Delayed x Chaos Ambiants: Mohlao
Change is inevitable. It's also an essential part of progress. When you're working on a project you care about, you want it to evolve and mature alongside your ideas, tastes, and experiences. One festival that seems to understand this particularly well is Chaos Ambiants.
For its fifth edition, Chaos Ambiants introduced some significant changes. After two years at the lakeside location in Sommant, the festival moved to Le Croux, a restored rural hamlet at the foot of Mont Beuvray. Surrounded by meadows, horses, and forests, the new location feels like a perfect fit for a festival that's micro in size but macro in soul. The move also brought the festival closer to its eco-conscious philosophy, while the shift in dates from late summer to early July gave the overall experience a different seasonal backdrop. Perhaps the most interesting development was the partnership with Bibracte, the nearby museum and archaeological site dedicated to the ancient Gallic city that once stood on Mont Beuvray. The former capital of the Aedui people provides a fascinating setting for a festival focused on contemporary experimental music. There's something quite fitting about celebrating fleeting sounds in a place dedicated to uncovering and preserving traces of the past.
Bibracte hosted the festival's Sunday finale, featuring a visual arts workshop, a sound installation, and a concert. A lovely ending to a weekend where every little detail contributed to the atmosphere. Wine and music pairings, homemade food, a signature beer, thoughtful non-alcoholic options, and, most importantly, an incredible sound system. The attention to detail was everywhere.
photos by Benjamin Roi
As with previous editions, the lineup curation was exceptional. Javier Marimon, Tevor Handa, Lynne, Puntalaberinto, DB1, Clearlight, Mammo, and Mohlao were among the artists on the bill. It was clear from the get-go that the accent is on artists who like to push things a bit off the regular path. Experimentation, innovation, playfulness. If you ask me, these are some of the fundamentals of music. Most of these names will be familiar to anyone following Delayed, but one deserves a special mention. An artist whose multifaceted contribution to electronic music has been inspiring our team for years: Samuel van Dijk, aka Mohlao.
For more than two decades, Van Dijk has explored different corners of electronic music through his three main aliases, Mohlao, Multicast Dynamics, and VC-118A, as well as his wonderful collaboration with Rasmus Hedlund as Dialog. From atmospheric ambient and deep, dubby techno to cinematic electro, his output covers an enormous amount of ground. It's difficult to think of many artists whose work connects so naturally with the different musical territories we love exploring here at Delayed.
Three years after his contribution to our series with a powerful techno set under his VC-118A alias, we're delighted to welcome Samuel back, this time with a recording of his Mohlao performance from Chaos Ambiants.
The Mohlao project has always been closely associated with the deeper, dubbier shades of techno, with labels such as Hypnus and Silent Season providing a natural home for his productions. Across this three-hour recording, Van Dijk shows just how much territory can be covered within that particular universe. Yes, there's a strong dub influence throughout, but calling this simply a dub techno set would barely scratch the surface. Mohlao moves comfortably between deep house moments, rumbling techno, and the ebb and flow of dub, constantly finding new ways to work with the energy.
What I particularly enjoy is how much variety he manages to introduce while keeping the music rooted in that deep, atmospheric territory. There's a certain freedom in his approach, undoubtedly shaped by years of exploring different musical identities. Three hours is plenty of time to become predictable, but Mohlao has far too many ideas for that.
Three things are inevitable during fall: foliage, rain, and listening to dubby music. And this recording might just be your perfect companion for these lovely, colorful days.