Unsound Osaka

Unsound has always thrived on dislocation. This first September weekend, Osaka becomes the latest node in that expanding web—joining Kraków, New York, and Adelaide.

Like always with Unsoud, the program is simply overwhelming – to get an idea what we are talking about, check our review of the 2023 Krakow edition. Therefor let’s anchor ourselves for this preview in the opening night and trace through a couple of standout moments that follow.

September 5 – Opening Night @ VS.

The festival kick-starts at VS., running in tandem with Ryuichi Sakamoto’s sakamotocommon OSAKA exhibition
First up, Jim O’Rourke and Eiko Ishibashi perform live remixes of Włodzimierz Kotoński’s electronic works, a subtle but potent collision of Polish tape-music heritage and their singular avant-Japanese sensibility. Then, Keiji Haino takes the stage—not on his usual instruments, but on the Baschet sound sculptures created for Expo ’70, which once fascinated a young Sakamoto. After that, Robin Fox unfolds Triptych, an “audio-visual space-time carving” that earned the Isao Tomita Special Prize at Prix Ars Electronica. Inspired by Stanisław Ostoja-Kotkowski, it transforms VS.’s architecture into a living, breathing sound-light sculpture.

Later on that night DJ Sprinkles delivers at Socore Factory, one of her rare, soulful deep-house meditations—queerness, exile, melancholy spun through languid basslines. You might also cue up the Rave to the Grave podcast by Vivien Host, recently recorded with Terre Thaemlitz (and me) in Monheim during their Triennale—it’s mood-setting. And def listen to the new mix for Resident Advisor by Terre Thaemlitz, building up on one of his sets off during the Monheim Triennale.

Koshiro Hino, captured in Nagoya in 2023 (Photo: Thomas Venker)

September 6 – Creative Center Osaka

Shifting into industrial beauty, Unsound moves to Creative Center Osaka—formerly a shipyard now reborn as a creative complex. Rai Tateishi and Kaput regular Koshiro Hino engage in a dialogue of ancient breath and digital processing: flute notes dissolving into vapor trails. Another highlight: Hania Rani presents Chilling Bambino, a cerebral interplay of piano and electronics.

But thats just the beginning, the Saturday program offers much more; the night program is btw curated by Koshiro Hino.

September 7 – Ohtsuki Noh Theatre

In the serene Ohtsuki Noh Theatre, Antonina Nowacka’s voice rises like incense—pure, fragile, and destabilizing. Raphael Rogiński threads folk memory into reimagined landscapes of Coltrane and Hughes. The night culminates with Jim O’Rourke, Eiko Ishibashi, and Piotr Kurek weaving Polish and Japanese avant traditions into a single unfinished thought.