Sebastian Mullaert

Sweden's Sebastian Mullaert has crafted multiple strains of hypnotic electronic music since the 1990s, encompassing trance, ambient techno, and downtempo, all unified by a focus on tranquility and introspection. Even his most dancefloor-oriented productions remain calm and contemplative instead of forceful or pleasure-seeking. Deeply spiritual by nature, Mullaert creates in a tranquil studio positioned beside a national park. He has worked with many artists, above all Marcus Henriksson, with whom he formed the revered minimal techno duo Minilogue.

Classically trained from an early age, Mullaert played in orchestras and string quartets before shifting toward pop. Encountering electronic music proved pivotal, prompting him to organize events and later take up DJing. He first crossed paths with Henriksson in 1996 through Sweden's club circuit. The pair initially produced progressive and psy-trance under the names Son Kite and Trimatic, yet they reached wider recognition as Minilogue. Across the 2000s they issued dozens of 12"s on respected minimal and tech-house imprints including Traum Schallplatten, Wagon Repair, and Mule Electronic. Mullaert also put out solo progressive house and trance material as Ooze and Filur, though he largely stepped away from trance as the decade advanced.

Minilogue's debut album, Animals, came out on Crosstown Rebels in 2008. The duo further joined forces with Ian Chaplin and Philip Rex of Australian trance act Decoy on the jazz-inflected minimalist project IMPS. Beginning in 2010 Mullaert launched a series of solo 12"s on Mule Electronic, opening with "Voices Around the Fire." His double-mix CD WaWuWe appeared the same year, followed in 2011 by another mix set, Move the Wave to Your Heart. That year also saw the release of the expansive double-CD The Möllan Sessions, a collection of downtempo improvisations recorded with Japanese ambient musician Koss (Kuniyuki Takahashi). Minilogue delivered their second album, Blomma, in 2013 and their last 12", The Island of If, in 2014, after which the pair disbanded to concentrate on individual projects.

Mullaert subsequently issued two further collaborative albums on Mule Musiq: Reflections of Nothingness, recorded with Eitah Reiter, and The Dance, built around selections mixed by Ulf Eriksson and overlaid with Mullaert's live improvisations. He simultaneously began releasing deep, meditative techno 12"s under the WaWuWe moniker, starting on a self-titled label. Additional singles appeared on Ovum, Minus, Kontra-Musik, Drumcode, Mule, and Hypercolour, both alone and alongside producers such as Patrick Siech, Mathew Jonson, and Aril Brikha. In 2017 Mullaert made his first appearance on R&S Records' ambient imprint Apollo with the four-track EP All the Keys Are Here.