Jason Rule / Neonlichter

[Neonlichter Artist Spotlight] I’ve been involved in radio somewhere in the world for almost half my life, starting with a midnight show on @933cfmu in 2009 as a way to learn how to DJ as I had no turntables of my own. I’ve realized that my favourite DJs are all people who’s shows and sets sound like internal monologues. Many of them also got their start in radio - with a more studied, introspective style that comes from learning how to play to an invisible audience. I generally prefer slower tempos, because I like trying to listen to the space between the notes, but to me genre, tempo, vibe, and all of those categories are just aspects of a greater whole, not rigid parameters. First N10.AS show was a guest spot on Innerstate 87 back in 2018, recorded in the basement of Dalston Superstore (a landmark gay venue in London). At the time I had no idea I’d be living in Montréal a year later and part of an important kind of community, much less having run a show (either as myself or Days of Steam) for 4 years and developed a podcast and event series. I doubt that it would have been as affordable or doable in a larger city more apt to judge one’s art by its return of investment rather than anything you can’t put a price tag on.  Spaces like n10.as are necessary for the arts community (that MTL loves to market) to be able to express and learn. Whether digital or terrestrial, community radio is an important bastion of expression at a time when censorship is on the rise, even as access to the means of communication has never been easier. Damn right I’m passionate about this.  Pis anyway if you like strange sounds from beyond tune in every 1st Wednesday of the month from 6-7 PM.

Multi-channel operator and fellow transatlantic psychonaut The Hefker Girl (@navigatingthefartworld ) has a singularly unified “practice” (if we have to put a label on it), pulling from Pythagoras, 1980s fringe cults, uncharted waters, warped and dusty platines to create something distinctly off-kilter. She operates in several different milieux; I first encountered her assisting with @groovetrackersfm on WKCR (see DOS015: @nyc.pr3 ) as their media maven of sorts, but is equally at home on the design / booking / graphics / archiving / curation fronts in the back ends of bookshops and cash-only bars that seem to uphold what is left of the East Village’s nous against the beige tide that swarms and chokes. Blue World Below (named without awareness of the FIsh Bowl world she has created for herself) dives deep into untracklisted realms, fathoms of telepathic fish and echoes of chillout rooms and future visions from the end of history. Describes herself as a sailor at sea, armed with a dub compass to guide her through the uncharted depths of dance music and inviting the crowd into the haze, the suspension.

Back at @bigbarnewyork on Tuesday, this time with our pal and GT alum @_neonlichter . Based between NYC & Montreal, Neonlichter cut their teeth at @933cfmu and can now be heard regularly on @n10.as  & @eastvillageradio . Our team players @navigatingthefartworld and @niki.krax will be slinging wax alongside them. Tuesday, 4.21 📍@bigbarnewyork 8 till late @_neonlichter @navigatingthefartworld @niki.krax

@_neonlichter Psychedelic Soundscapes For Complete Metamorphosis Been trying to write or envision something about ‘queer ambience’ for years, this is the nearest I’ll come to it. 2 hours, 1 take, document d’une métamorphose personelle (idiosyncrasique pour l’époque), psychic excavations through the sounds that sonically felt the most identifiable over anything that had been marketed as representing “me”. Memories of staring out the window at alien smokestacks rising out from behind the trees, wide grass verges rarely watered, trash thrown from passing cars, mid-century modern architecture destroyed for McMansions, the high-pitched hum of the TV when the volume was off, turned between channels, electric blue searing your eyes. Of knowing what you feel, but not having the language to articulate, or the feeling it was even appropriate to think about, much less talk about. “You were always very discreet in your affairs”. (you’d be amazed how many people thought I was gay before I came out). Of finding comfort in the library stacks, and genres I was too young to be believed to have liked. Of all the many futures to come, the long blends, key changes, signifiers that only you can hear. Of wanting to be understood, and finally being heard, but those I wish I knew then but I’m glad to know now. (Dediée à tous ceux qui vous aiment)

‭March (onward)‬ ‭@n10.as currently in the midst of their 10th anniversary fundraising drive, looking to raise $10K for station/website maintenance and future upgrades (we have never had sponsors or institutional funding) // this month’s show was ‬all post-midnight wrong speeders, punks with drum machines, 80s pop dubs, assemblages and atmospheres, probably the only time I’ve played Platinum Blonde and Muslimgauze within the hour. Half the tracks are from the used bins at @blackdotsbuffalo . ‭Next Friday March 13 (one week!) performing debut hybrid set with @chaialeh at @lightandsounddesign alongside @blkboyshine and @nemahan_______ // cosmic synthscapes and the ghosts of Quebecois and Yiddish records found in the ether, documentary samples put through Max patches // 7-11 PM, linx for all up top, ask a punk 4 address‬ For US friends I have copies of our new @dastgamachine record at my house, $20 each will ship anywhere or pickup in NYC. Back in Toronto March 17-25, on March 19 we perform at @wavelengthmusic back in the basement of St Anne’s Church, along with @cinnapeyghamy (Paris) and @passedoutonapersianrug (Detroit) // projections and visual trips by @farbod_maeen Oneohtrix Point Never — Blue Drive [2013, Software] Pyrolator — Minimal Tape 1/8 [1979, Warning] Vox Populi! - Gutta Percha II [1986, Unlikely] Muslimgauze - Unwelcome Visitors [1986, Hits $ Corruption] Voice Of Authority - Middle East Power Station [1984, Cherry Red] Tackhead - Ticking Time Bomb (Dub) [1989, World Records] Papa Brittle - Status Quo (Westminster Dub Mix) [1994, Nettwerk] Hector Zazou - I’ll Strangle You (Instrumental) [1992, Crammed Discs] Disorder - Groove Attack [1991, Rhythmatic Rage] Kings Of Agreppo - Agreppo [1988, Subway] Stephen Mallinder - Del Sol [1985, Doublevision] Art Of Noise - A Time For Fear (Who’s Afraid?) [1984, ZTT] Malaria - How Do You Like My New Dog? [1982, Les Disques Du Crépuscule] Robert Palmer - I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On (Bruce Forest Dub) [1986, Island] Platinum Blonde - Contact (David Bendeth Dub) [1987, Epic] Analysis - Surface Tension [1981, Survival]

🎛️📀Coming to the Wavelength Music Festival + Conference: @dastgamachine Dastgâmachine (Mahmood Schricker, Caleb Klager, and Jason Rule) embrace a legible and unique form of psychedelia, incorporating the sounds and production techniques of dub, techno, and musique concrete into the Dastgâ system of arranging classical Persian art music. The three come from disparate scenes and sound worlds: Mahmood (on electric setar) from a traditional composition background, with years of performance and soundtrack experience; Caleb (on electronics) having gone from studying jazz composition to creating full throttle techno alongside performing in jazz ensembles and live at MUTEK; and Jason (on turntables) having experience with computer music ensembles and over 15 years of radio and club DJing under their belt in multiple countries. 🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌 Dastgâmachine joins @passedoutonapersianrug and @cinnapeyghamy with projection art by @farbod_maeen for an evening of music + community, amplifying Iranian artists and their contributions to Toronto’s music scene during their fight for freedom: Thursday March 19 Wavelength @ St. Anne’s (Downstairs) 651 Dufferin Street – Toronto Doors 9:30pm All Ages Co-presented with Link Music Lab / Experimental Link Series. $26 single tickets plus taxes and fees at bit.ly/WMFC2026 Discounted tickets are available to members of the Iranian community to use at your own discretion. 📸 @green__yang

tranquillité / réfléchir

UPDATE: SOLD OUT Echoes of the Archive is coming to NYC!! Join 4 DJs electronically reimagining traditional archival and diasporic music. Blending histories from Minsk to Seoul, these artists will present dreamy, dubbed-out textures, creating a space where old voices to speak in new forms. Chaia and Neonlichter will open with two hours of trance inducing archival snippets from Montreal and Eastern Europe, in Yiddish and beyond. BlkShine will present a deep listening exploration of jazz, r&b, and soul music reflecting the radical Black musical traditions of Detroit and beyond. Nema Hän will present an expansive curation of archival CDs from Korea, empowering the senses through sound and movement. Tickets are limited. Link in my bio. Poster by the greatest of all time @studioharamat

thursday evening at @casadelpopolo2 , providing a variety of dub and other sonic psychedelia to warm you with @_neonlichter 🧊 join us

Actions for turntable and sound system // Feb + Mar Feb 5: @n10.as 6 year anniversary show Feb 12: Montreal, @casadelpopolo2 w/ @atomicnumber88 (dubwise movements and psychedelia) Feb 13: Montreal, @deep_rave w/ @da.u.ra , @wetdo99 
(acid bath immersions and sweatbox techno) Feb 14: Montreal, @deathofvinyl w/ @anabasine 
(whatever we find in the stacks) Feb 17: Montreal, @lemalnecessaire (30th century lounge music) Feb 27: Toronto, @standardtime.to w/ @aguycalledgerald , @999_adj 
(machines moving in slow or fast motion) Mar 13: New York, @lightandsounddesign [LIVE] w/ @chaialeh and more tbd (a new live act, fragments of diaspora north and south of the 49th) Mar 19: Toronto, @wavelengthmusic [LIVE] w/ @passedoutonapersianrug , @cinnapeyghamy (first @dastgamachine show as a trio this year for Nowruz)

A Guy Called Gerald returns to Toronto for a rare and special night on February 27 at Standard Time. Link Music Lab and Standard Time join forces to present an intimate session with one of the most influential figures in electronic and dance music. A true original, A Guy Called Gerald has spent decades pushing sound forward with uncompromising vision and relentless innovation. @aguycalledgerald Ghanaian Toronto-based DJ, archivist, and curator, @999_adj traces Black music histories through a forward-facing lens, where breaks collide with electro, jungle dissolves into techno, and rhythm becomes narrative. Founder of 999HEARD and the archival radio platform 999_HEARDRADIO, 999ADJ’s selections are sharp, percussive, and emotionally charged. Neonlichter (Jason Rule) @_neonlichter based between New York and Montréal, opens the evening. A versatile DJ, they will showcase the depth of their digging and their knack for finding contrasts and polymorphic textures across genres. They have opened for and played alongside the likes of Vladimir Ivkovic, David August, Kiernan Laveaux, Gigi Masin and many more. Design: Michael Boatman

Your heart awaits..... In the smoke.... you’ll find what you’ve been seeking.... A late night dance to the sounds of Wetdogg Daura Neonlichter See you in the Deep.... February 13 23h-06h or later…. In a new room…. In collaboration with @btwnus.studio Poster by @wetdo99 on the illustration with @goblincandance on processing Lighting by Fantasy Sound by Pomelo Link to tickets where you usually find them….