Episode 41: Where Small Wins Become Universes

February 6th, 2026

There are moments when we allow ourselves to enjoy our victories.
Even if calling them small never really feels right.

Releasing a new sound, finishing a song, pressing play for the first time, these aren’t minor things. They are battles won quietly. Alone in a studio. Alone in a bedroom. Alone at a desk, polishing the last line of lyrics while the world keeps moving outside.

And still, we dare to hope.
That someone, somewhere, will hear it.

Not because the result is perfect, but because that deep inner fire pushed us to build a universe for someone else to step into.

That’s exactly what David Torrance reminded us with The Miracles of Life.
This Salon is a space without rules. Sit on the floor. Sink into a chair. Build a pillow fort if you feel like it. This is freedom. And yes, strings will creak, voices will scratch, and Belgium will make its presence felt. Belgian Music Week demanded it.

Welcome to Episode 41 of Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda.

We opened with Tweener and Dancing, bringing Romania into the room, not often enough, honestly.
That flowed naturally into the instrumental calm of Messphodil with Walk From Shadow To Light.

I felt the need to return to SAE, with Black Earth, the very track that made me fall in love with their sound in the first place.

Then came a voice you should remember.
Caleb David Barger sings like smoke hovering over slightly crooked guitars. It carries the weight of those Tuesdays when you’re running on fumes but still answering emails. That stretched syllable in the chorus? That’s politeness turning into performance art. You’ll hum it during your own survival days.

We had just listened to the new collaboration between Nadine de Macedo and Shuen, No Difference.
The real question remains: is there any genre Nadine can’t master?

The journey continued with Zita and Yannick Charest before welcoming a brand-new voice: Riv-ven. Their track Dementia is a raw cry addressed to a father lost to silence. Honest. Necessary.

I’ll never hide my joy when a new Joo Baldi track drops. I Feel Calm lives up to its name, atmospheric, restrained, beautifully produced.
Then Canada waved back with Betrav Kolektiv and Mauve. Always a pleasure. Always magic.

Fenix Falling hit hard. Their album FALLOUT is stacked with gems, and choosing Breathe was nearly impossible. What a track.
That was followed by Walters Fall with She Stayed Anyway, and the powerful Blood Energy from R and D.

Belgium had to take center stage.
During Belgian Music Week, the MIA’s reminded us of the country’s richness, with Pommelien Thijs shining once again, and Axelle Red receiving a lifetime achievement honor. And yes, plenty of French lyrics this year 😉

So we celebrated with Thot, Boum Patat, Gorilla Tremors, and my collaboration with TimTMmusic. A French version? Maybe… we’ll see 😉

Things got darker, as promised one day, with Cloud Blood and Cold Day (in Hell), followed by the uplifting On My Way from The Major Resolve.

Time to breathe again.
Three To One brought us Dopamine.

Chat reminded me we couldn’t skip SFSF. Your Lesson proves once more her rare gift: placing the right words at the exact right moment.

A shift in scenery followed with The Stellar Anderson Project and The Storm.
And then, my own Seconde Vie. Because behind Mitxoda, there’s Zoltán, and a long fight since 2024.

41 weeks.
41 consecutive salons.
Artists from everywhere.

Submit your tracks via mitxoda.be/submit. I listen to everything. I answer everyone. I talk about each submission in the Friday Weekly (weekly.mitxoda.be). And when it truly resonates, it finds its way into the Salon, thanks to the incredible support of Dave and Lisa in Albany, USA.

Thank you as well to Muriel Bessmann for the rebroadcast on MyIndieRadio in Paris, and to Ferenc at Zenerulett Radio in Hungary.

And thank you.
The OTAT247 Discord chat was alive, from lucky numbers to future German-themed salons. Some of you were waking up, others closing their day. All of us connected by the same desire: to exist in the world through music.

We closed with Forest, the beautiful new single by Minna Ora.

This was Episode 41 of Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda.
See you next week 🤍

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