Chapter II

Check out our Mostra music picks here. Your monthly dose of carefully curated recommendations from our curator on board @f-ondj (Alfonso Pomeda).

Mostra is a small-format festival of avant-garde and experimental electronic music. A festival to make a scene 🖤

+ Info:
www.mostra.barcelona
www.instagram.com/mostrabcn
www.facebook.com/MostraBCN

Mostra's April Faves 🖤

a •  t r i p

Podcast

The next chapter begins…

We are so pleased to welcome one of the most prolific artists in the field of ambient and experimental music. An unstoppable creative force, whose music has deeply inspired us over the years..... Ishq…

A mix composed entirely of his own music, and mostly forthcoming releases, Ishq takes us on a mind-bending journey through unknown environments.

“In the winter months, as darkness falls, I tend to gravitate more towards deeper and immersive music. Often themes based around space, science fiction, the other-worldly, and the imaginary.

I tend to work on a lot of music this time of year that’s more about painting a landscape or creating a journey, and it’s also an excuse for me to explore the synthesis of sounds, and in particular, the idea of other dimensions of mind or reality. 

It’s all in the imagination, and the mind is free to explore these things. Thats what art is about, in part, and so there is some escapism to the music, as well as a focus on creating moments of peace for the listener.

This mix ends a long period of working on this particular form of sound, as I now move back into more structured music and other forms, so it's been a nice way to bring an end to a phase of creative work. I'm now ready for the new year, and a new energy." - Ishq

Thank you, Matt. It’s truly an honour <3

Artwork by Clayton Ciolac

Bandcamp: https://ishq.bandcamp.com

The Observatory - Ishq

For our second offering of the year, we welcome a very talented artist and event organiser, based in Osaka, Japan..... Loe...

After meeting Loe in Osaka last year, and witnessing her perform a mind-bending techno set at a beautiful Muzan Editions x Astral Industries event, we connected through our mutual interest in the power of ambient music and its unique way of processing emotions. A form of therapy, if you will…

This mix is a beautifully woven narrative for cold nights and deep introspection…

Thank you, Loe <3

~~

“My hometown, where I was born and raised, is Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The city is rich in nature, with a view of the Japanese Alps mountain range.

It is a cold area, and when I was a child, it was not unusual to have heavy snowfalls. At night, when there is a lot of snow as far as the eye can see, it is quiet. The snow reflects the moonlight, and the sky becomes bluish and faintly bright.

The big tree that I could see from my room, which was usually swaying in the wind, was covered with snow and quiet on such a day.

It was a very lyrical scene, even to my childish mind, and I felt a sense of awe and fear mixed with affection, which made me wonder. But I felt somewhat lonely, and I didn’t want the morning to come. I was more inclined to bury myself in the silence forever.

I put the original landscape of my heart into this mix. Please enjoy.” - Loe

~~

Mix mastered by Yori
Artwork by Clayton Ciolac

~~

~~ About Loe ~~

Loe was born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, and is the grandniece of avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama. She started her career as a techno DJ in the Kansai region in 2005, and after appearing at DOMMUNE supporting techno heavyweight Reeko's first solo gig in Osaka, she expanded her activities to the whole of Japan. She organises an ambient event known as "SLOWMOTION", in collaboration with AOKI takamasa and Endurance. Her storytelling development and layering techniques are her specialities, and her play style, which maximises the trippy immersive feeling that is the real appeal of techno music, has gained enthusiastic support from the scene.

The Observatory - Loe

Live recording @ the Future Intel headquarters in The Hague. Streaming live on Youtube and futureintelradio.com.

Mattikk ╚═ Future Intel X Nerve Collect ═╗ 29 02 2024

So pleased to welcome our next guest...

An incredibly talented producer and DJ, who captured our heart and has gifted us with so much inspiration over the years..... ma lo...

“A collection of personally significant & beautiful works from various incredible artists. Layered with field recordings from time living in the mountains on magical Dharug & Gudungurra Country”

This mix is very special to us. Feelings of nostalgia. It takes us back to when we first fell in love with ma lo’s sound… <3

Dive deep…

Composed and recorded on Dharug Country 🌱

https://soundcloud.com/mahlomusic

Artwork by Clayton Ciolac

The Observatory - ma lo

Our mid-week listening session comes courtesy of multi-disciplinary Japanese artist, Makiko Iwaki, under her DJ alias, Iwamaki.

Aside from gracing the world with beautifully woven, introspective DJ sets, she performs live, and produces stunning drone and deep techno sounds under her alias, Menou. Having performed live at Barcelona’s Mostra festival, and releasing music on a string of labels, such as Orbitando, Initiate, and Accents, Iwamaki’s journey as an artist is one to keep your eyes on.

This mix is a live DJ set, recorded just three-weeks ago from MIMINOIMI at Polaris Tokyo, where she layered many sounds, and a unique fusion was born in that very moment.

Tracklist:

Abul Mogard & KMRU - Drawing Water on Matching Teal Surfaces
VAGALLY VAKANS - 852Hz + Pink Noise + Womb Sounds + (宮崎・天安河原の自然音)
Anthony Child - Turn on to the Hall of Perpetual Rotation
Patricia Wolf - Lay to Rest
Night Sea - Off Grid
Material Object - Exit
Rod Modell - Side B
William Selman - Frigidaire Idylls
Celestial Seed Sound - Pain and Tension Relief (174hz)
Individuo Atemporal - Abyssal Rhythms
Kali Malone - Living Torch II
Ancestral Landscapes - Old Timer
Ishtadi - Subheccha 01
Respira - Luminescent Lunar Master

https://soundcloud.com/makiko-iwaki

Artwork by Clayton Ciolac

The Observatory - Iwamaki

Ahead of her debut record on co:clear next week, @edenaurelius treats us to a blissful hour-long trip

https://coclear.bandcamp.com/album/plateau

₀₂₆ 𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀

First in a series of maybe more outings. Spontaneous sessions from the Staalman Studio. Don't be afraid to ask if you want to know.

Get in touch with mammo.works@gmail.com if you want Mammo to play a few rekkids at your party.

(64m32s)

Very excited to welcome our next guest…

Timnah is one of our favourite artists, and a true master of her craft. Not a week goes by without listening to one of her immersive sonic creations. They hold a special place in our heart <3

Over the years, she has crafted a very unique sonic language that transcends the dance floor, into subliminal rhythmic, ambient, and experimental territories. She has a gift for conjuring dynamic narratives that evoke powerful emotions and otherworldly visualisations.

Timnah has a unique way of drawing the listener into her world, rather than guiding them through their own….. and it’s a beautiful place to be.

https://soundcloud.com/timnah-sommerfeldt

Artwork by Clayton Ciolac

The Observatory - Timnah

Repping an oft overlooked Swiss techno contingent comes the next guest in Bassiani’s podcast series. Basel born and raised Garçon is one of the most promising names to call the bucolic town on the shores of the Rhine his home. He got an early start, mixing from the age of 14 and booked a mere two years later, assiduously cobbling together influences in his early work and soon delivering performances city-wide. First those at Hinterhof (now closed) and then those at local staple Elysia. With musical collaborator Agonis he’s also fired up techno label Amenthia Recordings, an agar dish for like-minded Basel music makers. His own sonic experiments are a purely live affair, and that’s no bad thing. Garçon’s escapades, from Waking Life to Barcelona’s Parallel have honed his voice and made of him an adept hand when faced with the strenuous demands of modulating crowd energy. Nodding to a range of influences across the electronic map he harbours a superlative talent for finding niche sounds at the fringes of common scope. Enter Podcast 208: towering, no-bullshit sounds, an hour of ghostly, mechanical whispers and powerful basslines, earth-shaking and infinitesimally precise techno from this connoisseur selector.

@garcon

BASSIANI PODCAST SERIES

Bassiani invites Garçon / Podcast #208

Fran Acosta @ Klub Collective Present Dino Sabatini

Back in 2023 we were lucky enough to release an exceptional podcast from Timnah - our ears were hooked! We immediately felt the potential and knew that she would be the DJ to provide the perfect festival afternoon soundtrack to our beloved forest.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon at Monument Festival 2024, and Timnah’s set completely surpassed our already high expectations. From the moment she started, it was clear this was going to be something special.

Starting slow and deep, setting the stage like the opening of an epic tale, Timnah’s set unfolded layer by layer, note by note like a cinematic sonic story told deep in the forest by a master storyteller, one that could have only been by Timnah herself.

Available now on our SoundCloud and YouTube channels or wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow:
https://soundcloud.com/timnah-sommerfeldt
https://www.instagram.com/timnah_amenthia/

Monument Festival 2024 : Timnah

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

Basel’s Timnah joins our series with a long-anticipated recording from last year’s inaugural pe:rsona, an intimate gathering from the minds at Positive Education. Over the years Timnah has established a reputation for expansive and visionary selections without equal, lending her voice to the beloved Amentia and A Walking Contradiction collectives and leading audiences into captivating unknowns worldwide. Recorded live in the French countryside at the peak of summer, Timnah’s set smolders with delicate tension, lacing outward like tendrils upon shattering glass. An intense, inward-folding moment graciously shared. Thanks Timnah!

@timnah-sommerfeldt

Artwork by Mei Oele - Boser Tritt.

Sure Thing Mix 142: Timnah

Recording of Loek Frey & Timnah's set at the UFO II stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Loek Frey & Timnah at UFO II - Dekmantel Festival 2025

"From stillness, motion grows. After hours suspended in ambient haze, pulse and movement return - deep, measured, and alive with detail. From layered harmonics to the weight of each kick, the set unfolds like a slow ignition: serious, immersive, and unrelenting in its drive. A live moment at Mostra that reminded everyone where the dancefloor begins."

As a Mostra resident since the first edition, Timnah (@timnah-sommerfeldt) has shown throughout the previous years a great versatility, adapting to any venue and time slot of the festival always brilliantly. After closing Mostra24 in a masterful way, the Swiss artist visited Mostra25 to do a hybrid set with Mario (@mario-7), who also joined Mostra with Varuna (@varuna4053) a couple of years ago in a performance of which we also keep very nice memories.
The hybrid DJ/live set of Timnah and Mario is a match made in heaven, linking top notch selector capabilities to swirling hardware techno aesthetics and flawless execution. Both hailing from Basel, their collab also entangles the two local labels Amenthia Recordings (@amenthia-recordings) and A Walking Contradiction (@awalkingcontradiction). Through their close collaboration with both labels and heaps of collective of studio time, their musical taste and approach have become deeply intertwined, resulting in long build-ups and transcendental sound sculptures.

Mostra (@mostrabcn) is an independent, small-scale festival of avant-garde and experimental electronic music that emerged at the end of 2021 as a counterpoint to the macro-festivals and the overcrowded, commercial, and impersonal offerings of other large events held in Barcelona. Mostra will celebrate its fourth edition from March 12 to 15, 2026.

Don't miss the 5th edition of Mostra!!

https://es.ra.co/events/2270686
https://www.mostra.barcelona/en

HOCast #264 - Timnah & Mario (Hybrid) - Mostra 2025

Campfire Stories 41 (Wandered lonely as a cloud) by @faruambient

~ About The Story ~

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

- William Wordsworth

~ Chapters ~

Faru - Fieldrecording Panama / Anton valley
Faru - Mountain Adventures
Biosphere - Gravity Asist
Eric Wøllo - Blue Mountain
Purl - The. Stars Will Have An End
Aukai - Snow (Abul Mogard Rework)
Ketev - Stripes From The House of The Shaman
Dedekind Cut - Tahoe
Popnoname - Fembria
Blazej Malinowski - Fragmenta
Purl - Violante (Evaporating Edit by Faru) unreleased
Hotel Neon - Essential Nature
ASC - Washed away over time
yunas - Krauty Dreams (Faru’s melting clouds remix) unreleased
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Stratus
Aphex Twin - Rhubarb
Warmth - Dust
Shorelights - Summer Cottage Soundscapes
Warmth - Hivern
Thomas Köner - Teimo
Eluder - warm warning
Naal - The great wait
Celer - Lights inside and ahead
Chubby Wolf - Covered with builder loom
Tetsu Inoue - Sour cloud
Huerco S. - A Sea of Love
Akira Rabelais - 1382 Wyclif Gen. ii. 7 And spiride in to the face of
hym an entre of breth of lijf.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Midday
Pan American - The Penguin Speaks
wrong dials / tutti harp - Neony
Chi - Mahat
Hotel Neon - Roke
The Black Dog - Sleep Deprivation 1
Alio Die & Lorenzo Montanà - Eternal Wisdom
Waveform Transmission - V 2.2-2.3
Biosphere - Black Mesa
Pausal - Murmuration I
Pausal - Murmuration II
Warmth - Anchorage
Faru - Ella (unreleased - forthcoming on Faint)
Rod Modell - Spirit Tracking
Thomas Köner - Lira
Michael Meyer - Sully (Wolfgang Voigt Mix)
ASC - Snow in Summer
Faru - Faru - Fieldrecording Panama / Cloud Forest

~ Notes ~

Campfire Stories is a mix series by friends of Silent Season. The focus of the series is on storytelling through deeper electronic music. Artists weave together narratives using the emotional characteristics of ambient and techno music.

Thanks to all the artists and labels whose sounds help tell the story.

Thank you for listening.

- - -

www.silentseason.com
info@silentseason.com

Campfire Stories 41 (Wandered Lonely as a Cloud) by Faru

Faru is a Berlin-based musician and designer from Germany. His works have been described as a natural orchestra in a dream-like manner. Exploring movements of nature, noise and harmonics. He is also passionate about landscape photography and field recordings, which build the foundation of his musical journey.

https://faru.bandcamp.com/

Tracklist

Isorinne - Blurred Perceptions of Substance
Benoit Pioulard - i
ASC - Seamounts
Purl - Violante (Evaporating Edit by Faru)
sonmi451 - outer shell
Benoit Pioulard - III
Nmls - On & On & On
sonmi451 - bay hatch
Bojanek & Michalowski - sculptures
Araceae - Gleaming Embers
Deru - Pathologically Bored (Remix)
Faru - unreleased
Chubby Wolf - Covered with builder loom
Klaus Wiese - Akash II
Carl Stone - Banteay Srey
Faru - unreleased
Celer - Sol Azur
Grzegorz Bojanek - Pure Part 2
Faru - unreleased
Celer - spindles And Fires
ASC - Hadal Zone
Andy Stott - Time Away
Pan•American - Project For An Apartment Building

Have a good listening.

Deep Breakfast 009 - Faru

"In the Nada Brahma book I find the words:
"with the Sufis is the name of the original sound "Saute Surmad": 
the sound that fills space. "
In this mix there's a track from Chi Factory's Hanyo v. Oosterrom called "Saute Soermad", I think he means it too. 
I think that's how it could have started.

Spiritual travel is my second mix for the great guys of "Nature Tales". Planned as a "one and only mix", it quickly became clear that the multiplicity of tracks and the somewhat different mood required a split into two mixes. "Spiritual Journey" has definitely become darker than the "Tropical Mysteries" version. It was a long way from planning, track selection and tricky in the details. I hope you like it."

Poems by :
Eric Fassbender | Felix Blume | from Hodge with Deep Nalström
Slow Tide | Folest | Maneki Neko | Robert Rich | Alio Die | Creation VI	
Warren Sampson | Filip Stefanowski | J. Derwort | Swami Kriya Ramananda | Atmøsphäre | Ishtadi | Music For Sleep | Hanyo van Oosterom | The Chi Factory | Rag Dun | Luna Monk | Ross Alexander	
Tuu | Ishq | Dimitar Dodovski | Steve Roach | Sowing Paranoia | Wanderwelle | Lorenzo Montanà | Respira | Ishtaspira | Ecovillage

Follow Echo and Rauschen:
https://soundcloud.com/echo-and-rauschen
www.facebook.com/tickertapekid/
www.instagram.com/echo.and.rauschen/

Nature Tales Mix #12: Echo and Rauschen - A Spiritual Journey For The Mind And Soul

The first week of February 2020.
Oslated Mix Episode 189 - Emika Elena

Human Lessons
Berlin
Japan

Emika Elena is a Berlin based techno DJ / producer from Tokyo and founder of the record label, Human Lessons.
Music has always been a huge part of her life, ever since she started playing piano in her family home at the age of 4, but it was the discovery of techno in her early teens that led her to become a DJ.
Having played one of the top venues such as Contact, VENT, eleven, UNIT, Origami, Air, Dommune and so on.
In 2016, she officially launched Human Lessons and released a solo EP titled ”Delicate Details”. 
One year later, she collaborated with Ryogo Yamamori, on a new EP ”Confusion” which was a limited edition vinyl release on her label. 
Gathering attention by being played by big name producers and radio programs such as BBC Radio1 and Deep Space Helsinki, she was significant success in first European tour in 2018. 
Her trademark sound is all about hypnotic darkness, influenced by soundtracks and cinematic scores.

Emika Elena 는 도쿄 태생의 베를린 기반의 테크노 DJ / 프로듀서이자 레이블 Human Lessons 의 창립자이다.
음악은 언제나 그녀가 4살때 피아노를 연주하기 시작했을 때부터 그녀의 삶의 가장 큰 한 부분이었다. 하지만 그녀는 십대 초반에 테크노를 접했고 이 경험은 그녀를 DJ 의 길로 이끌었다.
Contact, VENT, eleven, UNIT, Origami, Air, Dommune 등의 베뉴들에서 플레이 해온 그녀는, 2016년에 Human Lessons 를 런칭한 후 “ Delicate Details” EP 를 발매했다.
1년 후, 그녀는 Ryogo Yamamori 와 협업한 ”Confusion” EP 를 한정판 바이닐로 발매했다.
그녀는 여러 라디오 프로그램에서의 플레잉으로 주목을 받으며, 2018년 유럽 투어를 성공적으로 마쳤다.
그녀의 트레이드마크는 사운드 트랙과 필름 스코어로부터 영향받은 어두운 최면적 사운드이다.

- Translated by Taegyun Yoon

Discography
Emika Elena - Spiral Light [2018 / Human Lessons]
Emika Elena & Ryogo Yamamori - Confusion [2017 / Human Lessons]
Emika Elena - Swallow [2017 / Human Lessons]
Emika Elena - Delicate Details [2017 / Human Lessons]

https://soundcloud.com/emikaelena
https://www.facebook.com/emikaelena
https://www.instagram.com/emikaelenahml
https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/emikaelena-jp

Artwork by Clément Davout
First cutting for February 2020

Oslated Seoul.
http://www.oslatedseoul.com
https://soundcloud.com/oslated
https://www.facebook.com/oslated
https://oslated.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/oslated

Oslated Mix

Oslated Mix Episode 189 - Emika Elena

Hello dear people. So the podcast channel is back after this three months break - I needed some time to think about something else, work, exciting new projects to come. I expected to relaunch the channel a bit later, but considering the actual situation, I guess it's essential to keep the head up and to share art and music as much as possible. Keep safe, take care of yourself and your loved ones, everything will be ok 💚

So we have a special one for you today. I have the pleasure to welcome Andreas, aka Kraut Sounds on the channel with a beautiful live performance.

Kraut Sounds lives in the South of Germany. Originally started in spring 2012 as a dub techno project, evolving since then into an experimental electronic outfit with deep ambient roots and a certain kraut electronic vein.

Kraut Sounds released numerous EPs, albums and live sessions for several dub techno, ambient/drone netlabels: Büro für Erdrotation, Terra Rossa, Spiel:feld Records, Diametral, Dimbideep Music, Drone Works International (all Germany), Adept Label (Spain) and Dub Techno Blog (UK). Podcasts of Kraut Sounds can be heard at Deep Electronics, Echogarden, Hello Strange, Spiel:feld, Moshitaka and Technopoetry.

Kraut Sounds also records under the name Polaroid Notes improvisational music and contemporary classic. Up to now Polaroid Notes did several releases for Audio Gourmet, Whitelabrecs, Tessellate Recordings (all UK) and Büro für Erdrotation (Germany).

About the music:
“Since I’m into making music I like working with deep and minimal sounds, oscillating textures and free-form Kraut electronic stuff creating certain moods and feelings.
“Closed Circle” is about floating and drifting in sound and time. About getting lost in emotions, in deep meditative soundscapes and atmospheric drones. The live session features some tracks of my albums “Echoes”, “Drone Scapes” and “Spaces”, the latest one released mid of November 2019, together with a couple of new and unreleased sonic meditations. Sit down, relax and drift away…”

The picture was taken by Kraut Sounds in a pine wood at the Mediterranean Sea near Cecina/Toscana.

Follow him : 

Kraut Sounds
@kraut-sounds
www.krautsounds.bandcamp.com/
www.facebook.com/krautsounds/

Polaroid Notes
@polaroid-notes
www.polaroidnotes.bandcamp.com/
www.facebook.com/polaroidnotesmusic/

Stellar Series Episode 47 - Kraut Sounds (Closed Circle)

ambient ~ experimental ~ beats

Curated by @jaykeegan

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