Search: K �� R R Y N
K Á R Y Y N
K Á R Y Y N is a producer, composer and vocalist who makes textured and emotional music inspired by the human condition, science and spirituality. Born in Alabama, baptized in Aleppo and raised...
DE BRUJAS Y FANTASMAS by Kianí del Valle with Ziúr
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...
Ziúr & Sandi - Home - Live A/V
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...
Celestial Spaces: Moonwatch
Moonwatch plays layered dream indie pop, merging spellbinding melodies with reverb-drenched textures to convey the moods of the night sky. The members of the five-headed band from Utrecht joined force...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
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...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Panama City, Panama
River Down Records is a label from Panama City, Panama, dedicated to documenting and developing the creative sound of Panama. With over 15 digital releases, River Down Records has produced new works a...
R. De Selby
As a full-time member of Utrecht-based folk/slowcore formation I Am Oak, Dutch musician Robby de Selby is a versatile talent with an ear for both delightful melodies and foggy atmospherics. De Selby h...
Hello Skinny
One oath sworn by Hello Skinny – founded by Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner – is to create improv music that doesn’t sound improvisational. Inspired by New York’s late &lsquo...
Nicole Mitchell releases new album 'Maroon Cloud'
Today, improvisational composer and flutist Nicole Mitchell releases her new album 'Maroon Cloud' via FPE Records. The record sees Mitchell featured in a drumless chamber quartet together with so...
Meril Wubslin
Set in Swiss Lausanne and Belgian Brussels, Meril Wubslin is the musical project of Christian Garcia-Gaucher, guitarist-composer of Velma and Valérie Niederoest, with Jérémie Conn...
Hartenoord
Claudia C. ten Hoeve creates art for children aged 1 to 111. She playfully explores how everyone can make a difference in the world. For U? she wants to turn Ravenoord (at Rotsoord) into Hartenoord, a...
Cedric Vermue + Røund
Cedric Vermue is a Dutch pianist and a producer of neo-classical music based in Amsterdam. In 2019 he released his debut album, ‘Left Upon Us’, mixing piano with electronics and ambiences....
Noise Diva
Noise Diva is an Amsterdam-based producer and DJ, Garage Noord resident, and co-founder at KLAB and SALWA foundation. Her musical stylings bridge together a variety of genres, from Moroccan trap to Eg...
COSMOS Embassy: Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
Seyðisfjörður Community Radio is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the village of Seyðisfjörður on the east-coast of Iceland - hosted, nurtured a...
Tristwch Y Fenywod
The esoteric sound forged by Tristwch Y Fenywod is completely unheard, but instantly recognisable. Rooted in pagan mysticism and gothic rock, the trio (prolific members of the Leeds DIY underground mu...
Niño de Elche
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...
Lunetten Shadow Banking
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Lunetten Shadow Banking
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Military Genius previews upcoming album 'Scarred For Life'
Musician, singer-songwriter and producer Bryce Cloghesy announced his second album as Military Genius: Scarred For Life, out on the 1st of November via Unheard of Hope. The record is a genre-flexing mix of bass-heavy R&B, spaced dub, and jazz that is newly grounded within a traditional rock framework and centered on lyricism. Together...
Southeast and East Asia Special w/ Anh Phi (Nhạc Gãy)
Anh Phi is a Vietnamese-French music producer, DJ, and filmmaker, co-founder of Saigon-born collective Nhạc Gãy. Raised by Vietnamese parents in the suburbs of Paris, he later moved to Ho Chi...
Klein (2017)
Having been raised in a religious household, you might not expect Klein's career path started by making droned-out versions of Carly Rae Jepsen songs at open mic nights. It typifies her music though,...
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders isn't just one of the biggest jazz icons to ever set foot on a stage. In many ways, he transcends jazz music's conventions like few others. His employment of the tenor sax is unequaled...
Natasha Kmeto
Natasha Kmeto's music sounds like pure pop exposing itself under the x-ray machine: fully-formed, but its anatomy and innards laid bare for all to see. Her albums ‘Crisis’ and ‘Inevi...
tUnE-yArDs
As kaleidoscopic as tUnE-yArDs manages to sound, it's always remarkable how she seems to pull sounds out of the hat by sampling a modest drum set, a small detuned ukelele or her own elastic vocals. On...
Thurston Moore & Han Bennink
Han Bennink will engage in a sonic tête-à-tête with none other than Thurston Moore. Moore claimed fame as co-founder and singer/guitarist of influential noise rockers Sonic Youth. A...
Sudan Archives (2017)
Violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives writes, plays, and produces her own music. Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, she is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in element...
Violent Magic Orchestra
The Violent Magic Orchestra (VMO) is an offshoot of Japan’s brutal orchestra of everything Black, Vampillia. In collaboration with Pete Swanson (ex-Yellow Swans) and French composer Paul R&eacut...
Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program
Gregory Shorter Jr., also known as Ras_G, is an instrumental hip-hop producer, DJ and afrofuturist. Active in L.A.’s avant-garde beats scene since the early 2000’s and associated with the...
Joe Cardamone
L.A. based experimental musician, producer, auteur and artist Joe Cardamone, formerly of The Icarus Line, stated ‘he doesn’t care about bands anymore’, so he began his own solo proje...
Serpentwithfeet
As former choir-boy suppressing his queer feelings, New York producer and songwriter Josiah White unleashes his true nature in the boundary-breaking project Serpentwithfeet. Creating an elaborating, e...
Swamp Dogg
In 1970, soul artist Jerry Williams, Jr. radically reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg: an anti-hero who smashes the conventions of commercial R&B music, and whose subversive lyrics earned him a spot...
Blanck Mass
Since the release of his self-titled debut in 2011, Benjamin John Power, aka Blanck Mass, has demonstrated his versatility as an experimental drone/ambient musician and producer. Apart from being one...
Fatoumata Diawara
Over the past decade, Malian, Grammy-nominated artist, musician, and actress Fatoumata Diawara has been universally praised as one of Africa’s most trailblazing and outspoken voices. Diawara&rsq...
Doug Hream Blunt
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...
Sudan Archives
With her enrapturing deviations of electronic music, R&B, jazz and all-out pop, Sudan Archives - born Brittney Parks - doesn’t just bend the rules, she breaks them. Her innovative take on th...
Serpentwithfeet releases debut album 'soil'
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...
Revealing new projects & program additions for Le Guess Who? 2018
In addition to the previously announced initial line-up and curators, we now reveals a range of special projects and performers for the festival: Future Feminism; 15 years of RVNG Intl.; ONCEIM; and t...
Listen to all Stranded FM festival & radio shows from Le Guess Who? 2019
Utrecht's Stranded FM celebrate and share music from all over the globe, becoming our city’s bastion for discovering fresh sounds. During their four-year run, this Dutch underground radio station is built on a sense of community, a fertile DIY-mindset, plus a wholehearted love for cutting-edge music. During Le Guess Who?...
The Jonny Halifax Invocation
London-based blues outsider Jonny Halifax summons swamp blues, cosmic jazz, and more for this year's consciousness-expanding 'Acid Blüüs Räägs : Vol. 1'. It might not be a coincide...
There is a location for all of us . . .
Musical selections and conversation with Dhanveer Singh Brar and Paul RekretIn this session Dhanveer Singh Brar and Paul Rekret are asked to pick a piece of music in response to a set of remarks that...
Liv.e shares new track 'Ghost'
While Dallas-bred Liv.e might take cues from artists as diverse as Erykah Badu, DJ Screw, and Sun Ra, she mainly crafts her own idiosyncratic breed of lo-fi R&B. In the words of NME, she's 'R&B’s new avant-garde star who’s ‘tired of whispering.' That categorization is more true than ever on new track 'Ghost', he...
Ahya Simone
Detroit-based multidisciplinary artist Ahya Simone's practice is populated by a careful probing of Black identity, aesthetics, and community building - and it is crawling with exciting references. Bro...
Noise Diva (2022)
Noise Diva is an Amsterdam-based producer and DJ, Garage Noord resident, and co-founder at KLAB. Her musical stylings bridge together a variety of genres, from Moroccan trap to Egyptian R&B, Frenc...
GAIKA (2018)
Hailing from Brixton, vocalist and producer GAIKA developed his own take on the numerous currents of London’s contemporary music scene. With Jamaican and Grenadian roots, GAIKA creates a sonic b...
3Phaz x MSYLMA
Rightfully celebrated for ‘Three Phase’, his 2020 LP that presented a powerful new take on the country’s Mahraganat/Shaabi sound, Cairo-based electronic booth magician 3Phaz has inch...
Elias Rønnenfelt
For the last 16 years, musician and poet Elias Rønnenfelt has fronted Danish band Iceage. This month, he’ll release his first solo album, ‘Heavy Glory’. This work is the sound...
Martha Da'ro
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’,...
Military Genius
With Military Genius, Canadian musician Bryce Cloghesy flexes his world-building prowess, a talent documented throughout boundary-pushing discography dating back to 2016. In his music, dream logic rei...
KeiyaA (2021)
Chicago-bred singer and producer KeiyaA may be a newcomer to R&B, her airy yet thoughtful 2020 debut, ‘Forever Ya Girl’ may very well be her ticket to being spoken in the same breath a...
Klein (2021)
There is something odd, but at the same time staggeringly honest, about Klein’s music. Her tracks sound delightfully disheveled - ghostly R&B tracks not meant for the world to listen to. It&...
Attila Csihar & Iggor Cavalera
Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator Ziúr brings together unique super-duo Attila Csihar & Iggor Cavalera. On drums is the co-founder of legendary Brazilian band Sepultura, whose groundbreaking...
COSMOS Embassy: Panama City, Panama
River Down Records is a label from Panama City, Panama, dedicated to documenting and developing the creative sound of Panama. With over 15 digital releases, River Down Records has produced new works a...
Proces Kabaal x TBS x SOS Free Party
Free parties were on the forefront of electronics since the birth of acid-house. Traveling D.I.Y. community’s like Spiral Tribe and MononoM are synonymous with underground and non-conforming sou...
Maja S. K. Ratkje
Renowned for her extraordinary vocal range, The Chicago Reader described Maja S. K. Ratkje as “one of the most astonishing singers on the planet.” Even more of an accomplishment when you t...
食品まつり a.k.a. Foodman
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,...
Nick León b2b Kelman Duran
Nick León and Kelman Duran are standing side by side for a b2b set that promises to whisk us away on nightly adventures. Long-time collaborators - Duran remixed León’s ‘Apret...
Read via The Quietus: which records would Felix Kubin seek out at the Mega Record & CD Fair?
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...
Scene Report: Mexico City, Mexico. Part II
‘El Peñon de Los Baños’ or ‘Colombia Chiquita’ is a rock formation in Mexico City, right next to the airport. Where hot springs still gush today. In the same way,...
Khana Bierbood
Great pop songs with magic sprinkles of Eastern soundtracks, Spaghetti Western’s spacious twang and some grooving yé-yé sounds, that’s Khana Bierbood in a nutshell. Not surpr...
Lole Montoya
Spain’s history can be heard in Lole Montoya’s voice. Uncontained by the categories of ‘singer’ or ‘cantaora’, she emotionally discharges her spirit with unseen cou...
Rodrigo Ambriz
Rodrigo Ambriz has spent the last sixteen years seamlessly swimming in and out of genres, contexts, and languages within the Mexican experimental music space. From the interpretation of contemporary p...
The Mauskovic Dance Band
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...
Eartheater
Queens based artist Alexandra Drewchin, a.k.a. Eartheater, throws you back and forth with her unconventional, tumultuous sound. Featuring bizarre clashes of acoustic and digital music, Eartheater&rsqu...
GAIKA shares new single 'Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)'
With his debut album 'Basic Volume' out 27 July on Warp, vocalist and producer GAIKA now shares his new single 'Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)', co-produced by SOPHIE. With Jamaican a...
Old Time Relijun
Many questions arise when listening to K Records’ Old Time Relijun. Is it for real? Is it ironic? When leading man Arrington de Dionyso channels his best David Byrne impression under a cacophoni...
Slow Down Time
‘Slow Down Time’ is a short documentary that highlights the lives of eight individual dancers in Los Angeles during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following social distancing guidelines and filmed...
Performance: OKI - performing ‘Kai Kai As To’
Oki Kano’s (A.K.A OKI)’s identity, as a part of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people, is central to his person and his art - as he says: ‘I might travel on a Japanese passpor...
Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with Metropole Orkest Strings - Live at Le Guess Who? 2018
Continuing the legacy of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar is considered to be one of the world’s most renowned sitar players. In 2018, she performed at Le Guess Who?, together with Austrian percussionist and Björk collaborator Manu Delago and the 27-member string section of the Metropole Orkest, conducte...
Anadol (DJ set)
Gözen Atila (or Anadol) has authenticity as a guiding principle; ‘this is what I want to achieve'. Their ambition does not betray them, since every inch of their latest release, 2022’...
Mark Leckey
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...
Pixel Paradise x Something Happening Somewhere
Prepare yourselves for a special event: Pixel Paradise x Something Happening Somewhere, unfolding within the cozy confines of dB’s. This one-of-a-kind event is brought to you by Something Happen...
RP Boo (2018)
Besides being one of Chicago’s finest producers, Kavain Space a.k.a. RP Boo is also known as the originator of footwork music. Emerging from Chicago house in the late 90’s, the genre inclu...
Scene Report: San Agustín, Venezuela
San Agustín is a south-central Caracas, Venezuela, district that began to form in the late 1800s. People from Margarita Island and the Venezuelan Andes, but especially from the Black areas of V...
Schwierige Franz
Go nuts on the dancefloor, get some dirty doom in your eyes and become slightly intoxicated. One man band Schwierige Franz combines the meanest and the leanest of EBM, postpunk and fuzzy rock ‘n...
Film: Relatos Salvajes
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...
Escape-Ism
Rock ‘n Roll revolutionary and punk veteran Ian Svenonius is back in town. The mythical performer, author, and filmmaker is currently taking the world by storm with his solo project Escape-Ism....
Julián Mayorga
Colombian artist Julián Mayorga reminds us how freeing it can be to not take ourselves too seriously. Upon graduating from a Masters degree in electroacoustics and algorithmic composition in Ma...
LGW x SPEAK present: Brazilian songwriter Sessa introduced by Carlos Santos
Le Guess Who? is proud to welcome both artists and visitors of many different nationalities to Utrecht each year. In collaboration with SPEAK, we started a new video series in which Utrechters with foreign roots introduce an artist on the Le Guess Who? 2021 line-up from their country. SPEAK connects locals, newcomers and migra...
Cami Layé Okún
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...
Read: The Quietus interviews Still House Plants
Enmeshing R&B, slowcore and pop influences, Still House Plants’s latest album If I don't make it, I love u is the band’s fullest embodiment of the UK trio’s sound to date. Critically acclaimed, the record marks the post-rock outfit's decade of friendship and consolidates their research for a richer, deeper sou...
Phantom Wizard
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...
Keep Dancing Inc
In just a few years, Keep Dancing Inc has etched an indelible mark on the indie alternative scene with their suave and serene approach. European tours alongside Blossoms, collaborations with Altin G&u...
Nídia (2019)
Príncipe Discos presents, hosted by FACT “Her music is dazzling in all senses, a trance-inducing tangle of boxy drums, vivid swirls of synthetic melody and buzzsaw grime bass,” The...
Germán Bringas
Mexican improvisational artist, composer, producer, and performer Germán Bringas arrives at Le Guess Who? bearing a fascination with velocity - of attention, synesthesia, and consciousness over...
Wilfred Guerrero
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...
Ahmed Fakroun feat. Altin Gün
Libya’s Ahmed Fakroun is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and pioneer in modern Arabic music. As a rhymist (based on a form of Algerian folk music dating back to the 1920s), he is one of the...
Yann Gourdon
As a hurdy-gurdy player, composer and sound artist, Yann Gourdon focuses on the various ways acoustic instruments work together with landscapes, objects and man-made structures. Simultaneously, he lea...
Thurston Moore Group
By Special Arrangement with Ecstatic Peace Library. No matter how far his musical interests stretch, Thurston Moore’s stylish poise is always prevalent in his work: red-hot, risqué and ra...
Joan Of Arc
Chicago stalwart Tim Kinsella initially made his mark with emocore trailblazers Cap ’n Jazz. Over the past twenty years, Joan Of Arc has been the primary instrument of his limitless imagination....
To The North II + (The) Night Flight + Escape-Ism
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...
Escape-Ism
Ian Svenonius & Alexandra Cabral present The mythical performer, author, and filmmaker Ian Svenonius, who performs as Escape-Ism, shows a selection of experimental short films he made with filmma...
Keys of Light - Open Piano
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...
Don The Tiger
Berlin-based, Spanish-born musician Adrián de Alfonso has collaborated with names like Lydia Lunch, El Guincho and Le Guess Who? curator Lucrecia Dalt. However, it is on his own that...
Stiltecoupé
Right nextdoor to the chaos of Utrecht Central station is Perron West, an old train car revamped to serve as a get-together. Party by day in the Stiltecoupé; a channel serving silent disco by l...
I Think I Think
I Think I Think is a dreampop duo consisting of Aurelia Wurfbain and Silva Westera. With the technological testcases in their music, like using computer controlled hammers/solenoids, tape loops and li...
Open Ateliers, Exhibitions & Live Painting
De Nijverheid is a cultural freeport full of artists from all kinds of disciplines. Over fifty artists call this their second home, making De Nijverheid an artistic hub that sparks new creativity, une...
Flash Amazonas
Julián Mayorga and Ryota Miyake first came across one another at Red Bull Music Academy in 2015. There, the Colombian and Japanese art-pop duo began, and their story rekindled in Montreal, Toky...
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto - Desde Le Guess Who? (En Vivo)
During Le Guess Who? 2024, we witnessed the magic of legendary Cumbia and Gaita ensemble Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, thanks to festival curator Mabe Fratti who invited them to Utrecht. Dubbed "the authentic masters of traditional Colombian Music" by the New Yorker, Latin GRAMMY-winning Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto have toured the world f...
Valentín Clastrier
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...
Nospray: Kalaallit Nunaat
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...
Watch: Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with Metropole Orkest Strings live at LGW18
Continuing the legacy of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar is considered to be one of the world’s most renowned sitar players. In 2018, she performed at Le Guess Who?, together with Austrian percussionist and Björk collaborator Manu Delago and the 27-member string section of the Metropole Orkest, conducte...
Tiny Room Records: We vs. Death
22 years ago, four kindred musical spirits found each other at Utrecht University. They shared a passion for unconventional music and formed We vs. Death. For ten years they steadily built on a succes...
Freaky Dancing: Robin Nimanong - Bodyscan 223
A Misfit Cyberpunk Act. Bodyscan 223 is a media-dance-event that focuses on our conflicting ideas of technology, accesibility and queer-identity. Robin Nimanong presents his queer body as a witness to...
Revealing the curators and initial program for Le Guess Who? 2021
Inviting guest curators to build their own programs has become a hallmark of Le Guess Who? over the years. Featuring both their inspirations and fellow like-minded artists, this allows upcoming acts to perform alongside established artists. We are genuinely excited to now reveal the curators for Le Guess Who? 2021, as well as the first pe...
Official Le Guess Who? Hangout
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...
Scene Report: Mexico City, Mexico. Part I
Street vendors are often referred to as merchandisers who use public spaces to sell their products and services. In Mexico, street vendors go back to the pre-Hispanic times, when people started sellin...
Listen & relive: Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul live at Le Guess Who? 2022
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...
Ale Hop & Laura Robles present Agua Dulce
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...
Ndox Electrique
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...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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...
Listen/read: Flamenco innovator Lole Montoya: “I would not be able to sing something I’m not feeling”
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...
"Tired of having a plan": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with Rắn Cạp Đuôi
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...
Painkiller Party
Welcome to the world of PAINKILLER PARTY! This band revitalizes Electronicore with a mix of heavy breakdowns, quirky electronics, sweet melodies, and deep growls from a female voice. Think deathcore m...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Athens, Greece
stegi.radio is a 24/7 online radio station produced by Onassis Stegi, based in Athens. The radio’s mission is based on the values of freedom of movement and the idea of cross-culturalism, aiming...
COSMOS Embassy Announcement: Touching Bass (London, UK)
COSMOS x Touching Bass announce their 2024 Embassy in London, UK Touching Bass is a London-based musical movement founded by Errol and Alex Rita, comprised of a community-come-club night, record label, staple NTS Radio show, concert series and curatorial studio. Since its inception, Touching Bass has steadily established itself as...
LGW23 Program Update
We’re pleased to announce that Khyam Allami, Animistic Beliefs, Natural Information Society, Antipop Consortium, Wayne Phoenix, Badume’s Band & Selamnesh Zéméné, Kim David Bots & Lyckle De Jong, Toumba, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Radio Choir performing Delius’ A Song of the...
COSMOS Embassy: Athens, Greece
In partnership with stegi.radio stegi.radio is a 24/7 online radio station produced by Onassis Stegi and it is based in Athens. The radio’s conception was based on the values of freedom of move...
COSMOS Embassy: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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...
Listen: Raja Kirik release 'Phantasmagoria of Jathilan'
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...
Concepción Huerta
Thanks to her peculiar use of tapes to manipulate recordings of everyday objects and electronic instruments, Mexican photographer, composer, and video artist Concepción Huerta has a darker take...
Kelman Duran & FRANKIE
On the same day as his Nick León b2b, LA-based abstract electronic music icon Kelman Duran is linking up with multi-faceted artist Franziska Aigner, AKA FRANKIE. There is a lot of crossover in...
Illnoledge
I.L.L.N.O.L.E.D.G.E. is an acronym for: Intuitive, Limitless, Liberal-minded, New-fangled, Original, Luminous, Educative, Dedicated, Genuine, Elevators. The duo, consisting of brothers Steve Hartley a...
The Music Machine (2022)
It doesn't matter whether you are musical or not, everyone can make tones in the Sound Garden. One day they just started building an interactive music machine. They have one limitation: all instrument...
Stranded FM presents L/MA0RI
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...
COSMOS Embassy: Karachi, Pakistan
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 ethn...
COSMOS Embassy: London, UK
Touching Bass is the London-based musical movement, founded by Errol and Alex Rita. A community-come-club night, celebrated record label, staple NTS Radio show, concert series and curatorial studio. F...
COSMOS Embassy: Marrakech, Morocco
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...
COSMOS Embassy: Vilnius, Lithuania
Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in...
COSMOS Embassy: Seoul, South Korea
Seoul Community Radio (SCR) is South Korea’s premier community radio station. Established in 2016, SCR is a multi-platform online broadcaster at the center of Asia’s fast-growing electroni...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Karachi, Pakistan
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 ethn...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Detroit, USA
“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...
COSMOS Embassy Film: London, UK
Touching Bass is the London-based musical movement, founded by Errol and Alex Rita. A community-come-club night, award-nominated record label, staple NTS Radio show, concert series and curatorial stud...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Marrakech, Morocco
LE 18 is a multidisciplinary cultural and residency space established in 2013 and located in the medina of Marrakech (Morocco). It aims to provide time and space for research, creation, encounter, mut...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Seoul, South Korea
Seoul Community Radio (SCR) is South Korea’s premier community radio station. Established in 2016, SCR is a multi-platform online broadcaster at the center of Asia’s fast-growing electroni...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Vilnius, Lithuania
Bringing together DIY broadcasters from the Baltics and beyond, the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) has created an impactful platform that proves once more, that there is always strength in...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Utrecht, The Netherlands
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...
COSMOS Embassy: Utrecht, The Netherlands
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...
COSMOS x Refuge Worldwide
Since 2021, Berlin’s Refuge Worldwide has grown into an important community radio and cultural hub, spreading cutting-edge music with a clear mission of solidarity and social activism. As such,...
COSMOS x Refuge Worldwide
Since 2021, Berlin’s Refuge Worldwide has grown into an important community radio and cultural hub, spreading cutting-edge music with a clear mission of solidarity and social activism. As such,...
COSMOS Embassy: Detroit, USA
“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...
Alpha Maid (2022)
Leisha Thomas is Alpha Maid, a guitarist, vocalist, and producer hailing from South East London. Her first solo release on the C.A.N.V.A.S. collective label, 2021's 'CHUCKLE', garnered significant cri...
Usta/Olgun/Ekincioglu
Representing the cutting edge of Istanbul’s vibrant improvisational music scene, this brand new trio tells stories of humanity, spirituality and community. Through the tension of jazz experiment...
Edna Martinez
Rooted in the Colombian Caribbean’s sound system culture, Edna Martinez crafts expansive, powerful sonic journeys where African, Caribbean and Arab rhythms converge. Based in Berlin, the DJ, pro...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Istanbul, Turkey
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...
COSMOS Embassy Film: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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...
Read: K Á R Y Y N interviewed on Indiana, Aleppo and what home means
Born in Alabama, baptized in Aleppo and raised in Indiana, K Á R Y Y N’s early life was divided between the USA and Syria, her identity composed of both Middle-eastern and Western culture...
Listen: K Á R Y Y N shares new release 'QUANTA 1:11'
K Á R Y Y N is a producer, composer and vocalist who makes textured and emotional music, counting Björk among her admirers. Now, she shares the third installment of her 'QUANA'-series: a t...
Announcing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2017
The full line-up for Le Guess Who? is now revealed, with 60 acts completing the program - check out the full line-up here. The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda performed by...
Read: Istanbul’s Creative Scene Unites in Times of Crisis
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...
Read: Pitchfork offers an introduction to the music & background of Sudan Archives
Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, Sudan Archives is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in elements of R&B and experimental electronic music. Pitchfork have publish...
Sudan Archives shares new track 'Water'
Violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives writes, plays, and produces her own music. Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, she is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in el...
LGW & de Volkskrant meet up with Sudan Archives: watch our video portrait
Le Guess Who? & de Volkskrant bring you video portraits of artists performing at Le Guess Who? 2017. We meet Sudan Archives in Los Angeles just before she leaves for her first ever European tour....
Ziúr announces new album 'Home' & shares single 'No Yawn'
Driven by an appetite for boundless experimentation, producer and composer Ziúr has always been subverting expectations, corkscrewing through hardcore, metal and punk before veering towards electronic music's turbulent fringes. Today, the Le Guess Who? 2025 guest curator announces her upcoming album Home, out on September 5th via K...
Revealing the full program for Le Guess Who? 2024
Widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals, Le Guess Who? exists to platform fresh perspectives on what is possible in music. Artists from all over the world offer insights into the unprecedented diversity of human creativity. Le Guess Who? returns 7-10 November 2024 for its 17th edition in Utrecht, The Netherland...
Listen/read: Ndox Electrique root their sound in Senegal's healing ceremonies
You can also listen to this story – below or via your favorite podcast app. On the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2023, the festival features the first international performance of Ndox Electrique, whose music is inspired by an ancient ritual of the spirit-world originating from Senegal’s n’döep ceremonies. ...
Ahmed Fakroun: rediscovered pioneer in modern Arabic music, live with Dutch-Turkish act Altin Gün
Ahmed Fakroun is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, raï singer (based on a form of Algerian folk music from the 20's) and pioneer in modern Arabic music. As a kid, Fakroun already developed a f...
Coco María presents Club Coco: vital new music influenced by vintage sounds
When DJ and artist Coco María moved from Mexico to Europe, she brought the hidden gems of Latin American musical culture with her. Growing up surrounded by music, Coco María not only grew fond of the sounds of her childhood but also developed a love for sharing them with the rest of the world. Born out of this passion of he...
Le Guess Who? Reveals Embassy Partners for COSMOS 2025
COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s hybrid platform that highlights independent music scenes from around the world. Here we invite vibrant music communities from every corner of the map to become COSMOS Embassies, and to share their stories–both online and offline–through mixtapes, film, live radio, conversations and performances....
Watch: Ndox Electrique live at Le Guess Who?
Relive Ndox Electrique live at Le Guess Who?, the first international performance of the genre-blurring musical ensemble that originated in Senegal, and whose music is inspired by an ancient ritual of the spirit-world originating from Senegal’s n’döep ceremonies. About How does one put Ndox Electrique into mere...
Read: The Hidden Artist Refuge in Remote Iceland
Interview: Seyðisfjörður Community Radio Seyðisfjörður Community Radio (SCR) is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the fisher town of Seyðisfjörður. The platform is hosted, nurtured and initiated by an open-ended international community inhabiting various conditions and p...
Photo series at U? 2022
Utrecht based photographer Rogier Boogaard captured documentary photo series of artists involved in the festival.De Utrechtse fotograaf Rogier Boogaard heeft artiesten die betrokken waren bij het festival vastgelegd in documentaire fotoseries.
Niger's desert blues group Etran de L’Aïr announce new album 'Agadez'; listen to 'Adounia'
Etran de L'Aïr, the best of Saharan rock, has been in the game for 25 years. They're well-known for their hypnotic sound and sun-bleached melodies. This family band of brothers and cousins shared a common ancestry; in the shadow of the grand mosque, Etran's members are all the sons of nomadic families who settled in Agadez's small ne...
Listen: COSMOS on Refuge Worldwide with sounds from Iceland & Ireland
For the June episodes of COSMOS' monthly show on Refuge Worldwide, we’re exploring the sounds of Iceland and Ireland with two of Europe’s finest independent community radios. Brought to us via our 2024 Embassy ICRN, both Seyðisfjörður Community Radio and Dublin Digital Radio present two distinctive hours of music...
Playlist: New & Notable at Le Guess Who? 2018
As every year, an important part of the Le Guess Who? program is about making new discoveries; experiencing new sounds and artists that might become new personal favorites in the future. To help you e...
Le Guess Who? onthult compleet festivalprogramma tijdens line-up party in EKKO
Op donderdag 19 september onthult Le Guess Who? de volledige line-up voor de komende festivaleditie in EKKO, met optredens van Ben Shemie (SUUNS), Conjunto Papa Upa, Lechuga Zafiro en een speciale editie van Stranded FM x The Current. Entree is gratis. Deze line-up aankondiging wordt gevierd met optredens van Ben Shemie, frontman v...
Listen to Den Sorte Skole's Mixtape for Le Guess Who? 2017
Denmark's Den Sorte Skole create magical, musical storytelling across time and space. For Le Guess Who? 2017, the duo have put together a special mixtape with artists performing at the festival. Liste...
The New Yorker picks Etran de L'Aïr's cellphone-recorded 'No. 1' as album of the year
Etran de L'Aïr are a wedding band based in the town of Agadez, an urban center of the desert, and a city renowned for the production of music – in particular the electric guitar and the so-called “desert blues”. The name Etran de L'Aïr translates to “the Stars of the Aïr,” the mountainous regi...
Niger's Etran de L'Aïr share new single 'Toubouk Ine Chihoussay'
Hailing from the town of Agadez, which is known as “the gateway to the desert”, Etran de L’Aïr capture the pulse of everyday life at weddings, baptisms, political events, outdoor soirees alike. In 2020, The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich picked the group's 'No. 1' as her favorite album of t...
Attend online: Hidden Musics artists Etran de L’Aïr, live in Agadez, filmed in classic Agadez wedding style
Etran de L'Aïr, which translates to the Stars of the Aïr, is a music group based in Agadez, Northern Niger. Agadez is famous for its music production as well as the one-of-a-kind "desert blues." The group, founded in 1995, is regarded as one of the longest-running and best-performing bands in Agadez. Today, September 3rd, you'l...
Djrum returns to R&S with double a-side of "Ambient-Gabber"
Felix Manuel, also known as Djrum, takes elements from different musical sources and composes tracks that adhere to their own unique internal logic. His ears are attuned to the spontaneity of jazz while his production chops create original compositions out of a wellspring of samples, textures and beats. That's why he is widely acknow...
Watch/read: Mazaher live at LGW21, premiered by Pan African Music
Chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms, Egyptian ensemble Mazaher gave a rare performance at Le Guess Who? 2021. It was their first European show in over 15 years. Mazaher is an Egyptian ensemble, a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zãr music: a combination of chanted songs and hypnotic polyrhythm...
Listen to Patrick Higgins' soundtrack for 'As You Are'
Patrick Higgins is a New York City-based experimental music composer and multi-instrumentalist. Inspired equally by downtown N.Y.C. minimalism as well as the cassette underground, his solo guitar work...
Revealing the full program for U? 2023
(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, returns to Utrecht on 11 and 12 November 2023 for its third edition. This program is created for, but especially with Utrecht, to celebrate the city's creativity in all its diversity. Utrecht has an enormous variety of community cent...
Le Guess Who? presents the second edition of concert series Hidden Musics at 2021 festival
After an overwhelming first edition in 2019, the celebrated concert series Hidden Musics returns to Le Guess Who? from 11-14 November 2021 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Hidden Musics presents international musical performances that are not usually experienced on stages or at festivals; these rich, often centuries-old musical traditions ar...
Listen to 'A.R.E. Project': a collaboration between Shabaka Hutchings and Hieroglyphic Being
Last July, Shabaka Hutchings, Hieroglyphic Being & Sarathy Kowar recorded over 2.5 hours of improvised music in one studio session. Now, a selection of these recordings is released as 12" EP, enti...
Watch: VPRO Vrije Geluiden sessions with Etran de L'Aïr, Víctor Herrero, Ored Recordings, Mazaher & Mario Batkovic at LGW21
During Le Guess Who? 2021, VPRO Vrije Geluiden recorded live sessions with multiple artists who performed at the festival. All sessions are now online, featuring Etran de L’Aïr, Víctor Herrero, Mario Batkovic, Mazaher, and Zaur Nagoy in collaboration with Jrpjej, presented by Ored Recordings. Mazaher, Ored Recordi...
Photo series: LGW24 artist portraits by Melanie Marsman & Juri Hiensch
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...
Track of the Week #16: JPEGMAFIA - '1539 N. Calvert'
Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. Last week, we highlighted a classical and timeless hip hop track of Georgia Anne Muldrow. This week, we shift phase...
Introducing: Kelsey Lu: cello experiments turned into minimalistic, R&B-infused folk music
Raised in North Carolina, Kelsey Lu (although she prefers you just call her 'Lu') is the daughter of two devout Jehovah’s Witnesses. From a young age on, Lu was always encouraged to surround her...
Watch a video portrait of Egyptian Zar ensemble Mazaher
Mazaher are a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zãr music: chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms traditionally used as a purification and exorcism ritual to help pacify and cleanse the human spirit. Zar practitioners have been stigmatized because of this exorcist tradition and the aim of...
Watch: La Blogothèque presents A Take Away Show with serpentwithfeet
Two weeks ago, serpentwithfeet released his first full-length 'soil'; an accomplished exploration of the r&b, gospel, and pop trinity. Now, La Blogothèque has released a stri...
Pauline Oliveros R.I.P.
We are deeply saddened to hear about the sudden passing of Pauline Oliveros on Thanksgiving morning.
Les Amazones d’Afrique: making a big noise for women in a world run by men
Les Amazones d'Afrique are a gathering of some of the most powerful female voices of West-Africa. These performers use their music as a weapon to address the disempowerment of women across Africa and...
Colleen announces new double LP; listen to 'Subterranean (Movements I-II-III)'
French artist Cécile Schott, aka Colleen, is fearless when it comes to her willingness to explore new ways of expressing herself as a solo performer. Now, she announces Le jour et la nuit du réel: her first double LP and the follow-up to the glistening ambient pop of 2021's The Tunnel and the Clearing. Le jour et la...
Guest curators & initial line-up announced for Le Guess Who? 2025
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...
Watch: Sudan Archives releases 'Confessions' video, from upcoming debut album 'Athena'
Violinist, singer, songwriter and producer Sudan Archives shared the first single from her upcoming debut album, now she follows up with a stunning video for 'Confessions', whose closing section also debuts portions of new song 'Black Vivaldi Sonata'. Both tracks are from her impending debut full length 'Athena', out 1 November via S...
Afrofuturism & ancestral magic: PAPER interviews mystical duo OSHUN
Neo-soul/R&B/rap duo OSHUN channel the beat wizardry of J Dilla, the activism of Fela Kuti and the nonconformity of Sun Ra. With their music, the duo preach spirituality, rebirth, identity, unity and the blessings of Mother Earth with an Afrofuturistic center of gravity. Using digital and acoustic sounds, heavy drums...
Sudan Archives announces debut album, shares first single 'Confessions'
Violinist, singer, songwriter and producer Sudan Archives is one of the most exciting and distinctive musicians working today. Her unique songs fold in elements of R&B, violin playing inspired by Northeast African fiddlers, West African rhythms, and experimental electronic music. Following last year's acclaimed 'Sink' EP,...
Listen/read: How seven trailblazing LGW artists reimagine their cultural & musical heritage
You can also listen to this story – below or via your favorite podcast app. Words by Julian BrimmersAudio by Cheri PercyCover photo by Gianfranco Bello For 16 years and counting, Le Guess Who? has strived to create a space for generations of music lovers and makers to come together. A podium, where icons of their trade n...
COSMOS Embassy Mix Vol. 1: Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective (HCMC, Vietnam)
This year, COSMOS once again proudly partners up with acts, institutions, and collectives from around the globe. The 2023 Embassies are located in Vietnam, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Greece, UAE, Peru and Ghana. In order to introduce the amazing talents behind these collaborations, we're starting a new interview & music series call...
Watch Sevdaliza's full performance at Le Guess Who? 2017
The music of visionary Dutch/Iranian-born Sevdaliza is an open and safe arena for human expression. For this Effortlessly, she molds R&B, electronic music, folk, neoclassical and industrial t...
Stream Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program's new LP 'Stargate Music'
Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program recently released a new album via Leaving Records titled 'Stargate Music': an astral ode to women and a spiritual reflection on earthly life, which features...
Revealing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018 + day tickets on sale now
We're proud to reveal the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018 with 47 new additions to the program. Starting today, day tickets for the festival are also on sale. The final additions to the Le...
Klein announces new album 'Harmattan'; watch the video for 'Hope Dealers'
South London musician, composer and multi-disciplinary artist Klein's work sounds delightfully disheveled - ghostly R&B tracks not meant for the world to listen to. Next month, she'll return with 'Harmattan', her newest album, to be released November 19th via Pentatone. Klein wrote, produced, performed, and mixed the album hers...
LGW x SPEAK present: Egyptian ensemble Mazaher introduced by Ahmed Mostafa
Le Guess Who? is proud to welcome both artists and visitors of many different nationalities to Utrecht each year. In collaboration with SPEAK, we started a new video series in which Utrechters with foreign roots introduce an artist on the Le Guess Who? 2021 line-up from their country. SPEAK connects locals, newcomers and migra...
Machinedrum & Jimmy Edgar are J-E-T-S; listen to their collaborative album 'Zoospa'
J-E-T-S released an EP in 2012 and another in 2015, each offering a handful of soul-inflected DayGlo house and techno tracks. Now, almost seven years after their inception, they’ve returned with their debut full-length 'Zoospa'. The album not only showcases the playfulness when it comes to incorporating different styles of genres in...
Explore Melissa Laveaux's Haitian roots and native folk spirituals in The Guardian interview
The work of Ottawa-born, Paris-based musician and singer Mélissa Laveaux brims with defiance, cheekiness, and pride, combining lost traditions with modern influences like psych rock, calypso, folk pop, and punk. In an interview with The Guardian, Laveaux talks about her third and most recent album 'Radyo Siw&e...
Watch serpentwithfeet & the Heritage Orchestra's hauntingly beautiful performance at BBC Proms
As the boundary-breaking serpentwithfeet, New York producer and songwriter Josiah White bridges the gap between the sensual and the spiritual with a blend of experimental R&B,...
Watch: Hello Skinny perform 'Rashad' live at Church Studios for NTS
Hello Skinny, the project founded by Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, takes inspiration from a.o. UK jazz, Jersey house, R&B, hip-hop, footwork and Arthur Russell-minimalism. The nods to footwor...
Watch: The Comet Is Coming’s cosmic session for Red Bull Music
Last year, Red Bull Music captured The Comet Is Coming’s futuristic, astral sound in an exclusive live session. During these recordings, they played blistering versions of ‘Final Eclipse&r...
Record Collector Magazine premieres Scott Fagan performing 'South Atlantic Blues' at LGW16
Scott Fagan’s lost 60s classic South Atlantic Blues is a gorgeous synthesis of Donovan-ish pop, jazz, R&B and Caribbean sounds plus a grandiose vocal delivery that recalls Scott Walker and B...
Listen: An introduction to Pharoah Sanders in 11 Astral Cuts
Pharoah Sanders eagerly bleeds jazz traditions out into the spiritual realms of gospel, soul, African folk and R&B, influencing artists as diverse as The Stooges, Marvin Gaye and Sun Ra (who coine...
MHYSA shares new album 'Release Control'
MHYSA is the underground popstar alter ego of multidisciplinary artist E. Jane. In her experimental club tracks, she channels the legacies of Black women icons into visions of utopias. Born in Maryland, E. Jane was enamored with singing form an early age, performing at church and school. Since 2015, they has been developing the perf...
Listen: full performance of Actress live at Le Guess Who? 2024
Electronic luminary Darren Cunningham aka Actress, whose work merges and morphs elements of techno, electro, R&B and concrète, performs at Le Guess Who? 2024 following the release of Statik, and just a couple of days ahead of the release of his new mixtape Дарен Дж. Каннінгем, out now via Smalltown Supersound.&nbs...
Watch: Niño de Elche live at Le Guess Who? 2023
"This is flamenco punk", said Niño de Elche towards the end of his performance at Le Guess Who?. It's a fitting statement: the Spanish musician, who is also called a 'singer, poet and omnipresent master of ensorcelling souls' has been challenging conservative and picturesque perceptions of flamenco for over two decades. You can re...
Reflecting nature and tradition: the legacy of Luzmila Carpio
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...
Watch: Mabe Fratti featuring Shards - Live at Le Guess Who?
As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024, experimental cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti performed live at the festival together with London-based vocal group Shards. Watch the concert film of the performance, featuring the tracks Kravitz, No Se Ve Desde Acá and Desde el Cielo: With her hypnotic pieces, Mabe Fratti comb...
Listen: COSMOS on Refuge Worldwide with IDGK and Scene Noise
For the May episodes of COSMOS' monthly show on Refuge Worldwide, we're checking the pulse of Istanbul’s creative scene in the midst of crisis, and reconnect with the bustling underground in the MENA region. Our sonic guides this time are IDGK, an Istanbul-based collective and production company, and our long-time partners fr...
12-Hour Drone in former factory Pastoefabriek: from sitar and cello bass drones to shamanic noise
An immersive event and all-encompassing experience, 24-Hour Drone is a roving, international series presented by Basilica Hudson and Le Guess Who?, featuring musicians and sound artists...
Watch Soweto's BCUC present a fusionist 'Africangungungu' session for Red Bull Music
Started out as a social gathering in their native township of Soweto, BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) is an South African alliance of guitarists, djembe players, flute artists, and spoken wo...
Listen to Circuit des Yeux cover Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes' 1969 song 'Soeur de Race'
In a new episode of Red Bull Radio's Open End, Circuit des Yeux premiered her cover of 'Soeur de Race', from French-Portuguese avant-garde singer Catherine Ribeiro. With her band Alpes, Ribeiro r...
Revealing the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019
We're pleased to reveal the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019, dedicated to boundary-crossing music from all over the world. The first 87 acts include very rare performances by Asha Puthli, Ustad Saami, and Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band, as well as the curated programs by Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins and The...
ZONAL (Kevin Martin & Justin Broadrick) announces debut LP, shares 2 tracks
ZONAL is the collaborative noise, dub and industrial project of Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug, King Midas Sound) and Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, JK Flesh). The group now announces their debut full-length album, to be released this fall via Relapse Records. The first two tracks; 'Cage Version' and 'No Versio...
Watch: Ethiopian funk legend Ayalew Mesfin's first ever EU performance at LGW19, together with the Debo Band
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...
Listen to South African collective SPAZA's soundtrack album 'UPRIZE!'
South African collective SPAZA released their new album ‘Uprize!’ last month. It was recorded in 2016 as the soundtrack for Sifiso Khanyile's 2017 documentary of the same name, which tells the history of the 1976 uprisings in Soweto against the racist apartheid government. On the album, the SPAZA ensemble displays a mixture o...
Listen: Pink Siifu releases NEGRO DELUXE
Rapper and producer Pink Siifu's has become known for his mercurial talent for intersecting styles and culture. Last year, Pink Siifu released 'NEGRO', an album that employs influences from Sun Ra, Bad Brains and the late great Ras G to materialize a firebrand, revolutionary assault on police brutality and racism. Now, the rapper an...
Revealing the full line-up for Le Guess Who? 2021 with 70 new program additions
Le Guess Who? exists to bring people together through art and music, and despite the uncertainty of the times we have continued to work toward that end. Some things might change, and some things will change, but we have put together a festival for 2021 that we are extremely proud of, and will bring it to you in whatever form possible.&nbs...
Listen: spiritual soul sensation Gabriels release new single 'Blame'
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 ...
Introducing Siti Muharam, the 'golden voice of Zanzibar' & great granddaughter of taarab legend Siti Binti Saad
Zanzibar singer Siti Muharam, the great granddaughter of famed taarab singer Siti Binti Saad, brings a modern twist to taarab on her debut album ‘Siti of Unguja'. Her show at Le Guess Who? 2021 will mark her first ever European performance. Taarab is a popular music genre in Tanzania and Kenya, combining musical elements from A...
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley announces new album '11th Street, Sekondi', shares first single 'Black Woman'
Ghanaian saxophonist, singer and guitarist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley returns with a brand new album, entitled '11th Street, Sekondi', and now shares the first single 'Black Woman'. On the album, named after the area of West Ghana where he grew up, Ambolley looks back at the area and musical styles that shaped his life. '11th Street, Sekond...
Stichting Le Guess Who? zoekt: leden voor de Raad van Toezicht
Stichting Le Guess Who organiseert elk jaar in november het vierdaagse festival Le Guess Who? Het Utrechtse festival staat in het teken van grensverleggende en avontuurlijke muziek van over de hele wereld en presenteert muziek die op andere plekken weinig of niet te horen is, maar die juist aandacht verdient. Door de jaren heen is...
Read: Fatoumata Diawara talks the future of Africa in OkayAfrica interview
Fatoumata Diawara’s take on Pan-African folk is simply unmistakable: graceful, enchanting and effortlessly vibrant. Meanwhile, her Wassoulou roots continue to snake off into the vast realms of Afropop, jazz, R&B, and blues. In an interview with OkayAfrica, the Malian Grammy-nominated musician and actress talks about her la...
Listen: Swamp Dogg's Fireside Chat with Red Bull Radio, captured at LGW18
Swamp Dogg, one of the quintessential outsider figures in American music, was the closing act of Le Guess Who? 2018, following the release of his latest album ‘Love, Loss, and Auto-tune’. Before his performance at the festival, Julian Brimmers sat down with the Southern soul maverick for a 'Fireside Chat', which is now availab...
Video portrait: Swamp Dogg talks Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune
In 1970, soul artist Jerry Williams, Jr. radically reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg: an anti-hero who smashes the conventions of commercial R&B music, and whose subversive lyrics earned him a spot on Richard Nixon’s infamous enemies list. Consequently, Swamp Dogg became one of the quintessential outsider figures in American musi...
Blanck Mass amongst final line-up additions + announcing venue hosts
Today, we announce three final line-up additions for Le Guess Who? 2018, including a performance by British electronic musician/producer Blanck Mass. We are also sharing some venue hosts during the festival; find their descriptions below & see when/where they are hosting in our downloadable time schedules. Blanck Mass Sin...
Stream Circuit des Yeux’s new LP ‘Reaching For Indigo’
Inspired by “a moment that fell down in the life of [Haley] Fohr on January 22, 2016”, Circuit des Yeux explores this deep personal experience on her new album ‘Reaching For Indigo&r...
Watch: Sudan Archives in session for Vrije Geluiden at LGW17
Violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives writes, plays, and produces her own music. Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, she is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in el...
Interview: Dälek go crate-digging at the World's Largest Record Fair during LGW17
The Line Of Best Fit interview Dälek's Will Brooks, on 3 albums he'd be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. R...
Read: How Pharoah Sanders Brought Jazz to Its Spiritual Peak with His Impulse! Albums
Revisit a beautiful feature by Red Bull Music Academy on jazz icon Pharoah Sanders; about spirituality, the origins of his highly influential Impluse! records, and Sun Ra, who provided him the mo...
Listen: 12-Hour Drone artist Orphax shares new track 'Somniatores'
Sietse van Erve has been composing under his Orphax-moniker for the better part of the past two decades. He forges sound from electronic and acoustic instruments, other people’s composition...
Stream 'Tommy'; Klein's new EP for Hyperdub
Following the release of her EP 'Lagata' last year, London producer Klein now shares 'Tommy', her first release for Hyperdub. Listen in full below and read Tiny Mix Tapes' review here. "Klein d...
Lost Horizons (ft. Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde) announce album; share first tracks
Lost Horizons is a new collaborative project formed by Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins and Richard Thomas of instrumental quartet Dif Juz. The duo's upcoming album 'Ojalá' will be released on R...
Listen to 'République Amazone', the new album from Les Amazones d'Afrique
Les Amazones d'Afrique are a collective of west African musicians campaigning for gender equality. The first single from the album was 'I Play the Kora'. "Its message, in bringing together...
OCnotes: a wildly unpredictable yet razor-sharp sound explorer, curated by Shabazz Palaces
Born in the Southwest of the United States as Otis Calvin III, OCnotes was influenced at an early age by skateboard culture and developed a fascination for cartoons, as well as receiving musical educa...
Basilica Hudson & LGW announce 24-Hour Drone line-up
2017 marks our biggest Drone yet, as our series also expands to Salford, UK, and Malmö, Sweden. An immersive event and all-encompassing experience, 24-Hour Drone is a roving, international serie...
Infectious Grooves: our biweekly updated playlist with current inspirations
Infectious Grooves is a playlist with musical inspirations from all across the globe, both new and old. Infectious Grooves will appear biweekly and you can subscribe/like here on Spotify to automatically access the updated playlist. If you want to support the artists featured in the playlist directly, you can do so by purchasing th...
Explore Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed's curation at LGW19 with their exclusive playlist
Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Salvador Breed has personally put together a playlist for the program he curates together with Iris van Herpen at the festival. The playlist features their favorite tracks from each artist they have invited to Le Guess Who?. About:Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen is widely recognized as one of...
Listen to Moon Duo's personal playlist for their curation at Le Guess Who? 2019
Le Guess Who? 2019 curators and Oregon psych/kraut mystics Moon Duo have personally put together a playlist for their curation at the festival, with their favorite tracks from each artist they have invited. The music of Moon Duo manifests like a moving painting, punishing and hypnotic at the same time. Recent years have seen t...
Explore the initial line-up of Le Guess Who? 2019 with our official playlist
The initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2019 has now been revealed. Delve into the music of all artists announced as part of the initial with our handpicked, official playlist. From Asha Puthli's cosmic disco anthem 'Space Talk' to the juggernaut industrial/metal of Godflesh, back to the vulnerable and healing music of La Bruja de...
Playlist: An Introduction to Art Ensemble of Chicago, compiled by Ben Ratliff
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 movements to arise from Chicago’s already rich jazz heritage. Moving far beyond jazz, avant-garde and performance art, the ensemble...
Playlist: Devendra Banhart's Ten Finest Tracks
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...
Explore the LGW22 line-up with our official playlist
Following our full program announcement for Le Guess Who? 2022, we've also the official playlist for the festival for you listening pleasure. With 100+ tracks, you can fully start your musical discovery leading up to November.
Revealing the full program for Le Guess Who? 2022
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...
Watch: COLORS Shows with LGW22 artists Liv.e, Zebra Katz, and Lex Amor
Over the last couple of years, COLORSxSTUDIOS has become an important music platform aimed at showcasing exceptional new talent from around the globe. In their own words: "All COLORS shows seek to provide clear, minimalistic stage that shines a spotlight on the artists, giving them the opportunity to present their music without distractio...
First artists & full curated programs announced for Le Guess Who? 2022
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...
LGW21 photo series: Hidden Musics, Pink Oculus, Eddie Chacon, Hakuna Kulala Club Night and more
Our residential photographers Juri Hiensch and Melanie Marsman have been exploring Le Guess Who? again in 2021, captured different photo series during the festival. The upcoming time, we'll be sharing these series on this website and our social media. Portrait series at LGW21, by Melanie Marsman At Le Guess Who? 2021, residential phot...
Watch: Japanese ambient composer & sound designer Hinako Omori releases new video
Earlier this year, Hinako Omori released her new album, 'a journey...'. Now, the Yokohama-born, London-based electronic composer and sound designer releases a live video for 'The Richest Garden in your Memory' from the album. It was filmed at London's Omved Gardens, in collaboration with director Jessie Rodger. The video, as mysterious an...
Playlist: LGW22 curated by Animal Collective
For Le Guess Who? 2022, Baltimore quartet Animal Collective has curated their own program featuring their their inspirations and fellow like-minded artists. While Animal Collective themselves unfortunately had to cancel their performance (instead, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom will perform after releasing a spectacular album earlier this ye...
LGW22 photo series: The Staples Jr. Singers, Nyege Nyege, Estrella Morente, clipping. and more
Our residential photographers Juri Hiensch and Melanie Marsman have been exploring Le Guess Who? again in 2022, captured different photo series during the festival. The upcoming time, we'll be sharing these series on this website and our social media. Curated by Animal Collective, by Juri Hiensch For LGW22, Baltimore quartet Animal Co...
Revealing the full program + timetable for U?, LGW's largest free day program to date
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 10-13 November, U? features music performances, exhibitions, brunches, silent disco&rsquo...
Ana Frango Elétrico releases new album 'Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua'
Ana Frango Elétrico has been hailed as an indie wunderkind and "the most effervescent and innovative voice to surge up from Brazil’s new wave". Their 2019 album, Little Electric Chicken Heart, garnered plural accolades and even a Latin Grammy nomination; now, they releases their third and most confident album to date: Me Cham...
Kapitaal & Stranded FM host official LGW23 Hangout
We're thrilled to let you know that the great Kapitaal, Utrecht's independent print workshop, together with online radio station Stranded FM, will once again host official Le Guess Who? 2023 Hangout on Friday, Saturday & Sunday during the festival. Find Kapitaal at Paardenveld 5B (behind the palmtree!), where they host live per...
Seni Reak Juarta Putra bring ritual trance ceremony to Le Guess Who? 2024
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...
Explore the line-up of U? 2024 with our official playlist
U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, celebrates local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. U? 2024 includes music, workshops, films, exhibitions, shared meals, discussions, and much more, spotlighting the diversity of the creativity from Utrecht and beyond. Now that the fu...
Listen: GINGE shares new album 'Playing Around'
Utrecht-based singer-songwriter GINGE shares new album Playing Around. It's a playful narrative on how she deals with love, friendship and relationships. "Most of what I like comes from the soul and R&B scene from the UK. I think it's cool that an artist like Remi Wolf can't be pigeonholed, it can't be defined as pure soul or just...
Time Schedules, Program Update + Talks, Films & Exhibition for LGW24
We are excited to present our film & talk program, as well as a special exhibition, new additions to our 2024 line-up and the long-awaited time schedules for Le Guess Who? 2024. Time Schedules Start your scheduling now! The time schedules for Le Guess Who? 2024, as well for U?, our freely accessible city program, are online now. Pl...
Photo series: Hannah Elsisi presents Chromesthesia at LGW24 by Juri Hiensch
From Rio to Cairo, Miami to Kampala, Chromesthesia tracks Afro-diasporic rhythms and explores the history that undergirds Afro-descendant electronic music. At Le Guess Who? 2024, British-Egyptian award-winning social and intellectual historian Hannah Elsisi presented the 13-hour durational performance of Chromesthesia. Our residential ph...
Explore the LGW25 program: dive in to our official playlist
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...
Listen to Lido Pimienta's orchestral new album 'La Belleza'
Thrilling experimental pop artist Lido Pimienta spent the past few years studying European classical music to embark on a new ambitious journey. Shifting far from her previous electro pop sound, she remains as captivating and exuberant as ever. Influenced by the solemnity of early Christian hymns, her new album La Belleza is a grand orc...
Listen: Shabazz Palaces share 3 track from 'Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star'
Hip hop's free spirits have announced their new concept album 'Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star', to be released July 14th via Sub Pop. The band have now shared three singles from the album: 'Shi...
Explore the 3rd edition of Hidden Musics at Le Guess Who? 2022, aimed at deeply localized music
In 2019, the concert series Hidden Musics originated between Le Guess Who?, Chris Eckman of Glitterbeat Records and GRAMMY Award-winning producer and writer Ian Brennan, from the shared belief that it is important to platform underrepresented artists, and magnify music produced far from the mainstream. In 2022, we are proud the present th...
AMMAR 808 reinvents North African futurism on debut album 'Maghreb United'
Together with three powerful Maghreb voices, the ultra-low TR-808 bass and potent beats, Tunisian producer Sofyann Ben Youssef, a.k.a AMMAR 808, takes you into the dark realms of North African futuris...
Premiere: Old Time Relijun share video for 'Break Through', from upcoming album 'Musicking'
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...
Read: a personal introduction to Czech duo Irena & Vojtěch Havlovi's haunting music, by Pavel Klusák
Ever since they started working together in the mid-eighties, Czech artists Irena & Vojtěch Havlovi have traveled far and wide, crossing continents, cultures and mediums with styles of European classical music ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary. In the process, the duo made fans which include Sufjan Stevens, The National's...
Revealing the full program for Le Guess Who? 2023
Le Guess Who?, considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals around the world, returns to Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 9-12 November for its 16th edition. We now reveal the full 2023 line-up, after previously announcing festival curators Heba Kadry, Nala Sinephro, Slauson Malone 1 and Stereolab, as well as performances by...
Video portrait: the legacy of Germán Bringas, "father of Mexican experimental music”
As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024, Mabe Fratti presents some very special Mexican and South American acts that have influenced her personal development, including experimental jazz artist Germán Bringas. The short documentary Caminatas, created by Smiling C, dives into the life and work of the multi-instrumentalist and...
Stream Thurston Moore Group's new album 'Rock N Roll Consciousness'
Thurston Moore shares his new album 'Rock N Roll Consiousness'. His current group features an all-star cast: Debbie Googe (My Bloody Valentine) on bass, James Sedwards (This Is Not This Heat) as...
Fotoserie: U? residentie met 45ACIDBABIES door Rogier Boogaard
Dit jaar nodigde U? het Utrechts-Amsterdamse collectief 45ACIDBABIES uit voor een residentie in VOGELFREI. Tijdens deze residentie werkten ze aan een speciale performance rondom hun nieuwe album, dat een eerbetoon brengt aan en inspiratie haalt uit comic book-cultuur, video games, queerness, ballroom cultuur (vogue), eclectiek, kleur en e...
"Anything you set out to find, you'll find it here": COSMOS goes Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico
COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico We speak to Daniel (Danny) Alvarado Chávez, head of Sonido Confirmación, an independent project made to ‘represent and connect Mexico City through images and music’, while diving into the capital's music scene. Every minute, new acts mushroom across the city&rsquo...
Read: A Dream of Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, by Julián Mayorga
On Friday, 8 November 2024, Le Guess Who? will witness the magic of legendary Cumbia and Gaita ensemble Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto. To say that we are excited about welcoming them to Utrecht would be a massive understatement. In fact, the influence of this Grammy-winning, generations-spanning band on the trajectory of Latin American musi...
Listen to Sourakata Koite's newly reissued tracks 'Ha-Madi' and 'N'na'
Armed with a West African cross between a lute, bridge and harp, troubadour Sourakata Koite uses his special modified Kora to interpret his Senegalese roots. He is also a griot, which means he is a story- and history-teller and singer. Picked up by music blog and record label Awesome Tapes From Africa, Koite will soon reissue his debut al...
Podcast: Eleanor Friedberger talks Lou Reed, Guns N’ Roses, and performing like a standup comic
In Consequence of Sound's most recent 'This Must Be The Gig' podcast, Eleanor Friedberger joined host Lior Phillips to talk about her experiences touring the world with The Fiery Furnaces, a...
U? collaborates with community curators for 2024 program
Le Guess Who? exists to bring people together through music and art. U?, its freely accessible city program, is dedicated to celebrating creativity in all its diversity. For U? 2024, we are collaborating with five different NL-based community curators who will highlight their communities and creativity at the festival. U? aims to collabo...
Photo series: Mabe Fratti's curation at LGW24 by Melanie Marsman
Two years after her stunning Le Guess Who? performance, the Guatemalan-born, Mexico-based vocalist and cellist Mabe Fratti returned in 2024 as a performer as well as festival curator. As part of her curation, Mabe Fratti presented some very special Mexican and South American acts that have influenced her personal development. Our residen...
Photo series: the transformative experience of La Bruja de Texcoco at LGW19, captured by Melanie Marsman
Mexican mystical phenomenon La Bruja de Texcoco (real name: Octavia Mendoza Anario) recalibrates her classical teachings to create an astonishing tapestry of traditional Mexican music, baroque and jazz, playing various string instruments, percussion and harp. The legend of La Bruja de Texcoco (literal translation: 'T...
Read Bandcamp's feature about the "thrilling and fantastical" story of La Bruja de Texcoco
Mexican mystical phenomenon La Bruja de Texcoco (literal translation: 'The Witch of Texcoco') recalibrated her classical teachings to create an astonishing tapestry of traditional Mexican music, baroque and jazz, playing various string instruments, percussion and harp. Having recently released her debut 'De Brujas Peteneras...
Listen: Valley Maker releases sophomore album 'Rhododendron'
In the mood for some sweet, melancholia-filled folk music? In that case, you should definitely give Valley Maker - aka Austin Crane - a spin. Today, he released his second full-length a...
Listen to John Maus' latest track 'Teenage Witch'
Avant-pop maestro John Maus announced his new album 'Screen Memories' late August, and now, he shares the new track 'Teenage Witch' from the album. Watch the video below, featuring footage of a very y...
The Bug vs Dylan Carlson (Earth) release 'Concrete Desert'
On this year's collaboration album 'Concrete Desert', Earth's Dylan Carlson and The Bug put their powers together to create a consciousness about the state of the world we're living in. Immerse y...
"As a witch I believe in the magic that happens on stage": La Bruja de Texcoco interviewed by MusicMap
Octavia Mendoza Anario, aka La Bruja de Texcoco (‘The Witch of Texcoco’), reinvigorates the canon of Mexican folk by deviating from it. La Bruja recalibrated her classical teachings to create an astonishing tapestry of traditional Mexican music, baroque and jazz, playing various string instruments, percussion and harp. L...
Four new projects added to Le Guess Who? 2022
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...
Podcast: listen to part 2 of 'For the Record'
Le Guess Who? presents 'The Big Playback', a podcast about all things music. Episode 3 is a four-part series entitled 'For the Record', exploring the role of the archivist from all angles, released in weekly installments. In this new series, host Margaret Munchheimer talks to an independent archival collective in Indonesia; a sound and p...
Watch: Lole Montoya - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
From the minute when flamenco innovator Lole Montoya stepped onto the stage at the Jacobikerk during Le Guess Who? 2022, we knew we were in for a magical moment in time. Together with guitarist Juan Carmona, she gave a rare and very touching performance as part of the Hidden Musics project. Luckily, you can relive it now with our concert...
Read: Antipop Consortium are hip-hop's most notorious futurists
Coming up at the turn of the century, when underground rap was all about dusty loops and intricate battle rhymes, Antipop Consortium mixed an experimental, electronically charged sound palette with lyricism sharpened on the NY poetry scene. While they quickly summoned a cult following stateside, Europe’s alternative music circuit to...
Listen: Anh Phi – Southeast & East Asia Special (COSMOS Mixtape)
Vietnamese-French DJ, producer & label boss Anh Phi, who was involved in the creation of COSMOS' Vietnam Embassy Film in 2023, connects the dots between Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, and Berlin. To celebrate his debut EP, Buông, we proudly present this exclusive mix for COSMOS, dedicated to the buzzing Southeast and East Asian unde...
Watch: Freetekno: stories of a subculture from 1988 to 2022, by Juri Hiensch
Free Tekno parties were on the forefront of electronics since the birth of acid-house. In this short documentary, our resident photo- & videographer Juri Hiensch explored the past and present of this fascinating subculture, with a big & close community present in Utrecht. Watch the mini documentary below + view the photo/video ser...
COSMOS Embassy Announcement: UMA (Detroit, USA)
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...
Revealing the curators & initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018
We're very pleased to present you the curators and initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2018. A gentle reminder: current 4-Day Festival Passes are available until Thursday, 7 June, and will increa...
Listen: DJ Haram joins Teklife to deliver a dazzling set of trap and B’more bounce.
Last week, Discwoman-affiliated producer DJ Haram joined renowned footwork crew Teklife to deliver a dazzling mix of ramped-up trap edits, B’more bounce and distorted non-Western...
Premiere: Jozef van Wissem shares new song 'Bow Down' & presents new album at LGW18
Enter the dark, mythical world of minimalist composer and acclaimed lute-player Jozef van Wissem. Accompanied by his baroque instrument, Van Wissem creates highly distinctive sonic soundscapes by blen...
Stream: Oliver Coates releases new album 'Shelley's on Zenn-La'
London cellist, composer and producer Oliver Coates has released his new album 'Shelley's On Zenn-La' via RVNG Intl. The inspiration for the album was a legendary nightclub in the city of Stoke-on-Tre...
SASAMI signs to Domino; releases new track ‘Not The Time’
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter SASAMI has released her new song ‘Not The Time’, the follow-up to her debut track ‘Callous’, released earlier this year. ‘Not The Time...
Video portrait: Moor Mother on free jazz as a liberation technology and curating at LGW18
"I call free jazz a liberation technology, and it’s very essential to anything that I make. It has to have that conductor running through my music for it to be successful, or for me to get acros...
Listen to upsammy's new track 'Agglo', taken from the 'Virgin Forest' benefit compilation
Dutch electronic producer upsammy constantly shapeshifting sound gleefully travels outside of club conventions like a kid skipping class. During Le Guess Who? 2022, she will collaborate with multidisciplinary artist Sjoerd Martens. Meandering through digital and analog interactions, they form an introspective but expansive, ever-morphing...
Read via The Quietus: which records would Ghalia Benali seek out at the Mega Record & CD Fair?
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...
Relive Saul Williams & King Britt's 'Unanimous Goldmine' performance at LGW18 via Red Bull Radio
Red Bull Radio has premiered the full recording of 'Unanimous Goldmine', the collaborative performance between actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism Saul Williams; and accomplished Philly-based musician, DJ, author and producer King Britt. On the explicit invitation of M...
Interview: Emel Mathlouthi: "The most important thing is to be truthful"
Ahead of her performance at Le Guess Who?, we catch up with Tunisian singer, musician & artist Emel Mathlouthi while on her way to a performance in Washington DC. It became a talk about being challenged by collaborators, the Arab Spring and the role of social media, being categorized by singing in Arabic, and the importance of being t...
Introducing: Kate NV depicts everyday life in Moscow through otherworldly, playful electronica
Moscow-born Kate NV creates bustling and colorful electronic soundscapes that intrigue and inspire. Normally, she's a guitar-wielding post-punker and performer within Moscow Scratch Orchestra. But as...
Watch: Emel Mathlouthi releases stunning video for 'Kaddesh'
Tunisian singer-songwriter and producer Emel Mathlouthi combines the vibrant sounds of psychedelic folk with heavy electronics and atmospheric melodies. Following the release of her album 'Ensen' last...
Read: The Quietus interviews DJ Haram about Philadelphia and her link with Moor Mother
One-half of Philly duo 700 Bliss and member of the Discwoman collective DJ Haram speaks to The Quietus about the scene in her base of Philadelphia, linking up with Moor Mother and the Discwo...
Bo Ningen share NTS Mix for their curation at Le Guess Who? 2024
This year, Japanese psych-rock outfit Bo Ningen are one of the guest curators of Le Guess Who?, with their curation is dedicated to “representing the Bo Ningen community, with lots of collaborative projects and with a strong focus on audiovisual performances.” As an introduction to their program, Taigen Kawabe, lead singer a...
Playlist: LGW24 curated by Bo Ningen
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.Japanese psych-rock outfit Bo Ningen introduce their curation at Le Guess Who? 2024 with a playlist that they have...
COSMOS launches a bulletin on Substack
COSMOS, our hybrid platform highlighting independent music scenes from around the world, is launching its very own bulletin on Substack. Every month we will share in-depth stories, artist conversations, radio shows, recordings, films and more. The first edition will be sent on Sunday, 18 May. Kicking things off, we’re heading to Is...
LGW x SPEAK present: Colombian musician Julián Mayorga introduced by Carlos Tapias & Camila Duarte
Le Guess Who? is proud to welcome both artists and visitors of many different nationalities to Utrecht each year. In collaboration with SPEAK, we started a new video series in which Utrechters with foreign roots introduce an artist on the Le Guess Who? 2021 line-up from their country. SPEAK connects locals, newcomers and migrants i...
Dutch-Turkish psych rock band Altin Gün release their first single
Anatolian psych folk revivalists Altın Gün are, most simply put, a power pact between members of Jacco Gardner and Jungle By Night, who wound up crossing paths with musicians Erdinç Ecevit...
Listen: 'Sucio' by LYZZA x DJ Babatr, from upcoming Chromesthesia compilation album
On Friday, 8 November 2024, the compilation album Chromesthesia: the Colour of Sound Vol. 1 is set to be released. Brainchild of British-Egyptian historian Hannah Elsisi (NYU AD, Cambridge), Chromesthesia—aptly named "the colour of sound"— tracks afro-diasporic rhythms from the Whole Mangrove World. Now, the first single from...
Read: Tender hearts in tough (Aussie) harnesses
Hard in style, soft in core. For Luna van der Laan (Looney Lunatic) and Carlos Kok (Boot 122), their passion for noisy, fast music stems from a broad artistic (self-)schooling, high levels of passion for music and, above all, an open mind. With a DIY-mentality, a grounded aversion of the establishment and a substance-over-style-approach,...
Listen to 'Dark Out' from upcoming Chromesthesia compilation album
On Friday, 8 November 2024, the compilation album Chromesthesia: the Colour of Sound Vol. 1 is set to be released. Brainchild of British-Egyptian historian Hannah Elsisi (NYU AD, Cambridge), Chromesthesia—aptly named "the colour of sound"— tracks afro-diasporic rhythms from the Whole Mangrove World. Following the collaborati...
Ian Svenonius releases new Escape-Ism album 'The Lost Record'
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...
Revealing 46 program additions for Le Guess Who? 2021
It is true that making plans for shows and festivals in 2021 is a bit of a gamble. But Le Guess Who? believes that it’s important to have something to look forward to. In the spirit of cautious optimism, we are proud to announce the second round of confirmations for November 11-14 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Le Guess Who?’s...
LGW x SPEAK present: Catalan vocal duo Tarta Relena introduced by Román Sánchez & Ayla Losada
Le Guess Who? is proud to welcome both artists and visitors of many different nationalities to Utrecht each year. In collaboration with SPEAK, we started a new video series in which Utrechters with foreign roots introduce an artist on the Le Guess Who? 2021 line-up from their country. SPEAK connects locals, newcomers and migra...
Watch: Tarta Relena release video for new single 'Las alamedas'
Catalan vocal duo Tarta Relena have released a new song called 'Las alamedas'; the first single of their new upcoming album 'Fiat Lux', with a release date for the album to be announced later. 'Las alamedas' was based on a poem by Spanish poet, writer, theater director and one of the key figures of the 20th-century Spanish lite...
Full curated programs + various special projects announced for Le Guess Who? 2019
Following our initial line-up announcement in May, we're now pleased to reveal the full curated programs by Fatoumata Diawara and Iris van Herpen & Salvador Breed for the festival, as well as new additions for Moon Duo, Patrick Higgins, and The Bug curations. We're also announcing Príncipe Discos and Spazio Disponibil...
The Washington Post: "In Escape-ism, Ian Svenonius knows the future of rock-and-roll"
Rock 'n Roll visionary Ian Svenonious currently performs with his solo project Escape-Ism, and will release his second disc of solo-sneers titled 'The Lost Record' on 7 September. Talking to The Washi...
Meet Lombok Festival, our new satellite event highlighting this vibrant neighborhood
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...
Oprichter en algemeen directeur Johan Gijsen neemt na 16 jaar afscheid van Le Guess Who?
In 2007 startte Johan Gijsen samen met Bob van Heur het festival Le Guess Who? om ondervertegenwoordigde muziek een plek te geven. Nu is het festival met zijn genre-doorbrekende programmering wereldwijd toonaangevend en trekt het ieder jaar muziekliefhebbers van over de hele wereld. Johan Gijsen: “Met dezelfde kriebels waarme...
Timetables for Le Guess Who? 2023 are online
Start your scheduling for Le Guess Who? 2023 now! The timetables are online now. Please note: for sustainability reasons, we will only have limited printed timetables available during the festival. A printable PDF version will follow soon, as will our official app. We also have some program updates: we’re thrilled that Antipop C...
NAR & 3voor12 Utrecht join forces for U?
(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...
Read: Identifying the queer Indonesian diasporic community
Based between Amsterdam and Berlin, Insan Larasati is a community organizer, DJ, designer and inclusivity officer. With artist Shasti Andara they founded Nusaqueer Diaspora, an open-structured collective that focuses on community events for the Indonesian and Southeast Asian Archipelagan queer diaspora. Freshly graduated from the Willem...
Playlist: LGW24 curated by Mabe Fratti
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.Experimental cellist and composer Mabe Fratti introduces her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024 with a personally compiled...
Lees: Gonzo (circus) specials over Le Guess Who? 2018 + abonnee-actie
Gonzo (circus) is een Vlaams/Nederlands magazine gericht op vooruitstrevende muziek en cultuur. Het magazine is mediapartner van Le Guess Who? 2018, en dit jaar werken we uitgebreider samen dan ooit.&...
Listen to DJ Firmeza's new track 'Intenso', from upcoming EP 'Ardeu'
Free-spirited Portuguese artist DJ Firmeza brings a blend of styles to the table. His music is rhythmically complex, insanely energetic and conjures a percussion-laced hybrid of Angolan dance workouts with penetrative house music. Now, he has announced his return to Príncipe Discos with a new EP 'Ardeu'. The EP...
LGW21 curator Lucrecia Dalt & Aaron Dilloway (Wolf Eyes) release collaborative album 'Lucy & Aaron'
Following the release of 'Field Recordings in the forest of Colombia' last year, experimental producers and sound artists Lucrecia Dalt & Aaron Dilloway now release their new collaborative album called 'Lucy & Aaron'. The duo met each other 10 years ago at a festival and have been fans of each other ever since. 'Lucy &a...
Read/listen: The Face interviews Nia Archives, "the red-hot jungle producer taking over the UK's dancefloors"
Nia Archives is bent on taking space in jungle as a young black woman, representing her Jamaican roots - and succeeding, becoming one of the most talked-about newcomers to the jungle scene. In March, she released her 'Forbidden Feelingz' EP, with the title track becoming a future classic. In that same month, she won the NME Award for Best...
Read Bant Mag.’s IIllustrated Stories for LGW21, featuring a.o. Ichiko Aoba, Pink Siifu, and Siti Muharam
Turkish independent magazine Bant Mag. created a series of Illustrated Stories about artists that are performing at Le Guess Who? 2021, giving an introduction to their life and career and what to expect from their festival performances. Bant Mag. has been bringing together new and exciting tendencies about music, film, arts and culture s...
Read via The Quietus: which records would Lucrecia Dalt seek out at the Mega Record & CD Fair?
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...
Read via The Quietus: which records would Jean-Hervé Peron (Faust) seek out at the Mega Record & CD Fair?
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...
Watch Lucrecia Dalt & Aaron Dilloway's new video for 'Bordeándola'
Lucrecia Dalt & Aaron Dilloway (Wolf Eyes) will present their collaboration live at Le Guess Who? this year. The artists started exchanging ideas after appearing on a bill together in Toronto, some time after their first meeting at a festival ten years ago. The sound artists will release their new album 'Lucy & Aaron' i...
Niño de Elche - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
"This is flamenco punk", said Niño de Elche towards the end of his performance at Le Guess Who?. It's a fitting statement: the Spanish musician, who is also called a 'singer, poet and omnipresent master of ensorcelling souls' has been challenging conservative and picturesque perceptions of flamenco for over two decades. You can re...
Vicky Chow gives special performance at Domplein during Keys of Light this Thursday
Before Vicky Chow's performance in TivoliVredenburg's Hertz this Thursday (curated by Patrick Higgins), the Canadian piano virtuoso will perform at Domplein as part of the Keys of Light project, an interactive piano installation designed by Mr. Beam. Mr. Beam is a multimedia design studio based in Utrecht, and their work br...
Lees: The Daily Indie duikt in het universum van Le Guess Who?-curatoren Moon Duo
The Daily Indie sprak uitgebreid met Le Guess Who?-curatoren Ripley Johnson en Sanae Yamada, beter bekend als Moon Duo. The Daily Indie neemt een duik in het leven van het duo, hun muziek en hun curatorschap op het festival. Het duo bracht eind september hun zevende plaat 'Stars Are The Light' uit, geïnspireerd door disco, funk...
Gonzo (circus) presenteert: de essentiële Le Guess Who? 2019-leeslijst
"De curatoren van Le Guess Who? 2019 maakten een zorgvuldige keuze, maar het aanbod blijft overweldigend.", aldus Gonzo (circus), het Vlaams-Nederlandse magazine voor muziek en andere kunstvormen. De redactie van Gonzo (circus) heeft daar iets op bedacht: De essentiële Le Guess Who? 2019-leeslijst aan de hand van de ke...
FACT to host 3-day program at BASIS during LGW19, featuring Mala, Príncipe Discos, Vladimir Ivkovic & more
FACT, one of the long-term collaborators of Le Guess Who?, will host a program across three nights during the festival this year at BASIS: a nightclub located in a wharf cellar in the city center of Utrecht. BASIS has been a part of the festival since last year and is a perfect location to discover some of groundbreaking and forward-think...
DJ Firmeza drops new EP 'Ardeu'
Following his 2015 debut 12” and numerous international forays, DJ Firmeza’s new EP ‘Ardeu’ sees the free-spirited Portuguese artist inject devilish detail into his productions at no expense to his signature. All four cuts are intensely rhythmelodic and include two highlights revolving Firmeza&r...
Vier de LGW19 line-up announcement met Ben Shemie (SUUNS)
Op donderdag 19 september onthult Le Guess Who? de volledige line-up voor de komende festivaleditie in EKKO, met optredens van Ben Shemie (SUUNS), Conjunto Papa Upa, Lechuga Zafiro en een speciale editie van Stranded FM x The Current. Ben Shemie, beter bekend als zanger/gitarist van SUUNS is inmiddels geen onbekende meer van Le Gues...
Vier de LGW19 line-up announcement met Conjunto Papa Upa, 19 september in EKKO
Op donderdag 19 september onthult Le Guess Who? de volledige line-up voor de komende festivaleditie in EKKO, met optredens van Ben Shemie (SUUNS), Conjunto Papa Upa, Lechuga Zafiro en een speciale editie van Stranded FM x The Current. Conjunto Papa Upa is de band van Amsterdamse Venezolaan Alex Figueira. De muziek kun je omschrijven als...
Watch Bbymutha's new video for 'SICK'
As one of the most refreshing role models and MCs to have emerged from the rap game, Tennessee-based MC and rapper Bbymutha debunks a lot of myths surrounding sex, motherhood and identity. Now, Bbymutha has released a dark new video for 'SICK', which was featured on last year's 'The Bastard Tape, Vol. 1'. In the video, she rec...
Red Bull Radio launches Le Guess Who? 2019 preview channel
In anticipation of Le Guess Who? 2019, Red Bull Radio launches a special preview channel for the festival, "celebrating Holland’s explorations of avant-garde, jazz, noise and more". The channel shares Red Bull Radio live recordings and interviews with artists performing at the upcoming festival edition, featuring Jenny Hval, Sarah D...
Lombok Festival returns: Friday, 9 November during Le Guess Who? 2018
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...
Le Guess Who? neemt prijs voor Beste Festival in ontvangst tijdens Eurosonic Noorderslag
Dit weekend werden in de Stadsschouwburg Groningen voor de 21e keer de IJzeren Podiumdieren uitgereikt door De Vereniging Nederlandse Poppodia en -Festivals (VNPF). Le Guess Who? mocht de award voor Beste Festival in ontvangst nemen. Uit het juryrapport: “De organisatie bewijst keer op keer dat je met doordachte, vernieuwende en div...
Celebrating 30 years of Mudhoney at LGW18 + watch our Hot Snakes video portrait
On Sunday afternoon, we’ll take a deep dive down into the depths of punk, new-wave and blood pounding rock ‘n roll. Together with long time festival location dB’s and brand new venue WAS., we will set the stage for a raving punk party, leading up to the celebration of 30 years of Mudhoney. Endless Boogie & Bloody Ma...
Introducing: WAS. - from a raving punk celebration to stunning club beats
This year, Le Guess Who? will feature three new venues for the official music program: WAS., BASIS, and Poema. All of them are part of Utrecht’s buzzing nightlife and are among the most prominent clubs in town. In this feature, we introduce you to the pop-up nightclub of WAS.; a place where many electronic music freaks are assured t...
Meridian Brothers share new video for 'No Me Traiciones'
The Bogotá-based sextet Meridian Brothers offer a very distinctive and playful take on tropical sounds like salsa, cumbia and reggaeton in an electronic context. The band have now shared t...
Liars share exclusive new track 'Fountain and Repeat'
Liars' Angus Andrew has shared an exclusive track that was made available for Thirty Days of Yes, appearing on a subscription mixtape that will release a song a day over 30 days. Listen to&n...
Read Bant Mag's special on Le Guess Who? 2017
Turkey's Bant Mag is one of our media partners, and they're preparing a magnificent, in-depth special on the festival which will be updated weekly. Read in full here. The first featur...
Listen to Ben Frost's new EP 'Threshold of Faith', produced by Steve Albini
Icelandic producer and composer Ben Frost is equally influenced by classical minimalism as by punk rock and metal. Frost just released his new EP 'Threshold of Faith', which you can stream n...
Revealing the first curators & initial line-up
The first curators are announced for the 11th edition of Le Guess Who? 2017, each hosting a range of inspirations and befriended artists, and also performing themselves. Perfume Genius invites a.o. Bu...
Pissed Jeans' 'Why Love Now' is out today
On 'Why Love Now', Pennsylvania's Pissed Jeans are showing their teeth. As always. Get a taste of their tameless energy below. "Why Love Now may be their fourth album on Sub Pop, but there has been n...
Le Guess Who? presenteert gratis programma tijdens Culturele Zondag
Pinkstermaandag 5 juni in LE:EN, Utrecht, met: Six Organs of Admittance, Baby Dee en Faarjam.
Listen: Balochistan's Benju maestro Ustad Noor Bakhsh releases debut solo album ‘Jingul’
Ustad Noor Bakhsh, the Benju maestro from the Makran Coast of Balochistan, has just released his debut solo album 'Jingul'. Named after a bird that often visits Noor’s house and whose songs were the inspiration behind the last song of the release, 'Jingul' leaves listeners with a warm and tender feeling accompanied by hope and happi...
Podcast interview: Angel Bat Dawid responds to the episode 'Is Music A Religion?'
For Episode 1 of our new podcast 'The Big Playback', we interviewed musician Angel Bat Dawid regarding the question Is Music a Religion? Dawid shared her thoughts on participatory music, her philosophy on people being creatures of habit and her idea of inner attainment.
Nia Archives shares new single 'Baianá'
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...
Le Guess Who? zoekt: Leden voor de Raad van Toezicht
Le Guess Who? is een internationaal toonaangevend festival voor grensverleggende muziek en cultuur van over de hele wereld. De vijftiende editie vindt plaats van 10 tot en met 13 november 2022 in Utrecht. Le Guess Who? presenteert geluiden die je op andere plekken niet te horen krijgt, maar volgens ons juist aandacht verdienen omdat ze j...
Bob van Heur en Anne Marleen de Jong aangesteld als directeur-bestuurders van Le Guess Who?
De Raad van Toezicht van Stichting Le Guess Who maakt bekend dat Bob van Heur en Anne Marleen de Jong per 1 januari 2023 zijn aangesteld als directeur-bestuurders van Le Guess Who?. Zij volgen algemeen directeur Johan Gijsen op. Hans van Soelen, voorzitter Raad van Toezicht: “Als Raad van Toezicht zijn we verheugd met deze tw...
Watch: Vrije Geluiden sessions at LGW22, featuring Hatis Noit, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Noori & His Dorpa Band + more
VPRO Vrije Geluiden were present at Le Guess Who? 2022 to capture several sessions with festival artists in TivoliVredenburg. Over the next couple of weeks, these will go online every Sunday. The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar Jajouka is the name of a hidden village in the Jebala foothills of northern Morocco. Here, The...
Kapitaal x Stranded FM x Julian Brimmers host Official LGW22 Hangout with live sessions, artist talks, DJ sets, print-making & exhibitions
Utrecht's beloved independent print workshop, Kapitaal, collaborates with Stranded FM and Julian Brimmers to host the official Le Guess Who? 2022 Hangout through all things print and sound. The program includes radio and DJ sets, artist interviews, live sessions, art exhibitions, film screenings, and print-making from Friday 11 November -...
Listen: Raja Kirik release 'Phantasmagoria of Jathilan'
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...
Watch: They Hate Change - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
Tampa rap duo They Hate Change performed at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by clipping., following the release of Finally, New; their debut album for Jagjaguwar. Relive the ecstatic performance below with our concert film, featuring two unreleased tracks produced by John Carroll Kirby and Zach Witness: AboutTampa&rsq...
Listen to Sudan Archives' debut album 'Athena'
Today, violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives (Brittney Parks) releases her debut album 'Athena' via Stones Throw. The album is filled with deeply textured tracks that feel contemporary, groovy and powerful at the same time. Parks started to play violin at a young age, which she learned by playing in her local church choir...
Ndox Electrique announce debut album ‘Tëdd ak Mame Coumba Lamba ak Mame Mbang’
Originating in Senegal, Ndox Electrique is a genre-blurring musical ensemble that blends electronically-infused avant-rock with the intense, ritualistic vocal chants and rhythmic percussion of the Lebu people's n'doëp ceremony. Their debut album, Tëdd ak Mame Coumba Lamba ak Mame Mbang, is set to be released on November 3, prom...
Explore the line-up of LGW23; Dive in to our official playlist
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.
ZULI shares 'Komy' EP
The work of multi-talented sound artist Ahmed El Ghazoly (also known as ZULI) has spilled over Cairo's borders onto the rest of the world, garnering support from the likes of Aphex Twin and Autechre. The Egyptian producer now returns with his newest EP, Komy. The EP features Haykal, Dakn, Cocktail Party Effect, and Maoupa Mazzocche...
Nusantara Beat announce second EP ‘Kota Bandung / Layung’
Nusantara Beat is an Amsterdam-based six-piece, consisting of members of EUT, Altın Gün, Jungle By Night, POM and Surf Aid-Kit. Through Swiss label Les Disques Bongo Joe and Indonesian label La Munai Records (who are also one of our COSMOS Embassies this year), they now announce the release of their second EP, on which they breathe n...
U? presents IJzersterk at HE:LEEN Festival
(scroll naar beneden voor de Nederlandse tekst) On Saturday 9 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. I...
Open Call: participate in U?, the freely accessible day program of Le Guess Who?
(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...
Photo series: COSMOS Live by Melanie Marsman
COSMOS was born out of Le Guess Who?’s mission to platform adventurous sounds that have the power to enrich lives. It’s a hub for experimentation and inspiration, and an ever-expanding network of creative minds. Through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies, COSMOS connects international music communities and...
Read/watch: Behind the Scenes, the new series by COSMOS
Behind the Scenes is the new series by COSMOS, Le Guess Who?’s hybrid platform, in which we dive into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Here, we talk to the people behind the video content that was created for the latest COSMOS installment to learn more about their local cultural scenes; their c...
Le Guess Who? starts pilot with Low Income Day Tickets
In 2024, Le Guess Who? starts a pilot with Low Income Day Tickets, specifically for those who otherwise would not be able to attend the festival. This initiative arises from the fact that we hear that the ticket price is one of the biggest barriers for people to visit the festival. We want to give people - who would like to visit the fes...
LGW24 curator Mabe Fratti releases new album 'Sentir Que No Sabes'
Avant-garde cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti returns to Le Guess Who? in 2024 as guest curator and performer. Now, she releases her new album Sentir Que No Sabes: a brave album, rich in both sonic inventiveness as emotional depth. At Le Guess Who?, Mabe Fratti will perform the music from the album accompanied by the London-based vocal gro...
Revealing the Guest Curators & Initial Line-Up for Le Guess Who? 2024
Le Guess Who? exists to promote sounds that are often overlooked, and to platform fresh perspectives on what is possible in music. Artists from all over the world offer an insight into the unprecedented diversity of human creativity. Le Guess Who? returns 7-10 November 2024 for its 17th edition in Utrecht, The Netherlands. We&rsq...
Explore the line-up of LGW24 with our official playlist
Le Guess Who? is a playground for discovery and exploration, and once again that's deeply reflected in our 2024 program. Now that we've revealed the full line-up, including the curated programs by Arooj Aftab, Bo Ningen, Crystallmess, DARKSIDE, Mabe Fratti, and Touching Bass, it's time to start your musical discovery again. Take a deep...
U? kondigt samenwerking met Music Moves aan
U?, het gratis toegankelijke stadsprogramma van Le Guess Who?, kondigt met enthousiasme een nieuwe samenwerking met Music Moves aan. Music Moves is een trainingsprogramma waarin je een eigen muziek event organiseert voor mensen die daar niet vanzelfsprekend toegang tot hebben. De dansvloer is vrijheid, een plek om elkaar te ontdekken en...
Revealing the full program for U? 2024
Lees hier de tekst in het Nederlands. U?, the freely accessible city program of Le Guess Who?, celebrates local and creative communities based in the Netherlands, with a strong focus on Utrecht. From 8-10 November 2024, U? returns for its 4th edition. The 2024 program for U? is now revealed, featuring a festival playground taking place...
Shabjdeed & Al Nather release new track 'INTIDAB'
Cutting edge Palestinian rapper/producer duo Shabjdeed & Al Nather released their collaborative album SULTAN earlier this year: an album "full of abstract poetics, existential reflections about daily life in Palestine, and cutting commentary that holds all systems and authorities accountable," in the words of GQ Middle East. Now, the...
Support DNA? AND? and help them create a VR Music Improvisation Experience
On the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2024, attendees will be treated to a performance by Oslo-based improvisation project DNA? AND?. Going strong for over a decade, the collective has traveled the world, played with N.U. Unruh and Hamid Drake, and gathered praise from international outlets such as The Quietus and more. For the upcoming...
Le Guess Who? offers Low Income Day Tickets for 2025 edition
(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...
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto release live album recorded at Le Guess Who? 2024
During Le Guess Who? 2024, we witnessed the magic of legendary Cumbia and Gaita ensemble Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, thanks to festival curator Mabe Fratti who invited them to Utrecht. Dubbed "the authentic masters of traditional Colombian Music" by the New Yorker, Latin GRAMMY-winning Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto have toured the world f...
Listen: Edna Martinez Presents Picó: Sound System Culture From The Colombian Caribbean
Hand-painted sound systems, often adorned with dazzling colours and striking imagery, each with its own name and sonic identity: for decades, the Picó mobile discos have become the heart of neighbourhood bailes on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The sounds of genres like champeta, highlife, soukous, mbaqanga, zouk, soca, and cumb...
Ndox Electrique - Live at Le Guess Who? 2023
Relive Ndox Electrique live at Le Guess Who?, the first international performance of the genre-blurring musical ensemble that originated in Senegal, and whose music is inspired by an ancient ritual of the spirit-world originating from Senegal’s n’döep ceremonies. About How does one put Ndox Electrique into mere...
Mazaher - Live at Le Guess Who? 2021
Chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms, Egyptian ensemble Mazaher gave a rare performance at Le Guess Who? 2021. It was their first European show in over 15 years. Mazaher is an Egyptian ensemble, a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zãr music: a combination of chanted songs and hypnotic polyrhythm...
Mabe Fratti featuring Shards - Live at Le Guess Who? 2024
As part of her curation at Le Guess Who? 2024, experimental cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti performed live at the festival together with London-based vocal group Shards. Watch the concert film of the performance, featuring the tracks Kravitz, No Se Ve Desde Acá and Desde el Cielo: With her hypnotic pieces, Mabe Fratti comb...
Scott Fagan performing 'South Atlantic Blues' - Live at Le Guess Who? 2016
Scott Fagan together with members of Trembling Bells perform Fagan's lost 60s classic 'South Atlantic Blues' in full at Le Guess Who? 2016. AboutFor every generation-defining icon, there’s an equally impressive talent who fizzled into obscurity. Scott Fagan’s lost 60s classic South Atlantic Blues is a gorgeous synthesis of...
Ayalew Mesfin & Debo Band - Live at Le Guess Who? 2019
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...
Actress - Live at Le Guess Who? 2024
Electronic luminary Darren Cunningham aka Actress, whose work merges and morphs elements of techno, electro, R&B and concrète, performs at Le Guess Who? 2024 following the release of Statik, and just a couple of days ahead of the release of his new mixtape Дарен Дж. Каннінгем, out now via Smalltown Supersound.&nbs...
Lole Montoya - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
From the minute when flamenco innovator Lole Montoya stepped onto the stage at the Jacobikerk during Le Guess Who? 2022, we knew we were in for a magical moment in time. Together with guitarist Juan Carmona, she gave a rare and very touching performance as part of the Hidden Musics project. Luckily, you can relive it now with our concert...
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
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...
They Hate Change - Live at Le Guess Who? 2022
Tampa rap duo They Hate Change performed at Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of the program curated by clipping., following the release of Finally, New; their debut album for Jagjaguwar. Relive the ecstatic performance below with our concert film, featuring two unreleased tracks produced by John Carroll Kirby and Zach Witness: AboutTampa&rsq...
Le Guess Who? 2018 Press Archive
The Netherlands 3FM: Eva Koreman nieuwe presentator 3voor12 radio 3FM: Le Guess Who? 2018: Ralph-Herman snapt niet wat Colin Stetson doet3FM: Timo op Le Guess Who: van gevoelige liedjes in een kerk tot stoned rappers3voor12: Kijk terug: James Holden & The Animal Spirits op Le Guess Who? 3voor12: Festivals willen dat je een kaart...
Le Guess Who? 2017 Press Archive
The Netherlands 3FM: "3voor12 is op Le Guess Who?, waar basketballen tegen aan het plafond geschroefde gitaren worden gegooid"3voor12: "Eerste 67 namen voor Le Guess Who? 2017" 3voor12: "Kelly Lee Owens, dagdromer met kennishonger" 3voor12: "Le Guess Who? str...
Le Guess Who? 2019 Press Archive
“With the able steer of festival curators Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Fatoumata Diawara, and Iris Van Herpen, this year’s boundary-crossing festival Le Guess Who?? welcomed visitors from over 60 countries and proved that even in times of political divide, music and art can bring us together into a more hopeful future.” - The...
Le Guess Who? 2020 Press archive
The Netherlands 3voor12: Dit zijn de vijftig belangrijkste festivals van Nederland3voor12: Le Guess Who? slaat 2020 over3voor12: Beverly Glenn-Copeland blijft onverstoorbaar hoopvol3voor12: Le Guess Who? organiseert fysiek en online evenement3voor12: Le Guess Who? maakt volledige line-up LGW OFF bekend3voor12: Alternatie...
Le Guess Who? 2021 Press archive
"Overcoming lockdown obstacles, Le Guess Who? united a global cast of adventurous artists." - Crack Magazine The Netherlands 3voor12: Le Guess Who? strooit alvast met eerste namen en curatoren voor festivaleditie 20213voor12: Dit zijn onze 14 tips voor Le Guess Who? 20213voor12: Playlist Le Guess Who? 20213voor12: LGW21: De gestolde j...
3voor12 / Vrije Geluiden 2021
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
COSMOS Embassy: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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...
Open Call: U? is op zoek naar community curatoren gevestigd in Nederland
Voor U? 2024 zijn we op zoek naar nieuwe en enthousiaste curatoren om hun communities en creativiteit op het festival te presenteren.
Apply for a Low Income Day Ticket
(Nederlandse tekst hieronder) In 2025, Le Guess Who? continues to offer Low Income Day Tickets. This initiative arises from the fact that we hear that the ticket price is one of the biggest barriers for people to visit the festival. We want to give people - who would like to visit the festival but don’t have the financial reso...
ANBI info Stichting Le Guess Who
Stichting Le Guess Who heeft een Culturele ANBI-status. Een ANBI is een instelling die zich voor minstens 90% inzet voor het algemeen nut. Een ANBI is vrijgesteld van schenkbelasting. Voor een begunstiger van een ANBI betekent deze ANBI-status fiscaal voordeel in de inkomstenbelasting en de vennootschapsbelasting. KVK-nummer: 51954222RSI...
Volledige programma U? 2024 onthuld
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...