STM 238 - Ewa Justka

Ewa Justka is a Polish experimental/industrial/noise music artist based in London, UK. She is involved in a wide array of creative activities, including building musical instruments, leading DIY workshops, creating installations, and performing her unique and ever-evolving music. Ewa’s primary focus is the exploration of ontological environments and the materiality of objects. Her works are diverse, often situated at the intersection of science/engineering and music. As she mentioned in an interview with Straylandings, she is fascinated by the analog signal, which she describes as universal and capable of being “applied to everything and sent through everything.” Each of Ewa’s works investigates different objects or phenomena, employing varying approaches. For example, she has experimented with optoelectronics, where light is generated alongside sound, and she is currently building neon synthesizers. Ewa operates in a space where a liberal and non-traditional approach to engineering and technology paves the way for new creative spaces and methods. An extension of this approach is her role as an educator, including her hardware hacking module at the London University of Arts, which is significant for expanding the limits of using technology in music and sound art. Ewa’s technology-centric approach to music makes her collaboration with Roc Jiménez de Cisneros of EVOL seem like a natural fit. The duo has recently been making music together and are planning to build synthesizers for both their live sets and the market. Be sure to check out Ewa’s tapes on Conditional and Fractal Meat Cuts, as well as the numerous sound experiments on her personal Bandcamp.

The 238th entry in the Secret Thirteen Mix series is not a mix at all but rather an exclusive live recording by Ewa Justka, continuing the tendencies of her recent live performances where analog pulsations shift into wild rhythmic attacks. This is an especially intense record of fast, acid-like sequences that occasionally reach an almost gabber/hardcore intensity. It kicks off with heavy energy from the very first seconds, and as it progresses, we hear rhythmic patterns transform, get dismantled, deconstructed, jumping from electrified 4/4 outbursts to chaos and mayhem. The recording elicits a highly physical response, not merely due to the difficulty of sitting still through it. The punkish analog nature of the sound and its lively organic texture (a significant feature of Ewa’s work) make this a perfect fit for a basement party or a more experimental-minded warehouse rave where unexpected twists and turns are the preferred way to move crowds. “QXO2/2 - La Montagne du 20.05.2010” by Jean-Francois Dubreuil could serve as a fitting visual companion to these sounds—this painting maintains a similar pattern evolution and structured intensity to Ewa’s set.