Iceland, 2017
Justinas Mikulskis aka S13 Bio
Justinas Mikulskis (b. 1986), a.k.a S13, is a DJ, curator, promoter, journalist, and the mastermind behind the acclaimed experimental music and art journal secretthirteen.org. Having grown up surrounded by his uncle’s vinyl collection of black metal, punk, hard rock and 70’s music, Mikulskis became interested in the world of sound from a young age. When he was ten years old, his engineer grandfather helped him make his first DJ mixer, and Justinas started mixing cassettes, creating sound collages, and developing his knowledge in sound architecture. Later on he became a rebellious youth, who couldn’t quite fit in with post-Soviet social norms. When Mikulskis was expelled from school, he decided to delve deeper into music, immersing himself in the world of experimental/contemporary music, free jazz, noise, field-recordings, industrial, ethnographic, new wave, synth-pop, ambient and other genres, constantly challenging the boundaries of his sonic perception. In these years he also drowned himself in literature, ranging from ideological books on anarchism, nihilism, ancient philosophy to science fiction and surrealist works.
Early on in his career, amen breaks jungle drum’n’bass was S13’s music of choice. He demonstrated his unique perspective on this music in producing a few jungle records and mixtapes. Some of his tracks were released on legendary drum’n’bass labels, such as Liquid V and Vampire, and his tracks were played on radios such as BBC 1xtra and Bass Drive. He also had an ironic alter ego named Pusha Ace, and recorded several oldskool gangsta rap mixtapes for the Sunday Bug podcast series under this name.
In his DJ sets and mixes S13 weaves this diverse palette of interests into a coherent whole, constructing thought-provoking sound narratives with unexpected stylistic twists, radical mood swings, and powerful, sometimes even surreal atmospherics. Strict rhythmic patterns might suddenly give way to abstract drone voyages or disengaged improvisations, dismantling traditional musical structures. Due to this his selections can be perceived as an exercise in eclecticism and a challenge to the musical status quo. These tendencies (interest in sound collages and eclecticism, connections between the visual and the aural) extend to the Secret Thirteen journal as well. The Secret Thirteen Mix series curated by Mikulskis could serve as an example.
The unique artistic approach of S13 also relates to his surroundings. Born and raised in Panevežys, a remote decadent post-industrial town far away from the bustling life of the capital, he silently developed his own independent artistic way. The strange atmosphere of his hometown, where old disused post-soviet factories and grim tower blocks loom over beautiful river valleys and ancient cemeteries, clearly informed the contrasting nature of S13.
Justinas’ interests stretch far beyond the art of sound. He is a keen enthusiast of visual arts, mythology, technological advancements, futuristic concepts, politics, early cinema. One of his more recent non-musical projects was the establishing of Chrono Forma, an online shop for geometrical postcards made by his friend Evelina Atkociunaite. He is also a (not-so)secret maker of abstract industrial artworks made of various metal trash. For him it is an intimate reflection of his past as well as an ironic interpretation of the rot of public society.
Recently S13 has become quite an accomplished DJ as well. Having performed in major Lithuanian festivals and shared the stage with such electronic music projects as Esplendor Geométrico, Emptyset, Demdike Stare, Kangding Ray, The Soft Moon, Lebanon Hanover, Polar Inertia, Dadub, in 2014 he played in Arma17 in Moscow next to Mika Vainio, Fennesz, Atom ™ and in Berlin Atonal next to artists from Subtext Records. In 2015, S13 played at “ТЕХНОМАТЕРИЯ” (Techno Materia) in Minsk, Norbergfestival (Sweden) in a trip supported by the Lithuanian Embassy, and an Undogmatich party at Urban Spree in Berlin.
His rich musical background and constant musical residencies at other countries allows Justinas to constantly surprise his listeners with forward-thinking sound and perpetually reinvent himself for new sonic research. The latter is reflected in his mixes for such conceptual music platforms as SeekSickSound, Electronic Explorations, Experimedia, A Strange Isolated Place, Headphone Commute, Modyfier’s Process mix series and a few others. All in all, S13 has recorded 27 official mixes, and played over a hundred DJ sets, never repeating the same material twice.
Justinas occasionally holds lectures on the music industry and other topics, such as his recent CAC (Contemporary Art Centre, Lithuania) lecture on musical mix narratives and their context. Some of his musical collages were exhibited in art galleries, his recent work “The Energy System of the Užutrakis Manor Orangery as a Sonic Negative” was presented at the Užutrakis manor collaborative exhibition „Oranžerija“.
As an artist, S13 is included in the MICL (Music Information Centre Lithuania) catalog, which was established in 1996 according to the initiative of the Lithuanian Composers' Union.
2021
90s Techno DJ set @ Mėnulio Smūgis 2021 | Digital Tsunami [LT]
Guest at Secret Communications Show | Cashmere-Radio [DE]
2020
URBEX Podcast [LT]
2019
Phormix Podcast 160 [GR]
New Brvtalism No. 197 [DE/USA]
2017
Digital Tsunami 130 (ENG/LT)
2016
Boxcast Podcast 001 (LT)
2015
SSS (Seek Sick Sound) Podcast 167 (FR)
2014
Burning The Existence
Arma Podcast 144 (RU)
2013
Electronic Explorations Podcast 281 (UK)
Experimedia Podcast (USA)
A Strangely Isolated Place Podcast 036 (USA)
Do/Nothing Podcast (RU)
Supynes Festival Podcast (LT)
Planeta Modular Podcast 035 (ES)
2012
Headphone Commute Podcast (USA)
Sound Alchemy Podcast 001 (LT)
Modyfier Process Podcast 305 (USA)
Fluid Radio Podcast (UK)
International Tapes Podcast (USA)
Pusha Ace - Sunday Bug Podcast (LT)
Icasea Podcast (UK)
2011
13 Memorable 2011 Records
Bangos Podcast (LT)
Redubtor Podcast 13 (LT)
Trilogy - WARP REPHLEX RN (3 in 1)
2010
Trilogy - Now Voyager (3 in 1)
Redubtor Podcast 05 (LT)
2009
Sensor
Elektrolankos Radio (LT)
Rotator
IM:LTd Podcast 01
2008
Duofilm