Unsound Lab Returns with a Summer School Program!
Did you hope that your career in the music industry would start with a bang, but instead, it’s more of a whimper? We’ve got you. This year, Unsound Lab returns with a two-part program. It starts with a summer school in the picturesque and storied town of Sokołowsko, to be followed up by a dedicated Lab discourse program at Unsound Kraków in October.
Let’s face it, being an artist, manager, organiser, agent or curator is not easy – especially if, like many in 2024, you often combine these roles. In an age when precarity has become the new norm, and a career in music involves side hustles and keeping your day job, it becomes clear that we need to critically examine the way we do things. Navigating through this is easier with friends.
The Unsound Lab Summer School is an experiment in community building through knowledge sharing and production, blending the exchange of professional know-how with a DIY ethos and practices. Over the course of four days it will consist of workshops, panel discussions, experimental lectures and other pursuits meant to create an idiosyncratic map of the industry and help you ease your way deeper into it.
Featuring some of our favourite icons, mavericks and rebels, the Summer School will explore topics from the inner workings of being a manager, agent, or PR agent, through to distribution and cross-industry cooperation, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, social activism and mental health. The first confirmed mentors include Steve Goodman (aka Kode9 and founder of Hyperdub), James Ginzburg (Subtext founder and member of emptyset), Brandon Rosenbluth (of LittleBig agency), Greg Menendez (Modern Matters PR), the Ecology of Care collective, Kat Zavada (artist and researcher), Wassim Z. Alsindi (researcher and founder of 0xSalon), Magdalena Angulska (MIH agency), Lyra Pramuk (singer, composer and producer), Alessia Avallone (founder of Language of Sound) and Unsound founder and Artistic Director Mat Schulz. The full program and a complete list of mentors will be announced in June.
The program is directed at young music industry professionals interested in honing their skills in an informal setting whilst fostering a sense of community. The school will take place between 29th July – 1st August 2024, with the memorable setting of Sokołowsko, an artistic hub surrounded by forests and mountains. The cost is 1300 PLN, but concession options will be available to a limited number of participants. This covers participation in all classes, accommodation, and two meals a day. Half of the slots will be reserved for participants from Poland, but we do intend this to be an international gathering. All classes will be conducted in English.
The registration form is available now and will close on 9th June. The number of admissions is limited, so don’t hesitate and apply here. If you want to learn more, then head to our website where you’ll find FAQ and more details on the school.