The 14th edition of Different Sounds, and the 8th under the East of Culture brand, took place from 24–27 June 2021.

Much like the preceding year, 2021 forced event organisers to constantly adapt and navigate the festival landscape with newfound creativity. As the organisers of the East of Culture – Different Sounds festival, we once again rose to the challenge of staging an offline event—one designed to offer a sense of encouragement to our international audience and partners during difficult times, while providing tangible support to invited artists and collaborators within an unstable professional reality.

To ensure a safe environment, we expanded the protocols first implemented in 2020. Once again, the festival tent was pitched on the Błonia grounds beneath Lublin Castle, filling the space with four days of diverse and ambitious music. Highlights included a showcase of the superb Instant Classic label and its associated artists: Jantar, BNNT is Resina, ARRM, and Dynasonic. The international programme featured acts from across Europe, including Mouse on Mars, Tarwater, Daniel Latorre ORGANisation, shishi, Pokaz Trio, and Jordan Reyne. We also hosted the most compelling phenomena from the Polish alternative scene: Muniek i Przyjaciele, Spięty, WaluśKraksaKryzys, Włodi/1988, Ślina, Colors., Dalekie, you.Guru, and Oranżada.

A Multi-Dimensional Programme

Despite the logistical hurdles of the COVID-19 pandemic—ranging from travel restrictions to mandatory quarantines—we remained committed to maintaining the festival’s multidimensional character and its identity as a space for education and unique encounters with the arts.

Film & Photography The non-musical programme featured a robust film cycle, including:

• TOPOWA! Never Give Up (dir. Philip Sansom, Inigo Gilmore)

• Truth to Power (dir. Garin Hovannisian)

• Raw Chicks. Berlin (dir. Beate Kunath)

• Symphony of the Ursus Factory (dir. Jaśmina Wójcik)

The city’s visual landscape was enriched by several exhibitions: Lewis Hine’s photography in Hartwig Alley, a showcase of book covers and author portraits from the Eastern Express series, and “The Extraordinary”—an exhibition of illustrations by the Ukrainian collective Pictoric. Other highlights included the exhibition “Roma House: Community Life in Drohobych” and a photographic portrait of the festival audience captured over recent years.

Literature & Discussion

The Wschodni Express publishing portfolio grew by seven titles in 2021, featuring works by Andriy Lyubka, Kateryna Babkina, Zoltán Mihály Nagy, Vasyl Slapchuk, Juris Kronbergs, Uladzimir Arloŭ, and Marius Burokas.

Literary and musical discussions were equally central, including a deep dive into the Instant Classic label, a talk with Filip Łobodziński on his Tom Waits biography, and a session with Muniek Staszczyk and Rafał Księżyka regarding the autobiography King!, moderated by Jarosław Szubrycht. Konstanty Usenko also discussed his latest work in a conversation led by Jędrzej Słodkowski.

Little Different Sounds

Our signature educational programme, Little Different Sounds, continued its mission of introducing children and teenagers to the world of sound. In addition to 13 summer workshops, the programme expanded into the autumn with a dedicated series. Participants explored the secrets of the ukulele, developed a vocabulary to better describe music, crafted ceramic rattles and rainsticks, and learned the art of songwriting and music video production. Notably, workshops led by Karolina Czarnecka and Michał Iwanek resulted in the creation of original songs, including a jazz-inflected tribute to Lublin.

Legacy & Recognition

To guarantee the safety of all participants, the festival operated under a strict sanitary regime, with audience limits and mandatory registration. The fact that East of Culture – Different Sounds emerged successfully from the “pandemic storm” was recognised by our audience, who honoured the festival with the People’s Choice Award in Gazeta Wyborcza’s prestigious “Strzały” (Arrows) poll.