FWD - Introducing Hamsundays | Four Days of Music in the Arctic Circle

View in browser ­ Dear friends and music lovers, Before we announce our Kiezsalon program, we invite you to venture to the Arctic Circle with us for Hamsundays this August in Hamarøy, Norway, where we’re curating a dedicated music programme. Our concerts unfold alongside a wider presentation of artists, authors and poets set against a backdrop of the fjords. Back to Berlin, tomorrow we present jazz mastermind Nduduzo Makhathini at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt and at the end of the month, on March 26, the band 33 brings their new record Tripolar to life at the Volksbühne. Read More Hamsundays Culture and Literature Festival August 4–7, 2026 | Hamsun Center Over four long, light-filled August days, the Hamsun Center in  Hamarøy — the national institution dedicated to the work of Nobel Prize–winning author Knut Hamsun — will be enlivened by the biennial Hamsundays festival. In addition to the festival’s extensive literature and culture programme, we will present a series of concerts featuring cellist Yamila, singer/pianist Susanna Wallumrød in a duo with sound artist Stina Stjern, flutist Juli Deák, vocalist Maja S. K. Ratkje with visuals by Matti Aikio, pianist Herborg Rundberg and the renowned vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices. Buy Tickets Yamila and Stina Stjern Tuesday, 4 August Cellist and vocalist Yamila dances between electronic and analogue music, tradition and experimentation. Her recent Bandcamp DailyAlbum of the Day, Noor, released on Umor-Rex, carves out “a space where gauzy textures, elegant melodic gestures, an almost subversive rhythmic presence mingle.” We are happy to host her again following her stunning Berlin debut at our Kiezsalon in 2023. For over 25 years, sound artist Stina Stjern has been a fixture of the Norwegian music scene. Her latest album Vivid Peace Restored, makes a "bold, unique statement," writes Boomkat, fusing found sounds, instruments and her own voice while “damaging her sounds with tape hiss and saturation to create a surreal audio diary.” Listen Susanna & Stina Stjern and Juli Deák Wednesday, 5 August Norwegian singer and pianist Susanna Wallumrød has been releasing music since the early 2000s. She also opened our Kiezsalon back in 2015. At Hamsundays, she will present music from her albums Baudelaire & Piano and Elevation. Together with her collaborator Stina Stjern on tapes and tape recorders, the “bewitching” soundscape, as put by Uncut, unfolds. The Polish-Hungarian flutist and saxophonist Juli Deák bridges classical, contemporary and jazz music through tender melodic lines, circular breathing and percussive effects. Her sound is deeply rooted in the classical tradition, while also embracing experimentation, improvisation and folk influences. Listen Maja S. K. Ratkje with Matti Aikio and Herborg Rundberg Thursday, 6 August Norwegian composer and performer Maja S. K. Ratkje is renowned for her genre-blending vocal expression. The "pioneer of electroacoustic voice modulation" was "undoubtedly the highlight of the four-day festival", wrote the German Rolling Stone on her appearance at MADEIRADiG in 2017. For Hamsundays, she collaborates with sámi visual artist Matti Aikio, whose work explores nomadic reindeer herding and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures. Pianist Herborg Rundberg is a Sea Sámi musician from Gáivuotna (Kåfjord), now based in Tromsø. Over several decades, she has crafted a style combining Sea Sámi musical traditions with art, music, improvisation and jazz. She also plays in the duo LEAGUSwith guitarist Kristian Svalestad Olstad, moving between composition and free improvisation. Listen Trondheim Voices Friday, 7 August The cutting-edge ensemble of improvising vocalists Trondheim Voices, continually challenges and redefines how a vocal ensemble can produce sound art. Since 2001, they have made a strong mark on improvised vocal music, expanding the traditional concert format and exploring new listening experiences through the interaction between singers, audience, surroundings and technology. At Hamsundays, they will close the festival with two performances, including a piece composed in collaboration with German sound artist Christina Kubisch. Listen Getting There and Where to Stay The closest airport to Presteid is located just north of the Arctic Circle in Bodø, known as the lightest city in the world. From here, visitors can travel to the Hamsun Center by ferry across the Vestfjorden followed by a short bus ride. Accommodation can be found in Presteid and nearby villages. We recommend Camp Hamarøy, Tranøy Fyr or Sentrumsgården Motell. Tickets for Hamsundays are already on sale, the full festival pass is €84. Book your Ticket Hold tight for our Kiezsalon 2026 programme announcement, that's coming up next. In the meantime, keep in the loop via our website, Linktree and on Instagram. Your Digital in Berlin Team ­ Presented by D/B Nduduzo Makhathini | 07.03 at Haus der Kulturen der Welt Composer and pianist Nduduzo Makhathini is a prominent figure on the international jazz scene. His latest “outstanding” release uNomkhubulwane, “combines blues, bop and folk song to transcendental effect,” writes The Guardian. Tomorrow, at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, he performs in a trio with Lukmil Perez on drums and Dalisu Ndlazi on double bass. Tickets are still available. 33 presents Tripolar | 26.03 at Volksbühne The album Tripolar sees 33 – which began as a loosely formed collaborative project around artists Billy Bultheel and Alexander Iezzi – develop into a distinct formation, without abandoning their unpredictability. On March 26, the band presents their record at the Volksbühne, in a release show conceived as a situational rearrangement of the album’s material rather than a playback event. ­  ­  ­  ­  Digital in Berlin Brückenstraße 1, 10179 Berlin mail@digitalinberlin.de, +49 30 12 0878 47 ... The Kiezsalon is a project by Digital in Berlin. Curated by Michael Rosen and funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. Presented by The Wire and taz, die tageszeitung. Images in this E-Mail: Hamsun Center by Ernst Furuhatt. Yamila by Roland Owsnitzki. Susanna by Stine Heimsvik. Maja S. K. Ratkje by Roland Owsnitzki. Trondheim Voices by Thor Egil Leirtrø. Presteid by Steven Holl Architects. Nduduzo Makhathini by Monika S Jakubowska/Kings Place. 33 by Joseph Kadow. ... Unser Newsletter erscheint auf Englisch. Wenn Sie eine deutsche Übersetzung wünschen, kopieren Sie den Text und fügen ihn bei einem Übersetzungsdienst wie DeepL ein. Ins Deutsche übersetzen © 2026 by Digital in Berlin The curated platform for serious sound and music since 2008