ritournelle
About
Ritournelle is a festival series dedicated to experimental electronic dance music. Founded by Tobias Staab in 2012 at the Münchner Kammerspiele, Ritournelle took place there annually until 2020. In parallel, the Ritournelle Club Series was launched at Kong Club in Munich.
Between 2015 and 2017, Ritournelle also marked the musical opening of the Ruhrtriennale – International Festival of the Arts, unfolding within the industrial space of the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum.
Since 2021, Ritournelle has continued in collaboration with Branimir Peco at the internationally renowned Blitz Club in Munich.
The festival emerged from a simple but urgent idea: to create a space for music that had no place in Munich otherwise. Abstract club sounds, too dysfunctional for conventional dance floors. Experimental pop concerts unfolding somewhere between music, visual art, and performance.
Over the course of more than a decade, Ritournelle has evolved into a hybrid format, where the interplay between the art world and a club culture open to avant-garde experimentation becomes visible. It is a festival for forward-thinking club music, as well as for subversive, queer aesthetics and underground movements beyond Europe. Music that increasingly shapes cultural discourse today—while sketching the sound of tomorrow’s mainstream and the major festival stages to come.
Supporting local scenes through dedicated bookings has always been a central pillar of the festival.
Artists
Alva Noto, Amnesia Scanner, Arca, Aya, Bendik Giske, Caribou, Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy, Coucou Chloe, De Schuurman, DJ Stingray 313, DJ Travella, Efdemin, Faka, Gold Panda, Helena Hauff, James Holden, Jon Hopkins, Klein, Koreless, Loraine James, Lorenzo Senni, LSDXOXO, Michael Rother, Mc Yallah & Debmaster, Modeselektor, Moonchild Sanelly, Moor Mother, Moritz von Oswald Trio, Nene H, Oneohtrix Point Never, Pan Daijing, Pantha du Prince, Pollyester, Polygonia, Roly Porter feat. MFO, Schlachthof Bronx, Slikback, Stenny, The Bug feat. Dis Fig, Tony Allen, Tzusing, Zebra Katz, Zenker Brothers among many others …
Ritournelle is curated by Tobias Staab.
The festival is run by Branimir Peco and Tobias Staab.
The Ritournelle Club Series (2012–2016) was a collaboration between Eric Schönemeier and Tobias Staab.