SOPHIE and Jlin, 33EMYBW, Laraaji and more contribute to Unsound Festival's 'Intermission' book and album
This is Unsound’s first ever album release and documents the 2020 edition of the festival
Unsound Festival this week announced the release of ‘Intermission’, a book and album sharing the same name. They are intended as a time capsule of the festival and 2020 itself as a pivotal time period for dance music and the world.
The album includes selected tracks from the 2020 online edition of the festival, including from Jlin and SOPHIE, Laraaji, 33EMYBW, Tim Hecker with Polish vocalists Agata Harz and Katarzyna Smoluk-Moczdłowska, Ben Frost and Moor Mother.
The album also features several field recordings from throughout the pandemic, including DeForrest Brown, Jr. and James Hoff’s recordings from New York’s Black Lives Matter protests and Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir and Sam Slater’s apartment in Berlin during lockdown.
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The ‘Intermission’ book is an interdisciplinary work featuring 25 works of critical essays, personal reflections and poetry exploring subjects that have made up the fabric of 2020: the pandemic, lockdown, ecology, mental health, conspiracy theories, racism, LGBTQ+ rights, sound, tourism, the precarious state of the music industry, nostalgia, and identity.
The ‘Intermission’ album is dedicated to SOPHIE, who died very suddenly at the end of January. She had performed at several editions of the festival in both Krakow and New York.
Listen to 33EMYBW’s track ‘The Room’ and check out a full list of album contributors and authors involved in the project. Preorder the ‘Intermission’ album and book here.
Album tracklist
Christ Watson - ‘Unlocked’ Bastarda - ‘Aperte’ Slater Gudnadottir Grisey - ‘Happy Healthy Safe’ Weavings - ‘Section 1’ (with Aho Ssan, Angel Bat Dawid, Dirar Kalash, Ellen Fullman, Księżyc, Laraaji, Nicolás Jaar, Paweł Szamburski, Resina, Rolando Hernandez & Wukir Suryadi) Zosia Hołubowska & Julia Giertz - ‘Community of Grieving, Part 1’ Ben Frost - ‘Fire Front Near Humaita’ Lutto Lento - ‘Good Morning Go Tears’ Jlin x SOPHIE - ‘JSLOIPNHIE’ 33EMYBW - ‘The Room’ Varg2™ & VTSS - ‘VARGTSS2 (Miss Understanding)’ Slikback - ‘ZETSUBO’ DeForrest Brown, Jr. & James Hoff - ‘Project for Revolution in New York’ Tim Hecker, Agata Harz & Katarzyna Smoluk-Moczdłowskak - ‘Demeter & Johannes’ Song of Pandemia’ Jana Winderen - ‘re_Surge’Authors
Agata Pyzik
Andrew Brooks
Andy Battaglia
Armen Avanessian & ≋h≋o≋m≋a≋r≋
Ayesha Hameed
Dave Tompkins
Ewa Majewska
Gamall Awad
Harmony Holliday
J.T. Roane
Jace Clayton
Jay Springett
Jennifer Lucy Allan
Kristen Gallerneaux
Luke Turner
Mat Schulz
Moor Mother
Olga Drenda
Philip Sherburne
S.J. Norman
Sean Dockray, James Parker & Joel Stern
Stephanie Philips
Steve Goodman (aka Kode9)
Sylwia Chutnik
Ting Ding & DeForrest Brown, Jr.
Jemima Skala is Mixmag’s Weekend Editor. Follow her on Twitter
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