Unsound has announced a second wave of artists for its 2026 edition, expanding an already ambitious programme that will unfold across Warsaw and Kraków for the first time. Running from 2 to 11 October under the theme SOFT POWER, the festival will treat the two cities as consecutive chapters rather than parallel events: Warsaw hosts the opening programme from 2–6 October, followed by the Unsound Train to Kraków on 7 October, before the festival continues there from 8–11 October.
The new announcement places Arca at its centre. The Venezuelan producer, performer and vocalist will make her first Warsaw appearance on 3 October, presenting a hybrid solo set and co-curating the evening Airdoll. The programme will also include a back-to-back set with her longtime collaborator Bobby Beethoven, a DJ set from Mica Levi and a live A/V performance by Kavari. Arca’s appearance follows the release of XXXXX, her first full-length record since the Kick series.
Among the newly confirmed Warsaw artists is Blackhaine, bringing his new show Saints in the Wethouse, while Norwegian saxophonist Bendik Giske will preview material from his forthcoming album for Smalltown Supersound. The composer and multi-instrumentalist Wendy Eisenberg will appear with a band, drawing from their self-titled 2026 album and earlier work. Elsewhere, Visible Cloaks join forces with members of Poland’s Hashtag Ensemble, and Greek Orthodox priest Father Dionysos Tabakis brings the collision of drone metal, electronics, field recordings and Byzantine hymnody heard on Paradise Metal.
The Kraków programme welcomes Sarah Davachi, who will present The Will of Tongues shortly before receiving the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale. The Canadian composer’s performance pairs solo organ pieces with works performed by Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble. BNNT, meanwhile, will perform music from their forthcoming collaboration with Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem in My Heart, due via Instant Classic. One Leg One Eye, the project of Lankum’s Ian Lynch and George Brennan, will explore the overlap between Irish folk, black metal, noise and drone.
This second batch also gives the festival’s late-night programme more shape. Hotel Forum in Kraków will host four expansive back-to-back sets: Juliana Huxtable with JASSS, Kode9 with Nikki Nair, Vigro Deep with Batu, and Kavari with Ship Sket. Nyege Nyege affiliates Azzi On The Beat and Serokolo 7 also join the bill, alongside a Warsaw pairing from gummi and Taan.
They join an extensive first announcement that already included Diamanda Galás, Actress, Tim Hecker, Ana Roxanne with Hashtag Ensemble, Mandy, Indiana, Pink Siifu, DJ Plead, gyrofield, Debit and L’Rain. Liars will mark the 20th anniversary of Drum’s Not Dead with Polish drummers Macio Moretti and Tymek Papior, while Actress is set to debut Radical Frame, a new audiovisual performance based on his forthcoming album. Another new commission, Warszawa, sees Piotr Kurek and Wilhelm Sasnal revisit the tangled history around David Bowie’s Warszawa, with the Śląsk Song & Dance Ensemble.
Beyond the concerts, Unsound’s discourse programme will address language, surveillance, sonic warfare and listening itself. A third artist announcement is due in mid-August, with the full geography of a festival that insists on being experienced as one moving work still to come.
