Sound Magnet Records presents our Origins Mixes & Interviews series which have mixes & stories from artists across divides with music and themes based on inspiration from their city of birth or their current cities or places they reside in, spanning artists and mixes from all over the world.
For mix no. #006 we have a mix by London-based & Slovakia-born artist Monika Subrtova.
Listen to Monika Subrtova’s “Origins” mix here:
 | Sound Magnet Records. Origins 006 // Monika Subrtova by Sound Magnet Records Sound Magnet Records |
Monika Subrtova is a London-based experimental electronic musician born in Slovakia. Working primarily with hardware synthesizers, sequencers and tape, she explores the tension between precision and unpredictability, structure and texture. Her sound moves between dilated drones, restrained rhythmic patterns and spacious, sculptural sound design, often favouring deep listening over immediacy.
Rooted in the DIY culture of late 1990s punk and early experimental scenes in Bratislava, Subrtova’s work evolved from rhythm-driven intensity toward more immersive sonic landscapes. Her practice is shaped by both the tactile intimacy of machines and an openness to the material behaviour of sound itself.
Her EP Omnia was released on Bratislava-based label Urbsounds, followed by her debut album TOON on Next Festival Records, a sub-division of NEXT Festival. TOON was nominated for Best Experimental Music Album at the Slovak Radio Head Awards 2023.
Currently, Subrtova continues to expand her process through magnetic tape and field recordings, exploring how new compositional approaches can intersect with her sequencer-based foundations. Her work remains grounded in experimentation, presence and an ongoing dialogue between artist, machine and environment.
Hi Monika! it’s a privilege to have you on our Origins series. Let’s get started with the questions!
Where do you consider “home,” and how does that place live in & shape your sound?
“I’ve been living in London for 20 years, and musically it’s definitely my hometown. London feels like a magnet city for experimental music, and it’s the home of my music production, the place where I compose and shape my work. Being surrounded by such a dense and active scene is hugely important to me. Going to concerts, listening closely, and sharing space with other artists feeds what I do. Listening is not separate from making music; it’s part of it.”
“At the same time, Bratislava, Slovakia is undeniably where my roots are and where I come from. It’s where my passion for music first started taking shape through early exposure to 1980s synthesizer culture, rave-traveller free parties, and experimental and noise performances. It’s also where I first started making music with synths and where I performed live for the first time.”
“I’m still in dialogue with the experimental scene there. My EP, Omnia, was released on the Bratislava-based label Urbsounds, and my album TOON came out on Next Festival Records, a side project of NEXT Festival. In that sense, London and Bratislava feel like an ongoing exchange that continues to shape how I listen and make music.”
Which artists/music scenes/mentors/records shaped your ear early on?
“The punk DIY scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s was hugely important for me and had a big influence on who I am. I was drawn to its DIY spirit, grassroots activism, and strong sense of community built around shared values like solidarity, animal rights, and direct action. Music was at the centre of everything. The lyrics were often political, and the fact that almost everyone was making music made me realise that this was something I wanted to do too.”
“That way of thinking still feels close to me today through my connection to grassroots venues and small, community-based scenes. Discovering experimental and noise music felt like a continuation rather than a break. It had the same roughness and authenticity of sound, just that instead of guitars it was beautiful boxes and synths full of buttons, knobs, and sliders, which completely won me over. Moving from crust-core sounds towards electronica felt like a natural step.”
“Hearing artists like Pan Sonic and Autechre really blew my mind. Their sound felt uncompromising, physical, and non-decorative, very direct and almost punk in spirit, with a strong drive and groove that stayed with me.”
What’s a turning-point city, or place (or gig or year) that shifted your musical direction?
“I don’t think there has been one clear turning point. For me, it’s more a pattern of small catalytic shifts that gradually influence the direction I take or the way I think about sound. Going to live performances or discovering new records can already move something inside me.”
“Buying a new instrument can also trigger that change. I’m very drawn to hardware because each piece feels like it has its own character. I genuinely believe creativity emerges from constraints. The specific limitations or features of an instrument can open up entirely new ideas, applying an LFO in an unexpected way, exploring a very long filter attack, or focusing on one modulation path and seeing where it leads. I enjoy going down those rabbit holes and digging deep into what one machine can really do.”
“More recently, attending a residency focused on composing with tape widened my horizon in a new way. Working closely with other musicians and spending time with reel-to-reel machines led me to explore tape as a medium, splicing, looping, and embracing its physical limitations. I stepped out of the sequencer and grid and started thinking more in terms of loops, splices, and unpredictability rather than precise parameter control.”
“It doesn’t replace my previous way of working; it adds to it. I’m interested in how these different approaches can eventually coexist, allowing what feels like opposites to inform each other and evolve into something new.”
About the mix, describe a track or track(s) in the mix that feels close to your origin story. Why that or those ones?
“The mix reflects the stage of life I’m currently in. I’ve always been drawn to rhythm and beats, and that’s still part of me. But recently, my focus has shifted. I’ve slowed the pace down and started zooming in on broader sonic structures, textures, sound design and subtle movements within the surface.”
“The selection is curated around a common underlying theme that feels most present in me right now. Many of the tracks share a thread: restrained beats woven into dense sonic fabrics, slow-burn drones unfolding and dissolving, frequencies gravitating toward one another and then separating again. There’s an attention to detail, to how sound behaves and how small elements interact within a larger landscape.”
“It’s a form of deep listening. The music still moves you, but in a different way. Instead of driving the body forward through rhythm, it moves the mind through immersion and gradual transformation.”
“In that sense, the mix connects to my origin story not through specific early influences, but through continuity. The intensity I first encountered in DIY gigs and noise performances back in Slovakia is still there; it has just taken a different form. What began in that scene has evolved into a more textured and spacious way of listening and composing. It reflects where my listening and my composing are right now.”
Talking about gear & producing process, what are your go-to instruments, hardware and/or VSTs & how has your process evolved from your first releases to now?
“I have always been drawn to hardware. I find machines visually beautiful, and I’m deeply connected to the tactile element of shaping sound through touch, turning knobs, pressing buttons and moving sliders. It feels almost architectural or sculptural. Instead of carving material with a chisel, you’re giving form and movement to sound. In many ways, it’s an intimate act. Through physical contact with the medium, creativity flows. That tactile connection is essential to me. It’s what has always seduced me.”
“My production is built around three main pillars: synths, sequencers and samplers. Sound itself is central. I’m drawn to deep instruments with rich functionality, and I’m not shy about diving fifteen layers down into a menu if that’s where the interesting possibilities are. Mentally, my creative process has always been anchored in the grid. I enjoy working with sophisticated sequencers that allow detailed parameter control at step level. That precision and structural clarity are very much part of who I am, not only in music.”
“At the same time, my relationship to sound has evolved significantly. Over the years I’ve become more sensitive as a listener and clearer about what I want from the production process. There has been a gradual shift from an emphasis on beats toward soundscapes, microtextures and a milder pace. I feel more attuned to detail now and more patient with the unfolding of a piece.”
“A deeper change happened when I realised I needed to protect my creativity from external dependency. For a long time, I was operating within the familiar cycle of composing, recording, releasing and performing live. Gradually, I noticed how fragile creativity can become when it’s too closely tied to outcomes, whether something gets booked, pressed or received in a certain way. I didn’t want my inner state to fluctuate with those variables.”
“Stepping back from that mindset was deeply liberating. I created a space where creativity itself is the centre, a kind of safe room where everything is allowed and nothing has to justify its existence. Whether something is eventually performed or released can follow later, but it no longer determines the value of the process. That change strengthened my relationship to making music in a quiet but fundamental way.”
“This has opened space for exploration, including my recent work with magnetic tape. Stepping temporarily away from the grid and embracing loops, splices and unpredictability has expanded what I do rather than replacing it.”
What’s inspiring you right now in music & outside music?
“Right now I’m inspired by change itself, by stepping into something unfamiliar and allowing myself to be playful again. My recent move into working with magnetic tape happened almost randomly after a residency in Cornwall, and it opened up a completely different way of composing. I love the sensory side of it, the smell of the tape, the mechanical sound of the machine and the handcraft aspect of physically cutting and creating loops. It feels naive in the best possible way, like rediscovering something from the beginning.”
“At one point I felt slightly overwhelmed by having too much gear and too many options. Tape feels like a return to simplicity. The limitations are clear, and that clarity creates space to invent something new. The process is slower, more physical and more playful.”
“More generally, I’m always inspired by being surrounded by creativity. Going to galleries, attending live performances, discovering new music and actively seeing and listening are part of how I remain connected to what I do.”
“Recently, I’ve also become curious about field recordings. I got myself a field recorder, and my mind is already full of ideas that I’m yet to pursue and explore. I’m drawn to the outdoor aspect of recording and to the connection between sound and specific locations. It feels like another layer I can bring into what I’m doing, stepping outside the studio and engaging with the environment as part of the process.”
What’s next for you in 2026 & the coming years?
“When I recently rebuilt my relationship with creativity, a significant part of that realisation was consciously stepping away from constant projection. I realised I didn’t want my work to be organised primarily around anticipated releases, performances or predefined milestones. Instead, I chose to focus on depth, on being fully present with the process itself.”
“So what’s next is a continuation of this present-moment exploration. I want to stay grounded in the momentum I’m currently feeling and allow creativity to develop from within, rather than letting it revolve around external targets that aren’t always within my control. I’m willing to let this phase take the time it needs. At the same time, I remain open to performances, releases and collaborations, and I’m looking forward to seeing where those exchanges might lead.”
“I do feel a clear direction. I want to continue exploring magnetic tape while the energy around it feels alive, and I’m increasingly curious about developing field recordings further, taking the recorder into different environments and using those sounds within my tape compositions. I’m also interested in how these new ways of composing will eventually influence my existing sequencer-based setup, how stepping away from the grid might reshape the way I return to it. I’m interested in letting those approaches begin to speak to each other. That’s where my energy is right now.”
ICYMI, here’s Monika Subrtova’s Origins mix (again):
| Sound Magnet Records. Origins 006 // Monika Subrtova by Sound Magnet Records Sound Magnet Records |
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Follow Monika Subrtova:
Monika Subrtova live at Cafe OTO:
Monika Subrtova TOON - linktree: https://songwhip.com/monikasubrtova/toon
Ylvia - official music video (single taken from TOON - premiered on Inverted Audio): https://inverted-audio.com/visual/music-video-monika-subrtova-ylvia
Tracklist:
[00:00] Cosey Fanni Tutti – Sonance
[05:09] Hüma Utku – Ayaz’a
[10:05] Kevin Richard Martin – Higher Than The Sky
[14:17] Keinseier – Particles
[17:50] AM sin – Emergence
[23:27] Max Cooper, Aho Ssan – When I Sit Alone. In My Thoughts. I Am Crushed
[31:54] Monika Subrtova - Alata
[39:02] Tim Hecker – In Your Mind
[42:37] Heith – Genesis
[49:27] Daniel Kordik – Vstup Času
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