The 30th edition of Spot Festival became a sonic laboratory and cultural mirror, where experimentation, genre-defying music, and raw emotional intensity were given free rein.

To reach its potential music criticism needs to go beyond opinion. Macon Holt suggests the critic must grapple with the ethics and politics of the music.

The Nordic Music Days in Helsinki failed to deliver on its promise of diversity, even if seen from a strictly stylistic point of view, writes participating composer Tine Surel Lange.