Search: ZONAL featuring Moor Mother

Bulgarian women's choir Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares performed music from their new album 'BooCheeMish' live at Le Guess Who? 2017, in Utrecht's iconic Dom church (dating back to the 13th century). The performance was curated by Perfume Genius for the festival. About:The famous Bulgarian women's choir Le Mystère des Voix...

Musician, producer and composer Kevin Richard Martin’s chosen moniker has always been a fitting one. As a defiant experimentalist ceaselessly exploring sonic extremities, contrasts and frictiona...

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

The Philadelphia-based, noise-infested 700 Bliss is a collaboration between spoken word artist & sonic time-traveler Moor Mother and Discwoman-affiliated producer DJ Haram. Originated during Phill...

In early 2015, free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements first came together to perform at the Musicians Against Police Brutality event in New York. Drawn from the instrumentalists’ indivi...

In one corner, the shamanistic Saul Williams, actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism. In the other corner, cleric of eclecticism King Britt, accomplished Phill...

‘PERFORMANCE RAGE’ is the latest entry into percussionist, sound manipulator, and visual artist NAH’s explosive sound catalog. The release’s name drives at the Philadelphia-bor...

This November, Le Guess Who? will feature a spellbinding solo piano performance by Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa’s most eminent pianist, anti-apartheid activist and a world-respected master musician. Abdullah Ibrahim's effervescent music is instantly recognizable, taking the audience on a journey through gospel and jive, American j...

A genre-defying force in the world of rap and electronic music, producer DJ Haram is equally celebrated for her bass and club music heavy DJ sets, detail oriented analogue sound design, electronic-fol...

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

Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and performer Ojay Morgan's alias Zebra Katz came through his thesis project - and morphed into a genre-defying extension of his interest in theater and cultural st...

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

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...

During the 2020 lockdown, composer, organist, and synthesist Kali Malone found herself in Berlin with time and conceptual space to spare. So, she decided to form an ensemble with her close friends and...

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

Justin 'KUTMAH' McNulty was born in Brighton, England to an Egyptian mother and Scottish father. After moving to the United States at twelve years old, KUTMAH ultimately made a name for himself as an...

Greg Fox: "I got to know Pharoah Sanders music at first mostly from listening to John and Alice Coltrane recordings. his playing on 'Journey in Sitchananda' is especially influential for me, the way...

Joseph Shabason demonstrated his mastery of woodwind, horn and brass instruments on iconic records such as Destroyer’s ‘Kaputt’ and The War On Drugs’ ‘Lost In The Dream&r...

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

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

Ahead of his one-off, improvised, and non-rehearsed performance with King Britt at Le Guess Who?, Drowned in Sound interviewed musician, poet, actor and screenwriter Saul Williams about what we c...

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

Richmond, Virginia-based collage-rap/noise duo Prison Religion show that the heaviest of music is often-times economical and raw in its execution. Following the release of their 2018 EP 'O Fucc Im On The Wrong Planet', the group is set to release their new album 'BEACHHEAD' in July. The new album is characterized by "an avant-club me...

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

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

Mokichi Kawaguchi is Lionmilk; pianist, composer, and producer. A childhood in Los Angeles spent listening to his mother’s classical radio in the morning and his father’s jazz records in t...

Everyone is aware of the power of gospel music, but, to truly feel its electricity, one has to be charged in person. Annie & The Caldwells arrive from West Point, Mississippi to kindly and mightil...

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

Following the 'Lagata' EP last year, Klein is now preparing a new release for Hyperdub. The 'Tommy' EP is to be released September 29, and a first cut called 'Run Reprise' is now published - watch bel...

Gonjasufi has just released his new remix album 'Mandela Effect', and gathers an impressive list of collaborators for the album. The album was released on Warp and features a.o. Le Guess Who? artists...

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

Haley Fohr’s Circuit des Yeux creates an unprecedented deep and rich sound. On Fohr’s latest, acclaimed album Reaching for Indigo, she combines 50s & 60s avant-garde with drone, experi...

Vera Sola is a New York-based vocalist, poet and multi-instrumentalist. In recent years, she has worked on numerous projects, including performing with folk-rock artist Elvis Perkins and writing sever...

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...

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

Having formed only a year ago, London four piece Black Midi is storming UK’s underground scene with tremendous and terrifying force. Following a notorious live session at NTS radio - during whic...

Hidden among the rabble-rousing tourists and historic canals, Red Light Radio (RLR) is an online seminal DIY radio booth squat and international music platform based in the middle of Amsterdam’s...

As one of the many groundbreaking brainchilds of renowned Philly producer and musician King Britt, Fhloston Paradigm will return to Utrecht to host a DJ set featuring impulsive experimentation, cosmic...

Emerging from Bristol’s thriving artistic community, the four lads of LICE create a rather peculiar and inventive crossing of rockabilly and post-punk, featuring in-your-face lyricism covering s...

Quintessential Ethio-groove performer Ayalèw Mesfin has joined forces with the renowned US-based ensemble Debo band for his first European live performance ever, and in truth, few collaboration...

The past and the future wage a perpetual dialogue with one another and Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble could be considered a testament to that very notion. What started as Damon Locks proce...

Spirit Fest is the avant-pop supergroup we all fantasize about having by our bed-stand to sing us to sleep every night. Featuring members of The Notwist and Tenniscoats, this dream collective delivers...

London band The Chisel’s new EP, ‘Come See Me / Not The Only One’ embodies a variety of British punk traditions, brought on by each member’s distinct origin story; Blackpool, C...

‘Promises: Through Congress’ explores visual artist Julie Mehretu’s painting Congress (2003) and the 2021 album by electronic composer and musician Floating Points, jazz titan Pharoa...

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

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

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

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...

‘A bad attitude is like a flat tire - you can’t go anywhere until you change it’. So commences African Head Charge’s new record ‘A Trip To Bolgatanga’ - their first...

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

Small Island Big Song is a music, film, and live project featuring over a hundred musicians across 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, creating a current musical statement of a region...

East Side Radio is an online radio platform streaming from Lisbon’s East Side, Portugal. It’s designed to be a hub connecting widely recognized domestic and international talent. This COSM...

POP Montréal International Music Festival is an annual not-for-profit curated cultural event that champions independence in the arts by presenting emerging and celebrated artistic talents from a...

In partnership with Sharjah Art Foundation.   Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and inc...

Too many birds exists on the precipice of music and nature. Music writer Ruben van Dijk (Front, OOR, et al.) is drawn to sounds that renegotiate our relationship to the world around us and blur the li...

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

Located in Sharjah’s historic art and heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation’s activities and events take place throughout the year and include exhibitions featuring the work of Arab and i...

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

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

For half a decade, Italy-hailing multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Rebecca Salvadori has been enamored with the converging spot of performance, the moving image, and live filming. Out of this fas...

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

Born and raised in Brazil, DJ/producer/vocalist LYZZA is becoming a familiar face during radical, underground club nights all over the world, from Amsterdam all the way to Shanghai. LYZZA recently rel...

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

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

Songpoet is what American folk artist Tucker Zimmerman identifies himself as on the cover of his 2006 album, home to the acoustic folk gem 'She’s an Easy Rider.' Zimmerman is one of America&rsqu...

The new album by Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński, featuring Lithuanian singer and kanklės player Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė, is named after the grass snake Žaltys, a revered household spirit in Lithuanian...

Ale Hop (Alejandra Cárdenas) is a Peruvian-born artist who began her career in Lima's underground music scene in the 2000s. Her live performances merge the physical intensity of sound with raw...

'The After Image Becomes A Poem' A world exclusive performance for Le Guess Who? 2024 Bo Ningen create a unique aural and visual experience performing their alternate live score inspired by Alejandr...

Percussionist and composer Tumi Mogorosi is in the vanguard of the South African creative music scene’s burgeoning outernational dimension. He took the drummer’s chair in multiple boundary...

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

ZONAL, aka Kevin Martin (The Bug) and Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, JK Flesh) release their first single 'System Error', featuring vocals by Moor Mother. The track is taken from their upcoming debut album 'Wrecked', which will be released on 25 October via Relapse Records. Besides 'System Error' the album contains several collaborations wit...

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). Now, the group release their debut album 'Wrecked' via Relapse Records, containing several collaborations with lyrical poet (and LGW18 curator) Moo...

Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) returns to Le Guess Who? for the third consecutive year. After being curated by Jerusalem In My Heart (2017), and being a festival curator herself (2018), she now teams up with ZONAL, the project of Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Goldflesh, Napalm Death) and Kevin M...

ZONAL has shared the title track to their forthcoming album 'Wrecked', which is out on 25 October via Relapse Records. ZONAL is the collaborative noise, dub and industrial project of Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug, King Midas Sound) and Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, JK Flesh). The album contains...

ZONAL 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...

Three of the Le Guess Who? 2019 curators have just announced new albums and released new music to go along with it: Jenny Hval Norwegian avant-pop artist Jenny Hval will release her new album 'The Practice of Love' on 13 September via Sacred Bones. At Le Guess Who?, she will present her new performance baring the same title as the album...

Zware Metalen, het grootste e-zine in het Nederlandse taalgebied voor metalliefhebbers, sprak uitgebreid met Le Guess Who?-curator Kevin Richard Martin, beter bekend als The Bug. Het resultaat is een enerverend gesprek met een specifieke gedachte, aldus Zware Metalen: wat kunnen metalheads leren van Kevin's roekeloze a...

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...

Noise-rap duo Prison Religion has released new music in anticipation of its upcoming album 'BEACHHEAD', to be released in July. In May, Prison Religion already released 'XNF NTC / B.O.O.T' featuring experimental noise-maker (and LGW18 artist) Eartheater. Now there is the second track 'Candy', a collaboration with experimental el...

"With his pioneering industrial metal band Godflesh, Justin Broadrick writes songs built on concussive beats, apocalyptic riffs, and feral howls. It’s music made for an audience who, during live shows, reward the storm of sound with rapt attention. But when Broadrick performs in techno clubs as JK Flesh, he wears a hoodie that...

If there's one festival in The Netherlands that we feel a spiritual connection with, then surely it's Roadburn, who continue to challenge and rediscover themselves which each new edition. Now, Roadburn's main man Walter Hoeijmakers has collected some of his favorites from the Le Guess Who? 2019 line-up in a personal playlist for you to di...

FACT Magazine have just premiered a playlist personally put together by The Bug for his curation at Le Guess Who? 2019, featuring a.o. King Midas Sound’s gloom-ridden dub, spoken word and ambient; juggernaut industrial/metal outfit Godflesh; Jah Shaka, an essential figure within the British dancehall and dub scenes of the 70s;...

On her new track 'Matter of Time', Moor Mother collaborates with Philadelphia noise producer Mental Jewelry. It's the second track of the upcoming EP which will be released June 16th. "Often dreamy,...

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...

As a defiant experimentalist ceaselessly exploring sonic extremities, contrasts and frictional collisions, The Bug's obsession with beats, bass, body horror, and dub technology has been mirrored throughout his turbulent, mutating career. Le Guess Who? residential photographer Juri Hiensch spent four days with Kevin Richard Martin aka The...

The duo of Petbrick, comprising Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura) and Wayne Adams are known for making horrible noises that melt your face. The minute you press play, you hear the new audial destination of electronic experimentation, hardcore attitude, dystopian dread and in-the-red dementia.  The group now reveal the intens...

The Irish first class agit-rock outfit Girl Band and the extraordinarily abrasive yet undeniably catchy Australian psychpunkers of Tropical Fuck Storm will join Le Guess Who? 2019 in November. Girl Band also just announced their new album ‘The Talkies’; listen to the first track from the album below. Girl Band Prep...

Working from her base in Philadelphia, Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother, has taken a wide range of influences and distilled them into an essential, idiosyncratic sound best evidenced on last year’s...

Created specially for The Dowsers, hip hop pioneers Dälek have put together a playlist of 'Unsung Hip-Hop Heroes', featuring Le Guess Who? 2017 artists Moor Mother, The Bug, and Shabazz Pala...

Like last year, Utrecht’s beloved independent print workshop Kapitaal will transform into the official Festival Hang Out during Le Guess Who? 2019.  Through live interviews, listening sessions, art exhibitions with select LGW? performers and all things print and sound, Kapitaal will transform into a three-day meeting...

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...

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

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...

With their new album ‘Full Upon Her Burning Lips’, Earth's core duo of Dylan Carlson and Adrienne Davies tap into the Platonic ideal of Earth— an elemental band, where every guitar note and every strike on the drum kit carries the weight of the world. Carlson describes the album saying: "I wanted this to be a &lsqu...

Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) has released 'Sirens', the first solo album under his own name. The album, released through Room40, is about the arrival of parenthood, and the complex and tumultuous journey Martin and his wife went through in the first month of their son's life, when he had to undergo t...

Since its inception a decade ago, Kevin Martin (aka The Bug) and Roger Robinson's gloom-ridden transmutations of dub, poetry and ambient music as King Midas Sound have made an unyielding impression. This year, the duo returned with 'Solitude', a bleak and barren spoken-word/ambient record that laments the crumbling of a relationship....

The Bug (Kevin Martin) and Burial (William Bevan) have once again teamed up. Their new two-track EP 'Dive/ Rain' was released under the moniker Flame 2. 'Dive/Rain' is The Bug and Burial's second joint release, following last year's 'Fog/Shrine' (Flame 1). You can listen to 'Dive/ Rain' below. Dive / Rain by Flame 2 "Flame 2 sees the ve...

Donato Dozzy has a rare ability to work his way into peoples’ minds in both contemporary and classical settings. Now, the Spazio Disponibile boss will debut on Lorenzo Senni’s Presto!? Records with a two-hour-long album titled '12H', due out on October 25. The music is a summary of the material that...

The Wire Magazine shares an exclusive collaborative track from Le Guess Who? curator Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) and Japanese voice artist Hatis Noit, entitled 'After The Storm'. Listen to the track and read a statement about the duo's collaborative project here on The Wire's website. To receive a free download of t...

Can't wait for Le Guess Who? to take off next week? We know how you feel. So, to fill in the hours that still await us (or at least, two of those hours), we now present you our first Le Guess Who? Radio Show. Hosted by Le Guess Who? programmers Bob van Heur and Jacob Hagelaars, they guide you through the extensive 2019 program and p...

Jah Shaka is an absolute pioneer in sound system culture and has been spreading his message of love and spirituality across the world for over 40 years. On Saturday, 9 November, he will bring his legendary dubs to Le Guess Who? for a 4-hour set, performing on Krackfree Soundsystem, a collective operating from Eindhoven. The soundsystem c...

More than two decades after Lightning Bolt's acclaimed self-titled LP, they still know how to pulverize and pummel listeners into submission with their deafening interpretation of noise rock music. Today, the Rhode Islanders release their seventh LP 'Sonic Citadel' via Thrill Jockey. Bassist Brian Gibson and drummer/vocalist Bri...

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...

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...

Rhode Island noise dissidents Lightning Bolt's shows are the stuff of myth and legend. When the group performed at Le Guess Who? in 2015, we spoke with Brian Gibson and Brian Chippendale backstage about distortion and masks, and captured their explosive live performance afterwards. Watch below:  Now, the noise rock...

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,...

Cate Le Bon performed live at Le Guess Who? 2019, following the release of her latest album 'Reward'. You can now relive the performance with a video of Cate Le Bon performing 'Home To You' from her latest album, as well as the songs 'Love Is Not Love' and 'Wonderful' from 2016's Crab Day. Additionally, you can stream the full performance...

Today, Chilean cosmic group Föllakzoid releases new album 'I'. It is the fourth full-length album by Föllakzoid, described by the band as a multidimensional reconsideration of what the process of songwriting, performance, and creating a work of recorded music can be. To achieve this, the record was constructed ou...

Le Guess Who? 2014 Audio Recordings There are lots of recordings available in our audio archive, including Selda Bağcan, Baba Zula and many more from other editions of the festival. 

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

With his new album 'The Same But By Different Means', Montreal-based musician, producer, and composer Yves Jarvis is included in the 2019 Polaris Music Prize Long List. Consisting of a collection of suspenseful, gauzy post-R&B vignettes, Yves Jarvis is known for his auteur approach to music making, c...

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...

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

"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...

Boiler Room just shared a stunning and poignant new spoken word/rap/poetry-video from Moor Mother, aka Philly-based noise artist, activist and wordsmith Camae Ayewa. Watch below - filmed by&...

Moor Mother's Camae Ayewa has put together her own playlist as an introduction to her curated program at Le Guess Who? 2018, with some of her favorite tracks of each artist. Hosting several of h...

Ahead of Le Guess Who? 2021, Turkey's Bant Mag. hosted a Zoom chat between irreverent saxophonist and LGW21 curator Matana Roberts and LGW18 curator and musician/activist Moor Mother. During their conversation, the artists talk about new ways to reinvent and produce music during the pandemic, the music industry and Black Lives...

Hip-hop powerhouse Moor Mother fought her way out of the projects – and is now using poetry, music and ‘DIY time travel’ to build a better future for black America. "Our past has be...

On her new track 'Hardware', Moor Mother works together with Philadelphia noise producer Mental Jewelry. Last year, Moor Mothers album ‘Fetish Bones’ garnered acclaim for masterfully reima...

For several years, Paris-based photographer Felipe Vasquez has been working on a series of photo portraits focused on women in the arts, celebrating the impact they make in the art world as...

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

Le Guess Who? is celebrating an impressive milestone with the publication of its 100th festival recording: dub-reggae ensemble African Head Charge live at Le Guess Who? 2023. Over the years, the festival has continuously expanded its online recording archive via leguesswho.com/recordings. The archive reflects the eclectic nature of Le Gue...

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...

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

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...

Combine Moor Mother's everlasting, raging voice with DJ Haram’s dissonant Middle Eastern melodies and hard hitting club beats, and the result is the noise-infested yet cleansing sound of Philly...

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...

Kazakh/British violinist and composer Galya Bisengalieva has announced the new album 'Aralkum Aralas', which features remixed tracks from her 2020 album 'Aralkum'. This new collection of remixes will be released 15 October via One Litte Independent and includes contributions of a.o. Moor Mother, Coby Sey, Nazira, Jing, and CHAIN...

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

Gonzo (circus), one of the best in-depth music/culture magazines in The Netherlands & Belgium, has compiled a mixtape for Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring Ben Frost, OCnotes, Surajit D...

Fhloston Paradigm is one of the many groundbreaking excursions of renowned Philly producer, musician and DJ King Britt. His new album has just been released, entitled 'After...', and featuring collabo...

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...

A classical singer. A multi-instrumentalist. A transgender artist. An experimental pioneer of electronic music. A children’s show composer and actor. A Buddhist practitioner. A psychotherapy co-...

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

Accomplished Philly-based musician, DJ, author and producer King Britt has shared a playlist with his collected productions and remixes, chronicling the musical development through his vast catalogue...

Alanis Obomsawin received worldwide acclaim as a filmmaker and visual artist. Her work is binded by crusading for the rights and well being of indigenous populations while simultaneously celebrating t...

The kind people at The Wire have made an essay from Jerusalem In My Heart's Radwan Ghazi Moumneh available online for free in their archives. In the Epiphany piece, Moumneh writes about the...

Today, on International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we'd like to take a moment to raise attention for filmmaker and musician Alanis Obomsawin, who crusades for the rights and well-being of...

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...

RP Boo is the originator of footwork music and one of Chicago's finest producers. Now he has released his new album 'I'll Tell You What! via Planet Mu, which is his first album since 2015's 'Fingers, Bank Pads, and Shoe Prints'. It shows off RP Boo's raw experimentalism, floating free between abstraction and precision, for which RP Boo ha...

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.&...

LGW ON Program LGW ON introduces a freely accessible online TV channel with films and documentaries selected by past performers, Reports from Other Continents, previously unseen LGW recordings, and more.  FULL PROGRAM LGW ON

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

Montreal-based artist Myriam Gendron performs live at Le Guess Who? 2024, featuring music from across her three albums: Not So Deep as a Well, Ma d​é​lire - Songs of love, lost & found, and 2024's Mayday. About Before the release of her first record a decade ago, Quebecois musician Myriam Gendron was busking in Paris, singi...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's the new age & folk-jazz pioneer who has been curated by Devendra Banhart as well as Moor Mo...

In a recent interview with The New York Times, award-winning Flutist Nicole Mitchell speaks about her influences for her acclaimed album 'Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds', as well as the role o...

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...

We are excited to present you a new satellite event during Le Guess Who? 2018: ‘Untitled’. The program focuses on all disciplines other than music and is an exploration of other artistic e...

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...

Along with exploring the festival program, visitors of Le Guess Who? 2019 can also immerse themselves in various activities during the day throughout the city of Utrecht, including the ‘Untitled’ program.  Untitled made its debut as part of Le Guess Who? 2018. We're eager to expand the programming to include more daytime...

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

Art Ensemble of Chicago’s oeuvre is equally impressive as it is extensive. In their 50-year existence, Chicago’s acclaimed and praised free jazz collective recorded dozens of live and stud...

The originator of footwork music and one of Chicago’s finest producers RP Boo will release his new album ‘I’ll Tell You What!’ on 6 July via Planet Mu. Leading up to his new LP...

Next month, on July 27th, genre-bending vocalist and producer GAIKA will release his debut album 'BASIC VOLUME' via Warp Records. Today, he offers a new taste of the LP with the masterful video for&nb...

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...

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...

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

Exploring a multitude of musical influences and concepts about contemporary black British music, GAIKA releases his debut album 'Basic Volume' today. Reflecting on dark, uncertain times with a co...

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...

Every week, we bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's one of Chicago’s finest producers and "the unsung godfather" of footwork RP Boo, who &nd...

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...

Born and raised in Brazil, DJ/producer/vocalist LYZZA is becoming a familiar face during radical, underground club nights all over the world, from Amsterdam all the way to Shanghai. Now, she releases...

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

‘Dos City’, Tokyo-based hip-hop trio Dos Monos’ 2019 debut album which balanced jazz and hyperactive verse spitting, became an introduction to the group’s uncompromised and intense sound. As we wrote in the trio's biography: "a certain promise of more purely original cacophony to come." Now, Dos Monos share a new...

We're introducing our new video series ‘Hi! How Are You?’, in which we check in with previous LGW performers about how they are doing & what’s been keeping them busy. First up in episode 1 are the originator of footwork music RP Boo, Peruvian sound artist Maria Chavez, and Greek vocal group ...

"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...

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...

As a sci-fi obsessed woman living in near isolation, musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland wrote and self-released 'Keyboard Fantasies' in rural Ontario in 1986. Recorded on an Atari-powered home-studio, th...

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

Besides being one of Chicago’s finest producers, RP Boo is also known as the originator of footwork music. His music is of a propulsive and repetitive nature: rapid, bouncy beats have a weightless feel, floating free between abstraction and precision.   Ahead of his performance at Le Guess Who?, FACT Magazine visited RP Boo in...

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...

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...

During the latest edition of Berlin's CTM, two jazz pioneers and members of the AACM - Art Ensemble of Chicago's Roscoe Mitchell and music professor George E Lewis - spoke about th...

Singer-songwriter and producer Emel Mathlouthi gained global recognition as a protest singer when her recording 'Kelmti Horra (My Word Is Free)' became an anthem of the Arab Spring. But, in a recent i...

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...

Meet Maria Chavez: a Peruvian avant-garde sound artist who approaches the turntables as an instrument of transmission. Ravelin Magazine caught up with the cutting-edge artist to talk about her hi...

Nadah El Shazly is one of the most versatile and progressive Egyptian musicians. The Cairo-based artist garnered that status by immersing herself in many different stylistics, including jazz, classica...

Following this year's highly acclaimed and healing album AFTER..., Fhloston Paradigm aka King Britt gave us this unreleased track before his live solo set at Le Guess Who? 2017. '...THE MOON' feature...

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...

Fred Welton Warmsley III aka Dedekind Cut has announced his new album 'Tahoe', for which he signed to Kranky. The album's release is scheduled for February 2018, although you can stream the title trac...

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...

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

Drummer extraordinaire Greg Fox's new album 'The Gradual Progression' is released today. His rapid fire, blistering playing style is a true force of nature, and Fox’s unique take on his instrume...

Following the release of new EP 'Threshold of Faith' last week, Australian-born, Iceland-based composer Ben Frost now announces his new album. 'The Centre Cannot Hold' will be released via M...

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...

Under the moniker of Dedekind Cut, Fred Warmsley occupies that sweet spot between contemporary hip hop and Brian Eno’s ambient experimentations. The Sacramento native just released his new...

On her debut EP ‘Kisswell’, Zimbabwe-born, UK-based musician/poet Farai joins forces with producer Basil Anthony Harewood, aka TØNE. The results are a visionary and self-possessed e...

Jazz trio Muddersten consist of three skilled musicians, mixing tuba, guitar, percussion and electronics into an soundscape with gyrating drones, white noise and dissonant tones. now, the trio release...

Alabaster DePlume gave a special performance on the opening night of Le Guess Who?'s 15th Anniversary Edition, joined on stage by a.o. Jeff Parker (Tortoise) on guitar and Asher Gamedze on drums. Revisit the performance with our concert film, featuring ‘What’s Missing’, ‘Visit Croatia’, ‘Mrs Calamari&rs...

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...

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

A perennial figure in the New York abstract hip-hop scene, billy woods has been defined by his association with Cannibal Ox's Vordul Mega and as half of both Super Chron Flight Brothers and Armand Hammer - but his solo releases have reshaped the genre just as much.  Following the release of 'Aethiopes' earlier this year, billy woods...

*Update: the full 'Group Theory: Black Music' album is out now: Ever since his debut album 'Project Elo' in 2014, Tumi Mogorosi has built a reputation of being one of the most captivating young creatives in the South African scene, collaborating with Shabaka & the Ancestors along the way.  This July, the Johannesburg-bas...

Last November, we celebrated the 15th Anniversary Edition of LGW. For this special occasion, we have created a magazine about ‘how one Dutch festival became home to music fans across the globe’. In this magazine, Cheri Percy speaks to the co-founders of Le Guess Who? about its evolution from a two-man team to an award-win...

Free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements, spearheaded by former LGW curator Moor Mother, met amidst an event protesting police brutality. Since then, they have released three full-length albums, the last being 2021's Open The Gates. Now, the collective add a new offering to their catalogue; their new album Protect Your Light will...

Irreversible Entanglements, the free jazz collective hailed by NPR as “Perhaps the most thrilling band in jazz right now,” has released their new album Protect Your Light. Released through Impulse! Records, this album marks a significant milestone in the world of experimental jazz. The group is comprised of vocalist Cama...

New York rap virtuosos billy woods and ELUCID, collectively known as Armand Hammer, are back with their much-anticipated album, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips. This release serves as a follow-up to their 2021 cult hit Haram, produced by the Alchemist. Listeners can also expect some familiar sounds of Le Guess Who?, as the duo has invited th...

As a hallmark of Le Guess Who?, the festival each year invites trailblazing creatives to curate their own dedicated programs, highlighting fellow like-minded artists and those that have inspired them. Anglo-French avant-pop group Stereolab have been hailed as one of the most influential and fiercely independent groups of the 90s. For Le...

Anglo-French avant-pop group Stereolab have been hailed as one of the most influential and fiercely independent groups of the 90s. Their curation at Le Guess Who? 2023 features a.o. UK’s noted electronic artist James Holden; Nigerien Tuareg musician Bombino; composer and organist Kali Malone together with cellist Lucy Railton and gu...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Athens with stegi.radio In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. The scene in Greece has undergone a renaissance of sorts, with Athens becoming a hotspot for creative minds from around the world. Needless to say, this development hasn't...

As one of the special projects of Le Guess Who? 2023, the festival celebrated the legacy of spiritual jazz icon Pharoah Sanders and his seminal composition, Harvest Time (1977). During the closing day of the festival, The Harvest Time Project: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders brought together Irreversible Entanglements, Domenico Lancellotti,...

A genre-defying force in the world of rap and electronic music, producer DJ Haram is equally celebrated for her bass and club music heavy DJ sets, detail oriented analogue sound design, electronic-folk Middle Eastern production and abrasive rap collaborations. The DJ and producer recently announced her debut album Beside Myself, and now s...

Today, Tropical Fuck Storm release their new album 'Braindrops' through Joyful Noise. It is the sophomore full length LP from the Australian band featuring Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin, formerly of The Drones. If you appreciate the combination of chaotic guitars, grooving bass lines and fickle drum patterns, you are in for...

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

U? is opening up a monthly reading group, not as a fixed program, but as a shared space to gather, reflect and think alongside one another. Each month, we’ll come together to explore questions that matter to the people in the room: How can we build collaborations that are non-extractive and non-hierarchical between grassroots init...

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

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

Hailed as 'The Mother of All Maqam', Farida Mohammed Ali gave an immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2017 together with the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble. This performance was curated by Jerusalem In My Hea...

Last weekend, Farida Mohammed Ali performed on Dutch national television during Vrije Geluiden. The Iraqi singer is dubbed 'The Mother of All Maqam', as she's a master in 'Maqam al Iraqi': a...

Fhloston Paradigm aka King Britt: "My parents were collectors and my mother was exposing me to more spiritual jazz as a kid. I heard music he did with Don Cherry & Sun Ra first. Opened up sonic p...

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...

OKI's identity, as a part of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people, is central to his person and his art. His music, as heard on this year’s ‘Tonkori in the moonlight’, celebrates Ainu folk - while blending it with reggae, dub, throat singing, and Irish, African, and Central Asian tradition.  Now, Bandcamp h...

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...

Originated in Utrecht as a collaboration between the festival and long-term partners Basilica Hudson, 24-Hour Drone is a roving, international series featuring musicians and sound artists experimentin...

A collaboration between Le Guess Who? and long-term partners Basilica Hudson, 24-Hour Drone is a roving, international series featuring musicians and sound artists experimenting within the spectrum of...

Following his impressive 'Microphones in 2020' LP last year, Phil Elverum has announced the next release under his moniker of The Microphones, entitled 'Foghorn Tape'. In Phil's own words: "Literally just the noisy fuzzed out tape loop of a “fog horn” (actually a distant pitch-bent bass) that plays through-out the backgro...

Earth Girl Helen Brown Center For Planetary Intelligence Band (or E.G.H.B.C.P.F.I.B) is an inclusive, expansive, non-discriminatory communicative platform with a primary objective of directing and energy and capital toward organizations and causes committed to longevity, peace, popular intelligence, responsib...

In the early 1980s, Bertie Marshall was the frontman for post-punk boundary-pushers Behaviour Red, a group that fed off sound experimentation, tribal drumming, searing vocals, and guitar feedback. In 1983, the group broke up, but Bertie continued sketching out atmospheric compositions, leading to his solo debut in the 1990s. Here, Bertie'...

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...

Each year during Le Guess Who?, our residential photographers capture the most beautiful and special moments of the festival, onstage as well as backstage. Visit our gallery section to view all the impressive series made during the festival. Currently, the gallery features a stunning series of artist portraits by photographers ...

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...

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...

Perfume Genius curates his very own program at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring a.o. Bulgarian women's choir Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Mount Eerie, Aldous Harding, Weyes Blood, and Pharma...

Oiseaux-Tempête gave an overwhelming and immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2019. For Bandcamp Friday, the cross-cultural, multi-genre improv group now officially release the recordings of Oiseaux-Tempête & Friends live at Le Guess Who? 2019.  For this special performance, titled Oiseaux-Tempête & Frien...

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...

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...

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...

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

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

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...

Filmmaker and songwriter Alanis Obomsawin performed songs from her 1985 album 'Bush Lady' live for the first time at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring music of the Native American Abenaki people. The perf...

Bulgarian women's choir Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares performed music from their new album 'BooCheeMish' live at Le Guess Who? 2017, in Utrecht's iconic Dom church (dating back to the 13th centu...

Acclaimed filmmaker and songwriter Alanis Obomsawin performed songs from her 1985 album 'Bush Lady' live for the very first time at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring original compositions as well as music...

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...

LA-based Dominican producer Kelman Duran has just released his new mixtape 'MOON CYCLES III', once again featuring a highly distinctive combination of minimalistic reggaeton beats, chopped up voc...

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

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...

Nala Sinephro is a composer, producer, and musician of Caribbean and Belgian origin, whose music is a blend of jazz, folk, field recordings, and meditative sounds. She recently released her debut album 'Space 1.8' via Warp Records. Hailed as 'Best New Music' by Pitchfork, the outlet describes the album as "a benchmark in ambient jazz feat...

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...

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

During Le Guess Who? 2018, VPRO Vrije Geluiden recorded a two-part television special featuring studio sessions with festival artists. The first part featured performances by Sibusile Xaba, Vera Sola and Ill Considered, as well as live recordings from the festival shows of Anoushka Shankar and Neneh Cherry. You can rewatch the complete ep...

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...

Sons Of Kemet's new album 'Your Queen Is A Reptile' (released in March via Impulse!) is the "jazz" choice for nomination in this year's Hyundai Mercury Prize. Ahead of the event, the band gi...

Electronic explorer James Holden presented his new performance 'James Holden & The Animal Spirits' live at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring tracks from his new album; a record that enhances Holden&rs...

KEXP have captured a full live performance by Kevin Morby last August at The Triple Door in Seattle, and now shares the footage, featuring a lot of songs from Morby's latest album 'City Music'. W...

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...

(Artwork by Raimund Wong) Playing live following ‘The Inheritors’ was a complete new experience for James Holden; improvising with live drums, sax and synths opened a new world for Holden...

(artwork by Grouper's Liz Harris) Liz Harris aka Grouper is one of the most prominent and inspiring musicians exploring the space between sound and song. While mostly ambient based, her compositions...

The Line Of Best Fit interview Avey Tare, on 3 albums he would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. Featuring Ge...

The Line Of Best Fit interview Jane Weaver, on 3 albums she would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. Featuring...

Insecure Men, featuring Saul Adamczewski (Fat White Family) and Ben Romans-Hopcraft (Childhood), have shared their debut single 'Sebura Nights'. According to The Quietus it's "easily one of the best t...

Following the release of her acclaimed album 'Front Row Seat To Earth', multi-instrumentalist and singer Natalie Mering aka Weyes Blood now reveals her new single, featuring two cover songs: Soft...

Maâlem Houssam Guinia is the son and successor of the late Maâlem Mahmoud Guinia, an emblematic figure in the practice of West-African Gnawa music. Maâlem means 'master musician', an...

The Line Of Best Fit interview Liars' Angus Andrew, on 3 albums he'll be crate-digging at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. Featuring...

Following the release of her acclaimed album 'Modern Kosmology' earlier this year, Manchester figurehead Jane Weaver new announces her new EP 'The Architect', featuring the title track (stream be...

"Trane was the Father, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost,” the avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler famously decreed, suggesting that John Coltrane, Alyer, and Sanders were tied together,...

After releasing two singles 'Horizon' and 'Imagining My Man' (featuring Perfume Genius), Aldous Harding's new album 'Party' is out today via 4AD. Stream it in full below.  Aldous Harding will pe...

The Skinny just posted their 2017 guide to European festivals, featuring Primavera, MELT! Festival, Trans Musicales and yours truly. "It’s a music nerd’s paradise, in fact; not only are t...

'Dream Music: a 12-hour meditation with Pitch Color Tone and Volume' takes place October 14 at the Live Konserthus in Malmö, Sweden. It reflects the daily transition from morning to nig...

The Line of Best Fit shares the full audio of Junun’s electrifying performance at Le Guess Who? 2016, featuring Shye Ben Tzur, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and Indian ensemble The Rajasthan...

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...

Following the announcement of the initial line-up for Le Guess Who? 2023, including programs curated by Heba Kadry, Nala Sinephro, Slauson Malone 1 and Stereolab, we now add several special projects to this year’s festival edition, featuring COSMOS, Hidden Musics and The Anonymous Project. Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective COSMOS...

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

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

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with Sharjah Art Foundation In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and include exhibitions featuring t...

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...

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

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...

The artistic practice of Otay:onii (Lane Shi) spans across music, performance, installation, and film composition. After featuring on our COSMOS Embassy Film, we're honored to welcome her to the Le Guess Who? stage this year. Now, the artist reveals her new album True Faith Ain't Blind, a record that challenges established norms between c...

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

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...

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

John Dwyer (OSEES, Bent Arcana) is one of the guest curators for Le Guess Who? 2021. His stirring program includes Brigid Dawson, whom he played with for years. Dawson released the debut record of her The Mother’s Network project last year via Castleface Records and will be taking the festival stage with Sunwatchers. Ahead of...

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

Le Guess Who? 2019 is almost upon us! There is an abundance of performances and activities happening this week, so we can imagine that some acts or activities may have slipped through the cracks. Therefore, we've selected 10 things you might not have discovered (yet) in the LGW19 program.  1. Three-day Film Festival at Springha...

The Line of Best Fit recently sat down with Jenny Hval and The Raincoats ahead of their performances and Jenny Hval's curation at Le Guess Who? 2019, discussing their careers, albums & lots more.  The interview with Jenny discusses the concept of her latest record 'The Practice of Love', language and her mother tongue, Norway an...

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

Next week, we'll present our newest satellite event, 'Untitled', with one of the goals being 'an exploration of other artistic expressions by festival artists'. As part of Untitled, we will present a guided tour through Utrecht by acclaimed visual artist, improvising musician and 'Lover of Mother Universe' Lonnie Holley. Led by the m...

Czech Republic's Please The Trees originally hail from the forests of a mountainous region in East Bohemia. Grounded in the psychedelic riffs and motorik beats of krautrock, the band will present...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we offer you an extraordinary mix of bossa nova, flamenco, jazz and prog folk, courtesy of&nbsp...

Dive deep into the mystical trails and the long, weary road that made Vashti Bunyan's career even more mythical. After a hiatus lasting over thirty years, her musical career finally got back on t...

This year's Le Guess Who? features a project which is like nothing we ever brought to you before. Choreographer Nicole Beutler directed '7: Triple Moon': an interdisciplinary project with a combinatio...

We couldn’t resist: we’ve added beatmaker, DJ & 'king amongst cratediggers' Kutmah to the line-up for Le Guess Who? 2017. This will be a DJ set on Friday, 10 November in TivoliVredenbu...

Kevin Morby wanders through Paris in his new black & white video for 'Downtown Lights' from his latest album 'City Music', released earlier this year. Watch below.  "I set out to write a sim...

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...

COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s globe-spanning initiative that amplifies exciting music scenes from around the world through films, interviews, performances, and artist residencies. We now reveal the full 2023 line-up, after previously announcing the Embassies and COSMOS Live, the first-ever live program, to be presented at Le Guess Who?...

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: Behind the Scenes with POP Montréal In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners.   Ever since Le Guess Who?'s very first edition, there's been a strong bond with POP Montréal’s 20+ year long history of platforming cutting-edge music. Fo...

Khorshid Dadbeh is an Iranian instrumentalist, improviser and composer based in Rotterdam. She presents her music by performing Tanbour, Tar, and Setar. Tanbour music belongs to the category of mystic and Sufi music that has more than five thousand years of history behind it. She learned this music from the masters who formed a bridge bet...

Sydney Lowell is a creative spirit, human, artist and entrepreneur from Amsterdam. She mainly operates as a poet, but recently started incorporating music and movement into her creative practice. Next to that, she’s a teacher, voice actor, host, and co-founder/producer of creative platforms We The People and 2PHRASE. Sydney sees...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Pernambuco, Brazil Following their broadcast during Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of COSMOS, we talk to Ana Garcia and Benke, the people behind Coquetel Molotov to discuss the local music scene in the city of Caruaru; how their involvement in COSMOS became Coquetel Molotov’s first musical incubator; and di...

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

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,...

Being part of the Seattle scene for three decades, grunge godfathers Mudhoney have stood the test of time. Celebrating their fuzz-filled legacy, Mudhoney released their first live album ‘LiE&rsq...

Last week, the mastermind behind Death in Vegas Richard Fearless returned to the NTS studio to deliver a relaxing live set filled with dub, reggae and roots. Listen to the one-hour set below...

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...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, it's one of the projects of jazz superforce & festival curator Shabaka Hutchings, who released t...

We would like to introduce you to Black Midi: part band, part mystery. Despite the fact that they've got almost no online presence and are still unsigned, the group has already garnered praise from me...

With a wonderful blend of African folk, flamenco, bossa nova and jazz, Sibusile Xaba is slowly conquering the hearts of audiences outside of his home country South-Africa. His sound - both playful and...

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

At Le Guess Who? 2019, residential photographers Melanie Marsman and Juri Hiensch captured a stunning series of artist portraits surrounding their performances at the festival. View the full series here, featuring a.o. La Bruja de Texcoco, Coucou Chloe, James Merry, Oshun, Stella Chiweshe,&nbs...

Irish wrecking crew Girl Band has become one of the most fearsome live units of the decade thanks to their intense and propulsive performances. And somewhere down the dark corridors, you can hear the demented straitjacket howls of frontman Dara Kiely, an unrelenting fury waiting to detonate at the slightest prick.  The group perform...

Asha Puthli is a true international icon, not to mention one of the first recording artists to successfully merge traditional Indian influences with Western pop. Photographer Melanie Marsman spent a day in Utrecht with the award-winning jazz vocalist / international pop star / space disco icon, leading up to her very rare live perfor...

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...

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

Jesu’s Justin Broadrick has released the original deluxe remaster of 'heart ache', Jesu's debut EP that was initially released in 2004, short after Godflesh broke up. The remaster also features a rare live performance of 'ruined' with guest appearances from Aaron Turner on guitar, Roderic Mounir on drums, featuring Diarmuid Da...

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...

Zwangere Guy is renowned for his honest lyricism and compelling live shows. His unshakeable conviction, found all over his rhymes and delivery, led him to quickly be considered 'the boss of Brussels rap'. Now, together with rap crew STIKSTOF, Zwangere Guy releases 'FAMILIE BOVEN ALLES' (featuring Dutch rapper Sticks), the title...

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 ...

Utilizing little more than her voice, a cello and an array of effects, South London multidisciplinary artist Lucinda Chua composes ambient pop songs that feel both intimate and colossal. Earlier this year, Lucinda Chua released her beguiling 'Antidotes 2' EP, "a haunting four-song set of slow-burning ambient chamber-pop, w...

With just one week until the 14th edition of Le Guess Who?, the organization shares the timetable and last program additions for this year’s festival. Aside from some cancellations, the Utrecht festival for boundary-crossing music and culture now announces 41 final program additions, featuring live music performances, film screening...

We are extremely grateful to have been able to continue the festival today. Thanks for your continued support; without it, we couldn’t have made Le Guess Who? happen.  We now reveal the LGW & U? timeschedule for Sunday (subject to change). This has been a difficult puzzle to make. Please take note that, because tomorrow al...

Tia Maria Produções were set to present their very own program at Le Guess Who? on Saturday, 13 November. But after the Dutch government announced a partial lockdown and new restrictions for cultural events just the night before, these performances were not able to happen anymnore.  Devastated but not broken, the Lisbo...

Earlier this week, Brooklyn-based, Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab won the GRAMMY Award for Best Global Music Performance for her song ‘Mohabbat’. She performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021, the international festival for boundary-crossing music & culture, as part of her first ever European tour. Arooj Aftab is the first Pakis...

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

In 2018, Finnish electronic music composer Pekka Airaksinen and NYC-based multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ka Baird convened in Utrecht to write, rehearse, record and perform live. These recordings will be released on October 22 as the 17th installment of RVNG Intl.'s FRKWYS series. The album was completed six...

Forget Detroit, Chicago, and Berlin for a minute. Some of the most exciting electronic music records are being cut in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, and many are coming out of label Nyege Nyege Tapes. The collective is committed to shedding light on some of the best outsider music made in Kampala and all around East Africa. This Novembe...

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

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...

Last weekend, Basilica Hudson presented their DRONE AT HOME online broadcast, which kicked off on Saturday with a special collaboration between Dutch visual artist Richard Bolhuis (who was also part of our 24-HOUR DRONE in 2014) and and LGW19 artist Prana Crafter, who summons guitar meditations, kosmische dro...

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...

The Bug performed live as one of the closing acts of Le Guess Who? 2022, accompanied on stage by MC's Dis Fig, Flowdan and Logan to bring the buzzing energy found on The Bug's record to life. Relive part of the performance with our concert film below, featuring Fat Mac and Dirty/I Luv You (Freestyle) feat. Flowdan, Take feat. Dis Fig and...

Yesterday (Thursday, 23 April), Utrecht's Stranded FM broadcasted a Le Guess Who? special with an hour of LGW live recordings and memories, teleporting you back and forth to blissful festival moments of these past few years. The special featured a.o. Selda Bagcan; Mario Batkovic; Sun Ra Arkestra; Junun ft. Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny...

With LGW & Basilica Hudson's in-person 24-HOUR DRONE postponed until April 2021, Basilica will continue with web-based DRONE programming taking place this weekend. In the continued spirit of creating music without borders, local and international partners will join forces to keep the drone dream alight. For this specia...

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

Visit our recordings section for lots of exclusive audio & video recordings of Le Guess Who? performances. The first 2019 recordings are now being made available, with more to come soon, but you can also discover the performances of older editions, featuring a.o. Art Ensemble of Chicago, Saul Williams & King Britt, Kadri Gopa...

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?...

Lombok Festival, one of Le Guess Who?’s satellite events, returns on Friday 8 November. The freely accessible festival is a celebration of the cultural diversity of this city’s district, initiated in collaboration with various locations, musicians, key figures and residents of Lombok. During Lombok Festival, various performan...

Recently, Danish pop adventurers Efterklang released their fifth studio album 'Altid Sammen'. The day after the release, they debuted the record live in its entirety at the iconic Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg during this year’s Reeperbahn Festival. The trio was joined on stage by Øyunn on drums,...

Rotterdam's beloved The Sweet Release of Death have announced their return with new album 'The Blissful Joy Of Living', out October 10th, via Subroutine Records. The album finds the band reaching for their core instincts, channeling the brimming energy of their live shows. You can now listen to new single 'Sick Girl', which is a...

Idris Ackamoor is saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, tap dancer, actor and artistic director of the Pyramids. As part of their 'The Strange World of...' series, The Quietus has published a long read featuring 10 tracks as "points of entry into his formidable body of work." In the article, Ackamoor himself talks about the late...

Jerusalem In My Heart is an audio-visual happening with roots in both Montréal and Beirut, combining the best of both worlds. Figurehead Radwan Ghazi Moumneh has been nursing the craft of...

Photographer Juri Hiensch from Utrecht has been involved in Le Guess Who? since the very start. This year, he has captured a stunning series of artist portraits at the festival again, featuring the likes of a.o. Rodrigo Amarante, Kelsey Lu, Kadri Gopalnath, Circuit des Yeux, Swamp Dogg, JPEGMAFIA, Colin Stetson, Saul Williams & King B...

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

Before TivoliVredenburg opened in 2014, Le Guess Who? had its headquarters at beloved pop venue Tivoli Oudegracht. This year, we are happy to return to our roots with a very special project: Collaboratorium, a musical laboratory where we invite artists to dive deep into experimental territory. Collaboratorium, hosted by American singer-s...

Leading up to their forthcoming album 'For A Lark', set to be released on the exact same day as their performance at Le Guess Who?, King Champion Sounds has shared a new video for 'Memory Is Imagined'. Premiered via Louder Than War, this track is a deeply psychedelic and transformative song featuring heavy guitar action courtesy...

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...

Jerusalem In My Heart, the project of Lebanon-born and Montréal-based artist Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, announces its new album. Entitled 'Daqa'iq Tudaiq', the record will appear on 5 Octo...

In their artist bio, we describe The Breeders as 'one of the most playful and wayward acts to emerge from the 90s grunge scene'. Their playful spirit sure becomes apparent with a new homemade video th...

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

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

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...

In March 2018, Shabaka Hutchings and his comrades of Sons of Kemet released their new LP ‘Your Queen Is A Reptile’ on the prestigious Impulse! label, known for jazz greats like John Coltra...

Expressive jazz singer Linda Sharrock performed live at Le Guess Who? 2017, as part of the program curated by Jerusalem In My Heart. Now, The Quietus premieres the recordings of the performance, featu...

24-Hour Drone 2018 - Experiments in Sound and Music is presented by Basilica Hudson together with Le Guess Who?. It touches down in Hudson, NY, for the fourth time from Saturday, April 28th...

Every year in our visitors survey right after the festival, we ask you what your favorite performance of the festival. Below are your 17 choices of Le Guess Who? 2017. We're pleased to also share the...

Le Guess Who? & de Volkskrant bring you video portraits of artists performing at Le Guess Who? 2017. Han Bennink, the world’s most resourceful drummer, celebrated his 75th birthday at Le Gu...

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...

Lost Horizons, the collaborative project formed by Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins and Richard Thomas of instrumental quartet Dif Juz, will release their new album 'Ojalá' this Friday via Bella...

Earlier this year, Manchester figurehead Jane Weaver released 'Modern Kosmology': a thrilling mix of dream pop, avant-folk and psychedelic music. Now, just six month later, she shares her new EP 'The...

When performing in San Diego last June, Black Lips also visited Signature Sound to perform some tracks from their latest album 'Satan's Graffiti or God's Art?' in session for FTW New Music....

The Line Of Best Fit interview Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus, on 3 albums she would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017....

Seattle-based hip hop voyagers Shabazz Palaces produce transcendental albums from an intuitive frame of mind. Following the release of their two new 'Quazarz'-albums, Ishmael Butler, Tendai Marai...

(artwork by Emma Fischer) At a very young age, Han Bennink started drumming for his grandparents on pans and cookie cans, and with curtain rods as sticks. All over the world, Bennink is celebrat...

The Line Of Best Fit interview Zeal & Ardor, on 3 albums they would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. Fea...

The Line Of Best Fit interview Julianna Barwick, on 3 albums she would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017. Feat...

The Line Of Best Fit interview Kevin Morby, on 3 albums he would be crate-digging for at the World's Biggest Record Fair, happening in Utrecht during Le Guess Who? 2017.  Featurin...

After offering a first taste of his new album 'The Animal Spirits', electronic explorer James Holden now shares the second track from the album, 'Each Moment Like the First'. Listen below. ...

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...

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

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...

The famous Bulgarian women's choir Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares ('Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices') is curated by Perfume Genius for Le Guess Who? 2017. Performing in traditional clothing, the...

Drummer extraordinaire Greg Fox just shared a new single called 'Catching an L'. It's a track from his upcoming album 'The Gradual Expression' which will be released in September. "His new LP, The Gr...

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...

You're right, this isn't exactly a new song: Protomartyr's '580 Memories' was already published by Joyful Noise in 2015, as part of their limited edition Flexi-Disc Series. It just appeared online how...

Having just released his fourth album ‘No Shape’, The Guardian interviews Perfume Genius with a stunning and incredibly honest talk as result. As soul-baring and emotional as his album is....

Besides our Infectious Grooves playlist with weekly inspirations both new and old, we're now launching Re/Fresh: a weekly updated playlist with a selection of new music from artists who performed at previous Le Guess Who? editions.  Currently featured in Re/Fresh: former festival curators Julia Holter, Devendra Banhart and Patrick H...

“With the able steer of festival curators Jenny Hval, Moon Duo, Fatoumata Diawara, and Iris Van Herpen, this year’s boundary-crossing festival Le Guess Who?? welcomed visitors from over 60 countries and proved that even in times of political divide, music and art can bring us together into a more hopeful future.” - The...

The cult album Faust IV was the fourth studio album released by the German krautrock group in 1973. Reimagining the music from the iconic album, Faust IV was performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021 as part of the curated program by OSEES' John Dwyer. Faust IV Live! captured the strange magic that then and now defines Faust as an entity unto...

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...

Zanzibar singer Siti Muharam performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021, marking her European live debut. In 2020, she received the prestigious Songlines Awards for African Artist of the Year following the release of her album 'Siti of Unguja'. Now, Songlines premieres the concert film of Siti Muharam's performance at Le Guess Who?, featur...

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

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

*Update: Maral has now released her album 'Ground Groove' in full; listen below: Ground Groove by Maral LA-based, Iranian-American DJ and producer, Maral, announces the release of her upcoming album ‘Ground Groove’ and shares one of the tracks entitled ‘Feedback Jam.’ Featuring captivating electric guitar and bas...

*Update: Flore Laurentienne has now released his new album 'Volume II' in full. Stream below: A brilliant mix between rich sound, romanticism and sublime experience, Flore Laurentienne's second single 'Voiles' from his new album 'Volume II' takes the listener on a thought-provoking voyage exploring the fascinating relationship between...

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...

During Le Guess Who? 2022, photographer Claudia Gschwend and writer Melanie Biedermann initiated a new project in which they spoke to festival artists about how music relates to mental health, as well as their individual stories and relationships with music. At the same time, they also made a series of portraits about these artists. ...

24-HOUR DRONE is an immersive experience featuring musicians and sound artists experimenting within the spectrum of drone. Together, they create 24 hours of unbroken, uninterrupted sound. The event blurs the line between artist and attendee to create transcendence through communal experience.  Happening in-person for the first time...

Alabaster DePlume gave a special performance on the opening night of Le Guess Who?'s 15th Anniversary Edition, joined on stage by a.o. Jeff Parker (Tortoise) on guitar and Asher Gamedze on drums. Revisit the performance with our concert film, featuring ‘What’s Missing’, ‘Visit Croatia’, ‘Mrs Calamari&rs...

We're happy to announce that, after four years, 24-HOUR DRONE returns to Basilica Hudson in 2023 on May 27 & 28, to coincide with Drone Day. 24-HOUR DRONE is presented by Basilica Hudson and Le Guess Who? in collaboration with Sarah Van Buren, happening in-person for the first time since 2019. Tickets are available here. An immersive...

As part of Le Guess Who?'s Education Program in 2022, students of five classes from three high schools in Utrecht created artworks inspired by festival artists: their music, culture, and background stories. During the festival, we hosted an art exhibition at De Havenloods as part of our free day program U? to display all the works that...

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

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 -...

For their upcoming tour, Rotterdam-based band Lewsberg has put together a unique, extremely limited cassette tape 'Sweets', featuring two new indie pop gems. To accompany the catchy 'Sweets' song, Lewsberg also pieced together a sweet, captivating DIY video that's assured to lift you up.  While the track 'The Playground' offers list...

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

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

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

‘Porch music’, a term coined by acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo), aptly describes his country psychedelic rock project Rose City Band. At first inspired by warmer months, Johnson has now embarked on a forever summer. Their new album, 'Garden Party', is said to be, &ldquo...

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

Founded in 1981, pioneering dub-reggae ensemble African Head Charge has gone on to achieve cult status with epic live shows and 13 albums under their belt. Now, the group returns to On-U Sound with A Trip To Bolgatanga, their first new album in twelve years.  A Trip To Bolgatanga is described as a musical journey to founding member,...

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...

In October last year, the duo of Noa Kurzweil (Supertalented) and Levi Lanser (Ludittes) released their genre-defying three-and-a-half hour debut, Sent from my Telephone, under the moniker of Voice Actor. Now, the experimental pop duo shares what can be considered a condensed version of their debut. Consisting of 13 tracks chosen from th...

The Bug performed live as one of the closing acts of Le Guess Who? 2022, accompanied on stage by MC's Dis Fig, Flowdan and Logan to bring the buzzing energy found on The Bug's record to life. Relive part of the performance with our concert film below, featuring Fat Mac and Dirty/I Luv You (Freestyle) feat. Flowdan, Take feat. Dis Fig and...

Lee Gamble creates genre-agnostic music. Across his discography - now spanning over a decade -, he has incorporated amongst others dub, garage, and jungle, bleeding into grindcore metal and machine-strength techno. Now, the UK-based musician, composer, producer, and label-head returns with his new album 'Models'.  The album, mastere...

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

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

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

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

"This 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...

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

COSMOS x Santuri announce first 2024 Embassy Ahead of their first-ever electronic music summit, Kilele, COSMOS sits down with Santuri co-founder and director David Tinning as well as Nairobi staples Nyokabi Kariũki and KMRU.   For a full decade, the Santuri organisation has been supporting, highlighting, and releasing a mix of con...

Having spent many years touring and drawing inspiration from many corners of the world, Jori Collignon has at last found a home in the idyllic Palmela, Portugal. It is here where you can find a home complete with a guesthouse, garden, studio, and a vibrant hub where artists from different parts of the world come together to exchange ideas...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Palestine Following their broadcast during Le Guess Who? 2022 as part of COSMOS, we talk to brothers Elias and Youssef Anatas, the people behind Radio Alhara, about creating a new form of public space and bringing people from different parts of the world together. Words by Beatriz Negreiros   During t...

COSMOS is Le Guess Who?’s hybrid platform with both live and on-demand exclusive content. Beyond music, beyond film, and beyond borders, COSMOS translates the festival’s mission to the online environment. From 10-15 May, 2022, the 2nd edition of COSMOS will be freely available for worldwide streaming via cosmos.leguesswho.com....

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes with Oroko Radio In 'Behind the Scenes', COSMOS dives into local stories from across the world together with our global partners. Within the first two years of their existence, Oroko Radio has come from a beautiful idea to a globally renowned fixture in independent broadcasting, connecting the dots between Accr...

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

Since co-founding the seminal Sonic Youth in the early 80’s, Kim Gordon has remained at the nexus of music, art and (more recently) books and film. Earlier this year, she redefined her legacy with her sophomore solo album The Collective; now she releases the new, stand-alone single ECRP.  The song comes accompanied by a vide...

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...

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

With the ethos of Listening is the Way Forward, Le Guess Who? is widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals around. Le Guess Who? exists to promote sounds that are often overlooked, and to platform fresh perspectives on what is possible in music. Artists from all over the world push the boundaries of expectations...

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

Each year, Le Guess Who? invites trailblazing creatives to curate their own dedicated programs, highlighting their inspirations, emerging acts and fellow like-minded artists, with an emphasis on discovery and exploration.Errol & Alex Rita, founders of the London-based musical movement Touching Bass, introduce their curation at Le Gues...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

Le Feast invites you into a living room in Utrecht, to enjoy a feast together with people you don't know (yet). Would you like to join as a home-chef or guest? You can now sign up! “Le Feast is such a great way to bring people together in an atmosphere of generosity and celebrate what unites us.” - Guest Home-Chef We are lo...

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...

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

Montreal-based artist Myriam Gendron performs live at Le Guess Who? 2024, featuring music from across her three albums: Not So Deep as a Well, Ma d​é​lire - Songs of love, lost & found, and 2024's Mayday. About Before the release of her first record a decade ago, Quebecois musician Myriam Gendron was busking in Paris, singi...

Kahil El'Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble celebrated their 50th anniversary on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2024, commemorating half a century of continuously shifting gears and tempos in the jazz-blues continuum. Listen to, and relive, the full performance below.  The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble was founded by El’Zabar in...

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. Touching Bass, a London-based musical movement founded by Errol and Alex Rita, was one of the guest curators for Le Gu...

A New Year's gift and a souvenir from Le Guess Who? 2024. The full live performance by Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri at Utrecht’s Jacobikerk is now available as free, or pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp.   When Abul Mogard (AKA Guido Zen) and composer, record producer, and mastering engineer Rafael Anton Irisarri first pl...

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

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

In one corner, the shamanistic Saul Williams, actor, screenwriter and renowned harbinger of noise poetry and hip hop futurism. In the other corner, cleric of eclecticism King Britt, accomplished Philly-based musician, DJ, author and producer. On the explicit invitation of Moor Mother, who was a guest curator at Le Guess Who? 2018, these...

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

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

Hailed as 'The Mother of All Maqam', Farida Mohammed Ali gave an immersive performance at Le Guess Who? 2017 together with the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble. This performance was curated by Jerusalem In My Heart, and took place in the stunning setting of the Jacobikerk in Utrecht. About:Farida Mohammad Ali's mastery of the ancient maqam discipl...

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

Junun featuring Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood, and the Rajasthan Express was the closing act of Le Guess Who? 2016. Relive their magical performance. About JununInside a 15th century Mehrangarh fort in Rajasthan, India, Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood met the Rajasthan Express: an Indian ensemble...

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

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...

Earlier this week, Brooklyn-based, Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab won the GRAMMY Award for Best Global Music Performance for her song ‘Mohabbat’. She performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021, the international festival for boundary-crossing music & culture, as part of her first ever European tour. Arooj Aftab is the first Pakis...

Chicago-based songwriter and guitarist Ryley Walker and Japanese psych-rockers Kikagaku Moyo gave a special collaborative performance at Le Guess Who? 2018. Now, the artists release the recordings of that show called ‘Deep Fried Grandeur’; two lengthy, kaleidoscopic jams featuring a revolving cast of folk jazz, acid rock, and...

Expressive jazz singer Linda Sharrock live at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring three improvisational pieces. This performance was curated by Jerusalem In My Heart. About Linda Sharrock: Renowned for her work with guitarist Sonny Sharrock in the 60s and 70s, Linda Sharrock has become a leading light in the world of experimental jazz a...

The cult album Faust IV was the fourth studio album released by the German krautrock group in 1973. Reimagining the music from the iconic album, Faust IV was performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021 as part of the curated program by OSEES' John Dwyer. Faust IV Live! captured the strange magic that then and now defines Faust as an entity unto...

Zanzibar singer Siti Muharam performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021, marking her European live debut. In 2020, she received the prestigious Songlines Awards for African Artist of the Year following the release of her album 'Siti of Unguja'. Now, Songlines premieres the concert film of Siti Muharam's performance at Le Guess Who?, featur...

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...

Electronic explorer James Holden presented his new performance ‘James Holden and The Animal Spirits’ live at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring two tracks from his new album; a record that enhances Holden’s past in trance music with his love for Moroccan Gnawa music. Audio recorded by Marc Broer at Le Guess Who? 2017 on Sa...

Filmmaker and songwriter Alanis Obomsawin performed songs from her 1985 album ‘Bush Lady’ live for the first time at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring music of the Native American Abenaki people. The performance was curated by Jerusalem In My Heart, and also included 2 never recorded songs: 'La Berceuse' & 'The Spirit Of The R...

Irish wrecking crew Gilla Band has become one of the most fearsome live units of the decade thanks to their intense and propulsive performances. And somewhere down the dark corridors, you can hear the demented straitjacket howls of frontman Dara Kiely, an unrelenting fury waiting to detonate at the slightest prick.  The group perfor...

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...

"This is flamenco punk", said Niño de Elche towards the end of his performance at Le Guess Who?. It's a fitting statement: the Spanish musician, who is also called a 'singer, poet and omnipresent master of ensorcelling souls' has been challenging conservative and picturesque perceptions of flamenco for over two decades. You can re...

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

A New Year's gift and a souvenir from Le Guess Who? 2024. The full live performance by Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri at Utrecht’s Jacobikerk is now available as free, or pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp.   When Abul Mogard (AKA Guido Zen) and composer, record producer, and mastering engineer Rafael Anton Irisarri first pl...

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

Kahil El'Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble celebrated their 50th anniversary on the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2024, commemorating half a century of continuously shifting gears and tempos in the jazz-blues continuum. Listen to, and relive, the full performance below.  The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble was founded by El’Zabar in...

The Sai Anantam Ashram Singers performed The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda live at Le Guess Who? 2017, featuring a special guest appearance by saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings. About the project:Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s devotion to spirituality defined the final decades of her life. In 1983, she esta...

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

The 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? 2018

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

The 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...

With the motto of Listening is the Way Forward, Le Guess Who? is widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking festivals around. 

Le Guess Who? 2015   

In partnership with NORRM Radio & LaMunai Records.    An introduction to Indonesia’s few select musicians and musical groups that portray the eclectic and diverse sounds, created through a variety of methods and different environments. Norrm Radio and La Munai Records wishes to capture the creative process of these m...

Le Guess Who? 2016

Le Guess Who? 2017

Dive into our 2016 program guide, with info on artists, side programs during the festival, like Le Mini Who?, Le Bazarre, Juri Hiensch's Photo Exhibition on 10 Years of Le Guess Who?, and Le Gig Poster.

Le Guess Who? 2019

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

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

"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...

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

In partnership with Sharjah Art Foundation.   Located in Sharjah’s historic Art and Heritage Areas, Sharjah Art Foundation activities and events take place throughout the year and include exhibitions featuring the work of Arab and international artists, performances, music, film screenings and artist talks as well as exte...

East Side Radio is an online radio platform streaming from Lisbon’s East Side, Portugal. It’s designed to be a hub connecting widely recognised domestic and international talent. This COSMOS Embassy was the first happening by East Side Radio after a long pause, during which a new broadcast studio was designed and constructed,...