With the first wave of artists previously announced for the 15^th 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 15^th 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.