Riga’s experimental music festival Skaņu Mežs 2026 will take place on October 9–10 at Hanzas Perons (16A Hanzas Street). Alongside the previously announced metal group Krallice, the program now expands with five new acts: Gudrun Gut (DE), aya (GB), Charlemagne Palestine, Oren Ambarchi & Daniel O’Sullivan (US/AU/UK), Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals (US), and the trio of Michael Foster, Leila Bordreuil & Chris Corsano (US).
Two-day tickets can be purchased here; their price is 60 EUR.
Recap of 2025
The Wire Magazine, previously having hailed Skaņu Mežs as the biggest avant-garde music festival in the Baltic states, focused the review of its 2025 edition on its informed and open-minded audience: “There is nothing this audience can’t handle,” wrote Daniel Spicer.
Last December, British radio station BBC Radio 3 aired a two-hour show devoted to the festival. Music journalist Tom Service said: “Skaņu Mežs casts its net as generously as possible over the vast and thrilling terrains of new music-making.”
Meanwhile, Daryl Worthington of The Quietus described the festival as “a weekend of stunning performances”, “a space of radical sound and vision”, and “a world of deviant and defiant art”.
aya (GB)
aya is a human musician from the Pennine region of the North Atlantic whose work explores the transformative power of experience and memory on the body. Blending soundsystem culture, delocalised internet scenes, and post‑hardcore emotionality, she shapes stark, hybrid forms in a genre‑fluid language entirely her own. Her music has appeared on Hyperdub, YCO, Tri Angle, Wisdom Teeth, and Astral Plane Recordings, alongside a prolific output as a remixer.
Her debut album im hole (2021) received widespread acclaim, including Pitchfork’s Best New Music. Her 2025 Hyperdub release hexed! has been met with even greater praise: it was ranked #1 in the year‑end lists of The Quietus and The Wire, and earned a 9 out of 10 from Pitchfork. aya continues to tour internationally with both her standout live show and DJ sets.
Charlemagne Palestine, Oren Ambarchi & Daniel O’Sullivan (US / AU / UK)
Legendary composer and performer Charlemagne Palestine joins forces with Australian guitarist and sonic innovator Oren Ambarchi and English multi‑instrumentalist Daniel O’Sullivan for a visionary trio reimagining of Palestine’s iconic continuous‑music work (a “MAGGGICCCC SONGGGG”) – “Karenina.”
Originally recorded in 1997 at Galerie Donguy in Paris and released on David Tibet’s Durtro label, Karenina is a key work in Palestine’s canon, composed for Indian harmonium and voice and shaped by Hindustani raga, cantorial chant, and his signature long‑form intensity. In this new 2.0 rendering, the trio expands the piece’s meditative core with new harmonic, textural, and timbral dimensions, creating a living, breathing extension of a sacred masterpiece.
Gudrun Gut (DE)
A central figure in Berlin’s underground since 1979, Gudrun Gut has shaped the city’s musical landscape through her work with pioneering groups such as Mania D., Einstürzende Neubauten, Malaria!, Matador, and numerous collaborative projects, including Greie Gut Fraktion, Gut und Irmler, and Monika Werkstatt. She is also the founder of the influential labels Monika Enterprise and Moabit Musik and co‑produced the long‑running Ocean Club Radio with Thomas Fehlmann.
Gut has been recognised for her cultural impact with the Listen to Berlin Award (2019). Recent major projects include the M_Dokumente book and M_Sessions album (2021), accompanied by exhibitions and performances highlighting her early bands. In 2023, she co‑created and starred in the ARD Mediathek mini‑documentary series GUT. She lives and works between Berlin and the Uckermark.
Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals (US)
Baltimore‑based artists Infinity Knives (Tariq Ravelomanana) and Brian Ennals create a fiercely expressive blend of experimental hip‑hop, classical‑leaning composition, and politically charged lyricism. Their music moves between ferocity and joy, with Infinity Knives’ orchestral sensibilities – drawing on influences like Max Richter and Jóhann Jóhannsson – woven into hard‑hitting beats and Ennals’ incisive, poetic delivery.
Their 2025 album A City Drowned in God’s Black Tears received widespread acclaim from Rolling Stone, The Wire, The Quietus, Stereogum, and others.
“City Drowned… is most definitely their boldest work yet together.” – The Needle Drop
“Among the most ambitious and expansive of the albums I loved this year.” – Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker
Michael Foster, Leila Bordreuil & Chris Corsano (US)
Long‑time collaborators Michael Foster and Leila Bordreuil join forces with drummer Chris Corsano, hailed by The Guardian as “one of the world’s great drummers.” Together they form a high‑intensity trio rooted in free improvisation, noise, and extended technique.
Michael Foster is a New York-based saxophonist and multi‑instrumentalist whose work explores the intersections of improvisation, noise, and queer identity. His projects range from solo performance to small ensembles, and he has collaborated widely across experimental music, including appearances with Psychic TV, Spiritualized, and Thee Oh Sees.
Leila Bordreuil is a French‑American cellist and composer whose music spans noise, contemporary classical, free jazz, and sound art. Known for her visceral, melancholic intensity, she has been described by The New York Times as creating “steadily scathing music, favouring long and corrosive atonalities.” The Chicago Reader calls her a “rising figure in New York’s improvised music scene.”
Chris Corsano is renowned for his explosive, highly inventive approach to drums and percussion. Active since the late 1990s, he has performed with artists across free jazz, avant‑rock, and experimental music – including Paul Flaherty, Joe McPhee, Bill Orcutt, Okkyung Lee, and Björk – and appears on more than 180 recordings. His solo work is equally celebrated for its intensity and imagination.
The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga City Council, Goethe-Institut Riga, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, and Valmiermuižas Alus.
Skaņu Mežs is part of the sound art project tekhnē, supported by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. The festival is also part of the NERDS network, co-funded by the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture.
Media partners include The Quietus, TVNET, Satori.lv, Radio NABA, Arterritory, magazine “Mūzikas Saule”, and la.lv.
