PROGRAMME
Floating Notes is a sonic journey exploring new forms of experimental music. For three days, international and emerging artists meet in an immersive space where listening becomes experience and discovery.
The 2026 program, curated by Kety Fusco and Michele Pennetta, brings together performances, live audiovisuals, and moments of dialogue that explore the most innovative languages of the contemporary scene, creating connections between sound, technology, and artistic vision.
The 2026 lineup brings together major international figures and a select selection of the contemporary Swiss scene. Among the key events, Jeff Mills presents CINEMIX METROPOLIS, a special event celebrating the centenary of Fritz Lang's masterpiece, a Swiss exclusive and marking his return to Ticino after thirty years. Alongside him, Christophe Chassol brings FUNNY HOW?, an audiovisual project inspired by American stand-up comedy, where the spoken word becomes musical material. The program is rounded out by Julie Campiche , Manuel Troller , Sara Oswald , Davide Botta , Nadine Carina , and DJ Toshka , in a journey through electronic music, contemporary jazz, acoustic research, and new soundscapes.
To open the festival, Floating Notes invites the audience to an inaugural moment of encounter and sharing. Conceived as a welcoming space for artists, audiences, partners and institutions, the opening night will feature remarks from the artistic direction and official acknowledgements, followed by Jeff Mills’ concert, the central event of the evening.
Julie Campiche develops a sonic universe that blends contemporary jazz, improvisation, and electronics. With her expanded harp, she constructs intense and atmospheric landscapes, suspended between composition, timbral exploration, and expressive freedom.
Sara Oswald is a Swiss cellist and composer who develops a personal language between contemporary music, improvisation, and electronics. Through the cello, she creates immersive soundscapes where writing, texture, and experimentation meet.
Toshka is a Swiss-based DJ and producer who explores electronic music, groove, and organic influences. Her sets create an immersive journey through rhythm, atmosphere, and contemporary club culture.
TOSHKA
DJ Set
ELECTRONICS, VINYL, CLUB HOUSE
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER
START 10:30
TEATRO SOCIALE - BELLINZONA (CH)
Cinemix Metropolis Metropolis is the cine-concert conceived by Jeff Mills around Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece Metropolis. Through a live electronic soundtrack, Mills reinterprets the film with an immersive and futuristic approach, creating a dialogue between expressionist cinema, mechanical rhythm and contemporary vision.
Davide Botta is a Ticino-born musician and composer who develops a sonic universe blending electronica, ambient, and timbral exploration. Through synthesizers and immersive landscapes, he constructs contemplative compositions suspended between introspection, sonic matter, and imagination.
Nadine Carina is a Swiss singer, songwriter, and composer who develops a sonic universe that spans electronic folk, experimental pop, and intimate writing. Through suspended melodies and delicate textures, she constructs dreamy soundscapes, balancing immediacy and exploration.
Funny How? is Christophe Chassol's new project, born from a journey through the American stand-up scene between Chicago and New York. Through comedians' voices, rhythms, and inflections, Chassol transforms the spoken word into music, constructing a choral and political portrait of contemporary America.
Manuel Troller is a Swiss guitarist and composer who explores the boundaries between contemporary jazz, improvisation, and sound research. Through a pared-down, open-minded approach, he constructs musical landscapes that balance songwriting, texture, and expressive freedom.
To close the festival, Floating Notes invites the audience to an informal moment of encounter and listening. A closing brunch conceived as a space for sharing between artists, audiences and festival guests, accompanied by a musical selection that extends the experience in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.
BRUNCH
Closing ceremony
FOLLOWED BY TOSHKA
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER
START 10:00
TEATRO SOCIALE - BELLINZONA (CH)
Dennis Longhi, founder and artistic director of Jazz:Re:Found, will liven up the Floating Notes after party with a vinyl selection inspired by the festival's universe: a journey through jazz, electronica, soul, contemporary groove, and club culture.
DENNIS LONGHI
JF:RF x FOLK BAR
ELECTRONIC, SOUL, GROOVE
SATURDAY OCTOBER 31
START 11:30 PM
FOLK BAR - BELLINZONA (CH)
OFFERS
FESTIVAL
Floating Notes Festival was born in the mountains of the Canton of Graubünden as a gesture of cultural resistance and independent research. Founded and curated by Swiss harpist Kety Fusco is a meeting point between experimental music, nature and community: a space where sound becomes a shared experience.
Over the course of its editions it has welcomed artists of international standing such as Lubomyr Melnyk , Mary Lattimore , Mike Cooper , Julian Sartorius , Daniela Pes and other protagonists of the contemporary scene.
From 2026, the festival will be held at the Teatro Sociale in Bellinzona, establishing a new dialogue with the local community and its institutions. This growth consolidates a network of collaborations that intertwines the landscape, the cultural scene, and new productions. Next to the theater, the Floating Hub will also be established , an informal meeting space dedicated to artists, audiences, professionals, and the festival community: a place to stop, exchange ideas, and experience the festival beyond the concerts.
BELLINZONA AND TEATRO SOCIALE
Bellinzona , the capital of the Canton of Ticino and the city of three UNESCO World Heritage castles , is an Alpine crossroads where history and nature meet. Here, the Floating Notes has found its new home: the Teatro Sociale , one of the few Italian-style theaters still operating in Switzerland, an intimate and scenic space that amplifies listening and restores a direct connection between the music and the audience.
EDITIONS
Floating Notes was born as a place of research, listening, and encounter. In this section, we retrace previous editions through their posters: visual traces of performances, soundscapes, and shared moments that have shaped the spirit of the festival. An ever-evolving archive, it tells the story of how Floating Notes grows and evolves year after year.
2024
2023
2022
2021
