Skee Mask, Four Tet & many more announced for Mode Festival 2025

Mode Festival, one of Gadigal Land/Sydney's most iconic festivals, is back for its fourth year and bigger than ever before.

The single-day event in October is returning to its iconic home of Wareamah/Cockatoo Island, right in the middle of its city's harbour, with arguably the biggest lineup it's ever had. Most notably, these include a vast selection of much-adored internationals, some of whom are set to make their Australian debut.

Firstly, many will find relief in seeing Four Tet's name among the lineup, with Mixmag ANZ having reported just last week that the UK producer's 'wingdings' font had been spotted across a number of Australian cities. While Mode's home sits on Gadigal Land, it will be interesting to see whether this partnership extends into the likes of Naarm/Melbourne and Meanjin/Brisbane too.

Skee Mask, one of modern dance and electronic music's most well-respected names, also makes his Australian debut. The revered producer and DJ has been responsible for some of the last decade's most well-received LPs, and earned himself a reputation for insane DJ sets which have thus far eluded Australian shores. His arrival will undoubtedly be a welcome sight to those who love him, and a significant booking that demonstrates Mode's own reputation.

Floating Points is set to bring his groundbreaking new Live & AV, also done alongside painter Akiko Nakayama, responsible for his most recent album artworks and visualisers. In announcing the news, Mode shared via a press release that this is set to be "more than a DJ set, this is a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience featuring live performance, improvised painting, and reactive light design."

Alongside these significant returns and debuts, Mode brings Berghain veterans Rødhād and Nene H, as well as New York soul artists Musclecars and Mode favourite Darwin, as well as a number of others. Hostel owner and TikTok personality Atsuo The Pineapple Donkey is set to visit from Japan also, a highly anticipated announcement for fans of his content and synth skills.

Alongside this stacked international bill, Mode has once again tapped a variety of incredible locals too. RONA., X CLUB., Mincy, IN2STELLAR, Tangela and 1tbsp are just a few of the local artists demonstrating Mode's understanding of a wide variety of their home's many scenes and sounds.

Alongside its venue, which in itself is a prominent member of each year's lineup, Mode will no doubt continue to cement itself as an Australian mainstay with this year's event. Renowned also for its immersive lighting and visual design, along with its large-scale art installations coupled with local food and brands, the festival continues to prove that Australia has everything it needs for a thriving festival scene without having to look too far overseas.

The only question is, will Mode Naarm make a return this year? We'll have to wait to find out.

Mode Festival 2025 takes place on Saturday, October 11 on Wareamah/Cockatoo Island.

Registrations for early access tickets are open now via Mode's website. See the full lineup below.

-

Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.