In pictures: Yung Lean, Kelela and Robyn land in Turin for C2C Festival

Celebrating a milestone quarter-century, the C2C Festival returned to Turin from October 29 to November 1, 2023, with its most expansive edition to date. Drawing 43,000 attendees over four days, the event highlighted Turin as a dynamic hub for electronic music and avant-garde sound, attracting a growing international audience that this year surpassed local attendance.

The festival’s footprint spanned seven distinct venues across the city, blending iconic historic theatres with repurposed industrial spaces. This choice of diverse locations deepened the cultural resonance of the festival, casting new light on Turin’s architectural and urban landscape. Notably, Teatro Carignano rejoined the festival circuit after an 11-year hiatus, providing a unique daytime setting for performances that bridged classical and experimental genres.

Programming at C2C 2023 demonstrated a commitment to innovation and collaboration. The lineup featured a balanced mix of revered figures and emerging artists, with surprise guest appearances enriching the live experience. For example, Robyn’s set was notably augmented by Yung Lean, merging disparate pop influences into a shared stage moment that underscored the festival’s cross-genre appeal.

Dazed, serving as C2C’s content partner, curated an eclectic stage at Lingotto Fiere, hosting an array of electronic music pioneers and fresh voices. The Friday schedule included Theo Parrish’s marathon seven-hour set alongside the Other People showcase, which spotlighted artists such as Fake Samo and Anelena Toku. Saturday’s Dazed stage continued this trend with performances from Kode9, RP Boo, and the Hundebiss collective, showcasing a spectrum from experimental to club-oriented sounds.

The festival’s main stages were equally ambitious in scope. Friday night featured a blend of experimental pop and electronic music with appearances by Chanel Beads, underscores, Oklou, and Arca. The lineup demonstrated a deliberate effort to blur boundaries between genres, creating a rich tapestry of sound throughout the evening.

Saturday’s program opened with a special matinée by the Norwegian duo Smerz at Teatro Carignano. Their performance uniquely integrated elements of contemporary classical composition with electronic and pop sensibilities, enriching the festival’s auditory palette while capitalizing on the theatre’s historic ambiance.

Later that evening, Lingotto Fiere hosted performances by Visible Cloaks, Kelela, and Yung Lean with Bladee, continuing the festival’s emphasis on diverse and forward-thinking music. The night embraced a wide-ranging sonic experience that included alternative R&B, rap, and experimental electronic music, maintaining the festival’s reputation for pushing artistic boundaries.

An unexpected highlight came with the closing set featuring Arca alongside Bill Kouligas, a collaboration that encapsulated the festival’s spirit of unpredictability and artistic experimentation. This finale resonated as a fitting conclusion to a celebration that not only honored C2C’s history but also its ongoing evolution.

Throughout the event, C2C utilized Turin’s unique venues not just as backdrops but as integral elements of the festival experience, enhancing the connection between music and place. This synergy between sound and environment, alongside a curated blend of established and emerging talent, underscored the festival’s growth from its early 2000s origins into a globally recognized cultural event.

As dazeddigital.com reported, these elements combined to create a multifaceted celebration of electronic and experimental music’s past, present, and future, marking the 25th anniversary of C2C Festival as a landmark in Turin’s cultural calendar and the wider music landscape.