At this year's Alternativa, you can turn the dial from dark industrial to future models of artful pop music, with a spectrum of esoteric sounds in between. Lurking in the festival's sometimes mysterious realms are a few French and German prog-rock luminaries rubbing elbows with musical pioneers from Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Japan.

The Friday opening night lineup at Archa has New Kids Underground putting their youthful spin on Prague's late-'60s underground sound, followed by the Agon Orchestra combining forces with Czech underground/alternative vets MCH Band. Prog-rock and space-rock fans should get their helmets ready for takeoff Saturday and Sunday, when Magma makes its premier Prague performance. During the '70s, Paris-based Magma was one of a handful of Continental bands that surpassed early Pink Floyd in welding the 20th-century inspirations of composers like Messiaen and Stockhausen with rock. Magma's opening night features a chamber work whose title, Kosmik Wokehl and Perkutehr Slakenzain, reflects their elegant sci-fi poetics. Local faves Už jsme doma will open on Sunday for Magma's rock ensemble work Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik.

On Monday, Japanese electronic projects Hoppy Kamiyama and Satanicpornocultshop will strut their mastery of electronic keyboards, tempered nicely by postrock Asian Fluxism. Hoppy's often effervescent reads of both analogue and digital is reminiscent of synth-rock's more optimistic early moments. Satanicpornocultshop has a far more angular and sometimes abrasive sound, yet the samples of flowing water and humorous voice clips make it an enjoyable listen, in contrast to the project's seedy name. At Rybanaruby that same night, Czech artist Peter Nikl will unveil a happening titled Tětiva snů (Bow String), which will likely be one of the festival's highlights.

At Archa Tuesday, Jaki Liebezeit/Burnt Friedman from Germany, the Manchester/Berlin unit Dictaphone and Slovakia's Double Affair flaunt contemporary/electronica potentials. The collaboration of Liebezeit (from the legendary prog-rock group Can) and Friedman (formerly of NonPlace Urban Field) has local ambient/prog-rock fans buzzing already. The next night, Swiss-based duet Margrit Rieben and Tsuki will be offering similar, albeit more improvisational and challenging, fare.

An acoustic performance at Rybanaruby Tuesday features Prague-based world music masters Feng-jün Song (originally from China) and Hearn Gadbois (originally from the United States). Their musical journey will be one of the quieter, artful events of the festival. At the same venue the following night, the Bucinatores will rip a new read on brass-oriented hip-hop and jazz.

Alternativia will not be without musical moments to challenge the most open of ears. Thursday's presentation of Zaobzor's meditative acoustic didgeridoo/violin duets, and Saturday's New Orchestra of Dreams and Hudba Brno's tweaking electro/acoustic music of a darker hue, are not designed to be generally accessible. Also, Josef Klíč's work for strings with gruff and falsetto singing, paired with the Czech group Birds Build Nests Underground (doing what they call "the music under music") are definitely not for the uninitiated.

Closing the festival Saturday, Fru Fru will serve up its subdued mix of jazz and rock electronics. With delightfully creative breaks and bridges that cook to pyrotechnic guitar heroics and the occasional use of steel drums, the Moravian group's delicate yet intense use of electronics in a pop-jazz idiom has a bit of the lilt of early Soft Machine, mixed with some of the Czech band Vltava's agility. If pop music could be as good as this, the world would need fewer alternatives.