Polish Experimental Music in New York: Unsound Festival 2025
From 27 October to 9 November 2025, New York will host the Unsound Festival 2025, showcasing some of the most fascinating phenomena in contemporary music. Renowned venues such as Lincoln Center and Pioneer Works will host the premieres of compositions and experimental performances by Polish artists, including Aleksandra Słyż, Piotr Kurek, and Hania Rani, presenting a wide range of sounds – from neoclassical and electronic to folk and footwork. The presentation of the contemporary face of Polish music culture in the United States is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Unsound Festival in the USA Presents: The Contemporary Sound Scene from Poland
Unsound Festival 2025, curated by artistic director Mat Schulz, challenges the traditional assumptions of contemporary composition through unique staging, unconventional instrumentation, and passionate performances. Unsound artists draw freely and without prejudice on the traditions of electronic, experimental, jazz, classical, folk, and other genres of music.
Unsound New York is part of the festival’s “WEB” theme, which connects events taking place in New York, Kraków, and Osaka. The American edition will run from 27 October to 9 November 2025 and will include performances at prestigious venues such as Pioneer Works and Lincoln Center. The New York edition of the Unsound Festival promises audiences a sonic journey full of unpredictable ingenuity and unforgettable experiences that blur genre boundaries and push the limits of the musical avant-garde.
Polish Culture on the World Stage: Hania Rani, Piotr Kurek, and Sinfonietta Cracovia in New York
This year’s performers include John Cale, Sinfonietta Cracovia performing works by Mika Levi, Lucrecia Dalt, RP Boo & Gary Gwadera, Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko, and Aleksandra Słyż & Sinfonietta Cracovia. The programme of the Unsound Festival in New York includes:
Monday, 27 October 2025, 8:00 p.m. – Hania Rani presents Chilling Bambino, Piotr Kurek
Venue: Pioneer Works
Tickets: pioneerworks.org
Hania Rani will open Unsound New York 2025 with a performance of “Chilling Bambino”, her ever-evolving project, accompanied by guitarist Piotr Kurek. The evening will begin with a performance by composer and multi-instrumentalist Piotr Kurek, who will present new music related to his album Songs & Bodies. It is hypnagogic post-rock – an impressionistic blend of scattered riffs, jazz rhythms, and barely audible voices, creating a captivating digital reflection of 1990s alternative music. Yet these songs are full of imperfections, bends, and personal details that firmly anchor them in the present day. Piotr Kurek will perform alongside New York musicians Justin Frye on bass and Greg Fox on drums.
Hania Rani, a pianist, composer, and vocalist based in London, was born and raised in Poland, where she received a classical music education in Warsaw. After moving to Berlin, she fell in love with electronic music and, over time, developed her own way of combining rich solo piano compositions with subtle electronics. Under her alter ego “Chilling Bambino”, Rani explores synthesiser sounds, enriching ethereal melodies with psychedelic rhythms.
Thursday, 30 October 2025, 7:30 p.m. – RP Boo & Gary Gwadera / Adam Gołębiewski & Evischen
Venue: Lincoln Center, David Rubenstein Atrium
Tickets: www.lincolncenter.org
This unique evening at the David Rubenstein Atrium will unite the United States and Poland through modern musical traditions in a rhythmically charged concert that showcases the beauty and energy of footwork. This intensely syncopated, fast-paced genre blends Chicago house, hip-hop, R&B, and drum and bass to create unstoppable dance music. Electronic producer and innovator RP Boo, whose 1997 track “Baby Come On” is considered the origin of the genre, remains one of the most respected figures in footwork. The style has also found resonance in Poland – Łódź-based drummer Gary Gwadera has reinterpreted its uniquely American sound through the prism of Polish folk music on his album “Far, fin Chicago”. That evening, the artists will perform together live in a new piece commissioned by Unsound.
The concert will open with another transatlantic collaboration: Poznań-based percussionist and experimental musician Adam Gołębiewski will join forces with San Francisco sound artist and instrument maker Evicshen (aka Victoria Shen), known for performing with acrylic nails tipped with turntable needles.
Saturday, 1 November 2025, 7:30 p.m. – Sinfonietta Cracovia plays Mica Levi / Lucrecia Dalt / Aleksandra Słyż
Venue: Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall
Tickets: www.lincolncenter.org
The Unsound concert on 1 November 2025 will be an international celebration of sound in three acts, featuring innovative composers from Central Europe, South America, and the United Kingdom. The evening will open with “Pure Voices”, a piece for strings and electronics by experimental Polish composer Aleksandra Słyż, performed by one of Poland’s leading chamber orchestras, Sinfonietta Cracovia. Next, Colombian artist Lucrecia Dalt will present her new album “A Danger to Ourselves”. Her distinctive sound combines elements of avant-pop, experimental sound design, and Latin rhythms, creating a deeply personal and narrative whole.
The evening will conclude with Sinfonietta Cracovia performing new and earlier works by London-based composer Mica Levi, including “MAKING LOVE”, “FLAG”, “THOUGHTS ARE BORN” and “SLASHER”. Levi is known for her acclaimed soundtracks for Jonathan Glazer’s films (“The Zone of Interest”, “Under the Skin”) and for her collaboration with Nan Goldin (“Memory Lost”, “Sirens”).
Sunday, 2 November 2025, 7:30 p.m. – “Steam on Glass” by John Cale / Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko
Venue: Lincoln Center, Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall
Tickets: www.lincolncenter.org
The 2025 album “Гільдеґарда (Hildegarda)” by Heinali and vocalist Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko is a striking reinterpretation of the music of Hildegard of Bingen, the pioneering 12th-century composer. Drawing on Ukrainian folk singing, distinctive modular synthesis techniques, and ancient knowledge, the duo transforms these medieval inspirations into a powerful reflection of contemporary wartime experience.
The star of the evening will be John Cale, one of the most innovative voices in contemporary music and co-founder of The Velvet Underground. He will present his project “Steam on Glass” – evolving soundscapes that explore noise, improvisation, and experimentation, tracing his New York roots. The performance will span a wide spectrum of his work – from the academic experiments that led to the formation of The Velvet Underground, through his multi-genre explorations, to his current compositions.
Unsound NYC is organised and presented by Fundacja Tone – Muzyka i Nowe Formy Sztuki and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The main partner of the Unsound WEB KRK – NYC project is the Polish National Foundation.
