Sydney Festival

Australia
January 5 - January 29

Sydney Festival is a month-long celebration of First Nations and international arts and culture. 38 venues across the city will stage performances spanning everything from immersive theatre and exhibitions to opera, dance and electronic music. Quirky areas, like the mushroom-shaped CTA building, will host Astral People, featuring Or:la & Elkka, SHERELLE and Crescendoll. That's also where you can catch Automatic & Pachyman's techno-pop and sci-fi satire. Make sure to visit the Barangaroo Reserve for a ceremonial ritual honouring indigenous clans of the Eora, who have been custodians of this sacred land for centuries.

RA Pick: Moktar مُخْتار has travelled a long road to establish himself as a fusionist of Egyptian and Australian sounds.

COMUNIT/EXT

Mexico
January 14

Over the past six years, Comunite has become a meeting place for Mexico's underground electronic community. Moving between Mexico City, Tulum and Puerto Escondido, the festival partners with collectives to invite a range of local and international acts playing both club music and more experimental sounds. The 2023 edition, taking place in the capital in collaboration with party crew EXT, should be a high-octane affair of techno, bass, electro and more. Artists on the bill include Skee Mask—who will be making his Latin American debut—as well as Juan Atkins, Schacke and local heroes MNTY, Flor Capistran and Microhm.

RA Pick: Gabo Barranco, AKA AAAA, performing live. A trained music theorist and audio engineer, he's known for his analog productions of dark acid, ambient and everything in between.

Closer Music

France
January 20 - January 22

For its fifth edition, Closer Music returns to the sleek industrial setting of Parisian art museum Lafayette Anticipations. The programme will highlight a host of Europe-based artists, including Caterina Barbieri, aya, Loraine James and Lazza Gio. On the final day, the festivities will move to the uniquely decorated Église du Saint-Esprit, where American musician Charlemagne Palestine, once considered a prominent figure in New York's avant-garde scene, will perform a bespoke version of his song "Schingen Blängen."

RA Pick: Caterina Barbieri's enchanting IDM is coated in a euphoric sheen and speckled with captivating arpeggios.

NACHTIVILLE

Germany
January 20 - January 22

One of the year's most anticipated festivals has to be NACHTIVILLE, which, since being announced in summer 2020, has been postponed twice due to the pandemic. If the name rings a bell it's because there was a brilliant 2015 edition at a holiday park in the Netherlands, run by the team behind beloved lakeside jaunt Nachtdigital. The vibe in 2023 will be the same in terms of venue, lineup and ethos ("rave meets holiday"), only this time you'll be on the Baltic Coast in Germany. So take a leisurely beach walk during the day before plunging into the vortex of pool parties and indoor raves, soundtracked by 40-plus Nachtdigital favourites such as Ben UFO, Courtesy, DJ Stingray 313, Gabrielle Kwarteng, Manamana, Helena Hauff and Dr. Rubinstein.

RA Pick: Job Jobse back-to-back Sedef Adasï at the Wave Cave.

Sugar Mountain

Australia
January 21

Sugar Mountain returns to Melbourne's Seaworks Maritime Precinct for 2023. Over the years, the one-day festival has become increasingly focused on electronic music (the current iteration is a collaboration with Boiler Room), hosting both rising and established dance music artists on its iconic 360-degree dance floor. The soundtrack for this year will span everything from moody dub and colourful house to banging techno, with the likes of DJ Bone, John Talabot, Darwin, Colette, dj pgz, Moktar مُخْتار and Roza Terenzi leading the waterside dance.

RA Pick: Roza Terenzi playing on home turf is a must.

BPM

Costa Rica
January 25 - January 29

From Playa del Carmen to the Algarve via Tel Aviv, BPM has been hosting festivals in breathtaking locations since 2008. Arguably the most exotic event in its portfolio is the Costa Rica edition, which takes place in the beautiful surfers town of Tamarindo every January. Set against a backdrop of white-sand beaches, towering waterfalls and lush rainforest–while also boasting a lineup of top-tier house and techno talent–this festival ticks plenty of boxes.

RA Pick: Danny Tenaglia's hypnotic house should be the perfect soundtrack for this idyllic location.

CTM

Germany
January 27 - January 29

Berlin staple CTM Festival celebrates its 24th edition in 2023, returning to venues across the city with a lineup of showstopping multidisciplinary artists from all over the world. There will be panels, live sets, club nights, immersive sound works and more, all related to this year's theme, "portals," which the festival characterises as a reflection of "the fundamental function of sound and music as gateways to other realities."

RA Pick: Don’t miss Turkish experimental artist Hüma Utku, who will be performing a new multi-channel piece on the heels of her last album for Editions Mego.

Strom Festival

Germany
February 3 - February 4

On February 3rd and 4th, the Berliner Philharmonie will open its doors once again to electronic music's best in class for Strom Festival. Though 2023 only marks the event's second edition since launching in 2020, the combination makes a brilliant match given Berlin's vibrant and longstanding club culture. Under the concert hall's gilded auspices and the architect Hans Scharoun's vaulted ceilings, artists like Wolfgang Voigt / GAS, Juan Atkins, upsammy and Nídia will perform, making for two evenings of unexpected intrigue and impeccable sound.

RA Pick: The world premiere of a new ensemble featuring composer and sound designer Simon Stockhausen alongside members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Astropolis l'Hiver

France
February 8 - February 12

Now almost 30 years old, Astropolis l'Hiver is a beloved behemoth in France's dance music festival landscape, welcoming almost 30,000 fans across summer and winter editions every year. Its next event, held in the northwestern port city of Brest, will feature around 40 artists spread between various venues. Evening shows and club nights will showcase intricate DJ sets and striking live performances from the likes of Miss Kittin & The Hacker, SPFDJ, Volition Immanent (AKA Parrish Smith and Mark Knekelhuis), Gigsta and INFRAVISION (AKA Kendal and Pablo Bozzi).

RA Pick: Lose yourself in the brilliant, mind-bending chug of Lena Willikens & Vladimir Ivkovic.

Grauzone

Netherlands
February 10 - February 12

Grauzone isn't your typical dance music festival. Gravitating towards dark wave, leftfield techno, industrial and EBM, this team of experimentalists have cultivated a loyal following for its boundary-pushing lineups, provocative art exhibitions and extensive film programme. For its tenth anniversary, the Dutch event has pulled out all the stops. Lesley Woods' feminist rock will be on display alongside Kara Delik's experimental Turkish folk music. Another highlight is New York duo SQÜRL, AKA director and musician Jim Jarmusch and film producer Carter Logan, who will be delivering an exclusive live soundtrack for four Man Ray films. Deep thinkers, nonconformists and inspiration seekers: don't miss this one.

RA Pick: Heavy drone, sitar jams, dub and post-punk courtesy of sitar maestro Ashraf Sharif Khan and producer Viktor Malek, owner of the famous Golden Pudel club in Hamburg.

Find our full festival listings for January and February here