Phobos festival 2025
Phobos Festival has been around for quite a while, but somehow I’d never managed to attend it until now. This year, my wife and I decided to change that. We packed up the car in Budapest and set off on a long road trip to Wuppertal for the event. Our first stop was Prague, where I couldn’t resist leaving a little trace of my presence in the form of a sticker.
The next day, we reached our destination. I have to admit, Wuppertal isn’t the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen, but the Schwebebahn (the city’s famous suspension railway) fascinated us. We spent the day wandering around, grabbing dinner, and generally doing what tourist usually do.
When the big night arrived, our 24-hour public transport ticket had already expired, so we jumped back in the car and drove to Immanuelskirche, where the festival was held. After a little confusion, we found the parking lot in the nearby school and walked over to the venue. The cultural center, a deconsecrated church, turned out to be a perfect setting for a dark ambient festival — both visually and acoustically.
At the entrance, we were greeted by Martin Stürtzer himself before stepping inside. It’s hard to say exactly how many people were there, but I’d guess around a hundred fans had gathered in the church. It felt surreal to be surrounded by so many others who shared the same obscure taste in music. There was also a merch stand run by the amazing LOKI-FOUND, stocked with CDs, vinyl, and tote bags.
Since we were on a tight budget (I’d recently lost my job), we limited ourselves to two CDs: Apparatus by Atrium Carceri & Kammarheit and The Borrowed World by Northaunt & Svartsinn. On our way back to our seats, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Good choice!” I turned around to find none other than Jan Roger Pettersen – aka Svartsinn – himself smiling at me. After that unofficial welcome to the dark ambient community, we settled in. The lights dimmed, and the show began.
The first act was Sphäre Sechs, the cosmic ambient project of Martin Stürtzer and Christian Stritzel. Christian performed on an Etherwave Theremin (processed through an array of effects) while Martin surrounded himself with synths and controllers. Their set had a lighter, meditative tone that worked perfectly as a prelude to the darker performances that followed.
After a short break, Svartsinn took the stage. Sitting in front of his laptop and controller, a candle and a glass of red wine beside him, he began his set — and what a set it was. Deep, dark, and emotional, the performance unfolded in layers of drones, field recordings, and faint melodic threads, all enhanced by haunting visuals (whose creator’s name, unfortunately, I didn’t catch).
Next up was Peter Bjärgö, joined by his wife Cecilia. Readers of this blog might recognize his name – his other project, Arcana, appeared in my Unearthed column for week 37. This time, their performance was dedicated to the memory of their daughter, Vendela, who tragically passed away during last year’s festival. It was an intimate, deeply personal set, more emotional than the cosmic distance of Sphäre Sechs or the claustrophobic darkness of Svartsinn. Cecilia played strings, and both took turns singing. By the end, I felt both moved and uplifted.
The final act was Troum, the famous duo from Bremen: Stefan Knappe and Martin Gitschel. They started without warning, launching straight into a wall of sound that had both of us reaching for our earplugs (a lesson well-learned from years of loud rock concerts). Their music, paired with industrial-themed visuals, was powerful and overwhelming in the best way. Among the gear on stage were some unusual acoustic instruments, which added to the intrigue. Later, the visuals shifted to simple color gradients, and the sound softened, closing the night on a bit calmer note.
And just like that, the fourteenth Phobos Festival came to an end. It was our first time — but definitely not our last. My first decision was that we’ll be back. The second: next time, I’m bringing a real camera instead of my phone. And the third: in 2026, I’ll make sure to meet and talk with more of the amazing people who come to this festival. Hopefully, some of you reading this will be among them.
Please also check out Vladimir Gojkovic’s excellent live report from the festival.