Le Guess Who? unveils four new projects for 2022 edition including Hidden Musics

With the first wave of artists previously announced for the 15th anniversary of Le Guess Who? in Utrecht, festival organisers unveiled today four special projects including the return of Hidden Musics and Uncloud presents, and new programmes by Coco Maria presents Club Coco and GNOD presents.

The 15th edition of Le Guess Who? already looks set to be one for the books with a wealth of sonic offerings that challenges conventional musical paradigms. Back in May the organisers had announced CURL, Animal Collective and clipping. as guest curators and unveiled the stellar programmes of each one, as well as a programme hosted by New York based Ostinato Records, and the first names on the general line-up including CTD favourites Keeley Forsyth, Asher Gamedze, KOKOKO! and Kee Avil. Over the years Le Guess Who? has become a privileged stage for rare and unique performances and collaborations and the four special projects announced today shows that supporting and highlighting the extraordinary work of underappreciated and underrepresented artists from all over the globe remains at the heart of it all.

Sprouted in 2019 from a collaboration between Le Guess Who?, Grammy-award winning music producer, activist and author Ian Brennan, and Ljubljana based American musician, record producer and Glitterbeat Records founder Chris Eckman,  Hidden Musics returns to the festival for the third time in 2022. An ambitious program that pays special attention to musical traditions and artists from secluded regions of the world, it gives audiences a unique chance to experience rare performances.
Hidden Musics will host talented and versatile multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer Nancy Mounir, a prominent name of Egypt’s independent music scene. She’ll collaborate with Utrecht’s The Flare Quartet to present her magnificent debut album Nozhet El Nofous released last month. Hidden Musics also includes Flamenco diva Lole Montoya set to perform her solo work and also the music of her former duo Lole y Manuel, blending traditional Spanish flamenco with Arabic rhythms and styles; the hypnotic microtonal drones of Morocco collective Master Musicians of Joujouka, led by Bachir Attar and Burkina Faso-born  multi-instrumentalist and vocalist/poet in the urban griot tradition Kaito Winse. Pakistan’s Ustad Noor Bakhsh will also be part of Hidden Musics’s programme as will Bedouin music and traditional raï with a performance from Algerian singer of Blues and Trance-Raï Cheikha Rabia and dancer Esraa Warda.

Amidst the new project additions to Le Guess Who?’s 2022 edition is Uncloud presents, courtesy of Utrecht’s contemporary and innovative art and music platform Uncloud who will present a special collaboration between Iranian electronic music composer and sound artist Sote and Dutch audiovisual artist Tarik Barri; previously announced Guatemala born and Mexico City based cellist and composer Mabe Fratti, and two London based Japanese artists, vocal performer Hatis Noit and ambient composer and sound designer Hinako Omori.

Coco Maria presents Club Coco is one of the other special projects newly lined up for this year’s edition. Hailing from Mexico, Coco Maria is a curator, radio host and self-described ‘selectora’ who started her flagship radio show ​“Club Coco” on World­wide FM last year, and released a compilation under the same name on Bongo Joe Records featuring music from every all over the planet. In addition to performing herself, Coco Maria will host the new Anatolian folk sounds of Turkish singer and multi-instrumentalist Derya Yildirim; the Colombian tropical folklore of Romperayo, and Mexican punk marimba band Son Rompe Pera with their delirious live show.

The fourth project announced today is GNOD presents, a takeover from Manchester’s counter culture cult collective GNOD who are performing as well as hosting Holy Scum, the outfit featuring members of GNOD, Action Beat and Mike from Dälek and Moundabout, the new folk project of Paddy Shine of Gnod and Phil Masterson of Los Langeros/Damp Howl/Bisect.

The festival takes place from 10 -13th November in several venues throughout Utrecht and many more artists will be announced over the next few months. Full details of the line-up so far and daily tickets can be found on leguesswho.com.

Le Guess Who? reveals guest curators and first wave of artists for the 15th year anniversary edition

Utrecht’s one-of-a-kind festival Le Guess Who? is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and the first announcements of 2022 are here! A diverse, inspiring and mind-blowing programme featuring both emerging and well-established artists, drawn from all corners of the musical spectrum.

We’ve been raving at length over the past few years about Le Guess Who?, who have been presenting one of the boldest and most adventurous festivals anywhere on earth since 2007. The 2022 edition will take place from 10-13th November and today the organizers have announced the guest curators as well as the first batch of artists and bands for the general line-up.

Le Guess Who?’s guests curators are an integral part of the festival, expanding and enriching its monumental programme with their hand-picked selections of favourite and like-minded artists. CURL, Animal Collective and clipping. are taking the guest curator seat this year and will also be performing themselves.

CURL is a London based collective and label who counts as founders Mica Levi, Coby Sey and Brother May. Their curation will host performances from South London guitarist and producer Leisha Thomas aka Alpha Maid, who is also a CURL member, lo-fi act bar italia, the blend of jazz and electronics from Speakers Corner Quartet & Friends, Copenhagen based composer, producer and viola player Astrid Sonne, experimental electronic artist Laurel Halo, TONE and Tutto Questo Sentire, an artist collective made up of experimental opera singer Olivia Salvadori, composer and cellist Sandro Mussida, and video and sound artist Rebecca Salvadori. Also integrating CURL’s programme is Maëva Berthelot & Coby Sey performing ‘A Tender Ascent’, an immersive audio-visual installation marrying filmed performance, 5.1 surround sound and sculpture, and Eve Stainton presents Dykegeist, with live sound by Mica Levi, a commissioned choreographic work. Experimental musician and poet Moor Mother and rapper billy woods also join this bill performing BRASS, their collaborative and tribute album to the plurality of Afro-American culture.

Founded in Baltimore in 2000, Animal Collective are an iconic experimental and indie-pop band, with a huge catalogue to their name and countless live shows. With a brand new album, Time Skiffs, released in February, the four-piece are well poised to perform it live at Le Guess Who?. Among the names appearing in their curation are Japanese tribal trio Kuunatic, French iconic and innovative musician Valentín Clastrier, New York folk songwriter Anastasia Coope and Berlin’s queen of avant-garde pop music Mary Ocher. Animal Collective have also invited experimental rock quartet and fellow Baltimoreans Horse Lords, Tuareg guitar band Les Filles de Illighadad, Catalan composer, singer and pianist Marina Herlop, who fuses her vocals with avant-garde classical music and experimental electronics, and Japanese avant-garde guitarist and improvising singer, Keiji Haino, who is no stranger to the festival having delivered a blistering and memorable show at the 2017 edition. Additionally, their curated bill features Lebanese electronic music producer Liliane Chlela, Norway’s improvisational avant-jazz ensemble Supersilent, and Maria Reis, a prominent name in Lisbon’s alternative pop scene, with a recently released new album under her belt, A Flor da Urtiga, counting Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) as producer and co-instrumentalist.

Pushing boundaries and crossing genres, clipping. is the experimental hip-hop trio of Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. Their programme will include experimental sound artist Evicshen, Chicago footwork producer Jana Rush, Japanese experimental hip hop group Dos Monos and They Hate Change, the duo of Dre and Vonne, whose third album Finally, New, is out this Friday May 13th. Appearing on their bill is also the beautiful, dark and galvanising music of Divide and Dissolve, and legendary guitarist Jeff Parker, known for his membership in groups like Tortoise, Isotope 217, Chicago Underground, as well as various collaborations and solo records.

Le Guess Who? pays special attention to underappreciated and underrepresented musicians of the world and the 2022 line-up includes a programme hosted by New York based Ostinato Records, a label that gives the spotlight to “Afrophone stories from the Atlantic and Indian Ocean.’ In addition to a talk by label founder and Grammy-nominated producer Vik Sohonie, there will be performances from Groupe RTD, the official band for Djibouti’s national TV station Radiodiffusion-Télévision Djibouti and Cape Verde group The Ano Nobo Quartet, who earlier this year released The Strings of São Domingos mixing koladera guitars with a variety of styles including flamenco, Samba and Marrabenta.

Le Guess Who? is also off to a stellar start with the initial general line-up boasting the likes of legendary South African composer Abdullah Ibrahim, London based Palestinian producer and rapper Bint7alal, German ambient/jazz quartet Bohren & der Club of Gore, Melbourne post-punk psychedelic outfit EXEK, Swedish psych rockers Goat, Czech husband-and-wife duo Irena & Vojtěch Havlovi and Kee Avil, the project of Montréal producer, singer, and guitarist Vicky Mettler. Congolese collective KOKOKO!, Jordanian-Palestinian artist Lil Asaf Bashar Suleiman aka Lil Asaf, Guatemala born and Mexico City based cellist and composer Mabe Fratti, Canadian singer and songwriter Myriam Gendron, the avant-garde cosmic sounds of Senegal-via-Sweden Wau Wau Collectif, and the spiritual jazz of Muriel Grossmann Quartet are amongst those confirmed to perform in November. Other exciting additions include The Staples Jr. Singers, a teenage family band from Mississippi whose rare 1975 gospel soul album When Do We Get Paid is being reissued this month by Luaka Bop, and musician OKI who is heavily informed by the music of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people.

Amidst the first thrilling names added to Le Guess Who?’s line-up is South African drummer and visionary musician Asher Gamedze and English actress and musician Keeley Forsyth with her powerful an otherworldly baritone voice. Gamedze’s Dialectic Soul and Forsyth’s Debris were both included in our Album Picks of 2020.

There’s a lot more on offer for this year’s edition of Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? and many more artists will be added to this daring and stellar line-up in the coming months. In the meantime, visit leguesswho.com for further information and programme announced so far.

The absolute musical treasure that will be Le Guess Who? 2022 takes place from 10 -13th November in several venues throughout picturesque Utrecht and 4-Day Festival Passes and Day Tickets are available now on leguesswho.com. Save the date and grab your tickets now.

Le Guess Who? reveals 70 new acts for 2021 edition

Le Guess Who? is celebrating its 14th edition this year with a bold and monumental program. With just under two months to go until the musical extravaganza kicks off throughout Utrecht, the organisers have now revealed the full line-up. The last cluster of acts features 70 new exciting performers including Suuns, Jessica Moss, Aksak Maboul, tenniscoats, Chúpame El Dedo, claire rousay, and many more.

After enticing us with a plethora of magnificent curators and artists announcements over the last few months, including many of our favourite artists and bands, Le Guess Who? has now unveiled the full line-up for its 14th edition running from November 11th-14th in a multitude of idyllic venues scattered throughout the quaint city of Utrecht.

Newly added to the general line-up is legendary experimental pop group Aksak Maboul who returned last year with Figures, their first album in 40 years, Indian American composer Arushi Jain, popular singer of Frafra gospel from Ghana Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy and Suuns, the Canadian band who boasts excellent musicianship, reflected and augmented on live shows and who have just release their new album, The Witness, earlier this month. Also enriching the general line-up will be the soulful and energetic sounds of Lyra Pramuk, the library music and kosmiche compositions of Samuele Gottardello aka Blak Saagan, French psych duo The Limiñanas and the mesmeric folk-pop of singer/songwriter Shannon Lay whose new album, Geist, arrives next month. Berlin / Manchester duo Space Afrika will bring their evocative and experimental soundscapes to  Le Guess Who? as will University Challenged, the trio of Ajay Saggar (“Bhajan Bhoy”), Oli Heffernan (“Ivan The Tolerable”) and Kohhei Matsuda (“Bo Ningen”).

Elsewhere on the curated programs, there are also plenty of thrilling additions. Don The Tiger, the project of Galician musician Adrián de Alfonso, who has played with the likes of Lydia Lunch, Mark Cunningham, Robert Forster and Carla Bozulich, the tropical and intense rhythms of Colombian duo Chúpame El Dedo, featuring members of The Meridian Brothers and Romperayo and Typhonian Highlife, the project of mysterious experimental musician Spencer Clark will all join the bill curated by Lucrecia Dalt.

The mesmeric and compelling compositions of brilliant and ingenious violinist, vocalist and composer Jessica Moss, the gospel and R&B sounds of South London based singer and producer Klein, and Ice Balloons, the Brooklyn noise supergroup of Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio), Sean Powell (The FuckEmos), Giselle Reiber (Midnight Masses), and Rob Bryn (Wild Yaks) join Matana Roberts’ curated bill.

Curator John Dwyer has also invited Meril Wubslin, the Swiss trio who describe themselves as ‘two guitars, two voices, rhythms and trance’, Japanese heavy psych rock band DMBQ and the cosmic fusion of electronic music with folk and jazz of London-based Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer and musician Nala Sinephro.

Phil Elverum’s curated program will host the gorgeous melodies of American folk singer-songwriter Mariee Sioux and the beautiful and unique sounds of Tokyo’s pop duo tenniscoats.

There’s more special projects newly lined up for this year’s edition including Portuguese Tia Maria Produções, a sublabel of contemporary dance music label Príncipe Discos, presenting Bboy, Dj Danifox, Puto Márcio and Lycox, Dutch label Knekelhuis presenting De Ambassade, Jean-Luc, Patricia Kokett, Reymour and Spill Gold, and British underground punk label La Vida Es Un Mus showcasing Kohti Tuhoa and Taqbir. Uncloud presents will host shows from Near Stoic, Mark IJzerman & Sébastien Robert present As Above, So Below and experimental musician claire rousay, who in addition to an album released this year, kept herself busy last year releasing 9 full length albums and 10 additional singles, 12″s and Eps.

Head over to leguesswho.com to take a look at the complete list of phenomenal performers added. 4-Day Festival Passes for Le Guess Who? 2021 have now sold out but limited day tickets are still available so if you want to embrace the diverse, daring and dazzling musical experiences Le Guess Who? will offer, hurry up!

Le Guess Who? festival unveils details of second edition of Hidden Musics

This November, Le Guess Who? festival will enrich further still the diversity already brought in from stellar guest curators and a line-up boasting an abundance of incredible artists with the return of Hidden Musics. First unveiled in 2019, Hidden Musics is an ambitious program that pays special attention to musical traditions and artists from secluded regions of the world, giving audiences a unique chance to experience rare performances. Perfectly tailored for the festival, the program sprouted from a collaboration between Le Guess Who?, Grammy-award winning music producer, activist and author Ian Brennan, and Ljubljana based American musician, record producer and Glitterbeat Records founder Chris Eckman.

Tuareg guitar band Etran de L’Aïr, an Agadez based family collective who represent the multi-ethnicities of Niger, is one of the bands performing as part of Hidden Musics. Tunisian-Belgian singer, dancer, poet and actress Ghalia Benali will also bring her golden voice and charismatic stage presence to a Le Guess Who? stage in Utrecht, presenting Hadret Ishq, an anthology of the repertoire of Sufi poets, both ancient and contemporary.
Also appearing on Hidden Musics is celebrated Hungarian singer Monika Lakatos of Olah Romani descent and Egyptian ensemble Mazaher who are inspired by the Zar music of Egypt, a healing ritual of music and dance led by women, that is on the verge of extinction.
Russian label Ored Recordings, an ethnographic record label that has been documenting and recording artists native to the North Caucasus, will partake in this year’s Hidden Musics edition, presenting performances from Jrpjej and Zaur Nagoy.

For a taster of what to expect, take a look at the trailer below.

Le Guess Who? will take place 11-14 November in idyllic venues scattered around Utrecht. Tickets and other info can be found on leguesswho.com.

Watch the live performance of Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with Metropole Orkest Strings at Le Guess Who?’s 2018 edition

The 12th edition of Le Guess Who? festival in 2018 was an absolute musical paradise filled with wondrous and unforgettable performances. One that stood out for us was that of Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with Metropole Orkest Strings, playing on the third day of the festival. True masters of their instruments, Shankar following in the footsteps of her father on the sitar, and Delago a pioneer of the hang, the pair enthralled the audiences at TivoliVredenburg’s Grotezaal, performing with the 27-member string section of the Metropole Orkest, under the direction of conductor Jules Buckley.
Le Guess Who? has today shared the full video recording so if you’ve missed it, fear not, we can now relive this beguiling performance as it happened. Nick Helderman directs.

The 14th edition of Le Guess Who? takes place 11-14 November throughout Utrecht and festival passes are now available on leguesswho.com, where you can also find more info.

Le Guess Who? festival reveals 46 names for this year’s event including Vanishing Twin, Oren Ambarchi, Spirit Fest, Old Time Relijun, Faust, Ensemble Klang and much more

Had it not been for a pandemic, the musical paradise that is Le Guess Who? festival was to have taken place last year but it’s time to get excited again. This November will finally welcome its 14th edition from 11-14th and the organizers have unveiled another 46 names that will grace one of the many idyllic stages across Utrecht.

Le Guess Who? had already enticed us with a few names on the general line up and the list of its curators: Matana Roberts, Lucrecia Dalt, Midori Takada, Phil Elverum and John Dwyer. As usual, Le Guess Who?’s curators will help shape and enrich the festival with their own favourite and like-minded artists, in addition to also playing themselves. Today we get a first glimpse at some of their selections.

Phenomenal alto saxophonist, composer, improviser and sound experimentalist Matana Roberts returns to the festival, this time as a curator. Her program will include liberation-oriented free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements, Jesu, the moniker of British guitarist and composer Justin Broadrick who is best known as a founding member of Godflesh; French double bass player, improviser and composer Joëlle Léandre; and Australian composer, multi-instrumentalist and musical polymath Oren Ambarchi.

There is also much to hear on the curated bill of Colombia-born/Berlin-based producer and sound artist Lucrecia Dalt, including her collaboration with noise artist Aaron Dilloway (Wolf Eyes), the electronic music experiments of acousmatic composer Beatriz Ferreyra; Spanish a capella duo Tarta Relena; German electronic musician, composer, radio-playwright, and curator Felix Kubin; and the Latin American folklore and cumbia merged with electronic and surreal elements of Colombian singer-songwriter Julián Mayorga.

Added to Japanese percussionist and minimalist/ambient composer Midori Takada’s program is Dutch contemporary ensemble Ensemble Klang, who are set to present the live premiere of their audiovisual project, Thrift Hybrids. Takada will also perform as part of Ton-Klami, her improvisational trio with pianist Masahiko Satoh and saxophonist Kang Tae Hwan.

Singer-songwriter Phil Elverum has invited veterans of Nairobi’s metal scene Duma, Estonian acclaimed folk singer-songwriter Mari Kalkun and Seattle experimental cello player and composer Lori Goldston, who has played with Nirvana. Elverum has also invited guitarist Jay Blackinton to perform the Microphones in 2020 album in its entirety.

Appearing on the curated bill of multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and record label owner John Dwyer is German krautrock group Faust, performing their 1973 masterpiece album Faust IV, Arrington De Dionyso’s experimental dance-punk band Old Time Relijun, Brigid Dawson & Sunwatchers, Earth Girl Helen Brown whose recent EP, Earth, features John Dwyer, and Brooklyn’s art punk 5-piece Gustaf. Dwyer is also set to perform as part of OSEES presenting the live premiere of last year’s album Bent Arcana.

There’s a lot more on offer for the 14th edition of Le Guess Who?, and the general line-up has also been expanded with the second batch of performing artists now announced. Newly added is Spirit Fest, the project featuring Tenniscoats singer Saya and The Notwist’s Markus & Cico, neo-sufi and minimalist composer and singer Arooj Aftab, London super group Vanishing Twin, acclaimed ambient composer and multi-instrumentalist William Basinski, Gambian-British rapper and grime artist Pa Salieu, London-based artist and FKA twigs collaborator Lucinda Chua with a new EP, Antidotes 2, released last month, and Tunisian-Belgian singer, dancer, poet and actress Ghalia Benali, amongst many more artists.

Amidst the new exhilarating additions to Le Guess Who?’s 2021 edition is Kampala-based label Nyege Nyege Tapes presenting their Hakuna Kulala club night with the likes of Authentically Plastic, Diaki, Marcelle/Another Nice Mess, Menzi and Turkana.

As always the line-up boasts an abundance of incredible artists from a giant landscape of music, making it an unmissable destination for musical explorers of all kinds so act fast to secure your spot at Le Guess Who? 2021. Tickets and full details of the festival can be found on its website.