{"id":2403868,"date":"2026-05-05T22:31:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T22:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2403868"},"modified":"2026-05-05T22:31:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T22:31:34","slug":"fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-is-imagining-new-futures-for-ambient-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-is-imagining-new-futures-for-ambient-music\/","title":{"rendered":"FR 166: Colombian Drone Mafia Is Imagining New Futures for Ambient Music"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!joEu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F076d3639-100a-4970-baf6-0ec1ae72a491_4194x6290.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!joEu!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F076d3639-100a-4970-baf6-0ec1ae72a491_4194x6290.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!joEu!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F076d3639-100a-4970-baf6-0ec1ae72a491_4194x6290.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!joEu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F076d3639-100a-4970-baf6-0ec1ae72a491_4194x6290.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!joEu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F076d3639-100a-4970-baf6-0ec1ae72a491_4194x6290.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><figcaption class=\"image-caption\">Colombian Drone Mafia (photo: Manu Uribe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spacetalklondon.com\/\">Space Talk<\/a><\/strong><span> is a hi-fi listening bar tucked behind a forest green facade in Clerkenwell, London; over the past year, it has doubled as a virtual garden of experimental sounds tended by Bogot\u00e1\u2019s Nicol\u00e1s S\u00e1nchez, better known as <\/span><strong>TraTraTrax<\/strong><span> cofounder <\/span><strong>Nyksan<\/strong><span>. In April 2025, shortly before the release of his <\/span><strong>Colombian Drone Mafia<\/strong><span> project\u2019s debut album, <\/span><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colombiandronemafia.bandcamp.com\/album\/memoria\">Memoria<\/a><\/em><span>, S\u00e1nchez kicked off a year-long residency in the space, inviting a range of friends to take advantage of Space Talk\u2019s cozy environs and crystalline sound system: <\/span><strong>Ehua<\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong>Nick Le\u00f3n<\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong>AYLU<\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong>Tristan Arp<\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong>Soreab<\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong>Hesaitix<\/strong><span>, even <\/span><strong>Raime<\/strong><span>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the series neared its close, he found himself wanting to document what had come to feel like a year-long experiment in community-building. Thus was born <\/span><em>Sue\u00f1o en Flor<\/em><span>, a collaborative album featuring input from AYLU, Tristan Arp, <\/span><strong>DJ Python<\/strong><span>, poet <\/span><strong>Mar\u00eda V\u00e9lez Gallo<\/strong><span>, and S\u00e1nchez\u2019s longtime collaborator <\/span><strong>Gibrana Cervantes<\/strong><span>. In a nod to the residency\u2019s emphasis on shared space and lived experience, <\/span><em>Sue\u00f1o en Flor<\/em><span>\u2014out this Friday\u2014reaches past the dimensions of a 12-inch vinyl record, encompassing a 24-page zine edited by S\u00e1nchez\u2019s friend <\/span><strong>Henry Bruce Jones<\/strong><span> that includes conversations with Raime, <\/span><strong>Felicia Atkinson<\/strong><span> and <\/span><strong>Chantal Michelle<\/strong><span>, AYLU, <\/span><strong>AGF<\/strong><span>, and more, along with texts from <\/span><strong>Vibeke Mascini<\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong>Nicole L\u2019Huillier<\/strong><span>, and myself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3460883996\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In preparation for my text, I spoke with S\u00e1nchez a few months ago. It was a free-flowing conversation\u2014appropriately so, given what he revealed as his fondness for rivers\u2014that touched upon his upbringing in Bogot\u00e1, the early days of that city\u2019s experimental electronic-music scene, and the legacy and future of Latin American ambient.<\/p>\n<p><span>As aliases go, Colombian Drone Mafia is a funny one; it might feel at odds with the dark ambient depths of <\/span><em>Memoria<\/em><span>, a collaboration with Mexican composer and violinist Gibrana Cervantes, or with the intricately textured soundscapes and dissected rhythms of the new album. But S\u00e1nchez had something interesting to say about the alias: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><strong>The idea of Colombian Drone Mafia<\/strong><span>\u2014even starting with <\/span><strong>a cheeky name, almost a joke<\/strong><span>, we can talk about these things, right? About a location, a texture, a sound, but also about resistance. Ideally, it creates a bit of a memory and sounds funny, but <\/span><strong>the name itself already contains a multiplicity of tensions.<\/strong><span> <\/span><strong>Like, it\u2019s going to make noise, and well, I like making noise<\/strong><span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read on for the full interview.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also, for the first time on Futurism Restated, I\u2019m sharing a full version of the interview in Spanish, since that\u2019s the language we used in our conversation. Click below for the full text.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div data-component-name=\"DigestPostEmbed\" class=\"digestPostEmbed-flwiST\">\n<div class=\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-imagina\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>Reposts<\/p>\n<p><\/a><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-imagina\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"pencraft pc-reset color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw line-height-36-XIK16z font-display-nhmvtD size-30-tZAWf_ weight-bold-DmI9lw reset-IxiVJZ\">FR 166: Colombian Drone Mafia Est\u00e1 Cuidando las Flores<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-row pc-mobile-flexDirection-column pc-gap-16 pc-paddingTop-16 pc-reset\">\n<div style=\"width:140px;\" class=\"pencraft pc-reset\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-imagina\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!tLKf!,w_280,h_280,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc616b02-4dfc-4b4d-a5b0-5c05b2ba16fb_4194x6290.jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!tLKf!,w_280,h_280,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc616b02-4dfc-4b4d-a5b0-5c05b2ba16fb_4194x6290.jpeg\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"FR 166: Colombian Drone Mafia Est\u00e1 Cuidando las Flores\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" class=\"img-OACg1c mdSquare-pPKPYa pencraft pc-reset\"\/><\/picture><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pencraft pc-display-flex pc-flexDirection-column pc-reset flex-grow-rzmknG\">\n<p class=\"caption-QiPycG\">Hace un par de meses, habl\u00e9 con Colombian Drone Mafia (Nicol\u00e1s S\u00e1nchez, aka Nyksan), sobre su nuevo album Sue\u00f1o en Flor. Fruto de una residencia en Space Talk, un hi-fi listening bar en Londres, el disco incluye las contribuciones de AYLU, Tristan Arp<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em><strong>Paid subscriptions are $5 a month or $50 a year<\/strong><span> and are what keep the lights on around here! Perks include <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/futurism-restated-new-playlists-for-945\">exclusive playlists<\/a><\/strong><span> for chilling and clubbing (<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/2026-playlistsnow-on-tidal\">now available<\/a><span> on Tidal as well as Apple Music, Deezer, and Spotify); <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/t\/eavesdropping\">Eavesdropping<\/a><span>, a new series of mixes by me<\/span><\/strong><span>; the ongoing <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/t\/mixes\">Mixes Digest<\/a><\/strong><span> series; and full access to the archives, including interviews with <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-161-bill-orcutt-an-unstoppable\">Bill Orcutt<\/a><\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-149-kara-lis-coverdale-on-her\">Kara-Lis Coverdale<\/a><\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-136-call-super-is-tweaking-old\">Call Super<\/a><\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-128-avalon-emerson-is-rescuing\">Avalon Emerson<\/a><\/strong><span>, <\/span><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr123-nick-leon-is-putting-the-weird\">Nick Le\u00f3n<\/a><\/strong><span>, and more.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg\" width=\"1456\" height=\"1456\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/a5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1456,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:8606492,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/i\/196558721?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!_37U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5c4c45f-ef0e-463a-a781-98958b28ef6f_3000x3000.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sizing-normal\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Hola Nico! How are you? Where are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>I\u2019m in Berlin right now. I won one of those <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.daad.de\/en\/studying-in-germany\/scholarships\/daad-scholarships\/\">DAAD<\/a><span> residencies. It\u2019s a German cultural agency that brings in artists. Honestly, I\u2019m really happy\u2014I\u2019m currently collaborating with an artist named <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nicolelhuillier.com\/\">Nicole L\u2019Huillier<\/a><span>, who\u2019s from Chile. I\u2019ll send you the audio from the installation we\u2019re working on later\u2014it\u2019s really beautiful. Nicole works a lot with the dream world, materials, and resonances, so she uses contact microphones and piezoelectric elements, but also materials from the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>How long have you been there now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Almost a month. The plan was to stay for a month to work on an installation with Nicole that\u2019s coming out in April.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m taking a look at Nicole\u2019s website\u2014what she does looks really interesting.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, really cool. And we\u2019re on the same wavelength because we both have a love for detail. Like, it just has to be that way, you know? With that attention, care, and listening to every millimeter and sound of her work, because it all means something. I really resonate with people like that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To start, tell me a little about your story and how you got into music.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ever since I was a kid, I think music has always drawn me in. I mean, it\u2019s the typical story\u2014not one where, like, \u201cOh, I heard this artist or song and suddenly I liked music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I grew up in a family that really loved music and took me to a lot of concerts as a kid. I have memories of going to festivals in Bogot\u00e1 like Rock al Parque, a free festival with thousands of people. And my uncle\u2014who I call my rocker uncle\u2014used to take me to Rock al Parque when I was a kid. \u201cLet me take the kid to the festival\u201d\u2014a free festival, you know? One day is metal, one day punk, one day rock, with mosh pits of hundreds of people. I\u2019m very grateful to them for instilling a love of music in me, but it wasn\u2019t like I suddenly picked up an instrument or listened to this artist or that\u2014I think it evolved and grew, and then, with the internet, I delved deeper into electronic music and grew with those dual influences.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s a nice story with the label that we\u2019ve told you before. We know\u2014the internet, the blog era, the 2000s, listening to reggaeton\u2026 I think it\u2019s also part of that Colombian entrepreneurial spirit and how we used to sell CDs. It\u2019s a story that happened to us with Daniel, Lomalinda, and JP, Verraco\u2014each of us was kind of acting as a music curator, and then we\u2019d bring the CD-Rs to school and sell or trade them. And that, if you think about it, is kind of what we do with TraTraTrax today. That idea was kind of the reason why the first releases also had that CD artwork\u2014they were pirated, but it\u2019s also about selling, curating, and sharing in the end, right? I think that\u2019s what it\u2019s about.<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1200,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!v60a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2636d83e-3d3a-47ac-a11c-d57e8d7684ab_1200x1200.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sizing-normal\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What was the electronic music scene like in Colombia? You\u2019re from Bogot\u00e1, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I\u2019m from Bogot\u00e1; my other partners are from Medell\u00edn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What was the scene like in both cities when you started going out and DJing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Music in Colombia has always been very rich and diverse; there\u2019s a bit of everything. So there were always reggaeton parties\u2014I think reggaeton was really key for a lot of us, like those minitecas where they\u2019d have us perreando when we were 12, 13 years old, with our hormones all over the place. So I think that association is really nice&#8230; I even look back on it with nostalgia, you know? If you play me a classic perreo, it kind of reminds me of that era of being a teenager and having first loves&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Electronic music started coming into my life and into Bogot\u00e1&#8230; I think it\u2019s gone through several phases, because I understand that in the \u201990s it was very techno, then it shifted to deep house, tech-house, progressive. Like when it started getting a bit more popular and these kinds of bars started popping up\u2014ones that were a little more accessible, not so underground. And then you start to see the backlash. Like, \u201cAh, no, that electronic music is too mainstream, so let\u2019s make it tougher, more industrial.\u201d And I feel like Bogot\u00e1 is a very raw and tough city, full of contrasts\u2014it\u2019s not a city that\u2019s easy at first; it\u2019s going to give you a hard time, but in the end, it has beautiful things. It\u2019s more about finding those pockets and your communities. It\u2019s so big and so rough, and the transportation is terrible\u2014it\u2019s kind of industrial. It\u2019s the same with many cities in the Global South, which start to sprawl out in a haphazard way; suddenly, over a 50-year period, the city grows exponentially. And I think genres like techno tend to thrive in environments like that, because there\u2019s the roughness but also the vision of the future, the sense of machinery, of progress, of rhythm, but also the discomfort, right? In search of comfort, relief, the idea of wanting change. I think techno represents a lot of these things\u2014visions of the future and nonconformity.<\/p>\n<p><span>So I became obsessed with techno when I was about 18. I had a best friend back then; they didn\u2019t play the kind of techno we liked, and we started making music, we started DJing, but nobody would book us because we were doing weird stuff\u2014like\u2026 a bit more hypnotic and experimental, more in the IDM vein, like Raster-Noton, Rrose, Donato Dozzy, and Mike Parker, stuff from Northern Electronics and Sem\u00e1ntica\u2014a bit more on that trippy side. This was before Business Techno; this music wasn\u2019t very commercial, and I understand why they didn\u2019t want to book us. But then we started throwing parties; we created a series called <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/unterbog\/\">Unterbog<\/a><span>, which I think was one of the first raves back then to feature this kind of sound\u2014I won\u2019t say electronic music because there were many others, but definitely these sounds that had that psychedelic vibe and took place in unconventional venues. And with that collective, we grew, and well, looking back, we met Dani and JP once they moved to Bogot\u00e1 thanks to this. That was, I don\u2019t know, 12 years ago. So, to sum it up, my entry into electronic music as an obsession leaned a bit more toward techno, but in Colombia. So I\u2019d obsess over techno at home, but outside of that, I\u2019d go to the bar to drink aguardiente and listen to and dance to reggaeton with my friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sure, like a pretty broad view of music in different contexts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All in all, I think that\u2019s it\u2014that abundance of contexts. I think it\u2019s very Latin, in general, because of the richness you see everywhere. Colombia, to me, is a very green country\u2014if you look around, I mean, take a millimeter, any square meter of the Amazon, and it\u2019s like seeing the world\u2019s biodiversity. There are more species there than the total number of species in the UK, in that square meter. And then suddenly, zoom out, a forest\u2019s worth of this, wow. So yeah, I think that\u2019s where that plurality comes from, and how you\u2019re unconsciously absorbing the importance of the place.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span>And when you launched <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/insurgentes-co.bandcamp.com\/\">Insurgentes<\/a><span>, which I think was in 2017, it seems like from the start you had very clear ideas about the label\u2019s identity, right? I mean, between the name, the art, the covers, the titles\u2026 What did you want to do with the label back then?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The funny thing is, I wasn\u2019t part of Insurgentes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Oh, OK.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>Well, I feel like I was there, you know? I was in the room with Dani and Juan Pablo when they were talking about the label, when we were discussing these visual and sonic references\u2014I was there, but it was their project, and I respected that because I was focused on other things anyway. I was more in a period of exploring ambient music. It was a time of sonic exploration for me, learning about microphones, traveling to different places. I had another label that we ran more as a platform among friends, so we wouldn\u2019t just keep that music locked away; it was called <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hoyrecords.bandcamp.com\/\">HOY Records<\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3568827625\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2877222881\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=7866375\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We put out three releases on Hoy Records, basically because we couldn\u2019t find an outlet\u2014we were trying to reach out to a lot of these ambient music outlets. But I saw a gap between what we were doing and the opportunities we had to release music and get heard. As a Latino, what I see is that historically, the slightly more ethereal music has been harder to get out there, you know?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because culturally it\u2019s not popular and there\u2019s no infrastructure, so there aren\u2019t many public resources to explore sound, or like these kinds of grants\u2014like the one I\u2019m on right now\u2014where they let you collaborate with artists, release a record, have the media promote what you do, work with labels or platforms, or play gigs\u2014none of that exists.<\/p>\n<p>So when you really start exploring in depth, the further you go into the jungle, the more you\u2019re on your own. So yes, I feel that ambient music has perhaps been very white historically, in my view, but for me it\u2019s a matter of infrastructure, more than anything else. Because the raw material is there, the stories are there, the narratives are there, the sounds\u2014my goodness, the sheer number of sounds there are! For us, ambient isn\u2019t a perfume, as Brian Eno might have put it. For us, ambient, I\u2019d say, is more of a vital sonic impulse, because we don\u2019t have that solemnity of how the cold sounds; for us, it sounds warmer, like the cicada, the multitude of birds singing at different frequencies, the water, the people, their cries. All of that is part of our environment. So maybe it\u2019s not so clean; it always has all these layers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What you\u2019re saying is very interesting, because just yesterday I was writing about KMRU\u2019s new album and reading his interviews, about how he started recording sounds there in Nairobi and things like that. He also talks about the abundance of sounds and the sonic activity of his surroundings. And it\u2019s like you say, it\u2019s like the opposite of Brian Eno, who has that tranquility in the background that you can ignore. I mean, for KMRU it was a very active thing, listening to all the movement of the environment. And it\u2019s a bit like what you\u2019re saying too.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Joseph\u2019s music is so beautiful, I love it, I\u2019m a fan. Funny you should mention him, I wrote to him today, like, \u201cJoseph, when are we going to the studio?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s right, because he\u2019s there in Berlin.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s here and we ran into each other\u2014I mean, the synchronicities of life, imagine, I was at the CTM closing event and I sit down, half an hour goes by and I happen to look to see who\u2019s next to me and there\u2019s Joseph right there, literally right next to me\u2014and I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat are you doing here? Hi!\u201d  Plus, we have the same agent, Carin. I love how beautiful serendipitous encounters are.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s also interesting what you were saying about how ambient, or its reputation, its fame, is very European, North American, and also Japanese, but for example the Buh label, from Peru, is putting out so much stuff that I had no idea about, tracing the tradition and history of electroacoustic music, experimental music\u2014some of it academic, but also non-academic. There\u2019s a very rich tradition in South America that isn\u2019t really known on a global level yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Totally, that\u2019s it\u2014the lack of infrastructure keeps all these sound experiments somewhat underground. And it\u2019s tough, because we have great, great masters of electroacoustic music. Even regarding the lack of female representation in electronic music in general, in these electroacoustic genres I see that it\u2019s the opposite\u2014the pioneers have often been women. They\u2019re the ones who dive into research, play gigs, build synths, create sonic universes\u2014the ones with the patience to nurture and grow. And I love that you brought up Buh Records, because Nicole just released an album with them featuring an incredible installation she created about the principle of reciprocity and listening as an act of mutual transformation.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1290237656\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Oh, that\u2019s so cool.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Such a beautiful concept. In fact, we were talking about this the other day, and there was a phrase she included in an installation: \u201cIt hurts me to the center of the earth.\u201d That phrase resonated so deeply with me right now, given what we\u2019re going through as humanity\u2014how immense that pain can feel. Heavier than gravity itself\u2026 very poetic.<\/p>\n<p>But yes, I agree with what you\u2019re saying. The truth is, I insist that we have a historical debt to the sonic histories of the Global South and, above all, to that tenacious group of women who began experimenting electroacoustically in these territories.<\/p>\n<p><span>In general, I think it\u2019s about how we reinterpret the sounds of our places in a postcolonial era (which I don\u2019t know if we\u2019ve reached yet). Linking that to the releases and the idea of Colombian Drone Mafia\u2014even starting with a cheeky name, almost a joke, we can talk about these things, right? About a location, a texture, a sound, but also about resistance. Ideally, it creates a bit of a memory and sounds funny, but the name itself already contains a multiplicity of tensions. Like, it\u2019s going to make noise, and well, I like making noise [<\/span><em>laughs<\/em><span>]. Just like TraTraTrax, it feels good\u2014we found a good name.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And this album also creates a kind of tension, a sonic universe between memory and dreams. Because, curiously, many synchronicities in life exist in\u2014or rather, <\/span><em>inhabit<\/em><span>\u2014that place.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg\" width=\"1228\" height=\"1818\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1818,&quot;width&quot;:1228,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1599563,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/i\/196558721?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!IC28!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a01c7d8-9b70-489f-ae16-c9c75ac342c5_1228x1818.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sizing-normal\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><figcaption class=\"image-caption\">Colombian Drone Mafia (photo: Amber Grace Dixon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>I talk a lot about memory and dreams because my flatmate in London is working on her PhD on that topic\u2014the processes involved in creating memories. So she\u2019s developing a game about how you can create a new memory, but then where it ends up being stored. So we started exploring that idea of how you generate a sound memory, right? I mean, how it affects you. A simple idea from psychoacoustics, spatial localization, and HRTF\u2014like when something sudden happens\u2014when an accident occurs, what\u2019s the first thing that happens? You hear it and then turn your head to see what happened, right? That impact is very telling in how a narrative arc of the event will be generated. And it has a lot of cues within it, or key points within how people dream as well. How do dreams sound? Does the sound come from over there or from here?<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re there, and if you hear something from outside, it comes and affects you or becomes part of your reality in the dream, right? How do you start to adapt to it? So for me, that\u2019s very important within my imagination as an artist\u2014how to design, create, and inhabit a sonic universe that invites you to dream, but also invites you to create memory. And that\u2019s very important in light of all this forgotten memory we have of a not-too-distant past, of our sound archive, and to some extent, even that injustice that has been done to Latin sounds. And now we\u2019re back, right? It\u2019s flipped. Now everyone wants to be Latin. And so now they want to listen\u2014it\u2019s that responsibility of, well, OK, what do we dream of?<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t intend to speak from a universal perspective but rather a more personal one, like the concept of this album, which for me is one of the things that obsesses me the most\u2014the beauty of the world\u2014and one of its greatest manifestations is flowers. So it\u2019s like, ah, I want to understand and explore that beauty\u2014what is Latin beauty?\u2014for me, I don\u2019t know, you talk to me about Colombian beauty and I think of orchids. So, I start rethinking a lot of things, too, about the moment we\u2019re living in\u2014a moment that\u2019s so violent and so absurd in so many ways\u2014and I start seeing the importance of dreaming and the importance of reminding ourselves that other things exist, of reminding ourselves that resistance comes from there. Like, from that idea of creating new visions for ourselves, new possibilities, and believing that things can be different, and remembering the beautiful things without forgetting the heavy stuff, right? A contrast. It\u2019s a way of resisting, but we resist\u2014I don\u2019t know, maybe as Octavia Butler would say, from a position of empathy. Maybe we don\u2019t need to contrast but rather superimpose; who knows.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And also in the Latin American context, I think memory is also very political because there\u2019s the issue of neoliberalism and how the history of so many communities, so many places, has been erased.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course, memory is political; it is power. Because when you control it, you can do whatever you want. Who tells the story? What does it mean to erase someone else\u2019s history? It\u2019s very relational. That\u2019s why Israel wants to erase the memory of Palestine: if there is no memory of the Palestinian people, then the people never existed, and therefore neither does their present. And so, it becomes a cycle. History is written by the victors\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Of course, that\u2019s why people disappeared in Chile and Argentina\u2014because if they disappear, they never existed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They never existed! You mention Argentina, la Noche de los L\u00e1pices\u2014it was the students that disappeared. Who were the ones thinking, speaking out, and demanding, \u201cYou can\u2019t do this to us!\u201d? Who are the ones who think and sound a little different? Usually young people, students. The dictatorship comes and boom, who\u2019s the first to disappear? So that\u2019s it, we can\u2019t forget, and the more we talk about this, the more sense it makes to me\u2014the responsibility for all of this.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s not about falling into some purist archival mindset either, like, the guardians of the truth\u2014no. In the world of sound, there\u2019s that double-edged sword with field recordists: Some do it purely for the archive, to record things \u201cjust as they are\u201d\u2014purists of sound and truth\u2026 I don\u2019t feel much dialogue there, and on a personal level, I don\u2019t remember things that way, you know? It\u2019s like, for me, it\u2019s not about understanding the specific moment as it is, but rather, OK, this is my story and I tell it this way.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3460883996\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell me a little more about <\/strong><em><strong>Sue\u00f1o en Flor<\/strong><\/em><strong>. It\u2019s a super collaborative album\u2014there\u2019s AYLU, Mar\u00eda V\u00e9lez Gallo, Tristan Arp, DJ Python, and Gibrana Cervantes again. How did you put it together, and what\u2019s different this time compared to the album <\/strong><em><strong>Memoria <\/strong><\/em><strong>you made last year?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>Sure. This album came out of my residency at <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spacetalklondon.com\/\">Space Talk<\/a><span>, which is this relatively new hi-fi listening bar in London. We held a listening session there for <\/span><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lechugazafiro.bandcamp.com\/album\/desde-los-o-dos-de-un-sapo\">Desde los O\u00eddos de un Sapo<\/a><\/em><span> by Lechuga Zafiro, and we were like, \u201cWow! What a special place!\u201d It feels like the perfect space for listening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So we started talking, and the idea for this residency came up. And we\u2019ve been at it for a year now\u2014a year of inviting different people. I always like to think\u2014if any extensive work is worthwhile, it can be likened to a river, because\u2026 <\/span><em>Check<\/em><span>, you know?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So I imagined this residency as a tributary of a river flowing down, which is sometimes dry, sometimes overflows. So, it was like inviting people close to us and making that movement, that journey down the river. And I felt that after a year, some really beautiful things happened within the residency itself\u2014I mean, we were able to hold a listening session for Colombian Drone Mafia\u2019s first album, then Ehua\u2019s <\/span><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ehua.bandcamp.com\/album\/panta-rei\">Panta Rei<\/a><\/em><span>, and she played live\u2014also for the first time. And opening the first space where Celine [Ehua] was going to sing\u2014for me, that was super magical. Nick [Le\u00f3n] with the listening session for <\/span><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nicknoexit.bandcamp.com\/album\/a-tropical-entropy\">A Tropical Entropy<\/a><\/em><span>, Tristan Arp\u2026 <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/aylu.bandcamp.com\/album\/fobia\">AYLU<\/a><span>, who I also feel is one of those underrated Latin talents. She just released <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/aylu.bandcamp.com\/album\/fobia\">this beautiful album<\/a><span> on Nicol\u00e1s Jaar\u2019s label, Other People\u2014she\u2019s an impressive talent. Bringing in lifelong influences for me, like Raime\u2026 It was really about that\u2014bringing together the friendships I\u2019ve made over the years through this musical endeavor and this listening space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And in the end, it\u2019s about building a sense of community. I feel like London is such a big, sprawling city that it\u2019s just like Bogot\u00e1. You start finding these little pockets that begin to foster this kind of atmosphere of, I don\u2019t know, creativity or openness to listening. So we were creating that with our friends. The spirit of the residency was very collaborative, you know? I feel that beyond what I alone can say, like \u201cHey, come listen to me play all night once a month,\u201d for me it\u2019s more like \u201cCome listen to my friends who are incredible and who have also inspired me to do X or Y,\u201d or \u201cCome listen to this incredible work that you might not have known about.\u201d And maybe I can give them a little more visibility\u2014a win-win. Or just a bit of self-indulgence: I want to listen to this incredible person\u2019s work on this sound system with a cocktail in my hand, closing my eyes and having no one bother me\u2014and opening that space up for others, too.<\/p>\n<p>I feel like the idea of the club is changing for me too, and Space Talk is a very versatile place\u2014on Fridays and Saturdays they move several of the sofas aside and it turns into a bit of a club. So it\u2019s a hi-fi listening bar that can also be a cozy club, and with that sound system! And sometimes it gets a little, I don\u2019t know, pretentious\u2014you can imagine the kind of people it attracts. But overall, everything\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img can-restack\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg\" width=\"960\" height=\"1200\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/bae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1200,&quot;width&quot;:960,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:246839,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/i\/196558721?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Zm2m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbae5ef2e-2205-4878-9a2e-6252523ba2d3_960x1200.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sizing-normal\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Anyway, after a year I told them it\u2019s a shame that all these things happen and get lost a little in the ether. Maybe it would be nice to do, I don\u2019t know, a series of reviews or some texts, including inviting illustrators or poets who came\u2014who I know were there that night\u2014to offer their take on what they felt happened. This idea resonated with them, and it was a bit of a snowball effect: \u201cOkay, well, let\u2019s do some reviews, inviting different artists who were there on different nights to talk about it\u2014why not go deeper?\u201d And I talked about this with my friend and writer Henry Bruce Jones, who had come to several of these nights, and he liked the idea and said, \u201cI want to be the editor,\u201d so that\u2019s how it became more of a publication, and if it\u2019s already a book, then we should make a record, so\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Snowball.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>Yeah, it kind of got out of hand, and I thought: well, since the nature of the residence was collaborative, it has to be a collaborative record, and it has to be a collaborative record with people close to me\u2014like Brian [DJ Python], who\u2019s just a few feet away because he\u2019s my flatmate [<\/span><em>laughs<\/em><span>].<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Oh, you live with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, yeah, I live with Brian, so for me it was easy: \u201cBrian, I made you coffee, let\u2019s sit down and make this song.\u201d And that\u2019s why, when I listen to that song, it has so many layers and moments, but that\u2019s because I could sit down with Brian in the studio at home. And yeah, just like those synchronicities, Tristan Arp moved to London recently and we went to his studio once, and that was enough. AYLU is an amazing musician, and I knew she\u2019d love the concept of making a \u201cflower\u201d song. Then there\u2019s Gibrana, one of my great collaborators.<\/p>\n<p><span>Mar\u00eda V\u00e9lez used to live in Berlin and is an incredible poet, and we recorded this poem that just came out in her <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.editorialgraviola.com\/libros\/en-voz-alta\">latest book<\/a><span>. A poem that, interestingly, she later called \u201cIndulgence,\u201d very much in line with <\/span><em>Sue\u00f1o en Flor <\/em><span>[<\/span><em>laughs<\/em><span>]. I also chose this poem because, well, it talks about wandering and the ghosts that come with it, and the soundscape has a lot of that spectral language. It\u2019s like you\u2019re always talking about something that doesn\u2019t exist, but there\u2019s a presence. You talk about energies, auras, resonances, sounds from the beyond or the here and now\u2014like infrasound or ultrasound\u2014all of them presences. It sounds very metaphysical, but at the same time you\u2019re talking about psychoacoustic terms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=4012467735\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=333333\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s interesting because it\u2019s quite different from <\/strong><em><strong>Memoria<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u2014<\/strong><em><strong>Memoria <\/strong><\/em><strong>was pretty noisy, very forceful, very dark, and this is another side of you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sure, the first one is a bit more of a statement, like, \u201cOK, this is how I imagine Colombia Drone Mafia could be.\u201d And now it\u2019s so diverse, I think it\u2019s giving a nod to the whole \u201cmafia\u201d thing. In that sense, a lot of beautiful things are coming: another album with Gibrana, two other albums we\u2019ve made with Vibeke Massini and Nicole L\u2019Huillier that we\u2019re trying to find a home for, and well, I dream of getting to do movie soundtracks.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, every song has its own vibe, but they all exist in this kind of\u2026 liminal universe. Where are you going to listen to these tracks? I was wondering\u2014it\u2019s not a club album, and it\u2019s not a noise album; it\u2019s more like something to really listen to. It could be in a bar or a living room\u2014anywhere the conditions are right, a fertile space. A flower grows under certain conditions, but if you want it to look pretty in your home, you water it, right? There you go.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-attrs=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-is-tending?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}\" data-component-name=\"ButtonCreateButton\" class=\"button-wrapper\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futurismrestated.substack.com\/p\/fr-166-colombian-drone-mafia-is-tending?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share\" class=\"button primary\"><span>Share<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source futurismrestated.substack.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colombian Drone Mafia (photo: Manu Uribe) Space Talk is a hi-fi listening bar tucked behind a forest green facade in Clerkenwell, London; over the past year, it has doubled as a virtual garden of experimental sounds tended by Bogot\u00e1\u2019s Nicol\u00e1s S\u00e1nchez, better known as TraTraTrax cofounder Nyksan. In April 2025, shortly before the release of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2403869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2403868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FR-166-Colombian-Drone-Mafia-Is-Imagining-New-Futures-for.com2Fpublic2Fimages2F076d3639-100a-4970-baf6-0ec1a.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2403868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2403870,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403868\/revisions\/2403870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2403869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2403868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2403868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2403868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}