Malmö's experimental festival Intonal will return for an in-person edition June 16th through 20th.
After cancelling its 2020 festival, the seven-year-old platform is going ahead with a physical version at various venues around Malmö from June 16th to 20th. The founder Ulf Eriksson explained his decision in a statement:Can a heartfelt hug be replaced by waving awkwardly at a dear friend in a zoom chat? Well of course not, it's an absurd question. Still, this is basically what art and music venues around the world have been forced to consider for over a year.
Concerts and performances can be streamed of course – in fact, we've seen no end of them. Some of these productions have been really quite impressive and some… not so much. They all have one thing in common though: they didn't replace anything.
Don't get us wrong, we're not anti-technology. The field of digital production and presentation is a worthy and thriving one, but it's a field in its own right and it shouldn't be used as a substitution for "the real thing". If we have learned anything from this pandemic, it's hopefully that. And to wash our fucking hands.
So, we're still doing Intonal, that's what we’re saying. The point of a festival is to share experiences and emotions with friends and strangers alike; to form new bonds and memories with people that you never met before; to collectively partake in the making of something sublime. This cannot be re-created digitally. Not in any form.
This festival is for all of you who have been starving for experimental music and culture, but it's also for the likewise starving artists, technicians, and cultural workers that categorically have been deemed non-essential.
We don't know how many guests will be allowed to join us, come June. But we do know we'll create something exceptional together regardless.
Among the featured artists are Johanna Knutsson, Sebastian Mullaert (both Mullaert and Knutsson will perform their own shows—the former with the Subchamber Ensmble—and with Dorisburg as Circle Of Live), KMRU, Ellen Arkbro, Minor Science, Varg2™, sound artist Yasmine El Baramway, Nuri, Cucina Povera and Anna von Hausswolff. Dungeon Acid and House of North will also play together as Northern Acid on stage for the first time.
In addition, composers such as Lola Ajima and Alessandro Perini will perform acousmatic concerts. At least half of this year's acts are specially commissioned for Intonal and many are world premieres.
Aside from music, dance workshops, installations and film screenings are also billed. These include Steve Goodman, AKA Kode9, presenting an audio essay called Audio Virology and theorist Jay Springett discussing the art movement known as Solarpunk, among others.
To comply with safety regulations, Intonal is limiting audience capacity and enforcing social distancing. Visit the festival's website for more information.
