Arystan — Live Performance & DJ
Live Looping · DJ · Hybrid Formats

Live Performance & DJ

Global grooves, ritual energy, real-time creation

At the heart of every performance is the human voice — extended through trumpet, ngoni, flutes, percussion and electronics, channelled through a loop machine into layered, breathing soundscapes. Whether as a fully live set, a DJ journey through global grooves, or a seamless hybrid of both: the music unfolds in real time, shaped by the room and the people in it.

My ambition is simple: to create music that invites movement, stimulates an archaic longing for transition, and celebrates this experience collectively — with joy.

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What I Offer

Performance Formats

Four ways to work together. All formats share the same core: attention to the room, long musical arcs, and space for both intensity and stillness.

Live Loop Performance

A fully live, polyinstrumental performance built in the moment. Voice, instruments and electronics are layered, transformed and released as the set unfolds — driving beats, global patterns, meditative phases. Each performance is unique, responding to space, audience and moment.

45–90 min

DJ Set

Long-form dance journeys shaped by global sounds — Afro, Latin, Balkan, Dub, Jazz, Funk and beyond. Smooth transitions, long narrative arcs, attentive reading of the room. Rather than firing track after track, I build evolving journeys: energetic peaks alternate with driving, meditative phases.

60 min – full night

Hybrid Performance

A seamless flow between DJ set and live looping. The music expands from curated tracks into a performative live space — voice, trumpet, loops emerging over the groove — and returns without a break. This allows for dramatic peaks while maintaining dancefloor continuity.

90 min – 3 hours

Extended Dance Journey

A longer, continuous music space for Ecstatic Dance and conscious movement events. Slow build, energetic peaks, integrative closing. The set follows a wave structure designed for deep immersion. Optional intro with breath and body awareness to help the group arrive.

2–3 hours
See & Hear

Performance Media

A selection of live sets, excerpts and DJ mixes from different contexts.

Porto di Terra — festival moment, trumpet solo + live loops

Portrait — approach & live moments

Extended movement — long arcs & flow

Club reel — live looping workflow

DJ Mix

Ballo Strade

A long-form global DJ journey through Afro, Latin, Balkan, Dub, Funk and more. This mix reflects how I approach a full night: patient build-up, fluid transitions between cultures and tempos, and space for the dancefloor to find its own rhythm.

For a deeper look into the live looping system, instruments and sound layers → Instruments & Sounds

Approach

How I Work

Whether DJing or performing live, the core principles stay the same: responding to collective energy, building in waves, creating space for both intensity and stillness.

The music is not played for the room — it emerges with it.

Dancefloor Intelligence

Reading the room, responding to collective energy and guiding it with patience rather than pressure. The goal is flow, not spectacle.

Long Arcs & Transitions

Fluid transitions between cultures, tempos and atmospheres. Shifts are felt, not announced. I prefer to let the music breathe.

Curated Selection

Familiar tracks appear sparingly. The focus lies on lesser-known pieces that invite curiosity and movement.

Embodied Groove

Music that speaks to heart, belly and legs. Emotional, physical, deeply danceable. The body knows before the mind does.

Live performance with DJ setup, vintage lamp and smoke
Background

Experience

I started DJing on vinyl in the late 1990s, moved to digital systems in 2009, and have been behind the decks for more than two decades. The live looping practice developed from 2015 onwards — an evolution of the same sensibility for flow, timing and dancefloor dynamics, expanded into a polyinstrumental performance language.

I’ve played clubs, basement parties, art openings, theatre premieres and festivals across Europe, West Africa and the Caribbean. I prefer intimate settings where the performer remains present and responsive — part of the room, not separate from it.

My academic background in ethnomusicology — fieldwork on Gnawa ritual music in Morocco — shaped how I think about music as a transformative practice. Not in an esoteric sense, but functionally: rhythm, repetition and collective presence can shift something in a room. That’s what I’m interested in.

Contemplative performance with ngoni in red light
Practical

Tech & Downloads

Designed for real-world event workflows. In most cases, a standard PA and basic stage inputs are enough.

Technical Setup

  • Live loop: Stereo output (L/R) + optional vocal mic input
  • DJ set: Standard DJ booth setup (CDJs or laptop + controller)
  • Hybrid: DJ setup + one extra stereo channel for the live system
  • Goal: Quick changeovers, clean FOH, predictable signal flow
Stage setup with loopers, keyboards and instruments
Selected

Festivals & Venues

New Fire Festival (Trinidad & Tobago) · Operndorf (Burkina Faso) · What is Music Festival (ES) · Folk’n’Fusion (DE) · Dissidance Festival (IT) · Porto di Terra (IT) · Badehaus Berlin · Kukulida · Scheune Dresden · Staatsschauspiel Dresden · Rabryka · Borwaerk · and more subcultural spaces across Europe

Let’s Work Together

Live set · DJ · Hybrid · Extended journey — tell me about your event, and let’s see what fits.

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