Insomnia–the Northern electronic music and contemporary sounds festival–took place in Tromsø from 15 to 18 October. Staying true to its experimental spirit, the festival once again filled its programme with a diverse range of sounds and musical expressions.
This year’s programme included TIMES co-curations with Nuits Sonores, Berlin Atonal, reworks and Terraforma.
Co-curated with Nuits Sonores:
On the first day of the festival, Noura Tafeche, a visual artist, independent researcher, writer and onomaturge, presented her lecture performance The Zionverse as part of the ‘Insomnia Insights’ programme.
The Zionverse depicts a digital ecosystem in which both individual and institutional propaganda, denial of genocide, and diversionary narratives are normalized, circulated, and reshaped into viral content that often exposes its own complicity.
Co-curated with Berlin Atonal:
Amensia Scanner took over the main stage and turned it into a dizzying spectacle of audio and visual stimulation.
The duo offered a performance that dissolved the boundaries between music, art, and full-scale sensory experience, reaffirming their position at the forefront of experimental electronic music.
HHY & The Kampala Unit’s performance was a mix of techno and driving percussion wrapped in dark, cinematic sounds.
Under the direction of Jonathan Uliel Saldanha and the striking trumpet of Florence Nandawula, the performance surged with hypnotic energy — a raw blend of drumming traditions, electronic experimentation, and pure, unrestrained movement.
Co-curated with reworks:
On the last night of the festival, Insomnia’s main stage hosted two TIMES co-curations. The first being Higher Intelligence Agency, led by Birmingham’s Bobby Bird. The performance guided the crowd through a mesmerizing journey of sound and space, as HIA filled the room with deep, immersive textures and a timeless, magnetic energy.
Cu-curated with Terraforma:
After HIA, Holy Tongue took over. The London trio: Valentina Magaletti, Al Wootton and Susumu Mukai (Zongamin), delivered a mix of experimental dub and raw improvisations which the audience absolutely loved.
