As guest curator for Le Guess Who? 2025, musician, activist, improviser and community organizer Amirtha Kidambi invites us into her vision of 'Outernational', which is centered around the belief that music can play a central role in building global cultural solidarity and community in these tumultuous and revolutionary times.
In this video portrait, artist, researcher, and filmmaker Suneil Sanzgiri talks to Amirtha Kidambi about Outernational and her curation at Le Guess Who?
Introduced by the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Outernationalism is a concept that defies creative, spiritual and political borders, exploring our relationships outside of global capitalism and nation-states.
Kidambi's curation features Palestinian sound artist, experimentalist and multi-instrumentalist Dirar Kalash; the project Ghadrغدر, consisting of three key figures of Lebanon’s resilient music scene: Jad Atoui, Anthony Sahyoun and Sandy Chamoun; One Leg One Eye, who merge Irish history and musical traditions with black metal, noise and drone; and New York based Iranian-Canadian brothers Saint Abdullah in collaboration with improvisational musician Jason Nazary.
Amirtha Kidambi herself performs with Elder Ones, an ensemble that confronts and resists systems of oppression with compositions of sonic activism, in long-form exploratory protest suites.
Produced by Suneil Sanzgiri for Le Guess Who?
