Tehran Contemporary Sounds Festival 2026
Silent Green, Berlin
Fri 13 Nov 2026 · 7:30pm → 11:59pm Sun · 52 hours
Press play
Who’s playing17 artists
In the order the promoter lists them.
Shiva Feshareki · LABOUR · Abdullah Miniawy · Tehran · CONTAGIOUS · Babak Ahteshamipour · Tarxun · Gnäw · Kit Downes · Ava Rasti · Joss Turnbull · ELSHAN GHASIMI · Saba Arat · Karlo Sono · Iman Jesmi · Herr Spectre · Gropper/Kosack/Henkelhausen/Lichtenberger
Set times not published.
the pairs that have met
135 of the 136 pairings on this bill are first meetings.
- Joss Turnbull and ELSHAN GHASIMI — 1 shared bill before Friday, first on Sun 1 Nov 2026.
Tehran Contemporary Sounds 2026
7th Edition · 11–15 November 2026 · Berlin
Tehran Contemporary Sounds returns for its seventh edition from 11–15 November 2026, bringing together experimental music, sound art, cinema, visual art, performance and interdisciplinary practices connected to Iran and its wider transnational contexts.
The festival opens at Moviemento Kino with two evenings of experimental cinema. The first presents selected films by Iranian filmmakers working in Iran. The second is presented in collaboration with Experimental Film Society (EFS) as part of our Cinematic Synesthesia programme, featuring a selection of films by The Intuitive FilmLab, an independent film collective from Lebanon.
From 13–15 November, the festival moves into a three-day mixed-media exhibition bringing together Iranian artists working inside and outside Iran, alongside presentations by independent sound-art collectives and artists based in Iran.
The live programme brings together a wide range of experimental practices, from electronic music, improvisation and sound art to Persian and Finnish instruments, traditional weaving, turntablism, contemporary jazz and audiovisual performance.
Artists include Gnäw, Saba Arat, Nadia Tehran / TEHRAN, Abdullah Miniawy, Iman Jesmi, Herr Spectre, LABOUR, Elshan Ghasimi & Joss Turnbull, Ava Rasti, Shiva Feshareki & Kit Downes, alongside showcases curated with Mosaic, the Berlin-based series for experimental jazz, improvisation and contemporary music.
The seventh edition closes with a panel discussion and the final day of performances, continuing TCS's ongoing exploration of artistic practices that move between disciplines, geographies and cultural contexts.
TCS 2026 brings together artists connected to Iran, its diaspora and wider international experimental scenes, as a diverse field of practices, collaborations and encounters.
------------------Music Program---------------------
Friday: 13th November
Tezgah (Saba Arat, Tarxun & Karlo Sono)
Gnäw
Tehran
Abdullah Minawy (Mosaic Showcase)
Saturday: 14th November
Iman Jesmi
Herr Spectre
Gropper/Kosack/Henkelhausen/Lichtenberger (Mosaic Showcase)
Labour
Sunday: 15th November
Joss Turnbull & Elshan Ghasimi
Contagious
Ava Rasti
Shiva Fesharaki & Kit Downes
-------------------Kino Program---------------------
TBA
-------------------Exhibition Program---------------
TBA
------------------Panel Discussion------------------
TBA
from the promoter’s listing on Resident Advisor
Who they are
“Shiva Feshareki is an internationally acclaimed experimental composer, NTS radio DJ and turntablist.”
their own biography
the whole biography
Shiva Feshareki is an internationally acclaimed experimental composer, NTS radio DJ and turntablist. Her diverse output explores acoustics, perspective and the sound of electricity through wide ranging practises that incorporate classical methodology. In 2017, she was honoured with the British Composer Award for Innovation from BASCA. Her solo turntable performances fuse together sonic palettes using hyperphysical sampling techniques. Cuts from drum and bass, garage, gabber, deep minimalism and classical orchestral works are yielded to create complex live compositions that are as kinetic as they are delicate. Her compositional work for orchestra is equally transformative, exploring the physicality of sound in relation to light, sculpture and movement. ’GABA-analogue’ (2017) employed space as a compositional tool to create a surround-sound orchestra inside London’s Printworks nightclub. An alternative form of the composition was also presented at Musikhuset, Denmark; both pieces engaged with sound as both a ‘sculpture in space’ and as a ‘medium bending through time’. Feshareki obtained a Doctorate of Music from the Royal College of Music and her experience as researcher was central to her work on ‘Still Point’ by Daphne Oram (1949). The extraordinary story behind the project began with the discovery of the incomplete composition nearly 70 years after if had been rejected by the BBC, where Oram worked as a sound engineer. Shiva Feshareki and fellow composer James Bulley completed the radical composition, originally written for turntables, double orchestra and five microphones. The story culminated with its world premiere at the BBC Proms in 2018, performed by Feshareki and the London Contemporary Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall - the venue for which it was originally composed. Other recent performances include Saturnalia (Milan), Hyperreality Festival of Club Culture (Vienna), Moscow Museum of Modern Art for the VAC Foundation (Moscow), Mutek (Montreal), The Tanks at Tate Modern (London), Southbank Centre ‘Concrete Lates’ Takeover (London) and Nikolaj Kunsthal (Copenhagen) as part of Haroon Mirza’s installation Dancing with the Unknown. Upcoming major works include a commission from the BBC Concert Orchestra: a brand new composition for solo turntables and orchestra to be premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall during The EFG London Jazz Festival (late 2018). She will also be the Featured Composer at London’s Spitalfields Festival in December 2018, where she will be showcasing another new score, revisions of ‘GABA-analogue’ and ‘O’ and a new interdisciplinary collaboration with artist Haroon Mirza. 2018 will also see the exciting release of her debut album on ‘RESIST’ as well as a special release on Ash Koosha’s new record label ‘Realms’. Shiva Feshareki will also be the Featured Composer at London’s Spitalfields Festival in December 2018, where she will showcase a new score alongside revisions of ‘GABA-analogue’ and ‘O’, as well as a new interdisciplinary collaboration with artist Haroon Mirza. The festival will also feature a special night that brings Feshareki’s regular NTS radio show - NEW FORMS - to a live audience in the form of turntable reimaginations of Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite’. Biography written by Alec Curtis“LABOUR is the Berlin-based duo of Farahnaz Hatam and Colin Hacklander.”
their own biography
the whole biography
LABOUR is the Berlin-based duo of Farahnaz Hatam and Colin Hacklander. Known for their large-scale works, they create hybrid formats at the intersection of concert, performance, art and dance, with their own format called 'sonic activation.' The artists regard sungazing as a metaphor for an experimental lifestyle practice that prioritizes the potential of an empirically derived emancipatory practice over the potential dangers of indulgence and mispractice.- Their RA profile lists AD 93.
Recently at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, 90mil
“Nadia Kardar Tehran is a Swedish rapper and singer of Iranian descent.”
their own biography
the whole biography
Nadia Kardar Tehran is a Swedish rapper and singer of Iranian descent. Known for her aggressive, experimental and often political songwriting.“Contagious is a solid blending of avant-garde experimentation and electronic music.”
their own biography
the whole biography
Contagious is a solid blending of avant-garde experimentation and electronic music. Founded in Berlin in 2018, formed by two innovative voices from the Berlin Improvisation scene (Andrea Neumann and Sabine Ercklentz) and Mieko Suzuki, a well-crafted and creative DJ and musician who’s operating in Berlin venues and festivals since a long time. Contagious aren't just a trio. They are a whole organism. The guts from the inside of a piano, the tonearms of turntables, the puffing of a trumpet, the pulse of various effect processors and the interaction of Andrea Neumann, Sabine Ercklentz and Mieko Suzuki grow together, forming an entity, which is continuously developing. Their drive is improvisation. Their ideal state is the constant tension between action and reaction, between electronics, acoustics and experiment. Not coincidentally, the tracks on the first Contagious album were named after hermaphrodites in the animal world. Neumann, Ercklentz and Suzuki play together like a living creature, which overcomes binary opposites and is ambivalent in the best sense of the word: as enigmatic as it is alive. Selected Concerts A L’Arme Festival, Berlin (DE) | Angelica Festival, Bologna (IT) | Berghain, Berlin (DE) | City of Women Festival, Ljubljana (SI) | CTM Festival, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (DE) | Exploratorium, Berlin (DE), w/ Butoh dancer Yuko Kaseki | Femal to Empower Festival, Silent Green (DE) | Madeiradig Festival, Madeira (PT) | Méteó Festival, Mulhouse (FR) | Ruhr Triennale, Bochum (DE) | SeaNaps Festival, Leipzig (DE) | Taktlos Festival, Zurich (CH) | Tanzkongress Hellerau, Dresden (DE) | Teatro Bairro Alto, Lissabon (PT) | Xciting Festival, Stuttgart (DE) | Zodiak Festival, Berlin (DE)Recently at Panke, Morphine Raum · often with Mieko Suzuki, electronics, trumpet, none of them here on Friday
“His work has been presented at festivals, venues, galleries , museums and institutes such as Centre Pompidou, Onassis ONX, PAF Olomouc, The OverKill Festival, The Wrong TV, Neo Shibuya TV, Experimental Sound Studio and Milan Machinima Festival.”
their own biography
the whole biography
His work has been presented at festivals, venues, galleries , museums and institutes such as Centre Pompidou, Onassis ONX, PAF Olomouc, The OverKill Festival, The Wrong TV, Neo Shibuya TV, Experimental Sound Studio and Milan Machinima Festival. He has released music on the independent cassette label Industrial Coast and on the cassette label Jollies. His music has been played on radio stations such as LYL Radio, Radio Raheem and Internet Public Radio. He has performed and shared the stage with artists such as HELM, Zoviet France, and MSHR. He has created video clips for artists such as Fire-Toolz and Digifae. His work has been featured on magazines and platforms such as CTM Festival’s magazine, FIBER festival’s dossier, Bandcamp daily, COEVAL magazine and KIBLIND.“Music of tarxun tastes like tarragon smeared across the inside of your skull—fresh, electric, and unsettlingly sharp.”
their own biography
the whole biography
Music of tarxun tastes like tarragon smeared across the inside of your skull—fresh, electric, and unsettlingly sharp. This architect of psychedelic IDM twists glitchy beats, relentless bass, and broken breaks until rhythms turn liquid through your cochlea.Recently at arkaoda Berlin, Bar Neun, Alte Münze
Recently at Ausland, Madame Claude · often with Jean luc Guionnet, LOTUS EDDE KHOURI, MICHELE ANELLI, none of them here on Friday
often with Jean luc Guionnet, LOTUS EDDE KHOURI, MICHELE ANELLI, none of them here on Friday
names these artists often play with — not on Friday
- Jean luc Guionnet1 with ELSHAN GHASIMI and 1 with Joss Turnbull
- LOTUS EDDE KHOURI1 with ELSHAN GHASIMI and 1 with Joss Turnbull
- MICHELE ANELLI1 with ELSHAN GHASIMI and 1 with Joss Turnbull
- Romain C. Bertheau1 with ELSHAN GHASIMI and 1 with Joss Turnbull
- Mieko Suzuki4 with CONTAGIOUS
- electronics3 with CONTAGIOUS
- Inside Piano3 with CONTAGIOUS
- Musician3 with CONTAGIOUS
The room
Silent Green — 117 events and 332 distinct artists since Aug 2025.
Who’s putting it on
TCS.Berlin — 5 events and 42 artists since Nov 2025.
Also that night
- KOOKOOOHM — Mieko Suzuki and CONTAGIOUS keep turning up on the same bills.
- Outside the BigMac, vol 6: November EditionPanke — also tagged experimental, with pop too.
- 8MM Fest 20268MM — also tagged experimental, with post-punk too.
how these 3 are connected
- KOOKOO — Mieko Suzuki and CONTAGIOUS have shared 4 bills; Mieko Suzuki is on that bill and CONTAGIOUS is on this one.
- Outside the BigMac, vol 6: November Edition — RA tags both listings experimental — and that one also pop.
- 8MM Fest 2026 — RA tags both listings experimental — and that one also post-punk.