MIKE MYSTIK.
The moment it connects.
Mike Mystik on vinyl, starting again and reading the dancefloor.
In conversation with Mike Mystik
At Burg Plankenstein, Mike Mystik steps behind the decks after his former idol Mike Vinyl. He is nervous – until the first track plays and the dancefloor responds. That moment leads our conversation towards his return in 2021, a spontaneous change of direction at Vienna’s Kramladen and what makes a night in the underground matter.
Mike Mystik began playing vinyl in the late 1990s. After a long break, he returned to DJing in 2021 and started producing his own music. In this interview, he talks about his track “Mechanium” on Shadow State and creating spaces for raw, driving and hypnotic techno with Dunkelton Kollektiv.
The first track that stays with you
You started playing vinyl in the late 1990s. If you could take us back to one of your first nights behind the turntables, where would we be, and what has stayed with you from that night?
One particular moment that has stayed with me was playing at Burg Plankenstein. Playing there, and following my former idol Mike Vinyl, was something very special. To be honest, I was quite nervous. But then I played my first track, “Paranoid Dancer” by Johannes Heil, and had the crowd with me from the very first moment.
That feeling is hard to describe. You are behind the decks, the music is playing, and you see people responding to it, dancing and simply enjoying themselves. That is exactly what drives me. When I feel that my selection can reach people and give them a good time, I get an incredible amount back. That feeling has been with me since I started playing vinyl in the late 1990s.
Back behind the decks, on his own terms
You returned after a long break. What drew you back behind the decks, and what surprised you about the scene when you came back?
I returned in 2021 after a long break. The lockdown period set a lot in motion for me and showed me how much I missed music and DJing. I did not simply want to pick up where I had left off; I wanted to find my own path. Since then, I have developed as a DJ, started producing music myself and built my own sound as MIKE MYSTIK.
What surprised me was how many opportunities artists now have to release music themselves and reach people. At the same time, one thing has stayed the same for me: nothing replaces standing in a club and feeling that the music is connecting with people. That is exactly why I do this.
You can prepare as much as you like, but you must not stubbornly stick to your plan.
When the plan stops working
Was there a night when you took a musical risk and the audience reacted differently from what you expected? How do you handle a moment like that?
One night that particularly sticks in my mind was at Kramladen in Vienna in January 2025. It was my first bigger appearance in Vienna. I was booked for “We Love Techno” and was really motivated. Before me, there was good peak-time techno, the crowd was into it, and the atmosphere was great. But I had prepared an underground set, and at first it simply did not work.
After two tracks, I realised I needed to change something. So I spontaneously opened an old folder of techno classics and started playing different tracks. Suddenly, the spark caught. People went completely wild, and the atmosphere really took off.
That was an important experience for me. You can prepare as much as you like, but you must not stubbornly stick to your plan. You have to read the crowd, sense what is working at that moment and have the courage to change direction spontaneously. For me, that is exactly what makes a good DJ.
Pressure you can feel
With “Mechanium” on Shadow State, you are behind the music as a producer. What came first: a sound, a rhythm, or an idea of how the track should feel in a club? Take us into the process.
With “Mechanium”, I wanted to make a track that builds pressure and works in a club without relying on effects or unnecessary frills. I am drawn to driving rhythms, raw sounds and a dark, hypnotic atmosphere. I want a track not just to sound good, but to be something you can physically feel.
When producing, I try out a lot, change details and keep working until the whole thing feels right. As a DJ, I know what a track can do through a sound system and on a dancefloor. That experience naturally feeds into my productions. I am especially pleased that “Mechanium” came out on Shadow State and also did well in the Beatport charts. It is good to see music you have worked on yourself finding its way into clubs.
A night for the underground
If you could show someone what matters to you about Vienna’s techno scene through a single night, which would you choose, and what would that person need to experience there?
I would choose a night at Innercircle Club. For me, techno is not just about big names or getting as many people as possible into a club. It is about the atmosphere, the music and the people sharing that night.
I like the raw, driving and hypnotic side of techno, where you can give yourself over to the sound and forget everything around you for a few hours. The underground spirit matters to me too: people organising events out of passion, DJs following their own musical direction and an audience that really engages with the music.
For me, those are the nights that make the scene. With our Dunkelton Kollektiv, I want to help carry that culture forward and create spaces of our own for this kind of techno.
MIKE MYSTIK
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. Mike Mystik (courtesy)