It's an honor to welcome Amsterdam's Loek Frey to our series, whose meticulous attention to detail and eminent experimentalism command the mind's attention like no other. The OQAD label head and Omen Wapta collaborator invites us to peer delicately beyond the edge, unveiling a hyperintense, subsonic blur through which a primordial palette begins to emerge. I've been looking forward to sharing this episode for quite some time, and to revel in this blend of artistry and precision was truly worth the wait. Thanks Loek!

@loekfrey

Artwork by Sofia Lambrou.

Sure Thing Mix 137: Loek Frey

This contribution is a very special one, as it marks a new chapter in The Observatory’s sound… 

We will always be a home for ambient and experimental sounds. But, moving forward, we will also be exploring our love for dance music, with a particular focus on the deep end.

To begin this new journey and warm things up, we are so happy to welcome back Timnah, who gifts us with a two-hour recording of her set at Omen Wapta, ADE’24. A mind-bending traversal through ambient, drone, and halftime experiments, exploring the liminal spaces between the listening room and the dance floor.
~~
Timnah lives, works and feeds the cats in the Northwestern extremities of Switzerland. Brought up in her parents’ jazz clubs and deeply influenced by her brother’s love for dub and soundsystem culture, she started DJing just after the massively feared Millenium Bug had threatened to offset our relation to time and space. Dedicated to drawing her own map of late 20th century sonic landscapes, she spent the early 2000s exploring 90s electronics including breakbeat, triphop, ambient techno, drum&bass, house and jungle. After a short but sweet excursion into producing in the early 2010s, Timnah dedicated herself fully to spinning the wheels and transversing genres, gravitating towards her current signature sound that spans immersive sound baths and intergalactic carpet rides in half-time. Timnah is a member of Amenthia Recordings and a recent addition to the A Walking Contradiction Collective.
~~
Artist Support:

https://soundcloud.com/timnah-sommerfeldt
https://ra.co/dj/timnahsommerfeldt
https://www.instagram.com/timnah_amenthia

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

The Observatory - Timnah @ Omen Wapta, ADE, 2024

Neon Cleptu 34
Tactile surroundings. For this episode I’d like to welcome Toner. 
@toner_jp

I met Yutaro, better known as Toner, last year when I visited Japan. And his appearance at Dommune hit it. It was a no-brainer to invite him for the Cleptu series. Curating his ambient oriented "The Line Shifting to Dots" parties. That focuses on physical deep listening. He will  deconstruct and smudge out the tactile surroundings that will drive your mind into the unknown. 

Nowhere to hide, nowhere to go...

I’m very pleased that he participated and will be the one to guide us through his musical fascinations.

Shifted - Several Instances
Compound Eye - The Outer Sphere
Echium - Collapsed Senses
Toki Fuko	- Narration 2
VC-118a - Silver
Katatonic Silentio - Bridging The Gap
Kick21 - 10se
Lemna - Trajectory	
Space Drum Meditation - Water Sirens
Harald Uunk - Isomorphic
Solatz - Ötzi
Formant Value - Funzione II [Notte Infinita Remix]
yin yang audio - astral projection
Korridor - Vacuum Decay	
Gunnar Haslam - Azote Du Guano
T++ - Worn Down
HOMI - Jokudubi
I7HVN - Body Count
Nuel - Intarsia
Carrier - Wood Over Plastic
Solar X - Russian Roulette	

Recording is mastered by Ryosuke Tsuchiya
Broadcasted 20.03.2025
www.lyl.live

Neon Cleptu 34 → Toner

Utrecht's Vand delivers an elegant mix comprised entirely of unreleased work from the artist and ISOTOOP curator (including several yet-unearthed collaborations with close contemporaries & label favorites) alongside selections from his recently released Trialism EP. Vand's mix envelops as it unfolds, an eidetic, dawn-hued journey of carefully kinetic sound, showcasing a true craftsman in top form and offering a captivating glimpse at the future to come. Thanks Viktor!

@vandmusic

Artwork by Angelina Nikolayeva.

Sure Thing Mix 138: Vand

Follow @spacedrummeditation on SoundCloud:

For the 70th entry in our series, we welcome Space Drum Meditation, a duo renowned for their immersive sound journeys that blur the line between music and ritual. 

This set continues our exploration of sound, guided by rhythms and textures rooted in tradition. Their music takes inspiration from spiritual culture and the natural world: Ritualistic percussions, a breeze, and the call of animals, all woven into an experience that connects body and mind. 

The podcast is as authentic as their closing during our last club event so tune in and let the sound carry you.

Follow Space Drum Meditation |
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spacedrummeditation/
SoundCloud: @spacedrummeditation

Artwork by Severja |
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sever.ja/

Follow Embodiment |
Instagram: instagram.com/embdmnt.rt

Embodiment 070 - Space Drum Meditation

Room 303 ・三○三号室 
https://instagram.com/room303radio

19:30-21:00 JST
2025年4月23日

神話的なアンビエントから始まり、トライバルなテクノ、ゴア、ヒプノティックなサイトランスがミックスされたシャーマンのような音楽へとゆっくりと進化していく音楽の旅を想像してみてほしい。これこそがWoody92のセットなのだ。グラフィック・デザイン、中世、宗教にインスパイアされ、デルフトを拠点に活動するアーティストは、表現力豊かでスピード感のある実験的な音楽を奏でる。

Imagine a musical journey that begins with mythical ambient and slowly evolves into a shamanic mix of tribal tekno, goa and hypnotic psytrance. This is what a Woody92 set is all about. Inspired by graphic design, the Middle Ages and religion, the Delft-based artist plays expressive, fast and experimental music.

Woody92 
https://instagram.com/woodyninetytwo 

@ WPÜ HOTEL SHINJUKU 
https://www.instagram.com/wpu_shinjuku

Woody92｜2025年4月23日

Recorded during the early hours of Sunday morning at Garage Noord at the Omen Wapta Weekender, this live set from Formant Value captures the essence of a weekend that transcended the club experience—where sound, space, and shared energy merged into something truly transformative.

Opening in slow motion, the set unfolds with a deep, psychedelic ambient current—echoes, pulses, and dub textures forming a wide sonic horizon. What follows is a steady, organic rise into tribal techno rhythms and hi-tech structures, maintaining a sense of spaciousness even at its most kinetic.

It’s a set that mirrors the architecture of the night itself: meditative, then elevating, then dissolving again. There are no sharp corners—just flow. Time felt suspended. Movement turned internal. And in the foggy warmth of the dancefloor, listeners were gently guided through a collective dreamspace.

Formant Value is known for his unique & sophisticated sound, that defies easy categorisation whilst nodding in the direction of downtempo, dub and IDM, with elements of D’n’B, trance and techno. His music has been released by a number of labels including Lowless Records, Well Street Records, Rgd tribe and Annulled Music. Adept at sustaining the fine tension between dancefloor energy and audiophile precision of intent home listening, Formant Value brings a uniquely fresh take on contemporary club music.

Follow:
https://soundcloud.com/formant-value
https://www.instagram.com/formantvalue/
https://linktr.ee/formantvalue


MNMT Recordings: Formant Value (live) — Omen Wapta Weekender, Garage Noord 2025

Next up in our mix series is Shoal, a Dutch producer and DJ who recently relocated to Prague. Known for his hypnotic, emotionally layered sound, Shoal crafts deep, transportive journeys through trippy textures, modular synthesizers, and rolling rhythms. A core member of the ISOTOOP collective, he’s performed at leading underground spots like De School, Tresor, and Ratherlost. His releases on labels like Tikita, Harmony Recordings, Monument, our own Ute.Rec, and most recently Animalia, continue to expand and refine his unique sonic voice within the scene.

In this mix, Shoal delivers a 1.5-hour live set full of acid-dripping techno, spacey atmospheres, and heads-down minimalism. It’s a slow-burning, carefully building mix that captures the raw live sounds and subtle depth that define his sound. A live-set working just as much the mind as the body.

@shoall

Sure Thing Mix 137: Loek Frey

Sure Thing

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