Under the title “Life is Good in the New Real,” this year’s festival explores the question: What does a world sound like where artificial intelligence and digital systems are ever-present—and how can we forge new connections to nature, the environment, and each other?
Taking place across multiple venues in Vienna—including Seestadt Aspern, the VHS Kulturgarage, and the WUK—the festival brings together artists from around the globe. The focus lies on live experiences that intertwine sound, the human body, and technology.
Audiences can expect a diverse program ranging from immersive performances and sonic interventions to speculative sound art. Many of the works engage directly with AI, sensors, or virtual reality, while also incorporating organic elements like water, stone, wood, and the voice, raising questions of ecological sustainability and social relevance.
Among the first confirmed artists is Nyokabi Kariũki (KE), whose electroacoustic compositions interweave field recordings, East African sound traditions, and voice into poetic soundscapes. Raphael Rogiński (PL) bridges microtonality, improvisation, and Jewish-Polish musical heritage. The Spanish A/V duo Cortical (Sevi Iko Dømochevsky & Daniel Benza) present a high-energy show somewhere between rave, noise, and sci-fi, while Merche Blasco (ES/US) explores new forms of listening through electromagnetic sensors.
Further innovative contributions come from Jakob Schauer (AT), Joana Coleman & Conny Zenk (AT), Boris Vitázek (SK), and PÖ (UG/FR), who brings a live and DJ set that fuses funk, footwork, dancehall, and experimental vocal performance.
SONIC TERRITORIES – www.sonic-territories.at