Photo: Courtesy of ZVUK
Photo: Courtesy of DKC Incel
Photo: Courtesy of Jogja Noise Bombing
Photo: Courtesy of Cafe OTO
Photo: Courtesy of JellyZone
Photo: courtesy of the organisers
Photo: courtesy of the organisers
Photo: courtesy Mutant Radio
Photo: courtesy Mutant Radio
Photo: courtesy Mutant Radio
Photo: courtesy Mutant Radio
Photo: courtesy Mutant Radio

2025: Showcases in Yogyakarta, Cairo, London, Banja Luka, and Almaty

Jogja Noise Bombing (Yogyakarta, ID): 9 – 11 May 2025

Jogja Noise Bombing (JNB) is a noise and experimental music-based community first formed by a group of independent artists in 2012 through a shared desire to amplify these types of musics through a method called Noise Bombing. Noise Bombing tests the accessibility or possibility of acceptance of sounds with a tendency to disturb (noise or noisy) in public spaces. This method is also used as a responsive intervention tool to the homogeneity of noise that exists in public spaces. The 2025 edition will feature street noise bombing, noise concerts with spatial sound and visuals, as well as discourse events.

SHAPE+ presented the following artists at Jogja Noise Bombing festival:

  • JacqNoise (DE/NL)
  • Drodged (HU)
  • Ha Kyoon (FR/KR)

JellyZone: Magalaat (Cairo, EG): 22 May 2025

Since 2027, JellyZone has redefined Cairo’s electronic music scene by opening doors to a more diverse and inclusive audience. With accessible, affordable events, it’s become a home for experimental and left-field artists, connecting them with a broader crowd and cultivating a vibrant, supportive community that thrives outside the mainstream. Their Magalaat series (meaning »Fields« in Arabic) was launched in November 2024 to spark dialogue between Cairo’s underground scene and artists from other underrepresented regions. The 2025 edition will bring together three artists from three different places: Brazil, Slovenia, and Egypt.

SHAPE+ presented the following artists at JellyZone: Magalaat:

  • alys(alys)alys (BR/DE)
  • Assyouti (EG/DE)
  • Fujita Pinnacle (SI)

Cafe OTO (London, UK): 16 June 2025

Hailed as »the heart of the underground« by The Guardian, the beloved venue Cafe OTO provides a home for creative new music that exists outside of the mainstream with an evening programme of adventurous live music seven nights a week.

SHAPE+ presented the following artists at Cafe OTO:

  • Dania (IQ/ES)
  • Eve Aboulkheir (FR)
  • Lukas De Clerck (BE)
  • Paula Vītola (LV)

DKC Incel (Banja Luka, BA): 21 June 2025

DKC Incel is a social-cultural center held by Banja Luka based NGO UNSA Geto. It is a community-oriented venue looking to bring to the forefront new and exciting forms of artistic expression from all corners. DKC Incel as a cultural center open to all art forms – art exhibits; plays; literary and film programs.

This showcase coincides with the first day of summer, such that the performance will take place outdoors in front of the club, near a towering 132-meter-high industrial chimney. In the case of unfavourable weather, the event will be moved inside the club. The program is scheduled to begin at 9 PM and includes local artist Petar Bilbija.

SHAPE+ presented the following artists at DKC Incel:

  • Ciro Vitiello (IT)
  • Junge Eko (CH)
  • tonota (HR)

ZVUK (Almaty, KZ): 21 June 2025

Launched in 2016 by DJ and cultural producer Nazira, ZVUK has been described as »Kazakhstan’s premiere club night« by Mixmag and »the Kazakhstan club night that dances for truth« by The Guardian.

For this event that will feature Sedef Adasi, Nazira, E.T., and Mariya El alongside SHAPE+ acts, the ZVUK team has secured a special location – it will happen on Köktöbe, a hill at 1,100 meters above sea level, and one of the main landmarks of Almaty.

SHAPE+ presented the following artists at ZVUK:

  • Radio Hito (IT/VN/BE)
  • NASI (GE)
  • Andriy K. as Cusoon DJ (UA)

2024: Showcases near Belgrade and in Almaty

Polja Festival (near Belgrade, RS): 28–30 June 2024

Polja is a non-profit, sustainable festival founded in the spirit of collective action. It is organised by a community of artists, cultural activists, and enthusiasts gathered around the Belgrade collective Dis-patch and their collaborators, who have collectively organised dozens of cultural events both domestically and internationally. A key priority of the festival  is to promote and develop sustainable ideas for artistic and touristic practices in rural areas, while also engaging local youth in artistic activities.

The 2024 festival showcases artists working with traditional and modern folklore as well as experimental music as the festival aimed to find a balance between tradition and modernity within a unique rural and natural setting. An educational component explored the connections between folklore and modern musical forms in the digital age.

SHAPE+ presented the following artists at Polja festival:

  • Amina Hocine (SE)
  • Anna Fišere (LV)
  • Iztok Koren (SI)
  • Morita Vargas (AR/NL)
  • Robert Schwarz (AT)
  • SABIWA (TW/DE)
  • Sébastien Forrester (FR)
  • Triglav (HU)

şien Festival (Almaty, KZ): 4-7 July 2024

şien is a festival created by ZVUK, an Almaty-based collective that works on independent, experimental, and electronic music projects via events and releases. 2024 saw the very first edition of şien festival, and the ZVUK team described it as thus: »A lot of interesting artists have recently emerged in Kazakhstan, both in electronic and experimental music and in the field of art and media. However, that scene is very fragmented. We want to create a festival that will bring the scene together, creating interesting future collaborations. Having this festival will help to bring our independent music and art scene forward. It will also be a breath of fresh air in conservative Kazakhstan. Our aim and goal is to build a place which is multicultural, open for everyone, regardless of background, sexual orientation, gender, curious about others, inventive while sharing ideas in different languages: music, art, technology, dance and performance.«

SHAPE+ supported the following artists's presentations at şien:

  • Juba (UK/DE)
  • L. Zylberberg (DE)
  • Petra Hermanova (CZ/DE)
  • Rita Silva (PT/NL)
  • Sara Persico (IT/DE)

2023: Showcase in Tbilisi

SHAPE+ met Tbilisi's Mutant Radio to produce a collaborative showcase over two nights, 23–24 June 2023. Mutant Radio’s outdoor space hosted 12 SHAPE+ artists alongside Georgian acts selected by the radio station. Representatives from most SHAPE+ organisations were also present to meet and network with local artists, cultural workers, and the public.

SHAPE+ supported the following artists's presentations at Mutant Radio:

  • Abadir
  • Ale Hop
  • BMI
  • ESI 
  • Felisha Ledesma
  • Hui Ye
  • Jaka Berger
  • JD J
  • Levan Luka Nakashidze 
  • Maria Bertel
  • m.a.t.a.d.a.t.a.
  • Nino Davadze
  • Nziria
  • Qow
  • Roxane Métayer
  • TeTe Noise
  • Thea Soti*
  • The Stanley Maneuver
  • TINA & TEDI
  • undo despot
  • Zesknel

SHAPE+ is co-funded by the European Union and Pro Helvetia. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.