After a year’s break in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Le Guess Who? returns to Utrecht for a full in-person event this November.
Organisers have already confirmed a jam-packed lineup that includes the likes of William Basinski, faUSt, Pa Salieu, Ana Roxanne, Vladislav Delay and a Hakuna Kulala label showcase, among many others. The festival will also this year welcome Lucrecia Dalt, Matana Roberts, Midori Takada, John Dwyer and Phil Elverum as guest curators, each hand-picking their own corners of the bill.
As well as an extensive lineup of music though, Le Guess Who? also coincides this year with Utrecht’s historic Mega Record & CD Fair, which is Europe’s biggest record fair and reached its 50th year in 2018. Each year, the Jaarbeurs Utrecht space houses more than 500 record-dealing stands across 12,500 square meters of floor space, and it’s become a cult event over the years for music fans, hosting exhibitions, collections, signings and live shows, alongside record stalls. You can find more information about the fair here.
With Le Guess Who? and the fair returning this November, we’re launching a preview series in which a number of artists playing the festival this year will be invited to answer questions about some of their favourite music, past and present. Getting us under way is Black Country, New Road saxophonist Lewis Evans, and you can read his insights below.
Le Guess Who? will take place from November 11 to 14, 2021. Find more information here.
Which three records would you be on the hunt for at the Mega Record & CD Fair?
Lewis Evans: MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular, Weyes Blood’s Titanic Rising and Dexter Gordon’s Go.
When / how did you get to know these records, and why are they special to you?
LE: I always loved MGMT when I was a kid but I’ve only rediscovered how amazing they actually are in the last couple of years. They’re incredible songwriters.
Titanic Rising is probably one of my favourite albums ever. It only came out a couple of years ago but I think it’s absolutely perfect.
Go is an album that I listened to a lot when I was in my mid-to-late teens and after a brief four-year hiatus, I’m getting back into jazz.
What album have you listened to the most over the last year?
LE: black midi’s Cavalcade. 100% certified album of the year.
If people want to learn about klezmer, what LP should they start with?
LE: There’s a brilliant group based in London called She’koyokh. Their album Sandanski’s Chicken is especially great!
