Family First
One of the brightest joys of this episode was introducing you to OLGA, the dark electro punk project of my cousin from Antwerp. Her latest track “Butterfly” shone with bold textures and emotional staging, just like her sister Lena recent aerial performance at the Gentse Feesten. I couldn’t attend in person, but the footage alone gave me chills.
Right after, Gengvej followed up with “NightSun 2011 (Into Deep Mix)”, a track that plunges deep into immersive, hypnotic layers of sound.
🎁 The Birthday Challenge
What’s a birthday without a bit of creative mischief? I launched a challenge: compose one minute of music in A, major, minor, whatever, and send it over. Seven brilliant indie artists accepted the call, and the result? A mosaic of heartfelt, spontaneous sonic moments.
First up was Have I Weather with a unique, moving tribute titled “Mitxoda A Song”, followed by my own mix: a blend of the six other contributions stitched into one continuous track. If you’ve been listening since the beginning, I dare you!, spot them all and ping me on Discord!
Massive thanks to Sonia Hutchinson (Crowsilver), Mike Stollen, Timothy Rodman (Timtmmusic), Ian from The Sanctity of Crows, Regifter, and Moyno. Your generosity, creativity, and quick turnaround moved me beyond words. I added nothing to your demos, it was all you.
Across the Seas and Genres
From New Zealand’s wild Captain Festus McBoyle with his outrageous “MR CHEESE IF YOU PLEASE”, to the global premiere of Nikola Zenko’s powerful “Night Will Never End”, the episode continued its journey across styles and continents.
We then heard World5 in a duet with Jonna Sailon on “You and I”, and the jazzy melancholy of “Struggle Street” by The Immaculate Crows.
Melancholy, Basslines & Catharsis
Jaelyn brought a heartfelt acoustic track, “Foresters Plight”, followed by a personal favorite, Slampamperman by Have I Weather, featuring a bassline that just gets me.
Crowsilver gave us “Your Embrace”, followed by Destroy The Moon and their intense “Looks Like Revenge”.
To close, a sonic wall of progressive emotion: The Ineffectuals with “The Hum”. It’s a crushing, soul-wrenching anthem that confronts apathy, trauma, and noise, both literal and societal. A must-listen.
“Don’t leave me here / buried in the noise”
It’s raw. It’s introspective. It’s indie as hell.
One Year Older. One Year Stronger.
As I shared in the newsletter earlier today: I would need dozens of planets to gather all of you for a proper birthday party. But our indie universe is already limitless. We’re not boxed in. We’re not fenced off. We connect, through music, through this show, through shared stories and sonic journeys.
Exactly one year ago, I was letting go of many things. Mitxoda barely existed. Today, I breathe differently. I create. I dare. And I imagine more, thanks to you.
My “Seconde Vie” was actually a promise.
Time to blow out the candles. See you next week, and thank you from the bottom of my indie heart. ❤️
🎂 Playlist – Episode 13
- Mitxoda – Patience
- Benjamin Russel – Waves
- OLGA – Butterfly
- Gengvej – NightSun 2011 (Into Deep Mix)
- Have I Weather – Mitxoda A Song
- Mitxoda & Friends – Birthday 2025
- Captain Festus McBoyle – MR CHEESE IF YOU PLEASE
- Nikola Zenko – Night Will Never End
- WORLD5 & Jonna Sailon – You and I
- The Immaculate Crows – Struggle Street
- Jaelyn – Foresters Plight (Acoustic)
- Have I Weather – Slampamperman
- Crowsilver – Your Embrace
- Destroy The Moon – Looks Like Revenge
- The Ineffectuals – The Hum
- Mitxoda – Seconde Vie
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Mixcloud
