Search: Etran de L'A��r

In addition to the previously announced initial line-up and curators, we now reveals a range of special projects and performers for the festival: Future Feminism; 15 years of RVNG Intl.; ONCEIM; and t...

We're very excited that this year, Le Guess Who? will coincide again (for the first time since 2018) with the Mega Record & CD Fair (November 13 & 14 in Utrecht), which is Europe’s biggest record fair. As a preview for both the festival as well as the fair, we're collaborating with The Quietus on a new series where we...

Lili Boulanger (1893) is a unique and prodigious case studies in music history, taking up singing, organ, piano, violin, cello and harp at the premature age of five. In 1913, she became the first woma...

Dancer and performer Kianí del Valle brings us the performance DE BRUJAS Y FANTASMAS, scored by experimental composer Ziúr. The captivating piece (whose title translates to Of Witches an...

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...

Gregory Shorter Jr., also known as Ras_G, is an instrumental hip-hop producer, DJ and afrofuturist. Active in L.A.’s avant-garde beats scene since the early 2000’s and associated with the...

L.A. based experimental musician, producer, auteur and artist Joe Cardamone, formerly of The Icarus Line, stated ‘he doesn’t care about bands anymore’, so he began his own solo proje...

Noise Diva is an Amsterdam-based producer and DJ, Garage Noord resident, and co-founder at KLAB and SALWA foundation. Her musical stylings bridge together a variety of genres, from Moroccan trap to Eg...

Claudia C. ten Hoeve creates art for children aged 1 to 111. She playfully explores how everyone can make a difference in the world. For U? she wants to turn Ravenoord (at Rotsoord) into Hartenoord, a...

L.A. Sagne is totally punk - like a Marshall amp cranked up to make your ears bleed. Their newest EP, ‘L.A. SANGE II’ (2024), released on Geertruida Label, consists of humorous figments of...

As a full-time member of Utrecht-based folk/slowcore formation I Am Oak, Dutch musician Robby de Selby is a versatile talent with an ear for both delightful melodies and foggy atmospherics. De Selby h...

L/MA0RI is a selector known for her genre-defying radio curation and shows. Besides DJing, she shares her love for music and community as a member of the Amsterdam-based Radio Tempo Não P&agrav...

Brooklyn born and bred experimentalist L’Rain’s music can’t be put on just as background noise; it urges the most attention. This is because this ambitious multi-instrumentalist is l...

U?, het gratis toegankelijke stadsprogramma van Le Guess Who?, keert terug naar Utrecht voor de vierde editie. U? viert lokale en creatieve communities gevestigd in Nederland, met een sterke focus op Utrecht. Onze missie: Amplifying local communities from the fringe, U? is Utrecht’s radical playground for experimentation, co-creati...

In partnership with Touching Bass  Touching Bass is the London-based musical movement, founded by Errol and Alex Rita. A community-come-club night, celebrated record label, staple NTS Radio show, concert series and curatorial studio. Founded in 2016, it has steadily established itself as one of London’s most important musical...

Driven by an appetite for boundless experimentation, producer and composer Ziúr has always been subverting expectations, corkscrewing through hardcore, metal and punk before veering towards ele...

I.L.L.N.O.L.E.D.G.E. is an acronym for: Intuitive, Limitless, Liberal-minded, New-fangled, Original, Luminous, Educative, Dedicated, Genuine, Elevators. The duo, consisting of brothers Steve Hartley a...

K Á R Y Y N is a producer, composer and vocalist who makes textured and emotional music inspired by the human condition, science and spirituality. Born in Alabama, baptized in Aleppo and raised...

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...

Following the release of their latest album 'Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?', Atlanta art-punkers Deerhunter performed live at Le Guess Who? 2019. We're very pleased to now share a video of the band performing 3 songs live at the festival: 'Sailing' (from their 2010 album 'Halcyon Digest'), 'Take Care' (from 2015's...

Wilfred Guerrero is the heart and soul of El Dragón Turbo Láser, one of Colombia’s most iconic picós. Inherited from his father, who founded the system in the 1960s, it serv...

Once dubbed the ‘High Priest of L.A. Freak Folk’, Devendra Banhart leaves a swirling trail of mystic folk, raga spirituals and Latin-American rock in his wake. With his weird and wonderful...

In the late 80’s, Doug Hream Blunt moonlighted music with a job at a care home in San Francisco. As a relative late bloomer at age 35, he started writing songs after attending a How To Start A B...

Ben Frost’s interests are as vast as his output is, creating music for dance companies and films, and collaborating with visual artists and poets. Frost’s music is influenced by classical...

Mazaher are a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zãr music: chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms used as a purification and exorcism ritual to help pacify and...

One oath sworn by Hello Skinny – founded by Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner – is to create improv music that doesn’t sound improvisational. Inspired by New York’s late &lsquo...

Set in Swiss Lausanne and Belgian Brussels, Meril Wubslin is the musical project of Christian Garcia-Gaucher, guitarist-composer of Velma and Valérie Niederoest, with Jérémie Conn...

Seyðisfjörður Community Radio is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the village of Seyðisfjörður on the east-coast of Iceland - hosted, nurtured a...

A little over thirty years ago, avant-pop icons Stereolab splashed onto the scene with 1992’s ‘Peng’, a debut more agleam than most, revealing a charisma many bands never possess. Th...

The legendary Amersfoort hardcore punk trio Seein' Red formed around 1989 from the ashes of Lärm. The band quickly found their line-up consisting of brothers Paul & Olav van den Berg, on guit...

In partnership with POP Montréal.   POP Montréal International Music Festival is an annual not-for-profit curated cultural event that champions independence in the arts by pres...

Gaining reputation as an ‘all-round musical badass’ and self-proclaimed Synth Queen, SASAMI (Ashworth) is a prolific contributor to the L.A. music scene. On top of that, she’s a musi...

Hailing from the idyllic Caribbean island of Martinique, DJ Noss’ music is deeply rooted in his Martiniquan heritage. Armed with both turntables and a traditional Bèlè drum, his ec...

Singing in their native language of Portuguese, Boogarins’ music will let you reevaluate the turbulent life of today. On their latest EP ‘Lá Vem a Morte’, the Brazilian psych...

Le Guess Who? takes pace across 20 locations in the city center of Utrecht; ranging from churches and galleries to theaters and pop venues. Most are within walking distance from each other. Here are a couple highlighted.

In Consequence of Sound's most recent 'This Must Be The Gig' podcast, Eleanor Friedberger joined host Lior Phillips to talk about her experiences touring the world with The Fiery Furnaces, a...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's a song from Ghanaian Highlife legend Ebo Taylor. Over the last six decades, 81-year-old Ta...

In the vocabulary of Icelandic artist dj. flugvél og geimskip – translation: ‘dj airplane or spaceship’ – the notion of choice is pretty overrated. Why not rapturously e...

The cult album Faust IV was the fourth studio album released by the German krautrock group in 1973. Listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, where it is referred to as a "krautrock...

In Eavesdrop with Christine Kakaire, the Berlin-based writer, editor, teacher and speaker invites artists performing at this year’s Le Guess Who? for live interviews, discussing the inspirations...

Brooklyn-based noise/rock band Ice Balloons features Sean Kennerly (Samiam) on bass and vocals, Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio) on synthesizers and modules, and Lyla Vander (Habibi) on drums and vocals. According to the band itself, it was a ‘common misinterpretation of psychosis’ that led Ice Balloons to start making music. The...

Dominican producer and multimedia artist Kelman Duran creates a club-situated, tense merger of Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Despite being rooted in the thriving L.A. club circuit, his music doesn’t l...

Detroit ghettotech heroes HiTech share new high-octane single SPANK! featuring GDMRW. The new bouncing track by the rap group is released together with a fittingly “irreverent, psychedelic, and unflinchingly horny” videoclip, directed by IGOBYCY. "HiTech’s latest perpetuates a kind of closed-loop booty ecosystem,...

When UK-based experimental collective Ex-Easter Island Head steps on stage, the electric guitar - an instrument whose possibilities sometimes seem to have been exhausted - is born anew. Mechanical preparations, extended techniques; call it what you want, but, to us, it's more like auditory magic.  Watch our concert film of the group...

One of our favorite unlikely duos, the virtuoso jazz singer Greetje Bijma and left field techno producer Oceanic, come to the stage with their first fully-formed full-length project ‘Sykheljende...

You don’t often hear ominous droney landscapes coming from traditional instruments. In the specific case of Carme López, Galician bagpipes move through a totally unknown field, disconnect...

Martha Da'ro is a multi-disciplinary Belgian-Angolan artist - whose creative career spans from music, film and theater. In 2020 she released her genre-bending EP ‘Cheap Wine & Paris’,...

Today, New York-based artist Josiah Wise, a.k.a. Serpentwithfeet, releases his long-awaited debut album 'soil' via Secretly Canadian/Tri Angle Records. His first full-length is an accomplished ex...

RVILLA is a French-American hip-hop artist using her art and voice in service of truth, freedom, and empowerment. Primarily focused on rap, she also seamlessly blends elements of R&B and soul into...

Introducing: the playful and colorful sound journey of vocal artist and DJ, TiZi. Internet based and passionately learning about music - how it provokes the body to move -, seeing colors in music and...

Noise Diva is an Amsterdam-based producer and DJ, Garage Noord resident, and co-founder at KLAB. Her musical stylings bridge together a variety of genres, from Moroccan trap to Egyptian R&B, Frenc...

TIMES (The Independent Movement for Electronic Scenes) is a cooperative project that brings together different European festivals to create original performances that combine music and visual arts. As well as shared programming of artists and the project's original creations, TIMES aims to support, promote, and improve diversity and susta...

Having been raised in a religious household, you might not expect Klein's career path started by making droned-out versions of Carly Rae Jepsen songs at open mic nights. It typifies her music though,...

Pharoah Sanders isn't just one of the biggest jazz icons to ever set foot on a stage. In many ways, he transcends jazz music's conventions like few others. His employment of the tenor sax is unequaled...

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...

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...

“When I first listened to Earth I just didn’t know what the fuck it was at all. I was just like, ‘woah, this is crazy shit.’ I knew a lot of noisy slow music but that took the...

The music of visionary Dutch/Iranian-born Sevdaliza is an open and safe arena for human expression. For this Rotterdam-based artist and musician, rigid concepts of sex, gender, image and ethnicity are...

Violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives writes, plays, and produces her own music. Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, she is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in element...

"Why make a list of the greatest albums made by women? To start a new conversation, and to rewrite history." NPR Music just published a list of '150 Greatest Albums Made By Women': a beautiful select...

As former choir-boy suppressing his queer feelings, New York producer and songwriter Josiah White unleashes his true nature in the boundary-breaking project Serpentwithfeet. Creating an elaborating, e...

Islaja is the moniker of Finland-born, Berlin-based sound artist Merja Kokkonen. The ever inventive musician often furnishes her malformed pop with surprising influences and bold instrumentation. Isla...

Raised in North Carolina as the daughter of two devout Jehovah’s Witnesses, Kelsey Lu moved to New York at the age of 18 to study cello. Her debut EP ‘Church’ - which gained acclaim...

In 1970, soul artist Jerry Williams, Jr. radically reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg: an anti-hero who smashes the conventions of commercial R&B music, and whose subversive lyrics earned him a spot...

Since the release of his self-titled debut in 2011, Benjamin John Power, aka Blanck Mass, has demonstrated his versatility as an experimental drone/ambient musician and producer. Apart from being one...

Over the past decade, Malian, Grammy-nominated artist, musician, and actress Fatoumata Diawara has been universally praised as one of Africa’s most trailblazing and outspoken voices. Diawara&rsq...

Named after a Yoruba deity, OSHUN preaches spirituality, rebirth, identity, unity and the blessings of Mother Earth with an Afrofuturistic center of gravity.  The duo of Niambi Sala and Thandiwe...

Dallas-bred Liv.e is as much as a crossover between Erykah Badu, DJ Screw, and Sun Ra as she is her own lone breed of lo-fi - making her, according to Afropunk Magazine, ‘one of the most intrigu...

Le Guess Who? exists to bring people together through music and culture. U? is its participative and freely accessible city program celebrating local and creative communities. ⁠ Le Guess Who? heeft het doel om mensen samen te brengen door middel van muziek en cultuur. U? is het gratis toegankelijk stadsprogramma van Le Guess Who? met een...

Repetition, repetition, repetition; these three 'r's are paramount to multi-instrumentalist Daniel Foggin's project Smote. Despite only bursting onto the scene in the hazy times of early quarantine, t...

While Dallas-bred Liv.e might take cues from artists as diverse as Erykah Badu, DJ Screw, and Sun Ra, she mainly crafts her own idiosyncratic breed of lo-fi R&B. In the words of NME, she's 'R&B’s new avant-garde star who’s ‘tired of whispering.' That categorization is more true than ever on new track 'Ghost', he...

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...

Belfast-born polymath Calibre has spent three decades immersed in a creative journey spanning various artistic realms as a painter, multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer, producer, and DJ. He now picks up his collaboration with London-based  singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Chelou for the new 12" Doing It For Yo...

Hailing from Brixton, vocalist and producer GAIKA developed his own take on the numerous currents of London’s contemporary music scene. With Jamaican and Grenadian roots, GAIKA creates a sonic b...

Rightfully celebrated for ‘Three Phase’, his 2020 LP that presented a powerful new take on the country’s Mahraganat/Shaabi sound, Cairo-based electronic booth magician 3Phaz has inch...

Since 2022, New York vocalist Yaya Bey has graduated from promising R&B talent to a full-fledged supersonic star. This year’s ‘Ten Fold’ album picks up where her impactful debut,...

GINGE has just released the album ‘Playing Around,’ on which she uses (Joy Crookes and Snoh Aalagra inspired) hip-hop and R&B to talk about playfulness in life and love.This program is...

For the last 16 years, musician and poet Elias Rønnenfelt has fronted Danish band Iceage. This month, he’ll release his first solo album, ‘Heavy Glory’. This work is the sound...

With Military Genius, Canadian musician Bryce Cloghesy flexes his world-building prowess, a talent documented throughout boundary-pushing discography dating back to 2016. In his music, dream logic rei...

Gaining worldwide recognition with their smashing, gummy hit single ‘Cannonball’, The Breeders were a leading figure in the 90s grunge scene. After a ten-year hiatus, they recently release...

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...

Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator Ziúr brings together unique super-duo Attila Csihar & Iggor Cavalera. On drums is the co-founder of legendary Brazilian band Sepultura, whose groundbreaking...

Singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist keiyaA synthesizes her jazz training, R&B sensibilities, and hip-hop upbringing to create new soul sounds inundated with her powerful, sultry...

Seydisfjordur Community Radio is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the village of Seyðisfjörður on the east-coast of Iceland - hosted, nurtured and initiated...

River Down Records is a label from Panama City, Panama, dedicated to documenting and developing the creative sound of Panama. With over 15 digital releases, River Down Records has produced new works a...

River Down Records is a label from Panama City, Panama, dedicated to documenting and developing the creative sound of Panama. With over 15 digital releases, River Down Records has produced new works a...

Theater Kikker x U? presents The EarIn the 30-minute one-on-one performance Sensory Sensation Series No.1 – The Ear, the ear of the participant is central. The participant, the ear and the...

The Hof van Cartesius is a unique circular work spot for more than 100 makers and entrepreneurs. It is also an incubator for new talent, a hub for experiment and a meeting space for the local communit...

I, the hybrid and the antidote, a project presented by Liliane Chlela, celebrated its world premiere at Le Guess Who? 2024. On stage, Chlela was joined by Utrecht’s string ensemble Flare Quartet, Cairo’s producer/violinist Nancy Mounir, and Montreal-based producer/musician Radwan Ghazi Moumneh. Our residential photographer Ju...

De Witte Kunst is a Dutch musical ensemble consisting of multi-instrumentalist Lyckle de Jong and songwriter and singer Koen van Bommel. In their songs they dream about a better world, resulting in a...

New at Museum Speelkok, a museum that houses a phenomenal, unique collection of self-playing musical instruments, is the freely accessible art space, where talented artists can exhibit their music and...

The ritual dance practice of Stambeli is a centuries old method to induce trance-like states through sound. In this short documentary, director Mohammed Ali Fakhfakh portrays Am Salah, one of the few remaining yenna ("Stambeli master"). Am Salah invites us into his world, on an intimate journey into the depth of spiritual liberation that...

On Friday, 8 November 2024, the compilation album Chromesthesia: the Colour of Sound Vol. 1 is set to be released. Brainchild of British-Egyptian historian Hannah Elsisi (NYU AD, Cambridge), Chromesthesia—aptly named "the colour of sound"— tracks afro-diasporic rhythms from the Whole Mangrove World. Following the collaborati...

Hard in style, soft in core. For Luna van der Laan (Looney Lunatic) and Carlos Kok (Boot 122), their passion for noisy, fast music stems from a broad artistic (self-)schooling, high levels of passion for music and, above all, an open mind. With a DIY-mentality, a grounded aversion of the establishment and a substance-over-style-approach,...

In partnership with Honiunhoni Honiunhoni, meaning "Impossible Possibilities," is an independent music production collective and record label founded in 2022 by musician and anthropologist Daniyal Ahmed. Rooted in the ethos of ethnographic research, Honiunhoni celebrates Pakistan's cultural richness and diversity through meticulous curat...

VPRO Vrije Geluiden once again teamed up with Le Guess Who? the festival to capture several intimate sessions with festival artists - recorded at restaurant De Klub, just opposite of TivoliVredenburg. All sessions are now available to watch below.  Eli Keszler NY-based artist, composer, and percussionist Eli Keszler has garnered...

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.

The South African, Afro-psychedelic collective BCUC gave an ecstatic performance on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2018, curated by Shabaka Hutchings. Relive the full set below, and watch the video for the group's performance of 'Yinde': About:BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) started out as a social gathering in their nati...

Le Guess Who? is dedicated to boundary-crossing music & culture from all over the world. The festival shows that the world has a greater cultural richness to offer than we generally see and hear. During four days, our program displays extraordinary musical performances, as well as exhibitions, art installations, film screenings, talks...

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...

While Nappy Nina previously made appearances on Yaeji, Quelle Chris, and Son Lux's music, her characteristic breezy flow has led her to conquer stages worldwide in her own right. For her Le Guess Who? performance, she will be joined by DJ Stas THEE Boss.  Now, the Oakland-born writer, MC, and producer releases her new song, produced...

Each year, Le Guess Who? invites trailblazing creatives to curate their own dedicated programs, highlighting their inspirations, emerging acts and fellow like-minded artists, with an emphasis on discovery and exploration.Paris-based artist and producer/DJ Crystallmess introduces her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024 with a playlist that she...

Go on a 2-hour meaningful walking Migrantour through the Lombok district of Utrecht. The tour is co-created and taught by Migrantourguides with a first or second migration background. With the Mi...

Georgia's Pankisi Ensemble performed live at Le Guess Who? 2023 as part of the Hidden Musics program. Now, you can relive this touching performance with the full audio of the show, recorded at Utrecht's Jacobikerk during the festival. AboutThe Pankisi Ensemble goes against the typical 'ethno-fusion' grain in two ways. First, by not res...

Fiftieth anniversaries call for spectacular celebrations, and that is what Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble are embarking on this year. To commemorate half a century of continuously shifting gears and tempos in the jazz-blues continuum, the band is embarking on a new world tour. Before they do so, they visited the BBC...

Eigen Risico is the project from the multidisciplinary artist Héctor Garcia Martin also known as Hache. Initially formed as a collective where live art performance and music melted into an intense live show, Héctor now decided to go solo. He now shares his new single en mil piezas me partí. How to rebuild yourself af...

Rapper and producer Ashanti Mutinta, aka Backxwash gave a life-affirming performance at TivoliVredenburg's Ronda during Le Guess Who? 2023. Our residential photographer Melanie Marsman was present to capture some of the special moments, on stage as well as backstage. View the full photo series "Stark warnings of viewer discretion mark...

Raziyah Heath is an independent curator (a.o at Metro54), programmer, curious cat, hater, organizer, killjoy, lover, DJ and artist. At the moment she mainly delves into sonic realms/dimensions, and uses DJing under the name Chinnamasta as a medium for research and discoveries. Their work aims to uncover the cross pollinations of Afro-dia...

Since 2022, Le Guess Who? partners with the Nature and Environment Federation Utrecht to offset CO2 emissions from international air travel by artists and visitors. Thanks to collaboration in 2023, a sustainable roof at Utrecht’s Hof van Cartesius, a unique circular workspace for creative entrepreneurs, has now been realized. Hof va...

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...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with Rắn Cạp Đuôi  In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Vietnamese experimental music collective Rắn Cạp Đuôi have been expanding their vast auditory spectrum since forming back in 2015. On their first two albums, Ngủ N...

U? is Le Guess Who? participatory and freely accessible day program created for and with the city of Utrecht. During U?, programs are made with, or even fully by, local initiatives, entrepreneurs, social institutions and community centers. With U?, Le Guess Who? further promotes its festival mission throughout the city of Utrecht: present...

We're very excited that this year, Le Guess Who? will coincide again (for the first time since 2018) with the Mega Record & CD Fair (November 13 & 14 in Utrecht), which is Europe’s biggest record fair. As a preview for both the festival as well as the fair, we're collaborating with The Quietus on a new series where we...

In partnership with V2X. About V2XV2X represents a new generation of Vietnamese creatives shaping their own identities. Operating as an independent media company on the intersection of art, music, culture, V2X highlights creative communities from all corners of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Their work curating emerging cultures in today's m...

Richard Dawson performed live at Utrecht's Jacobikerk during Le Guess Who? 2023 as part of the program curated by Slauson Malone 1. You can now listen to the British folk master performing Museum (from the 2022 album The Ruby Chord) and Two Halves (from 2020).  "The next song is from the point of view of a robot or an AI, somethin...

An instrumental post-rock project by English musician Pete Barnes. Having toyed with the idea of writing atmospheric instrumental music for a while, Barnes was left bedridden following a serious cycli...

Beatriz Ferreyra is an 84-year-old composer and sound artist from Argentina, currently living in Hameau de Hodeng, France. Recently dubbed a "giant of musique concrète" by Pitchfork, Ferreyra has now released her new album 'Canto+' via Room40, the follow-up to last year's 'Echos+'. The album collects five pieces...

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. ...

Put on your ranger outfit, and join the Hofsafari! We will guide you through a jungle of circular buildings, sustainable entrepeneurs and wonderful gardens. What monsters are hiding in the pond?...

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,...

Le Guess Who? presents ‘The Big Playback’, a conversational, in-depth podcast about all things music. In the second episode of ‘The Big Playback’, host Margaret Munchheimer talks to four different musicians about the shifting relationship between Art and Identity and who in some way explore the self as a mediu...

Gambian-British grime/hip-hop artist and BBC Sound of 2021 winner Pa Salieu is one of the most exciting new voices in Britain’s flourishing hip-hop scene. Following the release of his celebrated 'Send Them to Coventry' last year, Pa Salieu now teams up with UK rapper slowthai to deliver the new single 'Glidin'.  Watc...

On the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2018, Indian Carnatic music pioneer Kadri Gopalnath gave a mesmerizing performance, curated by Shabaka Hutchings. Listen to the full show, and watch and excerpt from the performance below.  About: Kadri Gopalnath’s life’s work is to incorporate the woodwind instrument into the cla...

In the mid-1960s, Art Ensemble of Chicago sprung from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Moving far beyond jazz, avant-garde and performance art, the ensemble has created a realm that is entirely original. On the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2018, and on the eve of the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s 50t...

Through the Buurt tour, you will explore the neighborhood Lombok and discover some favorite spots of De Voorkamers’ community members. They will match Dutch speaking with non-Dutch speaking part...

Rapper and producer Pink Siifu has released new album 'GUMBO'!', the follow-up to his 2020 release 'NEGRO' (which got expanded to 'NEGRO DELUXE' earlier this year). 'GUMBO'!' features guest appearances from a.o. Georgia Anne Muldrow, Bbymutha, Nick Hakim, Liv.e, and Maxo. Production comes from a.o. the Alchemist, Monte Boo...

In partnership with Honiunhoni Honiunhoni, meaning "Impossible Possibilities," is an independent music production collective and record label founded in 2022 by musician and anthropologist Daniyal Ahmed. Rooted in the ethos of ethnographic research, Honiunhoni celebrates Pakistan's cultural richness and diversity through meticulous curat...

Hailed as one of the greatest songwriter of his time, California-based artist Cass McCombs performed twice at Le Guess Who?, leading up to the release of his new album 'Tip of the Sphere' (out February 8th via ANTI- Records). Right after his second show (on the Sunday of the festival, as part of our Collaboratorium in Kytopia), McCombs he...

Washington-based experimental hip-hop duo Model Home have released a new collaborative album with Iranian dub duo Saint Abdullah. 'Invasive Inclinations' is described as a meeting of forces from "two similar planets in different galaxies but interchangeably habitable". The album was recorded in one day at Pioneer Works Center F...

In partnership with U?  U? is the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?. Now in its fourth edition, U? celebrates local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. The festival’s mission is to amplify local communities from the fringe, serving as a radical playground for experim...

Irreversible Entanglements is a jazz collective from Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC, who have successfully cultivated jazz and associated Black music through a gripping form of avant-garde and free jazz. The group have just announced their new album 'Open The Gates', which will be a split release between the labels Internation...

At De Havenloods you’ll be able to visit an art exhibition made for the Le Guess Who? Education Program. The exhibition features work made by five classes from three high schools from Utrecht: X...

Portuguese singer and songwriter Freddy Locks is deeply passionate about Roots Reggae. His journey began in Lisbon's punk-rock scene, later transforming through encounters with positive reality and re...

Last November, Alan Sparhawk returned to Europe to play some select solo shows, the first being a performance at Le Guess Who?. Three decades ago, Sparhawk co-founded the band Low alongside vocalist and drummer Mimi Parker, who sadly passed away in late 2022. Their music derived elemental power from its fearless exploration of quiet, ge...

This week, Red Hot releases Outer Spaceways Incorporated: a Sun Ra tribute compilation album lead by Kronos Quartet with many guest contributions. Leading up to the release, the track Blood Running High is now shared: a collaboration between Le Guess Who? 2024 artists RP Boo and ELUCID (who is one half of LGW23 artist Armand Hammer). ...

New York City singer-songwriter Joanna Sternberg is having a stellar 2023 so far. Earlier this year, their second album ‘I’ve Got Me’ was showered with praise for its personal and openhearted character. Now, the artists releases their new single 'Neighbors' via Fat Possum Records. 'Neighbors' was recorded at Sternberg&r...

Blending soft vocals with harsh industrial beats, HYPER GAL summon a brave new sonic world in which maximalism and minimalism are no longer sworn enemies. The duo now release their new album After Image, the group work with a canvas larger than ever before, fearlessly alternating bold, avant-garde strokes with intimate, deliberate gesture...

Born in Beirut and based in Montreal, Liliane Chlela is a producer, DJ and performer whose progressive sound experiments brought her to the forefront of the electronic and experimental music scene, both in Lebanon and far beyond. At Le Guess Who? 2024, Liliane Chlela will present the live premiere of I, the hybrid and the antidote. &ldqu...

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...

4-Day Passes for Le Guess Who? 2024 (7-10 November) are on sale now via leguesswho.com/tickets. The first batch of tickets is available for the same price as the 2023 festival passes (€175); the second batch will be available for €190 (prices include service costs). Day Tickets (als for CJP and U-pas members) will go on sale la...

During the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2024, Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra & multidisciplinary artist Arion de Munck (Ombak-Lab) present Hadra Immersive, an experience in which Water, Harmony and Light play a central role. The climax of Hadra is not just a musical peak; it is a moment of collective transcendence, in which those pr...

Rave voor de Rafelranden organizes festive demonstrations to fight for more free spaces and non commercial culture in Utrecht. They highlight the importance of places that are created and shaped by a...

At Le Guess Who? 2023, veteran improviser Bill Orcutt (of Harry Pussy) was joined live by an all-star team of seasoned guitarists, made up of Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza, and Shane Parish. The four tackled Orcutt’s rhythmic tapestry released on 'Music For Four Guitars' (2022), following the intricate composition’s thread wh...

COSMOS x Underground Music Academy announce their 2024 Embassy in Detroit, USA A place to learn about the past, present, and future of dance music. With the Underground Music Academy, Detroit’s own Waajeed has created a utopian space for the city's aspiring musicians. Among music fans, few places occupy a similar space in the coll...

Makaya McCraven is one of Chicago’s most versatile and in-demand drummers. At Le Guess Who? 2019, McCraven, together with his stellar live band, gave a wonderfully free-spirited performance. As debut of the show, the group played the brand new song 'In These Times', which you can view below, as well as listen to the entire perf...

Location: Korte Minrebroederstraat AKMAR is a multidisciplinary artist working with a range of disciplines, from video and computer generated work to physical sculptures. Vanitas is about digital tra...

For U? 2024, Hof van Cartesius presents a diverse program created together with the artists that are located in this unique circular workspace for creative entrepreneurs. Photographer Rogier Boogaard documented two artists who will be part of this year's festival program. First up: Sophie Wantia. Sophie Wantia is the founder of Studio...

Peach Tree, Ambiguous is a research project mapping production processes of value and meaning in the spiritual void around luxury goods. Simulating a tribalized department-store, the exhibition shows...

Want to be among the first to hear about the latest news & program updates? Download our official festival app. When you switch on notifications in the app, you'll receive news and last-minute update on your phone. During the festival weekend you can explore the line-up, create your personal timetable, find your way through Utrecht w...

In partnership with Underground Music Academy  “KNOW THE PAST. CHANGE THE FUTURE.” Operating under this slogan, Detroit’s Underground Music Academy is a place to learn about the history, creation and business behind electronic music. A utopian space for the city's aspiring musicians, created by a team of idealists...

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...

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...

We're very excited that this year, Le Guess Who? will coincide again (for the first time since 2018) with the Mega Record & CD Fair (November 13 & 14 in Utrecht), which is Europe’s biggest record fair. As a preview for both the festival as well as the fair, we're collaborating with The Quietus on a new series where we...

Official Le Guess Who? merchandise, including t-shirts, sweaters, and more, is available here.

In partnership with Underground Music Academy.  “KNOW THE PAST. CHANGE THE FUTURE.” Operating under this slogan, Detroit’s Underground Music Academy is a place to learn about the past, present, and future of dance music. A utopian space for the city's aspiring musicians, created by a team of idealists brought toge...

(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...

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...

Enmeshing R&B, slowcore and pop influences, Still House Plants’s latest album If I don't make it, I love u is the band’s fullest embodiment of the UK trio’s sound to date.  Critically acclaimed, the record marks the post-rock outfit's decade of friendship and consolidates their research for a richer, deeper sou...

Nature, afrofuturism, jazz, and hip-hop have come together to form Phantom Wizard’s ethereal work. The artist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist of Surinamese descent was born and raised in th...

(Nederlandse versie hieronder) As part of Le Guess Who? 2024, we are once again initiating the 'Donate a Ticket' concept. This initiative gives festival visitors the opportunity to purchase an extra day ticket for people who are also interested in visiting the festival, but do not have the financial resources themselves to do so. Visito...

Le Feast invites you into a living room in Utrecht, to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Would you like to join as a home-chef or guest? You can now sign up!Le Feast nodigt je uit in een huiskamer in Utrecht om samen met mensen die je (nog) niet kent te genieten van een feestmaal. Lijkt het je leuk om deel te nemen...

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...

With whirring synths and chirping guitars, Rafael Toral’s Spectral Evolution sounds like a message sent from space to earth. The latest album by the experimental musician is a monumental drone suite in which horns morph into electronic instruments for a soundscape that sounds natural as much as it sounds otherworldly.  Since h...

Two years after her stunning Le Guess Who? performance, the Guatemalan-born, Mexico-based vocalist and cellist Mabe Fratti returned in 2024 as a performer as well as festival curator. As part of her curation, Mabe Fratti presented some very special Mexican and South American acts that have influenced her personal development. Our residen...

La Double Vie de Véronique is a story of two women that go by the same name and share the same hopes and dreams, even though the one lives in Poland and the other in France. Unaware of the exis...

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...

Petersburg is one of the most mysterious and unique indie bands in the Netherlands. The band, formerly known as Petersburg Orderer and consisting of Camiel Muiser, Erik van de Paardt, Boris de Klerk (...

Rotterdam’s new livewire post-punk act Tramhaus have quickly carved out their own space within the iconic Dutch port city. On stage Tramhaus create shell-shocking havoc, with fragments of unfort...

(Nederlandse versie hieronder) For the upcoming festival edition, Le Guess Who? will continue its collaboration with the Dutch Council for Refugees. Just like last year, the festival supports the initiative ‘Grant an Entry’. The initiative gives festival visitors the opportunity to purchase an extra day ticket for refugees re...

Le Guess Who? presents ‘The Big Playback’, a conversational, in-depth podcast about all things music. In ‘The Big Playback’, host Margaret Munchheimer talks to musicians, scholars, record label owners, and music managers and delves into different topics exploring individual and collective musical experiences. You c...

REProduce Live is a peer to peer live streaming platform that showcases left leaning artistic expression within India. Their goal is to weave a new fabric by challenging expectations of what contemporary artistic risk taking in the region could look and sound like. For COSMOS, REProduce Live presented a selection of events they've pr...

We invite vibrant music communities from every corner of the globe to become COSMOS Embassies and to share their stories through mixtapes, film, live radio, conversations and performances - both online and offline. Explore the Scenes that make up COSMOS here.

With their last record 'Love and Hate in a Different Time', released earlier this year, neo-soul sensation Gabriels seek to address hate, hardship and war, but most of all how to push through. The album received praise from the likes of Elton John, Gilles Peterson, and Virgil Abloh. The group, featuring vocalist Jacob Lusk ...

Founded by the international music festival Le Guess Who?, COSMOS invites vibrant music communities from every corner of the map to share their stories - both online and offline.

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...

Mutant Radio is a media platform that focuses on various directions: mixes, interviews, educational shows, live performances and discussions. Gathering artists, DJs, and interesting personalities to focus on the subject of their preference and their interest, Mutant Radio offers like-minded people an opportunity to enjoy quality music and...

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...

This evening, the Dutch government announced new restrictions for cultural events. These restrictions will begin at 6PM tomorrow (Saturday) 13 November. In an already extremely difficult year for organizing events, we are again faced with several challenges, and also within a very short timeframe.Our motto this year is Celebrate Change. W...

Ugandan record label Nyege Nyege Tapes will present its own Hakuna Kulala club night during Le Guess Who? 2021. Now, Hakuna Kulala announces a new white label vinyl series, and kicking off the series is festival artist Menzi; a steady presence in South African electronic music for numerous years.  On August 27th, Hakuna Ku...

In partnership with Touching Bass  Touching Bass is the London-based musical movement, founded by Errol and Alex Rita. A community-come-club night, celebrated record label, staple NTS Radio show, concert series and curatorial studio. Founded in 2016, it has steadily established itself as one of London’s most important musical...

Visit our recordings section for lots of exclusive audio & video recordings of Le Guess Who? performances.  Featuring a.o. Neneh Cherry, Mount Eerie, Sun Ra Arkestra, James Holden, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Protomartyr, Selda Bağcan, Alanis Obomsawin, Junun feat. Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express, The Notwist,...

Le Guess Who? 2024 is approaching, and we're looking forward to welcome you to Utrecht for our 17th festival edition.  We can't wait to share an amazing wealth of sounds with you again, but first, there are some important details we'd like to share with you. Please take a moment to review the following information before your visit...

In 2024, Le Guess Who? starts a pilot with Low Income Day Tickets, specifically for those who otherwise would not be able to attend the festival. This initiative arises from the fact that we hear that the ticket price is one of the biggest barriers for people to visit the festival. We want to give people - who would like to visit the fes...

Mixing electronic music, punk and rap, LustSickPuppy's live shows are a perfect mix of experimentation, chaos and rave energy: a must-see for fans of hyper-pop and digital hardcore.  Last April, performer and producer Tommy Hayes released CAROUSEL FROM HELL, their debut album under the moniker LustSickPuppy. The record infiltrates i...

Public voting for the European Festival Awards is now open, with Le Guess Who? nominated - together some other excellent festivals - in the category of Best Small Festival.  Cast your vote here Votes are open until November 30th, 2023. The result will be a longlist of 20 festivals, with a jury of festival promoters from different E...

With his music, Tashi Wada explores resonance, dissonance and alternative tunings to create rich and unanticipated effects. Now, the Los Angeles-based composer and performer releases What Is Not Strange?, his first full-length solo album via RVNG Intl. The album - his most ambitious and impassioned yet - finds him rummaging through a puz...

As part of Arooj Aftab's curation at Le Guess Who? 2024, the artist invited her father, Aftab Sr., to perform together with her at the festival. As Aftab Sr. was denied his visa to travel to Utrecht, Le Guess Who? in collaboration with Pakistani label Honiunhoni and filmmaker Daniyal Yousaf, captured a performance of love poetry sung at h...

Artists of Salon De Nijverheid invite everyone into their artist-run and self-built exhibition space The Tunnel and Hoek, part of the Art Café. Here, they present an extensive group exhibition...

Like a magic spell, the psychedelic groove of Peruvian legends Los Wembler’s de Iquitos pulses deeper than ever. Creators of the Amazonian cumbia, this group has been among the pioneers of psych...

Vital and exciting, the music of Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoff is rooted in a very specific community, Dakar’s nightlife scene, but speaks to the world. For twenty years and across three gene...

Utrecht's independent print workshop Kapitaal, once again hosts the official Le Guess Who? Hangout through all things print and sound. The program is a culmination of print, live music, DJ's, pizza's...

In collaboration with Centraal Museum The Colombian ambient producer Lucrecia Dalt composed a commissioned piece for the exhibition De Line Up, which displays a rich overview of the power of drawing...

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...

Kleine Crack is the only Belgian artist signed to Burning Fik. The cult-rapper and his producer-teammate Slagter create ominous hip-hop, set to heavy beats. In their hometown ANNA (Antwerp) they are s...

This event will hit you just as hard in the face as the rest of our program. No, you don’t have to step into the ring yourself, but you will be able to marvel at several intense boxing-matches a...

As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024, experimental cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti performed live at the festival together with London-based vocal group Shards. Watch the concert film of the performance, featuring the tracks Kravitz, No Se Ve Desde Acá and Desde el Cielo: With her hypnotic pieces, Mabe Fratti comb...

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...

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...

In partnership with REProduceA hub of seasoned Indian creatives looking for a new way to be, to reconsider and reassert the India they grew up with and forged: this Embassy aims to present Goa as it exists at the end of 2022.This film features a series of short performances - both music and otherwise - woven together with interviews with...

Le Guess Who? takes pace across 20 locations in the city center of Utrecht; ranging from churches and galleries to theaters and pop venues. Most are within walking distance from each other. Here are a couple highlighted.

With his unshakeable conviction, found all over his rhymes and delivery, Zwangere Guy quickly became considered ‘the boss of Brussels rap’. In his live shows, his boastful, insolent and exciting personality always shines bright.  Zwangere Guy performed live at TivoliVredenburg's Ronda during Le Guess Who? 2021 on the nig...

The breakdance and hip hop group Utrecht Connaisseurs Crew (UC Crew) was founded in early 2018. That same year, they won the first prize at the National Breakdance League. The crew consists of dancers...

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...

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...

Avant-garde cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti returns to Le Guess Who? in 2024 as guest curator and performer. Now, she releases her new album Sentir Que No Sabes: a brave album, rich in both sonic inventiveness as emotional depth. At Le Guess Who?, Mabe Fratti will perform the music from the album accompanied by the London-based vocal gro...

Festival curator Slauson Malone 1 performed live at Le Guess Who? 2023 following the release of his latest album EXCELSIOR via Warp Records. On stage, he is joined by cellist Nicky Wetherell. Relive the performance with our concert film: Speaking about his role as curator at the festival, Slauson Malone 1 (real name: Jasper Marsalis) s...

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...

U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, returns to Utrecht for its fourth edition. U? celebrates local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. Our mission: Amplifying local communities from the fringe, U? is Utrecht’s radical playground for experimentation, co-creation and...

French indie-pop band Keep Dancing Inc debuts on Dutch Radio with a live-session at 3voor12 Radio.

Le Guess Who? 2024 will host a rare and exclusive extended vinyl set by Theo Parrish. The acclaimed DJ now releases his new 2 track EP Traffic Jams, "a response to stagnation and nonmovement", via his Detroit based label Sound Signature. The first ever-flowing song Positive Mental Attitude Solves All is a tribute to the eternal elder and...

Le Guess Who? is a playground for discovery and exploration, and once again that's deeply reflected in our 2024 program. Now that we've revealed the full line-up, including the curated programs by Arooj Aftab, Bo Ningen, Crystallmess, DARKSIDE, Mabe Fratti, and Touching Bass, it's time to start your musical discovery again. Take a deep...

With their podcast, U?TCAST showcases street culture talent from Utrecht along the full width.MokerjongCrow NesstybeatsYou may know Crow, aka Dark Ryat  for his music, but he's also a talent...

For Le Guess Who? 2024 guest curator Arooj Aftab, the night is a big source of inspiration: to the night she dedicated the new album Night Reign, out now via Verve Records.  "There is an exhilarating sense of potential on Night Reign: dew glistens and flowers prepare to bloom as Aftab opens herself up to new love. Throughout the alb...

Artists community NoEsUnaGaleria NL is organising a program with live painting sessions and performance art by artists Ricardo Saga and Mario Gildardo from Mexico and Harmke Datema-Chang and Laur...

Cutting edge Palestinian duo Shabjdeed & Al Nather performed live at Le Guess Who? 2024. Below, you can watch the performance of Nkd Glg and Arab Style from their momentous debut album Sindibad el Ward, released via BLTNM Records. "Shabjdeed & Al Nather’s deft double-time rapping gets a rapturous response from the bo...

(Nederlandse versie hieronder) Every year we give visitors the opportunity to 'Donate a Ticket'. This initiative gives festival visitors the opportunity to purchase an extra day ticket for people who are also interested in visiting the festival, but do not have the financial resources themselves to do so. Visitors can donate a ticket vi...

Le Guess Who? stands for unity through music. The global violence unfolding against innocent people at the moment is truly heartbreaking, and our hearts go out to those affected, whether in Palestine, Ukraine, Israel, Sudan, or anywhere else. As an organization, we condemn violence against civilians and stand in solidarity with those liv...

Since 2012 Big Hare has been creating electronic mantras about things like internet phenomena, awkwardness and masquerades. In late 2019 they launched their second LP 'Lucky Dip' with Blowpipe Records...

The Amsterdam-based trio Marathon started out as a psychedelic shoegaze band, until they got a taste of the exuberance of garage punk. This discovery eventually led to the sound that characterises Mar...

On the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2018, Indian Carnatic music pioneer Kadri Gopalnath gave a mesmerizing performance, curated by Shabaka Hutchings. Listen to the full show, and watch and excerpt from the performance below.  About: Kadri Gopalnath’s life’s work is to incorporate the woodwind instrument into the cla...

At De Voorkamer you can learn the Syrian folk dance Dabke. Amer, who will be the teacher, is a health and food enthusiast, a body builder whose message is that everyone should stay fit and healthy wit...

Even with just limited material out, the enigmatic Black Country, New Road became a steadfast live sensation with their mixture of post-punk, ashen Slint-like minimalism and pastoral dark folk leanings.  Ahead of their performance at Le Guess Who? 2021, Turkey's Bant Mag. did a track by track interview with the British ban...

Ahead of his performance at Le Guess Who? 2021, Turkey's Bant Mag. talk to Chicago visual artist, musician and sound artist Damon Locks. The interview is part of their series 'Letters from musicians'; as it’s been a whole year under the pandemic conditions, they have reached out to a number of musicians to hear about their varying f...

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...

Elegance, punch, softness, a magical rhythmic playfulness – Flamenco has it all. Flamenco is a physical activity, making music with the body, an outlet for the stirrings of the soul. Azules is d...

In partnership with Le18  LE 18 is a multidisciplinary cultural and residency space established in 2013 and located in the medina of Marrakech, Morocco. It aims to provide time and space for research, creation, encounter, mutual learning, and the cross-pollination of knowledge. The space has developed organically and through a colla...

In partnership with Seoul Community Radio  Seoul Community Radio (SCR) is South Korea’s premier community radio station. Established in 2016, SCR is a multi-platform online broadcaster at the center of Asia’s fast-growing electronic music community – created by the scene, for the people that make it great. Inspirin...

For almost 20 years, Le Guess Who? has been a sanctuary for adventurous music from all over the world, bringing people together through the power of sound. Now, we face one of our biggest challenges yet—and we need your support to ensure the next 20 years.

Free parties were on the forefront of electronics since the birth of acid-house. Traveling D.I.Y. community’s like Spiral Tribe and MononoM are synonymous with underground and non-conforming sou...

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 to...

Lees hier de tekst in het Nederlands. The open call has been closed.   Le Guess Who? in Utrecht is a festival for groundbreaking music and culture, taking place 7-10 November 2024. It exists to bring people together through music and art. U? is its freely accessible city festival, dedicated to celebrating creativity in...

Ana Frango Elétrico has been hailed as an indie wunderkind and "the most effervescent and innovative voice to surge up from Brazil’s new wave". Their 2019 album, Little Electric Chicken Heart, garnered plural accolades and even a Latin Grammy nomination; now, they releases their third and most confident album to date: Me Cham...

Our official Le Guess Who? 2023 app is now available, made in collaboration with TMSQR. With this app, you can explore the line-up, create your personal timetable, find your way through Utrecht with the interactive festival map and listen to the official LGW Playlist. You can also switch easily between Le Guess Who? and U?, our freely acc...

Presented by Basilica Hudson and Le Guess Who? in collaboration with Sarah Van Buren, 24-HOUR DRONE is set to return to Basilica Hudson Saturday, May 18th – Sunday, May 19th, 2024 (noon to noon) in Hudson, New York. Tickets are available here.  24-HOUR DRONE features an international roster of musicians and sonic artists acros...

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',...

There's a sense of spontaneity and playfulness present around Merope's upcoming album Vėjula. Before the album reaches your ears in full on 5 November (released via Stroom), the duo of Lithuanian singer and kanklės player Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė and guitarist/producer Bert Cools share their latest, soothing single Lopšinė.  Lopšinė...

This year, U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, starts a new collaboration with Music Moves to make the dance floor more accessible and inclusive. Music Moves is a training program in which young adults (17 - 27 years) organize their own music event for people who do not naturally have access to music events. "We bel...

​​Musician and composer Denizhan Altay has just released his first EP ‘Dolu Anadolu’, a fusion of nineties hiphop and elements of traditional Turkish folk music. The EP contains a mix of t...

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...

COSMOS x ICRN announce their 2024 Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in numbers.  In 2022, a handful of activists and community radios from...

Test your sustainable or social innovation at Le Guess Who? 2023Test jouw duurzame of sociale innovatie op Le Guess Who? 2023

It doesn't matter whether you are musical or not, everyone can make tones in the Sound Garden. One day they just started building an interactive music machine. They have one limitation: all instrument...

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....

"Spiralling outwards from the cobbled, canal-studded streets of the old town, Utrecht is an architecturally beautiful city in the centre of the Netherlands." - Crack Magazine

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 ve...

Newcomers DJINN are an alliance formed by musicians in Swedish outfits Hills and GOAT. The group creates a hypnotic brew of free-jazz, psychedelic music, and harmonious folk, with their name being derived from the Arab folkloristic creature of djinn, a supernatural and invisible force by the band interpreted as meaning "a being that...

Indian classical pioneer Kadri Gopalnath has devoted a lifetime to integrate the saxophone into the classical Indian genre of Carnatic music. We trace down the roots of this boundary-breaking art...

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...

Kamiel Thomas is an indie songwriter and former member of the avant-garde dark rock ensemble GOLD. Kamiel's songs are worthy of arthouse films while also creating a sense of home. Kamiel Thomas i...

On Sunday afternoon, we’ll take a deep dive down into the depths of punk, new-wave and blood pounding rock ‘n roll. Together with long time festival location dB’s and brand new venue WAS., we will set the stage for a raving punk party, leading up to the celebration of 30 years of Mudhoney. Endless Boogie & Bloody Ma...

During Le Guess Who? 2018, the La Blogothèque team captured a stripped down and intimate Take Away Show with Moscow-based musician Kate NV. On her latest solo LP ‘для FOR’, Kate NV reflects on daily life in her native Moscow; creating an atmospheric soundscape filled with surreal, playful arrangements. During the sessi...

Genre-bending singer Neneh Cherry performed at Le Guess Who? 2018, presenting work from her latest album 'Broken Politics'; you can now listen + watch part of the performance below:  Neneh Cherry - 'Shot Gun Shack', live at Le Guess Who? 2018: About:Across decades, Neneh Cherry traversed and transcended every known faction of the...

DUTCH CULT/CAMP TV, THINGS THAT DRIVE YOU MAD, AND NOISY GRINDPUNK!!!!!! ZALM IS A NEW EINDHOVEN-BASED ONE-MAN BAND THAT BRINGS UNPREDICTABLE SCREAMS AND DEEP, DARK GRUNTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ZALM IS FOR...

Dit weekend werden in de Stadsschouwburg Groningen voor de 21e keer de IJzeren Podiumdieren uitgereikt door De Vereniging Nederlandse Poppodia en -Festivals (VNPF). Le Guess Who? mocht de award voor Beste Festival in ontvangst nemen. Uit het juryrapport: “De organisatie bewijst keer op keer dat je met doordachte, vernieuwende en div...

24-HOUR DRONE is an immersive, all-encompassing event featuring an international roster of musicians and sound artists collaborating and working in experimental, classical, non-western/traditional, durational and other genres incorporating drone to create a full 24 hours of unbroken sound. Multidisciplinary arts center Basilica Hudson an...

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...

During Le Guess Who? 2018, we spent a weekend with musician and visual artist Lonnie Holley in Utrecht. On the opening night of the festival, Lonnie performed with expressive trombone & drums duo Nelson Patton; the next day, he gave us a guided tour through the city of Utrecht, showing the many unique ways of how Holley experiences hi...

This will be the première of Aurélie Poppins (Cocaine Piss) and RomanOwitch (Detroit Underground) newest project. IDM scented alchemy of dirty, wet concrete-like hip-hop; acid synthesize...

US-born, Stockholm-based minimalist artist and apprenticing organ tuner Kali Malone gave a special organ performance in TivoliVredenburg's Grote Zaal as opening performance of Le Guess Who? 2019. The performance was part of The Bug's curated program for the festival.  We can now share two exceptionally beautiful pieces from the perf...

Le Guess Who? 2013 Live videos from LGW13 VPRO 3VOOR12 captured live performances from different locations in Utrecht. Watch below:

Each year Le Guess Who? works with a big team of volunteers, consisting of enthusiastic, new music-loving friends from all over the world. The festival offers a place to connect with new people, to gain working experience and to discover new and inspiring music.  To give you an impression of what it is like to volunteer at Le Guess...

In the flamenco world, Frente Abierto presents new possibilities. The group welcomes genres as diverse as metal and ambient into their realm, fusing their experimental streak with some of new flamenco’s most powerful singers.  At Le Guess Who? 2024, the Andalusian collective collaborated with Israel Fernández, a cantaor...

Le Guess Who? is proud to welcome both artists and visitors of many different nationalities to Utrecht each year. In collaboration with SPEAK, we started a new video series in which Utrechters with foreign roots introduce an artist on the Le Guess Who? 2021 line-up from their country. SPEAK connects locals, newcomers and migra...

We're very excited that this year, Le Guess Who? will coincide again (for the first time since 2018) with the Mega Record & CD Fair (November 13 & 14 in Utrecht), which is Europe’s biggest record fair. As a preview for both the festival as well as the fair, we're collaborating with The Quietus on a new series where we...

In partnership with Liquid Architecture. Liquid Architecture (LA) is Australia's flagship organisation for artists working with experimental sound and listening practices. Based in Naarm (Melbourne) and running strongly for over 20, LA supports radical interdisciplinary experimentations while offering a platform for artists working with...

Outside the Catharijnepoort, where today you’ll find the Smakkelaarsveld, the Ellendigenkerkhof (the churchyard of the wretched) was situated between 1402 and 1664. A burial ground for those who...

In partnership with Seoul Community Radio Seoul Community Radio (SCR) is South Korea’s premier community radio station. Established in 2016, Seoul Community Radio (SCR) is a multi-platform online broadcaster at the center of Asia’s fast-growing electronic music community, created by the scene for the people that make it great...

In partnership with ICRN  Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in numbers. In 2022, a handful of activists and community radios from the Baltic-Nordic region joined forces t...

While Le Guess Who? 2021 is still taking place, we have some exciting news for our most dedicated visitors. Early Bird 4-Day Passes for Le Guess Who? 2022 are available now until November 30th or until sold out. The Early Bird tickets cost €128 (including service costs). Le Guess Who? 2022The 15th edition of Le Guess Who? will take...

Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and record label owner John Dwyer is one of the curators of Le Guess Who? 2021. One of the artists he invites to the festival is German krautrock group Faust, who will perform their iconic album 'Faust IV'. Earlier this year, Dwyer's main band OSEES played a l...

LGW’s resident photographer Juri Hiensch has been rediscovering the city of Utrecht lately, capturing the unique character of several neighborhoods outside the city center and offering some inspiration for your next trip to Utrecht. The third photo & video series is dedicated to Transwijk & Kanaleneiland. These neighborhood...

Our residential photographers Juri Hiensch and Melanie Marsman have been exploring Le Guess Who? again in 2021, captured different photo series during the festival. The upcoming time, we'll be sharing these series on this website and our social media. Portrait series at LGW21, by Melanie Marsman At Le Guess Who? 2021, residential phot...

During Le Guess Who? 2021, Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie / The Microphones) was one of five guest curators for the festival. Aside from putting together a personal program of inspirations and like-minded artists, Phil Elverum also performed live with guitarist Jay Blackinton to present Elverum’s latest album, 'The Microphones In 20...

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...

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...

More line-up

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 j...

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...

VPRO Vrije Geluiden has been a partner of Le Guess Who? for numerous years, and during this year's festival, they again captured several sessions with artists - recorded at Bibliotheek Neude in Utrecht - that will be revealed over the next couple of weeks. Watch below.  The Good Ones The Good Ones will surprise you, delight you,...

Rotterdam-based post-punk outfit Library Card effortlessly distinguishes itself within the city's already rich guitar music scene. The band's latest single, Cognitive Dissonance, perfectly encapsulates the essence of post-punk: angular guitar riffs, angsty spoken-word vocals, and an undeniable, incendiary charisma. Library Card comprises...

The Getdowns are a young hardrock & punkband from Utrecht. Influenced by bands like Pearl Jam and The Beatles, the four boys produce a massive amount of noise characterised by distortion pedals and raw vocals.

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) Pain Against Fear is the final part of the controversial music theater trilogy PERMANENT DESTRUCTION, produced by theater creator and performer Naomi Velissariou in co-production with Theater Utrecht. In this performance, Velissariou introduces herself as a popular singer of ‘PERMANEN...

With her raw, vulnerable and forceful music, Zsela established herself as a singer-songwriter of cavernous depth. Anticipated by the singles Lily of the Nile, Fire Excape and Not Your Angel, Zsela now releases her debut album Big For You on which she's built a sonic landscape that flows between grandiosity and intimacy.  Refl...

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...

Coming from the free party scene, Diafracta felt the need for a more abstract approach to music. He has a never ending curiosity to dive into sounds and their sonic possibilities, creating experimenta...

As we recently wrote in her artist biography: ganavya's prowess is hardly contained within the realm of recording; it comes to life on the stage. Now, that fact is on full display with a live performance that the transdisciplinary scholar, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and word-craftswoman gave on Later... with Jools Holland.  He...

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...

As part of her guest curation at Le Guess Who 2024, Crystallmess invites British contemporary artist Blackhaine. The artist’s radical approach to drill and noise music extends to body movement, immersive A/V installation, and creative direction for globally renowned rappers. "I feel like whenever he's performing he's bringing a tot...

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...

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...

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.

"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...

The Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra and visual artist Arion de Munck present the premiere of Hadra Immersive: an ancient northern Moroccan ceremony that leads participants to collective transcendence t...

Athough the topics of the songs are often absurdist and quite bleak, BoterBoter’s live show of harsh vocals full of poetry and weird loops on hardware synths shows how not to spiral down in pess...

Come listen to the beautiful stories from participants of De Voorkamer Master Class Storytelling.Through three intensive sessions with storyteller Soula Notos (from the bimonthly Soula’s Storyte...

Gonzo (circus), het Vlaams-Nederlandse magazine voor vernieuwende muziek en andere kunstvormen, is al jarenlang een partner van Le Guess Who?. Dit jaar presenteren ze een speciaal LGW21 dossier met interviews uit hun archieven met Space Afrika, Duma, Spill Gold, Angel Bat Dawid, Jessica Moss, Matana Roberts en Vladislav Delay. Daarnaast p...

“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...

The performative character of the work of painter Koen Delaere can be compared to experiencing a live music performance or to making music in which meaning evolves while listening and playing. A spont...

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...

With a brush dipped in optimism, Tiago Caetano paints the melancholic Breton coast to turn it into the colourful palette of Brazil; luckily that warm wind will blow all the way to Utrecht for Le Guess...

African Head Charge performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2023 following the release of their new album 'A Trip To Bolgatanga'. You can now relive the performance with the full audio of the show, which is assured to put a smile on anyone's face.  About'A bad attitude is like a flat tire - you can't go anywhere until...

Location: Neude What happens when you embrace noise? FROM NOISE is an audio-visual sculpture consisting of countless noise frequencies. The noise is used as a building block in an abstract landscape...

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...

U?, het gratis toegankelijke stadsprogramma van Le Guess Who?, viert lokale en creatieve communities, met een sterke focus op Utrecht. U? keert van 8-10 november 2024 terug voor de vierde editie. U? onthult nu het volledige programma voor 2024, met op zaterdag 9 november een festival-playground in het Cartesiusgebied, en daarnaast veel a...

In partnership with Mentha Project & BIE MusicThe project curated and produced by the Beijing-based BIE Music showcases the originality and creativity of China’s diverse indie music scenes with live sessions of Howie Lee, Hualun, Gong Gong Gong, Otay:onii, and Naja Naja. These globally established Chinese acts, who are asso...

Ana Faria Fainguelernt is Ana Frango Elétrico, the Brazilian indie wunderkind whose 2019 album, ‘Little Electric Chicken Heart’, garnered plural accolades and even a Latin Grammy no...

Catalan artist Marina Herlop performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by Animal Collective. Last year, we released the concert film with tracks from her 2022 album 'Pripyat'. Now that its follow-up is out, 2023's 'Nekkuja', we release the video of 'La Alhambra', one of the tracks from that new album.  "T...

An authentic showman, Índio da Cuíca radiates vitality and reveals to the world his expressive performance, original music and the charisma of a genuine Rio de Janeiro malandro. With a c...

Foundation De Pastoe Fabriek presents De Pastoe Fabriek favours a new international counter-culture to break the hegemony of the global financial institutions and to reverse the tide of narrow-minded...

An intimate portrait of the circumstances surrounding the creation of Jerusalem In My Heart’s live recording of “Wa Ta’atalat Loughat Al Kalam” (The language of speech has brok...

Foundation De Pastoe Fabriek presents De Pastoe Fabriek promotes the objective of good design from an aesthetical and corporate social responsibility perspective, stimulating designers to appreciate...

Starting off with a deep, sludgy bass line, 'Dig A Hole' is a new, bold track from the 'BC35' album, which celebrates the 35-year Anniversary of the BC Studio (the legendary recording studio founded b...

Meant to perform at last year’s LGW OFF event, in 2021 Gebroeders Dieleman van Eeckhout join the main line-up of Le Guess Who?. This project is carried out by unorthodox duo Colin H. van Eeckhou...

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...

With just one week left until Le Guess Who?, we are now publishing our official 2018 program guide, where you'll find all artist biographies, plus sections for Le Mini Who?, Lombok Festival, and our new satellite event 'Untitled', as well as a Utrecht Treasure Guide (with 40+ special offers for festival visitors) and several Illustra...

Right nextdoor to the chaos of Utrecht Central station is Perron West, an old train car revamped to serve as a get-together. Party by day in the Stiltecoupé; a channel serving silent disco by l...

This year, Le Guess Who? collaborates with Corderius College in Amersfoort in an educational project. Pupils were asked to choose one of the artists from this year’s line-up, and explore their background and inspiration. Based on this, they created a new visual image or product for the artist. Here's what they have to say about AMM...

Juan Juan taught his girlfriend to play the drums to his own songs, which draw on the music of Devendra Banhart and The Velvet Underground. His debut album ‘New Mexico’, recorded on a four...

In 1970, soul artist Jerry Williams, Jr. radically reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg: an anti-hero who smashes the conventions of commercial R&B music, and whose subversive lyrics earned him a spot on Richard Nixon’s infamous enemies list. Consequently, Swamp Dogg became one of the quintessential outsider figures in American musi...

The Flare Quartet, with violinists from the Netherlands, Spain and Canada, was founded in 2020 by a group of master students from the Utrecht Conservatoire. They are joining the  Palestinian, Syr...

The Fire Harvest balances beautifully between slow core, country-noir and post-rock. They master the art of dosage, of giving substance to their music in the right way so that tension is preserved. Wh...

Supervisory Board Hans van Soelen – chairman (end first period March 2026)Jorien Waanders – audit committee (end first period June 2026)Mark Laagewaard – audit committee  (end first period January 2027)Nancy Poleon – member (end first period January 2027)Ilayda Hagens – member (end first period January...

Japanese 10-piece ensemble Minyo Crusaders performed at Le Guess Who? 2019, following the release of their debut album ‘Echoes of Japan’, at one of the festival main stages: TivoliVredenburg's Grote Zaal. It became a life-affirming and glorious performance that you can now relive with the audio recording of the full show, and...

During Le Guess Who? 2024, we witnessed the magic of legendary Cumbia and Gaita ensemble Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, thanks to festival curator Mabe Fratti who invited them to Utrecht. Dubbed "the authentic masters of traditional Colombian Music" by the New Yorker, Latin GRAMMY-winning Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto have toured the world f...

Fera is a wild and adventurous new work that Egyptian artist Maurice Louca wrote over a four-year period. It was performed live at Le Guess Who? 2024 together with Ayman Asfour as part of Chromesthesia, curated by Hannah Elsisi. Below, you can watch Barĩy from the captivating performance and listen to the full audio of the show. ...

We're proud to contribute to Basilica Hudson's DRONE AT HOME online broadcast, April 24-25, with a special collaboration between Dutch visual artist Richard Bolhuis (who was also part of our 24-HOUR DRONE in 2014) and LGW19 artist Prana Crafter, who summons guitar meditations, kosmische drones, and mystic acid folk mantras.  Th...

Formula C is a 22 year old rapper and producer from Amersfoort. With a raw, complex and funky sound, he immerses himself in rap verses with lots of metaphors, tongue twisters and varying rhyme schemes...

The synthpop songs of the Utrecht one-man band Yakuni Tunes contain solid drum computer beats, dreamy vocals and layered retro keyboards. These songs go hand in hand with lyrics about heartache, faile...

This year, Kapitaal returns as the official Le Guess Who? 2021 Hangout. Utrecht's beloved independent print workshop collaborates with Kickstarter and Stranded FM to bring you a program with radio and DJ sets, interviews, live sessions, art exhibitions, film screenings, and all things print & sound from Friday 12 November till Sunday...

The synthpop songs of the Utrecht one-man band Yakuni Tunes contain solid drum computer beats, dreamy vocals and layered retro keyboards. These songs go hand in hand with lyrics about heartache, faile...

In partnership with Hassan Kamil & AndariyamagKnown for its strong rhythms, melancholy lyrics, and bittersweet taste, the Sudanese music scene is more active than ever. This Embassy features a selection of considerable Sudanese music and artists including Noori & His Dorpa Band, who mixes diverse genres using Noori's Tambo-guitar...

In partnership with stegi.radio.  stegi.radio is a 24/7 online radio station produced by Onassis Stegi and it is based in Athens. The radio’s conception was based on the values of freedom of movement and the idea of cross-culturalism, aiming to reflect a growing awareness of the power stemming from creating, maintaining and pa...

In partnership with U? U? is the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?. Now in its fourth edition, U? celebrates local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. The festival’s mission is to amplify local communities from the fringe, serving as a radical playground for experimentati...

Swamp Dogg, one of the quintessential outsider figures in American music, was the closing act of Le Guess Who? 2018, following the release of his latest album ‘Love, Loss, and Auto-tune’. Before his performance at the festival, Julian Brimmers sat down with the Southern soul maverick for a 'Fireside Chat', which is now availab...

Le Guess Who? exists to bring people together through art and music. In 2021, the international festival for boundary-crossing music and culture makes a new addition to the upcoming festival edition: U?, a new, participative and freely accessible day program created for and with the city of Utrecht. 

Le Guess Who? x Kapitaal x Stranded FM present: The Official Hang-out. Through live music, radio dj-sets, talks, art exhibitions, printing and all things that scream print and sound, Kapitaal will tra...

After a highly impressive performance in 2015, we can't wait to have dynamic, improvisational trio The Necks back at Le Guess Who? this November. Founded in Australia in 1987, the group have been happily making music on the fringes for over three decades, working outside of conventions and allowing stories to unravel with painst...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with Liquid Architecture In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. For over two decades, Liquid Architecture has grown from a student project to Australia’s premier festival for experimental and avant-garde music. In its current form,...

Fresh on the heels of her Sun Ra Tribute Album Red Hot & Ra : The Magic City and last year's The Omnichord Real Book, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and neo-soul movement igniter Meshell Ndegeocello has announced her second Blue Note album No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. The album is an homage to the e...

Not all adolescents find the support they need within the youth care. For those who don’t, IJzersterk has developed ‘Empowerment’. Professionals and hands-on experts support young pe...

Pakistani singer Faiz Ali Faiz gave a spectacular performance as one of the closing acts of Le Guess Who? 2023. You can now relive this glorious moment with our concert film, as well as the full audio of the show.  "Another kind of passion was found in the lovely old Vredenburg hall with the transcendent qawwali of Faiz Ali Faiz a...

We recently shared a series of artist portraits by Juri Hiensch, but he wasn't the only photographer present at Le Guess Who? to capture portraits: local artist Melanie Marsman also visited artists performing at the festival backstage to create a stunning set of portraits, including Moor Mother, serpentwithfeet, Vera Sola, Vashti Bunyan,...

Charlotte Nicole Victoria is a visual artist working at the crossroads of several mediums, especially printing, photography, and painting. She took a special interest in photography, exploring old pri...

With the ethos 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 the boundaries of expectations...

This year, Japanese psych-rock outfit Bo Ningen are one of the guest curators of Le Guess Who?, with their curation is dedicated to “representing the Bo Ningen community, with lots of collaborative projects and with a strong focus on audiovisual performances.” As an introduction to their program, Taigen Kawabe, lead singer a...

Every first Monday of the month, COSMOS broadcasts episodes of their radio show on Refuge Worldwide, highlighting their deep-running network of partners from around the world. On Monday, 7 October, from 2-4 PM, COSMOS returns with two new episodes. LE 18 For the first hour, we tapped our 2024 Embassy partners LE 18 for a guided tour thr...

Lombok Festival has been an official Le Guess Who? satellite event since 2017. Cycle or walk through Utrecht suburb Lombok's main street, and you're immediately welcomed by Turkish and Moroccan grocery stores, bakeries, the smell of kebab, and huge piles of colorful fruits sold in the streets. This years festival locations included the i...

The Utrecht squatting info hour (het kraakspreekuur) offers an alternative to the housing crisis by providing you with everything you ever wanted to know about squatting. Support your local squatting...

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,...

Moments of encounter carry worlds within them. An exchange of intimacy, laughter, care – sometimes even a sense of community. For YUMNA, creating meaningful moments for Muslim women is therefore...

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...

16:15 - 16:35 / De StadsjuttersTonto came out of the most perverted wet dreams of Lightning Bolt, Shellac, Zu, and Death Grips. You can call it noise, but it's groovy like hip-hop, and raw like punk....

The Late Frique Show, hosted by Arp Frique, is a late night talk show highlighting the music and artists you need to discover in order to grow and glow. The Dutch synth funkster making waves in the in...

Following the announcement of the curated programs and the initial names for the general program of Le Guess Who? 2022 last month, we are now adding four special projects to the program. These include the third edition of Hidden Musics and programs hosted by Coco Maria, GNOD, and Uncloud. Hidden Musics Le Guess Who? proudly presents the...

Stichting Le Guess Who heeft een Culturele ANBI-status. Een ANBI is een instelling die zich voor minstens 90% inzet voor het algemeen nut. Een ANBI is vrijgesteld van schenkbelasting. Voor een begunstiger van een ANBI betekent deze ANBI-status fiscaal voordeel in de inkomstenbelasting en de vennootschapsbelasting. KVK-nummer: 51954222RSI...

As Moor Mother, Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Camae Ayewa shapes the vocabulary of hip hop and energy of punk rock into a musical tour de force. Informed by history, Afrofuturism a...

The ‘Orchestre de Nouvelles Créations, Expérimentations et Improvisations Musicales’ (ONCEIM) is an orchestra of 34 musicians dedicated to the art of creation and experimenta...

Op zondag 22 oktober stellen we je persoonlijk het programma van Le Guess Who? 2017 voor in EKKO. Het festivalteam vertelt je over de totstandkoming van het wereldse programma en de verborgen schatten...

Centraal Museum presents Utrecht artist Robbie Cornelissen creates films, drawings and installations and was one of the main curators of the Centraal Museum exhibition De Line Up. Cornelissen is know...

Efterklang singer Casper Clausen presents his (yet to be released) solo music, made up in a small studio by the river in Cacilhas (Lisbon). With songwriting still in progress, Casper has only played s...

Keys of Light is a piano installation for everyone; it allows the audience to co-create the work by playing the piano. Every note that is played creates a pulse of light or visual element th...

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...

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...

This experimental duo, born from members of Dutch dream-pop ensemble Bird On The Wire, has been telling vivid stories with their music since 2017, the year in which they released their debut EP. Altho...

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...

Visit two art installations at Hof van Cartesius.Boomhut & FriendsBoomhut is an Utrecht-based collective and they focus on interactive and immersive art installations. Their works are not only abu...

Genre-bending singer Neneh Cherry performed at Le Guess Who? 2018, presenting work from her latest album 'Broken Politics'; you can now listen + watch part of the performance below:  Neneh Cherry - 'Shot Gun Shack', live at Le Guess Who? 2018: About:Across decades, Neneh Cherry traversed and transcended every known faction of the...

Through sampling and re-sampling of pre-recorded material and live performed pieces, Jos Smolders (modular synthesizer) and Guido Nijs (saxophone and other wind instruments) are trying to find new way...

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...

New Age & Folk Jazz pioneer Beverly Glenn-Copeland gave a very rare performance on the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2018 together with five-piece ensemble Indigo Rising. The performance was curated by both Devendra Banhart and Moor Mother. Beverly Glenn-Copeland - 'Sunset Village', live at Le Guess Who? 2018: About: After a twent...

New Age & Folk Jazz pioneer Beverly Glenn-Copeland gave a rare performance on the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2018 together with five-piece ensemble Indigo Rising. The performance was curated by both Devendra Banhart and Moor Mother. Now, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Transgressive Records have officially released the full recording of...

Singer-songwriter Immen has a warm, intriguing voice and knows how to evoke a dreamy atmosphere with a dark edge. While most of her songs are written in English, she sometimes reverts back to her Fris...

Sudan/UK collective The Scorpios performed on the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2018. Inspired by traditional Sudanese music and 60s and 70s pop, the group create an elated mix of Arabic rhythms, raw Eastern funk and vintage psychedelia. You can now listen to their full festival performance: About Having fled from the fundamentalists i...

Multidisciplinary arts center Basilica Hudson and Le Guess Who? will host the fifth edition of 24-HOUR DRONE from noon - noon on April 27 and April 28 in Hudson, NY.  The first wave of artists are now announced, including world-renowned Indian classical musician Maestro Khan with a performance of Indian classical/folk music for tabl...

For a very special, one-time performance at Le Guess Who? 2018, Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr enlisted an eight-piece ensemble featuring members of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. With this performance, Fohr further expanded the captivating compositions of her latest, acclaimed album ‘Reaching for Indigo’, which c...

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...

The initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019 has now been revealed. Delve into the music of all artists announced as part of the initial with our handpicked, official playlist. From Asha Puthli's cosmic disco anthem 'Space Talk' to the juggernaut industrial/metal of Godflesh, back to the vulnerable and healing music of La Bruja de...

Watch our concert film of Kim Gordon performing live at Le Guess Who? 2024, curated by Crystallmess, following the release of her latest, acclaimed album The Collective via Matador Records.  "The album's daring beats and improvised guitar are marks of a lifelong radical still at the peak of her powers.” – The New Yorker...

DJ Fitz is a regular guest of Le Guess Who? and to be considered our resident DJ, seeing that he has participated in pretty much each edition of the festival. Fitz is also one of the world’s primary authorities in making obscurities part of a larger canon, and he has now released a cassette with super rare melancholic jams...

After an overwhelming first edition in 2019, the celebrated concert series Hidden Musics returns to Le Guess Who? from 11-14 November 2021 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Hidden Musics presents international musical performances that are not usually experienced on stages or at festivals; these rich, often centuries-old musical traditions ar...

In partnership with POP Montréal.   POP Montréal International Music Festival is an annual not-for-profit curated cultural event that champions independence in the arts by presenting emerging and celebrated artistic talents from around the world. Launched by friends and colleagues in 2002 from the collective impuls...

Voor U? 2024 zijn we op zoek naar nieuwe en enthousiaste curatoren om hun communities en creativiteit op het festival te presenteren.

In partnership with B-62Egyptian artists Khaled and YUNIS take us on a tour through the music scene of Cairo. Through meetings, conversations and live performances with different artists, we’ll get to know the most important features of the music scene and get a grasp where it is heading.This Embassy presents musicians such as VII,...

We're very excited that this year, Le Guess Who? will coincide again (for the first time since 2018) with the Mega Record & CD Fair (November 13 & 14 in Utrecht), which is Europe’s biggest record fair. As a preview for both the festival as well as the fair, we're collaborating with The Quietus on a new series where we...

In partnership with Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in numbers. In 2022, a handful of activists and community radios from the Balt...

For almost 20 years, Le Guess Who? has been a sanctuary for adventurous music from all over the world, bringing people together through the power of sound. Now, we face one of our biggest challenges yet—and we need your support to ensure the next 20 years.

Le Guess Who? takes pace across 20 locations in the city center of Utrecht; ranging from churches and galleries to theaters and pop venues. Most are within walking distance from each other. Here are a couple highlighted.

Turkish independent magazine Bant Mag. created a series of Illustrated Stories about artists that are performing at Le Guess Who? 2021, giving an introduction to their life and career and what to expect from their festival performances. Bant Mag. has been bringing together new and exciting tendencies about music, film, arts and culture s...

Following the release of her debut ‘No Panic No Pain’, south London rapper FLOHIO performed at TivoliVredenburg’s Ronda during Le Guess Who? 2021. You can now relive the performance; listen to the full show below: "Lagos born, South London based MC, Flohio is ready to rage her way to the top of rap, passing by grime,...

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.  Following the publication of the first session, with pop noir singer/songwriter/guitarist Anna van Rij, we now share the session with new Dutch post-punk outfit Private Banking...

This November, Le Guess Who? will feature a rare performance (their first European show in over 15 years) of Egypt’s Mazaher: a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zar music: chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms used in a ceremonial event to cleanse the spirits and to clear away illness and discomfo...

Cavolo Nero is the ingredient for all kinds of Tuscan specialties, but also a six-piece band from Utrecht. The brand new project was born out of love for afrobeat and groove-oriented music. With inspi...

The Master Musicians of Jajouka, led by Bachir Attar, performed live at the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the Hidden Musics project following the release of their new album 'Dancing Under The Moon', released earlier in 2022 via Glitterbeat Records. You can listen to and relive the full performance below.  About B...

Throughout their decades-long musical partnership, Czech artists Irena Havlová and Vojtěch Havel have traveled far and wide, crossing continents, cultures and mediums with styles of European classical music ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary. In the process, the duo made fans and friends which include Sufjan Stevens and T...

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 t...

Le Guess Who?, considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals around the world, returns to Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 9-12 November for its 16th edition. We now reveal the full 2023 line-up, after previously announcing festival curators Heba Kadry, Nala Sinephro, Slauson Malone 1 and Stereolab, as well as performances by...

Vietnamese-French DJ, producer & label boss Anh Phi, who was involved in the creation of COSMOS' Vietnam Embassy Film in 2023, connects the dots between Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, and Berlin. To celebrate his debut EP, Bu​ô​ng, we proudly present this exclusive mix for COSMOS, dedicated to the buzzing Southeast and East Asian unde...

Drummer, composer, and bandleader Asher Gamedze formed a new 10-piece ensemble: The Black Lungs. Together they announce the new album Consitution, to be released on the 30th of August via International Anthem. The expansive double album - recorded in a one-day-session in Cape Town – is an elaboration of the possibilities of autonomo...

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...

London trio Moin, comprised of Raime’s Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead together with percussionist visionary Valentina Magaletti, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2023 as part of the program curated by Stereolab. You can now listen to and relive the full performance, featuring a previously unreleased track: "'Moin are subtly but br...

Every first Monday of the month, COSMOS broadcasts episodes of their radio show on Refuge Worldwide, highlighting their deep-running network of partners from around the world. On Monday, 5 August, from 5-7 PM, COSMOS returns with two new episodes. The first hour is curated by our friends from POP Montreál. The iconic Canadian fest...

We got an amazing amount of enthusiastic responds to our call for volunteers, so therefore we closed the registrations for now. However, schedules always change and there is a chance that a spot will open up. So sign up here and we'll get in touch as soon as possible. We are beyond excited to let you know that Le Guess Who? 2024 is upon...

Dance group Pieremachochel is a folk dance group from Utrecht. They have been keeping the rich Dutch folk dance tradition alive for almost 50 years. To this day they showcase Dutch folk dances to the...

Psychedelic noise-rock group GNOD has been working on rewiring the band's sound together with MC Sissi. This transformative collective now announces their upcoming collaborative album Inner Fucking Peace, out on the 25 October via Rocket Recordings. In anticipation of the record and of their show at Le Guess Who? 2024, the artists share t...

Ever since 1982, The Wire stands out as one of the best independent, in-depth print and online music magazines. The Wire celebrates and interrogates the most visionary and inspiring, subversive and radical, marginalized and undervalued musicians on the planet, past and present.  Leading up to Le Guess Who? 2024 we're very honored to...

For every record he spins, Pedro Ricardo takes on new challenges. The artist, who will be doing a DJ set at Le Guess Who?, relies on the strength of the grooves he plays, bringing forth a feeling of intense freedom to the dance floor through a selection of warm, inviting rhythms. Jazz-fusion, disco, and funk are to be expected, but house...

As a hallmark of the festival, each year Le Guess Who? invites trailblazing creatives to curate their own dedicated programs, highlighting fellow like-minded artists and those that have inspired them. For the 2023 edition, Le Guess Who? invited mastering engineer Heba Kadry, who curated a comprehensive program, weaving together an array...

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...

Dit jaar nodigde U? het Utrechts-Amsterdamse collectief 45ACIDBABIES uit voor een residentie in VOGELFREI. Tijdens deze residentie werkten ze aan een speciale performance rondom hun nieuwe album, dat een eerbetoon brengt aan en inspiratie haalt uit comic book-cultuur, video games, queerness, ballroom cultuur (vogue), eclectiek, kleur en e...

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...

As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024, Mabe Fratti presents some very special Mexican and South American acts that have influenced her personal development, including experimental jazz artist Germán Bringas. The short documentary Caminatas, created by Smiling C, dives into the life and work of the multi-instrumentalist and...

After an unforgettable closing set at Le Guess Who? last year, Paris-based artist and producer/DJ Crystallmess returned to the festival both as a performer and as a curator, presenting her very own program. Crystallmess combines elements of film, music, performance and visual art in her radically interdisciplinary work. In doing so, she...

Noura Mint Seymali performed on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2024 as part of the program curated by Arooj Aftab. You can now listen to, and relive, the full performance below.  Noura Mint Seymali is a nationally adored Mauritanian musical star, born into a prominent line of Moorish griot; West African praise singers, poets a...

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...

We’re pleased to announce that Khyam Allami, Animistic Beliefs, Natural Information Society, Antipop Consortium, Wayne Phoenix, Badume’s Band & Selamnesh Zéméné, Kim David Bots & Lyckle De Jong, Toumba, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Radio Choir performing Delius’ A Song of the...

Introducing HOUSE OF DAAN, a crochet and ceramic studio crafting unique, taboo-challenging items. They redefine love, sexuality, and the human body through vibrant wool, yarn, and porcelain creations....

Beyond just music, Mimosa, the new project by Mbé, Leyblack Beats and Luiz Felipe Lucas, is an in-depth socio-cultural manifesto in which the three artists analyze, with an archeological eye, t...

Regardless of where his muse takes him, electronic musician Nick León never loses sight of Miami's dance floor. The sound he curates for the club is dystopian in nature, evoking the chaos only...

BUI (Bevordering Utrechtse Improvisatie), an interdisciplinary music collective from Utrecht, presents ‘What are You building in There?!’. Performers, musicians, audience, and passersby ar...

Based between Amsterdam and Berlin, Insan Larasati is a community organizer, DJ, designer and inclusivity officer. With artist Shasti Andara they founded Nusaqueer Diaspora, an open-structured collect...

12:30 - 12:50 / De NijverheidScqxhbsvjjkalanmmdnnnsusaarrgrggggghhhghggggggzzzzhggzggsrrschttttzzzzztgggsschhrxrxrrrrrrschrwxzz

Each year, COSMOS – Le Guess Who?’s global music community – partners up with eight new Embassies to showcase their music scene. For this, we commission local filmmakers to portray t...

Each year, COSMOS – Le Guess Who?’s global music community – partners up with eight new Embassies to showcase their music scene. For this, we commission local filmmakers to portray t...

Each year, COSMOS – Le Guess Who?’s global music community – partners up with eight new Embassies to showcase their music scene. For this, we commission local filmmakers to portray t...

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...

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,...

BizaarWebWide is a collection of happenings curated and hosted by Raouf Alaïa, member of the BizaarWebWide collective. This event transforms the venue Kapitaal to a universe of outlandish express...

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...

Le Feast invites you into a living room in Utrecht, to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Would you like to join as a home-chef or guest? You can now sign up! “Le Feast is...

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...

A Study of a Shared Meal is an invitation to come together in the preparation and sharing of a meal. Inspired by Harney and Moten’s idea of “study” as what you do with other people,...

Johanna Constantine presents "Rise"&Kembra Pfahler and the Girls of Karen Black present "Fuck Island" Founded by New York-based artists Kembra Pfahler, Johanna Constantine and Anohni, Future Femi...

LGW19 Line-up Le Guess Who? 2019 featured programs curated by Fatoumata Diawara, Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins, Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed and The Bug. View the full line-up via the link below.  LE GUESS WHO? 2019 LINE-UP

Festival curator Slauson Malone 1 performed live at Le Guess Who? 2023 following the release of his latest album EXCELSIOR via Warp Records. On stage, he is joined by cellist Nicky Wetherell. Relive the performance with our concert film: Speaking about his role as curator at the festival, Slauson Malone 1 (real name: Jasper Marsalis) s...

London-based Mexican violinist, composer, and improviser Gibrana Cervantes performed live at Le Guess Who? 2024, as part of the program curated by Mabe Fratti. You can listen to the full performance below, featuring two unreleased tracks: ‘Blur of Memories’ and ‘Verdad vs. Error’, as well as ‘Moving Through...

Jaafar Touffar is a prominent Arabic Hip Hop artist from Lebanon. He has created a unique sound mixing Rap with Ataba (a traditional Arabic musical form) and Folkloric music that couldn't be studied i...

Hailing from the seaside communities surrounding Enoshima, a small island located 50 km southwest of Tokyo, Maya Ongaku is a collective of local musicians offering a transcending brand of earthy psychedelia. The group have just released their debut LP Approach to Anima via Guruguru Brain, the label founded by members of Kikagaku Moyo, wh...

"Moin are subtly but brilliantly reinventing rock music", wrote Pitchfork last year in their review of the London three-piece's album Paste. Rest assured, they keep doing exactly that with the release of their new EP Clocked Off, self-described as "Outsider jams that rolled out of the studio. Part experiments, part sketches."  Compr...

Driven by an appetite for boundless experimentation, producer and composer Ziúr has always been subverting expectations, corkscrewing through hardcore, metal and punk before veering towards electronic music's turbulent fringes. Today, the Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator announces her upcoming album Home, out on September 5th via K...

Raziyah Heath is an independent curator (a.o at Metro54), programmer, curious cat, hater, organizer, killjoy, lover, DJ and artist. At the moment she mainly delves into sonic realms/dimensions, and us...

LE 18 is a multidisciplinary cultural and residency space established in 2013 and located in the medina of Marrakech, Morocco. It aims to provide time and space for research, creation, encounter, mutu...

“KNOW THE PAST. CHANGE THE FUTURE.” Operating under this slogan, Detroit’s Underground Music Academy is a place to learn about the history, creation and business behind electronic mu...

PRAM’s sound is driven by an innovative rhythm section, where the drums pulse with command, while the bass grooves with a deep, experimental edge, exploring everything from krautrock to dub. A d...

Declared a ‘cult hero’ by The Guardian, Perfume Genius has invited Canadian songwriter and actress Mary Margaret O’Hara to Utrecht for a very rare live performance. The undisciplinar...

Ever the experimentalists, Rotterdam post-punk quintet Rats on Rafts bring their multi-disciplinary spectacle, Visions of Chapter 3, to Le Guess Who? for its first public-facing debut. And, as frontman David Fagan admits, there’s no telling just quite how it will all pan out…

What is Foodman? By the time whichever song of his comes to an end, the answer has yet to be found. Plunderphonics, footwork, ambient, house, techno, and an array of other genres coexist chaotically,...

Rizqita (they/them/dia) is a queer Javanese-Minangkabau transdisciplinary relational artist, community organizer, and DJ. They consider themselves as a spatial jockey in their arts, where their practi...

In the wake of an old family snapshot, Azka, now a young adult, embarks on a voyage down the corridors of their childhood—a sacred time when the seeds of awareness were sown, both of the externa...

While shooting photographs, Jip Jansen tries to capture a feeling. To portray an emotion. The images are timeless. Almost all the photos are shot in the Slachthuis, the most beautiful café in H...

On the decor of a desolate and rain-soaked pavement wanders a one-man orchestra, equipped with a scratched up sampler, a bunch of guitar pedals, and a tender falsetto. There’s a touching and com...

Birdcage Radio is a creative community and daily online radio that focuses on forward thinking events and dance music. Next to the events Birdcage is also a record label and collaborates with visual a...

In an richly textured blend of sound and re-imagining of the poetic music traditions of the Xhosa people of South Africa, Dumama joins forces with saxophonist and synth artist Pachakuti, and drummer-v...

“KNOW THE PAST. CHANGE THE FUTURE.” Operating under this slogan, Detroit’s Underground Music Academy is a place to learn about the history, creation and business behind electronic mu...

Step into an audiovisual realm of words as mirrors, in a framework of clatter. Welcome to Voice Actor’s pavilion. Surrounded by offering of poetry and recorded introspections, a small-scale cons...

Le Guess Who? & de Volkskrant bring you video portraits of artists performing at Le Guess Who? 2017. Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s devotion to spirituality defined the final decades o...

The First 5 Years Dive into our Five Years publication with pictures, reports and all the details about the first five editions of the festival.

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...

Le Guess Who? 2019 Line-up Le Guess Who? 2019 featured programs curated by Jenny Hval, Fatoumata Diawara, Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed, Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins and The Bug. View the full line-up via the link below.  LE GUESS WHO? 2019 LINE-UP

Following his recent collaboration with slowthai called 'Glidin', Gambia-born, Coventry-based rapper and BBC Sound of 2021 winner Pa Salieu is back with a new, three-song EP titled 'Afrikan Rebel'. This latest EP features guest appearances from Nigerian artists Tay Iwar, Zlatan and Obongjayar. Listen to 'Afrikan Rebel' below. The Face al...

Did you forget to walk by the merchandise stand during the festival? Or looking to do some Christmas shopping for your friends or loved ones? The official Le Guess Who? 2019 merchandise is now available in our webshop. Screenprinted by KapitaalThis year's festival merchandise features t-shirts, sweaters, umbrellas, tote bags, baby bodysu...

South East London producer, vocalist and DJ Coby Sey excitingly intersects contemporary club, DIY-art, and music production. After performing at Le Guess Who? in 2017, he now returns as part of the London collective & guest curators CURL, together with Mica Levi and Brother May.  This week, Coby Sey released his debut album 'Con...

Meshell Ndegeocello is a true multitalented and multifaceted artist: singer-songwriter, rapper, bassist, collaborator, GRAMMY-winner, neo-soul movement igniter. Yet, even when sinking seamlessly into each one of her many roles, she has always worn her artistry and identity as a proud Black queer woman on her sleeve.  You can now rel...

Powerhouse duo Lightning Bolt performed live at Le Guess Who? 2019 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, marking the 25th Anniversary of the band. The performance was curated by Patrick Higgins. Now, we're pleased to help you relive this intense show in both video and audio, captured at 2AM on Friday night at the festival. Listen + watch more Le...

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) Amsterdam dance-punk quartet Baby’s Berserk releases their self-titled debut album via Berlin’s Toy Tonics label. Drawing inspiration from the eighties' new wave and indie dance music, the album, composed by Mano Hollestelle, boasts highly associative lyrics from Puggy Beales a...

Have you ever heard of Roy and Silo, the famous male chinstrap penguins, who formed a pair at New York's Central Park Zoo? What about the red flour beetles who engage in same-sex relationships simply to practice mating? Did you know that clownfish can change their sex if needed? Or that among bonobos (who share almost 99% of their DNA wit...

Musician and poet Alabaster dePlume was Le Guess Who? 2021’s Artist in Residence and can be described as many things: a cleric of the written word, a maverick of sound, a conductor of communion. He garnered a substantial breakthrough in 2020 with his gorgeous compilation album ‘To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1’, a c...

Three years after her last Le Guess Who? showcase, Brooklyn-based, Pakistani singer and composer, Arooj Aftab returned to the festival in 2024 both as a curator and performer. "Aftab’s voice and her band’s musicianship are breathtaking on their own, but there’s an intimacy, a warmth, an un-self-seriousness that makes th...

Through their electrifying live performances, intersectional feminist firebrands M(h)aol are fostering an environment of unity and strength, and gaining a reputation that brought them to the iconic KEXP sessions stduio. In their performance, vocalist and drummer Constance Keane fearlessly drives the trio as they tackle the systemic oppres...

Over the past several years, we've been actively reflecting (both internally and in dialogue with various collaborators) on how the relationships between (cultural) institutions and grassroots organizations, collectives and communities can be more thoughtfully nurtured. We recognize that these relationships require careful and sustained a...

Charity Charly is a self-taught filmmaker and artist who focuses on making the invisible layers in society visible. She is currently working on her debut as a director for her first film ‘Tra Fa...

YoungWoman is an Amsterdam-based Egyptian DJ, producer and cofounder of Amsterdam’s first T4T Collective: Los Angles. With sets that feel like drinking an energy drink and hopping on a rollercoa...

Dianne Verdonk, Michelle Vossen and Roald van Dillewijn present and perform their new interactive installation bromwol. Literally meaning humming wool, they have mainly experimented with carded wool m...

Japanese-American musician and composer Patrick Shiroishi is best known for the new ways he bends notes out of the saxophone’s mouthpiece, both in a band setting (The Armed, Wild Up, and Upsilon...

Black creative music often becomes a powerful act of resistance and activism, and that’s certainly true for Asher Gamedze’s music. Through rolling drums and poetic reflections, the virtuos...

Balancing noise experimentation and pop vocal hooks, the music of Alpha Maid sounds like instinct brought to life: raw, urgent and a very necessary expression. As a guitarist, vocalist and producer sh...

Belfast-born polymath, Calibre, has spent three decades immersed in a creative journey spanning various artistic realms as a painter, multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer, producer, and DJ. Across 23...

You might have seen her walking around festival terrains around the globe, with a bag full of vinyls and a big smile on her face. Inventive collector and selector DJ Marcelle brings her iconic three-t...

Cycle or walk through Utrecht suburb Lombok's main street, and you're immediately welcomed by Turkish and Moroccan grocery stores, bakeries, the smell of kebab, and huge piles of colorful fruits sold...

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...

Le Mini Who? returns as part of Le Guess Who? 2018 on Saturday, 10 November. As a spin-off festival of Le Guess Who?, it transforms many of Utrecht’s local bars, restaurants, venues and warehous...

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...

During Le Guess Who? 2018, the Portuguese platform Canal180 traveled to Utrecht to capture a film in collaboration with the festival. Titled 'Representing the Underrepresented', it reveals the story and ideology behind Le Guess Who? and, following its March 29 premiere at MIL Festival in Lisbon, the film is now available to watch online....

VPRO Vrije Geluiden was aanwezig op Le Guess Who? 2019 en maakte twee prachtige televisiespecials die op zondag 17 en 24 november werden uitgezonden op NPO1. Daarin zijn zowel sessies met festivalartiesten, opgenomen door Vrije Geluiden in het Academiegebouw in Utrecht, als live registraties van het festival te zien. Zondag 24 november:...

Dreamcrusher, the project of multidisciplinary artist Luwayne Glass, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by clipping. You can now listen to his performance below, released via Dreamcrusher for Bandcamp Friday.  Live at Le Guess Who? 2022 by DREAMCRUSHER AboutDreamcrusher began on Kansas-born, New Yor...

WTF Gallery & Café was founded in 2010. The gallery has consistently embraced progressive thinking and pushed the barriers of what a small independent art space can sustain and present in terms of diverse art forms. A pioneering successful independent space, WTF is a vital meeting point for local artists and offers a rare platf...

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...

In partnership with LE 18 LE 18 is a multidisciplinary cultural and residency space established in 2013 and located in the medina of Marrakesh, Morocco. It aims to provide time and space for research, creation, encounter, mutual learning, and the cross-pollination of knowledge. The space has developed organically and through a collaborat...

With its cosy and colourful atmosphere, picturesque canals, breathtaking medieval city centre and buzzing nightlife, the city of Utrecht is a hidden gem full of lovely people and stunning places. Selected with great care, Le Guess Who? would like to introduce you to the 2022 edition of the festival's Treasure Guide.  In the mood for...

Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński presented his album Žaltys live at Utrecht’s Pieterskerk during Le Guess Who? 2024, accompanied on stage by Lithuanian singer and kanklės player Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė and American multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. You can now listen to the full performance, which was co-curated by Unsound as pa...

In partnership with Hassan Kamil & AndariyamagKnown for its strong rhythms, melancholy lyrics, and bittersweet taste, the Sudanese music scene is more active than ever. This Embassy features a sel...

During Le Guess Who? 2017 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, Canadian singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O’Hara gave a very rare live appearance, curated by Perfume Genius for the festival. We are extremely proud to now be able to share the video recordings of the performance, premiered by The Wire. Declared a ‘cult hero’ by The...

Now that we've revealed the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2023, including the curated programs by Heba Kadry, Nala Sinephro, Slauson Malone 1 and Stereolab, it's time to start your musical discovery again. Take a deep dive into our official festival playlist. 

Le Guess Who? is een internationaal toonaangevend festival voor grensverleggende muziek en cultuur van over de hele wereld. De vijftiende editie vindt plaats van 10 tot en met 13 november 2022 in Utrecht. Le Guess Who? presenteert geluiden die je op andere plekken niet te horen krijgt, maar volgens ons juist aandacht verdienen omdat ze j...

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) NAR and 3voor12 Utrecht have wanted to collaborate for a long time, and now, it’s finally happening. The program contains music with influences from different countries and various music styles. The bands and music are both challenging and exciting, aligning with the festival’s...

For every record he spins, Pedro Ricardo takes on new challenges. The artist, who will be doing a DJ set at Le Guess Who?, relies on the strength of the grooves he plays, bringing forth a feeling of i...

In partnership with Oroko Radio.  Oroko is a not-for-profit independent internet radio station based in Accra, Ghana. We aim to connect, inspire and empower through conversation, collaboration a...

Interview: Ozan Tekin x IDGK “İstanbul’u Dinliyorum Gözlerim Kapalı” is the title of a poem by Turkish poet Orhan Veli Kanık. It beautifully describes a city best experienced with all senses wide open. A sentiment that our 2025 COSMOS Embassy IDGK shares so much, that they’ve borrowed their name acronym from...

Chuck Strangers fell in love with hip-hop in 2005; for his thirteenth birthday, he was gifted an Akai MPC2000, the iconic workstation immortalized by the likes of J Dilla, Kanye West, and many more. F...

When electronic producer, DJ, and performer Liliane Chlela relocated from Lebanon to Canada in 2021, she was faced with a tough choice; as an artist from the diaspora navigating a mostly white music m...

Over the years, Taiwanese-born, Montréal-hailing Alex Zhang Hungtai (formerly Dirty Beaches) has dived fully into the role of composer. Tinkering with the saxophone, synthesizers, percussion, and piano, Zhang has embraced the free form, focusing on explorations of improvised music, free jazz, and ritualistic music of liminality....

Enigmatic would be one word to append to this mysterious British contemporary producer and singer-songwriter. As a Black, Caribbean-British musician, Florence Sinclair’s music is like a flower w...

Istanbul’s one and only wildflower Haossaa’s music will hit you like a ton of bricks. The spirited three-piece will make everyone in attendance want to scream, mosh, and pick up a guitar t...

Stachel is a two-piece punk band from Utrecht, influenced by old German and Dutch punk. Their mostly political lyrics match with their DIY attitude: self-recording and self-distributing their records...

Maurice, AKA Mau’s Acid Machine, is a Rotterdam based performer and DJ. Combining a passion for tinkering and electronic music, Maurice was put on a path of patching and modulating to build his...

B3CKI is a DJ, visual artist, and aspiring musician from Jakarta, Indonesia based in Cologne, Germany. As a DJ, B3CKI's sets always include hard-hitting drums mixed together with distortion, deconstru...

A musical hunter-gatherer, Badreddine Haouat, AKA Retro Cassetta, has spent years digging through crates in the lookout for North African music gems. His gargantuan cassette collection forms a musical...

Birth of Manuel is a Faxe-powered punk band from the Utrecht underground scene. Founded by members of Throwing Bricks, Ontaard (performed at U? 2023) and Ciao Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jon Jovi Jon, with the g...

United Screens for Palestine is an open and decentralized collective of programmers, cultural workers and venues, responding to the paralysis brought about by the ongoing genocide as well as the incre...

Hong Kong producer gyrofield is a rising star whose influences span a.o. drum & bass, ambient, techno, hyperpop, grime and dubstep. After a period in Bristol, they have recently moved to Utrecht, and their curation at Le Guess Who? 2025 features musical heroes and like-minded artists. Together with fellow DJs & producers Ciel, Cal...

Some music instruments carry a whole world of tradition, faith and culture. It’s the case of the tanbur, a millenia-old lute strongly tied to the city of Kermanshah (western Iran). Its practice...

As a meticulous producer of hyper-detailed IDM soundscapes and disassembled dubstep tracks, Objekt has an unpredictable and unique approach to DJing. Feeding off spontaneity and crowd energy, he could...

Producer 33EMYBW uses abstract dance music to explore the mysteries of humanity and its evolution. Her deconstructed club compositions draw inspiration from IDM, folk music and a wide range of visual...

The inception of wild ensemble Earth Ball was serendipitous: they emerged from Vancouver Island embracing complete improvisation, free expression and a truly psychedelic sound. Each member brings a di...

As part of her guest curation at Le Guess Who? 2025, trailblazing percussionist Valentina Magaletti takes the stage for a special improvised set. Her versatile technique, which can incorporate anythin...

Le Guess Who? aficionados are certainly familiar with the work of multi-talented artist Alabaster DePlume, whose instrumental and lyrical creations radiate healing and empathy. Often joined on stage b...

Poet, musician, actor and director Saul Williams is the groundbreaking artist who introduced the world to the slam poetry movement–with the film Slam (1998)–and a vital voice in alternativ...

There aren't many interviews with Grouper's Liz Harris around, but now, she's spoken with Love Lion about her dreams, adventures and the things she likes doing the most. Read the full interview here....

As a spin-off festival of Le Guess Who?, Le Mini Who? transforms many of Utrecht’s local bars, restaurants, venues and warehouses into improvised venues for (mainly) Dutch underground bands to p...

(Nederlandse versie hieronder) Between a partnership of more than 40 Dutch festival, a new initiative emerged, called ‘Geef een Toegift’ (‘Give an Encore’). Festival visitors...

Le Mini Who? is a spin-off festival of Le Guess Who?. It turns venues, cafes, art spaces and even a fire station of the fast-developing and creative area Cartesius into improvised venues for (mainly)...

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 place for craftsmanship and de...

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...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Centraal Museum As co-creative director for Björk on visuals, mask-maker James Merry is primarily known for his hand embroidery on sportswear, but he also create...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver Part film, part baptism, in Black Mother director Khalik Allah brings us on a spiritual journey through Jamaica. Soaking up its bustling metropolises and...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's a synth-driven song by singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart, with nonchalant nods to disco. ...

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...

As the boundary-breaking serpentwithfeet, New York producer and songwriter Josiah White bridges the gap between the sensual and the spiritual with a blend of experimental R&B,...

Besides being a captivating composer, violinist, and vocalist, Jessica Moss is also a skillful story-teller. Listening to her first solo ventures, one is immediately transported into the icy Montreal...

Born to a Gabonese father and a Singaporean mother, Devi Mambouka is a quintessential child of the world. After relocating to the United States at twelve, she found singing an unlikely refuge. Nowaday...

In 2020, Lyra Pramuk published a picture of her vocal cords on Instagram – a display-case of the force behind her debut album ‘Fountain’, arranged entirely from the sound of her...

Luc Bersier, Low Bat, Leonard Prochazka and Ariel Garcia may all hail from different places in Western Europe, but the Jean-Luc project drew them together to make several vibrant EPs – each...

The work of Ottawa-born, Paris-based musician and singer Mélissa Laveaux brims with defiance, cheekiness, and pride, combining lost traditions with modern influences like psych rock, calypso, folk pop, and punk.  In an interview with The Guardian, Laveaux talks about her third and most recent album 'Radyo Siw&e...

Facts & Figures Browse through our Facts & Figures magazine, in which we offer you an insight into the impact and results of LGW ON/OFF, with data from both events, photos, and quotes from media.   Press Archive Our archive includes press previews, reports and interviews for ON/OFF. Have a look at all published articles...

Norwegian-German saxophonist Bendik Giske has likened his art to the one of a machine, but, still, through his music - most recently his second solo album, 2021’s ‘Cracks’ - there is...

Glaswegian singer, guitarist, improviser, and experimentalist Richard Youngs has always been a super-productive musician, with over twenty releases over the last two years alone. Now, he adds the new album 'Foot Songs' to the collection, which is released through his own label No Fans Records.  In January 2019, Youngs also released...

Photo Gallery Our photo team captured a lot of special moments during Le Guess Who? 2012. Take a scroll through our 2012 photo archive:  VISIT PHOTO GALLERY

Linton Kwesi Johnson's impressive body of work includes stints as reggae poet, political orator, recording artist, and author/journalist. His 1978 reggae album Dread Beat an' Blood is a statement akin to Gil Scott-Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. A vocal personality who fights oppression against black youth, the Jamaica-born...

Rotterdam’s Rats on Rafts’ most recent album, ‘Chapter 3: The Mind Runs A Net Of Rabbit Paths’, is proof of their ambition - and even more so is their one-off performance at Le...

Australia's Tropical Fuck Storm maps their own music from noise-rock and post-punk. This August, the band released their new album 'Braindrops' through Joyful Noise and now they share a new video for album track 'The Happiest Guy Around'. Directed by Glendon and Isabella, who are also known as 'the animators for the stars', we s...

Kazakh-British composer and violinist Galya Bisengalieva performed her latest album 'Aralkum' in full live at Le Guess Who? 2021, as part of the program presented by Uncloud. You can now listen & relive the entire performance.  "It has been speculated how the current environmental crisis we face will inspire musicians, the sam...

Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and record label owner John Dwyer was one of the curators for Le Guess Who? 2021, presenting his personal program with inspirations and fellow like-minded artists. As part of the curation, Dwyer also performed twice himself on the final day of the festival: first with jam-loving c...

Georgia's Pankisi Ensemble performed live at Le Guess Who? 2023 as part of the Hidden Musics program. Now, you can relive this touching performance with the full audio of the show, recorded at Utrecht's Jacobikerk during the festival. AboutThe Pankisi Ensemble goes against the typical 'ethno-fusion' grain in two ways. First, by not res...

Audio Recordings Listen to performances of the Microphones, Mazaher, FLOHIO, Slumberland feat. Sainkho Namtchylak, Zwangere Guy, Suuns, Ice Balloons and Plague Organ. VISIT AUDIO ARCHIVE

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...

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...

After the death of krautrock legend Christian Burchard, his band Embryo continues, led by his daughter Marja. Is it possible to build musical autonomy on top of such a rich heritage?IDFA (Internationa...

Baskot Lel Baltageyya (meaning ‘cookies for thugs’) is a Cairo-based project headed by musician Adham Zidan and poet Anwar Dabbour. From the start, Zidan has resisted the idea of it being...

This year, LGW is collaborating with IDFA, one of the world's leading documentary events. IDFA believes in the power of documentary film as a high-quality, artistic form of information and reflection. We’re presenting a film program on Friday, Saturday & Sunday during LGW22. This program is screened at Slachtstraat Filmtheater...

When UK-based experimental collective Ex-Easter Island Head steps on stage, the electric guitar - an instrument whose possibilities sometimes seem to have been exhausted - is born anew. Mechanical preparations, extended techniques; call it what you want, but, to us, it's more like auditory magic.  Watch our concert film of the group...

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...

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...

As we’re gearing up for Le Guess Who? 2023, we are proud to present a new collaboration with Choo-Choo to offer visitors an easy and sustainable way to book their international train journeys to and from the festival.  With Choo-Choo you can travel sustainable by train to & from different European cities. These routes are...

The European Jazz Network (EJN) is the Europe-wide association of 170+ organizations and promoters from 34 countries who specialize in creative music, contemporary jazz and improvised music. Every year since 2012, the EJN awards a European promoter who succeeds to create visionary and fascinating musical programs.  Le Guess Who? is...

Le Guess Who? presents 'The Big Playback', a podcast about all things music. Episode 3 is a four-part series entitled 'For the Record', exploring the role of the archivist from all angles, released in weekly installments. In this new series, host Margaret Munchheimer talks to an independent archival collective in Indonesia; a sound and p...

This November, Le Guess Who? will feature a special performance by Pakistani qawwali singer Faiz Ali Faiz. Having been born to seven consecutive generations of qawwals (those who perform the ancient form of religious Sufi music from Pakistan and Northern India - Punjab - known as qawwali), Faiz Ali Faiz was raised on the practice. After...

In collaboration with Le Guess Who? and Garage Noord, the celebrated Dominican-American multi-disciplinary artist Kelman Duran presented a residency & club night including Emma dj, Torus, Bamoa Yende, Pebble, Noise Diva and WHYDJ. Kelman Duran went to Amsterdam for a one-week residency, making music with local communities and hosting...

After more than a decade of silence, we're absolutely thrilled to announce the return of Old Time Relijun, "one of the most distinctive and feral rock groups", in the words of The Stranger. Headed by the idiosyncratic Arrington de Dionyso, the group is celebrated for their raw and life-affirming songwriting. After qui...

‘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...

The village of Cileunyi, located in the mountainous areas surrounding Bandung, West Java, is home to Reak, a spiritual trance ritual that has existed in the region for hundreds of years. Seni Reak Juarta Putra, an original community of the Reak ceremony, offers this year’s Le Guess Who? audience a rare glimpse into the ritual. Th...

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) On Saturday 14 September, U? presents a program at HE:LEEN Festival in the Le Guess Who? office. This year, HE:LEEN Festival returns to Rotsoord for a new edition full of talented musicians, artists and performers. The festival highlights the creative and energetic appearance of the area....

London's Dry Cleaning performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 following the release of their sophomore album, the John Parish-produced Stumpwork. You can now relive the performance with our concert film below. It features the Stumpwork-tracks No Decent Shoes For Rain, Don’t Press Me, Conservative Hell and Driver’s Story as well a...

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...

As prominent as the English are in pop music, their role in symphonic music is modest. At most about five composers have made a bit of a name for themselves. These include Frederick Delius. The Englis...

Some people are worth waiting for - and Ustad Noor Bakhsh is certainly among them. Having had to cancel his performance at Le Guess Who? last year due to health issues, the electric Benju master is th...

Musician Mazis, raised in Iran of Azerbaijani descent, now living in Utrecht, shares new single Life After October. He secretly recorded the song during the years he lived in hiding and solitude. "Using only a guitar, a violin and his voice, he created a poignant song about life." - 3voor12 Utrecht Mazis tells his story with musi...

Nia Archives is bent on taking space in jungle as a young black woman, representing her Jamaican roots - and succeeding, becoming one of the most talked-about newcomers to the jungle scene. In March, she released her 'Forbidden Feelingz' EP, with the title track becoming a future classic. In that same month, she won the NME Award for Best...

Coming from Ramallah, Palestine, Al Nather has been making waves in the Arab hip-hop scene both as a producer, DJ and rapper. Raised in Jerusalem, songwriter and rapper Shabjdeed rose to fame in the M...

West Java is home to Reak, a spiritual trance ritual that has existed in the region for hundreds of years. Seni Reak Juarta Putra, an original community of the Reak ceremony, offers this year’s...

Jagannathan Sampath, or DINfidel, is a computer programmer who makes music on his computer called DIN Is Noise. Sampath started his screen career elsewhere, as he began writing computer animation soft...

(Nederlandse tekst hieronder) Following the success of last year's pilot, we are continuing to offer Low Income Day Tickets for Le Guess Who? 2025. This initiative is specifically for those who otherwise would not be able to attend the festival. This initiative arises from the fact that we hear that the ticket price is still one of the...

Fiftieth anniversaries call for spectacular celebrations, and that is just what Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble are embarking on this year. To commemorate half a century of conti...

Melbourne foursome Tropical Fuck Storm's fiery flavor can be savored through a string of releases dating back to 2019 - but there is nothing quite like devouring the thunderous delicacy live, as we experienced again at Le Guess Who? 2024. Watch the concert film below. The group's new album 'Fairyland Codex' is out now via Fire Records.&nb...

A crossover between American duo The Body, who have been tinkering with noise and metal since 1999, and Berlin-based DJ, producer, and vocalist Felicia Chen (AKA Dis Fig) was bound to make the earth s...

As Demdike Stare, Sean Canty and Miles Whittaker’s encyclopedic knowledge of music - a result of their voracious appetite for crate digging in their youth - is made crystal clear. Hailing from t...

On the same day as his Nick León b2b, LA-based abstract electronic music icon Kelman Duran is linking up with multi-faceted artist Franziska Aigner, AKA FRANKIE. There is a lot of crossover in...

smother is an Amsterdam-based doll of many trades: DJ, freelance writer, communications girlboss at a cultural fund, and co-founder of trans-femme Los Angles Collective through which she organizes T4T...

Waterschade is a young punk band from Haarlem who do not like patriarchy, racism and, of course, capitalism. They express this with tight bass lines, hard riffs and lots of screaming. With a mix of ha...

Dez Dare is a one-person fuzz beast, who has been recording out of his home studio for the past 5 years and has produced some of the weirdest and catchiest, fuzz-induced, electronic, garage, punk, to...

South East Londoner Emma Warren has been documenting underground music culture for decades. The author of Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through The Dancefloor (2023), Make Some Space: Tuning Into Tot...

Driven by chance and unpredictability, Utrecht-based artist Gert Wessels creates work that emerges intuitively and reactively. In his process, form takes precedence, without being guided by a rigid th...

Born from the ashes from other unknown bands, Human Dogfood is a three-piece punk group hailing from the suburbs of Paris. Music-wise, two vocalists scream and shout on fast three-chord (max) songs. T...

‘Pedestrians Of Bright Silence’ sees Weak Moves frontman Jesper Vervoort transform into a one-man orchestra, equipped with a sampler, guitar pedals, and a soft falsetto. Dusty yet razor-sh...

The artist formerly known as D-Ribeiro has, over the years, learned to embrace new disciplines. Namely, the otherwise well-known DJ has been deepening his identity as a harpist, composer, and stage pe...

Nearly fifteen years after bursting on the scene with debut ‘Splazsh’, Darren J. Cunningham, AKA Actress, is still pulling the wool over our eyes. This year, our earbuds are blessed with &...

Sadaa Sound Syndicate presents Sawt Syria, a two-part essay film that delves into the inner worlds of the alternative music scene in Syria and its exilic diaspora in Europe. Through intimate conversat...

Degeneracy Regeneracy is an immersive audiovisual exhibition of five interconnected artworks, each unfolding like a chapter in a larger narrative. Set within a single space, it explores the cyclical r...

Abdullah Miniawy, who previously graced the LGW stage with Le Cri du Caire, is an Egyptian expressionist, writer, singer, composer, who has performed worldwide at renowned venues and festivals, includ...

​​Santuri East Africa is a community-focused music innovation hub based in Nairobi, Kenya. Their goal is to bring about a more equitable, authentic, and diverse music industry. For a full decade, the...

LE 18 is a multidisciplinary cultural and residency space established in 2013 and located in the medina of Marrakech (Morocco). It aims to provide time and space for research, creation, encounter, mut...

​​Santuri East Africa is a community-focused music innovation hub based in Nairobi, Kenya. Their goal is to bring about a more equitable, authentic, and diverse music industry. For a full decade, the...

Because of the eagerness in broadening the intersectionality of the punk scene and approaching a more interdisciplinary approach, community curator Bibi Bannink has invited, in collaboration with dB's...

Partners in marriage and art, Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and Frank Rosaly’s ‘MESTIZX’ builds upon the sounds of their respective ancestral roots in Bolivia, Brazil, and Puerto Rico....

This year, Le Guess Who? attendees will again be treated to a performance by DNA? AND?, an Oslo-based improvisation project unlike any other. This is because the group is made up of professional music...

‘Sent From My Telephone’, Voice Actor’s genre-defying debut was quietly released by Stroom in 2022. The collaboration between Noa Kurzweil (Supertalented) and Levi Lanser (Ludittes)...

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...

“Do you know how to touch everything and be kind about it? To be strong. To keep all the life. A change is gonna come”. The closing words of Lonnie Holley’s latest album, Tonky, echo...

Across 24 years, sound and multimedia artist Raven Chacon has built an extraordinary body of work, appearing in over eighty solo and collaborative appearances, including with the influential collectiv...

Merope’s roots lie deep in the soil of Lithuania’s folk songs, vividly evoked through the resonant sound of the kanklės (a traditional string instrument) and their ancestral singing. Joine...

Sought after for her adventurous and protean DJing style, Ciel is an innovative producer and selector whose sets incorporate a diversity of genres she loves, from drum & bass and house to electro...

Like a lucid dream, the chants of multidisciplinary artist and musician Daisy Rickman intertwine a mystical connection between an ode to her Cornwall and the cosmos that holds us. The singer-songwrite...

With their most recent album A Soft and Gatherable Star, Jabu channels insomnia and inebriation into hazy tracks brimming with longing, fragmented memories and psychotropic experiences. Evolving from...

The music of Kathryn Mohr exists in a liminal space of auditory dissociation. Whether led by guitar or synth, her art chases the ephemeral nature of humanity through dark ruminative songs. Her latest...

Can samba carry a message of redemption? With his celebratory albums Curyman and Curyman II, Rogê seeks to spread joy, “so that we don’t give in to sadness, to laziness, to a lack of...

When Blueberry Boat (2004) was released, Pitchfork described it as “a record for the overgrown part of our brain that craves engrossing complexity”. At the time, The Fiery Furnaces, consis...

As punk and grunge continue to resonate across generations, post-hardcore band Unwound are leaving a mark in every decade they’re touching. Formed in 1991 in the Pacific Northwest, they lit up t...

Amirtha Kidambi’s music is grounded by a deep commitment to social practice. The composer and her ensemble Elder Ones confront and resist systems of oppression with compositions of sonic activis...

Lebanese legend Abdel Karim Shaar is the last of his generation still performing classical ‘Tarab’ repertoire: a musical form that expresses a state of emotional transition. Shaar develope...

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...

Phil Elverum's latest Mount Eerie album ‘A Crow Looked At Me’ opens with the words "Death is real/someone's there and then they're not". The album is a deeply personal document of grief, h...

In Utrecht’s suburb Lombok, you're immediately welcomed by Turkish and Moroccan grocery stores, bakeries, the smell of kebab, and huge piles of colorful fruits sold in the streets. The impressiv...

Sonic tinkerer Paddy Steer dives into the realms of lo-fi pop, new age, acid jazz and cosmic funk like a kid with a new box of crayons. With a multitude of instruments at his disposal, this Manchester...

Born and raised in China and currently residing in Berlin, Pan Daijing is a groundbreaking artist, composer and storyteller who creates a raw and rare mixture of noise music, performance art, dance an...

Experimental rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA vouches for a stunning and destructive performance, delivering a thorough reminder that in a dangerous world, sometimes nowhere is safe. Earlier this year, t...

Fela Gucci and Desire Marea are on a mission. As performance art duo, FAKA could just as easily be labeled as a cultural movement. With a combination of sound, live performance, literature, video and...

Kelman Duran presents‘To The North II’ is an experimental documentary by Dominican producer, multimedia artist and filmmaker Kelman Duran. It is the follow-up to ‘To The North I&rsqu...

Hidden Musics Grammy-winning producer and author Ian Brennan has accumulated a resume that would make anyone in his fields blush. Brennan’s most pertinent and important work, however, isn&rsquo...

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...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver, hosted by John Doran (The Quietus) Hream follows the 25+ year career male nurse and adult music student Doug Hream Blunt as he embarks on a world tour, p...

In a new episode of Red Bull Radio's Open End, Circuit des Yeux premiered her cover of 'Soeur de Race', from French-Portuguese avant-garde singer Catherine Ribeiro. With her band Alpes, Ribeiro r...

With roots in both Venezuela and L.A., Devendra Banhart has been making highly singular music for a long time. Over the decades, he has shown us that he is an eclectic artist capable of both reinventi...

Jazz musician and poet Alabaster dePlume is Le Guess Who? 2021’s Artist in Residence. DePlume can be described as many things: a cleric of the written word, a maverick of sound, a conductor of c...

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...

It has been speculated how the current environmental crisis we face will inspire musicians, the same way warfare and social justice have. Perhaps no current artist embodies this prediction as heartily...

Tokyo's sound artist, mastering engineer and record label founder Chihei Hatakeyama has released his new album 'Afterimage': a record that was composed in inspiration from a photograph that...

The guitar has always occupied a special place in Spanish music - namely in flamenco, where players often perform with complicated and acrobatic techniques. But Madrid-born Víctor Herrero rose...

A sort of Japanese Clark Kent, Shinji Masuko is a journalist by day and a rockstar by night. He unleashes his otherworldly persona on stage on not one, but two projects; iconic Osaka experimental rock...

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...

At the center of this neo-soul joint’s music lies one sentiment above all others; perseverance. With their latest record, ‘Love and Hate in a Different Time’, Gabriels – v...

Daniel Romano has always been a free and restless spirit, as well as a gifted and masterful musician. His new brainchild is Ancient Shapes: a fast and rebellious punk poetry outfit. Now, the...

Automatic is a fairly recent Stones Throw export, and the positive attention captured by their debut, 2019’s ‘Signals’, prove they are a successful gamble for the left-field label. T...

Before coming together more recently, Eddie Chacon and John Carroll Kirby may have seemed completely different characters in music. Chacon had experienced proper fame in the mid-nineties, as part of t...

According to the band itself, it was a ‘common misinterpretation of psychosis’ that led Ice Balloons to start making music. The Brooklyn-based noise/rock band features Sean Kennerly (Samia...

Colombian ambient producer Lucrecia Dalt composed a commissioned piece for the exhibition De Line Up at Centraal Museum Utrecht, which displays a rich overview of the power of drawing from the 1950s to the present. We caught up with the exhibition's curator Robbie Cornelissen at the opening of the show, and visited Lucrecia Dalt in Polan...

The Bug's Kevin Martin has announced his new solo album 'Sirens', to be released via Room40 on May 31st. It is the first time the electronic producer and composer releases a record under his real name. 'Sirens' is about the emotional rollercoaster that Martin experienced becoming a parent, heightened through the complex circumstances...

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...

Le Guess Who? 2018

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...

Program & Other Guides Dive into our 2016 Program Guide with artists biographies; info on Satellite Events like Le Mini Who?, Le Gig Poster and Le Bazarre; and Juri Hiensch's Photo Exhibition on 10 Years of Le Guess Who?. You can also read our 2016 Treasure Guide: our festival newspaper with background stories on arti...

As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2018, Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Moor Mother invited flutist, composer, poet and educator Nicole Mitchell for a performance at the festival. It ended up not being a solo performance though, but an exclusive and improvised collaboration between herself and Moor Mother. No...

Nearly a hundred years after the birth of surrealism in Europe, folk artist Anastasia Coope is keeping it alive and well in upstate New York. Both disruptive and whimsical, this nineteen-year-old pain...

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...

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...

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

Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021. Curated by Matana Roberts for the festival, it marked the group's European live premiere. Now can now relive the performance with this video of the ensemble performing 'The Body Is Electric' from their latest & acclaimed album 'NOW'.  AboutThe past and...

The Master Musicians of Jajouka, led by Bachir Attar, performed live at the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the Hidden Musics project following the release of their new album 'Dancing Under The Moon', released earlier in 2022 via Glitterbeat Records. You can listen to and relive the full performance below.  About B...

Asher Gamedze is a cultural worker based in Cape Town, working mainly as a musician, writer, organizer and an educator. With his band, he performed live during the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2022.  You can now listen to three tracks that the group performed live from their 'Dialectic Soul' album (2020): 'Eternality', 'Siyabulela...

Sarathy Korwar performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 on the night preceding the release of his new album 'KALAK'. You can now relive the full performance below, which includes tracks from that album, as well as 'Coolie', performed live together with Alabaster dePlume.  AboutBorn in the US, Sarathy Korwar grew up in Ahmedabad and Ch...

Le Guess Who? takes pace across 20 locations in the city center of Utrecht; ranging from churches and galleries to theaters and pop venues. Most are within walking distance from each other. Here are a couple highlighted.

Panda Bear & Sonic Boom performed at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of Animal Collective's curation, following the release of their latest album 'Reset'. Relive the performance below with our concert film, which features the songs Everyday, Edge of the Edge, Danger, and Livin’ in the After.  AboutSix years ago, Peter Kember,...

Renowned rai singer Cheikha Rabia & Esraa Warda, a prolific dancer expert in traditional North African dance forms, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the Hidden Musics project. Relive the mesmerizing performance at TivoliVredenburg's Pandora via our concert film below: AboutCheikha Rabia and Esraa Warda both hail from...

One year ago, Le Cri du Caire released their hauntingly beautiful, self-tilted debut album. We are now thrilled to share the recording of their mesmerizing performance at Utrecht's Jacobikerk during Le Guess Who? 2023, where the group performed the majority of the album, as well as new material. AboutSinger, writer, poet, and expressio...

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...

November 2025 Le Guess Who? exists to bring people together through music and culture. U? is its participative and freely accessible city program celebrating local and creative communities.Le Guess Who? heeft het doel om mensen samen te brengen door middel van muziek en cultuur. U? is het gratis toegankelijk stadsprogramma van Le Guess...

3voor12 Live Sessions At Club Nine on the top floor of TivoliVredenburg, the main location and hub of Le Guess Who?, Dutch broadcaster VPRO 3voor12 recorded live sessions with artists from LGW21. Watch live sessions featuring Bendik Giske, Automatic, Mario Batkovic, and Vanishing Twin. WATCH 3voor12 LIVE SESSIONS

Dutch-Surinamese artist Pink Oculus premiered her new project 'Before Wisdom' live at TivoliVredenburg during Le Guess Who? 2021. 'Before Wisdom' is a special collaboration with audiovisual artist Boris Acket, spatial designer and scenographer Dennis Vanderbroeck, and writer Vincent van Velsen.  The newest video to appear online now...

Catalan artist Marina Herlop performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by Animal Collective, following the release of her latest album 'Pripyat'. Relive the mesmerizing performance with our concert film below, featuring the songs miu, doiloi, abans abans and shaolin mantis.  *Update: following the release...

General info about U?Algemene informatie over U?

A transcendental opening ceremony took place at the start of Le Guess Who? 2024, thanks to a special collaboration between the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra and visual artist Arion de Munck, who presented the world premiere of Hadra Immersive at the festival.  The Hadra is an ancient northern Moroccan ceremony that leads participan...

Six years ago, Peter Kember, or Sonic Boom, traded his England home for Portugal. Partly, his move was to be closer to Animal Collective’s Panda Bear, with whom the Spacemen 3 founder had forged...

Levan Luka Nakashidze is a Georgian Music producer and DJ. During his career Luka moved through various music genres with the alias Exit!. 
His mixes are often eclectic, versatile and contain multiple...

Under his EDWVN moniker, Edwin produces thoughtful, otherworldly music that genuinely pushes against the African grain. His music taste and production style aim at expanding the existing boundaries of...

In partnership with Santuri East Africa Santuri East Africa is a community-focused music innovation hub based in Nairobi, Kenya.Their goal is to bring about a more equitable, authentic, and diverse music industry. For a full decade, the Santuri organization has been supporting, highlighting, and releasing a mix of contemporary and tradit...

“Unfamiliar” sounds, from “unknown” parts of the world. Exoticizing entire cultures from a global North perspective, such are the traditional descriptors attached to so much of...

There is a thread binding London and Johannesburg, of which internationally-acclaimed ensemble The Brother Moves On is part. Founded by artist Nkululeko Mthembu and his brother Siyabonga Mthembu, the...

Jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements came together in the wake of the killing of Akai Gurley by a police officer in 2015. Their sonic poetry, which echoes not only black struggle but also black...

Backxwash is a rapper and producer born in Lusaka, Zambia. The music she makes is cathartic, expressive and based on her lived experiences. Her latest album ‘HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN...

A nice surprise came our way recently. The sound engineer at De Helling during Le Guess Who? 2021 was able to capture the intense performance of Dutch outfit Plague Organ. Or at least, almost the entire performance: apparently the engineer was so overwhelmed upon the start of the show that he was about half a minute late with starting the...

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...

Born in Maryland, the artist known as MHYSA was enamored with singing from an early age, performing at church and school. In 2015, she debuted with ‘Power Cuts’, a strong indicator of what...

Upon hearing the richness in their tracks, you’d be surprised to discover MEMORIALS is not a 5-piece band, but, rather, a duo made up of Verity Susman (frontwoman of Electrelane), and Matthew Si...

Brooklyn-based composer, musician, and producer Faten Kanaan uses counterpoint as a narrative tool to create music that is mysterious, smudgy, and deeply melodic. From the repetitive structures of mod...

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) U? is the freely accessible day program of Le Guess Who? In 2023, U? takes place on 11 & 12 November. With this open call, we want to give everyone with ideas the opportunity to participate. The program of U? consists a multitude of events and activities which are c...

Join us for a short video about the trials and tribulations of a non-profit record archiving initiative, Irama Nusantara, and its employees during the pandemic. Irama Nusantara is a non-profit foundat...

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...

Over the years, Taiwanese-born, Montréal-hailing Alex Zhang Hungtai (formerly Dirty Beaches) has dived fully into the role of composer. Tinkering with the saxophone, synthesizers, percussion, and piano, Zhang has embraced the free form, focusing on explorations of improvised music, free jazz, and ritualistic music of liminality....

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Goa, India Following different collaborations with Le Guess Who?, including for LGW Embassy: Goa, India which debuted last November, COSMOS talks to Rana Ghose (REProduce) about risk-taking as a focus area; instinct as a curatorial aspect and how Goa differs from the rest of India. As one artist chimes in: "E...

For Le Guess Who? 2022, Baltimore quartet Animal Collective has curated their own program featuring their their inspirations and fellow like-minded artists. While Animal Collective themselves unfortunately had to cancel their performance (instead, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom will perform after releasing a spectacular album earlier this ye...

Despite being raised on Hendrix and Knopfler, Omara 'Bombino' Moctar breathes new life onto his strings with the mission to earnestly share the beauty of Tuareg culture with others. The first-ever GRAMMY-nominated artist from Niger was raised amidst governmental violence and persecution, and the force of resistance is brought out in each...

Alejandra Cárdenas, or Ale Hop, and Laura Robles grew up houses apart in Lima, Peru, without ever meeting each other; now, the two musicians, currently based in Berlin, are presenting ‘Ag...

*Update: Personal Trainer have released their debut album 'Big Love Blanket' in full, listen below: Big Love Blanket by Personal Trainer Just a week before Le Guess Who? 2022, Personal Trainer will release their debut album 'Big Love Blanket'. It's as euphoric, energetic and colorful as the band itself is, and to whet your appetite, the...

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) For a long time, the Utrecht collective (...) Centraal was hardly visible online, but that has now changed: on June 30, their debut single 'Spokenjong' was released. It is the first single from their upcoming EP.  “The collective of (…) Centraal makes everythi...

Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021. Curated by Matana Roberts for the festival, it marked the group's European live premiere. Now can now relive the performance with this video of the ensemble performing 'The Body Is Electric' from their latest & acclaimed album 'NOW'.  AboutThe past and...

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...

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. This year, even more neighborhoods a...

Released with Pharoah Sanders’ blessing, Luaka Bop now presents the definitive, remastered version of Pharoah, the trailblazing saxophonist’s seminal record from 1977. Misunderstood upon its release, the album has long been a holy grail and has been bootlegged for years. Featuring two previously unreleased live performances...

We got an amazing amount of enthousiastic responds to our call for volunteers, so therefore we closed the registrations for now. However, schedules always change and there is a chance that a spot will open up. That's why we opened a waiting list. You can sign up for the waiting list here.Please keep in mind that being on the waiting list...

Baltimore quartet Animal Collective has been reshaping the face of what is easiest to call indie rock since the dawn of the new century. Their return earlier this year with ‘Time Skiffs’, the band’s first album in more than half a decade, marked a true return to form.  Recently, the group visited the Massachusetts...

Nusantara Beat is an Amsterdam-based six-piece, consisting of members of EUT, Altın Gün, Jungle By Night, POM and Surf Aid-Kit. Through Swiss label Les Disques Bongo Joe and Indonesian label La Munai Records (who are also one of our COSMOS Embassies this year), they now announce the release of their second EP, on which they breathe n...

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...

With her Quechua pop music, songwriter Luzmila Carpio has been one of the most influential artistic and spiritual ambassadors of Andean communities. Between innovation and ancient tradition, she spreads messages of indigenous struggle, female empowerment and love for the environment around us. Luzmila Carpio is bringing her iconic voice t...

U?, het gratis toegankelijke stadsprogramma van Le Guess Who?, kondigt met enthousiasme een nieuwe samenwerking met Music Moves aan. Music Moves is een trainingsprogramma waarin je een eigen muziek event organiseert voor mensen die daar niet vanzelfsprekend toegang tot hebben. De dansvloer is vrijheid, een plek om elkaar te ontdekken en...

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...

Today, the Beirut-based free-rock post-folk sextet SANAM releases their debut album, 'Aykathani Malakon ص​ن​م - أ​ي​ق​ظ​ن​ي م​ل​ا​ك​ٌ'. The album is mixed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem in My Heart), who was one of the guest curators for Le Guess Who? 2017, and mastered by Heba Kadry, who is one of the guest curators for Le Guess...

Last month, Baskot Lel Baltageyya (meaning 'cookies for thugs'), a Cairo-based project headed by musician Adham Zidan and poet Anwar Dabbour, released their self-titled debut album. An album that serves as an extension of their phantasmagoric live show. Baskot Lel Baltageyya by Baskot Baskot Lel Baltageyya started as...

Already at an early age, Lole Montoya decided that she wanted to dedicate her life to singing. But not only did she indeed become a singer, she also redefined the flamenco genre by bringing in new influences, genres and poetry. Her skill has been displayed across a long repertoire, which includes her work as part of the renowned duo Lole...

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new collaboration was initiated between Amenra's Colin H. van Eeckhout and idiosyncratic folk artist broeder Dieleman. With a live premiere scheduled at LGW that year, unfortunately this has to be cancelled last-minute due to COVID restrictions, but the duo did record a collaborative album, support...

Every first Monday of the month, COSMOS broadcasts episodes of their radio show on Refuge Worldwide, highlighting their deep-running network of partners from around the world. On Monday, 2 September, from 4-6 PM, COSMOS returns with two new episodes. Buh Records The first hour is curated by Peruvian avant-garde stalwarts Buh Records who...

Le Guess Who? is a Celebration of Sound. From 10-13 November, the festival returns to Utrecht, The Netherlands, for its 15th Anniversary Edition. We now reveals the guest curators and their full curated programs, as well as the first artists for the general program. Curated programs by Animal Collective, clipping., and CURL Inviting gue...

This São Paulo-based horn driven instrumental group’s music draws a link between the past and the present; as written by PopMatters, the band balances a sense of modernity with musical in...

New York City singer-songwriter Joanna Sternberg has made a delightful splash this year, with the release of their second album ‘I’ve Got Me’, which music critics were quick to showe...

Born and raised in Jordan, DJ and producer Yazan Zyadat, aka Toumba, is now based in London, where he fashions lithe club bangers that melt Middle Eastern elements with dubstep basslines and clatterin...

For the June episodes of COSMOS' monthly show on Refuge Worldwide, we’re connecting the dots between Panama and Pakistan, with mixes by River Down Records and Hamnawa Magazine. Aquiles Navarro, River Down Records (Panama City, Panama) Our 2025 COSMOS Embassy River Down Records is a label from Panama City, dedicated to document...

Mabe Fratti’s benchmark new record, ‘Sentir que no sabes’, comes two years after her stunning Le Guess Who? performance. This year, the Guatemalan-born, Mexico-based vocalist, and ce...

Beneath Still House Plants’s post-rock skin thumps a glowing pop heart, and this year’s ‘If I don't make it, I love u’ reveals the UK trio’s anatomy better than any previ...

Thrilling experimental pop artist Lido Pimienta spent the past few years studying European classical music to embark on a new ambitious journey. Shifting far from her previous electro pop sound, she remains as captivating and exuberant as ever. Influenced by the solemnity of early Christian hymns, her new album La Belleza is a grand orc...

Montreal-based artist Quinton Barnes releases his new ambitious album Black Noise. Released via Watch That Ends The Night Records, the record takes an assuredly different approach to radically innovate his methods of expression. It presents a bold sonic evolution and showcases the talents and efforts of a diverse collective of Montreal-ba...

Drones are a powerful force, capable of whisking our thinking mind far, far, away. Austin-based octet Water Damage yields the same power whenever they pick up their instruments. Veterans from other pr...

In anticipation of his Friday performance, Wadada Leo Smith is kicking off this year’s Le Guess Who? with Creative Music. For this special showcase, arranged by curatorial platform Touching Bass...

Shards’ Kieran Brunt has been singing William Byrd since his college chapel choir days, and, in a sense, had been unconsciously setting up to release ‘Byrd Song’. The London band&rsq...

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 collaborations, we're starting a new interview & music series call...

Le Guess Who? announces a new ticketing strategy in collaboration with CM.com (formerly Yourticketprovider) and resale platform TicketSwap. From now on, we are implementing Ticketlock. It’s a feature that prevents fraud and increases reliability, and also means that it’s no longer possible to profit from the reselling of festi...

Watch our concert film of Kim Gordon performing live at Le Guess Who? 2024, curated by Crystallmess, following the release of her latest, acclaimed album The Collective via Matador Records.  "The album's daring beats and improvised guitar are marks of a lifelong radical still at the peak of her powers.” – The New Yorker...

Hand-painted sound systems, often adorned with dazzling colours and striking imagery, each with its own name and sonic identity: for decades, the Picó mobile discos have become the heart of neighbourhood bailes on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The sounds of genres like champeta, highlife, soukous, mbaqanga, zouk, soca, and cumb...

M. Takara (Hurtmold, São Paulo Underground) and Carla Boregas (RAKTA, Fronte Violeta) have been making strides in the Brazilian music scene in their regard for years, but, as a duo, they feel l...

Touching Bass is a London-based musical movement founded by Errol and Alex Rita, comprised of a community-come-club night, record label, staple NTS Radio show, concert series and curatorial studio. Since its inception, Touching Bass has steadily established itself as one of London’s most important musical incubators, gaining cult s...

London’s Lunch Money Life has gone dark; their social media displays only a stoic 2025 date. Before then, however, they will play their single show of the year at Le Guess Who?. The band is boun...

Vocalist Martin Kanja (or Lord Spikeheart), has become a nominal head in the Kenyan metal scene - first with speed-core group Lust of a Dying Breed, and later alongside Le Guess Who? alumnus Duma. Now...

During Le Guess Who? 2024, we witnessed the magic of legendary Cumbia and Gaita ensemble Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, thanks to festival curator Mabe Fratti who invited them to Utrecht. Dubbed "the authentic masters of traditional Colombian Music" by the New Yorker, Latin GRAMMY-winning Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto have toured the world f...

London-based Mexican violinist, composer, and improviser Gibrana Cervantes performed live at Le Guess Who? 2024, as part of the program curated by Mabe Fratti. You can listen to the full performance below, featuring two unreleased tracks: ‘Blur of Memories’ and ‘Verdad vs. Error’, as well as ‘Moving Through...

The Growth Eternal is a spiritual, afro-surrealist bass & vocoder music project. Tulsa, Oklahoma native Ghalani started the project in 2018, disillusioned with academia while trying to connect wit...

U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, is dedicated to celebrating local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. Through public programming, U? aims to connect people and foster personal encounters. U? returns 8 & 9 November to Utrecht for its fifth edition. The festival no...

Ottawa-born Myriam Gendron settled in Montreal at age sixteen, working as a book dealer. Her kinship with literature resulted in her first release ‘Not So Deep As Well’, being a nine-track...

Calm Roots was born on NTS as a regular exploration of Alex Rita’s (Touching Bass) collection’s most meditative tones. It resonated with listeners globally to such a degree that now it has...

Japanese psych-rock outfit Bo Ningen is no stranger to Le Guess Who?. After several performances, they returned to the festival in 2024 with their own curation dedicated to 'representing the Bo Ningen community', with many collaborative projects and a strong focus on audiovisual performances. "Bo Ningen, one of this edition’s curat...

On lead single ‘Cociage’ - a preview of her 2023 debut album of the same name, released on Nyege Nyege - the voice of Ghanaian-French producer and vocalist PÖ, stacked on top of thick...

Before the release of her first record a decade ago, Quebecois musician Myriam Gendron was busking in Paris, singing Leonard Cohen songs. In a striking full-circle moment, the artist’s newest re...

A masterclass in how to be unmissable, Kenyan polymath Kabeaushé’s music compels us to prick our ears, stop, and listen. 2023 was huge for the artist and producer, who emerged from it wit...

Hopeton Overton Brown picked a perfect alias for himself. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, the ingenious recording engineer became known for delving into his practice, tinkering and practicing in order to f...

Christmas In Mourning is a collaboration between Beirut’s electronic musicians Sary Moussa and Abed Kobeissy, and the Greek Orthodox tenor of the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem’s Lauren...

After featuring on ‘COSMOS Embassy: China’, multifaceted Chinese-American artist Otay:onii is fully taking her practice (which spans music, performance, installation, and film composition)...

Maurice Louca is one of the most talented names to have emerged from Egypt's thriving experimental arts scene. He is continuously exploring new avenues for his sound. A restless creator, Maurice Louca...

Brussels-born, Rotterdam-based singer-songwriter Viana Afoumou creates ‘something like’ experimental pop. “Suddenly, I was surrounded by horses. I sat by the water to refresh my feet...

Damaris is a theatrical vocalist who performs written and/or instant poetry. She will let the words float and chase each other, and you will follow the journey of her thoughts flying away and bou...

A mixture of essences is what u can expect when you hear DJ C4MPURS4R1 on the decks. Inspired by traditional and modern sounds, they'll deliver something where your body can't help but to move.

We-Art is a theater group for cosmic citizens. Beyond the boundaries of the everyday. Beyond everything we think we cannot be. The freedom to exist without limits. In this place where there is nothing...

Dua Rasa, meaning “Two Flavors” in Indonesian, represents the collaborative efforts of Ezanneo, an undergrad cultural researcher, specializing in food and space design, and Samsara, an art...

From Utrecht to the world, CARISTA is more than just a DJ. Tapping into her talent for whisking listeners on faraway dancefloor journeys, the magnetic music producer and curator genre-hops effortlessl...

The film installation 'Memory Lost' is heralded as a masterpiece in the career of photographer Nan Goldin, whose work is raw, intimate and tender, often intertwined with her own life experiences and w...

The process of composing music for a film is intricate. Weaving together specific sounds and visuals to evoke certain emotions requires immense imagination and dedication. How does a creator of moving...

Nothing is more noble, more impactful, and more challenging than trying to make a difference in your immediate surroundings. While the practice of creating space and opportunities for those around you...

Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle sits between the mountainous regions of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. The locals call it Sop Ruak - miles and miles of rocks, and, well, opium. London’s Sex Swing...

A new wave is washing over Gnawa, the traditional North African music genre started by the Gnawa people of Morocco. Despite being an essential part of the tradition, only now female bands are appearin...

18:00 - 18:20 / dB'sAfter spending some time testing the musical capabilities of everyday equipment DJ Ninja Hagen is now doing a hybrid DJ performance. From 20 to 2000 bpm.

Project ITC is a long-term artistic initiative that explores practicality, human relations, and community-building. They are a duo project initiated by Rizq(i)-(ta) Naherta, and in collaboration with...

Xitsonga, the Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of South Africa, is a dialect ripe with oral tradition - folktales, proverbs, and songs. South African rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and...

Since his teenage years growing up in Portugal, Rafael Toral has felt enticed by the potential of sound. Rising to prominence via his nineties guitar work, the experimental musician set the instrument...

Sri Lankan multi-disciplinary artist Tehani Amarasuriya and Minneapolis-born, Rotterdam-based co-creater of a tattoo, textile, and photography studio - dedicated to providing gender affirming, body em...

Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in...

Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in...

Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński presented his album Žaltys live at Utrecht’s Pieterskerk during Le Guess Who? 2024, accompanied on stage by Lithuanian singer and kanklės player Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė and American multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. You can now listen to the full performance, which was co-curated by Unsound as pa...

Back in 2018, poet/vocalist Saul Williams presented a special performance at Le Guess Who? in collaboration with King Britt, entitled Unanimous Goldmine, curated by Moor Mother. This year, Saul Williams returns with another collaboration, this time with percussionist/producer Carlos Niño, as part of Lonnie Holley's curation at the...

During Le Guess Who? 2021, Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie / The Microphones) was one of five guest curators for the festival. Aside from putting together a personal program of inspirations and like-minded artists, Phil Elverum also performed live with guitarist Jay Blackinton to present Elverum’s latest album, 'The Microphones In 20...

Representing the cutting edge of Istanbul’s vibrant improvisational music scene, this brand new trio tells stories of humanity, spirituality and community. Through the tension of jazz experiment...

For over a decade, visionary multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge has been redefining contemporary music through his work in the recording studio Linear Labs, the cultural imprint of multimedia platfor...

Free jazz improvisation: check. Punk approach: check. Sound art extravaganza: check. Mopcut is the extraordinary trio consisting of experimental vocalist and electronic musician Audrey Chen; one of Eu...

The phenomenal rapper Lady Lykez is a veteran MC hailing from North London. Her dynamic force and razor-sharp words showcase an innate ability to command the stage and capture the audience. Beginning...

Even though her discography is very diversified - ranging from trippy left-field to experimental drum & bass and oddball techno - something that permeates all upsammy’s tracks, is the organi...

After her formative years in church choirs, Julianna Barwick drew on the most celestial qualities of the human voice and choral music to blend them through loops into the wild world of experimental mu...

Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator Tianzhuo Chen invites two influential figures of the Chinese music scene to perform and improvise together on stage. Groundbreaking guitarist Li Jianhong is a pioneer...

HULUBALANG is the latest project from inventive electronic producer, sound artist, label founder and DJ Kasimyn, known as one-half of Gabber Modus Operandi. Driven by the urge to experiment, the proje...

Pianist, sound artist and multi-instrumentalist Dirar Kalash works across a wide range of musical and sonic practices, moving between composed and improvised forms of free jazz and avant-garde. His wo...

Imagine a spectral, sinister version of Tokusatsu - the Japanese live-action films or television programs. Inspired by their use of hand-made special effects, DIEMAJIN assemble cursed beats, warped sa...

The eclectic practice of artist and musician Klein has found home at a variety of different locations. Museums, galleries, yards, squats and pubs have welcomed her projects, reflecting the varied and...

Layered vocals, electronic experimentation, field recordings and film intertwine for a special performance influenced by the present, to imagine a sonic future for Palestine. Experimental singer-songw...

Multi-instrumentalist Yara Asmar is set to mesmerise listeners in the flesh. Her whimsical and haunting pieces showcase intimate glances into the world of the musician - also a video artist, puppeteer...

Over the last decade, BIG|BRAVE have been forging their unique sound by embracing guitar feedback and cathartic energy rooted in doom metal, drone, slowcore and folk traditions. Always loyal to their...

Get ready for a great reggae celebration with the exceptional vocal harmonies of The Congos. As one of the last iconic Jamaican bands to retain their original lineup since the 1970s, they embody unity...

With their ecstatic and singular sound, experimental rock quartet YHWH Nailgun displays an innate ability to translate a primitive spirit into a modern form. It’s no coincidence that polyrhythmi...

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. 

The incomparable Instant Composers Pool Orchestra are like the Jedi Knights of improvisation: a collective of musical marvels hacking the conventions of their individual instruments, setting an arena...

Les Amazones d’Afrique are a gathering of some of the strongest artistic voices of West-Africa campaigning for gender equality. These musicians and vocalists have joined together to create a for...

Roy Montgomery has been a staple artist of Kiwi imprint Flying Nun. The native of Christchurch lives in an environment often struck by natural disasters, which could be why his work generally has a su...

‘’7: Triptychon - Dreamtime' is an interdisciplinary project: a combination of dance / performance, a three-dimensional art installation and a magical ritual that makes Nicole Beutler phas...

Willis Earl Beal has gone incognito as a new masked superhero persona: Nobody. By leveling everything all the way back to zero, Nobody can continue to captivate with the idiom of his previous guise: a...

Though a prosaic name like Circuit may not jump at you on a festival poster, this bunch’s modus operandi epitomises all kinds of absurd. Circuit isn’t so much a band as it’s a lab of...