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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 recent years, audiences have been surprised to learn that some of their favorite festivals were bought up by private equity funds—often with values far removed from the communities these fest...

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.

“Enigmatic, astral minded” multidisciplinary artist Semiratruth opens portals through words and the alchemy of found sounds, in-between abstract hip-hop and sound collage. As a nuanced sto...

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...

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...

Composed by Low Jack, Lacrimosa is a contemporary requiem in eight parts that follows the journey of a day, from sunrise to sunset. Deeply tied to the composer’s own life, the work reflects on l...

Stockholm musician and composer Ellen Arkbro is motivated by generating and absorbing sound. Whether she has her hands on a 400-year old pipe organ or a grid of digital equipment, the results are equa...

Indulging in distorted guitar drones, weed420 takes you on a venture exploring memory, politics and the experience of uprooting. The collective blends noise, lo-fi and maximalist vaporwave; somber clo...

Once upon a time, W.I.T.C.H. ruled Zambia. In the seventies, the band responsible for pioneering ‘zamrock’ often needed police to control the crowds riled up by lead singer Jagari (whose n...

Little Blue Nothing is an intimate journey into the world of Irena & Vojtech Havlovi, two low-profile Czech viola players who live in the suburbs of Prague, out of society. The two musicians recor...

Amsterdam-based group Devon Rexi, founded by Nic Mauskovic (AKA Nicolini, former Le Guess Who? artist) and Nushin Naini, create dubby, playful experimental music. The fried-Farsi vocals are sung in th...

Hailing from Amsterdam, The Mauskovic Dance Band is a brainchild of producer and multi-instrumentalist Nic Niggebrugge, a.k.a Nicola Mauskovic. After years of playing drums for bands like Jacco Gardne...

Ahead of his performance at Le Guess Who?, shamanic painter Joe Coleman gives us a glimpse into his immersive work process. “Computers are very odd to me,” Brooklyn-based painter and perf...

Following the release of her latest album ‘Designer’ last year, New Zealand songwriter Aldous Harding performed at Le Guess Who? 2019, becoming one of the audience’s highlights of the 13th edition of the festival. The show rendered instrumentation and voice into the most vivid and impressionistic of scenes. Harding&...

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...

Community is a paradox—both a contemplative sanctuary and a battlefield, a place where we find ourselves and can lose ourselves all at once. But what does it mean to collectively inhabit? What h...

De Voorkamer is a meeting space for newcomers and the local community. A platform that uses the different personalities and talents of newcomers as a tool for communicating with the local community. D...

Femme+ connection in pressured times In a noisy and pressured world, we come together through music, care and connection: We Survive in Sync is a femme+ gathering hosted by The FemDem, a collective o...

This workshop starts with a lecture which is necessary to attend for participation. Join Dirar Kalash at At The Sonic Front: this double program focuses on the relationships between sound, silence, t...

Join Dirar Kalash at At The Sonic Front: this double program focuses on the relationships between sound, silence, time, space, and their positions and configurations within multiple layers of everyday...

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. 

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...

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.

Having fled from the fundamentalists in their home country of Sudan, the original members of psychedelic group The Scorpios established themselves in London during the 80s. After releasing their self-...

DJ Murat is Utrecht's own party-starter. He effortlessly mixes Moombahton, Urban and Afro beats - guaranteed to get you in the right mood. DJ Murat began his musical journey at BOKS (the creative hots...

Designed for contemplation, Sphaîra is an immersive sensory experience and an audiovisual interpretation of sound artist Sara Persico’s homonymous album. It incorporates field recordings f...

DJ Haram x CAMP: "Anti-Format, Beside Myself & Finding your Sound"Nestled in a picturesque village in the French Pyrenees, CAMP organises onsite and online workshops and residencies with arti...

What sensitivities do we need to keep in mind when organising in diasporic contexts? Community organiser, designer, DJ and co-founder of Nusaqueer Diaspora, Insan Larasati, shares their experience wit...

In this talk, artist Mihir Raina (Lacuna) shares his practice of working with sound archives, from large institutional holdings to intimate personal collections. His research asks how these fragile an...

De Dansers & U is an immersive dance concert for everybody, guided by choreographer Josephine van Rheenen of Utrecht-based dance company De Dansers and accompanied live by musicians from performan...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & BAK - basis voor actuele kunst Le Guess Who? and Jeanne van Heeswijk connected the Chicago-based pianist, clarinetist and composer Angel Bat Dawid with visual artist,...

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

(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...

U? takes place across several locations in the Cartesius area and we present events throughout the city; ranging from cafes and galleries to music venue and clubs. Most are within walking distance from each other. U? Venues

After performing across Europe over the last years, Mark Ernestus' Ndagga Rhythm Force returns to Le Guess Who? 2025 with the exciting new album Khadim, an explosive and contagious mix of dub techno and mbalax drumming. Led by by percussionist Bada Seck and singer Mbene Diatta Seck, the ensemble - joined by an extensive cast of character...

Fellow is the studio of Lotte Bongers and manufactures purses and bags from leather furniture, amongst other things. This way of upcycling creates a unique product with a story and history. In additio...

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...

This year, U? will have it’s very own ‘sustainable’ merchandise station. No one other than Utrecht’s infamous Birdguy, who created this year’s U? artwork, has designed a...

Following the success of last year, Birdguy will be back with his mobile merchandise station. Aloïs van Bruchem, aka ‘Birdguy’, creates multidisciplinary work. He is best known for hi...

Le Feast invites you to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Whether you’re sharing festival tips, memories or recipes, or simply enjoying the moment, Le Feast invites y...

Le Feast invites you to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Whether you’re sharing festival tips, memories or recipes, or simply enjoying the moment, Le Feast invites y...

Every month, U? hosts a reading group: a shared space to gather, reflect and think alongside one another. This special edition happening at the festival, is hosted by writer & activist Saina Salar...

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...

Six standalone stories are featured in this film, which are united by a common theme of violence and vengeance. Director Damián Szifrón takes the idea of human behavior of people in dist...

Lightning Bolt’s floor shows are the stuff of myth and legend, unleashing a hailstorm of noise that would leave every venue smoldering in dust and vapors for weeks. Two decades after their accla...

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...

Music Scenes From Around The World

At Le Guess Who? 2024, residential photographers Melanie Marsman and Juri Hiensch captured a stunning series of artist portraits surrounding their performances at the festival. Part of the series features, among others, Ghanaian-French producer and vocalist PÖ and musician, producer and composer Jowee Omicil, who both performed...

Leave it to Dominican-American booth wizard Kelman Duran to surprise listeners at every turn. The LA artist, musician, visual artist, filmmaker, and academic’s electronic abstractions derive fro...

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...

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...

Experimental electronic hip-hop duo H31R–composed of producer JWords and rapper maassai–forge a synthesis of electronica and hip-hop that results in an enigmatic but complementary sonic ex...

Each year, COSMOS partners up with a number of new Embassies to showcase their respective scenes. This time, we commissioned local filmmakers to portray the main music spaces, actors and activities in...

Each year, COSMOS partners up with a number of new Embassies to showcase their respective scenes. This time, we commissioned local filmmakers to portray the main music spaces, actors and activities in...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

Kunsthal Kloof organized a residency for two recently graduated artists to work on site for a month to create an exhibition. During U? 2025, they present the work of Hazel van Berkel, who creates impr...

tonya belugina is an independent cultural researcher, community-oriented curator and educator. Their projects are existing on the border of poetry, participatory practices, pedagogy and field-research...

What are the invisible rules of the music stage and how do we break them? How do we narrate ourselves and our sonic worlds through performance? These are the questions that brought the musicians Winni...

“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...

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...

Create, Play & Celebrate the City at the Kiemkamer Step into a green oasis in the heart of the city, where creativity, nature and community come together. Under the theme ‘Greening the City...

What if art became illegal? How can an artist exist in a world where their expression is suppressed? With the rise of far-right politics and growing political tensions, artists from marginalized commu...

Portland duo Visible Cloaks recently released 'serenitatem', their collaborative album with Japanese musicians Yoshio Ojima and Satsuki Sibano as part of the long-running FRKWYS series from the New York label RVNG Intl. Originating from the exchange of MIDI-based musical ideas, this is music that blurs concepts be...

COSMOS After its debut at le Guess Who? 2021, COSMOS returns to collaborate with Embassies all around the globe. COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s hybrid platform for collaboration with international partners to present their local scenes through audio-visual content.  VISIT COSMOS

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...

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,...

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...

“Hardcore never dies, but only if we are the ones who keep it alive” said local hardcore artist Luna van der Laan, and so 030HARDCORE was born! In collaboration with U?, she invites every...

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 is associated with mystical Yarsan religious beliefs and its knowledge is passed down through generations. Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian, a you...

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...

Buh Records is a record label based in Lima, Peru. Founded in 2004 by Luis Alvarado, the label focuses on a wide universe of experimental and unconventional music. Especially their outstanding work in...

Raziyah Heath’s work aims to uncover the cross pollinations of Afro-diasporic (sub)cultures and sonic threads, focusing on the variations, range and intersectionality of the experiences that res...

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...

Utrecht's beloved independent print workshop, Kapitaal, collaborates with Stranded FM and Julian Brimmers to host the official Le Guess Who? 2022 Hangout through all things print and sound. The progra...

In partnership with Buh Records.   Buh Records is a record label based in Lima-Peru, founded in 2004 by Luis Alvarado. Focused on a wide universe of experimental and unconventional music, w...

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...

“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...

Ever since the release of their debut album Psychic, DARKSIDE have been celebrated for the fascinating ways they blend electronic music with disco, prog rock, psychedelic pop, and funk in a way that is both experimental and organic.  The group, featuring multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington, electronic producer Nicolás Jaar...

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...

Enveloped in bass, seduced by bass, submerged in bass and utterly crushed by bass: The Bug vs Ghost Dubs seek to craft a new form of spectral dub. The tag team featuring soundlab explorer Kevin Martin...

PICÓ: Voices of a Sonic Culture Directed by Edna MartinezProduced by Strut Records, Edna Martinez Running time: 40:55 minutes PICÓ: Voices of a Sonic Culture is a documentary that mov...

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...

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 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...

An absolute highlight of the 2024 Venice Biennale, Wael Shawky’s video work Drama 1882 addresses a key moment in Egyptian history: the nationalist Urabi Revolution (1879–1882) in which the...

24 HOUR DUB keeps flowing lead by a visionary who bridges the analog roots of dub with the evolving world of digital sound: Scientist performing the classic album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil...

A seminal group for the foundation of the shoegaze and dream pop sound, A.R. Kane drenched the late 1980s with a blissful sound that reshaped indie music, blending pop, dub, jazz, dance, noise guitar...

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, and perf...

Broken Spectre is an immersive film that documents the immense destruction of the Amazon Rainforest between 2018 and 2022. Richard Mosse’s multi-layered approach reveals the all-encompassing nat...

ALIGN.ONLINE is a Southeast Asian platform dedicated to cultural and sound innovation, with a focus on supporting women and the queer community in electronic music. Founded after Victoria Yam (aka rEm...

For the September episodes of COSMOS' monthly show on Refuge Worldwide, we’re headed towards Southeast Asia, for a double-header transmission from Malaysia/Cambodia and Vietnam. 

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Curated by Lonnie Holley, Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends featuring Surya Botofasina performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025, following the release of their self-titled album via International Anthem. Relive the performance with our concert film, premiered by The Wire.  Poet, musician, actor and director Saul Wil...

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...

Rooted in archival footage, soundscapes and poetry, Neither on the Ground nor in the Sky is a live audiovisual performance. It creates a dialogue between the geographical landscapes of Syria and Leban...

The alias of Mad Professor probably came naturally for someone who built his own radio and telephone system at the age of 10 years old, and later his own mixing desk. In the early 1980s he launched hi...

Legendary outfit Ibex Band has played a central role in defining the sound of 1970s Ethiopian music, modernizing traditional rhythms and arrangements into a contemporary form. Through innovative guita...

Uniquely mixing improvised experimentation and emo songwriting, Chuck Roth writes songs that exist and evolve on the spur of the moment. Every recording or performance is a version of a piece: delicat...

ALIGN.ONLINE is a Southeast Asian platform dedicated to cultural and sound innovation, with a focus on supporting women and the queer community in electronic music. Founded by award-winning musicians...

Three people. One will be in "character". One may not be. The former will be reacting to what the latter does sonically. The latter will be generating cues for the former to send back to him. The thir...

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...

For the past thirty-three years, instrumental trio Dirty Three occupied a mythic place on concertgoers’ bucket lists around the world, as their live performances are renowned for both fierceness...

A distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions weaves fiction and history in an immersive journey. The fictionalized figures of W. E. B....

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...

Bandleader, multi-instrumentalist and producer Shabaka Hutchings has reshaped global perceptions of jazz and experimental music through a practice that moves fluidly between jazz, electronic, spiritua...

DIEMAJIN, the duo of Berlin-based producer DJ DIE SOON (Daisuke Imamura) and Tokyo-based vocalist MA, present 陰陽 (Yin and Yang) at Le Guess Who? 2025 as part of Tianzhuo Chen's curation at the festival. Listen to the full performance: Imagine a spectral, sinister version of Tokusatsu - the Japanese live-action films or television pro...

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...

During Le Guess Who? 2025, many visitors left Cloud Nine at the end of a show with a feeling of ecstasy and the desire to get more of exhilarating free jazz quartet أحمد [Ahmed]. We have good news: th...

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...

COSMOS returns to the Refuge Worldwide signal. This time with a free-spirited transmission by Amsterdam’s iconic DIY-venue OCCII, and a deep dive into Southeast Asian psych rock by LaMunai Records. 

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. ...

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

Multifaceted artist Tomoki Sanders performed live during the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2025. Relive the show with our concert film, featuring the songs The Third Eye, Virtual Warrior and Unconditional Love.  At the age of 10, Tomoki Sanders was gifted a saxophone by their father Pharoah. Now, with tenor sax as primary instrum...

Josephine Zwaan, artist, producer, researcher and founder of a platform for female and non-binary music producers named Rosetta will lead a conversation with Deborah X, one of the founders of DJ and p...

A woman arrives in Lebanon in search of a missing man, whom she met in Iceland a few years ago. Here, the buildings and landscapes still bear the traces of past conflicts, and the missing friend&rsquo...

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...

Composer and performer Skander Jaïbi premières his debut album Who has the right to closure?: classical structures and intangible soundscapes stemmed from a collaboration with Alicia Verd&...

Deena Abdelwahed draws as much from clubbing as she does from the avant-garde scene. Since the release of her debut LP Khonnar, the DJ and producer has been showered with praise for the fine-drawn ways in which her work paints the diversity of Arabic music.  On 8 September, Abdelwahed will release her new album Jbal Rrsas, which she...

Tabanka Records is a project founded in Amadora, Portugal, in mid-2019 by Mama Demba (River Ramos) and Henrique Silva. Originally conceived as a vinyl record shop, it quickly evolved into a platform f...

Tabanka Records is a project founded in Amadora, Portugal, in mid-2019 by Mama Demba (River Ramos) and Henrique Silva. Originally conceived as a vinyl record shop, it quickly evolved into a platform f...

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...

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 a...

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...

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....

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)...

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...

Former U? curator Raziyah Heath, performing as Chinnamasta, uncovers and showcases the significant impact and influence of Caribbean music worldwide. Embodying the Hindu goddess of death, rebirth, and...

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...

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...

Ensemble Nist-Nah performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025, bringing together eight eclectic musicians in a fusion of gamelan and experimental percussion at Utrecht's iconic Jacobi church. Listen to, and relive, the full performance via the recording below.  Led by drummer and percussionist Will Guthrie, Ensemble Nist-Nah draws on a w...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Le Guess Who? 2018

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...

Ruhail Qaisar’s debut album, ‘Fatima’ which The Quietus dubbed ‘haunting’, is a ‘requiem for a dead future’. On the record, released earlier this year via Swi...

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...

As immortalised on the iconic track Poison Dart, The Bug feat. Warrior Queen remains a devastating pairing: spitting sharp rhymes over cavernous dub rhythms and grimy dubstep atmospheres. Shape-shifti...

Directed by Lonnie Holley & Cyrus MoussaviRunning time: 18 minutes  Lonnie Holley has been adrift across the timelines for longer than he can remember. Using advanced technology of his own d...

Producer Loraine James has established her identity through a blend of refined composition, gritty experimentation and unpredictable, intricate electronic programming. While titles released under her...

Short film AFRICA IS THE FUTURE is a four-part ritual: a true immersion into the mysteries of the universe, guided by the recurring appearance of the Kongo cosmogram. Director Nicolas Premier retraces...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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.

Via therapeutic frequencies, forest bathing, and binaural sound, Hinako Omori's solo work is more akin to immersive cartography of the mind in ambient tradition than a plain recording. The Yokohama-bo...

Building ecologies of sound and care At Hof van Cartesius, collaboration goes beyond humans — they co-create with waste cycles, plants, algorithms and the city’s sonic undercurrents. For...

With a commitment to intercultural expression, ZÖJ is an experimental cross-cultural music duo that blends traditional elements with contemporary experimental influences. Central to their practic...

This week, we’ll host our third reading group: a shared space to gather, reflect and think alongside one another. 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...

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...

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...

Photo Archive Step back into Le Guess Who? 2024 and revisit some of its most memorable moments—on stage and behind the scenes. Explore a curated collection of images captured by our dedicated photography team. Our team of photographers documented this edition, creating striking photo series that capture the energy, atmosphere, and...

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...

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...

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...

The annual residency-based sound gathering “Sounds of Places” returns to Le Guess Who? 2025 with sound artist and art producer Ibrahim Owais, joined by Yara Asmar. A spatial sonic narrativ...

‘Vision Of Paradise’ is the thrilling, poetic story of the legendary Lee Scratch Perry, a fairy tale documentary rather than a biography. The film is a mind-blowing encounter with the inve...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

As guest curator for Le Guess Who? 2025, musician, activist, improviser and community organizer Amirtha Kidambi invites us into her vision of 'Outernational', which is centered around the belief that music can play a central role in building global cultural solidarity and community in these tumultuous and revolutionary times.  In th...

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....

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...

Music has always been missed in Amman… Or at least this is what we thought to be true. Amman is not a musically loud city; it's not Cairo and definitely not Beirut. The music scene changed afte...

At the time of Dutch colonial rule, trance was a lifeline for the Javanese people, pulsating with fervor as an expression of their yearning for freedom. Now, Indonesian duo Yennu Ariendra and J. Mo'on...

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...

Bill Orcutt and Zoh Amba are both musicians with an inkling for imagination. The first is the former guitarist and founder of Harry Pussy; his sound, a stuttered transformation of the blues guitar. Th...

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...

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...

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.

General info about U?Algemene informatie over U?

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...

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...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's 'Corner Shops' by Tim Presley (White Fence) and Cate Le Bon, who together form the pleasan...

(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...

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...

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...

As we near the start of Le Guess Who? 2024, we’d like to share the behind-the-scenes struggles and frustrations we are experiencing in trying to obtain visas for the artists we’ve invited to Utrecht. At Le Guess Who?, our focus and dedication has long been on developing a diverse and inclusive program, also through extensive...

We live in turbulent times. Polarisation, war and genocide are not distant abstractions, but pressing realities that shape lives across the world. Fortunately, the consequential global migration foste...

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...

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

Friso is an organizer, promoter, musician, DJ, and the curator of Boot122 for U? 2025. For decades, he has been putting on concerts, primarily within the punk and hardcore scenes, but also in the dub...

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...

Los Delfines del Amor bring a lively and captivating performance to Le Guess Who?, evoking a festive atmosphere of glowing lights, saturated colors and constant motion. In their music, salay, a lively...

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...

Pairing traditional song structure with abstract spatial dynamics, ouri creates unparalleled tension between aggressive rhythmic progression and soothing harmonic fluidity. She stretches beyond the bo...

Driven by a deep passion for uncovering rare sounds and preserving musical heritage, Katayoun is a selector, sound archivist, and curator long focused on Iran’s vibrant sonic landscape. Her DJ s...

Driven by a deep passion for uncovering rare sounds and preserving musical heritage, Katayoun is a selector, sound archivist, and curator long focused on Iran’s vibrant sonic landscape. Her DJ s...

Prepare for a giant meeting of improv artists. The copper horns of Stichting BUI, a celebrated gathering of titans of improv, will come shoulder to shoulder with poetry performer Wordbites and beatbox...

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...

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...

Berlin-based Colombian DJ, producer and Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator Edna Martinez brings La Saramuya soundsystem to TivoliVredenburg’s Pandora to close off the festival with the sounds from...

Directed by: Saul Williams & Anisia UzeymanRunning time: 110 minutes  Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi...

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...

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...

Dub producer and riddim maker Habesha is a DJ heavily influenced by the UK dub scene. She gained popularity by bringing her music to major sound systems in the UK and around the world, with her signat...

Percussionist Edward Wakili-Hick (Nok Cultural Ensemble, Sons of Kemet) presents an ode to Nyahbinghi with a performance that channels the spiritual and rhythmic force of Rastafari drumming through a...

Visionary multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Adrian Younge performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025. Listen to the full performance below. For over a decade, Adrian Younge has been redefining contemporary music through his work in the recording studio Linear Labs, the cultural imprint of multimedia platform Jazz is Dead (JID) and...

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...

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, and perf...

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...

Having just released their 500th issue, The Wire is considered as one of the best independent, in-depth print and online music magazines. For over 40 years, The Wire celebrates and interrogates the most visionary and inspiring, subversive and radical, marginalized and undervalued musicians on the planet.  Leading up to Le Guess Who?...

In collaboration with Casco Art Institute Throughout Beverly-Glenn Copeland’s extraordinary 74 years on this planet, he has consciously and constantly dealt with his process of becoming and bei...

It is no wonder that Argentinian-born, Mexico-based DJ, and producer Tayhana’s work has captured the notice of names such as Rosalía and Daniela Lalita. Tayhana has risen to prominence am...

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...

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...

Returning to Le Guess Who? for 24 HOUR DUB, Aba Shanti-I is one of those heavyweights who shaped what dub music and sound system culture are today. Born in London to Antiguan parents, he grew up immer...

Jamaican dub poet, musician, radio host and cultural activist Mutabaruka established his legacy by performing his cutting edge lines at reggae festivals across the world. Widely recognized for razor-s...

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...

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...

Peruvian legends Los Wembler’s de Iquitos performed live during the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2025. You can now listen to and relive the full performance via the recording below. Creators of the Amazonian cumbia, Los Wembler’s de Iquitos have been among the pioneers of psychedelic cumbia in the ’60s - when shoema...

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...

A multimedia collective that includes members from different cities, ethnicities and origins, Crack Cloud express themselves through quirky, pungent songs filled with adventurous spirit. Loud And...

Somewhere between a love letter and a shrug, Smerz’s music is a liminal space that flirts with the listener while keeping an eye on the exit. Sampled strings swell like something borrowed from a...

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...

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...

Born in Notting Hill of Grenadian parentage, Dubplate Pearl is a South London digger and selector whose music-loving parents influenced her taste and passion. She started her music journey through sou...

After 16 years as a songwriter and bass player with his band Beak>, as well as a collaborator of Robert Plant and Massive Attack, Billy Fuller jumps into a new solo project that serves as a peek in...

Electronic fury and feverish organic percussion collide with a relentless Latin American punk spirit. The vital and combustive music of Deafkids comes from "the perception of the environmental, politi...

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 t...

“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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

A pure blast of explosive chaos, this wrecking one-man band detonates drums and vocals in a jungle of distortions and digital artifacts. Tonto came out of the most depraved fever dream of Zu, Deerhoof...

Electronic music composer Heinali, whose work extends Western medieval music traditions through modular synthesis, and  singer Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko,  who practices authentic Ukrainian...

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...

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...

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...

Founded in Cairo by electronic musician Maurice Louca, experimental composer and guitarist Sam Shalabi and avant-punk saxophonist and vocalist Alan Bishop, The Dwarfs of East Agouza create free-spirited music that touches upon jazz and krautrock, combined with influences of Arabic and Egyptian Shaabi music. Now, the trio release their ne...

Guitarist, vocalist and producer Alpha Maid, whose performance at Le Guess Who? 2025 is curated by Valentina Magaletti, has shaped a distinctive sonic language that draws from grunged-out guitar, lo-fi glitch and noise audio sample electronics. The artist now releases her debut album Is this a queue via AD 93. Is this a queue by Alpha Ma...

Guitarist and composer Caxtrinho reshapes samba into something urgent and unpredictable: a space where groove meets dissonance and memory meets resistance. As a Black and peripheral artist from the ou...

With their new album the world is still here and so are we - marking a return after two decades - Welsh trio Mclusky hit the stage with the same ragged urgency that first defined them. Indebted to bot...

Celebrated for her passion for music that bridges global club scenes, Tash LC blends traditional Afro-diasporic sounds such as Soukous and Merengue with Kuduro, Soca, and cutting-edge percussive club...

Captured on the live recording Reality Is Not A Theory, this project unites two major figures in British experimental music, each having developed rigorous practices from radically different backgroun...

Fashion designer Iris van Herpen and sound artist Salvador Breed curate a lineup of artists and performances symbolizing their highly intertwined aesthetics, developed over years of collaborating on n...

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...

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...

Due to his groundbreaking approach to songwriting and electronic production, over the last decade IOSONOUNCANE has emerged as a key figure in Italy’s independent music scene. His collaboration w...

Mirands is an open format DJ and co-founder of BATEKOO, a vital cultural movement amplifying Brazil’s Black and LGBTQIA+ voices. Celebrating diversity through music and dance, BATEKOO empowers m...

Moody, luminous and quietly feral, Snakeskin’s music floats voluptuous vocals over a bed of industrial beats, ambient drone and shapeshifting electronics. Dream pop in form but not in spirit, th...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.Errol & Alex Rita, founders of the London-based musical movement Touching Bass, introduce their curation at Le Gues...

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...

Celebrated Israeli singer, musician and producer Dudu Tassa and award-winning composer and guitarist Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile) have teamed up for the collaborative album Jarak Qaribak, which is released today via World Circuit Records. Jarak Qaribak translates, more or less, as ‘Your Neighbour Is Your Friend. It&r...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Raja Kirik is the Indonesian duo of Yennu Ariendra and J. Mo'ong Santoso Pribadi, two radical artists who draw on Java's rich cultural traditions and its history of struggle against colonial oppression to create music that surprises, challenges and educates in equal measure.  Now, the group shares their new release: The Phantasmagor...

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...

Calunga Estrelada is a percussive ensemble - terno - embodying an encounter of rhythms, processions and songs, in which (Afro-)Brazilian cultures of congada, maracatu de baque solto and samba pisado a...

Have you always wanted to learn the coolest movements & tricks with a football? Then this is your moment. During the freestyle football workshop you will learn the basics of this sport & art f...

The Brother Moves On is the captivating South-African performance art ensemble from Johannesburg, famous for the way the artists masterfully draw from past, present and future within music. Now, the group releases an uplifting and inspirational new album entitled '$/He Who Feeds You…Owns You' via Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Rec...

Blurring the lines between traditional Andean music and club music, or actually mashing the two together, DJ E is the digital overloading album by Chuquimamani-Condori (the electronic half of Los Thut...

Mazis tells his story with music—recognizable stories of dreams, sadness, and freedom. He was imprisoned in Iran because he made his voice heard as a musician, monitored for years, and then fled...

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...

Nusaqueer Diaspora, or Indo*queer Diaspora is an open-structured platform for the queer diasporic community of the Southeast Asian Archipelago with a focus on Indonesia. It brings together the diaspor...

AWICHAS is a music project initiated by Bolivian/Brazilian multi-medium artist and performer Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti. The project is inspired by Andean ritual and microtonal music. In collaboratio...

Exploring archival practice as a decolonial methodology and act of resistance, Palestinian Sound Archive celebrates music, spoken word and album artwork from historic Palestine, mainly from the 1960s...

Le Guess Who? 2017 celebrated the life & work of Alice Coltrane with the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers performing her ecstatic music live at the festival. Listen to three tracks of the performan...

The practice of vocalist, songwriter and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow is rooted in electronic and technological experimentation, as in spirituality and meditation. Her mix of avant-garde jazz, hip- h...

In a world of natural and human-made disasters, what agency do we have as individuals? More specifically: how can we go beyond listening and transcend into moving and shaking matters beyond the dance...

From 10-13 November, we'll celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Le Guess Who? We hope you have a wonderful time in Utrecht and are excited to celebrate together with you. But first, there are a couple of things we'd like to draw your attention to. Please read the information below carefully before visiting the festival. Download your ticke...

The documentary Luzmila and the Birds explores the life and work of one of the most important women in Latin America: the world-renowned Bolivian and Indigenous singer Luzmila Carpio. The film capture...

Seyðisfjörður Community Radio (SCR) is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the village of Seyðisfjörður on the east-coast of Iceland. The radio is...

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.

Snakeskin, the Lebanese duo comprised of producer Fadi Tabbal and singer-songwriter Julia Sabra, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025 following the release of their latest album 'We live in sand'. You can listen to, and relive, the full performance via the recording below.  Moody, luminous and quietly feral, Snakeskin’s musi...

A powertrio in search of the razor-sharp edge between heavy and punk. Rats and Daggers focuses the intention of IDLES, the schwung of QOTSA and the fuck-it-all attitude of Amyl and The Sniffers into f...

With the composure of veteran musicians and the instrumental mastery of seasoned improvisers, The Dwarfs of East Agouza shred, spiral and groove through hypnotic realms of noise and psychedelia. Found...

Ghent-based duo Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 following the release of their acclaimed debut album 'Topical Dancer'. You can listen to & relive their performance with 3 tracks: 'Mantra', 'Ceci n'est pas un cliché', and 'Thank You'. About Cultural appropriation, misogyny, rac...

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...

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...

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...

Located inside a shipping container and overlooking the river Thames, FACT Magazine paid the studio of producer, DJ and Death in Vegas-founder Richard Fearless a visit. In this video, Fearle...

From sit-ins and disruptive street actions to social media campaigns: we are living in an era of mass protest. As we reclaim our rights, demand justice and catalyse change, all actions are aimed at on...

Le Guess Who? 2018 Line-up Le Guess Who? 2018 featured programs curated by Devendra Banhart, Moor Mother and Shabaka Hutchings. View the full line-up via the link below.  LE GUESS WHO? 2018 LINE-UP Audio Recordings There are lots of recordings available in our audio archive, including BCUC, Neneh Cherry, Kadri Gopalnath, The Scor...

The Body & Dis Fig performed live on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2024. Relive the full, overwhelming - sonically as well as physically - performance below.  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 Di...

From sit-ins and disruptive street actions to social media campaigns: we are living in an era of mass protest. As we reclaim our rights, demand justice and catalyse change, all actions are aimed at on...

From sit-ins and disruptive street actions to social media campaigns: we are living in an era of mass protest. As we reclaim our rights, demand justice and catalyse change, all actions are aimed at on...

From sit-ins and disruptive street actions to social media campaigns: we are living in an era of mass protest. As we reclaim our rights, demand justice and catalyse change, all actions are aimed at on...

Joseph Kamaru, aka KMRU, is a producer whose practice is grounded in the discourse of field recording, noise and sound art. By capturing the overlooked vitality of natural and everyday environments&md...

Graffiti is increasingly being recognized as a valuable art form in our society. Not only is it an exciting activity, but it also offers a powerful way to express yourself. In this Beginners Graffiti...

Throat singer and songwriter Posuposu Otani employs an instrumental palate of open-tuned guitar and the Kohkin (Jew’s Harp) to create an impressionistic sound world that fuses rich harmonics and...

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 South African drummer, composer, scholar and bandleader based in Cape Town, Asher Gamedze's music is a profound mixture of various musical traditions from Southern Africa, free improvisation, jazz and radical social and political thought, turning his music into a powerful act of freedom, resistance and activism.  After multiple pe...

NAKID is a record label founded by Koshiro Hino in Osaka City, with its headquarter located inside the OTO Building. OTO also houses many other creative studios and ateliers, as well as one of Japan&r...

NAKID is a record label founded by Koshiro Hino in Osaka City, with its headquarter located inside the OTO Building. OTO also houses many other creative studios and ateliers, as well as one of Japan&r...

The Brother Moves On, the captivating South-African ensemble famous for masterfully drawing from past, present and future, performed at Le Guess Who? 2022 following the release of '$/He Who Feeds You…Owns You' via Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings. You can now listen to & relive the full performance.  AboutTher...

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 are female bands appearin...

From 10-13 November, Le Guess Who? returns to Utrecht for its 15th Anniversary Edition. We now proudly reveal the full 2022 line-up, with new additions joining the likes of Abdullah Ibrahim, Low, Lole Montoya, Nia Archives, as well as festival curators Animal Collective, clipping., and CURL. General program Joining Le Guess Who?&rsquo...

Powerful, inventive and fiercely danceable, the music of The Zawose Queens contains spirit and fire. There's the vibrations of the ancestors, coming through on traditional instruments — soaring...

“Inclusivity in Dutch culture is an illusion, if the Netherlands doesn’t open the doors”. These were the conclusive words of Le Guess Who?’s statement about the struggles of ob...

Oroko Radio is an independent internet radio station based in Accra, Ghana. With the goal to connect, inspire, and empower through conversation, collaboration, and community, Oroko seeks to reclaim an...

In partnership with Coquetel MolotovRecife’s Coquetel Molotov teamed up with music producer Benke Ferraz (Boogarins) and launched a musical incubator for artists outside Pernambuco’s capital - an open call focused on artists to produce new music. Ten names were selected and brought to Caruaru for three days of immersion with B...

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 festiva...

A walk and talk with Moscow locals about their experience of these fractured times. Independent artists and entrepreneurs share their stories of ups and downs, weaknesses, and inspirations, which make...

To celebrate both MOḌA, an exhibition at Centraal Museum that showcases the artistic work and personal stories of cutting-edge designers and artists from Morocco and the Moroccan diaspora in the Nethe...

This year, Le Guess Who? has partnered with AZEEMA, a publication that explores women and non-binary folk within West Asia, North Africa and South Asia, diasporas and beyond. Leading up to the festival, Dalia Al-Dujaili talks to North African dancer and educator Esraa Warda. Exploring the artist's talent of decolonizing dance as well as r...

(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, returns in 2023 for its third edition. The program of U? is created for, but especially with the city of Utrecht, to celebrate the city’s creativity in all its diversity. With U? we aim to let Utrecht residents come in contact...

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...

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...

After his music has gone unheard for 40 years, either on stage or on record, quintessential Ethio-groove performer Ayalew Mesfin gave his first ever European performance at Le Guess Who? 2019: a show that featured the Debo Band, who formed in 2006 to keep the spirit and craft of Ethiopia’s golden age of pop alive.  A...

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...

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...

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...

The Growth Eternal release their new EP Songs In The Key Of Growth, "a collection of radically reinterpreted cover songs". In these ethereal four tracks, the multi-instrumentalist re-imagines and mixes songs by Steve Lacy, Tyler, The Creator + Frank Ocean, Stevie Wonder, Dijon & Mk.Gee as well as an avant-garde jazz rendition of Chron...

Oroko Radio is an independent internet radio station based in Accra, Ghana. With the goal to connect, inspire, and empower through conversation, collaboration, and community, Oroko seeks to reclaim an...

Record label Mississippi Records presents a live presentation combining film, slide show and audio, exploring 20 years of the label’s vast and rarely-seen archives.  Label head and filmmak...

Coming together around the ancient art of playing the sikus (the traditional Andean panflute), Comunidad Sikuris Berlin is a group of people from different nationalities who have immigrated to Germany...

In cooperation with Gaudeamus AEAEA is the new duo from composers and performers Patrick Higgins and Nicolas Jaar. Utilizing instrumental performance and live digital resampling, the aim of the group...

As music and media are so closely connected, we often underestimate the role of the music journalist in the distribution of music. At one point, a portal from obscurity to recognition, music journalis...

Presented by IMPAKT - Centre for Media Culture The Sound Of One Computer Thinking invokes a paradox or question that is essentially unanswerable. Are love, death or humour uniquely human or biologica...

Brooklyn-based, French cellist, composer and sound artist Leila Bordreuil has released her debut album 'Headflush'. The album was recorded in a single afternoon in Brooklyn and comprises a collection of unprocessed amplified cello works, exploring the limits of tonal perception. As a result of Bordreuil's aim to challenge convention...

Le Guess Who? presents 'The Big Playback', a podcast about all things music. For the occasion of Le Guess Who’s 15th Edition, we pay tribute to DJ Fitz- the man, the legend, the only artist to have been on every single lineup.  In this two part series we dig first into Fitz’s illustrious past in NYC as a DIY show or...

English contemporary artist Mark Leckey makes use of a variety of media, including film, sound, sculpture, and performance. His versatile practice focuses on the relationship between popular culture a...

Photo Archive Relive many unforgettable performances from Le Guess Who? 2022 and take a peek behind the scenes. Browse through a selection of images captured by our talented photography team. Festival photographers Juri Hiensch and Melanie Marsman once again use their lenses at Le Guess Who?, creating unique photo series that reflect th...

Egyptian singer and composer Dina El Wedidi was brought to the world’s attention through her participation in 2012’s The Nile Project, a 14-musician collaboration linking African artists l...

In 2025, De Voorkamer, a meeting space for newcomers and the local community, presented a program at U? that focused on celebrating creativity, community, and connection. Their program featured a workshop organized by performing artist, cultural practitioner, producer, and artist-in-residence Abdalla Daif. Our residential photographer Ro...

Without beating around the bush, Forbidden Wizards makes punk. Shouted vocals, scorching power chords and whiplash-fast drumming drive their snappy tracks. Loud, fast and straight to the point, while...

All hail the return of SUNN O))): a live experience of physical sound, fog and glacial maximalism. Ten years after their curation, the iconic duo will perform again at Le Guess Who?, where they’...

Liu Fang is known for her virtuosic and expressive interpretation of traditional pipa and guzheng music from China’s classical and folkloric traditions. Celebrated as being one of the greatest v...

Responsible for some of dubstep’s most iconic cuts, DJ, producer and label owner Mala is now part of a select group of producers taking it to thrilling forward-thinking pastures. His newest track is a collaboration with Joe-Armon Jones and Nubya Garcia. 'Scratch & Erase' is part of the compilation album 'Unti...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Slemani, Kurdistan-Iraq Following their broadcast during Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of COSMOS, we talk to Space21's Hardi Kurda about the concept of illegality; the musical cacophony of Slemani; the US-led invasion of Iraq, which happened twenty years ago, and also how it led to surprising musical discoveries...

South London's Wu-Lu, spearheaded by musician/vocalist Miles Romans-Hopcraft, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2024 as part of Bo Ningen's curated program for the festival. Below, you can watch the group perform the tracks Ten & Blame from the album LOGGERHEAD, released via Warp Records. “Powered by artistic freedom and sens...

The Dwarfs of East Agouza, founded in Cairo by electronic musician Maurice Louca, experimental composer and guitarist Sam Shalabi and avant-punk saxophonist and vocalist Alan Bishop, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025 as part of Asher Gamedze's curation. You can relive the full performance via the recording below.  With the comp...

V2X 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 comm...

(Nederlandse versie hieronder) As part of Le Guess Who? 2023, we are once again initiating the 'Grant an Entry' 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.  V...

Kunsthal Kloof is an exhibition space that creates new connections in Utrecht's cultural landscape through experimentation. In this exhibition, Kunsthal Kloof focuses on the relationship to our living...

When Saint Abdullah linked up with drummer and composer Jason Nazary, something electric sparked. Drawn to the Tehran-born brothers’ music, Nazary contacted them and not only did they discover t...

Inspired by the deep, resonant tones of the wooden percussion instrument semantron, the performance Dive Into You unfolds as an oracle, seeking to connect us with our most secret and tender part, unde...

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...

"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

For Le Guess Who? 2026, we offer several ticketing options, including discounted tickets for CJP and U-pas members, and options for people who don't have the financial resources to visit the festival. See all the different ticketing options below (all prices include service costs). Regular Tickets These are the regular ticket prices fo...

Based at Het Hof van Cartesius, 030303 Records is a platform for the advancement of acid sounds. What started as a small acid party in a vaulted cellar has become a mature international label devoted...

Le Guess Who? will host a special lunch at LOU Oudenoord. A place for conversation, reflection, relaxation and great food. Engage in talks with your fellow festival visitors about all the things you&r...

Kenyan artist and producer KABEAUSHÉ brought a powerful performance to the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2024, following the release of HOLD ON TO DEER LIFE, THERE’S A BLCAK BOY BEHIND YOU!. You can now relive this special moment – a night of bold sound, raw emotion, and unforgettable presence – with our concert...

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...

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 releases her new album Home via Kuboraum Editions. On t...

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...

Fusing experimental club, Spanish vocals and her signature genre-blurring edge, Mina Galán is a DJ on a breakout moment, rising from underground favourite to one of the most in-demand names in...

J.A.D.E is a multidisciplinary artist from and based in Amsterdam. After starting to get to know poetry and using Ableton she started to produce her own beats, creating alternative neo soul since...

Nikolaienko is a sound artist who mainly works with outdated musical gear, which he uses to produce tape and cassette loops as a base material for his sound collages. He is also a founder of Muscut, a...

Nikolaienko is a sound artist who mainly works with outdated musical gear, which he uses to produce tape and cassette loops as a base material for his sound collages. He is also a founder of Muscut, a...

Founded by siblings Chuquimamani-Condori & Joshua Chuquimia Crampton, Los Thuthanaka bridge the past, present and future of the mighty Pakajaqui Nation through a potent blend of Andean rhythms, Ay...

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…

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...

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,...

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...

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’,...

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...

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...

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...

Kalaallit Nunaat, founded in 2018 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, combine their love for noise, post-punk, shoegaze and krautrock into a hypnotizing wall of sound. With music best enjoyed in a cold and...

Le Guess Who? 2022

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...

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...

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...

Learning the art of Drag is an amazing journey in one’s life, but the threshold to start is often quite high! Queer Arcana offers the perfect place to start experimenting. Under the guidance of...

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...

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...

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...

Each year, Le Guess Who? invites guest curators to create their own dedicated programs, highlighting their inspirations, emerging acts and fellow like-minded artists, with an emphasis on discovery and exploration.Drummer-composer and multi-instrumentalist Valentina Magaletti introduces her curation at Le Guess Who? 2025 with a personally...

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...

Multi-faceted artist Hania Rani brings to Le Guess Who? a thrilling storm of synthesised patterns that pulls the listener into a deeply hypnotic trance. The pianist, composer and vocalist has emerged...

Amsterdam-based Los Angles - a collective showcasing and nurturing trans talent - invites to Le Guess Who? 2025 two of their powerhouse DJs. A rigorous sonic maximalist who thrives at the intersection...

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...

Directed by Garin NugrohoRunning time: 80 minutesBali, circa 1932. Since childhood, Sinta and Darta were close, though they came from two opposite classes. Sinta was born in a wealthy family of a nobl...

Transporting listeners from the dance floor to a different dimension, SEEKERSINTERNATIONAL is an audio-visual project that reimagines Jamaican culture through kaleidoscopic lenses. Crafting oblique mu...

Conjuring a sense of cosmic belonging within life’s maelstrom, Azu Tiwaline is a producer and DJ beloved for her wonderful ability to channel vast inner realms into the outward joys of dance and...

Desert blues heroes Etran de L’Aïr make a triumphant return to Le Guess Who?, invited by guest curators Tropical Fuck Storm, with many tours and accolades under their belt. Having perfected...

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...

Besides being a member of The Mauskovic Dance Band, Amsterdam-based Donald ‘Donny’ Madjid is also a drum-machine-wielding story-teller, whose debut album ‘Pure Donzin’, takes i...

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....

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...

Although this Ireland-centered collaboration between Paddy Shine of GNOD and Phil Masterson of Los Langeros, Damp Howl, and Bisect, is technically “new folk”, the listener should tread car...

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...

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...

Born Yallah Gudencia Mbidde in Kenya and raised in Uganda, MC Yallah is a seasoned industry veteran, having first stepped onto the hip-hop scene in 1999. Her expressive and poetic rhymes, which came i...

(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...

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...

Le Guess Who? 2025 is approaching, with artists and listeners from all over the world gathered in Utrecht for our Celebration of Sound.  We're excited to welcome you back to Utrecht. Here is some important info we'd like to share with you before your visit to the festival.  Downloading your ticket & wristband pick-up To d...

In the nineties, electronic music was flowering out of every crevice in Detroit. Theo Parrish has taken it upon himself to continue sowing the city’s seeds. The producer, DJ, and sound engineer...

For the first episode of COSMOS on Refuge Worldwide in 2026, we've cued up a special all-originals mix by Seyðisfjörður’s (Iceland) Austin James Christ and a sonic meditation on the aura of Mediterranean gardens by film- and radiomaker Tania Feghali (NTS). 

COSMOS – our hybrid platform highlighting independent music scenes from around the world – is an integral part of Le Guess Who?. Here’s how to experience COSMOS from 6-9 November – onsite or online. Live Radio Once again, COSMOS and Refuge Worldwide join forces at the COSMOS Foyer. During all festival days, we&rs...

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...

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...

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...

Musician, activist, podcaster and LGW 2025 co-curator Amirtha Kidambi invites us into her vision of ‘Outernationalism’, a concept introduced by the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to descri...

Musician, activist, podcaster and LGW 2025 co-curator Amirtha Kidambi invites us into her vision of ‘Outernationalism’, a concept introduced by the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to descri...

Rooted in deep techno but unbound by its conventions, Sa Pa crafts immersive, shape-shifting compositions, in which thick bass lines amalgamate to create a thick low frequency zone, while off-kilter b...

Performing on the embaire, a giant Ugandan wooden xylophone played by six musicians at the same time, Nakibembe Embaire Group create hypnotic and joyful music. The instrument weaves polyrhythmic melod...

Saturated and explosive, BBBBBBB is a duo whose music hits like a technicolor digital assault. They dub their music genre "Victory Hardcore”: a mix of digital hardcore, noise, industrial and tra...

Having forged a genre-blending sound of folk, electronica and ambient textures uniquely her own, Juana Molina is a master of experimental pop, creating a familiar but always unpredictable landscape&md...

In its simplicity, the title of Bill Orcutt’s latest album, Music in Continuous Motion, captures the musician’s decades-long career as well as his style: a steady flow of riffs and arpeggi...

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....

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver The directorial debut from Boots Riley presents an alternate reality of present-day Oakland, California, when telemarketer Cassius Green finds himself in...

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...

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...

Brooklyn five-piece Gustaf have generated a surprising loud buzz for a band which hasn’t been in circulation for more than a few years. Formed in 2018, they quickly garnered a reputation in punk...

Tokyo-based group Kikagaku Moyo forges heavy-improv psychedelia, including elements of German Krautrock, classic Indian raga and acid folk. Kikagaku Moyo - Japanese for "geometric patterns" - finds a...

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...

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...

De Schuurman’s 2021 release – ‘Bubbling Inside’, a collaboration between Kampala-based label Nyege Nyege Tapes and Rotterdam’s platform Pantropical – centers around...

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...

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...

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...

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

Hatis Noit’s vocal awakening came at the age of sixteen, during a trip to Nepal in which she was moved by a female monk’s chant. This experience led her to begin exploring the visceral pow...

Brooklyn post-punk group Gustaf have generated quite the buzz for a band which hasn’t been around for more than a few years. On October 1st, the five-piece will release their long awaited debut album 'Audio Drag For Ego Slobs' via Royal Mountain Records. Following the release of first song 'Book' last month, Gust...

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...

Niño de Elche’s music is part brain, part heart. The Spanish musician, who is also called a ‘singer, poet and omnipresent master of ensorcelling souls’ has been challenging co...

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...

In partnership with Seyðisfjörður Community Radio. Seyðisfjörður Community Radio (SCR) is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the village of Seyðisfjörður on the east-coast of Iceland. The radio is hosted, nurtured and initiated by an open-ended international community of...

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...

There is a good reason why names such as John Zorn, Matana Roberts, and Fred Frith have rushed to play with Ava Mendoza, as the Brooklyn guitarist, vocalist, and composer has built a reputation as one...

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. ...

‘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....

In-depth conversations and catch-ups with partners from our global network. 

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...

Born during a Christmas Night mushroom trip, Lik de Kikker (Lick the Frog) set out to create an awe-inspiring noise band. With two frogs in control, they craft harsh tek and noise using various gear....

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...

Accommodation in Utrecht is in high demand during the festival. Therefore, it is recommended to also look into accommodation options in the surrounding areas of Utrecht, where there may be more rooms available, including budget-friendly options.

(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...

Le Guess Who? is once again presenting a specially curated film program as part of its 2025 festival edition with a selection of films that are directly or loosely tied to the music program and artists performing at the festival, as well as the premiere of the different COSMOS Embassy Films. Presented as part of the film program are Bixa...

Out of this year’s Touching Bass curatorship comes a thrilling end-of-week back-to-back featuring two of the South London-based movement’s leading lights - Errol and Sammseed. Touching Bas...

Multi-disciplinary and genre-blending artist Cézanne paints musical landscapes with her music. She writes songs that explore self-reflection and societal norms, offering listeners a transformative experience. Cézanne describes her music a Cinematic Soul: a lush, emotionally evocative genre that blends soul with the immersive...

Elder Ones performed live at Le Guess Who? 2025 as part of Amirtha Kidambi's curation at the festival. Entitled 'Outernational', Kidambi's curation centered around the belief that music can play a central role in building global cultural solidarity and community in our tumultuous and revolutionary times. Watch the concert film of the perf...

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...

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...

‘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 &...

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...

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...

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...

With his uniquely flamboyant performances, Devendra Banhart became one of the defining artists of the 2000s international indie music scene. Over the years, his already colourful songwriting expanded,...

Ever since being a young boy, Katokye dedicated his life to traditional songs from the Bahima (Western Uganda). He roamed his homeland to refine his art and now—in his mid-50s—he is one of...

Directed by: Claudia Priscilla & Kiko GoifmanRunning time: 75 minutes Bixa Travesty (Tranny Fag) is a feature-length documentary picturing the Brazilian transsexual singer Linn da Quebrada who al...

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...

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...

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....

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...

Le Guess Who? 2026 5-8 November in Utrecht, The Netherlands CJP and U-pas membersNot a CJP member and still under 30? Click here to order a CJP pass.Please note: CM.com (formerly Yourticketprovider) is the only official ticket provider of Le Guess Who?. The only secure way to buy tickets from someone else is via TicketSwap, a platform...

Le Guess Who? 2023 featured programs curated by AMPFEMININE, Stereolab, and Heba Kadry. View the full line-up via the link below. LE GUESS WHO? 2023 LINE-UP

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...

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...

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...

Utrecht’s CARISTA is a DJ, producer and curator, NTS Radio resident and founder of music label United Identities. Known for her intuitive, shapeshifting DJ sets, she usually moves through house,...

Afrofuturist DJ and producer Introspekt aims to recontextualize the roots of dubstep with bass-driven experimentation. Drawing from the kinetic pulse of Baltimore club, the raw minimalism Croydon dubs...

Even though Le Guess Who? visitors might be familiar with multi-faceted artist Kelman Duran, it’s impossible to know what to expect from the multi-disciplinary artist, especially during his part...

Heavily influenced by dub reggae, Holy Tongue share a deep appreciation for experimental dub, improvised music and post-punk. Originally conceived as a studio collaboration between maverick percussion...

Sounds created for no reason. Sounds that come and go. They disappear into the air like a scent, as soon as they materialize, moving freely between rhythm and non-rhythm, noise and silence. Founded in...

Experimental rock collective Water Damage return to Le Guess Who? with their ritual repetition therapy of psychedelia and kraut rock. Guided by the motto “Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation&rd...

Complex yet simple, mechanical yet sensual, goat (JP) perform in a near trance-like state, as their minimalist compositions are an exercise in persistent repetition. Formed in 2013 by Koshiro Hino as...

Post-apocalyptic acid punk disco scuzzheads Tropical Fuck Storm return to Le Guess Who? for a guest curation that feels like a homecoming. Alongside solo shows and inviting musicians they collaborate...

Traveling musical family TENGGER, consisting of a couple and their son, creates a singular body of work that blurs the boundaries between psychedelic music, drone, New Age and ritual performance. Usin...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver In this genre-defying film, Zerzura follows a young man from a small village in Niger who leaves home in search of an enchanted oasis. His journey leads h...

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...

The mythical performer and rock 'n roll reinventer Ian Svenonius has released 'The Lost Record'. It's the second album of his solo project Escape-Ism, after 2017s 'Introduction to Escape-Ism'. With hi...

Despite being a relative newcomer, South London artist Lucinda Chua is blessed with a singular sensibility for music and artistry. Chua utilizes little more than her voice, a cello and an array of eff...

Seattle-based singer-songwriter Austin Crane (aka Valley Maker) creates mystical folk songs with one of the most remarkable voices in contemporary pop music. His debut album 'When I Was A Ch...

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...

Tim Kinsella's art-rock band Joan of Arc have released their new song ‘Indelible in the Hippocampus is The Laughter’, which is a selection of audio from the live score the band made f...

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...

After creating a score for an award-winning visual artist, collaborating via Laurel Halo, and being part of Oneohtrix Point Never's world tour, Eli Keszler is seemingly at the top of his creative...

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...

Italian sonic shamans San Leo deliver a swarming, uncompromised blend of heavy music and minimalism, with a particular taste for epic, cathartic live shows. Thanks to constant touring and through...

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...

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...

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...

Graindelavoix is notorious for their daring and alienating performances that embrace the imperfections of what it means to be human. During Le Guess Who? 2018, the Antwerp ensemble gave an overwhelming performance of the four-hour piece ‘Tenebrae Responsoria’ by Carlo Gesualdo: a 17th-century progressive composer fro...

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...

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...

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...

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...

7 & 8 November 2026Utrecht, The Netherlands U? celebrates local and creative communities across the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. Through public programs, U? brings people together and creates space for exchange.

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

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

Check out the full line up for COSMOS 2025

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...

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...

“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...

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 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...

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...

The 2022 edition of the Polaris Music Prize, an organization that "annually honours and rewards artists who produce Canadian music albums of distinction", has declared Pierre Kwenders’ latest album ‘José Louis and the Paradox of Love’ to be Canada’s album of the year. Pierre Kwenders, the stage name of Jos&...

Flore Laurentienne announces the release of his new album 'Volume II' and shares the first single 'Navigation IV'. With this single, the composer reveals the mood and concept of the new album. Flore Laurentienne is the project of Canada-based composer Mathieu David Gagnon. His score-like string compositions meet analog synthesizers in an...

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...

Le Guess Who? presents 'The Big Playback', a podcast about all things music. For the occasion of Le Guess Who’s 15th Edition, we pay tribute to DJ Fitz- the man, the legend, the only artist to have been on every single lineup.  In this final episode of the series (revisit the first part here), we follow Fitz to Berlin and beyo...

‘Porch music’, a term coined by acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, aptly describes his country psychedelic rock project Rose City Band. At first inspired by warmer months, Jo...

From 5-8 November 2026, Le Guess Who? celebrates its 20th Anniversary Edition in Utrecht, The Netherlands. As part of this landmark edition, we present several special programs, including 24 HOUR DUB: a 24-hour session of continuous dub sounds from 4PM on Saturday 7, November, through 4PM on Sunday 8, November, at KABUL à GoGo. Th...

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...

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...

With ‘Flowers At Your Feet’, Iranian-American multidisciplinary artist Rahill reveals her deeply personal artistry. Released on Ninja Tune imprint Big Dada, the artist’s new label ho...

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...

There aren't many music performances that can be described as frightening, but Wolf Eyes' intense and bizarre live shows have garnered the band a truly creepy reputation. Formed in Michigan in 1998, t...

Cocobolo creates music with instrumental themes and evocative song titles. It’s a mix of old-school funk, psychedelic rock- and surf guitars, with a retro sound. Cocobolo believes that music is...

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...

Many creatively inclined Indians are moving to Goa, united by a desire to find out if the reasons are personal or reflective of a broader shift in what it means to make things in this country. ...

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...

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...

Amsterdam-based six-piece Nusantara Beat has quickly amassed a cult following, largely due to their exciting new take on Indonesian tradition. By infusing the sounds of traditional Indonesian songs fr...

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...

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...

This summer’s lively ‘Soola’ is The Homesick announcing themselves back, renewed and reshaped. The Frisian trio, made up of Erik Woudwijk on the drums, Elias Elgersma on the guitar a...

Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator Amirtha Kidambi launches a new podcast: Outernational. The podcast explores the relationship between music and revolution, featuring discussions with musicians who are using their music and platforms to grapple with the intersecting global crises of our times.  Hosted by Amirtha Kidambi, a vocalist,...

Once, John Coltrane described himself, Pharaoh Sanders, and Albert Ayler as ‘the father, the son, and the holy ghost’. Throughout his decade-spanning career though, Sanders often embodied...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver The Burial Of Kojo follows the story of Esi, as she recounts her childhood and the tumultuous relationship between her father, Kojo and her uncle, Kwabena...

Ramallah, Palestine-based interdisciplinary artist Julmud collaborates with British-Palestinian movement creative Sasha Shadid on a piece that speaks about the aesthetics of the Cremisan Valley in Pal...

You could describe Eucademix (Yuka Honda) as an electronics instrumentalist, composer, and producer, but mostly, she enjoys calling herself a "decomposer". The artist just released her new EP Farm Psychedelia II. the follow-up to an EP that was released earlier this year, in a further creative burst of "Sensory Music" - again, in her on w...

In 2025, Le Guess Who? guest curator Amirtha Kidambi launched her Outernational podcast: a series of conversations that explore the relationship between music and revolution, featuring artists who are using their music and platforms to grapple with the intersecting global crises of our times.  During Le Guess Who? 2025, Kidambi...

Le Guess Who? 2018 features a wide variety of club & dancefloor-oriented music, which we've now brought together in one playlist for you to explore. Check out the 'Club Cuts of Le Guess Who? 2018'...

Ajabu Ajabu is a screen, a studio, and a collective devoted to the preservation, production, and presentation of audio-visual art forms in Tanzania. For COSMOS, they presented  "A Stream of Consciousness" - a hybrid audio-visual festival taking place at the Ajabu Ajabu Audio-Visual House ft., a digital stage from COSMOS alongside li...

Tunisian-Belgian musician, poet, writer, actress and visual artist Ghalia Benali is known for engaging in various musical genres and has been acclaimed for defining contemporary Arab music. In November, she will present 'Hadret Ishq', her most recent musical project that she developed during the confinement. In an intervie...

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...

‘The Invaders’ talks about a generation of civil rights activists who originated from Memphis in 1967, consisting of students, Vietnam veterans, musicians and intellectuals who were inspir...

Farida Mohammed Ali's mastery of the ancient maqam discipline - a lifetime’s pursuit - is truly extraordinary. In execution, this traditional singing technique requires full command of comp...

Together, the most revered merchant of noise and two of the most resounding voices in grime form an alliance of gritty UK fringe music that simply knows no equal. These three artists will stretch the...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver Following the footsteps of Islamic mystics on the Indian subcontinent of Pakistan, the Swiss director Annette Berger managed to document the spiritual eve...

Whether it’s the early, more electronic-driven beginnings or excavating field recordings at an abandoned settlement in the Arctic Circle, Danish pop adventurers Efterklang express boundless enthusiasm with each radical new undertaking. The band performed on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2019, following the release of their new...

In 1975, family group The Staples Jr. Singers released their first and only album: ‘When Do We Get Paid’ - recorded when the gospel band’s youngest members were in their early teenag...

Last year, Lyra Pramuk, a Berlin-based futurist folk musician, released her debut album 'Fountain'. The album was arranged entirely from the sound of her own voice, inspired by the collective ecstasy found in Berlin raves.  Now, Pramuk releases an equally impressive work. 'Delta' is a new take on a traditional remix album and a...

When producer, musician, and thinker Arp Frique introduced himself to the world on debut record ‘The Colorful World of Arp Frique’, the world couldn’t help but smile back. Five years...

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...

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). ...

Alternately playing the tar, the tanbour, and the setar, Iranian musician Khorshid Dadbeh is seasoned far beyond her years. She began her musical journey early, having grown up in an artistic family a...

When Cinna Peyghamy started exploring the relationship between the Persian goblet drum and modular synths, he quickly realized how much his new hybrid setup mirrored his identity. As the French-born s...

In The Black Queer body remembers, Naomie Pieter invites the audience on a journey through Caribbean rhythm, memory, and spiritual resistance. Drawing from the ancestral dance tradition of Tambú...

Chasing Reels presents; dir. Paul Elliott & Sean Lamberth ‘The Library Music Film’ is a quest for some of the most original, but largely unnoticed music ever recorded. In the document...

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...

In the shed of the Ping Pong Club, the former factory for ‘Werktuigen en Spoormaterieel’ - tools and railway equipment, is the home for the annual Wisselspoor Photo Competition. This year'...

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...

The Good Ones will surprise you, delight you, and break your heart, says The Independent. This one-of-a-kind quartet’s music is embedded in pain, as the band formed as a healing process followin...

More than ever, the Le Guess Who? 2025 program creates a space where the margins become the center, where the overlooked are elevated and where traditions collide to reimagine themselves in the present. A place where music is not confined by genre, language or geography, but stands as an open invitation to listen deeply, feel fully and to...

Invited to perform at Le Guess Who? 2025 by guest curator Asher Gamedze, DEAD SYMBOLS are a critical sound collective committed to dangerous thinking and sonic vandalism. They situate their practice at the intersection of sound and theory: it is an inquiry, or study, into the sonic properties of theory, or sound as a theoretical intervent...

The adventurous, innovative Dutch band The Ex have defied categorization ever since their origination in 1979. Born out of the punk explosion, when anything and everything was possible, the band have...

Utrecht's Domkerk is the first Dutch gothic cathedral, dating back to the 13th century. With its 112 meters towering above the city skyline it is not just the highest building in Utrecht, it is also t...

Having fled from the fundamentalists in their home country of Sudan, the original members of psychedelic group The Scorpios established themselves in London during the 80s. Once there, they built a gr...

Chasing Reels presents; in collaboration with Leiden International Film Festival; dir. Ethan Hawke The film ‘Blaze’ is about the unsung songwriting legend Blaze Foley, a relatively obscur...

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...

Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends gave an overwhelming and immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2019, joined on stage by G.W. Sok (King Champion Sounds, formerly The Ex), Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band), Mondkopf and Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart, also LGW17 curator). Oiseaux-...

Composer Mario Batkovic is no stranger to praise from the public and the press; his debut self-titled solo album was listed by Rolling Stone among the best avant-garde releases of the year. In 2021, 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...

Le Guess Who? 2021 will see the festival joining forces with the esteemed Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1945. It's not the first time we're collaborating though: in 2017, the orchestra performed Lili Boulanger's towering 'Du Fond De L'Abîme' at our festival. This year, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra will honor...

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...

Cottica Territory is Now Only in Memory is a short documentary about the Marron music & culture of the Cottica area. After the internal war, many villagers stayed in Moengo on their return from th...

London’s The Cromagnon Band had made a splash before releasing any work; prior to their debut LP’s launch via We Stay True, the trio had featured on compilations from Andy Votel and Doug S...

Invited by Bo Ningen to perform at Le Guess Who? 2024, GAISTER announce their self-titled LP and share the first single Sento. The song’s repeated line "I feel everything, everything, everything can be felt" encapsulates the running themes across the record. All the elements - the layers of the earth's crust, the fire of the volcano...

ISM Frequencies is the radio show on Refuge Worldwide by The Institute for Sound and Music Berlin. For its fifth episode, the program team of Le Guess Who? have put together a guest mix featuring a selection of the artists performing at the festival this year, in which they aimed for a slow, peaceful and transcendental hour of music with...

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...

Brian Jackson performed live during the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2024, featuring a string of classic tracks such as The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Home Is Where the Hatred Is, and Winter in America. You can now listen to, and relive, the full performance below.  As one-half of power duo Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jac...

Interview: Aquiles Navarro (River Down Records) River Down Records – a COSMOS 2025 Embassy – is a label from Panamá City, dedicated to documenting and developing the creative sound of Panamá. With over 15 digital releases to date, River Down Records has produced new works and supported artists with an already es...

Le Feast invites you to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Would you like to join the potluck, invite people to your home in Utrecht as a home-chef or want to be a guest? You can now sign up! “Le Feast is such a great way to bring people together in an atmosphere of generosity and celebrate what unites us.&rdq...

In July, SETUP presented an exceptional project at Utrecht Central Station: the world’s first Facebook Museum. Their aim was to get people thinking about Facebook’s cultural legacy. &ldquo...

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

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

Born out of a compulsion to write sparse, intimate songs, Palm Springs is the outsider-folk alter ego of Erica Dunn, named for her nervous affliction: sweaty hands. Separate from her work with other c...

Hailing from the small town of Como, Mississippi, this vocal trinity of gospel singers perform their spirituals together with musicians from the Daptone family. Each heartwarming voice has its own set...

Julie Byrne's lucid and enchanting folk songs speak immensely to the imagination, providing visions of the stars of the high desert, the fatigue of change, the wild flowers of the California coast, as...

The Wire is an independent, monthly music magazine celebrating and interrogating the most visionary and inspiring, subversive and radical, marginalised and undervalued musicians on the planet, past an...

Invoking the cosmic spirits of Sun Ra, futuristic three-piece The Comet Is Coming creates an impetuous blend of jazz, afrobeat and electronica. The group turn their intergalactic jazz into a mythologi...

dir. Maris Curran As a prolific artist, musician and lover of Mother Earth, Lonnie Holley treasures the discarded. Nurturing the neglected, he finds healing in the transformative power of art. This 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...

In the early 70’s, free-jazz evangelists Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids sprung from the tutelage of the great Cecil Taylor. Drawing furthermore from the vast cosmos of Fela Kuti, Pharaoh Sand...

Many nomadic Tuareg artists channel and preserve the vibrancy of life that was once the everyday in  Mali. Ahmed Ag Kaedy initially set out to do the same, but instead his haunting eight-track LP...

Mo DJ is one of the first artists to successfully integrate Malian music within the electronic mixing spectrum. His journey began as cassette salesman at one of the station roads in Bamako, Mali, moon...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver Lutz Gregor’s documentary Mali Blues takes a vivid look at the West-African nation’s rich and diverse musical fabric, following folk star Fato...

In our opinion, by the time November rolls around, Catalan duo Tarta Relena should head a-many top-of-year lists thanks to ‘Pack Pro Nobis’. The release, an expanded edition of prior works...

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...

U? celebrates local and creative communities across the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. Through public programs, U? brings people together and creates space for exchange.

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Khartoum, Sudan We discuss LGW Embassy: Khartoum, Sudan with Hassan Kamil: a talk about portraying another image of the continent, the country, and the city; how music in Khartoum grew to be ‘a form of resistance’; and how it is home to a rich array of meaningful, beautiful, and unique sounds; dif...

During Le Guess Who? 2022, flamenco icon Estrella Morente and Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra came together for a magic showcase of warmth and joy. You can now watch the full concert film of the stunning performance at Utrecht's Jacobikerk, presented in collaboration with Ud Festival.  The daughter of world-famous Enrique Morente,...

Kenya's Duma, figureheads of the flourishing Nairobi underground metal scene, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021 as part of the program curated by Phil Elverum (The Microphones/Mount Eerie).  Martin "Lord Spike Heart" Khanja and Sam Karugo released their self-titled album in 2020 through Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Tapes and were i...

One would be hard-pressed to not be spellbound by Rəhman Məmmədli’s effervescent playing. The guitarist’s blazing practice sprung from one of Azerbaijan’s most tumultuous and transfo...

This year, Le Guess Who? presents the fourth edition of Hidden Musics, a project that focuses on deeply localized music and features artists embedded in rich, often centuries-old musical traditions that have been developed with little or no outside influences. The first series was initiated in 2019 by Le Guess Who? in collaboration w...

On ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels’, Beirut-based up-and-coming singer-songwriter Mayssa Jallad combines her three vocations; music, urban research, and architectural history. The result...

When Dutch rapper Keenan Mundane grabs the mic, there’s no choice but to listen. Inspired by the sounds of foreign agents such as JPEGMAFIA, Earl Sweatshirt, and MF Doom, Mundane chews up his in...

Le Guess Who? is lucky enough to host the reunion of legendary alternative hip-hop group Antipop Consortium. The foursome first made a shocking dent on the rap scene with their debut album ‘Trag...

Born with in the Kivu province of North Eastern Congo, Kahanga "Vumbi" Dekula grew up in a Swedish missionary home where he picked up the guitar at an early age. Listening intently to the radio, he le...

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...

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...

Le Guess Who? returns 6-9 November to Utrecht, The Netherlands, taking place across different venues in and around the city. We now reveal the guest curators and the initial line-up for the 2025 festival edition. More than ever, the program creates a space where the margins become the center, where the overlooked are elevated and where t...

Multi-disciplinary artist Yara Asmar shares her new album everyone I love is sleeping and I love them so so much, released as a special deluxe boxed vinyl version made in collaboration with Time Released Sound. everyone I love is sleeping and I love them so so much by Yara Asmar The new album presents 11 pieces recorded over the pa...

The contemporary artist known as Blackhaine (a moniker influenced by the gritty nineties French film ‘La Haine’) has a multimedia practice spawned during the ‘static anxiety’ o...

Interview: Kathryn Mohr Recently, we’ve visited the Eastern region of Iceland for an extensive chat with our 2025 COSMOS Embassy Seyðisfjörður Community Radio. This time, we’re moving a mere 100km further to Stöðvarfjörður, another fisher village in East Iceland that doubles as a hideout for cre...

Every year, COSMOS - our hybrid platform highlighting independent music scenes from around the world - links up with new partners, inviting them to grant us a glimpse into their unique musical environments. We’re now rolling out the visual component of these partnerships: short but powerful mini-documentaries, by the scene, for the...

At the invitation of Chromesthesia, another special collaboration takes the stage at this year’s Le Guess Who?. Betsayda Machado is an iconic Venezuelan folk artist who has been initiating liste...

Every year, COSMOS - our hybrid platform highlighting independent music scenes from around the world - links up with new partners, inviting them to grant us a glimpse into their unique musical environments. In the coming weeks, we’re rolling out the visual component of these partnerships: short but powerful mini-documentaries, by th...

After a successful pilot last year, U? will once again collaborate with the students of Utrecht’s University of the Arts (HKU) department ‘Music & Technology’. Under guidance of...

Tayo Rapoport and Rohan Ayinde present their debut collaborative project, titled iwoyi: within the echo (2024). This innovative film investigates the radical potential of Black British music in e...

Through saxophone, cello, piano, and flutes, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio offers the chance to engage with songs intended for healing. At its heart, it’s meditation music, with gospel and blue...

Transcendentally beautiful, The Space Lady’s music is once again gracing planet Le Guess Who?. Transmitting messages of peace and harmony, she began her odyssey on the streets of Boston in the l...

Directed by Luis Chumbe HuamaníRunning time: 94 minutes Sonido Amazonico (“Amazonian Sound”) is a fascinating journey through the history of the Sánchez Casanova brothers, k...

IDGK is an Istanbul-based music initiative documenting the city’s diverse alternative scene. Since 2023, IDGK has produced numerous live performance videos in collaboration with local artists, b...

The work of singer-songwriter Tainá e i o u is marked by sound experimentation and the fusion of Amazonian traditions with contemporary languages. Her music emerges from the encounter between t...

Surrealist blues poet aja monet is in the business of goosebumps and heart-gut-telling truths. Her compelling vocal performance immerses in the music—shifting between jazz, soul, hip-hop, rhythm...

Supported by his band’s mesmerizing and infectious beats, high-energy dances and singing, King Ayisoba provides captivating stage performances that pulse straight to the heart with repetitive, t...

In the mid-1960s, Art Ensemble of Chicago sprung from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Ever since, they have been celebrated as one of the most remarkable free jazz mo...

Originally from the forests of a mountainous region in East Bohemia in Czech Republic, Please The Trees is grounded in the psychedelic riffs and motorik beats of krautrock, striking out with mesmerizi...

Selda Bağcan is a legendary Turkish singer and political activist. Her first singles, about political struggle and the demands of the working class, sold over 1 million copies. Selda’s psychedelic interpretations of traditional Turkish folk music and her political views have lost Selda her passport and caused her to be repeatedly im...

Throughout her chronicle of life, it’s easy to understand how Vivien Goldman earned the title ‘Punk Professor’. In the 70s, Goldman wasn’t simply satisfied standing on the side...

Pop music canon has always compelled the listener to unravel the mystery behind the song. But the music of Aldous Harding inspires something arguably more powerful: an individual whose voice can seaml...

Hidden Musics Christopher C. King’s relationship with the folk traditions of Epirus, a mountain region connecting Greece with the southern parts of Albania, occupies a special place in his hear...

In their four-decade career, The Ex have experimented with countless styles and ideas. They are revered by many of their guitar-wielding peers, notably Sonic Youth, Tortoise, and Steve Albini. But the...

Ever since Phil Elverum began releasing records as the Microphones and Mount Eerie, he has been continuously moving the goalpost of musical storytelling to new and exciting horizons. The Microphones&r...

Sons of Kemet’s latest record, ‘Black to the Future’, was released in May – mostly recorded after the murder of George Floyd. For The Guardian’s Kitty Empire, the album f...

Le Guess Who? 2012

Relive performances from LGW19 We captured some performances  by Aldous Harding, Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band, Efterklang, Girl Band, Makaya McCraven and Minyo Crusaders on video. Watch below: WATCH THE VIDEOS Press Archive Our archive includes news, reports and interviews for LGW19. Relive the edition with...

Jannis Stürtz first had the idea of co-founding his own music label amid traveling to North Africa. It was there that the Berlin-based crate digger was introduced to a brand new world of music fr...

The hurdy-gurdy is an instrument few play and less master, but Valentín Clastrier does. The French musician’s career started out eclectic, as he picked up on choral singing, the cornet, a...

London-based producer Ryan Lee West, aka Rival Consoles, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by clipping., following the release of latest album ‘Now Is’. You can now listen to and relive the full performance below.  AboutThroughout his critically acclaimed fifteen-year career, Rival Con...

Le Feast invites you to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Would you like to join the potluck, invite people to your home in Utrecht as a home-chef or want to be a guest? You can now sign up! “Le Feast is such a great way to bring people together in an atmosphere of generosity and celebrate what unites us.&rdq...

Le Guess Who? x Front 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. Watch and listen to the live sessions + interviews with Dutch post-punk outfit Private Bankingand and Anna van Rij. LE GUESS WHO? X FRONT

Raised in the small German town of Weilheim, Markus and Micha Acher were brought up surrounded by music, performing alongside their father in the New Orleans Dixie Stompers. But, through the catalogs...

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

Born in the US, Sarathy Korwar grew up in Ahmedabad and Chennai in India. He began playing tabla aged 10, but was also drawn to the American music that he heard on the radio and leaking through the do...

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...

This year, Le Guess Who? presents the fourth edition of Hidden Musics, a project that focuses on deeply localized music and features artists embedded in rich, often centuries-old musical traditions that have been developed with little or no outside influences. The first series was initiated in 2019 by Le Guess Who? in collaboration w...

Our official Le Guess Who? 2024 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 LGW24 playlist. You can also switch easily between Le Guess Who? and U?, our freely a...

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...

Following a mutually respectful relationship, initially held in Instagram DMs and reciprocal admiration for each other’s work, we should be thankful for the invitation sent by Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) to Joseph Kamaru (KMRU) to collaborate on a new album. Today, the results of that collaboration are released in the form o...

Nils is an interdisciplinary artist with works ranging from concrete sculptures to sound performance and installations. The inspiration for the concrete mixer performance emerged during the constructi...

Following the release of our initial line-up for 2023, and our Special Projects, we now announces the world premiere of The Harvest Time Project: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders, which celebrates the legacy of Pharoah Sanders and his seminal composition, Harvest Time (1977). The Harvest Time Project is an ever-evolving concert which will ha...

COSMOS x U? announce their 2024 Embassy in Utrecht, the Netherlands For the first time since its inception, U? – Le Guess Who’s freely accessible city program – enlists five Community Curators from different cities, to bring fresh new perspectives to the Utrecht’s subcultural network. What they all have in common...

In an entirely virtual, post-apocalyptic game world, the filmmakers talk to the people behind the digital avatars. From death squad member to church leader to solitary wanderer.IDFA (International Doc...

Bandung-based community radio NORRM and the LaMunai record store provide us with an introduction to Indonesia’s eclectic and diverse underground sounds.Their collaborative film captures the crea...

Multidisciplinary artist J.A.D.E crafts a diverse and ever-evolving sound. At her core, she feels most at home within the realm of Neo-Soul, blended with rich R&B influences. She's currently working on her second EP, Slightly Carbonated, in collaboration with Scott Cian. Slighlty Carbonated is a journey to rediscover, reconnect with,...

On Saturday 24 May, starting at 11:50AM CEST, you can tune in to Refuge Worldwide for a special radio broadcast about Le Guess Who? 2025 and context around the program of this year's festival edition.  Listen back now: Following our initial line-up announcement, the Le Guess Who? program team gives an insight into the curatorial...

-db kicked off as a residency in Amsterdam, initiated by Le Guess Who? in collaboration with Garage Noord, with celebrated multi-disciplinary artist Kelman Duran at the helm. Working for five straight days holed up in a DIY studio ("no frills, just pure creation", in the words of the artists themselves), the project blossomed into a colla...

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. ...

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 career spanning over 50 years, the singer and multi-instrumentalist gives his all with exceptional dance moves while duetting with his cu&iac...

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...

From the warm cocoon of Dream of the Egg begins the new, deeply personal, journey of Tomo Katsurada, known for his work with the Japanese psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo. It’s the first of five a...

It takes a few instants to pick up on the explosive and contagious rhythms of Ndagga Rhythm Force. Led by the stunning stage presence of veteran percussionist Bada Seck and singer Mbene Diatta Seck, t...

Masello Motana transcends disciplines to create work that is both culturally restorative and creatively groundbreaking. Her artistic signature lies in blending nostalgia, social realism and history, t...

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...

IDGK is an Istanbul-based music initiative documenting the city’s diverse alternative music scene. Since 2023, IDGK has produced numerous live performance videos in collaboration with local arti...

In her home country of Zimbabwe, music icon Stella Chiweshe is endearingly called The Queen of Mbira, becoming the first female artist to gain widespread recognition for a strictly male-dominated disc...

Artistic freedom is too often reduced to “freedom of expression”, but for artists and independent cultural organisations, the ground is much more complex. It’s not only what someone...

Boundary-pushing percussion ensemble Arsenal Mikebe transforms traditional rhythm practices into raw, hypnotic soundscapes that echo the power and precision of electronic music, while remaining entire...

For the June episodes of COSMOS' monthly show on Refuge Worldwide, we’re connecting the dots between Panamá and Pakistan, with mixes by River Down Records and Hamnawa Magazine.

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...

‘Concrete Desert’ is a colossal masterpiece created by The Bug (Kevin Martin) and Earth's Dylan Carlson. On this tandem project, Carlson and Martin plunge into deep sonic abysses, with dro...

Born and bred in the isolated, outstretched emptiness that's the Mojave desert, The Soft Moon’s Luis Vasquez projects equally desolate imagery to voice his darkest fears. Each album peels away a...

Electronic explorer James Holden is not only a musician, he’s also a producer, remixer, and the founder of the Border Community label, where he releases the music of equally genre bending electr...

The Star Pillow is a drone/ambient moniker of Italian guitar impressionist Paolo Monti. Monti's craft is mainly informed by his research on the relation between sound, space and human emotion. On stag...

In a new interview with The Quietus, UK producer Klein discusses being a woman and a producer, and 'Tommy'; her new EP for Hyperdub. Stream a track below, and read the interview here.  "Live sho...

Do you know what total destruction sounds like? It’s sounds like MC/singer Miss Red, aka Sharon Stern, and producer The Bug, alias Kevin Martin, hitting the stage. The Bug’s monstrous, all...

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...

RVNG Intl. presents; dir. Tony Lowe ‘ICON EYE’ is RVNG Intl.’s first film production, about the making of the FRKWYS recording ‘Icon Give Thanks’. The film evokes a feel...

Centraal Museum presents Black Chords is an installation by the French ‘post-conceptual’ artist Saâdane Afif, which consists of thirteen electric guitars and the same number of ampl...

Naming a band after something concise and universal seems to naturally generate some of the most physically punishing music in existence. If Sunn O))) and Sleep are part of a three-headed beast of &ld...

When Girl Band prowl the stage, you’d best prepare for a barb-wired wallop of first class agit-rock. This Irish wrecking crew has become one of the most fearsome live units of the decade thanks...

Presented by Le Guess Who? & Springhaver This heart-warming road movie, directed by Philippe Godeau, follows the titular protagonist, the 13-year-old Senegalese Yao, in his quest to meet his hero...

The Sweet Release Of Death triumph over doom-and-gloom with a pinch of dark humor and a penchant for stretching guitar-based music’s outer peripheries. The group forms a maelstrom of ear-splitti...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's the Brazilian singer-songwriter who wrote the theme song for Netflix hit series 'Narcos'. But,...

Last year, Circuit des Yeux released her fifth studio album 'Reaching For Indigo'; a deeply personal record and probably Haley Fohr's most fulfilled full-length to date. Now, Circuit des Yeux has...

Collaboratorium The cartoon physics of Brooklyn experimental outfit Zs, the Lovecraftian doom tandem Ex Eye with Colin Stetson, the blast beat barrages of Liturgy; Greg Fox has an uncanny knack for t...

Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's a high-energy celebration of New Orleans bounce from one of the first openly gay artists within the...

The shamanistic Saul Williams is a singer, rapper, poet, actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism. At the moment, Williams is working on his Kickstarter film pro...

Stella Chiweshe, The Queen of Mbira, broke new ground by becoming the first artist to successfully combine the mbira with the marimba. She took up the homegrown instrument back in 1964, originally use...

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...

LGW17 Photo Archive Our photo team captured a lot of special moments during Le Guess Who? 2017. Take a scroll through our 2017 photo archive:  VISIT PHOTO ARCHIVE

Le Guess Who? curator collective CURL is made up of sonic eccentrics Mica Levi, Brother May, and Coby Sey, among others. A tightly-knit community of artists and musicians from the London underground,...

Lost Girls is the Norwegian duo made up of experimental guitarist Håvard Volden and former LGW curator Jenny Hval. Their latest album, 2023's Selvutsletter, continues the intuitive, late night feel of the group's previous work with topics such as cities after dark, music rituals, band practices of the ‘90s, and the early days...

Brian Jackson performed live during the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2024, featuring a string of classic tracks such as The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Home Is Where the Hatred Is, and Winter in America. You can now listen to, and relive, the full performance below.  As one-half of power duo Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jac...

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...

Grit is something Lisbon-based Maria Reis has in spades, which captured the attention of Animal Collective’s Panda Bear. After the success of Pega Monstro, the punk band created with sister J&ua...

Today, Rotterdam's noise pop revisionists The Sweet Release Of Death make their much-anticipated return with third LP 'The Blissful Joy Of Living', out now via Subroutine Records. The album could be considered a playful counter-statement to their own name. Over the span of six songs, it offers an acute glimpse of a band mired in tota...

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 ...

On the quays at De Nijverheid you will find the annually renewed open-air art exhibition KunstKoers. Prick up your ears as you wander along the art works, so you won’t miss out on composer and s...

Le Guess Who? 2023

Very few preserve the tradition of the tonkori; Oki Kano, or OKI, is one of the few surviving players of this five-string harp, performed by the indigenous Japanese Ainu people. Kano revives and reinv...

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...

With his third release, this February’s ‘Ends Meet’, the Cairo-based electronic producer known as 3Phaz chooses to remain unidentified. Rather, 3Phaz continues to exist as a murky en...

In partnership with ALIGN.ONLINE. ALIGN.ONLINE is a Southeast Asian platform dedicated to cultural and sound innovation, with a focus on supporting women and the queer community in electronic music. Founded by award-winning musicians and organizers Victoria Yam (aka rEmPiT g0dDe$$) and Lynn Nandar Htoo (aka LnHD) in 2024, ALIGN.ONLINE bu...

Bajas are back! The Chicago pysch trio, headed by Cave’s Cooper Crain, has unleashed yet another one of their kaleidoscopic creations onto the listening world with ‘Bajascillators’ l...

After receiving the NME Award for Best Producer earlier this year, and being featured as "the red-hot jungle producer taking over the UK's dancefloors", prodigious UK raver Nia Archives is back with new single 'Baianá'. Watch the video for 'Baianá' below. The samples the traditional Brazilian choir Barbatuques, Nia Archives...

This video is about a young cultural group composed of the youth of two families in Sake Town. In just the last 20 years, Sake inhabitants have been forced to displace from their town, fearing conflic...

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...

In Caracas, Venezuela, one of the Caribbean’s most vibrant salsa countries, musicians continue to make art, despite the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the music industry. In this...

When it comes to the inanga (an oval-shaped, harp-like device that many have called Rwanda's most important musical instrument), few master it like Sophie Nzayisenga. The instrument has been in her li...

COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s globe-spanning initiative that amplifies exciting music scenes from around the world. Through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies, COSMOS connects international music communities and shares their stories. Now, COSMOS reveals the 2023 Embassies, together with its first-ever live program,...

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), Pakistani singer...

Tabanka Records is a project founded in Amadora, Portugal, in mid-2019 by Mama Demba (River Ramos) and Henrique Silva. Originally conceived as a vinyl record shop, it quickly evolved into a platform for music production, creation and artist promotion, acting as a bridge between the past and present of African music, with a strong focus on...

Detroit native DJ Stingray 313, real name Sherard Ingram, is a menacing node in the vast tangle of electronic music's history, present, and future. His eyes, which shine behind the mask which otherwis...

This year, Le Guess Who? presents the fourth edition of Hidden Musics, a project that focuses on deeply localized music and features artists embedded in rich, often centuries-old musical traditions that have been developed with little or no outside influences. The first series was initiated in 2019 by Le Guess Who? in collaboration w...

How does one put Ndox Electrique into mere words? It is wild, dark, and solar; it is feminine and powerful, groovy and heavenly. Most importantly, Ndox Electrique is a ritual of possession which comes...

Much like the South African bee after which they named their most recent album, once you get stung by the Durban trio Phelimuncasi’s music, it’s hard to keep still. Following their acclaim...

A relentless crate-digger, Cuba-born Cami Layé Okún’s work as a DJ goes beyond curatorship; be it behind the booth - the artist has performed across landmark stages such as the one...

The work of multi-talented sound artist ZULI has spilled over Cairo's borders onto the rest of the world, garnering support from the likes of Aphex Twin and Autechre. Recently, the artist released his new album Lambda; leading up to the release, the musician and producer, who is determined to uplift other Middle Eastern creative voices, p...

Library Card came to be when four musicians from the lively Rotterdam music scene became friends. Lot van Teylingen, Mitchell Quitz, Kat Kalkman, and Emre Karayalçin soon emerged together as li...

Library Card came to be when four musicians from the lively Rotterdam music scene became friends. Lot van Teylingen, Mitchell Quitz, Kat Kalkman, and Emre Karayalçin soon emerged together as li...