This year marks the 18th edition of Lublin’s Different Sounds and the 12th as part of East of Culture: a project by the National Centre for Culture, funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, linking the eastern Polish cities of Lublin, Białystok, and Rzeszów  

A key feature of the festival — and one of its defining traits — is the showcasing of the most fascinating musical phenomena from beyond Poland’s eastern border. We are inspired by what is current, bold, and resonating on local playlists across Eastern Partnership countries. We aim to spotlight artists who defy convention and, like us, seek “other sounds” wherever they go.

This year’s musical journey takes us to our closest neighbors — Ukraine and Belarus, and culminates in the Caucasus.

Flower & Pines – A Belarusian post-rock collective based in Wrocław, releasing on the excellent Requiem Records label. They are one of the most intriguing groups in today’s post-rock scene. Their concerts are dark and intense, often enhanced by multimedia, blending sound and visuals. Their music fuses post-rock with dark ambient and noise, amplifying its emotional impact. The central theme of their latest album is the struggle for freedom.

Newa -A DJ, producer, curator, and resident of the legendary Bassiani club in Tbilisi. A pioneer of techno and drum’n’bass in Georgia, Newa has been performing and releasing music since 2012. Today, she tours internationally while continuously nurturing the Georgian electronic scene, where she has become a key figure. In modern Georgia, independent dance music serves many roles: entertainment, but also social and political activism, feminism, and equality — often becoming a tool of civil resistance. Newa is undoubtedly one of its most powerful ambassadors.  

NFNR – the stage name of Olesia Onykiienko, a composer and artist from Kyiv. Her music spans a wide range of electronic sounds — from sophisticated IDM, through delicate ambient, to powerful, danceable techno. She also composes theatre, film, and soundtrack music. One of her most notable works is the haunting score for Intercepted, a documentary screened at the Berlinale, portraying Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NFNR is one of the most exciting voices in Ukrainian electronic music, and her rapid artistic development suggests her impact will soon extend across Europe.    

Who else is set to take the stage at Different Sounds?

Earlier, we have unveiled the artists set to perform at this year’s edition of the festival. Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

• Voivod – The legendary Canadian metal band that’s been going strong since 1982. With deep roots in thrash metal history, they made a game-changing pivot towards progressive metal, earning their place as one of the genre’s most influential acts.
• The EX – Hailing from the Netherlands, this iconic group has long been a beacon of European counterculture. One of the most important punk collectives in the history of alternative music
• A Place to Bury Strangers – A powerhouse trio from the U.S. known for their intense blend of noise rock, shoegaze, post-punk, and free improvisation. Expect a wall of sound and raw energy.
• The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis –an instrumental trio formed by members of the legendary Fugazi, now teaming up with the phenomenal saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis for a bold, genre-bending collaboration
• PETBRICK – A high-octane duo featuring Wayne Adams (head of London’s Bear Bites Horse Recording Studio) and Iggor Cavalera, the iconic drummer best known from Sepultura and Cavalera Conspiracy. Prepare for a sonic explosion.
• Maria W. Horn –A Swedish composer and sound artist whose haunting, exploratory work places sound at the heart of her creative journey.
• Butch Kassidy – A post-rock outfit from London, rapidly rising as one of Europe’s most exciting names in heavy guitar-driven music. 
• Zamilska – A Polish artist and producer operating within the broadly understood realm of electronic music. .
• Raphael Rogiński & Iztok Koren – A duo formed by experienced artists united by their courage in seeking new musical challenges, technical mastery of their instruments, and phenomenal creative imagination.
• Ivo Shandor & The Gozer Worshipers – A new Tri-City (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot, Poland) formation that moves freely at the intersection of jazz and improvisation, guitar noise, and psychedelic trance.
• Mitsune – An absolutely explosive blend of Japanese folk mixed with European punk, psychedelic music, krautrock sounds, classic film soundtracks, and even ritual music.
• MaidaVale – A Swedish group founded in 2016 by four women, whose unique style is a culmination of psychedelia, indie rock, trance grooves, and catchy melodies.
• Emmeluth’s Amoeba – A Danish-Norwegian instrumental quartet, combining the best of the Scandinavian approach to jazz and improvised music.

Each year, Different Sounds shines a spotlight on a unique record label — offering insight into how music is released in different parts of the world and highlighting diverse business models, sonic philosophies, and cultural contexts.
In 2025, we welcome Stone Tapes, a New York-based imprint. Lublin’s showcase will feature three exceptional concerts, curated by:
Laraaji – One of the most influential figures in ambient music.
Lee Ranaldo – Esteemed guitarist and co-founder of Sonic Youth.
Yonatan Gat – Musician and producer whose work seamlessly fuses punk, improvisation, world music, and avant-garde.
Each concert will be a festival-exclusive, showcasing the artists’ signature approaches to sound and performance.  

A major highlight of this year’s edition is the fruit of the festival’s collaboration with Cryptic Glasgow and Scotland’s Sonica Festival, developed within the framework of the UK/Poland Season 2025. This international partnership allows us to showcase exceptional projects right here in Lublin, featuring:

• Ela Orleans – a Polish composer and audiovisual artist living between Glasgow and Paris. In Lublin, Orleans will present one of her signature works: the acclaimed Night Voyager. This atmospheric project weaves together the haunting sounds of synthesizers, theremin, violin, and voice, layered with archival NASA recordings from the 1969 Apollo moon mission.
• Dopey Monkey and guests – a bold and boundary-pushing duo of Scottish composers and musicians, Martin Lee Thomson (euphonium) and Danielle Price (tuba), are known for blending musical worlds with flair. Their sound floats between funky grooves, jazz, experimental textures, folk influences, and classical foundations. For the East of Culture – Different Sounds festival and the UK/Poland 2025 artistic season, Dopey Monkey has teamed up with Lublin-based artists from the collective Zielona Girlanda and multi-instrumentalist Tomasz Graczyk.   
• Sing the Gloaming – a bold and boundary-pushing duo of Scottish composers and musicians, Martin Lee Thomson (euphonium) and Danielle Price (tuba), are known for blending musical worlds with flair. Their sound floats between funky grooves, jazz, experimental textures, folk influences, and classical foundations. For the East of Culture – Different Sounds festival and the UK/Poland 2025 artistic season, Dopey Monkey has teamed up with Lublin-based artists from the collective Zielona Girlanda and multi-instrumentalist Tomasz Graczyk.

About the festival  

Each year, the East of Culture – Different Sounds festival takes audiences on a musical journey to a realm where sound defies convention. It’s an invitation to discover artists who challenge genre boundaries, address meaningful issues, or simply evoke emotions and experiences that linger long after the final note fades,

In a world where music festivals often chase fleeting trends and popularity metrics, Different Sounds remains a space for seekers—those in search of genuine encounters and musical epiphanies. It’s a refuge for true music lovers and a rare opportunity to connect with artists from around the globe for whom music is more than entertainment—it’s a profound form of expression.

This year marks the 18th edition of Lublin’s Inne Brzmienia festival, organised by Workshops of Culture, and the 12th edition held as part of Wschód Kultury—a unique cultural project led by the National Centre for Culture, funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and brought to life across three cities in eastern Poland: Lublin, Białystok, and Rzeszów.  

Admission to the festival remains free, with more announcements coming soon!

More info: www.innebrzmienia.eu and https://nck.pl/projekty-kulturalne/projekty/wschod-kultury

East of Culture – Different Sounds              
3–6 July 2025   

Lublin, Błonia near the Castle

Admission is free

Organisers: The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, The National Centre for Culture, the City of Lublin, Workshops of Culture in Lublin.             

East of Culture – Different Sounds Festival is actively championing gender equality in the music industry as part of the Keychange network.