Robot Festival 2026, error as language: Autechre, Moodymann and Actress in Bologna

A system in error, or perhaps it's we who no longer know how to read it. This is the question at the root of "Syntax Error", the theme of Robot17: a present in which codes multiply and contradict one another, and error stops being a malfunction and becomes a grammar of its own. From October 8th to 10th, the Bologna festival translates this into a lineup split between DumBO, Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini and Estragon, following previews on September 13th and 25th.

The heaviest name on the bill is Autechre, expected on Saturday the 10th at Estragon. Total darkness, sounds generated in real time, no fixed points of reference: hard to imagine a more faithful rendering of the theme. Around them, the evening is built like a small family tree of IDM, with Bochum Welt, the project of Gianluigi Di Costanzo that Aphex Twin signed to Rephlex back in 1994, and a dj set from MDX, founder of Manchester's Skam.

DumBO is club territory. On Friday the 9th, Blawan brings the machines of "SickElixir" to the stage, Boys Noize returns to the decks, Mykki Blanco presents "Cafe Paradiso" and Space Afrika their new album, while Upsammy and Valentina Magaletti make their duo debut with "Seismo"; Batu and CEM of Herrensauna close out the night back to back.
On Saturday the 10th, the compass points to Detroit: Moodymann, back at Robot with one of his increasingly rare dj sets, shares the night with DJ Stingray, who once shared the booth at the Outcast Club with Kenny Dixon Jr. before becoming Drexciya's touring dj. The same night sees Actress bring the audio/visual live show of "Radical Frame", Marina Herlop the new tracks from "Dja Dja" and Noémi Büchi "Exuvie", ahead of a dj set from Mace, free of any genre or bpm boundaries.

The rooms of the Bastardini instead host the more experimental side of the festival. On Thursday the 8th, Lawrence English presents "The Rest Is My Ghost", moving between deformed natural landscapes and monolithic drones, alongside the noir folk of Suz and Giuseppe Franchellucci, with Filibalou closing the night. On Friday the 9th it's the turn of Aho Ssan with "The Sun Turned Black" and the previously unheard live set from Front De Cadeaux with Gabor of Tropicantesimo. Rounding out the picture are Baronato Quattro Bellezze, in residence for two days across dub, kraut and Roman stornello, and the A/V live performance by Luca Maria Baldini and Salvatore Insana, "Nessun cielo è senza luce", in which Gregorian chant and artificial intelligence attempt to speak to one another.

Info and tickets: www.robotfestival.it and Xceed.

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