Remember Chinese Whispers, Stille Post or Rikkinäinen Puhelin? That children’s game, known all over the world, that illustrates the difficulties of transmitting information, but which also reveals the creativity of discontinuous conversation? It feels like the Patterns of Perception and @awalkingcontradiction collectives have been in such a conversation for the past years across a multitude of label nights, private hangouts, and shared festival experiences.

Based in Basel, Switzerland but unhinged from national contexts, A Walking Contradiction is a label for music and research. Curated by @varuna4053, @lemont-eana and Dead Electronic Space Limited (@ltd_dead), the collective share a penchant for beats - broken and straight - yet can't help but churn out music for the quiet hours. A deeply reflective group, you’ll find snippets of their conversations on social, political, economic, and environmental issues hidden in sounds or in plain sight on the sleeves of their records.

Compiled entirely from new and unreleased material, their Patterns of Perception 102 is but the latest product of interlocutions and whispers between Basel, Berlin, Helsinki and the world in general, paying tribute to the significance of community where the legitimacy of commons is increasingly impugned. 
Levitating within a field of sophisticated textures and percussion, this set burns slowly, but with a luminescent intensity. Angular experimental ambience builds into winding, complex rhythms. Inspired minds elevate delicate melancholia into a true sense of hope.

Links:
@awalkingcontradiction 
https://awalkingcontradiction.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/awc_awalkingcontradiction

https://soundcloud.com/varuna4053
https://www.instagram.com/varuna_awc
https://soundcloud.com/giomar
https://soundcloud.com/monteforte-1
https://soundcloud.com/ltd_dead
https://soundcloud.com/mario-7
https://soundcloud.com/lemont-eana

Patterns of Perception 102 - A Walking Contradiction

a continuous drive conducted by steady grooves and a keen sensitivity.

"Also known as Malii Yorks, I'm an Amsterdam based artist who is passionate about making refined ceramics and composing deep rhythms within the spectrum of techno as a genre. 

This recording shows my love for deep percussive techno rhythms and was made in the period when I was moving to another house and therefore had no studio for a while. It was a warm week with high temperatures so I often sat outside on the balcony with a small controller recording mixes. This one contains some of my favs and some tracks of my own."

@noahlyas
@profundocollective

recorded in Amsterdam, Netherlands
07.06.23

nunsen·tape 14 - Noah Lyas

The recording of my set 9-11pm at Music Room in Naarm/Melbourne on the 6th of March 2024 with @skylab_radio 🦋

Music Room is a chic bar, with delicious wine, soft amber lighting and a tasty warm soundsystem. I really enjoyed this rare chance to slip through my playlists of dub techno, downtempo, minimal and velvety-slinky music of all kinds 🍸🪭🪶

Thanks to @simon-tk & @skylab_radio for the invitation 🫶

Sybil @ Music Room ~ Skylab Radio

dispari invites Tokyo-based DJ MARIA. who casts a spell over us for a whole two hours.

🌐 "Outsiders" is our daily pre-recorded series hosted by labels, collectives, agencies, venues, ... worldwide
📡 Connect with the Outsiders, every day, at 9 am or 9 pm CET
🔗 kioskradio.com

Outsiders: dispari w/ DJ MARIA. @ Kiosk Radio 02.02.2025

On April 22nd, Mostra took over Espacio Perpendicular for a few hours.

Mostra is an independent, small-scale festival of avant-garde and experimental electronic music that was born four years ago to nurture the Barcelona scene. Mostra is local, inclusive, and sustainable. An independent festival made in Barcelona for Barcelonans, but with international vision and reach.

The event, which took place during the day, featured performances by Mattikk, Emilia Grima, Pillen, Doozer, Haara, and F-on.

Mattikk @ ExtraMostra x Espacio Perpendicular

A recording of Sapphire Slows playing a dj/live hybrid set at The Labyrinth 2024 on Sunday morning, October 13.

The Labyrinth 2024 - Sapphire Slows (dj/live hybrid)

"...A lucid dream is a dream in which a person becomes aware that he or she is dreaming and it becomes quite different from an ordinary dream.  For one thing It can be strikingly realistic to the point of producing a convincing replica of the normal physical world and for another it has its own psychological characteristics and range of emotional reactions which have to be considered independently of these experienced in normal dreaming..."

Lucid Dreams @ Espacio Perpendicular (09/05/2025)
Camu
STBL -live-
Sciama
F-on


 



 

 

 

F-on @ Lucid Dreams [Mayo2025]

Hailing from sleepy Vermont and now based in the beautiful Hudson Valley, our next guest is a talented synthesist, live performer, and DJ. Together with his Delayed family, he’s also the co-founder of the lovely Never Late record label.

Warmly welcoming Griff Fulton, aka Aspetuck <3

~~

“To me, this mix is an homage to my experience at Mostra, distilled into a very short amount of time. I wanted to break it up into a few different moments - ambient, downtempo, and drum & bass. The first two are styles I’ve been dabbling in a lot more recently, but drum & bass is very much new territory for me.

Jay and I first got in touch back in September. When we started discussing a mix, the platform was fully ambient, drone, and experimental, and I had some ideas slowly coming together about what my contribution to the series could be. At one point, though, Jay mentioned we could push my mix back to the end of May - one month after Mostra, a festival in Barcelona we were both really excited to attend. I jumped at the chance because I wanted to see how the festival would influence my mix. It was undeniable that it would focus me in a way I wasn’t quite aware of yet.

Around the same time, Jay decided to open up the platform to some deeper dance floor sounds, which gave me the opportunity to create a mix that builds in energy and unravels over time. I wanted to leave some room at the beginning of the mix for the more experimental sides of ambient that The Observatory is most known for. I included a couple of my own live modular jams from the past couple of months, sprinkled amongst some favourites from artists like Andreas Tilliander, Jan Jelinek, and Shifted.

From there, I bring in some slower tempo, hypnotic, “eyes-closed groove” tracks, as I label them in my Rekordbox. Right around halfway, a Loek Frey track with a nice long intro ushers in a drum & bass / halftime section in the 80/160 BPM range, followed by a brief conclusion.

Recorded in one take earlier this month after a very inspiring trip to Barcelona - thank you, Mostra, for the endless inspiration <3”

~~

https://soundcloud.com/aspetuck
https://aspetuck.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/aspetuckmusic/
https://aspetuck.substack.com/
https://ra.co/dj/aspetuck

Artwork by Clayton Ciolac
https://claytonciolac.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cccccclaytonciolac/

The Observatory - Aspetuck

For our next installment, we’re honoured to welcome ABSIS back to the series with a stunning recording of his all-vinyl hybrid DJ set at this year’s Perpendicular Festival.

Equipped with an ISO420 mixer, Pulsar-23, H90 FX, three turntables, and a crate full of heavyweight rhythms, ABSIS delivered a beautifully crafted dub session that warmed the dancefloor on Saturday morning.

May these sounds ease you gently into the week ahead <3

https://soundcloud.com/absismusic
https://www.instagram.com/absis_music/

https://soundcloud.com/espacio-perpendicular
https://www.instagram.com/espacio.perpendicular/

Artwork by Clayton Ciolac
https://claytonciolac.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cccccclaytonciolac/

The Observatory - ABSIS (Hybrid Set) - Perpendicular 2025

Ambient soundscapes inspired by Blade runner, I Robot and all the other wonderful sci-fi of the past, present and future

NEXUS 09 THE GRID

Mysteries of the Deep Podcast, Chapter CXXII by Garçon (@garcon). Cover photo courtesy of Candace Price.

This set was originally presented during the Mysteries Takeover of 9128.live on Saturday April 18, 2020.

Ihora

以呂波耳本部止
千利奴流乎和加
餘多連曽津祢那
良牟有為能於久
耶万計不己衣天
阿佐伎喩女美之
恵比毛勢須

Although its scent still lingers on
the form of a flower has scattered away
For whom will the glory
of this world remain unchanged?
Arriving today at the yonder side
of the deep mountains of evanescent existence
We shall never allow ourselves to drift away
intoxicated, in the world of shallow dreams.

Tracklist:
Electric Indigo - Ferrum
Black Zone Magick Chant - Where Will We Meet When Our Ashes Are Spread In The Wind? | Crystal Monastery
Robert Ashley – Automatic Writing
Tarotplane - A Tab In The Ozone IV
civilistjävel! - 003 untitled
In Camera - Untitled
Perila - Mouth Full Of Tahini
Robert Henke - Layer 004
DOTS - Spinout Segment
Raymonde - Mer Aux Etoiles
Akio Suzuki - Jumping And Standing 1984 - Part 1
Monoton - Teil 3
Nurse With Wound & James Worse - The Creptile Lickbug
Taj Mahal Travelers - 6:20-6-46 P.M.
Unearth Noise - The Place Where Prayers are Heard
O Yama O - Ihora