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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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