumental quartet Dif Juz, will release their new album 'Ojalá' this Friday via Bella...
Listen to Den Sorte Skole's Mixtape for Le Guess Who? 2017
Denmark's Den Sorte Skole create magical, musical storytelling across time and space. For Le Guess Who? 2017, the duo have put together a special mixtape with artists performing at the festival. Liste...
Jane Weaver shares new video for 'The Architect'
Just before her new tour starts, Jane Weaver shares a video for 'The Architect'; the title track from her forthcoming EP, out 27th October. Watch the artistic video below, which is a creative col...
Check out Dälek's 'Unsung Hip-Hop Heroes' Playlist, feat. Moor Mother, Gonjasufi, The Bug & more
Created specially for The Dowsers, hip hop pioneers Dälek have put together a playlist of 'Unsung Hip-Hop Heroes', featuring Le Guess Who? 2017 artists Moor Mother, The Bug, and Shabazz Pala...
Watch Perfume Genius' new KEXP session
The great people of KEXP have just released a new session with our festival curator Perfume Genius, performing songs from his new album 'No Shape' as well as a cover of This Mortal Coil's Kangaroo. Wa...
Read: Pitchfork offers an introduction to the music & background of Sudan Archives
Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, Sudan Archives is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in elements of R&B and experimental electronic music. Pitchfork have publish...
Interview: Jenny Hval goes crate-digging at the World's Largest Record Fair during LGW17
The Line Of Best Fit interview Jenny Hval, on 3 albums she would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. The articl...
The Domkerk, Utrecht's most majestic and historic icon, will finally be part of LGW
Utrecht's Domkerk is the first Dutch gothic cathedral, dating back to the 13th century. With its 112 meters towering above the city skyline it is not just the highest building in Utrecht, it is also t...
Stream Kevin Morby's new album + read an interview with Under the Radar
Songwriter Kevin Morby released his fourth album 'City Music' this summer, and now, Under the Radar speaks with him about the sonic home of City Music, and how city life influences his music. Rea...
Listen to Tortoise's Wilco-curated set at Le Guess Who? 2016
You can now listen to Tortoise's Wilco-curated set at Le Guess Who? 2016. "In all its electro, percussive, ambient, rock glory. Toss it on and dream of Netherlands’ November nights", as Und...
Listen: OCnotes releases new album 'Doug Morris'
Born Otis Calvin III, OCnotes has been an artist, musician, DJ, author, motivational speaker and vibrant figurehead within Seattle’s music scene since the turn of the decade. He just releas...
Listen to Ben Frost's new EP 'Threshold of Faith', produced by Steve Albini
Icelandic producer and composer Ben Frost is equally influenced by classical minimalism as by punk rock and metal. Frost just released his new EP 'Threshold of Faith', which you can stream n...
Listen: Tiny Vipers returns with new album 'Laughter'
After an eight-year album hiatus, Seattle-based musician Jesy Fortino (who also formed Mirrorring together with Grouper’s Liz Harris) returns with the electronic soundscape-based album 'Lau...
Watch Jesca Hoop's live session from Granada Studios
Jesca Hoop released her new album 'Memories Are Now' earlier this year. A new session recorded at Granada Studios sees her performing songs from the album in intimate setting. Watch the recordings bel...
FACT interviews Pharmakon, on the brute noise of Contact
Noise artist Margaret Chardiet, aka Pharmakon, returns this week with Contact, a sister album to 2014’s Bestial Burden that sees the New Yorker still confronting her mor...
Watch Mario Batkovic's new video for 'Semper'
Bosnian accordion master Mario Batkovic shares the video for the first single of his newest, self titeld album. The video for 'Semper' displays the accordionist playing live in a dark, mysterious tunn...
Audio archive update: Tout-Puissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou live at LGW15
We've just updated our audio archive with Tout-Puissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou's full performance at Le Guess Who? 2015. Listen below: About: ‘The all-powerful polyrhythmic orchestr...
Explore the line-up of Le Guess Who? 2021 with our official playlist
After a new line-up announcement with 46 artists added to the program of Le Guess Who? 2021, we have updated our official festival playlist. You can stream the playlist via Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music. You can also support the artist directly by buying their music on Bandcamp via Buy Music Club. The playlist features a.o. B...
Explore the LGW22 line-up with our official playlist
Following our full program announcement for Le Guess Who? 2022, we've also the official playlist for the festival for you listening pleasure. With 100+ tracks, you can fully start your musical discovery leading up to November.
Listen: Balochistan's Benju maestro Ustad Noor Bakhsh releases debut solo album ‘Jingul’
Ustad Noor Bakhsh, the Benju maestro from the Makran Coast of Balochistan, has just released his debut solo album 'Jingul'. Named after a bird that often visits Noor’s house and whose songs were the inspiration behind the last song of the release, 'Jingul' leaves listeners with a warm and tender feeling accompanied by hope and happi...
Watch: Rats on Rafts reveal new video for 'Second Born Child'
Rotterdam-based four-piece band Rats on Rafts release a new live track and video from 'Excerpts From Chapter 3 DELUXE'. An absorbing mix between choral elements, goosebump-inducing piano sounds and Rats on Rafts’ unique post-punk and modern lo-fi musical vocabulary, the single entitled ‘Second Born Child’ invites listene...
Watch: Pan African Music meets Menzi and Turkana at Le Guess Who? 2021
During Le Guess Who? 2021, our media partner Pan African Music captured video portrait of DJ's Menzi and Turkana. Both artists performed at the Nyege Nyege Tapes present Hakuna Kulala Club Night at the festival. Durban native Menzi has been a steady presence in South African electronic music for a number of years. After producing f...
Listen to Belgian musician/composer Slumberland and Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak perform 'Il Widna' at LGW21
Belgian musician, composer, and instrument maker Jochem Baelus aka Slumberland and experimental Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak gave a collaborative performance during Le Guess Who? 2021 at Utrecht’s Jacobikerk. With Slumberland, Belgian musician, composer, and instrument maker Jochem Baelus creates hypnotic krautrock and post punk...
Watch: Japanese ambient composer & sound designer Hinako Omori releases new video
Earlier this year, Hinako Omori released her new album, 'a journey...'. Now, the Yokohama-born, London-based electronic composer and sound designer releases a live video for 'The Richest Garden in your Memory' from the album. It was filmed at London's Omved Gardens, in collaboration with director Jessie Rodger. The video, as mysterious an...
Listen: LGW22 Guest Mix for Institute for Sound and Music Berlin & Refuge Worldwide
ISM Frequencies is the radio show on Refuge Worldwide by The Institute for Sound and Music Berlin. For its fifth episode, the program team of Le Guess Who? have put together a guest mix featuring a selection of the artists performing at the festival this year, in which they aimed for a slow, peaceful and transcendental hour of music with...
Listen: Rival Consoles preview upcoming album 'Now Is' with four new tracks
* Update: Rival Consoles' new album 'Now Is' is out now; stream it in full below. Throughout his critically acclaimed fifteen-year career, London-based producer Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles has continuously increased his drive to humanize sound. The mesmerizing and emotional sonic explorations that form the four new tracks lead...
Maral, curated by Animal Collective for LGW22, announces new album + shares first track 'Feedback Jam'
*Update: Maral has now released her album 'Ground Groove' in full; listen below: Ground Groove by Maral LA-based, Iranian-American DJ and producer, Maral, announces the release of her upcoming album ‘Ground Groove’ and shares one of the tracks entitled ‘Feedback Jam.’ Featuring captivating electric guitar and bas...
Le Guess Who? presents international residency in Goa, India, as part of hybrid platform COSMOS
Le Guess Who? has always worked with a borderless and boundary-crossing ethos. It led the organization to create COSMOS: a hybrid (both online and offline) platform that promotes international collaboration. Via this platform, organizations and initiatives from around the world give an insight into their local cultural scenes through film...
The Quietus premiere intimate session with OKI captured in Utrecht by Vincent Moon
The Quietus have premiered an intimate session with OKI captured live in Utrecht by Vincent Moon during Le Guess Who? 2022, along with a Q&A with the artist. OKI performs 'Muysoka hanene' and 'Tonkori Monimahpo-Yaykatekar (Medley)' in the garden of Grand Hotel Karel V in Utrecht. Watch the session and read the Q&A here via The Qui...
Kapitaal x Stranded FM x Julian Brimmers host Official LGW22 Hangout with live sessions, artist talks, DJ sets, print-making & exhibitions
Utrecht's beloved independent print workshop, Kapitaal, collaborates with Stranded FM and Julian Brimmers to host the official Le Guess Who? 2022 Hangout through all things print and sound. The program includes radio and DJ sets, artist interviews, live sessions, art exhibitions, film screenings, and print-making from Friday 11 November - Sunday 13 November.
Listen: Rotterdam four-piece Lewsberg release new cassette 'Sweets'
For their upcoming tour, Rotterdam-based band Lewsberg has put together a unique, extremely limited cassette tape 'Sweets', featuring two new indie pop gems. To accompany the catchy 'Sweets' song, Lewsberg also pieced together a sweet, captivating DIY video that's assured to lift you up. While the track 'The Playground' offers list...
Listen: Derya Yıldırım releases compelling new track 'Darıldım Darıldım'
As part of their upcoming EP 'Dost 2' out on November 11, Derya Yıldırım releases new track 'Darıldım Darıldım'. A compelling mix between traditional Anatolian sounds and warm beats, 'Darıldım Darıldım' leaves listeners in a unique state of trance, combined with an irresistible desire to dance the night away. Derya Yıldırım & G...
Front & LGW present: live session + interview with pop noir singer/songwriter/guitarist Anna van Rij
As part of our new, hybrid platform COSMOS, we once again collaborated with Dutch music platform Front to bring you live sessions with rising Dutch artists. We're now publishing the first of these sessions on our YouTube channel: pop noir singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer Anna van Rij captured at Utrecht's Marnixzaal, a h...
"Maybe we can rebuild something here": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in China
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in China We discuss LGW Embassy: China with Ivan Zhang two days before the Chinese New Year: a talk about BIE Music’s COSMOS collaboration and the diversity found in local music scenes across China; how going back to basics can also be a way forward; and how China is not the cloistered cultural island many...
Watch the concert film of Mourning [A] BLKstar - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
Mourning [A] BLKstar performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who?'s 15th Anniversary Edition in 2022. The collective, made up of musicians, writers, and multimedia artists, has a bountiful track record, amassing several releases under its belt since 2015. Their music is for both eulogies and revolutions, as they expand upon contem...
Read/watch: Behind the Scenes, the new series by COSMOS
Behind the Scenes is the new series by COSMOS, Le Guess Who?’s hybrid platform, in which we dive into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Here, we talk to the people behind the video content that was created for the latest COSMOS installment to learn more about their local cultural scenes; their c...
Photo series: COSMOS Residency in Goa, India
Last week, COSMOS' first international residency started in Goa, India. Composer, sound artist and improviser Hardi Kurda from Kurdistan-Iraq was invited by curator and filmmaker Rana Ghose to work at the new studio and gallery space 999. For two weeks, Hardi collaborates with a number of local artists to explore themes relating to m...
LGW presents The Anonymous Project: a radical new format for artists and listeners
Le Guess Who? premieres a new format as part of its 2023 festival edition. The Anonymous Project is a new avenue for artists to present their work and for listeners to discover it. During The Anonymous Project, artists will perform in a white cube on stage with scenography commissioned to ensure the artists will remain anonymous at...
U?, freely accessible city festival for and with creative Utrecht, returns for third edition
U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, returns to Utrecht on 11 and 12 November 2023 for its third edition. This program is created for, but especially with Utrecht, to celebrate the city's creativity in all its diversity.
The festival aims to let as many Utrecht residents as possible come in contact with the sounds, perspectives and cultural expressions that Utrecht has to offer, including the unbeaten paths and young, promising artists.
Special projects revealed for Le Guess Who? 2023
Following the announcement of the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2023, including programs curated by Heba Kadry, Nala Sinephro, Slauson Malone 1 and Stereolab, we now add several special projects to this year’s festival edition, featuring COSMOS, Hidden Musics and The Anonymous Project. Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective COSMOS...
Deena Abdelwahed announces new album 'Jbal Rrsas'
Deena Abdelwahed draws as much from clubbing as she does from the avant-garde scene. Since the release of her debut LP Khonnar, the DJ and producer has been showered with praise for the fine-drawn ways in which her work paints the diversity of Arabic music.
On 8 September, Abdelwahed will release her new album Jbal Rrsas, which she will present at Le Guess Who? 2023. It was produced as part of Consortium Commissions, an initiative set up to showcase emerging artists from the Arab world, run by Brussels-based NGO Mophradat.
None of the album's tracks will be released ahead of release due to a desire to present the record as one whole project. The album was mastered by Heba Kadry, who also curated her performance for Le Guess Who? 2023.
Armand Hammer release new album ‘We Buy Diabetic Test Strips’
New York rap virtuosos billy woods and ELUCID, collectively known as Armand Hammer, are back with their much-anticipated album, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips. This release serves as a follow-up to their 2021 cult hit Haram, produced by the Alchemist. Listeners can also expect some familiar sounds of Le Guess Who?, as the duo has invited th...
Le Guess Who? & U? present Sydney Lowell
Sydney Lowell is a creative spirit, human, artist and entrepreneur from Amsterdam. She mainly operates as a poet, but recently started incorporating music and movement into her creative practice. Next to that, she’s a teacher, voice actor, host, and co-founder/producer of creative platforms We The People and 2PHRASE. Sydney sees...
Photo series: Pankisi Ensemble by Dmitrii Zverev
This year, Le Guess Who? presents the fourth edition of Hidden Musics, a project that focuses on deeply localized music and features artists embedded in rich, often centuries-old musical traditions that have been developed with little or no outside influences. The first series was initiated in 2019 by Le Guess Who? in collaboration with Chris Eckman (Glitterbeat Records) and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Ian Brennan.
This year, Le Guess Who? is bringing the Pankisi Ensemble, a traditional music group from Georgia, to Utrecht as part of Hidden Musics.
Photography by Dmitrii Zverev
Listen/read: Kamilya Jubran: Witnessing a transcendent moment on stage
This November, Le Guess Who? features a performance by Kamilya Jubran, which was curated by mastering engineer Heba Kadry. Born in Palestine and currently based in Paris, Kamilya Jubran is one of the most revered figures in the experimental and alternative Arabic music scenes.
Through her multi-disciplinary work, Jubran continues to inspire a new generation of both musicians and audiences. One of those musicians is Sandy Chamoun, part of the Lebanese group SANAM who are also performing at Le Guess Who? this year. We asked Sandy Chamoun to share a personal introduction to Kamilya Jubran’s life and work.
Words & audio by Sandy Chamoun
Photography by Alexia Fiasco
Read: Jori Collignon talks running Gris Gris Records with Tânia Baldé
Having spent many years touring and drawing inspiration from many corners of the world, Jori Collignon has at last found a home in the idyllic Palmela, Portugal. It is here where you can find a home complete with a guesthouse, garden, studio, and a vibrant hub where artists from different parts of the world come together to exchange ideas...
Photo series: Naomi Velissariou by Rogier Boogaard
Naomi Velissariou is a Greek-Belgian stage director, writer, actor and performance artist. She is highly fascinated by the fluidity of identity and the way this is used in contemporary visual culture. Naomi will perform twice during U? 2023; on Saturday, 11 November, she will be a guest at Milan van Keulen's Luisterbar. In this 'bar',...
Apple Music shares Le Guess Who? 2023 preview playlist
Ahead of Le Guess Who? 2023, Apple Music has launched their own playlist as preview for the festival, highlighting some of the innovative sounds that can be discovered during your time in Utrecht.
Modulation takes center stage at U?
Modulation is Utrecht’s own accessible night of live performances and concerts centered around modular synthesizers and other hardware electronic instruments. A place for newcomers as well as veterans, from ambient to noisemakers, explosive beats, cinematic soundscapes – and everything in between. All performers will be playin...
Listen/read: Ndox Electrique root their sound in Senegal's healing ceremonies
You can also listen to this story – below or via your favorite podcast app. On the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2023, the festival features the first international performance of Ndox Electrique, whose music is inspired by an ancient ritual of the spirit-world originating from Senegal’s n’döep ceremonies. ...
Le Guess Who? & U? present Nusantara Beat
Nusantara Beat are a psych-groove sextet from Amsterdam. The group has quickly amassed a cult following, largely due to the deep connection to their Indonesian roots and a passion for honoring their cultural heritage.
Photography by Juri Hiensch
Read: Antipop Consortium are hip-hop's most notorious futurists
Coming up at the turn of the century, when underground rap was all about dusty loops and intricate battle rhymes, Antipop Consortium mixed an experimental, electronically charged sound palette with lyricism sharpened on the NY poetry scene. While they quickly summoned a cult following stateside, Europe’s alternative music circuit took note as well, leading them to releasing albums on London’s leftfield institutions Warp Records and Big Dada.
After a tumultuous career – including break ups and make ups, free jazz collabos, touring with Radiohead, and celebrated solo endeavors – the four members Beans, High Priest AKA HPrizm, M. Sayyid, and producer Earl Blaze finally regroup. At Le Guess Who? 2023, APC will perform their long-awaited comeback show – their first European gig since 2009. To learn more about what to expect from these hip-hop iconoclasts, we spoke with the group’s founding members Beans and High Priest.
Words by Julian Brimmers
Photo series: Trailblazing artists of LGW23 by Melanie Marsman & Juri Hiensch
For 16 years and counting, Le Guess Who? has strived to create a space for generations of music lovers and makers to come together. A podium where icons of their trade not just pass the baton to those that carve out a new path – but where they engage on eye-level. In 2023, Le Guess Who? once again boasted an array of young artists...
Revealing the full program for U? 2023
(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, returns to Utrecht on 11 and 12 November 2023 for its third edition. This program is created for, but especially with Utrecht, to celebrate the city's creativity in all its diversity. Utrecht has an enormous variety of community cent...
"What does music mean in society?": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes with Sharjah Art Foundation
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with Sharjah Art Foundation In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and include exhibitions featuring t...
Photo series: The Harvest Time Project at LGW23 by Juri Hiensch
As one of the special projects of Le Guess Who? 2023, the festival celebrated the legacy of spiritual jazz icon Pharoah Sanders and his seminal composition, Harvest Time (1977). During the closing day of the festival, The Harvest Time Project: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders brought together Irreversible Entanglements, Domenico Lancellotti,...
Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with Metropole Orkest Strings - Live at Le Guess Who? 2018
Continuing the legacy of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar is considered to be one of the world’s most renowned sitar players. In 2018, she performed at Le Guess Who?, together with Austrian percussionist and Björk collaborator Manu Delago and the 27-member string section of the Metropole Orkest, conducte...
They Hate Change - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
Tampa rap duo They Hate Change performed at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by clipping., following the release of Finally, New; their debut album for Jagjaguwar. Relive the ecstatic performance below with our concert film, featuring two unreleased tracks produced by John Carroll Kirby and Zach Witness: AboutTampa&rsq...
Sun Ra Arkestra - Live at Le Guess Who? 2017
With their cosmic jazz celebration, Sun Ra Arkestra was one of the closing acts of Le Guess Who? 2017. We're pleased to now bring you the full recording of this show, spanning decades of the Sun Ra legacy. The song 'Discipline 27-II' features a special guest appearance by King Khan. Read on below for the astonishing story 'Sun Ra Ar...
Stereolab - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
Recently, we celebrated the 100th festival recording being included in our online recordings archive. Now, we are elated to share the concert film of Anglo-French avant-pop group and festival curators Stereolab live at Le Guess Who? 2023. Hailed as one of the most influential and fiercely independent groups of the 90s, Stereolab's influe...
SANAM - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
Lebanese free-rock, post-folk sextet SANAM performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2023, following the release of their debut album 'Aykathani Malakon'. Relive the performance with our concert film, and the audio recording of the show below: About SANAM's music is akin to a ritual, somewhere between a marriage and an exorc...
Nihiloxica - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
Nihiloxica exploded out of Kampala in 2017 with their groundbreaking fusion of Bugandan drumming and UK bass. The band explores the darkest depths between two separate cultures of dance music, uniting abrasive club electronics with raucous percussive energy. At Le Guess Who? 2023, the group presented their late latest album 'Source of De...
Maarten Vos - Live at Le Guess Who? 2019
Dutch cellist, composer, and producer Maarten Vos performed live at Le Guess Who? 2019, on the invitation of festival curators Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed. We can now share the recordings of the full performance thanks to Concertzender, who captured the show at the Janskerk in Utrecht. About:Composer Maarten Vos is what y...
Les Filles De Illighadad - Live at Le Guess Who? 2016
Fatou Seidi Ghali and Alamnou Akrouni reside in the tiny village of Illighadad, Niger. Fatou plays the tende, and an old blue guitar, slightly bent because of the extreme weather. She is one of only two Tuareg female guitarists. Together with her cousin, vocalist Alamnou Akrouni, they strip Tuareg music from all progressive leanings, righ...
Tout-Puissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - Live at Le Guess Who? 2015
Listen to Tout-Puissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou's full performance at Le Guess Who? 2015: About: ‘The all-powerful polyrhythmic orchestra from Cotonou’, as translated in English, isn’t by any means a hyperbolic way of describing the sheer profusion of musical riches these Benin-based legends harness. Back in...
Baba Zula - Live at Le Guess Who? 2014
Turkish psychedelic music group Baba Zula performed the opening set for the legendary Selda Bağcan at Le Guess Who? 2014: AboutBaba Zula uses an outlandish mix of field recordings of natural sounds, traditional Turkish instrumentation and modern acoustic and electronic musical instruments and effects. While predominantly Turkish...
Mourning [A] BLKstar - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
Mourning [A] BLKstar performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who?'s 15th Anniversary Edition in 2022. The collective, made up of musicians, writers, and multimedia artists, has a bountiful track record, amassing several releases under its belt since 2015. Their music is for both eulogies and revolutions, as they expand upon contem...
Le Guess Who? 2018 Press Archive
The Netherlands 3FM: Eva Koreman nieuwe presentator 3voor12 radio 3FM: Le Guess Who? 2018: Ralph-Herman snapt niet wat Colin Stetson doet3FM: Timo op Le Guess Who: van gevoelige liedjes in een kerk tot stoned rappers3voor12: Kijk terug: James Holden & The Animal Spirits op Le Guess Who? 3voor12: Festivals willen dat je een kaart...
Le Guess Who? 2021 Press archive
"Overcoming lockdown obstacles, Le Guess Who? united a global cast of adventurous artists." - Crack Magazine The Netherlands 3voor12: Le Guess Who? strooit alvast met eerste namen en curatoren voor festivaleditie 20213voor12: Dit zijn onze 14 tips voor Le Guess Who? 20213voor12: Playlist Le Guess Who? 20213voor12: LGW21: De gestolde j...
COSMOS Embassy Mix Vol. 1: Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective (HCMC, Vietnam)
Embassy Mix Vol. 1:Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective (HCMC, Vietnam) This year, COSMOS once again proudly partners up with acts, institutions, and collectives from around the globe. The 2023 Embassies are located in Vietnam, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Greece, UAE, Peru and Ghana. In order to introduce the amazing talents behind these coll...
Press - Artist-focused stories
Below are just a couple of examples of artist-focused stories that have been created around Le Guess Who? throughout the years; either before, during or after the festival. Some of the examples have been created in collaboration with media partners such as Azeema, Dazed and The Ransom Note; others have been created independently by writer...
LGW Supporters
Thanks to visitors like you, Le Guess Who? has been able to grow into a leading international festival for underrepresented sounds over the past 15 years. We feel it is important to showcase these sounds that are rarely heard in other places.
Feel the same way? You can help us to continue our mission by becoming a LGW Supporter. Your donation will be invested directly in the festival program, and will therefore help us to bring your next favorite artist to LGW.
COSMOS Embassy: Mexico City, Mexico
In partnership with Sonido ConfirmacionMEXPOSURE, a simulation of a pirate television signal disguised as an institutional TV channel, is a place where independent artists come to find a space to express themselves. It will explore the idea of territorial demarcations and territorial division of Mexico City and will enhance the multicultu...
About
COSMOS is a globe-spanning initiative that amplifies local scenes from around the world. Through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies, we connect international music communities and share their stories. We build long-lasting relationships and an ever-growing network of partners that support, inspire, and educate one another. We believe in the transformative powers of music and community.
COSMOS Embassy: Bandung, Indonesia
In partnership with NORRM Radio & LaMunai Records. An introduction to Indonesia’s few select musicians and musical groups that portray the eclectic and diverse sounds, created through a variety of methods and different environments. Norrm Radio and La Munai Records wishes to capture the creative process of these m...
"It feels like you have done your part": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Khartoum, Sudan
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Khartoum, Sudan We discuss LGW Embassy: Khartoum, Sudan with Hassan Kamil: a talk about portraying another image of the continent, the country, and the city; how music in Khartoum grew to be ‘a form of resistance’; and how it is home to a rich array of meaningful, beautiful, and unique sounds; dif...
Freely Accessible U? Programme Highlights
U? is Le Guess Who’s participatory and freely accessible day program, made for–and with–the city of Utrecht. With U?, Le Guess Who? extends its mission to enrich people through music and culture even further to the city.
From 10 to 13 November 2022, U? returns for its second edition. The program is made with, or even entirely by, Utrecht residents, local initiatives, entrepreneurs, social institutions and neighborhood centers. Residents and local initiatives were invited to participate by means of an open call, which resulted in a large amount of diverse and exciting submissions.
COSMOS Reveals 2023 Embassies and Live Program at Le Guess Who?
Press Release COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s globe-spanning initiative that amplifies exciting music scenes from around the world. Through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies, COSMOS connects international music communities and shares their stories. Now, COSMOS reveals the 2023 Embassies, together with its first-ever...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Bandung, Indonesia
In partnership with NORRM & LaMunai records Bandung-based community radio NORRM and the LaMunai record store provide us with an introduction to Indonesia’s eclectic and diverse underground sounds. Their collaborative film captures the creative process of a broad variety of musicians: from Mother Bank, a group of housewives fro...
Support
Thanks to visitors like you, Le Guess Who? has been able to grow into a leading international festival for underrepresented sounds over the past 15 years. We feel it is important to showcase these sounds that are rarely heard in other places. Feel the same way? You can help us to continue our mission by becoming a LGW Supporter. Yo...
Le Guess Who? 2017 Press Archive
The Netherlands 3FM: "3voor12 is op Le Guess Who?, waar basketballen tegen aan het plafond geschroefde gitaren worden gegooid"3voor12: "Eerste 67 namen voor Le Guess Who? 2017" 3voor12: "Kelly Lee Owens, dagdromer met kennishonger" 3voor12: "Le Guess Who? str...
Le Guess Who? 2019 Press Archive
“With the able steer of festival curators Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Fatoumata Diawara, and Iris Van Herpen, this year’s boundary-crossing festival Le Guess Who?? welcomed visitors from over 60 countries and proved that even in times of political divide, music and art can bring us together into a more hopeful future.” - The...
Press 2021
Press Archive Our archive includes press previews, reports and interviews for LGW21. Have a look at all published articles at the link below. VISIT PRESS ARCHIVE
Donate
Le Guess Who? is an ever-changing format: we are always full of new ideas and looking for new ways to do what we do. In order to keep developing the festival the upcoming fifteen years on the same level as we did the last fifteen, we could use your support. Over the past fifteen years, we have developed into a platform that showcases und...
"Maybe we can rebuild something here": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in China
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in China We discuss LGW Embassy: China with Ivan Zhang two days before the Chinese New Year: a talk about BIE Music’s COSMOS collaboration and the diversity found in local music scenes across China; how going back to basics can also be a way forward; and how China is not the cloistered cultural island many...
Support
If you want to support us, and help us to continue developing the festival and COSMOS in the upcoming years, you can make a one-off or a regular donation. Over the past fifteen years, Le Guess Who? developed into a platform that showcases underrepresented sounds that are rarely presented on other stages and in other places, but deserve t...
COSMOS Embassy: Bethlehem, Palestine
In partnership with Radio AlharaRadio Alhara presents an unprecedented collaboration between Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist and puppeteer Yara Asmar, electronic musician Sary Moussa, and Bethlehem-based tenor of the Greek Orthodox chorus of the Nativity church Laurence Samour. The experiment is as much an attempt to apprehend an unfor...
COSMOS Embassy: Lisbon, Portugal
East Side Radio is an online radio platform streaming from Lisbon’s East Side, Portugal. It’s designed to be a hub connecting widely recognised domestic and international talent. This COSMOS Embassy was the first happening by East Side Radio after a long pause, during which a new broadcast studio was designed and constructed,...
AZEEMA FM
AZEEMA is a print magazine, online platform, community, and creative agency exploring the strength and creativity of women and non-binary folk of the Global Majority with a focus on WANA+SA. A grassroots platform run by the community for the community, Azeema amplifies voices that need to be heard. They create access to resourc...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Sharjah, UAE
In partnership with Sharjah Art Foundation Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and include exhibitions featuring the work of Arab and international artists, performances, music, film screenings and artist talks, as well as extensive art ed...
COSMOS Embassy: Sharjah, UAE
In partnership with Sharjah Art Foundation. Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and include exhibitions featuring the work of Arab and international artists, performances, music, film screenings and artist talks as well as exte...
COSMOS Embassy: Bethlehem, Palestine
In partnership with Radio AlharaRadio Alhara presents an unprecedented collaboration between Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist and puppeteer Yara Asmar, electronic musician Sary Moussa, and Bethlehem-based tenor of the Greek Orthodox chorus of the Nativity church Laurence Samour. The experiment is as much an attempt to apprehend an unfor...
COSMOS Embassy: Slemani, Kurdistan-Iraq
In partnership with Space21Hardi Kurda, a sound artist and curator of Kurdistan-Iraq’s first experimental festival, Space21, takes us on a listening journey to the city of Slemani and its cultural and art activities. Here, the view of the mountains and nature mix with the urban sonic environment. The sound of power generator noises...
About Le Guess Who?
With the motto of Listening is the Way Forward, Le Guess Who? is widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals around.
Press info
Le Guess Who? 2024 (English) With the motto of Listening is the Way Forward, Le Guess Who? is widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals around. Le Guess Who? exists to promote sounds that are often overlooked, and to platform fresh perspectives on what is possible in music. Artists from all over the world push th...