Unsound is imposing a ban on photographs and filming of live shows as part of its 2013 INTERFERENCE theme -  no photo passes will be given to media, and audience members should resist the temptation to put cameras or mobile phones into action. The idea behind this ban is not to denigrate photographers or cast aspersions upon the desire to take snapshots of one's own life, but rather an experiment in resisting contemporary habits as they pertain to instant documentation, "sharing," and lived experience.

"Our aim is to encourage our audience to focus on being in the moment, and not distract others out of that moment," says Unsound Artistic Director Mat Schulz. "We want to question the automatic tendency to place photos and videos of concerts on-line, be it on social networks, music websites or video streaming platforms, to put some tiny glitch in the constant bombardment of images, today's main tool of communication. The ban will not be policed by security guards, this is going to be a community action - if you see someone next to you filming, ask them politely to stop."

An official Unsound photographer will discreetly and efficiently document a few special events, commissioned or premiere works, due to their unique nature. As for most events, these will not be filmed or photographed at all.

Audio from various concerts will also be recorded, archived, and transmitted in various forms by NTS Radio, emphasizing Unsound's experiment to shift emphasis from the spectacle back to the auditory frame.

As for this round of Unsound announcements, heading them is PANTHA DU PRINCE AND THE BELL LABORATORY performing "ELEMENTS OF LIGHT". This unique collaborative piece, performed around the world to much acclaim, brings together Pantha du Prince’s trademark brittle electronic sounds with a Norwegian bell ensemble, to stunning effect in a live show. This concert is presented with The Red Bull Music Academy in the afternoon on Sunday 20 October. Like a few such special events this year, it lies outside the main nightly program, and requires a separate ticket priced at 50 PLN.

"DREAM CARGOES" sees musicians KEITH FULLERTON WHITMAN and ROLY PORTER work with video artists LUCY BENSON and MARCEL WEBER (MFO). Inspired by a J.G.Ballard's story, "Dream Cargoes" explores the predicament of the last man on Earth, who in the toxicity of waste encounters new life forms flourishing. Visually the story is told through this protagonists eyes, via a psychedelic landscape comprising original cinematic footage with analogue and algorithmic mutations. The score is performed by Porter, working with a Sinfonietta Cracovia string quartet, and Keith Fullerton Whitman, operating modular synthesizers. The fully acoustic beginning suffers under increasing interference from the electronic side, eventually finding a new synergy with the chaotic, generative energy of the modular evolutions. "Dream Cargoes" is a co-commission between Unsound and Werkleitz Festival in Halle, Germany, where it premieres on 12 October.

Yet another special Unsound event links Poland's JACASZEK with new music ensemble KWARTLUDIUM, who present the world premiere of "CATALOGUE DES ARBRES". This project comes out of a fascination with nature and is related to Olivier Messiaen's “Catalogue d'oiseaux”,where birdsong is translated into music; Jacaszek and Kwartludium’s project will create their sound from a blend of field recordings, instrumental improvisations and excerpts from Messiaen's compositions.

Also from Poland and connected to classical/new music is KWADROFONIK, a unique quartet made up of a piano and a percussion duet, performing contemporary and improvised music in concerts that interfere with the roles given to their instruments, where pianos can be used of instruments of percussion, and percussion provides melody. Their repertoire includes pieces by composers such as Witold Lutosławski, Béla Bartók, George Crumb and Steve Reich, and they also perform their own compositions .

LAUREL HALO first played Unsound in 2011; since then, she has explored several shifts in method and style. Halo's acclaimed EP “Behind the Green Door” is the best representation of her current live show - a hardware based jam somewhere between techno, bass and ambient music. Halo’s Unsound appearance coincides in time with her second 2013 release, the album “Chances of Rain”, also on Hyperdub.

Unsound has also added a range of emerging and rising artists from experimental dance music.

Australia's GARDLAND is the improvised techno project of Australians Alex Murray and Mark Smith. They will make their debut European appearance at Unsound, in the lead up to their first album on the RVNG Intl. POWELL is a provocative UK DJ and producer, releasing minimalistic and raw techno inspired by post-punk and industrial music, but liberated from genre conventions. Also from UK, SAMUEL KERRIDGE has quickly gained a reputation for a brand of toxic techno featuring decimated kick drums, feedback and distortion. It's an approach that Resident Advisor says is "drawn as much from Sunn O)))'s doom-drone or post-punk as the dance floor" and has found a natural home on Regis's Downwards label.

WILHELM BRAS is a Polish DIY producer and synth-builder, who also reaches the abrasive outer-reaches of the dance floor with a live show that both disorientates and navigates the listener with analogue beats. Also from Poland, the mysterious RSS BOYS channel the spirit of voodoo rituals through raw leftfield forms of heavy technoid music, as captured on albums released through Mik Musik’s “Even More Secret Series”.

Portugal's Principe Discos label releases dance music coming out of the suburbs and projects of Lisbon, pursuing sounds with their own set of poetics and cultural identity. Their EP's sound as fresh as anything else released this year, and Unsound is pleased to showcase two of their artists and put a spotlight on the label. DJ MARFOX is a producer with São Toméan roots, part of a music scene inspired by African rhythm traditions, such as Angolan batida kuduro. DJ NIGGA FOX's “O Meu Estilo” EP was just released, on which he explores various percussive techniques derived from the African tradition of his home country Angola.

Elsewhere in the program, CLIPPING. takes hip-hop to new levels of abrasiveness, as evidence on their mixtape "Midcity". Passages of harsh noise contrast with punishing volume, bare silence, glitches, microtones, and most importantly rock-hard verses spat out with the speed of a machine gun. clipping. recently signed to Sub Pop, who will release their new album in 2014.

As announced last week, TRALALA BLIP will also perform, an Australian collective made up of members with a range of disabilities. They create music on various electronic instruments ranging from Audio Cubes to Launchpad, Tenori-on and Theremin, as can be heard on their debut album “Submarine Love Songs”, released on Room40.

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on Unsound installations, screenings and video artists.

Individual tickets to Unsound 2013 go on sale on Monday September 2, the same day the new website will be launched. All passes to Unsound are already sold out.

Also take note of our other upcoming events:

THE MOST PROJEKT // 10 - 14 SEPT - A tour of inclusive bands from Australia and Poland with members with disabilities including: The Bridge (Australia), Remont Pomp (Poland) and Na Gorze (Poland). Cities: Gdansk, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Krakow.
Most Projekt Facebook page

UNSOUND LONDON // 26 - 29 SEPT - Unsound is headed to London in the lead up to Unsound Krakow, working with the Polish Cultural Institute London and local partners to produce a four-day event across five different venues.
Unsound London Website
Unsound London Facebook page


ANNOUNCED LINE UP SO FAR:

ALTAR OF PLAGUES (IE)
ANDY STOTT & DEMDIKE STARE PRESENT: EUTECTIC (UK)
ANNA ZARADNY (PL)
ANTHONY NAPLES (USA)
ARCA (USA)
B/B/S/ (ERIK SKODVIN, AIDAN BAKER, ANDREA BELFI) (NO/CAN/IT)
CHARLEMAGNE PALESTINE & RHYS CHATHAM (USA)
CLIPPING. (USA)
DJ MARFOX (PT)
DJ NIGGA FOX (PT)
DJ QU (USA)
DJ RICHARD (USA)
EARTH (USA)
FIRE! (SE)
FOREST SWORDS (UK)
GALCHER LUSTWERK (USA)
GARDLAND (AU)
GOBBY (USA)
HELENA HAUFF (DE)
I-F aka INTERR-FERENCE (NL)
INNODE (AT)
JACASZEK & KWARTLUDIUM PRESENR: CATALOGUE DES ARBRES (PL)
JAMES FERRARO (USA)
JENNY HVAL (NO)
JULIANNA BARWICK, WITH POLISH GIRLS' CHOIR (USA/PL)
KARENN (BLAWAN & PARIAH) (UK)
KEITH FULLERTON WHITMAN & ROLY PORTER, LUCY BENSON & MARCEL WEBER PRESENT: DREAM CARGOES (USA/UK/DE/AU/PL)
KING MIDAS SOUND (UK)
KWADROFONIK (PL)
LAUREL HALO (USA)
MIKA VAINIO (FIN)
NATE YOUNG (USA)
OREN AMBARCHI PRESENTS: KNOTS, WITH SINFONIETTA CRACOVIA (AU/PL)
PEARSON SOUND (UK)
PETE SWANSON (USA)
PHARMAKON (USA)
POWELL (UK)
REGIS PRESENTS: NECKLACE OF BITES (UK)
PORTER RICKS (DE)
ROBERT HENKE (AKA MONOLAKE) PRESENTS: LUMIÈRE (DE)
ROBERT PIOTROWICZ (PL)
RP BOO (USA)
RSS BOYS (PL)
SAMUEL KERRIDGE (UK)
STARA RZEKA (PL)
STEFAN WESOŁOWSKI PRESENTS: LIEBESTOD (PL)
STELLAR OM SOURCE (BE)
SVENGALISGHOST (USA)
TRALALA BLIP (AU)
THE MULHOLLAND FREE CLINIC (MOVE D, JUJU & JORDASH, JONAH SHARP) (DE/IL/USA)
TROPIC OF CANCER (USA)
UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE PRESENTS: INTERSTELLAR FUGITIVES (USA)
VENUS X (USA)
WILHELM BRAS (PL)
YOUNG MALE (USA)

SPECIAL EVENTS OUTSIDE MAIN NIGHTLY PROGRAM (REQUIRE EXTRA TICKET ON TOP OF PASS):

DEAN BLUNT PRESENTS: THE REDEEMER (UK)
PANTHA DU PRINCE & THE BELL LABORATORY, PRESENTED WITH RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY (DE/NO)
ROBERT RICH PRESENTS: SLEEP CONCERT (USA)