Skaņu Mežs 2024

This festival doesn’t aim to attract large crowds but rather to curate an exceptional programme. The focus is on bringing together a unique lineup of artists – ones rarely seen performing together – despite working within a limited budget. Skaņu Mežs is part of the Shape+ platform, co-founded by the European Union. Festival directors Viestarts Gailitis and Rihards T. Endriksons clarify: “Being an active partner in networks, platforms, and collaborative projects with like-minded festivals and venues has always been central to our model. Skaņu Mežs was an early member of the I.C.A.S. festival network and has participated in numerous projects like Remain and tekhnē. Additionally, alongside Prague’s MeetFactory, we co-founded the Shape+ platform, now in its tenth year, bringing together eighteen organizations.”

In addition to live performances, the festival offered workshops and masterclass panels throughout the day. Highlights included Fred Frith’s Improvisation: A Masterclass, an artist talk by Raven Chacon on composition, interpretation, and site-specific performance, and Polish photographer Dawid Laskowski (known for his visual documentation at London’s avant-garde Café Oto) presenting Naked Truth About Stage Photography. Irish composer Jennifer Walshe also delivered a fascinating session titled 13 Ways of Looking at AI, Art & Music. “The program is very diverse and balanced. And I can tell that the audience trusts you — with some listeners, even when there is something onstage that isn’t exactly their thing, they step out into the lobby for a moment, and then are back again to join the others for the next performance,” explained Walshe.

Running a music festival with a niche focus for twenty-two years is no easy feat. “Listening to music, discussing it with colleagues, reading books about it, and discovering new sounds and ideas is, although time-consuming, the most enjoyable and inspiring part of this job. The other part, equally essential for the festival’s long-term success, is the endless paperwork, grant applications, and reports,” says co-founder and director Rihards T. Endriksons. “We’ve become diligent bureaucrats, or at least we do our best to imitate them! If Skaņu Mežs were a person, we would be its stoic, dutiful secretaries.”

Contemporary experimental music may not be mainstream, but it has cultivated an extraordinary network across Europe, becoming a vital hub for innovative sound. Key venues and institutions like Skaņu Mežs in Riga, Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) and Fylkingen in Stockholm, Unsound in Krakow, Pardon To Tu in Warsaw, KM28 in Berlin, Café Oto in London, Les Instants Chavirés in Paris, and several others across Europe continue to support and push the boundaries of this genre.

Autechre's performance was an over two-hour set delivered in complete darkness. The duo has been experimenting with blackout shows for many years, allowing the audience to focus solely on sound by shutting off the sense of sight. This sensory deprivation creates a more immersive and intense experience, heightening the impact of their music. “We’re both fairly synesthetic. I see sound naturally, especially if I close my eyes. Quite often if I'm working at home and I'm really in the music, I've got my eyes closed and I'm in some zone with it, slightly hypnagogic or drug-induced. I like that. I like the way that music opens up the mind. I personally don’t like screens very much, they're okay, I like cinema and I like people using screens in a good way but if I'm playing on stage, I don't want a bunch of people who are just kind of looking at an object that's over there where that becomes the object of their attention,” explained Autechre co-founder Sean Booth. 

They recently renewed their deal with Warp Records after more than two decades, securing a favourable position that allows them the creative freedom to deliver content on their own terms. As Sean Booth explained himself, “I'm honestly not that interested in records anymore. The concept of what a studio album is seems outdated. For instance, if I create a track on my laptop while on a train, does that qualify as a studio album? No one would know it was made there. If I use my laptop on stage, does that still count as a studio record? It’s different because there’s an audience. But if I’m in the studio with friends while making a hip-hop album, is that an audience too? These terms become confusing.”

Autechre’s other half, Rob Brown, continues: “The downside is that you often have to promote an album for a year before its release. Our approach is to perform on stage, record the sessions, and then release those recordings. We just get a mastering engineer if we release something on vinyl.” 

Fred Frith’s solo performance was an intense journey of experimentation, with the guitar as his primary instrument. Surrounded by an array of pedal effects that he deftly operated barefoot, Frith created a captivating soundscape that showcased his innovative techniques and artistic vision. He’s a pioneering composer and guitarist celebrated for his inventive approach to sound and music. With a career that spans several decades, he has consistently challenged the limits of contemporary music through his exploration of unconventional playing techniques and a diverse array of musical styles. 

Frith’s work often merges composition and improvisation, enabling him to craft intricate soundscapes that defy traditional musical structures. His collaborations with a wide range of artists across various genres highlight his dedication to exploring the potential of sound. His contributions to the experimental music scene have not only shaped the work of countless musicians, but have also inspired new generations to critically examine the essence of music and its place in artistic expression. 

“The programme is a collaborative effort between Viestarts and I, with contributions from open calls and other festivals,” said Endriksons, and he continued: “While the core was set six months ago, we aimed to include noise as both a genre and idea, balanced with more melodic, forward-thinking expressions. Traditional experimental genres like contemporary composition, improvisation, and electro-acoustics were mixed with bold performances from hip-hop, punk, and metal. Crafting the lineup requires flexibility, as fresh, innovative sounds can emerge from any genre, needing a balance of contrasts.”

In addition to Autechre and Fred Frith, other artists performing at this year’s edition included Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and experimental musician Raven Chacon. Based in upstate New York, Chacon is a performer and artist originally from Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation. His performance was a powerful exploration of sound, blending traditional Navajo influences with contemporary experimental music. 

Labelled by The Washington Post as “underground rap legends,” duo Armand Hammer’s experimental abstract hip-hop hit the main stage with a dynamic fusion of thought-provoking lyrics and innovative soundscapes, pushing the boundaries of the genre. Arguably, their most influential tune is Woke Up and Asked Siri How I'm Gonna Die, but with a strong emphasis on storytelling, their performance addressed themes of identity, culture, and social justice. The duo’s electrifying atmosphere made their performance a standout moment of the festival.

Australian-born, New York-based artist Charmaine Lee exclusively uses voice and improvisation in her performances. In addition to her artistic practice, she guest lectures at undergraduate and graduate-level composition programs across the United States and serves on the National Annual Giving Committee at Princeton University. Lee’s exploration of the voice as a dynamic instrument, transcending traditional boundaries of genre and form. Her improvisational approach allows her to create rich, textured soundscapes that challenge listeners to engage deeply with the nuances of vocal expression. She often incorporates elements of storytelling and emotional resonance into her performances, inviting audiences to experience her music on a personal level. Her dedication to pushing the limits of vocal performance not only highlights her unique artistic voice but also contributes to the evolving landscape of contemporary experimental music.

Another noteworthy performance was the Paris-based noise artist Vomir (French for ‘vomiting’) AKA Romain Perrot, whose set was one-of-a-kind with a mask covering his identity. For about twenty minutes, he stood completely static under the lasers and smoke, with a wall of noise reverberating through the venue and making the bricks of the former fire station dance and vibrate. He defines it as an “anti-approach with no ideas, no change, no development, no entertainment, no remorse.” A radical and nihilist stance.

“I’ve analysed ticket sales data from 2007 to 2024, and this was the best-attended Skaņu Mežs edition ever. I’m grateful that so many, both locals and international guests, show an interest in experimental music and trust our vision of it. The festival’s design is inherently kaleidoscopic, offering multiple interpretations of what experimental music can be. A major achievement this year was seeing equal audience numbers on both main festival nights, breaking the trend where some focus only on headliners or specific genres. Instead, most attendees embraced the festival as a holistic experience, engaging with the full programme, which reflects careful choices in timing, genre balance, and contrast,” explains Endriksons about this year’s successful edition. 

“The audience was not only sizable for a niche festival in Latvia but also adventurous, open to atonality, noise, and confrontational stances. This willingness to embrace more abrasive sounds is a testament to their open-mindedness, proving that experimental music can push boundaries without sacrificing comfort,” he continues.

“That is the most challenging part because no matter how hard you try, at least in Riga, it is difficult to collect more than about 1/4 of the budget for an experimental music festival like Skaņu Mežs in ticket revenues. So, each year, one has to begin anew — writing grant applications with no certain outcome, and if the application gets granted, then writing reports. Also, the whole management thing is sometimes not very inspiring — I remember telling myself after the first Skaņu Mežs in 2003 that it would be the last one,” comments founder director Viestarts Gailītis. Luckily for us and everyone else, he kept pushing the boundaries. “The event was lovely, but the management had a toothache.”

“With hindsight, I am content about this year’s edition. It introduced me to new experiences, and among audience members, there seemed to be a more happy consensus than at other times. There will always be a difference between listening to music and experiencing it live, so it is always exciting to see what will happen,” he reflects.

“Once composer Linda Leimane said something that made one feel proud: ‘Skaņu Mežs is one of the reasons why I haven’t left Latvia.’ Also, an early Skaņu Mežs performer, Norwegian multi-disciplinary artist Are Mokkelbost, said this when visiting Skaņu Mežs this year: ‘Skaņu Mežs has really grown and developed an audience.’ Jennifer Walshe said that at a similar event in her native Dublin, which is roughly of similar size to Riga, one would have never had so many visitors. And I have heard from several people that Skaņu Mežs has contributed to developing an adventurous music-making attitude in Latvia,” Gailītis concluded.