NL premiere

Kuwait-based DJ and producer Van Boom’s brand of industrial techno is one that is fractured, grizzly, and harsh. “I am heavily influenced by the industrial terrain around me growing up in Kuwait,” Van Boom tells Metal Magazine. “The soundscapes I produce capture, distort, and then fragment the industrial terrain I grew up around.” His debut album Prosthetics (2022) paints a picture of desolate ravelands strewn with industrial detritus and pulsing with dark, rampant beats. Ignoring the rules around what techno should sound like, Van Boom brings a chaotic outsider energy to the genre. Speaking to Aught about what emotions describe his music, Van Boom responded: “Distortion and violence play a significant role . . .” Despite this ominous power that courses through his tracks, one can sense a deeper sense of connection and openness mangled into them. Playing live at the festival, Van Boom will tap into the gushing, fierce sounds that so viciously characterise his recent and forthcoming music – which includes a new EP on the horizon, screeching with blistering noise and riotous beats.