We are beyond proud to be officially opening this year’s edition of Le Guess Who? Festival. Getting to this point is always a victory- for the artists, the audience, for us and our crew- and that deserves acknowledging.
So to all involved, we thank you!
The political and social realities of the moment make it difficult at times, to see the sense in continuing with business as usual. This festival is a celebration- it’s about joy and togetherness- but especially during times like these, we know for certain that it is not just entertainment. Le Guess Who? has always been about the discovery of more music, but more importantly, more unity. We believe that music is a vehicle for understanding and quite possibly the most authentic form of communication there is- and that’s where our work begins.
From early on, the message for this year was about listening. It’s a thread that is woven into many layers of this year’s program, maybe most apparent in the presence of a mastering engineer as one of our curators. Regarded as a true giant in her field, Heba Kadry embodies the act of listening deeply, that is so crucial to the dissemination of great music.
In addition, we have The Anonymous Project, an experimental take on listening which we have dreamt of for some time, and are finally launching this year. Thursday November 9th, we have three unannounced acts performing inside a cube, obscured by visuals, who will remain unannounced for the duration of the festival. This dynamic offers listeners an experience of sound which is pure and without pretense, while affording artists the chance to be assessed separately from their identity.
This feels like an essential exercise at the moment, to understand how much the associations with someone’s identity influences how we receive their message- the space we give it, how seriously we take it, and simply put, our ability to see ourselves in them.
This message of listening first, has not changed, but it does feel more emphasized in light of the acute disasters of the moment, when it’s not always clear how to respond.
Listening is the way forward!
Le Guess Who? Team