Main photo: Kerrie Geier
Unsound Adelaide is where Illuminate Adelaide gets weird after dark.
Across two nights on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July, the festival is a portal into boundary-pushing performance and artists you may not know yet, but surely won’t forget.
The Southern Hemisphere outpost of Europe’s cult experimental music festival, Unsound was first brought to Adelaide in 2013 by Artistic Directors Mat Schulz and Gosia Plysa.
“I love the idea of creating a space that’s open and accessible to a wide audience, and anyone can discover new music and sounds,” Mat says.
“Ultimately that’s what Unsound is about: collective discovery and sonic exploration.”
Each venue offers a different side of the festival.
“The program at Lion Arts is one that will appeal to the core Unsound audience. It’s more intimate, and focused on more experimental sounds, rising artists and the underground,” Mat says.
From there, the festival broadens at Hindley Street Music Hall with variations on pop, rock and synth music, while Ancient World shifts into late-night club mode with DJs and dancing into the early hours.
FRIDAY 10.07 // LION ARTS FACTORY
From 7pm
Night one starts off strong with Australian exclusives and premieres that set the tone for the weekend.
Brooklyn duo LEYA present their “transcendental punk” sound for the first time blending classical instrumentation with experimental pop.
Japanese sound artist FUJIIIIIIIIIIITA and New York composer Ka Baird premiere “Where Does Fire End?” – a work commissioned especially for Unsound that explores breath and pressure.
Another festival exclusive sees Polish producer 2K88 joined by Bianca Scout and Rainy Miller, plus recorded vocals from London-based artist Lauren Duffus, bringing together surreal performance, ambient pop and industrial textures.
Lion Arts Factory closes with New York rapper Billy Woods, an artist Mat calls “one of the greatest underground rappers in the world”.
FRIDAY 10.07 // ANCIENT WORLD
From 10pm
Here’s where the festival slips underground. Ancient World’s basement becomes Unsound Adelaide’s late-night home where the focus shifts to deep club sounds. Adelaide duo Sebastian Vivian and Wellness Centre unveil a dark new live work created especially for Unsound Adelaide.
E Fishpool presents layered synths and percussion, followed by Adelaide’s Michael Ellingford with a synthesiser-led intervention, then England’s Actress blending futuristic techno with electro. Melbourne’s DJ Scorpion wraps the night, moving between jungle, tech house and beyond.
SATURDAY 11.07 // HINDLEY STREET MUSIC HALL
From 7pm
Night two shifts into collision mode, with artists crossing genres and pushing their work into new territory.
Actress returns alongside composer Suzanne Ciani for an improvised set exploring the contrast between natural and industrial worlds. Colombian musician and former civil engineer Lucrecia Dalt brings experimental electronic pop, weaving between Spanish and English lyrics.
From the US, YHWH Nailgun deliver one of the weekend’s most intense performances, blending experimental rock, punk, noise and electronic music. They’re among the acts Mat is most excited to bring to Adelaide this year.
Hindley Street Music Hall wraps with Polish pianist and composer, Hania Rani presenting “Chilling Bambino” – a dark, hypnotic project built around the classic Prophet synthesiser.
SATURDAY 11.07 // ANCIENT WORLD
From 10:30pm
Unsound Adelaide returns to Ancient World for its official closing party.
South African-born, London-based artist, Shannen SP draws from the global club underground, moving between Gqom, Kuduro, house and bass.
Polish producer 2K88 returns for a late-night DJ set while Adelaide favourites Elsie Craig and DJ Cookie hit the decks.
Melbourne producer and DJ Hasvat Informant presents a dark, immersive take on techno, building intricate rhythmic worlds for the festival’s finale.
Unsound Adelaide: Friday 10 July – Saturday 11 July
