Solstice ☼ 2026

INTERLINK co-founder CEB’s softer alias Avery tones down the techno and brings techy house and dubby flair along groovy prog leaning madness into the mix — a well rounded whole encompassing all things atmoshperic.

Shamanic ambient, campfire acid, Byzantine disco and getaway balearic. Three piece group Behind The Trees makes their Solstice debut. Was about time — it’s in the name.

What happens when you put an Aussie and a Swede in the same steam sauna? They go play a DJ set. And that’s exactly what’s happening here.

Around the latter part of 2010, Herrensauna began to sweep the dance music stratosphere off their feet. What started out as a queer haven for harder-edged techno and hedonism in Berlin, grew up to be a global go-to source of dancefloor satisfaction and liberation. One of it’s originators, CEM, is a known for UK-tweaked tracks from across the contemporary milieu of harder club works, without fear of breakbeats or sullen moments sandwiched in-between.

With more miles in the game than most, Cool DJ Pinball still manages to surprise everytime. You might know his work through long-running label Top Billin' and Skorpioni. An influencer way before today’s meaning. Live long and prosper, mr. Pinball.

Founder of the amazing mix series that is pi pi pi, and inner force field of the transmission centre that is New York City’s The Lot Radio. Musically deep, potentially creep(y), and ultimately just damn sweet. This Techs out all the boxes.

Over a decade of curating lineups, these two have tirelessly pushed the sonic frontiers in their hometown of Helsinki, brought in the top acts, while gathering the tidal before waves have even begun to form. Endlessly snooping around clubs and record stores around the world – literally from Tokyo to New York, their bags are filled with groovin’ smooths, trippy booms, smokey alarms, and A–tier first class.

Desto is one of the longest serving ambassadors of UK clubs sounds with the label “Bass” in them. From (leftfield) dubstep to grime to techno on that broken beat tip. Signal Life!

House und techno? Ja. Dubstep and bass? Genau. Fart in the club makes you wanna keep that gas in cause there ain’t time to run out of the dance floor (and you wouldn’t….dare….do that in there…. would you). DJ smell ya later.On a more serious note, the DJ known also as Soyoon has been crafting a space for her and wonky dance music afficionados in Berlin for a long time now. A meeting of the minds they call ‘Imaginary Friends’. Are they in the room right now? They sure as hell are.

Below0 massive goes head to head with the Slagwerk(aholic). Sounds from up top and down low. From the middle, to the bass, and finally to the treble. It’s modern, it’s hard, and it’s sweet.

Only very few embody power as a deejay more than DJ Koolt. The one of kind Uruguayan is able to bring a fierce yet loving energy through the flick of his wrist, the snap of his fingers, and the thrust of his body. Combined with a topper than notch selection for tracks, a DJ Koolt dancefloor experience is cathartic to say the least.

Cabaret Recordings co-founder DJ Masda’s selections draw from early techno, futurist electro and the playful spirit of house music, offering dancers a sweet momentary getaway. Laden with soul and emotion, his sets often explore the interplay of light and dark. With impeccable timing and delicate execution, Masda effortlessly captivates his audience. His technique is characterised by short, impactful mixes, which seamlessly integrate the best of the old and new.

Storm is a DJ who truly deserves her legendary status. As cofounder of the label Metalheadz, alongside DJ partner Kemistry and producer-instigator Goldie, Storm—AKA Jayne Conneely—presided over the cutting edge of drum & bass in the mid-'90s, as the sound evolved from rowdy ragga and hardcore into the outer limits of breakbeat science.

The loving party service duo, namely Hitoshi & Justus are all about Serious Fun™ . That’s what their newly formed club night promises (and delivers). Originally from Osaka, Hitoshi has called Helsinki home for god knows how long (feels like he’s always been here). Justus on the other hand hails from Lahti, sometimes refered to as the Chicago of Finland. Make what you will of that.

Eerie bangers, genre-fluid turns, uneasy emotions, and occult atmospheres — Oulu’s Illyana takes the unsual route and it pays off.

Certainly one of the most influential electronic musicians of all time, Ilpo Väisänen, together with Mika Vainio as Pan Sonic, paved the way for electronic minimalism with attention to sound and deep listening. For Solstice 2026, Ilpo resurrects his I-LP-O In Dub alias for some dubbed out weirdness.

Where traditional meets modern. Islaja is a longtime musician and visual artist, who for years lived in Berlin, but has recently relocated back to her hometown of Helsinki. Her first album Meritie (Fonal, 2004) gained praise in international music media such as The Wire, Dusted Magazine and WFMU, and she's since been on a steady streak of touring with Animal Collective, performing at the Thurston Moore curated All Tomorrows Parties 2000, laying down album after album of innovative Finnish folklore ambient.

Brooklyn based Jack Anderson, aka jek, is an American visual artist, Dj & producer. Also known as the founder and co-runner of Earth Dog Records. His vision is to curate visual and musical sonic explorations highly inspired in nature.

We have a saying in Finnish which goes “klassikko jo syntyessään”, which roughly translates to “a G from the get-go”. That’s Jori Hulkkonen.Jori Hulkkonen comes in to grace us with a speciality DJ set, going into new wave, ebm, italo and other synthy pleasures.

Katerin is able to strike a wonderful balance between playfulness and melancholy, as evident in the myriad of dance music tracks she's put out. Now for Solstice 2026, Katerina comes in with a soothing, ambient leaning live set, bringing about Katerina's beatless, low-swung side.

Kiernan Laveaux ranks within a particular cadre of American DJs—those for whom genre and style aren't guidelines, but constructs to be rearranged at will. Born and raised in the Midwest, she carries with her a knowledge and reverence for her forebearers, the originators from Chicago and Detroit, and learned from them, as she describes, the art of "long form, extended set, long blend Midwest DJing.

When sound sits still while everything around you moves. Highly prolific Nairobian composer and sonic artist KMRU makes music that feels both etheral and terrestrial, grounding you at first while sending you off later. His often droney music utilizes sounds from his and our shared environment, provoking a closenss to everyday life and inviting you to see the beauty in it.

Kofu is the artistic alias for Moriamo Ahmed, a Finnish-born Nigerian poet, musician, and DJ. Their music travels on the sonic exploration of introspection, brought to life with vocal harmonies, violin, and experimental synth sounds. Kofu aims to encapsulate the premise of honesty through sifting through themes of home, body, sorrow, and love. Their work revolves around concepts of love and identity, and the strain it causes when the two don’t meet.

Don’t let the name fool ya. Krash Bandicute does it raw, and with style. A lifelong music head with her skin in the game. Together with Club2k (one of Helsinki’s hottest club outings currently) founder Nea2k, they will massage sound into unrecognizable forms.

Lara Silva picked up a variety of instruments growing up, but it was the 1s and 2s that made her fall in love. Her selection and confidence behind the decks speak to a dedication and thought process behind it. From techno to trance, these are shadow grooves to make you move.

Esoteric, but club-ready. Communal, yet introspective. Seattle-raised, NYC-based deejay livwutang has the ability to be musically exciting and fresh while using classic ingredients, by just doing it a bit off-kilter, a bit from the leftfield, earning her a regular spot in the dance music sphere of the world. This is dubby dance floor poetry.

Somewhere between minimal techno, dub textures, and microhouse, under the name Loidis, Brian Leeds establishes a music of drift and intimacy. Better known for his work as Huerco S. and Pendant, Loidis sculpts lush, slow-burning soundscapes, a style he jokingly labels “dub mnml emo tech.”

Widely hailed as one of electronic music’s most promising producers, resulting in her being tapped by other forward thinking musicians such as Mykki Blanco, Nicolas Jaar, John Frusciante and the late SOPHIE; LYZZA has been able to breathe fresh air into Indie and Electronic music alongside those peers and mocking the boundaries of genre through experimentation, always forward pushing sounds and their structures- with her feet solidated in the underground.

mad miran has total dancefloor control. Whether rumbling in slow terrain, jacking mid-tempo, or speeding through d’n’b and breaks. Whether graveling in a spoooky pit or delighting with euphoric braindance — that lingering psychedelia gets us and it will get you.

Mad Professor is one of the leading figures in Dub. Having started building electronic equipment in the seventies, Neil Fraser evolved into building mixing desks and sound effect units. He opened his self built recording studios in 1979 attracting a variety of artists and musicians.

Miss Jay is a Romanian DJ and producer based in Milan. Her musical path began in the underground hardcore metal scene, later evolving into electronic music, a transition that continues to shape her unique, genre-fluid identity. Her sets and productions are driven by constant experimentation, merging emotional depth with club-ready energy, and often leaning into the raw, shapeshifting nature of deconstructed club.

Kimmo Rapatti aka Mono Junk is a quintessential name in minimalist techno. As one the founding fathers of the style, Mono Junk has been steadily releasing music since the early 90s, under labels such as Trope, Fordbidden Planet, Skudge, and his own imprint Dum Records, a seminal Finnish label. “Raw analogous minimal icy dark techno woven together in an experimental and hypnotic stone cold form”. Kimmo is responsible for some of the earliest techno productions ever emanating from Finland.

Shadowy psychedelic swerves. Ojelma has been making the rounds southern Finland, opening up their chamber of secrets to the delight of dancers and head boppers. Now it’s time to do the same up north.

South east London’s OK Williams represents the newer wave of the English capital’s DJs with a highly energetic and wide selection, from techno to grime, electro to UK funky, drill to house. Williams’s sets are a thrilling rollercoaster ride that would break apart if she wasn’t so damn skillful at gluing it all together. Peng to the max.

Istanbul-born, Helsinki-based powerhouse Ozan has in a couple of years convinced the crowds here that he is a force to reckon with. As a notable promoter back in his former hometown, and now resident of club Kaiku, he has hypnotic, groovy techno from the modern leftfield laid down to a tee.

House music galore. London’s big player Peach and arguably Århus’ most important dance music figure C.K are on the driving front of modern, classic-leaning house music. These two are all about the bounce, the rhythm, the pads and the shakery of ass. This bum-to-bum has “match made in dancefloor heaven” written all over it. And to our grandest of pleausures, we get to witnes this close to the sky.

With her strange sounds and irresistible rhythms, Phoebé Guillemot aka RAMZi maps a world that exists only in her imagination — a place where dub and 4th world influences mesh together with quirky house-y rhythms that evoke meadows of dreams. If playful is the aim, this is the best in the game. The past 10 years has seen her release music on Mood Hut, 12th Isle, Music From Memory and her own FATi Records to name a few.

RHR can refer to a resting heart rate. And if we approach this from that angle, we will quickly realise there is no resting but there's definitely a heartrate when we speak about Brazilian producer and DJ extraordinaire RHR. A thrilling mix of techno, bass, dancehall and baile are key here. And so is having fun and wildin’ out. The São Paulo artist is changing the face of Brazilian dance music.

The father of Helsinki community event RADC, and nightlife all-rounder finally gets to focus on one thing and one thing only: spilling the content of his music collection.

Big Sexxy Bass is one of the newer club nights in the nation’s capital, and it has gained traction especially among the post pandemic generation of clubbers, bringing international names from the modern club-o-sphere into our northern home. Its co-founder Nia, is a skilfull deejay who by way of mischief combines together sounds that are both familiar and new. It’s modern, it’s old. It’s broken, intact, and bold.

Sala translated into Finnish means secret. And one could say Sala is one of Helsinki’s best kept secrets. But not for long. Fearless genre-blending, tasteful impactions of modernly-flaired dance music.

Tech house kween Sallidoing does a lot. A dentist by day, and deck mechanic by night, her sets are a sure shot hoot, going from minimalistic house music to exuberant celebrations of life.

What happens when you combine two masses in weightless hyperspace, bind them together to form a covalent bond, and then just wait. Well, we’ll have to wait until summer 2026. But rest assured, it will be worth waiting.

Bassy, break, brainy and shaky — Sepehr makes dance music that hits all the right spots. There’s melody, but not overtly. It’s straightforward but delicately detailed. You can find hints of trance and mysticism in it without “overdoing” it, bowing to what has come before yet sounding fresh and new at the same time. An all-around great deal.

Where does the party start and where does it end? Hosted by Simo Vassinen with sounds and co-hosting by MORA and Islaja, this gathering at Kelo Tent on the first day invites festival-goers to investigate their (b)rave intentions through movement, soundscapes and streams of consciousness.

With popularity gained only through sheer excellence of his music, Skee Mask is truly a generational anomaly, making highly personal (dance) music that goes beyond the big speakers and dark room, music that evokes daily life emotions, from serenity and bliss to yearning and longing. Of course, a slew of bangers are also be expected from him. Your favorite producer’s, favorite producer, your favorite music fan’s, favorite music.

When speaking of European (minimal) house music legends, the name Sonja Moonear has to be included. In dance music, where movements and trends bubble up, bounce off one another and dissipate at startling pace, it takes conviction, dynamism, and an expansive record collection to stay the course. With one ear to the earth, and the other to the moon, Sonja Moonear weaves together feelings and emotions through subtle hints and notes.

Sophia Mitiku expertly crafts a liminal space of intros, outros and middles using yearnful poetic vocals, well placed speech segments and dreamlike honey-drenched sounds to create a pop-sensibility that doesn’t scream out for attention but earns it through sonic seduction.

Of all the DJs who make a living spinning strange, I'm-not-sharing-the-tracklist kind of records, Sugar Free, originally hailing from Madrid, might be the most fun. She plays bold, colourful tracks with an air of sci-fi and sleaze, somewhere between Italo, hi-NRG, electro and house, with of course a fizzy soda popping techy bounce to it. 100% body movement and full capacity brain engagement.

Songbirdis a performance combining contemporary choreography, practices of performing music and the tools of camp-aesthetics and drag. Inspired by the philosopher and poet Anne Carson’s essay ‘The Gender of Sound‘, the performance reflects on the identity of voice, choreographies of the vocal cords, femininity and vulnerability.

Toma Kami has been making the waves during the last years with a signature sound that lies in idiosyncratic rhythmic patterns an all-goes blend of genres like rap, jungle, techno or dancehall. Part of the fast-paced dance music movement but not a victim of the 4×4 160 bpm, he has made a place for himself both in DJing and in production, with releases on labels like Livity Sound or his ownmb studio.

Trickpony is a new exclusive collaboration between Perth producers Mike Midnight and Roza Terenzi and Helsinki singer, producer and designer Maria Korkeila. Aside from being the creator of the Achilles Ion Gabriel brand, Solstice alumni Korkeila has been making music as both emkay and gem-K, having performed under emkay at many versions of the festival.

Bred and born in Helsinki, Una is a central figure from the newer generation of Helsinki nightclublife; A BELOW0–label affiliate, afterhours staple Stidilä’s promotor, and the mood regulator for the party side of town. From warming up the house for the likes of DVS1, Paquita Gordon and KI/KI, to going back-to-back with Buttechno and making crowds woo with ecstasy at festivals, these are all a testament to their vision and flexibility as a DJ. Now for the first time, we get to hear what this mischevious soul has got cooking through the live medium.

In the daring sonic fiction of JP López, the Medellín artist also known as Verraco, collides techno, latin-influenced tribal, hyper-electronica, carefully crafted IDM, and cutting-edge dembow-bass technology with both intensity and precision. His releases on Batu’s Timedance, Pariah’s VOAM, as well as TraTraTrax, the quintessential label he co-founded, have solidfied Verraco as highly notable figure in modern dance music.

Dance music doesn’t necessarily have to be all about dance music™. That’s been proven by a handful of DJs who go beyond a pounding kick drum, DJs such as Vladimir Ivkovic. Guided more by moods than grooves (all the while not forgetting about the latter), Ivkovic is one of the few deejays able to make people dance to unconvetional "dance" music, inviting anyone willing to listen on a sonic hike with him.

As a dancer, cultural activist, and deejay Wekesa sees the dancefloor from multiple angles. However, a deep bodily connection is the key here. From dancehall to amapiano, baile to jersey club, the aim is to make you move your body in all kinds of ways. In the clubbing world, Wekesa has most notably formed the queer/POC night Club U-Haul, which has become a identity crossover haven for Helsinkians.

XIAOLIN is an enigma. Balancing light and dark, driven by a deep curiosity for warm sounds, complex emotions and colourful textures, the Hong Kong-based musician, producer, and DJ is a rare occurance in today’s dance music. While being a trained violinist, she excels in deejaying as well as live performance, being able to pull of three different kinds of them.

Music to levitate to… From London to the world. Yawning Portal’s pop sensibilities breathe life into ambient swirls and found noises; the end result can sound like a driver fighting to stay awake on the endless open road.