Search: big brave

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

Montreal's Big|Brave occupy a unique sonic space. Merging guitar torrents, withered noise bursts and shamanic yelps into a fully fleshed-out artistic vision, Big|Brave make believers everywhere their...

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

The traditional improvisational song of the Northern Algerian Berbers is called achewiq. It is a vehicle for women to express their feelings and deal with disaster—such as the recent forest fire...

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...

In the late 70’s, as member of the notorious Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lydia Lunch was a leading figure in the rise of New York City’s no-wave scene. Grounded in a dissonant and atonal...

Amsterdam-based indie rock crusaders Personal Trainer are stuck in adolescent wonder. They have found a way to retain the excitement often only found in a band's first show, and it is brimming with th...

A Misfit Cyberpunk Act. Bodyscan 223 is a media-dance-event that focuses on our conflicting ideas of technology, accesibility and queer-identity. Robin Nimanong presents his queer body as a witness to...

Zsela’s dynamite debut album ‘Big For You’ lives up to its larger-than-life name; it’s bold, raw, vulnerable, and, all in all, an introduction difficult to forget. Produced alo...

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...

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

‘Ongehoorde geluiden’ hands the mic to people who courageously, and sometimes barely, brave daily life in the city of Utrecht. They’ve been homeless for some time and make little or...

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

‘There is no pinpointing this band’, said Tomorrow Music of HYPER GAL. By blending soft vocals with harsh industrial beats, visual artist Koharu Ishida and noise artist Kurumi Kadoya summo...

In her enigmatic avant-pop excursions, Jenny Hval breaks free from rigid concepts of sex, mortality, biology and pop culture. Her concept album ‘Blood Bitch’ occupies a fractured but heroi...

Alexander von Schlippenbach is the founder of the famous free jazz super-ensemble Globe Unity Orchestra, which at different points featured Peter Brötzmann, the late Jaki Liebezeit, Paul Rutherfo...

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...

L.A. based experimental musician Joe Cardamone, formerly of The Icarus Line, is now performing under his own name and preparing the release of 'Holy War Collection'. He now releases a new single...

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

Based in San Antonio, Texas, claire rousay makes extraordinary out of the everyday. Voicemails, haptics, environmental recordings, stopwatches, whispers are all made suddenly big, their significa...

De Nijverheid is a cultural freeport full of artists from all kinds of disciplines. Over fifty artists call this their second home, making De Nijverheid an artistic hub that sparks new creativity, une...

Music like those squat toilets alongside the French highway. Lyrics dredged up straight from the shower sink. Are you ready to stink? Kaboutertje Putlucht is your remedy against all those fresh-soundi...

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

Poet and spoken word artist Sydney Lowell is not afraid of tackling big themes and challenges. She is also known as a cultural agitator. In her show, a journey through time and space in which spoken w...

Poet and spoken word artist Sydney Lowell is not afraid of tackling big themes and challenges. She is also known as a cultural agitator. In her show, a journey through time and space in which spoken w...

‘What Is Not Strange?’ asks Los Angeles-based performer Tashi Wada on his first solo album’s title. As its name suggests, the artist’s latest work - his most ambitious and impa...

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

Kala is a DJ, musician & scatterbrain experimentalist from the dub siren orchestra, FUUTUREJAZZ. She comes - from the sinkholes of some ASEAN megacity - with love, peace, rage, a suling, a serunai...

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...

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

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

Montreal's Big|Brave merge guitar torrents, withered noise bursts and shamanic yelps. Now, the trio release their new album 'Ardor' via Southern Lord Records. Stream it in full below: 3 slowly de...

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...

Coming up at the turn of the century, when underground rap was all about dusty loops and intricate battle rhymes, Antipop Consortium mixed an experimental, electronically charged sound palette with lyricism sharpened on the NY poetry scene. While they quickly summoned a cult following stateside, Europe’s alternative music circuit to...

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...

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...

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

Liars' Angus Andrew has shared an exclusive track that was made available for Thirty Days of Yes, appearing on a subscription mixtape that will release a song a day over 30 days. Listen to&n...

Liars seem to have found secret wormholes to travel between genres like corrosive noise, freewheeling art-rock and seedy electronics, coming up with unique blends of it with every new album. Earlier...

As we wrote in The Soft Moon's bio for their performance at this year's Le Guess Who?: 'Each album peels away another layer to reveal more brutal truths behind Vasquez’s industrial/postwave lean...

"I consume more music backstage on tour than at any other time. It’s essential for me as a ritual to have sounds blaring in the green room from load-in to load-out. Partially I think this is so...

One month ago, Liars' Angus Andrew releases his new album 'TFCF'. "It's the oddness of Liars, that weird shamanic essence of Angus Andrew that has shaped their best albums and most unhinged gigs,...

U? is Le Guess Who’s participatory and freely accessible day program, made for–and with–the city of Utrecht. With U?, Le Guess Who? extends its mission to enrich people through music and culture even further to the city. From 10 to 13 November 2022, U? returns for its second edition. This year, even more neighborhoods a...

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

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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...

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...

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

Interview: Seyðisfjörður Community Radio Seyðisfjörður Community Radio (SCR) is a shared digital and analogue broadcasting platform located in the fisher town of Seyðisfjörður. The platform is hosted, nurtured and initiated by an open-ended international community inhabiting various conditions and p...

London's Vanishing Twin's mission is to ‘synthesize psychedelic traditions from around the globe’, inviting psych-jazz and psych-pop flavors from Europe to Southern America. Their previous records clearly signal a job well done, and later this year, they will follow-up with their new album 'Ookii Gekkou' (Japanese for Big Moon...

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

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

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

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...

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...

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

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

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

Le Guess Who 2018 will host the influential Lydia Lunch and her Big Sexy Noise. How did Lunch become the revered anti-establishment figure she is today? This article offers a brief exploration of the...

In a recent interview with Metro Times, no wave-icon and third-wave feminist Lydia Lunch talks about America as patriarchy, her lifelong battle against censorship, and many more. In the...

Les Amazones d'Afrique are a gathering of some of the most powerful female voices of West-Africa. These performers use their music as a weapon to address the disempowerment of women across Africa and...

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

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

COSMOS x Honiunhoni announce their 2024 Embassy in Karachi, Pakistan Honiunhoni is an independent production company and record label founded by musician and anthropologist Daniyal Ahmed.  Rooted in the ethos of ethnographic research, Honiunhoni celebrates Pakistan's cultural richness and diversity by curating and highlighting the...

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...

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...

Even after thirty years of pioneering the grunge movement, the Seattle icons of Mudhoney still got enough fire left in them; a big, raging wildfire, in fact. Mudhoney's 10th studio album 'Digital Garb...

Before debuting his immersive multimedia-performance Somnium at this year’s Le Guess Who?, we had an extensive chat with Dutch musician, songwriter, and composer Jacco Gardner. About Dutch explorers, silent film soundtracks, Zambian rock legends, strange peninsula’s and of course, his upcoming LP Somnium. Jacco Gardner, sitti...

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-...

"I used to get chills listening to Elvis Presley, but on Sundays, secular sounds took a back seat. My grandfather was a big churchgoer, and on Sunday morning the radio was on the gospel station." So...

For Episode 1 of our new podcast 'The Big Playback', we interviewed musician Angel Bat Dawid regarding the question Is Music a Religion? Dawid shared her thoughts on participatory music, her philosophy on people being creatures of habit and her idea of inner attainment. 

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

This November, Le Guess Who? 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...

For Le Guess Who? 2023, Stereolab have curated an eclectic program, highlighting their various interests and inspirations. We've asked artists from their curated program to choose their favorite Stereolab track, what the band means to them and/or what it means to be curated by them. Listen to the playlist by artists from the Le Guess Who...

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

COSMOS: 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...

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

Utrecht-based singer-songwriter GINGE shares new album Playing Around. It's a playful narrative on how she deals with love, friendship and relationships. "Most of what I like comes from the soul and R&B scene from the UK. I think it's cool that an artist like Remi Wolf can't be pigeonholed, it can't be defined as pure soul or just...

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,...

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...

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...

Often titled an 'Asian guitar army', CHELA performed live during the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2024, curated by Bo Ningen. Relive the full performance below, with the duo performing music from their 2023 album Diagonal Drift. Made up of long-time friends and collaborators Ajay Saggar (Bhajan Bhoy) and Kohhei Matsuda (Bo Ningen), CHE...

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 March, the beloved nineties alt-rock band The Breeders released a new album; the band's first in ten years. With the iconic ‘Last Splash’ line-up brought back together, their new full...

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...

Every week, we’ll bring you a must-hear track from the Le Guess Who? 2018 line-up. This week, we pick Ancient Shapes, a new project fronted by songwriter Daniel Romano. Always having been a...

Orchestra of Spheres send their listeners on a reflective voyage of sonic discovery on their new song 'Koudede'. With the track, the adventurous psych pop group share their love for the Tuareg and Nig...

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

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter SASAMI has released her new song ‘Not The Time’, the follow-up to her debut track ‘Callous’, released earlier this year. ‘Not The Time...

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...

Norwegian singer, producer, novel writer and Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Jenny Hval has released a new song called 'High Alice'. It is taken from her upcoming album 'The Practice of Love', which will be released in September. In a statement accompanying the release of the song, Hval says that 'High Alice' felt like the narra...

In an interview with LGW partners Pan African Music (PAM), Pa Salieu, a Coventry-based rapper and the king of UK-rap talks about his debut album, the history of Coventry, initial and current inspirations, and more. At just 24 years old, Pa has successfully collaborated with big names like Jorja Smith and FKA Twigs. He also dippe...

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

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

In 2018, as part of a program presented by Brooklyn-based independent record label RVNG Intl., Finnish electronic music composer Pekka Airaksinen (known for his work with ultra-radical, proto-noise group The Sperm) and NYC-based multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ka Baird convened in Utrecht to write, rehearse, record and perform live.&n...

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

Before their glorious performance at TivoliVredenburg's Grote Zaal during Le Guess Who?, Japanese 10-piece ensemble Minyo Crusaders ventured into Utrecht to perform their song 'Tanko Bushi (炭坑節)', from their praised debut album 'Echoes of Japan', along the city's iconic and picturesque Oudegracht canal, also described as...

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

Starting out with the intention to "make horrible noise" as their first concept, Petbrick, the duo of Wayne Adams (Big Lad/Death Pedals/Johnny Broke) and Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura/Soulwax/Mixhell) have now arrived at a destination where they combine electronic experimentation, hardcore attitude, dystopian dread and in-the-red de...

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...

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

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

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...

Following the release of legendary foursome The Breeders' new album 'All Nerve' (their first in 10 years), the group now share their new video for 'Spacewoman' in collaboration with Tidal. Directed by...

Mount Eerie has released his new live album '(after)', which was recorded in full at Le Guess Who? 2017. The performance was curated by Perfume Genius for the festival, and took place at the Jaco...

In the late 70’s, as member of the notorious Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lydia Lunch was a leading figure in the rise of New York City’s no-wave scene. On the opening night of Le Guess Who? 2018, Lunch performed with her 'Big Sexy Noise', and Red Bull Radio caught up with the 'transgressive no wave artist and Lower East Side...

The day after her performance at Le Guess Who? this Thursday, Vera Sola will release her debut album 'Shades' via Spectraphonic Records. Prior to the album release, Sola shares a new track, entitled 'The Cage': a dark and intense song with an equally powerful video. Watch and listen below: "New track ‘The Cage’ comes comple...

In a short documentary, The Avant/Garde Diaries introduces you to the renowned Queen of Bounce Katey Red. As a transgender, Red was one of the first openly gay artist within the masculine bounce...

New York-based vocalist, poet and multi-instrumentalist Vera Sola recently released the single 'Small Minds' and now, she brings us the follow-up in the form of 'The Colony'. Both songs will appear on...

Rock 'n Roll visionary Ian Svenonious currently performs with his solo project Escape-Ism, and will release his second disc of solo-sneers titled 'The Lost Record' on 7 September. Talking to The Washi...

To fight the ordinary, Paddy Steer does the extraordinary. Surrounded by knobs, wires, keys, and wearing self-made, Sun Ra-inspired costumes, Paddy Steer looks and sounds like a music wizard from anot...

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

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...

Legendary grunge rockers Mudhoney have shared an organ-filled new single from their upcoming album 'Digital Garbage'; their first in five years. 'Kill Yourself Live' is a bleak examination of viral cu...

Mount Eerie has announced the release of '(after)', a new live album recorded live at Le Guess Who? 2017. The performance was curated by Perfume Genius for the festival, and took place at the Jacobike...

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...

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

Earlier this week, The Breeders returned to Later… with Jools Holland after the release of their latest album 'All Nerve'. With the iconic ‘Last Splash’ line-up together a...

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...

(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...

We regret to inform you that Oumou Sangaré has to cancel her performance at Le Guess Who? 2017. But we’re also pleased to announce that Sun Ra Arkestra will grace our line-up instead, bri...

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...

Ahmed Fakroun is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, raï singer (based on a form of Algerian folk music from the 20's) and pioneer in modern Arabic music. As a kid, Fakroun already developed a f...

Daniel Romano's frantic power pop project Ancient Shapes will release the follow up last year's self-titled album on 5 October via You've Changed Records. Entitled 'Silent Rave', the album was pr...

Patrick Higgins may be best known as guitarist for the noise-rock band Zs, which New York Times called "one of the strongest avant-garde bands of New York", but his solo work is just as striking. From...

Le Guess Who? 2019 curator Jenny Hval's multi-disciplinary work aims to break beyond the confining zones of a certain genre or discipline to form a deeper connection with her audiences. Now, the Norwegian avant-pop artist announces her new album 'The Practice of Love' (out 13 September 13 via Sacred Bones), and shares its first singl...

Le Mini Who? returns as part of Le Guess Who? 2019 on Sunday, 10 November. As a free spin-off festival of Le Guess Who?, it transforms many of Utrecht’s local bars, restaurants, venues and warehouses into improvised venues for (mainly) Dutch underground bands to play. For its 11th edition on Sunday, 10 November 2019, Le Mini Wh...

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

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

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 four artists who performed at Le Guess Who? 2021.Watch and listen to the sessions with Berlin-based abstract saxophonist Bendik Giske, Los Angeles indie punk band Automatic, Bosnian-Swis...

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...

Sudan's Noori & His Dorpa Band performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022, presented in collaboration with Ostinato Records. Below, you can relive the performance with our video of a part of the concert, as well as the audio of the full show, with a spirited introduction by Ostinato's Vik Sohonie before the band came on stage. Additionall...

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...

The Homesick, originating from the quaint Dutch town of Dokkum, is boldly entering their "weirdopop" era with their new self-titled album, released almost a decade after their first EP Television.Departing from their guitar-driven roots, the trio, comprising of Elias Elgersma, Jaap van der Velde, and Erik Woudwijk has been recognized...

You can also listen to this story – below or via your favorite podcast app. Words & audio by Cheri PercyPhotography by Tengbeh Kamara   Rotterdam based-DJ collective AMPFEMININE scours its diverse database to bring an evening of fresh feminine energy to this year’s Le Guess Who? proving that female and non-b...

We're thrilled to let you know that the great Kapitaal, Utrecht's independent print workshop, together with online radio station Stranded FM, will once again host official Le Guess Who? 2023 Hangout on Friday, Saturday & Sunday during the festival.  Find Kapitaal at Paardenveld 5B (behind the palmtree!), where they host live per...

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 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...

Recently, we celebrated the 100th festival recording being included in our online recordings archive. Now, we are elated to share the concert film of Anglo-French avant-pop group and festival curators Stereolab live at Le Guess Who? 2023. Hailed as one of the most influential and fiercely independent groups of the 90s, Stereolab's influe...

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...

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...

Free Tekno parties were on the forefront of electronics since the birth of acid-house. In this short documentary, our resident photo- & videographer Juri Hiensch explored the past and present of this fascinating subculture, with a big & close community present in Utrecht. Watch the mini documentary below + view the photo/video ser...

In the spring of 2023, COSMOS – Le Guess Who’s? global music community – organized its first artist residency in Goa, India. Over the past few years, Goa has become a sanctuary for artists and freewheeling spirits of all kinds, including REProduce-founder Rana Ghose. In collaboration with Rana, COSMOS created a space for...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Mexico City, Mexico We speak to Daniel (Danny) Alvarado Chávez, head of Sonido Confirmación, an independent project made to ‘represent and connect Mexico City through images and music’, while diving into the capital's music scene. Every minute, new acts mushroom across the city&rsquo...

Last week, COSMOS' first international residency started in Goa, India. Composer, sound artist and improviser Hardi Kurda from Kurdistan-Iraq was invited by curator and filmmaker Rana Ghose to work at the new studio and gallery space 999. For two weeks, Hardi collaborates with a number of local artists to explore themes relating to m...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in Cairo, Egypt We speak to former LGW artist Yunis and B-62's Khaled Bargona about their highly creative film produced for the latest COSMOS edition. Here, we learn more about Cairo’s post-revolution music scene; how the artists that are featured in the film are creating a space for themselves in Cairo&rs...

COSMOS: Behind the Scenes in China We discuss LGW Embassy: China with Ivan Zhang two days before the Chinese New Year: a talk about BIE Music’s COSMOS collaboration and the diversity found in local music scenes across China; how going back to basics can also be a way forward; and how China is not the cloistered cultural island many...

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

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

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

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...

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

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...

This year, COSMOS once again proudly partners up with acts, institutions, and collectives from around the globe. The 2023 Embassies are located in Vietnam, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Greece, UAE, Peru and Ghana. In order to introduce the amazing talents behind these collaborations, we're starting a new interview & music series call...

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

Mount Eerie has released his new live album '(after)', which was recorded in full at Le Guess Who? 2017. The performance was curated by Perfume Genius for the festival, and took place at the Jacobikerk, a magnificent gothic church that dates back to the 13th century, in front of a reverent crowd. '(after)' features songs from Mount...

Sudan's Noori & His Dorpa Band performed live at Le Guess Who? 2022, presented in collaboration with Ostinato Records. Below, you can relive the performance with our video of a part of the concert, as well as the audio of the full show, with a spirited introduction by Ostinato's Vik Sohonie before the band came on stage. Additionall...

Often titled an 'Asian guitar army', CHELA performed live during the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2024, curated by Bo Ningen. Relive the full performance below, with the duo performing music from their 2023 album Diagonal Drift. Made up of long-time friends and collaborators Ajay Saggar (Bhajan Bhoy) and Kohhei Matsuda (Bo Ningen), CHE...

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...

Electronic luminary Darren Cunningham aka Actress, whose work merges and morphs elements of techno, electro, R&B and concrète, performs at Le Guess Who? 2024 following the release of Statik, and just a couple of days ahead of the release of his new mixtape Д​а​р​е​н Д​ж​. К​а​н​н​і​н​г​е​м, out now via Smalltown Supersound.&nbs...

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

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...

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

“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...

U? is Le Guess Who’s participatory and freely accessible day program, made for–and with–the city of Utrecht. With U?, Le Guess Who? extends its mission to enrich people through music and culture even further to the city. From 10 to 13 November 2022, U? returns for its second edition. The program is made with, or even ent...

Do you want to help us to make Le Guess Who? unforgettable? Gain work experience and have a peek behind the scenes of the production of a festival? Become part of a community of like-minded music lovers from all around the world? Discover new artists, encounter instruments you have never even heard of and enjoy the shows at the festival?...

Each year, we work with a big team of volunteers, consisting of enthusiastic music-lovers from all over the world. We'll update this page as soon as we have more information about volunteering at Le Guess Who? 2025. If you have any questions concerning volunteering at Le Guess Who?, please send us an e-mail. Superkracht This year, we...