James Black
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Two Voiceless Ironists vs. the 2026 General Election
The Ensemble That Loves You: »2026 Election Special Soundwalk Public Broadcast Service Municipal Event«
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James Black and Connor McLean, the two composers behind the tongue-in-cheek outfit The Ensemble That Loves You, are, as newcomers, not yet eligible to vote in Tuesday’s general election. They can, however, intervene – and that is precisely what they did on Saturday with a good old-fashioned podwalk.
Over the course of three hours, you could stop by the pair, who had set up camp on the northern bank of Sortedams Sø in Copenhagen. There, you were handed a QR code, guided to the nearest campaign poster, and left with a SoundCloud link. »Alright, see you in 16 minutes,« Black said, and suddenly I was standing in front of political scientist Thomas Rohden of the Danish Social Liberal Party, confronted with his peculiar, toothless plastic smile.
»It’s important to connect with the election, so look the candidate straight in the eyes,« a synthetic female voice instructed as I pressed play. So I did. Stood still, listened, stared. Became a kind of artwork myself, I suppose – certainly looked like an idiot. And while the voiceover sent me onward to new posters, Black and McLean worked to complete the sense of alienation with brief sonic interventions.
The voice first took on a slight echo, then locked into a groove – »vote-for-me-vote-for-me-vote-for« – before dissolving into short-circuited 8-bit electronics, a faltering barrel organ, and flickering monologues over live jazz, mimicking an absurd media reality.
Gradually, the glossy, guileless eyes of the posters came to express just how artificial the election really is. »The person you are looking at is not real,« the synthetic voice concluded – remarkably agitated for a computer. »The party will replace you with a robot.«
Alright, alright. From the voiceless, one must hear the truth – wrapped in British political sarcasm and MIDI jingles: a light – and perhaps somewhat cheap – dish, but who has the energy for more after four weeks of campaigning? On my way back to Black and McLean, I saw a woman point at a poster of 26-year-old Maria Georgi Sloth, also from list B: »She gave me a piece of chewing gum down at the station.« And just like that, the election was decided.
English translation: Andreo Michaelo Mielczarek
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»Music for me is a way to stay curious. It can feel completely overwhelming to hear some music you don't know, or revisit something you haven't heard in a long time. Music makes my heart race, it makes me cry, laugh, and gesticulate wildly. It's a way to understand myself at different times in my life, and a way to create bonds with others around me.«
Hannah Schneider creates cinematic alternative pop with electronic soundscapes and strong melodies. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, toured Europe and the US, and has established herself as one of the country's most original voices. Her music has been used in film, television, and on major Scandinavian theater stages, and in recent years she has also composed commissioned works for leading museums and cultural institutions.
On her new album In This Room (February 27, 2026), she chooses – in an era marked by artificial intelligence – to insist on presence, intuition, and craftsmanship as driving forces. The album was written and recorded during a two-month residency at Thorvaldsens Museum.
© Tom Ingvardsen
»I listen to music at all hours of the day when I’m at home – surrounded by family – or when I’m working and travelling. My playlist changes every day. It reflects my state of mind here and now, and the ideas, memories, joys and sorrows that currently occupy me. The last piece, Salve Regina, was only added late this evening, after I experienced Poulenc’s magnificent opera Dialogues des Carmélites at the Royal Danish Opera.«
Louise Beck is a scenographer, stage director and artistic director of OPE-N – and from the 2027 season, artistic director of Copenhagen Opera Festival. For nearly three decades, she has developed opera as a living and contemporary art form at the intersection of the established opera field and the independent music-theatre scene. She has created a number of critically acclaimed and award-nominated works, including Den Sidste Olie and LOL – Laughing Out Lonely, and, together with Niels Rønsholdt, stands behind the opera trilogy Den Stærkes Ret – Den Svages Pligt, whose second part will be presented at the University Library of Copenhagen during the 2026 festival.
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»Music is my daily nourishment, helping me become a better person. It's a formula of emotions, full of energy, that gives me the courage to always have hope.«
Nilza Costa is a Brazilian singer and songwriter from Salvador de Bahia and now living in Ferrara, Italy, whose heart beats with the ancestral rhythms of Africa, rhythms she channels through her voice into a singular and deeply original artistic language. Her new album Cantigas – released in February 2026 on Brutture Moderne Records – is inspired by and dedicated to the Cantigas, or Orin, the sacred songs passed down through African languages, in this album Yoruba, Kimbundu and also Brazilian Portuguese. Nilza Costa’s voice has long given life to the revolution of a people who, through music and spirituality, have reclaimed their path toward emancipation. Her songs tell the stories of men and women torn from their homeland — narratives filled with both melancholy and hope.
Throughout her career, Nilza has collaborated with renowned artists such as Roy Paci, Etnia Supersantos, and Senegalese musician Elhadj Demba S. Gueye. With her current band, she has performed on numerous international stages (Austria, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Belgium, Slovenia, and more) and has appeared at major festivals across Italy.
Louise Beck
When Louise Beck presented her first opera at Copenhagen Opera Festival in 2022, the audience was asked to bring ski wear and thermal suits. Den Sidste Olie (The Last Oil), about the colonisation of Greenland and the exploitation of nature, unfolded on the ice at Østerbro Skøjtehal. It marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration on newly written works that expand the frames and spaces of opera. Now that collaboration enters a new phase: from 1 September, Louise Beck will become the festival’s new artistic director.
»Music for me is peace.«
Iris Gold is a Danish singer. She was born in London but raised in Christiania. She made her recording debut in 2015 with the single »Goldmine« and has since released a number of singles. Her debut album Planet Cool was released in 2019. She has just released the album Sugar on My Lips.