One of the most hypnotic and uncompromising acts of the British scene over the past three decades — Archive — will be the headliner of the second day of the Cavatina Guitar Festival 2026. The band will perform on May 24 at Cavatina Hall in Bielsko-Biała, presenting a unique semi-acoustic concert specially prepared for this venue.

Founded in London in 1994 by Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths, the collective has defied genre boundaries from the very beginning. Their debut album Londinium (1996) — now regarded as a cult classic — combined trip-hop, electronic music, rap, and orchestral space in a way that was far ahead of its time. Since then, Archive have consistently developed their musical language, treating each new album as a separate chapter and artistic challenge.

Over the years, the band has crafted a distinctive, cinematic, and emotionally intense style, where monumental guitar forms meet electronics, rhythmic hypnosis, and haunting melancholy. Albums such as You All Look The Same To Me (2002) with the legendary 16-minute track “Again,” Noise (2004), Lights (2006), and the politically engaged Controlling Crowds series (2009) cemented Archive’s position as one of the most important European bands at the turn of the century. Their music has reached both the largest concert stages and the world of film — including collaboration with Luc Besson on the soundtrack for Michel Vaillant.

Although in the UK they remained for years a band “for the initiated,” Archive built a huge and loyal audience across Europe, regularly filling venues with thousands of seats and playing at major festivals. Their strength lies in their collective nature — changing lineups, new voices, and artistic personalities ensure that Archive’s music is constantly evolving while maintaining its characteristic depth and emotional coherence.

The concert at the Cavatina Guitar Festival 2026 will be an absolutely unique event. Archive’s semi-acoustic incarnation, combined with the exemplary acoustics of Cavatina Hall, will allow listeners to experience their music with unprecedented clarity, depth, and intimacy. This is a rare opportunity to experience their compositions in a form that highlights every detail, the space between sounds, and the emotional weight of the pieces.

Archive at Cavatina Hall is an experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else — a meeting of a world-renowned band with one of Europe’s best-sounding concert halls. A concert that will not only close the second day of the festival but will also go down in its history as one of the most intense and moving musical experiences.