The ‘Tauron Nowa Muzyka’ festival has been transformed from a one-day niche musical event taking place in former Wilson mine shaft into a four-day music festival organised in the heart of Katowice.
History
The history of ‘Nowa Muzyka’ festival began in 2006 in Katowice, when a group of friends connected with the ‘Hipnoza’ music club decided to organise their own music festival. DJ Krush, Swayzak and Cristian Vogel performed during the first edition of the festival held in the defunct Wilson shaft of the ‘Wieczorek’ coal mine.
The next two editions took place in Cieszyn. Since 2009, the festival has returned to Katowice for good. At first, the festival was held at the site of the inactive ‘Katowice’ coal mine, and in 2012-2013 – in the Valley of Three Ponds.
Since 2014, the festival has been held at the Katowice Culture Zone which was created on the site of the closed and later revitalised ‘Katowice’ coal mine in the Bogucice district.
Thanks to the combination of futuristic sounds and post-industrial locations, the festival has quickly won a loyal audience. From the very beginning, the organisers wanted the festival to present the most interesting contemporary music bordering on jazz, electronics and dance rhythms, while at the same time proving that the sounds, practically absent from the national media, could attract a constantly growing Polish and European audience to Katowice.
The organisers of the ‘Tauron Nowa Muzyka’ festival in Katowice have been closely following the careers of the biggest stars and the most interesting newcomers for many years. They have invited artists who combine unusual, sometimes avant-garde ideas with the ability to reach the audience of thousands of people. It was here, at the festival, that Autechre, DJ Krush, Prefuse 73, Jamie Lidell, Amon Tobin, Flying Lotus, Battles, Bonobo, Fever Ray and others performed for the first time in Poland.
The ‘Tauron Nowa Muzyka’ festival in Katowice was the first to offer the public the opportunity to dance and have fun in post-industrial mining sites.
The combination of modern sounds with the historic heritage of Upper Silesia proved to be a perfect recipe for success. The best proof of the veracity of those words is the constantly growing festival audience and a large number of awards – including the best European small festival award granted by the European Festival Awards in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
