During 2026 we’re delighted to be continuing XN (X perimental N counters), our dynamic collaboration with Germany’s Moers Festival, following a compelling launch at both festivals’ 2025 editions.
Running through to 2027, XN brings together two of Europe’s leading experimental music festivals in an ambitious six-part international exchange. Each iteration features specially curated performances, artist-led workshops, and open calls, fostering meaningful connections between artists in the UK and Germany while pushing the boundaries of contemporary sound.
In May 2026 the collaboration returns to Moers Festival, which takes place from Thursday 21 – Monday 25 May. Curated by Graham McKenzie (hcmf//), this third instalment of the project opens this year’s creative exchange, building on the momentum of its inaugural editions and continuing a shared commitment to musical experimentation, cross-cultural exchange, and forward-thinking artistic practice.
XN: Fri 22 May
Sophie Cooper trombone / electronics
Tom Hawkins cello / electronics
Flo Christman drums
At the threshold of noise, their world comes into being. A trio of sonic alchemists from the North join forces to prise sound apart—scratching, crushing, and dispersing it until something physical rises from the debris, unrefined and unrestrained. What they create is not song but surge: a force that pulls everything in its wake, at once abrasive, delicate, and tightly wound. They press onward as explorers at the edge of noise and silence, navigating the point where music dissolves and something more elemental takes hold.
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Jan Hendrickse: Black Noise
Jan Hendrickse flute & propane torch
Black Noise traces the burning away of a bamboo flute. A performer works with a propane torch as heat, sound, and material converge. The instrument shifts—blackening, falling silent, then emerging with another voice: exposed, delicate, and unvarnished. It is a meditation on transformation, on the point where creation and destruction meet. What remains is smoke, ash, and quiet—along with the feeling that the music endures, even after everything else has disappeared.
XN: Sat 23 May
Creative Intensive Workshop: concert outcome
Led by UK-based clarinettist Heather Roche, this culminating performance features the results of a 3-day collaborative workshop with 4 early-career Germany-based artists selected via open call.
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Shahbaz Hussain + Helen Anahita Wilson
Shahbaz Hussain tabla
Helen Anahita Wilson piano
Described by The Wire as possessing “quick-witted imagination and breathtaking technique,” this pioneering piano and tabla duo come together once more for a rare and special performance. Their singular collaboration bridges South Asian musical traditions with Western contemporary classical and jazz approaches, shaping a sound that feels entirely their own. With a palpable warmth and an intuitive musical rapport, they navigate intricate rhythmic cycles through luminous melody, richly layered textures, and a quietly transcendent, spiritual depth.
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Dedicated to amplifying new and underrepresented voices in experimental sound, XN fosters new global platforms for creative innovation. It’s a hub for daring ideas, sonic experimentation, and meaningful artistic exchange — join us as we push the boundaries of what sound can be.
XN is funded by the Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten mbH (GVL) and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) with the support of Goethe-Institut London.