this year we defy the Nothing.

A message from the Intonal crew 2024: 

In the 1984 fantasy movie The NeverEnding Story, the magical realm of Fantasia is consumed by a dark force called the Nothing. It’s a coming-of-age story, in which the Nothing represents the apathy and lack of imagination of grownups stifling the natural creativity of children. In the end, the whole of Fantasia is reduced to a single grain of sand. Intonal actually came close to being consumed by the Nothing this year as well. But there’s still life.

The purpose of Intonal has always been to bring a sliver of the global music scene to our humble hometown; to create something special and meaningful for, and with, the small but resourceful community that dwells here. An annual enrichment, if you will – the nourishment being experimental music and innovative artistic expressions. While the objective hasn’t changed, the conditions certainly have. The infiltration of neoliberal industrialization, marked by PR, administrative exploitation and epidemic narcissism is our Nothing. Most likely yours too, if you’re reading this.

The struggle to voice this concern intensifies each year. Especially to ourselves. How can we either lament or celebrate our scene when faced with real-world atrocities like the ongoing and extreme injustice around the world, the rise of neo-fascism, and the ever-increasing consequences of climate inaction? Here, the Nothing isn’t fucking metaphorical.

Nevertheless, we press on. Because we are certain that our mission of providing an inclusive space for vibrant experimentation and new ideas remains important – perhaps more than ever. And like the enduring spirit in The NeverEnding Story, Intonal persists because there’s a community that believes in it. We understand that, eventually, we too will become a single grain of sand. But this year we defy the Nothing.