Musicians will treat audiences to some experimental and intriguing sounds in a series of free events on Monday as Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival gets into full swing.

Known as Free Monday, there will be 14 shows with a variety of countries and musical styles represented.

There will be a Norwegian ‘supergroup’ on stage and performers from places as diverse as Catalonia, Japan and Hawaii will also be out to impress.

The events take place at various venues including Huddersfield University, St Thomas’ church in Manchester Road, Huddersfield, and the Bates Mill Photographic Studio in Milford Street, Huddersfield.

The aim of the event is to encourage people who wouldn’t usually go to music recitals to go along and give it a try.

Performances due to take place include a rousing gamelan, or percussion ensemble, led by Dobrinka Tabakova and a group called Pulse.

Pieces influenced by a Kurdish folk dance and the creation of a whole new sound through the coming together of a saxophone and a church organ will also entertain and delight.

There will also be the chance to discover how to turn an iPod into a musical instrument and hear how white noise can be transformed from a hard-to-listen-to sound into a thought-provoking composition.

Away from the music there will be an exhibition of art.

Graham McKenzie, the festival’s artistic director, said: “This year will see the return of the hugely popular Free Monday.

“If you’ve never been before this is the year to come to try to explore. And if you have, then we look forward to welcoming you again.”

The performances will make up some of the 37 world premieres and 79 UK premieres that will be revealed at the festival. The festival started last night and runs until November 30.

There is more free music in town with Huddersfield Festival of Light’s fringe, which runs from Friday November 28 to Sunday November 30.

Fringe performers include local bands such as Klonk!, which plays Eastern European Jewish style klezmer music, and indie group Cafuné.

There will also be poetry, crafts and artists in bars and cafes in the town centre and at Greenhead Park, Huddersfield.

For more information see www.hcmf.co.uk/calendar/year/2014/4 .

Events are: 11am Nuntempa, Creative Arts Building Atrium; 11.40am Two New Duo, Phipps Hall; 12.20pm Diego Castro Magas, St Paul’s Hall, Queensgate; 1.10pm Evan Parker and Sten Sandell: Part I, St Thomas’ Church, Manchester Road; 2.10pm Anders Forisdal and Laurence Crane, Creative Arts Building Atrium, Huddersfield University; 3pm PULSE, Phipps Hall, Queensgate; 4pm Evan Parker and Sten Sandell: Part II, St Paul’s Hall, Queensgate; 4.50pm Kathryn Schulmeister, Phipps Hall, Queensgate; 5.40pm Evan Parker and Sten Sandell: Part III, St Peter’s Church; 7pm Miniaturised Concertos | Mache, St Paul’s Hall, Queensgate; 8pm Ryoko Akama, Creative Arts Building Atrium, Huddersfield University; 8.30pm Asamisimasa, Phipps Hall; 9.15pm Agusti Fernandez and Peter Evans, St Paul’s Hall, Queensgate; 10.45pm Ferran Fages: Filament, Bates Mill Photographic Studio, Milford Street.