Words MITCH STRASHNOV
Photo JANE CHARDIET
As self-titled gets set to live The Dream at Unsound’s latest week-long festival—a celebration of “music that is surreal, dream-like and trance-inducing”— here are five acts we’re making sure to catch as we touch down in Krakow today…
1. GROUPER
Liz Harris will be busy throughout the week; aside from her collaborative set with Paul Clipson, she’ll be lending vocals to The Bug’s cataclysmic live show alongside copeland, Miss Red, Manga and Flowdan. Catch both to experience the ambient and aggressive extremes that Unsound explores on all sides of the experimental spectrum.
2. JAM CITY
London’s Night Slugs label is well-represented at this edition of Unsound. Not only will head honcho Bok Bok be going back-to-back with ghetto-house legend DJ Funk, but the inimitable Jam City will be delivering his signature mix of skewered R&B and industrialized club constructions; both are bound to blow the roof off instantaneously. If you want a proper introduction to all things Jam City, check out his Earthly mix series and thanks us later.
3. ROBERT HOOD
The man behind M-Plant is gracing Unsound with a special euphoric set that covers his 20 years at the forefront of techno, from outré material under his Monobox and Floorplan aliases to more familiar tracks under his own name. Let us praise.
4. PHARMAKON
Like her fellow Unsound performers Ben Frost and Swans, Pharmakon provides a much-needed counterpoint to what many people think of when the word “dream” is bandied about. Some REM cycles don’t involve sunshine and rainbows; they’re bleak, bombastic and brutal. In light of last year’s cancellation—a last-minute surgery left Pharmakon bedridden during what would have been the start of her first proper European tour—we can’t wait to see how Krakow welcomes her into the fold.
5. PINCH b2b MUMDANCE b2b LOGOS
Every strain of UK-centric bass music is usually alive and well when Unsound is in full-swing, but getting these three together for a festival set is both rare and a pipe dream for underground heads. Pinch is already a legend to most, a producer and label owner largely responsible for keeping the world locked into Bristol’s post-dubstep scene. With Logos on the bill, this set also serves as a reminder as to where the UK sound is headed next without losing sight of what made the past so special. And when Mumdance gets in the thick of it, things are bound to pop off even bigger. In short, this back-to-back performance is about embracing the future, what we all dream about when we close our eyes. Hopefully, once we open our eyes, it’ll become a reality.
