Welcome to Klang Festival 2025
Klang festival is shaped by a hunger for discovery: What is new? What is fresh? What is at the forefront? These questions help define Klang’s identity, and they remain important. But today, as the foundations of our society come under pressure, we feel compelled to ask some deeper questions: What is culture for? What is experimental music for? What is the purpose of Klang? Who is this festival for?
There is a dangerous tendency to treat culture as a luxury—an optional extra, a decorative layer for those who can afford it. We must resist this framing. The moment we accept that premise, culture is stripped of its power. It becomes ornament.
The framing of culture as a luxury is a distraction. We choose a different foundation: No culture, no humanity. Every society on Earth creates music, ritual, and ceremony—not as entertainment, but as necessity. We need them to mark passage, to share experience, to understand ourselves. In a world that can often feel senseless, culture provides meaning. And right now, we are in a place where we really need that meaning, to tell us about ourselves and our place in the world.
So, what can Klang 2025 tell us about ourselves? This year’s programme brings together an unusually wide range of artistic voices, perspectives, and approaches. In recent years, we’ve made a conscious effort to expand the kinds of work we present and the contexts in which we present it—reaching into new scenes, new collaborations, and new listening environments.
These choices help us get closer to answering a vital question: Who is this festival for? We are proud to say: Klang is for anyone who needs this space. Whether you’re drawn to music that pushes boundaries, questions assumptions, blends the unexpected, or offers you a place to pause—we are here.
We are unafraid to present music that is complex, challenging—even divisive. But we don’t see that as a barrier. We see it as a strength. We see it as our purpose. With that in mind, welcome to Klang 2025: a week of brave, challenging, reflective — but above all, deeply human—music-making.