Arctic Electronic Music Meetup 2026 brought the electronic music scene in the North together in Luleå
From 28–30 May 2026, Luleå hosted the first edition of Arctic Electronic Music Meetup – AEM 2026.
Artists, DJs, producers, organisers, labels, festivals, researchers and music organisations from northern Sweden, Norway and Finland gathered for three days of professional exchange, hands-on creation and public music events.
The ambition was clear: to make electronic music in the North more visible, connect people working across national borders and begin building stronger relationships between local scenes throughout the Arctic region.
An active scene spread across long distances
Electronic music is being created and presented across the North, but the distances are long and many artists, producers and organisations still work separately from one another.
AEM was created to bring people working across different parts of the scene into the same city and the same rooms. It gave participants an opportunity to discover what is happening in other places, share experiences and form relationships that would otherwise be difficult to build.
A strong music scene depends not only on artists and audiences, but also on the organisers, labels, festivals, venues, researchers and other people creating opportunities around the music. AEM brought these different perspectives together and created space for open conversations about both the strengths and challenges of electronic music in the North.
Three days of exchange, creation and music
The opening day took participants to studios and venues across central Luleå for workshops, creative exchange and an introduction to different environments for electronic music.
The programme explored spatial and immersive sound, deep listening, electronic instruments and different ways of creating and presenting music. Studio visits also gave participants an opportunity to learn more about the local music infrastructure and meet some of the people working with sound and electronic music in Luleå.
The main conference and networking day at Ebeneser brought together voices from across the North. A panel in collaboration with North Creative Nodes explored what defines an Arctic electronic music scene, which challenges local scenes share and how stronger connections can be built across borders.
The programme also included presentations from electronic music labels, festivals, event organisers, experimental music organisations and researchers working with electroacoustic and electronic music.
From conversation to creation
Running alongside the meetup was Electronic Producers Camp 2026, organised together with BD Pop.
Producers from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark worked in BD Pop’s studios, created new music together and later presented their work to AEM participants for feedback.
The camp reflected one of the central ideas behind AEM: not only to talk about collaboration, but to give people the time, space and tools to begin creating together.
Opening the programme to a wider audience
AEM also opened electronic music to a wider audience through three main public music events in Luleå.
Arctic Frequencies at Ebeneser presented live electronic music ranging from live coding and modular electronics to experimental club music and acid.
Norrbotten Sound Lab at Lillan connected local music creators with artists and producers taking part in AEM.
The meetup ended with Arctic Pulses, a two-floor club night at Kulturens Hus featuring DJs and artists from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Around 300 people joined the closing night, showing strong local interest in electronic music and clear potential for more events of this kind in Luleå and Norrbotten.
A first step towards something recurring
Beyond the individual panels, performances and presentations, the lasting value of AEM came from the people who met and the relationships that began to form.
During the meetup, new contacts were made and conversations began around artist exchanges, residencies, shared events and other possible collaborations.
Local scenes in cities such as Oulu, Tromsø, Umeå and Luleå all have their own identities and strengths. By connecting them more regularly, they can also become part of a wider and more visible Arctic electronic music scene.
The ambition is for AEM to develop into a recurring meeting point that can move between different cities in the North — a place where artists, producers, organisers and organisations can continue to meet, share their work, welcome new people and build stronger relationships over time.
AEM 2026 showed that the people, music and energy are already here. Bringing them together made that impossible to miss.
About Arctic Pulse
AEM 2026 is part of Arctic Pulse, the shared external brand of Arctic Music Circles, an Interreg Aurora project supporting cross-border music collaboration in northern Sweden, Finland and Norway.
The project works to strengthen the music scene in the Arctic region by creating new connections, increasing visibility and building long-term collaboration across borders.
Organisers
Arctic Electronic Music Meetup 2026 was organised by Arctic Pulse and Norrbottensmusiken together with Kulturföreningen Kluster, in collaboration with Joncell Productions, Studieförbundet Bilda Nord, Folkuniversitetet Norrbotten, BD Pop, North Creative Nodes, City of Oulu, Nordnorsk Jazzsenter, Musikk i Nordland and Scene Nord.
With support from Interreg Aurora, Region Norrbotten and Luleå Municipality.