Le Guess Who? Festival Stories

Music is perhaps widely known to serve as a means of collective and individual healing. But to what extent do we take sound seriously, beyond the auditory experience? What thoughts come to mind when we consider sound as its own sovereign being, containing substance and functioning as an actual medicine—a means that can influence physical and mental well-being? In this podcast, the second in a seri...

Artistic freedom is too often reduced to “freedom of expression”, but for artists and independent cultural organizers, the ground is much more complex. It’s not only what someone can say, but where someone can go, how someone can live, who someone can reach, and whether someone can sustain the work without fear. In this podcast, the first in a series of conversations recorded at Le Guess Who?’s So...

On the closing day of Le Guess Who? 2023, the festival features the first international performance of Ndox Electrique, whose music is inspired by an ancient ritual of the spirit-world originating from Senegal’s n’döep ceremonies.  Here, Atiyyah Khan, an arts journalist, researcher and DJ from Johannesburg, introduces the group and provides context to the origins of this healing ritual that connec...

Born in Palestine and currently based in Paris, Kamilya Jubran is one of the most revered figures in the experimental and alternative Arabic music scenes.  Through her multi-disciplinary work, Jubran continues to inspire a new generation of both musicians and audiences. One of those musicians is Sandy Chamoun, part of the Lebanese group SANAM who are also performing at Le Guess Who? 2023. We asked...

Having been born to seven consecutive generations of qawwals (those who perform the ancient form of religious Sufi music from Pakistan and Northern India - Punjab - known as qawwali), Faiz Ali Faiz was raised on the practice. After having performed at Le Guess Who? in 2021, we asked Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab, whose work is inspired by Sufi poets and musicians that came before her, to interview...

Rotterdam based-DJ collective AMPFEMININE scours its diverse database to bring an evening of fresh feminine energy to this year’s Le Guess Who? proving that female and non-binary DJs are out there, they just need the space - and community - to flourish . Words & audio by Cheri Percy Photography by Tengbeh Kamara

For 16 years and counting, Le Guess Who? has strived to create a space for generations of music lovers and makers to come together. A podium, where icons of their trade not just pass the baton to those that carve out a new path – but where they engage on eye-level. This year, the Le Guess Who? line-up once again boasts an array of young artists and newer acts that, all in their own way, recalibrat...

Ahead of its 15th Anniversary Edition, Cheri Percy speaks to the co-founders of forward-thinking festival Le Guess Who? about its evolution from a two-man team to an award-winning movement. Boundary-breaking artists and former guest curators Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother) and Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart) also weigh in alongside local figureheads Margriet van Kraats and Marlies Timmerman...

Already at an early age, Lole Montoya decided that she wanted to dedicate her life to singing. But not only did she indeed become a singer, she also redefined the flamenco genre by bringing in new influences, genres and poetry. Her skill has been displayed across a long repertoire, which includes her work as part of the renowned duo Lole y Manuel, surely one of the most important musical duos in p...

This November, Le Guess Who? will feature a special performance by Cheikha Rabia, a renowned singer with over five decades of experience in reinventing rai music. Her performance will be a collaboration with Esraa Warda, a prolific dancer expert in traditional North African dance forms. Both artists hail from Algeria, but currently, Cheikha Rabia lives in Paris.  After having performed at Le Guess...

This November, Rotterdam post-punk quintet Rats on Rafts bring their multi-disciplinary spectacle, Visions of Chapter 3, to Le Guess Who? 2022 for its first public-facing debut. Cheri Percy spoke to the band’s David Fagan about how the project developed while the world was in a state of flux, as well as Rotterdam as outsider city and painting pictures in your brain. Words & audio by Cheri Perc...

John Dwyer (OSEES, Bent Arcana) is one of the guest curators for Le Guess Who? 2021. His stirring program includes Brigid Dawson , whom he played with for years. Dawson released the debut record of her The Mother’s Network project last year via Castleface Records and will be taking the festival stage with Sunwatchers. Ahead of their performances at Le Guess Who?, Bant Mag. invited John and Brigid...

This November (2021), Le Guess Who? will feature a rare performance (their first European show in over 15 years) of Egypt’s Mazaher: a small group of mostly women musicians and singers who play Zãr music: chanting songs and playing hypnotic polyrhythms used in a ceremonial event to cleanse the spirits and to clear away illness and discomfort. We very much want to introduce you to the Egyptian ense...

Forget Detroit, Chicago, and Berlin for a minute. Some of the most exciting electronic music records are being cut in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, and many are coming out of label Nyege Nyege Tapes. The collective is committed to shedding light on some of the best outsider music made in Kampala and all around East Africa. This November (2021), Le Guess Who? is drawing attention to the label, fe...