Unsound is a music festival that has been running since 2006, originating in Krakow, Poland, and having since hosted iterations in New York, London, Toronto, and Adelaide. Until recently, nobody had accused the fest of having any satanic affiliation. That streak ended when a Polish website, in a letter to St. Catherine’s Church, claimed that Unsound promoted and propagated satanism.
Unsound has made a full statement denying the claims. Here is an excerpt:
With great shock, it has come to our attention that accusations have been posted on a Polish Internet website that our festival — as preposterous as it is to even repeat — allegedly promotes and propagates Satanism. These accusations, initially made in a letter to St Catherine’s Church, are completely unfounded, unreasonable, and slanderous. They undermine the good name of the festival, which since 2003 has been an enthusiastic participant in Krakow’s cultural life, and we reject the accusation unequivocally.
Part of the claims toward satanism were directed specifically at Current 93, whose leader David Tibet identifies as part of the Christian faith. Due to the accusations, the group has been forced to relocate its Unsound appearance, originally taking place at the aforementioned St. Catherine’s. Pitchfork also reports that “three additional surprise sets at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul have also been canceled because of those same accusations.”
Tibet has made a statement, which can be found on the same page as the Unsound statement, denying any affiliation with satanism. An excerpt from Tibet’s statement:
I have declared many times that I am Christian. Nearly all of my work manifests this belief, both my music and my artwork — and this conviction remains no less true even if my work often displays a dark humour — as well as my studies, including those in Coptic, which I learnt in order to work on apocryphal New Testament texts.
Unsound’s 2015 festival in Krakow will be taking place October 11-18, with this year’s theme being “Surprise!” Performers at the festival include Andy Stott, Galcher Luswerk, Tim Hecker, Matana Roberts, Liturgy, Jlin, and more. Tickets for the entire festival are sold out, but tickets to individual shows may be available.
• Unsound: http://www.unsound.pl
• Current 93: http://www.davidtibet.com
More about: Current 93
