ARTIST OF THE MOMENT: Peter Van Hoesen [Delayed x Mostra]
With Mostra Festival just over a week away, we’re wrapping up our editorial run with a conversation and a mix from Peter Van Hoesen. His work has always sat slightly outside the frame: techno, ambient, experimental, but never quite typical of any. Instead of chasing momentum, he’s built a practice around attention to sound, to context, and to the possibilities of performance.
At Mostra, he’ll step into a rare DJ role, playing a drum & bass set shaped by years of quietly following the genre’s more experimental edges. In this exchange with Griff and Zach, he reflects on what still draws him to that sound, how his relationship to playing out has shifted, and why intention matters more than ever. The mix he’s shared alongside the interview follows that same line — precise, considered, and wide open. A final entry before we gather next Thursday at Fabra i Coats in Barcelona.
This will be your first time playing at Mostra - have you attended any of the previous editions of the festival? Were you aware of the festival before and if so, any preconceptions? There’s a strong sense of experimentalism and freedom of expression that runs throughout, which ties in closely with your musical history and prior releases. What impacts do these pillars have upon your creative process?
Indeed, it will be my first time at Mostra. I have never attended the festival, so it will be an entirely new experience for me. I've heard many good things about Mostra, it does feel like it is an event I will enjoy participating in. Their open-minded approach is definitely compatible with how I see music and artistic practice, so it seems that is a match. For me personally it is important to try and come up with something fresh every time I start writing music. The goal is always to end up with something which I have not done before. This does not always work but it is important for me to have it as a guiding principle during the creative process. Another way of saying this is that I do not have an interest in repeating myself.
Mostra is described as a festival that invites introspection and risk. What kind of headspace do you need to be in to take risks musically?
Taking risks means one needs to be without fear: fear of what other people think about your creation, or what the impact of a certain artistic choice or experiment could have. One needs to be free from these mental blocks,because with them it will not work. The outcome will sound fake or forced. When you are free of these concerns a process starts up which allows you to be liberated in your artistic choices. And for me personally that leads to very interesting results.
You’ve been billed there this year to play a drum & bass / experimental DJ set. A DJ set from you is a rare occurrence these days, since you announced you were taking a break from DJing a few years back, and you aren’t often playing drum & bass. What prompted the decision to DJ at Mostra instead of play live?
It is very simple: they asked me straight up if I was up for doing and drum & bass DJ set. They were aware that I had played a similar set at Balance+ in Japan in 2022. I believe my booking agent had sent them one of the mixes I recorded for my Patreon page, which was a drum & bass mix.
In your initial foray into drum & bass years ago, what did it give you that techno couldn’t at the time? Was it the energy, the unpredictability, or something more emotional? And does that early connection still echo in how you experience the genre today?
I have always been attracted to the groove of breakbeats. I feel that you can dance in a very different, more varied way to these grooves. That is for sure an important aspect. When I first listened to jungle a completely new world opened up to me. Drum & bass then took that a step further, diving deeper into the sonic possibilities of the style. That is still a very important aspect of the entire genre, or at least that niche part of the genre I am interested in. There is a lot of focus on the impact of the various sounds, the carefully crafted low-end, the attention to detail in sound and drum design. On top of that some drum & bass tracks carry a certain nostalgia with them, something early Detroit techno used to have as well. I sometimes look for that feeling in music, and these days I do not find it in techno that much at all. But I do find it in drum & bass.
You’ve said that you’ve always followed the experimental end of drum & bass. What qualities or production choices tend to draw you in when you’re listening, and how have those preferences shaped the way you select or play the music?
Usually I look for tracks which do not play around with massive breaks and drops or basslines that sound like chainsaws. I am not interested in that adolescent, aggressive vibe. I prefer music which is more controlled, free from these clichés. It can contain a certain amount of aggression and attitude, but this needs to be serving a purpose, it should not be an aim in itself. I don't know if that makes sense, it is a very instinctive feeling for me. When I am listening to new tracks I usually know after ten seconds if it is something for me or not. It is a very immediate process.
You once referenced Photek in an RA interview as a drum & bass artist who piqued your interest during a period where techno was feeling a bit stale for you around the tail end of the 90s. Are you feeling a similar pull towards drum & bass lately, and if so are there any contemporary drum & bass artists who have had a similar effect on you as Photek in more recent years?
To be honest I have never been far away from drum & bass, I have always kept my eye on the genre. I have been following the more experimental side of the genre for years, steadily buying music, recording the odd mix once in a while. The Patreon page is a great channel for this, it allows me to publish things which veer away from techno and the like. So the pull has always been there. As for the artist question, I do not feel that anyone like Photek has arrived on the scene. It is a much more level playing field right now, in my opinion. There are many talented artists out there, contributing to a healthy scene. But to say that there is a new Photek out there, I do not think that is the case - at least not in how I am influenced.
At Mostra, each day feels like a large musical play, with individual DJs all playing their respective parts. This continuity is felt by all in attendance, and a notable feature of each year as the music starts with ambient and traverses through to the peak of the night. How important is creating a musical narrative for yourself and crafting that unique story in your sets? Do you have different approaches or motivations with your dj vs live performances?
Well, first of all I think it is important to have a narrative structure in a lineup, be it a festival or a club night. It can literally make or break an event. As for my own performances, I believe it really depends on the time and place and the inspiration of the moment. When playing live a big part of what I do is created and decided in the moment. In that regard my live sets are not that different from my dj sets back in the day. You try to connect to the here and now, to the moment and the context of a specific environment and setting.
You’ve spoken before about the importance of feeling rooted in the present moment during a set. Is there a particular set, recent or long ago where you felt completely in sync with the crowd and the space? One of those rare nights where everything clicked. What made it work?
The first set which comes to mind is the 7,5 hours live set with Atom™ for The Labyrinth last October. That was probably the longest closing set for the festival ever, but it did not feel like it was that long at all. In fact, most of it I do not recall. There was a very special interaction happening between the audience, the sound system and ourselves, something I have not really experienced this intensely before. There have been traces of this during other performances, but never this intense and visceral. When taking about being in the moment, that was totally it for us and 3000 other people.
Finally, do you think your relationship to performing has changed over the years? What does a good night mean to you now, and is it different from what it meant a decade ago
Overall I do not think the main perspective has shifted much for me personally. I still want to go out there because sharing music with other people is something I have always loved doing. My entire life is built around music, in many ways. I am a recording and performing artist, I master other people's music, I buy and listen to music constantly, it is present in everything I do. So that is one thing. so, what does it mean, a good night out… for me it means being together, experiencing something creative together and respecting this on a deeper level. Whether it be a concert or a club night, I feel that there needs to be a certain amount of respect for all aspects involved. That is the ideal starting point from my perspective, and that perspective has not really changed much at all. In that regard I am the same person as a decade ago. However, what I think is important to notice is that the changes in environment have impacted me more than any changes on a personal level. That is the core element in my answer to your question. The audiences from let's say a decade ago are not today's audiences. Far from it. The perception of what an electronic music event should be has, for the most part, been completely redefined. How one should behave and interact with the music and the artists and fellow audience members has been redefined. As a result my position has changed, but I feel that this is outside of my own design or volition. One then needs to ask the question: how to deal with this change? And for the most part I believe that for me it means being more selective as to which shows to play and which shows to walk away from. This said, I do not want to sing a song of doom when it comes to the music scene, as I know of enough organizers and events which still stand out and present people with an amazing experience. In a way this brings us back to Mostra, as I believe this is a good example of what I am trying to say. As long as events like Mostra keep happening there is enough reason to be positive.