CURRENTS ARCHIVE INFO


info


Currents is a biennial festival and initiative devoted to contemporary music culture based in Zurich, Switzerland. Rooted in a Swiss-American partnership with the Brooklyn-based label New Amsterdam Records, it fosters artistic exchange between Swiss and US artists and ensembles while also engaging collaborators from across the globe.

The festival serves as a platform for developing currents in contemporary music, with a focus on commissioning and presenting new works. Artists are encouraged to move beyond the boundaries of their usual practice and to blur the lines between genres, disciplines, and communities. Rather than aiming to represent the full spectrum of contemporary music, currents is driven by a spirit of exploration and discovery, continuously seeking new constellations of sound, collaboration, and experience.

While the main festival takes place biennially, currents remains active between festival-editions through concerts, performances, workshops, and participatory projects in collaboration with local and international partners. Community engagement is a key aspect of its mission, connecting artists with audiences, collectives, and educational institutions, and creating shared experiences beyond the traditional concert format.

Following this approach, the festival does not limit itself to fixed venues. Its main hubs include Moods and EXIL in Zurich, complemented by site-specific collaborations with partner institutions, allowing each edition to unfold in new spatial and social contexts.

history


Currents festival was formerly known as the «Apples & Olives Festival». Apples & Olives was a cross-genre music festival in Zurich and Bern, which was founded in 2013. It presented a culture of cross-genre interaction between classical composers and indie musicians and bands from rock, pop and jazz. The festival formed classical orchestral and chamber music, mixed with the band consciousness of the indie scene and new combinations of acoustic and electronic music.

The “Indie Classical” or “neo:classical” scene developed in several places at the same time (New York, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Zurich). A strong current emanated from Brooklyn, New York starting in 2008. With Judd Greenstein, label boss of the Brooklyn label “New Amsterdam Records”, a central figure in this scene was chosen as co-director of the festival. His partners on the Swiss side are Etienne Abelin, Ynight co-founder, former member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and currently Music Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra, Nik Bärtsch, EXIL Club co-founder and leader of the Zenfunk band Ronin, Philipp Cron, former curator at Cabaret Voltaire, and Jakob Blumer, cultural entrepreneur.

team


CURATORS:
Nik Bärtsch / Philipp Cron

MANAGEMENT:
Jakob Blumer

ADVISORY BOARD:
Judd  Greenstein / Etienne Abelin

New Amsterdam Records

COMMUNICATION:
Annina Meier

GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Badesaison , Zurich

contact


 info@currents.ch
@currentsfestival
currents festival

partners


support