Shortly after Mat Schulz pops into our Zoom chat from a café garden in Kraków, Poland, having just arrived on a train from Warsaw, he pieces together our alma mater – The University of Sydney. Born in Wagga Wagga, he studied philosophy and Australian literature there before writing his first novel and then jetting off to live in Kraków with his earnings.

He still writes, but his main gig nowadays is as founding Director of Unsound, an annual Polish festival for experimental music and arts, with branches in 30 cities worldwide, including Adelaide, London and New York.

John Cale. Photo © Madeline McManus

Unsound began in Kraków’s intimate cellar bars in 2003 as a side hobby for Schulz and a friend.

“The country and city were very much in transformation, and Unsound developed as a part of that. It was easy to find raw and interesting spaces in the city – factories that had closed down or warehouses – that we could occupy,” he says.

Experimental music and arts were always at the heart of the festival’s programming. Today, it also runs its own record label and commissions brand-new works from festival artists.