<![CDATA[UNSOUND NEWS]]> <![CDATA[LATEST ROUND OF UNSOUND KRAKOW 2010 ANNOUNCEMENTS!]]> The latest round of Unsound announcements has extended the Krakow festival’s range and diversity even further, whilst remaining firmly tied to artists creating innovative music.
First up, the Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums will unite their future/primitive soul music with a 14-stong choir made up of members of Schola Cantorum Reykjavík Chamber Choir and Krakow’s Octava Ensemble. The arrangement of these choral voices is by Icelandic artist Hildur Gudnadottir, as featured on the latest Wildbirds and Peacedrums EP Retina. This was produced in the Icelandic Bedroom Community studios by Valgeir Sigurðsson, recorded by Ben Frost. You can watch / hear a wonderful song from this formation here.
This show takes place on 21.10.2010 in the majestic 16th century St Catherine’s Church, with a performance by renowned Canadian sound sculptor Tim Hecker.
American band Mice Parade have also been confirmed, performing on the same night as Laetitię Sadier, the French vocalist from Stereolab, who will present songs from her upcoming solo album “The Trip”, to be released on Drag City.

Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and singer Silje Nes will also play. She releases on the UK label Fat Cat, along with Mice Parade. These are all Polish debuts.
On the techno side, the exceptionally talented Romanian house artist Petre Insperescu (Pedro) will be the first producer from the [a:rpia:r] label to perform in Poland. The Detroit DJ/producer Mike Huckaby has also been added to the bill, spinning records alongside his younger counterpart Kyle Hall.
As for the Bass Mutations night, Austrian rhythm explorer Dorian Concept will present his unique mix of styles, embracing everything from cutting edge electronic music and abstract hip hop to jazz.
Grime pioneer Terror Danjah has been lately receiving his dues with a retrospective on Planet Mu and releases on Hyperdub, including an upcoming album. You’ll find out how he’s influenced a younger generation of artists, and why you’ll soon be hearing a lot more of this guy.
Rising Lithuanian star Eleven Tigers will play live, celebrating his new album “Clouds Are Tigers”. Last but not least, Krakow’s very own Supra1 will enter the fray, hot on the heels of an EP released by New York’s Trouble & Bass.
And that’s not all – not by a long shot! More names and surprises coming very soon!

]]> <![CDATA[LUSTMORD TO PERFORM FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 29 YEARS AT UNSOUND FESTIVAL KRAKOW!]]> Legendary sound artist Lustmord will play his second show in almost three decades at the 2010 Unsound Festival in Krakow. This announcement is certain to send shockwaves amongst Lustmord’s devoted fan base across Europe.
Brian Williams, the man behind Lustmord, began working under that name in 1980, and since then his dark sound sculptures have been highly influential not only in music genres such as ambient and industrial, but also in film and games.
Oppressive and frightening, richly textured and painstakingly produced, Lustmord’s music has also made use of field recordings from locations such as caves, crypts and slaughterhouses. He has released 14 albums under the name Lustmord, and for many 1990's “Heresy” stands as Lustmord’s key work, acknowledged as having given birth to the “dark ambient” genre
 He has collaborated with the likes of Tool, The Melvins, Chris & Cosey (Throbbing Gristle), SPK, Coil, Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream), Robert Rich, Clock DVA, Current 93 and Nurse with Wound amongst others. He is also a member of Puscifer, the music project of Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of Tool and A Perfect Circle. He has done remixes for Tool, Jarboe (Swans), Venetian Snares, Lori Carson, Mortiis, Isis, Puscifer and Nadja. He has also worked for many years as a music sound designer in Hollywood,with credits on over 40 movies such as “The Crow” and “Underworld”, as well as computer games (FarCry: Instincts, Unreal Tournament III, Assassins Creed etc.).
The Unsound concert is scheduled to take place on 22.10.2010 and aptly enough is part of Unsound’s 2010 theme: Horror, the pleasure of fear and unease.
Lustmord performs on the same bill as Moritz von Oswlad Trio and Hildur Guðnadóttir + Adam Wiltzie (of Stars of The Lid). This makes what is possibly the most intriguing festival line-up of the year! The event will take place in Kino Kijow, a cinema and landmark piece of 60s communist-era architecture in Krakow.

Lustmord on Myspace, Lustmord on Twitter, and Lustmord on imdb.

]]> <![CDATA[BRIAN ENO TO MENTOR BEN FROST AS PART OF ROLEX PROTÉGÉ AWARD]]> Ben Frost has been selected as the music protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. This will mean working with iconic figure Brian Eno, pioneer of ambient music, one-time member of Roxy Music and producer of Talking Heads, Jon Hassell, U2 and Coldplay - to name but a few.
This is exciting news, especially it was recently announced that Unsound is commissioning Ben Frost and Daniel Bjanarson to create a work with Krakow’s Sinfonietta Cracovia. Called “Solaris”, this is inspired by the original Stanilsaw Lem novel, as well as Tarkovsky’s film adaptation. "Solaris" will be performed at Unsound Festival Krakow in October 2010, followed by a performnace at Unsound Festival New York in April 2011.
Ben and Brian will work for a year together.
The Arts Initiative has six disciplines: dance, film, literature, music, theatre and visual arts. Each protégés receives their own individually tailored programme, with time provided across the year for unique personal access to, and creative dialogue with, their assigned mentor. Furthermore, each protégé receives a grant of $25,000 USD each and is eligible for a further $25,000 towards the cost of creating a project following their mentoring year.
The other protégés and mentors for 2010-2011 are:


Literature: American poet Tracy K. Smith; mentored by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Germany)

Visual arts: South African artist Nicholas Hlobo; mentored by Anish Kapoor (United Kingdom)
Theatre: Lebanese actor, writer and aspiring director Maya Zbib; mentored by Peter Sellars (United States)
Film: Annemarie Jacir, a Palestinian film director and poet living in Jordan; mentored by Zhang Yimou (China)

]]> <![CDATA[BEN FROST + DANIEL BJARNASON TO CREATE “SOLARIS” WITH SINFONIETTA CRACOVIA AT KRAKOW UNSOUND. EMERALDS, ELEGI, LINDSTROM, KYLE HALL, MOUNT KIMBIE AND DEMDIKE STARE ALSO ADDED TO PROGRAM]]> With the latest announcement of names for 2010, Unsound confirms its position as Poland’s premier festival for advanced music, with its focus on especially commissioned projects and artists making their national debut, as well as rising stars. As throughout its 8-year history, Unsound’s mission remains to open minds and ears to the very latest sounds.
Ben Frost is to create a new piece of music with fellow Bedroom Community label composer Daníel Bjarnason and Krakow’s Sinfonietta Cracovia. Commissioned by Unsound, inspired by Andre Tarkovsky’s stunning 1972 film and the original novel “Solaris” written by Polish author Stanislaw Lem, the project will be performed live by Frost, Bjarnasson and a 28-piece ensemble.
This major new work is sure to attract attention for its European premier at Unsound Festival in Krakow in October, and then internationally at the second edition of Unsound Festival New York in April 2011. (More details soon.)
Also confirmed for Unsound is the Norwegian ambient / experimental musician Elegi, who releases with the Oslo label Miasmah. Elegi is also to perform a special work, collaborating with Polish musicians to create a live soundtrack for a classic silent horror film.
The band Emeralds are set to play at Unsound 2010. Emeralds’ latest album “Does it Look Like I’m Here” was recently released on the Austrian label Mego, and is receiving a mass of international critical acclaim for its mix of synth and guitar sound. It won’t hurt the band that Pitchfork just placed them in the Best New Music category, praising “the overload of information, the spray of frequencies, the thrilling, viscous rush.”
As for Unsound’s forward thinking club music program, new additions now include a solo live show from Lindstrøm, the undisputed king of modern day disco.
Fans of Detroit’s house music scene will be more than happy with Kyle Hall, the wunderkind who has been part of his home city’s scene since age 11 – and even now is only 19 years old. Championed by the likes of Omar-S and Kode 9, his releases on Hyperdub and Wild Oats have been blowing away minds.
Delicate and refined bass mutators Mount Kimbie have also been added to Unsound’s program. Their debut album Crooks and Lovers will be released on Scuba’s Hotflush label in July and is certain to cause a sensation. The buzz around this band is immense, and their live show is unique, made of acoustic and electronic instruments.
Finally, in keeping with Unsound’s 2010 theme “Horror – the pleasure of fear and unease”, the occult project Demdike Stare will also make their national debut. Made up of Miles Whittaker (Modern Love’s MLZ) and vinyl vulture Sean Canty, this duo recently delivered one of the best live performances at MUTEK 2010, following up with a great show at Bunker in New York. Their mix of dub sounds and dark horror soundtrack samples is unique, all played to visuals culled from European horror films.
Other artists already confirmed for Unsound 2010 include Goblin with Claudio Simonetti, Moritz von Oswald Trio, Tim Hecker, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Oneohtrix Point Never, Zombie Zombie playing the songs of John Carpenter, TRG + Falty DL, Joy Orbison, James Blake, Actress, Shackleton, Mordant Music, Kreng  - and more names still to come. Stay tuned.
Unsound takes place between 17th and 24th October in a variety of Krakow venues – one more thing that makes this festival special and unique.
Unsound Krakow 2010 is organized within the framework of Norwegian Financial Mechanism, in partnership with Insomnia Festival in Tromso and Reykjavik Round-Up.

]]> <![CDATA[GOBLIN TO PLAY UNSOUND KRAKOW!]]> Italian legends Goblin are to play Unsound 2010, with members Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, Maurizio Guarini, Bruno Previtali and Titta Tani included in the lineup.
Goblin are best known for the creation of unique and influential soundtracks to classic horror films by Italian director Dario Argento. These include 1975’s “Profondo Rosso” (“Deep Red”) and 1977’s “Suspiria”, remarkable for its experimental sounds and creepy vocals. Goblin also scored George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead”.
Although Goblin reformed in 2009 to play five shows, this current line up marks the first time co-founder Claudio Simonetti has performed with the band live in many years.
The show will include visuals from Dario Argento movies, to be re-mixed live by a Norwegian visual artist soon to be announced.

Goblin’s appearance is part of the Unsound 2010 theme “Horror – The Pleasure of Fear and Unease”. The project is presented with Norway’s Insomnia Festival and Iceland’s Rejkiavik Round-Up.
Berlin’s CTM (Club Transmediale) are also partners for this project, and have been instrumental in bringing Goblin to Unsound. CTM intends to present a second part of the “Horror” program in the near future in their hometown.
Goblin’s performance is scheduled for 23.10.2010.

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