Hradby Samoty – Bratislava Intermezzo 2025
14.-15.11.2025 - A4 - Bratislava

After three successful years, the club edition of the Hradby Samoty – Bratislava Intermezzo festival returns on November 14 and 15, 2025, to A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture, once again opening the gates to the world of dark, experimental, and ritual music. The fourth edition continues the tradition of the festival, which has become a meeting place for fans of sound, visuals and atmosphere, where the past meets futuristic experiments and each performance is a separate artistic ritual.

The 2025 line-up presents a strong and diverse set of projects, many of which will be premiering in Slovakia. Xiu Xiu (USA) will immerse themselves in dark and surreal worlds inspired by David Lynch's cult film Eraserhead. Their set combines modular synthesizers, field recordings and vocals into an immersive soundscape where one dreams and wakes at the same time - music that is both a tribute to the film and a new work of art.
Sweden's Trepaneringsritualen will perform ritual industrial and death ambient, where rhythms, occult sounds and deep drone layers create a hypnotic, almost trance-like atmosphere. Their performances are like ceremonies that leave the audience completely absorbed by the sound. Zero Kama (AT) revives the legendary sounds of instruments made from human bones and transforms them through modular synthesizers into technoid, ritual soundscapes – a combination of past and present, ritual and experiment.
Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio (SWE) develop apocalyptic pop full of contrasts, dramatic tension and sensual provocation, while cult drone and dark ambient projects Troum and Inade lead the audience into liminal states between sleep and wakefulness, where archetypes, myths and occult symbolism intermingle.
A very rare performance is being prepared by African Imperial Wizard – a rarely touring project from Angola that combines tribal rhythms, industrial beats and military energy. Each performance is a unique event, a sound ritual and political statement that captivates the audience with its intensity and authenticity. Frett (PL), releasing under the legendary Ant-Zen label, combines industrial rhythms, IDM and dark electronica into dramatic, moving compositions that are both sensual and energetic. Noise duo Paregorik & Violet de Valor (CZ) combines brutal sonic aggression with the performance of a burlesque dancer, creating a visually and sonically hypnotic ritual experience. The program is complemented by Blind Ruler Cursed Land (CZ) with esoteric, oriental-inspired soundscapes and stories of loneliness, death and spiritual transformation, performed on traditional instruments.

This year's edition brings a number of premiere performances to Slovakia, with each concert being an unique event that cannot be experienced anywhere else. The graphic identity of the festival was created this year by Marek Menke and the event was supported by public funds from the Slovak Arts Council, Bratislava - Old Town, the Polish Institute and the Goethe Institute.