Interview
Aurory Interview: Melodic House, Techno & His Sound
Melodic house and techno producer Aurory interview on the instincts driving his sound, his inspirations, and the mindset behind his artistic direction.
Focused on carving a signature sound reflective of his creative perspective, channelling Melodic House, Techno, and immersive sound design, Producer and DJ Aurory continues to shape an identity rooted in creative originality. Guided by a vision that extends beyond the dancefloor into a wider audiovisual world, his work delivers engaging experiences for listeners to discover. In this conversation, he reflects on the instincts driving his sound, the influences shaping his next steps, and the mindset behind his artistic direction.
Hi AURORY, how are you feeling today?
Today I feel focused and inspired. Thank you for this interview!
How much of your creative output is a reaction to the sounds you don’t like in the world?
A part of it definitely comes from that, but not in a negative way. I think my music is more about searching for what I feel is missing, more depth, more atmosphere, more emotional tension, more identity. I’m always chasing sounds that feel transportive rather than disposable.
What is the best piece of advice another creator ever gave you?
To stay honest with my taste. Trends move fast, but if you build around a real artistic instinct, your sound has a much better chance of lasting. I remember one top tier artist once told me, “In the end, who cares?” – and that really stayed with me.
What is the most unconventional source of inspiration you’ve tapped into recently?
Bulgarian traditional music – I recently resampled elements of it and wove them into the vocal of my next track. It brings in something raw, ancestral, and unexpected, and I think the result is going to be massive.
When you’re having a bad day, what is the one song that always makes you feel better?
I actually have one track that motivates me every time I’m under pressure, and I also play it before my sets. It’s by a very famous legendary Italian artist, and over time it has almost become a personal ritual for me – something I listen to before any important event in my life.
More generally, when I’m feeling a bit low, I’m drawn to energetic music that gives me motivation and helps shift my mindset. Most of the time, I naturally go toward the kind of music I play myself. One of the latest tracks that truly inspired me was ‘Late at Night’ by Mind Against.
If your personality was a specific instrument, which one would it be and why?
A synth, without a doubt. It can be warm or cold, subtle or overwhelming, melodic or deeply textural. That range reflects how I see myself – someone who can adapt easily to very different environments. Whether it’s a more business-oriented setting, a festival, or a more informal situation, I naturally adjust.
Who is an artist that you think everyone should listen to at least once?
Aurory, for sure if you haven’t listened to him yet!
What is your definition of a “good track”, and how has it evolved?
For me, a good track is one that evolves over time. It builds strong tension, knows how to release it, and stays simple – but in that simplicity, it delivers something powerful. A track shouldn’t feel static; it should move, breathe, and develop, with progressive elements that keep it engaging from start to finish.
One of the most important things I remember from an old professor of mine was: don’t become a skeleton in front of the computer. At some point, you have to know when to stop and let the track go. The idea of perfection, especially the one we create in our own heads, doesn’t really exist – and part of being an artist is also knowing when a track is ready to be finished.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself as an artist?
I’ve learned that in this industry, it’s not only about the music – interpersonal skills make a huge difference too. Traveling around the world and being exposed to different cultures has helped me understand the different social traits. That really makes a difference when you’re building collaborations, speaking with venue owners, or creating music with other artists.
If you could collaborate with any creative mind from the past, who would it be and why?
I think I would have loved to collaborate with one of the great classical composers, like Beethoven, and try to create a piece of electronic music together.
If you could leave one message for future creators who might be influenced by you, what would it be?
If you want something, go and take it. And most of the time, no means yes – that’s my mantra.
From our interview, Aurory has shared a glimpse into his approach, one that centres on instinct and consistency, with a focus on detail, emotion, and structure rather than chasing trends or overworking ideas. As he continues to refine his sound and explore new influences, his direction becomes clearer, moving forward in a way that feels considered and true to his identity. So, be sure to follow Aurory via social media to remain updated on his new releases, projects, and performances.
Aurory Online
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Ahead of Nibirii Festival’s sixth edition, co-founder Björn Grimm discusses the festival’s origins, its growth, and this year’s lineup.
Recently we got to chat with Björn Grimm, co-founder of Nibirii Festival, in the lead up to the festival’s 6th edition. We discussed the story behind Nibirii, how it’s grown, and what everyone can expect from it this year.
First off take us back to the beginning. Where did the idea for Nibirii Festival come from and how did it all come together?
I was listening to a Vini Vici track by coincidence at the time and it had me thinking of a concept for bringing sounds together at Bootshaus Cologne, which were underrepresented at that time. It became a successful event series pretty quickly and someone offered us a nice place (Dürener Badesee) so we thought about bringing this to the next level – and so we did!
Since that first edition Nibirii has come a long way. How has it been for you to watch it grow from a single day event to a multistage, full weekend festival?
To be honest, it is really hard for me to see it growing because it was huge for me right from the beginning and I am not the person counting and comparing numbers. I think you can compare it with being a parent and you see your child growing and so time is passing and someday you say “wow when did you become a grown adult.” I think it is similar because I was raising this event and was so close to it.
– This year you’ve pulled together an incredible lineup with the likes of Dimension, Hannah Laing, I Hate Models, and Vini Vici to just name a few. What’s the process like in pulling together such a lineup and deciding who you want on those stages?
I think booking is a really difficult task nowadays. Music is changing fast, artists are getting a lot of attention within a few days. Trying to look into the future is nearly impossible. I think the good thing is that we have a great relationship to the artists and we know what we want, and our booker is maybe one of the best in Germany. Shoutout to Paul.
– Nibirii has grown rapidly year on year. What can festivalgoers expect this year that’s maybe developed since 2025?
If we look back at last year, the Unreal stage might have been the biggest thing, and it will be for the Techno genre in 2026. But the other stages have also had a new facelift.
– Planning a festival is a huge challenge to take on. You’ve already had 5 very successful editions, but what are the emotions like for you in the buildup? Do you get nervous or is it all just excitement?
I think this is part of the deal. You will not do this with your heart if you are not getting nervous and excited, sad and happy, frustrated and the full emotional rollercoaster ride.
– How important is it to you to have each stage feel unique in both style and sound?
Stages should be great, 100%. The experience is not only created by the artists playing. It is the surrounding, the friends and people around you, the sound… everything is important. You can have the best stage in front of you but if you can’t share this with someone this stage is worthless.
– What would you say makes Nibirii different to other festivals and has kept on bringing more and more people back?
It is the vibe, the location, the local hosts we bring to the festival.
– What is your favourite thing about Nibirii?
It is the people I am seeing there. Seeing them smiling makes me happy and reminds me why I’m doing this.
– If you had to describe Nibirii in 3 words to someone who hasn’t been before what words you choose?
MUSIC, BEACH, FRIENDS
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MiNT announces MiNT XL, a new 2,500-capacity Leeds venue opening September 2026, marking the brand’s most ambitious project in its two-decade history.
Yorkshire has long been a hub for electronic music in the North of England. DJs such as Hot Since 82 and Paul Woolford are among the biggest names to emerge from the county, while venues including The Warehouse and The Orbit have shaped generations of ravers.
MiNT belongs in that lineage as well, having grown from a Leeds-based nightclub into one of Yorkshire’s most recognisable electronic music brands over the past two decades. Its story began with MiNT Club in 1998, which hosted renowned names including Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice and Luciano.
The brand later expanded with the launch of MiNT Warehouse and MiNT Festival in 2012. Now, building on that legacy, MiNT is writing a new chapter, opening a new venue in September 2026, its most ambitious project to date.
Discover MiNT XL
Located in the heart of Leeds, MiNT XL will transform the former PRYZM nightclub into a reimagined 2,500-capacity venue that will represent an expansion of MiNT’s ambitions as a brand.
Speaking about the new project, marketing manager at MiNT, Mikey McMahon says: “With it being a multi-use space, not just for electronic music, the production capabilities of the building will be on another level. Mint Warehouse is more of a traditional, no-nonsense clubbing experience … but with MiNT XL, as we look to expand beyond electronic music, there’s a certain standard of production we’ll need to reach, so it’ll be a completely different setup in that sense.”
Benefiting from the venue’s three-room layout, MiNT will have the opportunity to explore new musical experiences outside of electronic music for the first time. Although the brand has a strong reputation in Yorkshire’s rave scene, and that will remain at its heart, MiNT XL will deliver new formats, with something for every music fan.
“The three-room setup definitely helps, as it allows us to programme something different in each room and give people the option to experience different sounds, atmospheres, and environments throughout the night,” mentions McMahon.
“One thing we’re really excited about is expanding into new genres and live music, which is something we haven’t explored properly before,” he adds, highlighting the wider ambitions behind the new venue.
While the building and its layout will help MiNT explore new sonic territory, taking over a space with as much history as the former PRYZM nightclub presents its own challenge. However, the team behind MiNT XL are confident they can give the venue a new identity through their own programming, unique production, and overall experience.
“We want people to walk into MiNT XL and feel like they’re part of something fresh and forward-thinking,” says Mikey McMahon who also confirmed the venue will feature a Funktion-One Vero sound system.
MiNT XL: The Experience
Despite the new location’s larger capacity, MiNT aims to maintain the atmosphere that has defined the brand throughout its history. The team is determined to preserve its intimate identity while allowing each room to have its own character.
As McMahon explains, a bigger venue does not necessarily mean a more mainstream experience. Instead, MiNT remains focused on keeping the dancefloor moving and delivering the immersive nights its audience has come to expect.
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“I think we’ve built a reputation over the years for putting on great line-ups, but moving forward we’re looking to move away slightly from stacked line-ups and focus more on headline performances and extended sets that go beyond the standard two-hour slot,” he says. “We think our audience would rather see their favourite artists play longer, more immersive sets and really take people on a journey.”
The marketing manager also confirmed that MiNT’s no-phones policy will remain in place for specific electronic music and flagship events, keeping the focus on the music and the connection between people on the dancefloor.
What Success Means For MiNT XL
Although the launch of MiNT XL marks another major step forward for the brand, McMahon says its success will not be essentially measured by aspects like ticket sales alone: “Success for us is about diversity in programming and creating something that goes further than just house and techno … being able to collaborate with different people, host a wide variety of events, and continue evolving creatively is just as important as ticket sales or line-ups.”
As MiNT XL prepares to open its doors in September, the venue promises to bring a new scale of nightlife to Leeds, while staying true to the culture that transformed the brand into a Yorkshire music events icon.
The opening party will set the tone for the new chapter, with a carefully curated line-up featuring Enzo Siragusa, Craig Richards, Fumiya Tanaka and Sonja Moonear taking over the decks throughout the inaugural night.
For some, this expansion may be just another venue, but for Leeds, MiNT XL presents one more sign of the city’s continuing influence on the UK’s electronic music scene.
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Cumbiafrica interview discusses their new Decca Records release Batonga, their collaborations with HUGEL, and the Afro Latin House sound at the heart of their music.
We sit down with Cumbiafrica to celebrate their new release on Universal France’s Decca. We discuss the story behind the music, their collaborations with HUGEL and of course their new release.
How has your year been so far?
We’ve been working very hard with our label, Producciones Alé Kumá. At the beginning of the year, we released the single “Carmelita Adiós” alongside DJ Dean Mickoski, and more recently an EP titled “Sheel Sheel (Drone Song)” in collaboration with Gaza Birds Singing, a children’s singing group from Palestine. This EP is part of a larger album called “Canciones de Resistencia” (Songs of Resistance). During this first semester, we spent a lot of time in the studio because, as summer approaches, we’re intensifying our release schedule. We have planned to drop a new single every three weeks throughout the season. All of these tracks are part of an Afro Latin House album that will be released very soon.
How did you all meet? What’s the story behind Cumbiáfrica?
We met in Colombia. Leo was already a well-known producer there, having worked extensively with major folkloric figures like Martina Camargo. I, Lina, had just finished my degree in acting and dramatic arts, but alongside my acting career, I had been singing since I was a child, accompanying my father who is a pianist, as well as my sisters who are also musicians. Later, thanks to a scholarship, Leo and I traveled together for two months to an artistic residency in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with deep cultural connections to Colombia. There we met many artists from the local Afro house scene, and that’s how Cumbiáfrica was born.
What inspired you to take this path sound wise?
At that time, Leo was directing an orchestra in Belgium called De Palenque a Matongé, alongside Congolese guitar legend Dizzy Mandjeku. The orchestra was made up of African and Colombian musicians, and I was part of it as a singer. When the pandemic hit, we had to scale down the format to a DJ set with electronic sounds and vocals. However, we wanted to preserve sounds like the marimba and guitar that evoke both Colombia and Africa, and that first intercultural project.
What have been your biggest influences on your current sound?
Afro-Colombian music and contemporary African music have a constant dialogue of mutual influence that goes beyond their obvious common roots. Soukous, champeta, cumbia, soca, amapiano, classic Afrobeat, and contemporary Afrobeats are all part of our influences. Artists like Ginton and Trinix, with whom we’ve worked, or the Colombian group Bomba Estéreo, have influenced us greatly. But the artist we admire most and who will always be present is Stromae.
What inspired you to reimagine Batonga? What does that mean to you?
“Batonga,” beyond being a classic in Angélique Kidjo’s repertoire, is an anthem — not only of African identity, but of resistance, female strength, and rootedness. We wanted to establish a dialogue between Angélique’s voice and mine, between Fon (the language of Benin) and Spanish. For that, Leo wrote some original verses that highlight this aspect: “Raíces fueron mis pies, mis manos ramas en flor, erguida caminaré como árbol buscando el sol. Ya nada borrará mi voz”(Roots were my feet, my hands branches in bloom, I will walk upright like a tree searching for the sun. Nothing will erase my voice). For us, above all, it is an honor. Angélique is one of the most influential voices in contemporary African music and a five-time Grammy winner. This wouldn’t have been possible without the management of Decca Records.
How did you come to land on Decca as a label?
Leo has been running his producer project, Alé Kumá, for 25 years, founded in Colombia. It has transitioned from ethnic music to contemporary African music, and in recent years, into dance music, especially Afro house. Because of that experience, Decca reached out to him. They wanted to “reimagine” some songs from their more classic catalog. “Batonga” was on that list, and they wanted it to be the starting point of this collaboration. We hope it extends to more African artists from their catalog.
Why did you use your Alé Kumá alias here alongside the Cumbiáfrica titled project?
Leo wanted to give the track a more “Latin house” sound and identity, so he proposed to the label that, in addition to Angélique’s original sample, we should record verses, chops, and hooks in Spanish. So he decided to involve me as the singer of Cumbiáfrica, a project that many critics have considered an “instigator” of the Latin house movement, especially because of our collaborations with DJ HUGEL.
Tell us about your work with HUGEL? How did that relationship come to be?
We met during the pandemic. He reached out because he knew Alé Kumá’s work as a composer and producer for Martina Camargo. We had recorded a version of “Morenita” in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018, and Leo suggested that HUGEL “reimagine” a new version. We never imagined that this song would become the “post-pandemic” anthem of Latin house. After that, we met in person during the filming of the “El Sueño” music video, and later came “Águila.” Leo also collaborated with HUGEL by helping him manage the licenses for “La Verdolaga” with Colombian singer Totó la Momposina.
What has been your most memorable gig this year and why?
The most important show this year was at the Carnaval de Vinaròs, in Valencia, Spain. We played in front of 10,000 people, and it was broadcast by the Valencian public television network. What was most moving was that we learned there that recent generations frequently choose Cumbiáfrica’s songs for their parades and comparsas. So many carnival attendees know our repertoire by heart, even our lesser-known tracks. When we got on stage to sing, the audience became a massive choir accompanying our songs. It was incredibly emotional, and we’ll be uploading the full concert to our YouTube channel very soon.
What is your studio set up like? Any rare equipment you like to use?
Today we have a very well-equipped studio in our new home, with excellent acoustic conditioning. But for many years, we recorded in a technically limited home studio. Sometimes we feel nostalgic for that home studio because we recorded many of our emblematic songs there. Our first microphone was a The t.bone RB 500 ribbon mic. Today we have much more sophisticated microphones, but we still use our old ribbon mic as a complement to capture Cumbiáfrica’s vocals.
What advice would you give to young up and coming producers?
Our advice is always: “listen to musicians.” And by musicians, we don’t mean conservatory academics. There are traditional musicians who can’t read sheet music but play guitar or drums by ear. These people know many secrets of music that many producers are unaware of. Ideally, producers should also learn about music, or simply learn to play an instrument or sing. But if you don’t have the time, surely you have a musician friend who can help you listen to your tracks and advise you on how to achieve a better musical result.
What more can your fans expect from Cumbiáfrica this year?
In addition to the releases on our own label, we want to expand our collaboration with Decca Records because they have a wonderful catalog. Many of their ethnic, jazz, and world music artists are reference points for their communities and for musicians around the world. We are working on two new releases for Decca Records and hope that later these and other pieces can be compiled into an album of collaborations with African musicians. That is the very essence of Cumbiáfrica.
Stream their latest single below and purchase here.
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