What does your work look like just before the festival?
Extremely intense. Fortunately, at this stage we have a large production team, so I can do most of the fire-fighting and strategic work myself. And of the more pleasant tasks, I am involved in Polish and foreign media, as we do not have a press officer. I also really enjoy designing the festival collection with the team. This year we produced silk scarves from Milanowek, just in time for the club. Plus we have sweatshirts, T-shirts and black bikers with reflectors embodying the NOISE slogan.
This is the 22nd edition of the Unsound festival.
Yes, 21 years ago Mat Schulz and a fellow American – two expats doing mostly creative work and teaching English in Poland – decided that Krakow needed a festival with electronic music. There was indeed a need. And still is. I joined the team, first as a volunteer, in 2006. It was an initiative, everyone had a different job, we worked collectively. Some of these people still work at the festival today.
When did the festival turn into an international venture?
Building a non-commercial structure by an NGO in Poland is very difficult. And with the 22nd edition, it was not at all easier, despite the large scale of the event. In 2008, we set up a foundation, which allowed us to professionalize our activities, to apply for public, local, municipal and ministerial funds, and to receive them from institutional and commercial partners. We have also opened up to private philanthropy. And luckily there are people who privately want to invest in the arts. And that's also part of my mission – to persuade such people to spend money on culture.
How big is Unsound as a festival? What does it consist of?
The festival takes place in over a dozen locations. It is not a big outdoorsy summer event, although the volume of people is similar - around 25,000 people pass through the festival. The programme consists of three main parts. The concert section lasts from the first to the last day of the festival - early evening concerts of electronic, folk, early modern, classical and experimental music, held at the Manggha Museum, Łaźnia Nowa Theatre, Kino Kijów or Słowacki Theatre. The second band is a club programme, presenting the latest dance music genres; there is room for techno, but also more rhythmic electronic music genres. These are events for up to 2,500 people, organised on several stages. We focus on sound quality and setting trends in music. The stages are also mapped geographically. The club programme runs from Wednesday to Saturday. The third strand is an open discursive programme: panels, discussions and activities related to the performance programme - meetings with artists, activists, representatives of the music industry and academia, thematically often referring to the socio-political situation. This part lasts all week (during the day) and admission is free.
What was happening at PURO?
We were organising ambient brunches at PURO in Kazimierz district – DJs were playing relaxing and experimental ambient rhythms during a late breakfast. This year, the music was accompanied by a green tea ceremony from Happa to Mame.
You've been active at this festival for more than a dozen years. I think you enjoy this job.
It depends on which part of the year you ask me. Sometimes I think of course: why the festival is so big ? But I appreciate that the work is so varied. I like working with partners and pitching Unsound, I also like building creative collaborations. I think the success of the festival is based on the fact that we have built cool creative partnerships. Also those in New York, Adelaide or other places around the world where the festival has different faces.
Exactly - you're closing Unsound Krakow and starting Unsound New York.
In New York we are not directly involved in production, but it's not a franchise-type activity - we work there curatorially and intensively on our own programme. We are also involved in cultural diplomacy - we represent the Polish music scene and bring interesting indigenous electronic music phenomena overseas. We cooperate with Lincoln Center, and for a year we worked on production and technical aspects in order to realise in the New York Philharmonic a concert of Sunn 0)))) - doommetal band, an American legend of contemporary and experimental music, considered the loudest band in the world.
You won't get much rest after Krakow.
Such a partial respite will be a trip to Japan. We're going to organise Unsound for the first time there, in Osaka to be exact, and we're flying there for a recce before New York. To be honest, the dream rest after each edition for me is to lie down and stare at the ceiling. But I won't be able to do that right after the Krakow festival.
Tell us what you were looking forward to most during the Krakow festival.
I was looking forward to the festival's closing concert in the Słowacki Theatre - Raphael Rogiński that performed with a project dedicated to the works of John Coltrane, there was also be Laurel Halo and the American composer and performer Raven Chacon. I was also looking forward to the club events, especially Friday and Saturday nights, as well as Mica Levi, who created the soundtrack for ‘Zone of Interest’ and performed with Sinfonietta Cracovia.
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