Wonderfully visceral, deeply trippy set from Berlin-based polymath, Eleni Poulou, recorded at OTO as part of a bill with longtime friend Dave Huismans and Scottish artist, Fergus Jones in May 2026.

Sometimes live performance can bring a new meaning to the present, sometimes it can elevate that present to a whole new level. And sometimes, perhaps more rarely, a performance can bring you through into a new reality entirely. Such is the case here. "It will be" proclaims Poulou at the start of this 37-minute long set, and straight away we're slipping through the cracks to some other place..

Tape loops warble and a ravelling tangle of synth notes growl and thrum, whilst in the background some seemingly mechanical apparatus ticks and flickers to an unknown purpose. Through the murk and hiss, Poulou's voice exhorts the audience as if with some vital knowledge to share, yet the meanings seem warped and distorted in the telling, with fragmented phrases repeating and circling back on themselves.

There's a clear sense of urgency, an almost subconscious understanding that something profound is being shared, but the logic is that of a dream. Whatever the parameters of this dreamscape - and it is a dream that Poulou always deftly manages to keep tethered both to the room and the audience within - it's clear that the rules of this reality are subtly askew.

The effect is deeply hypnotic and strangely transcendent. To get the most from a dream we must meet it on its own terms, surrendering ourselves to what it has to offer. It is no easy task, yet if we can do this the hidden messages contained within can seem not only revelatory but inevitable.

It can be. It shall be. It will be.

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Thanks from Eleni to Dave Huismans, Fergus Jones and Felt Records for the invite, plus Tara Clerkin, Beth Arzy, Egidija Circaite, Mo, Thea, Dave and Oli.

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Recorded by Kevin Shoemaker
Mixed and masterd by Oli Barrett
Cover photo by Eleni Poulou