The autumn compilation Silvan Soul has been released this past Sunday, so it’s time to take a look at the rest of the year, or rather at the Autumn 2015 release schedule.

Not a lot will change in terms of weekdays or shows. The two most significant changes happening, though, ought to be the Sol-Archives show coming to Helioscope main channel right at the end of September and Helioscope Radio showing off its whole potential in the Grand Finale on November 15.

Here are some of the highlights, but remember to check out the full list via the SCHEDULE tab!

23-09-2015 | libelle (mit Helios et al.)

Helios is about to release his new full-length LP called ‘Yume’ and Planetarium will, of course, use this opportunity to do a best of Helios.

29-09-2015 | Sol-Archives, Ch. 1 : Prologue

Deep house, progressive and trance clearly are the roots of Helioscope and here you’re getting to know more than just some classics. I plan to dive deep into back catalogue of many labels and bring back a floor-proof DJ set spanning roughly two hours in every chapter.

30-09-2015 | cassiopeia (mit Max Richter et al.)

The pioneering 8-hour compilation ‘Sleep’ courtesy of Max Richter will also be highlighted on Planetarium. Mark your calendars for this release special!

15-11-2015 | Helioscope Radio 100 (The Grand Finale)

Don’t miss the most important mixtape of 2015! The final episode of my longest running series Helioscope Radio will include several guest mixes by renowned Helioscope residents and a rewind of some of the best tracks played throughout the 99 mixes beginning in January 2012.

What was originally planned for next year has been preponed to late summer. Planetarium as a channel received tremendous support from you in 2015. This is why I’m starting to release new uploads every week. You might think that will affect the quality of each mix, but I won’t produce more than usual. This is because Helioscope, on the other hand, has not at all risen in popularity despite having been the main focus up until now.

Starting next Monday (August 10), Wednesdays will be reserved for Planetarium. That means, every third week has a new main episode in store for you. On every 3rd (or sometimes 2nd) Wednesday of each month, the new Neptunian format will see the light of day.
The Ultimate Space Experience will return from its hiatus and just moved from Helioscope to Planetarium. New LEIMLAB mixes will occur semi-monthly on 4th Wednesdays. A special debut mix (the 6th in the LEIMLAB catalogue) entitled Gefion is set for September 2 release.
Release specials, seasonal specials and other stuff will fill in the voids. Up next are libelle (Helios LP) and cassiopeia (Max Richter compilation) to be available end of September.

Fridays will still be the release day for new Distant and more recently Turbobache mixes with the latter obviously getting more attention in the coming months. Wipe Out, a Heads Above follow-up, will be released August 21. Finishing off this month will be Bache In Vegas, the third Pier Pressure (aka A Beauty and the Beach) mix.
As you might know, the first Tribute To Hotline Miami has recently surpassed Going South on viewer counts and now is my overall most played/popular upload. Naturally, there’s gonna be a sixth volume called Raw Courage very soon. Stay tuned for the autumn schedule!

I decided to share a little bit of insight about me and my music-promotion project Helioscope, now that the third successful year has passed and I’ve very recently passed the milestone of 400 followers on my Mixcloud main channel. So I’ve collected all the questions I’ve been asked and explain them in detail!

>> Will you be touring somewhere soon?
No, unfortunately not. Some friends of mine know my stuff I put out on the world wide web. They’re, in fact, always trying to convince me to start DJing live. I see it as a really exhausting job and I’m not a friend of really exhausting jobs, so that’s that. I set my priorities and at the moment, I care about my university degree the most.
If I were touring, though, I’d love to be in a managing positions in order to organize Helioscope nights, preferably where the fan base is large enough (UK, Germany, France are all about three times bigger than other countries). I would invite my idols I steadily support, obviously starting with some lesser known names.

>> What software do you use?
That’s a question I rather want to dodge. The truth is, all of my mixes are done in arrangements, like tracks. People with good ears might have already guessed it. Nothing is live. Plus, it’s an amateur program I’ve been gifted by my parents in my childhood (MAGIX). I’m not a guy who likes to stick to conventions and traditional stuff, but that one’s an exception. Think what you like about it, I mean I’ve got a lot less options, so in certain aspects it’s quite hard to get an acceptable result. Other software include Virtual DJ for pre-selecting tracks and BPM/Key analysis, iTunes for my immense library and tracklists as well as Paint.NET for artwork action and silly pictures of myself.

>> How much time do you spend on one mixtape, from collecting tracks and ideas to publishing it to your followers?
That tends to be at around six to seven hours for a Helioscope broadcast. It’s a lot less for Planetarium & Distant, because their format is similar to a playlist. Overall, the time spent on mixing should have increased a lot, since I’m always eager to improve the quality.

>> How did you get into electronic music, especially progressive house?
I’ve been introduced by my uncle and my father who liked to listen to trance back in the days. Plus, I’ve caught a lot of inspiration from those workout CDs playing in gyms when I was a kid. I still am a trance fan at heart, but progressive house was the thing that changed my perception of music radically. I’ve rarely been on the beach in my childhood, but I just knew that this was exactly music’s tribute to those beautiful shores on our planet. There have been a lot of not-so-legal and long taken down promo channels on YouTube back when they still had the 5-star ranking. I sadly forgot all their names, but Mango’s and Dinka’s tracks were the craze for all of us suddenly. This community was extremely small at that time, but kept on delivering by finding underrated tunes by Mossy, Shiloh, Jaytech or Shingo Nakamura. I stumbled upon a Flash-only, swampy green site called Beatport in early ’09. It’s been my main source of music ever since. Exclusivity was the reason I spent like double of the amount of money for a regular track. If they could only learn that Martin Garrix produces Club House, not prog or trance…

>> What are your recent gigs you’ve attended?
I’m regularly visiting DnB events and was blown away by Etherwood @ Heinz Gaul (Cologne, Germany), Metrik @ SonneMondSterne (Saalburg, Germany), Fred V & Grafix @ halle_02 (Heidelberg, Germany) and London Elektricity @ Westerunie (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Other than that, I’ve been to Berlin for the unique collaboration show featuring Nils Frahm and Jon Hopkins. Next up for me is my first Above & Beyond event @ Live Music Hall (Cologne, Germany).

>> What are your plans for 2015?
The main focus still is Helioscope and their sub-channels Planetarium and Distant. Although quite a popular series, Helioscope Sun Set will be on hiatus for at least a few months, since its length and concept doesn’t match the other mixes. The fourth channel Jade FM will make up for this vacancy in promoting mixes of other DJs and producers.
The plan for the first half of the year is:
– The remaining 20 episodes of Helioscope Radio on 1st and 3rd Sundays
– The monthly editions of Planetarium and the liquid sessions of Distant on 2nd Sundays
– The second season of Nutrients and the most recent addition LEIMLAB on 4th Sundays

Seasonal mixtapes will also be reduced by one part of the cycle. After three years of existence, Astronics still doesn’t seem to cumulate any major fanbase, so uplifting space-soundscape mixes (now incorporated by a bit more deeper sounds with LEIMLAB), psy-trance and similar styles won’t appear on Helioscope any more. Worlds Between Us (balearic progressive trance) [in March] will be accompanied by Jade Bay (formerly Going South, balearic house + disco) [in July] and Silvan Soul (formerly New Soul, atmospheric progressive) [in November].

Helioscope / Planetarium / Distant

01 | Night Hawk Radio Yearmix 2013 | 171
This year’s most popular mixtape is the 4.5 hours long conclusion of the Night Hawk Radio ambient & chillout show. It marked the transition towards deeper vibes with classical influences, known as Planetarium. Now successfully running as my second channel on Mixcloud, it has very recently celebrated its first anniversary with the “2014 Yearmix”.

02 | Unparalleled | 170
Actually there were two first places this year. The Hernan Cattaneo tribute mix came extremely close to number 1.

03 | Helioscope Radio 067 | 131
Yuu Ohzono from Japan was one of my last guests on Helioscope Radio and submitted a really versatile balearic progressive mix ranging from the deeper vibes of Leslie von Dees and Greenfish to the euphoric stuff courtesy of Terry Da Libra and Alexei Scutari. This mix also marked the first use of the new cover art design.

04 | Wolfs Stray | 129
The Henry Saiz artist showcase is one of the longest mixes around.

05 | conjoint | 109
Reaching far up to the starry sky with more than 80 plays in less than two months, the Kiasmos album release special “conjoint” is by far the most successful mix on Planetarium to date. It’s a lot more rhythmic and has a darker feeling to it than almost all other mixes released on the channel.

06 | Part-Time Heroes | 99
07 | LEIMLAB : Nostromo | 94
08 | Helioscope Radio 057 | 90
09 | Worlds Between Us Vol. 1 | 86
10 | Helioscope Radio 059 | 80