Even though the pandemic is hopefully over, this year we feel something is different. We thus want to aim again at something more engaging than just collectively enjoying the artistic achievements of today’s creators as mere spectacles, while remaining enclosed in our social bubbles. In such turbulent times as we are living, we all are more and more aware that it is not only aesthetic aspects of the music that are at play. Together with the artists, we also sense an increasing need to pose questions about broader contexts of new works, and rethink existing relationships of music, art, and society. We believe that no sound is innocent (as famous improvisor Eddie Prévost once stated). Music is not free of political meaning, or, maybe even mobilising social potential. There is something that musicians and sound artists can, and sometimes must say about the world around us. Even if this might not be too obvious or explicit, it is to be looked for in the very diverse, and, sometimes also radical sonic statements that we invite you to listen to.

Therefore:

BOOM! symbolises a wake up call.

BOOM! wants to shake our perspectives on music and sonic art vis-à-vis social, environmental, technological, and political challenges. Does music have predictive abilities about the future and, if so, what is it we hear when we pay close attention to it?

BOOM! encourages us to think together about challenging existing power hegemonies on different scales and investigating how they could be disrupted. What role can creative music play in maintaining inspiring communities and finding alternatives?

BOOM! wants to make everyone aware of the crucial role creativity, experimentation, and freedom of expression play in a sustainable society.

BOOM! stands for a necessity to stand up against stereotypes and dogmatic thinking—in art, music, and society. Maybe now is the right time for radical ideas and visionary thinkers to help us reinvent the future again.

BOOM! after which we will perhaps hear the world differently.