Sound as research, selection and a living archive.
01 / PortraitIceland, 2017
OriginPanevėžys, Lithuania
PracticeSound / Curation / Visual art
ArchiveSecret Thirteen / Since 2010
Publications252
01 / Biography
Sound as archive, matter and memory.
DJ S13 is the artistic identity of Justinas Mikulskis (b. 1986), founder and editor of Secret Thirteen, an independent music journal established in 2010. His work as a DJ, sound artist and curator operates between audio archaeology, journalism and visual art.
01
Origins & atmosphere
The sonic identity of S13 was formed in the post-industrial landscape of Panevėžys. Brutalist factories, material decay and the quiet pressure of a post-Soviet city sharpened an early sensitivity to texture and darker sound. At ten, with help from his engineer grandfather, he constructed his first DJ mixer. An uncle’s record collection — black metal, punk and 1970s rock — opened a route toward anarchism, philosophy, science fiction and a life built outside conventional cultural structures.
02
The evolution of sound
Early roots in jungle and drum’n’bass, including productions for Liquid V and Vampire, quickly expanded into a more abstract language. S13 sets move between industrial rhythm, ethnographic field recordings, new wave, drone and academic composition. Each performance is treated as research: material is not repeated, but reorganised into a new narrative of pressure, space and time.
03
Performance & curation
S13 has appeared at Berlin Atonal, Arma17, Norbergfestival and Unsound events, sharing programmes with Mika Vainio, Esplendor Geométrico, Demdike Stare, The Soft Moon and Fennesz. Mix commissions include Electronic Explorations, Headphone Commute, Seek Sick Sound, Cashmere Radio and other independent platforms.
04
Across disciplines
Mikulskis approaches sound as both a physical and visual entity. His wider practice includes abstract industrial assemblages made from metal waste, lectures on musical narrative and industry context, and sonic installations such as The Energy System of the Užutrakis Manor Orangery as a Sonic Negative. He continues to build Secret Thirteen as a durable resource for future listeners.
02 / On stage
In the room.
Performance footage and selected posters from the archive.
Audra Festival / Kaunas, 2022Photo by Vytenis Sidabras
Digital Tsunami / rotating frameSūpynės Festival / filmed performance, 2019
Berlin Atonal / 2014Holotone Showcase / Berlin, 2016Space Love / Arma17, 2014Polar Inertia / KablysUMBRA / Kablys, 2014Undogmatisch / Berlin, 2015Audra Festival / 2022Sūpynės Festival / 2019Digital Tsunami Camp / 2022
03 / Personal archive
External transmissions
Documented mixes and radio shows, 2008—2024. Recent recordings open a listening page; earlier recordings remain in the original download archive.
Justinas Mikulskis as a guest: conversations about making music, listening and building Secret Thirteen. DJ sets and his own editorial work are archived separately.
Christian Stadsgaard and Loke Rahbek on noise, seduction and the strength found in weakness. The 2015 conversation with the duo behind Posh Isolation, with the later archive introduction kept separate.
Peder Mannerfelt on Sweden, technology and the feelings that drive his music. A 2015 conversation about making art, living with it and finding possibilities in destruction.
Konstantin Mezer and Ivan Napreenko on the origins of Sal Solaris, emotional honesty and the society around industrial music. A 2015 conversation about literature, art and other possible worlds.
Craig Stennett aka Asusu of Livity Sound reveals his musical inspirations in a cinematic mix of computer music, electroacoustic music, and musique concrète.
Lucia Udvardyová, Rihards Endriksons and Viestarts Gailītis on the beginnings of SHAPE. The 2015 conversation about supporting artists, sharing ideas and connecting Europe’s adventurous music festivals.
Moniek Darge assembles four decades of her own field recordings and soundscape experiments — from Brazil and Tamil Nadu to Hong Kong and Ghent — into a mix that dissolves the boundary between document and composition.
A colossal mix by Hypnoskull showcasing obscure industrial and psyche-penetrating music (1930–2015). A raw narrative of resistance, fused with Art Brut aesthetics.
Dmytro Fedorenko on Ukrainian experimental music, visual identity and the independent vision of Kvitnu. The original 2015 interview comes with a fifteen-track label mix.
A rich mixture of ethnographic and avant-garde music selected by Robert Lowe, aka Lichens, includes 12 sensuous records released between 1965 and 2015.
Daniele Antezza on childhood, creativity and life beyond the market’s demands. The 2015 conversation with the artist behind Inner8 and co-founder of Dadub, moving through music, mastering, cinema and literature.
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