Festival time!
One of the many ways to discover music
The festival season has started and that means a lot of great music to discover. My personal one usually begins with Grauzone and Rewire - both multidisciplinary international festivals in The Hague. The first one focuses on genres like wave, post-punk and goth; whereas the latter features rather experimental and electronic acts. Through Rewire I discovered an album that might end up quite high in my 2026 end of year list: in filth your mystery is kingdom / far smile peasant in yellow music by Dagmar Zuniga. Sadly, her show got cancelled, however, her album has been on repeat for the past couple of weeks. Somehow all music in this newsletter have a link with the Dutch 2026 festival season. Either they are featured in a festival’s line up or they are referred to by other artists. Here are a few records that are currently defining my festival year!
Dagmar Zuniga - in filth your mystery is kingdom / far smile peasant in yellow music
At the age of fifteen, the Nicaraguan-American Dagmar Zuniga was given a Tascam 424 tape recorder. Inspired by the lo-fi sound of Elliot Smith’s debut album Roman Candle, she created her own field recordings over time resulting in this debut. In filth really fits within the concept of hauntology - the idea that the present is haunted by the past. It’s the tape hiss which creates this ominous atmosphere, but also the psychedelic folk elements, abrupt silences and the cautious, almost hesitantly played piano and flute melodies. Sometimes a track doesn’t feel quite finished, or the music stops unexpectedly. It’s the beauty of imperfectness which makes this such a great record.
lo-fi | experimental | hauntology | psychedelic folk | dream pop
Electrelane - The Power Out
For their second album, the all female British band Electrelane took a different direction. Their debut (2001) was mainly instrumental, but for The Power Out (2004) they embraced their vocals and a rather pop structured sound. This album has nothing to do with typical pop music, though. Musically, it’s quite conventional, however the songs are unique and there’s room for experiment. Electrelane brings in different languages, references to poems and lesbian novels and there’s an a capella ensemble. Working with the great Steve Albini, who records all-analogue and uses hardly any effects, ensures a raw and edgy sound.
art rock | Flinta | krautrock | post-punk
ashnymph - Childhood
This debut EP by London trio ashnymph has just been released. Very little is known about the band, but these five tracks are really something. The EP feels like a great distorted party; one that goes on all night. It’s dance music, but clearly not the one made by a producer or DJ; the sound of the band really gives these songs some layering. There are keys, guitars, bass, drums and vocals - everything loud and dipped in a hefty dose of chaos. It’s a promising new band, and the expectations are set high for their live performance.
alt-rave | glitch pop | industrial | electro punk
There is no “old” music - only music you have already heard and music you haven’t.