Engram · Stimulus

Engram · Stimulus October 17, Saturday | Rugs* Engram — the physical trace of memory in the brain. Every experience leaves something behind, though no one knows exactly where it hides. Over time, scientists have begun to uncover what it looks like. When an experience takes place, a small group of neurons scattered across the brain fires together.

As they send electrical signals, the synapses connecting them grow stronger, like a narrow path through the night, gradually worn into existence by footsteps passing over it again and again. This interconnected network of cells is an engram. Years later, activating just a few of these neurons can awaken the entire memory: a familiar scent, a low-frequency vibration, a beam of light resembling the one from that night. And it all begins with a single neural stimulus.

A signal reaches the edge of a neuron. The electrical potential slowly builds, crosses the threshold, and then — the first discharge. For this edition, Engram welcomes two European artists from the Organic Signs collective. First up is Solma (France), a Paris-based psychedelic sound designer and co-founder of Virtual Forest Records.

For this night, he steps away from his faster side and ventures into the deeper realms of techno — hypnotic, intricate, and unfolding like a long-form narrative, gradually drawing listeners further inward. Next is Jan Swam (Spain), an alchemist of tribal rhythms and co-organizer of Refractor Festival. Starting with minimal pulses, he gradually layers percussion, atmospheric textures, and unexpected twists.

The grooves grow denser and more immersive, until the very sense of time begins to dissolve. Local DJs: Ma Jiang — a tunnel digger into otherworldly dimensions. Influenced by early German synthesizer music and Japanese minimalist electronic sounds, he blends bass, hypnotic techno, ambient, IDM, minimal, and dark wave into a sound that is deep, progressive, and free-flowing. His set will lay the perfect foundation for the night…