TAIPEI.- The Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab presents the 2025 C-LAB Sound Festival: DIVERSONICS, running from October 23 to November 30, 2025. Curated by C-LAB’s Taiwan Sound Lab, the festival centers on contemporary music and sound creation through performances, installations, international forums, lectures, workshops, and masterclasses, forming a cross-generational, multi-sensory celebration of sound art.

This year’s festival features six major sections and more than 40 events, bringing together sound creators and performers from Germany, France, the United States, Argentina, Luxembourg, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. Nearly 70% of the works are premieres or re-creations, demonstrating the forward-thinking and diverse nature of contemporary sound art.

From classics to contemporary creation

The section Contemporary Masters/Classics includes several Asia and Taiwan premieres, such as Chaplin Factory, conducted by Argentine composer Martin Matalon and performed by artists from IRCAM (France). The work reinterprets Charlie Chaplin’s silent film imagery through live electroacoustic performance.

To mark the centenary of Pierre Boulez, C-LAB presents Boulez 100 in Taipei, performed by the New Music Workshop of Taipei National University of the Arts. Complementary programs include the Boulez Project: A Journey through Solos by Studio Acht and Time Art Studio’s performance of electroacoustic pieces by Philippe Manoury, a composer influenced by Boulez.

New contemporary music/sounds

Focusing on emerging creators, Trompe-l’œil—Labyrinthe Sonore by French trio 20° dans le noir merges extended instrumental techniques and electronic sound to construct audio illusions. Forest of Bamboos by Wu Wei and Alexis Baskind immerses listeners within the 37-reed sheng’s internal resonance. The French research collective GRM will also hold performances, workshops, and lectures.

EEL’s World—Live Electric Acoustic: Catadromous, derived from filmmaker Chu Chun-Teng’s feature EEL, reinterprets the film’s soundscape with artists SHENG and Tôn Thất An.

Liu Wei-Chih’s Burst Forth II explores illusion and perception, while Shuanghsi Music Forum’s Co-creation and Dialogue between Musicians and AI presents experimental compositions using AI music tools. Cutting-Edge Contemporary Music & Sounds features creators Chen Chia-Hui, Huang Ling-Hsuan, Cheng Dao-Yuan, Wu Ping-Sheng, Wang Chih-Yun, XTRUX, Huang Yung-Jen, Chen Po-Hao, and Tsang Jing-Shiuan & Wen Hungkai of C-LAB’s Sound Lab.

Cross-domain explorations

The section Dance & Music/Sounds highlights Anarchy Dance Theatre’s KINGDOM, created by Chao Ting-Ting, which fuses VR, 3D scanning, and dance. SoMO: Sound & Movement Experience, curated by Melting Part, blends street dance and improvisational sound within circular creative exchanges.

The MR: New Soundscape section, co-produced with the National Taichung Theater, presents Coco Chen’s Cleo, inspired by the French film Cleo from 5 to 7, and Hung An-Hsu’s His Elsewhere, exploring belonging and displacement through VR.

Installation and immersion

The Sound Installation & Performance section features the exhibition Reverberation of Survival, showcasing Hsu Studio, Chi Po-Hao, Ken Ueno, WHYIXD x KLING KLANG KLONG, and ULTRACOMBOS x Cicada. The work Echo Chamber by Chen Yi, Wang Chung-Kun, and Wu Ping-Sheng integrates multichannel sound fields, laser optics, and AI synthesis. Other highlights include Samson Young’s Pavilion at the New Taipei City Art Museum and Chang Yen-Tzu’s In the Abyss, Once Again as a Perceiver at Nuit Blanche 2025.

Education and collaboration

The Academy section bridges academia and creation with works by faculty and students from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and National Taiwan Normal University, including programs of Interlaced Sounds and Images, Mysterious Sound Realm, and Echoes of Understanding.

C-LAB also co-hosts its first international forum with IRCAM, welcoming 25 sound creators from Germany, France, and Japan. This year’s festival also involves National Taipei University of the Arts, National Taiwan Science Education Center, New Taipei City Art Museum, Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs and other institutions to jointly extend contemporary sound art creation and performance platforms, establishing an innovative cross-domain ecosystem of art. For complete programming and registration information, please visit the C-LAB official website and social media platforms.