Krakow's UNSOUND festival has announced its first batch of names for the 2011 festival, taking place between 9 - 16 October, with the main days being 13 - 16 October. Mark your calendars!
Much of the program will connect with the theme FUTURE SHOCK, which takes Alvin Toffler's classic futurist book from 1970 as its starting point and ventures out to explore the world of Science-Fiction as imagined in film, soundtracks and music.
Early pioneers of electronic music include none other than Morton Subotnick, revisiting his seminal 1967 work "Silver Apples of The Moon" live on the Buchla synthesizer he helped develop. One of the most influential works in the history of electronic music, "Silver Apples" was commissioned as a first-of-its-kind album project by the American record label Nonesuch, and went on to resonate in the realms of classical music, pop and techno. Subotnick will take the stage with Berlin-based video artist Lillevan, with whom Unsound has worked on many projects.
Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti, both members of industrial music legend Throbbing Gristle, will perform a set of their future-thinking work from the 80s as Chris & Cosey. Originally put out by Rough Trade, their albums such as "Heartbeat," "Songs of Love & Lust" and "Exotica" were recently re-released, in the midst of a current revival of the cold-synth sound they helped define.
The influence of such artists reverberates, impacting the likes of Hype Williams and Dylan Ettinger - both appearing at Unsound with music that feels like remainders of futuristic visions from the vantage point of a recent past. This idea of time's elasticity is key to the explorations of Unsound Krakow in 2011, be it via performance with outmoded kinds of technology or re-imaginings of old future-thinking sounds to create something progressive and new.
Such ideas are also instrumental in the sphere of club music, rapidly reviving, blending and mutating sounds of the past into new forms. Known for its renowned Bass Mutations events in Krakow and New York, Unsound is dropping the word "Bass" this year to instead describe our two club nights as Mutations 1 and Mutations 2.
With such ideas guiding the curatorial impulse, these nights are gearing up to be the festival's best yet, as usual with a strong focus on live shows. Confirmed artists include Dreadnought (Untold's brand-new project with singer Samuel Chase), Addison Groove, Space Dimension Controller, 2562, Andy Stott, MMM, Morphosis, KiNK and Kassem Mosse - all LIVE. The crafty Joy Orbison is set to DJ, among a cast of others.
This is of course just the start. Expect many more names in the coming weeks, including the announcement of a performance with the orchestra Sinfonietta Cracovia, whose participation in unique projects has become a proud Unsound tradition. Other special projects will include silent Sci-Fi films with live soundtracks and commissioned installations, as well as panels, documentary screenings and workshops.

In the meantime, please follow our Future Shock Tumblr.