Riga, Latvia’s Skaņu Mežs festival for experimental music will happen on October 3-4 at Hanzas Perons (16A Hanzas Street). Five more acts have been added to the program: KAVARI, Pamirt, Balss Lūzums, R3YWYA, Matthew Biederman & Pierce Warnecke. Tickets can currently be purchased at www.ticketservice.lv for 55 EUR.
KAVARI (Live)
KAVARI was born in Birkenhead, England, and later moved to the Highlands of Scotland in her early childhood. She began performing in her late teens at club nights and raves in and around Scotland, some of which she organised due to the lack of diversity in her local music scene. Her artistic philosophy is rooted in rejecting mainstream electronic music conventions, driven by a commitment to constant reinvention. This defiance challenges the repetition and complacency of the modern music industry. Her approach has gained global attention, cementing her as a key figure in the UK’s electronic underground.
https://kavarimusic.bandcamp.com/track/ritual
Hailed as “The Priestess of the Underground,” her work has earned praise from IDM pioneer Aphex Twin, who called it “some of the most brilliant, most interesting kicking electronic music” to emerge in recent years. Influenced by artists such as Skrillex, Genesis P-Orridge, Lorn, and Arca, KAVARI’s works are marked by the use of abrasive textures with ethereal soundscapes and a focus on emotional expression, often channelling intense feelings into her work. In addition to her solo projects, she has collaborated with various artists, contributing to works by Yeule, REZZ, and Flume.
At Skaņu Mežs, KAVARI will perform live.
Pierce Warnecke & Matthew Biederman – “Phytomorphic Topographies” (commissioned work, A/V performance)
“Phytomorphic Topographies” is a suite of audio-visual works exploring the delicate ecosystems of Latvia’s wilderness through immersive 3D visuals and near-field sound recordings. In June 2025, the artists spent a week in the forests, bogs, and nature reserves of east-central Latvia, guided by botanist Līga Pentjuša (from the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”), conducting botanical surveys using photogrammetry and field recording techniques.
By engaging with these landscapes across multiple scales – from satellite imagery to micro-level sensory detail – the project offers a fresh perspective on our relationship with nature and challenges conventional notions of human integration within fragile ecosystems. This presentation will occur as part of the sound art project “tekhnē”, co-funded by the EU and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.
Pierce Warnecke is a multidisciplinary digital artist at the intersection of experimental music, digital arts, and video art.
He has presented his work in the form of performances, concerts, and installations at Mutek, ZKM, CTM, Elektra, KW Institute, La Biennale Nemo, Sonic Acts, Martin Gropius Bau, MAC Montreal, Gray Area SF, Scopitone, LEV Festival, SXSW, FILE, etc.
He co-curates the emitter micro label and festival with Kris Limbach and Seiji Morimoto in Berlin since 2011, in addition to co-curating Le Signal Festival in France with Louis Laurain.
His music has been published on raster (DE), Room40 (AU), and Contour Editions (US).
Matthew Biederman has been performing, installing, and exhibiting works which explore themes of perception, media saturation, and data systems from a multiplicity of perspectives since the mid-1990s. Biederman was the recipient of the Bay Area Artist Award in Video by New Langton Arts in 1999, and First Place in the Visual Arts category of Slovenia’s Break21 festival. He has served as artist-in-residence at a variety of institutions and institutes, including the Experimental Television Center on numerous occasions, CMU’s CREATE lab, the Wave Farm, and many more.
Pamirt
Pamirt is a Latvian dark music quintet from the Baltics, known for their hauntingly beautiful blend of neoclassical and gothic elements. Formed in 2019, the band brings together the talents of Kristiāna Kārkliņa (voice, piano), Edvards Percevs (drums), Jānis Emīls (bass), Dāvis Burmeisters (guitar), and Edgars Gultnieks (guitar). Originally a solo project by Kristiāna, Pamirt evolved into a full-fledged collaboration that combines her evocative vocals and piano with rich guitar textures and dynamic rhythms.
The band’s music is characterised by its dark yet grandiose sound, creating an atmosphere that resonates with depth and emotion. Their debut album, Mausoleum, received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Annual Latvian Music Recording Awards, Zelta Mikrofons, in 2020. The album’s creation was deeply influenced by Kristiāna’s background in art history, infusing the music with a strong visual and conceptual identity.
Pamirt’s music brings listeners into a world of haunting and beautiful depths, offering a sound that is as dynamic as it is profound.
https://pamirt.bandcamp.com/album/mausoleum
R3YWYA
R3YWYA is a noise-based project by artist Evija Ābrama, centred on sonic improvisation as a means of exploring communication and the role of noise within spatial environments. Through her work, Ābrama adopts an eco-acoustic perspective, treating sound not merely as material but as a dynamic network of spatial relationships. Her compositions reveal rhythms that both disrupt and echo the ambient textures of the surrounding environment, offering a nuanced reflection on how sound inhabits and transforms space.
Balss Lūzums
“Balss lūzums” (Voice Fracture) is a one-of-a-kind piece created especially for the 2025edition of Skaņu Mežs by musicians Kārlis Tone, Sarma Gabrēna, Uģis Jansons Krastiņš, the mixed choir Dziesmuvara and Inese Tone, the author of the text. The central idea of the project is to highlight the polemic between spirituality and the dictates of technology in contemporary Western Europe, using both academic and experimental musical means of expression.
Kārlis Tone is the initiator, composer and producer of the project. He is an active member of experimental metal and rock bands Tesa and Grab. Sarma Gabrēna, also a member of Grab and Maяk, is a stylistically versatile cellist, and Uģis Jansons Krastiņš is a vital presence on the Latvian experimental music scene as a sound engineer and musician with such projects as Ugg Ugg Uggg Uggg and Seržants Bēda.
The mixed choir “Dziesmuvara” is conducted by Nora Žeigure. The choir mainly performs classical choral repertoire, but often engages in unconventional experiments, expanding the boundaries of choral art. In 2025, the choir Dziesmuvara celebrates its 100th anniversary.
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