Beyond The Tension: “Evolution” or “Fluidity”

A your thoughts about changes 

 Liquicity began as a YouTube channel and quickly grew into a movement. With slogans like “For the love of liquid drum & bass,” it offered a counterpoint to the harsher ends of the spectrum—techstep, neurofunk, and jump-up. For many fans, it wasn’t just about music; it was about emotion over aggression, connection over chaos. 

Geestmerambacht 2024

For years, Liquicity stood as the emotional sanctuary of the drum & bass scene—pure, melodic, and untouched by the darker subgenres like neurofunk. But in recent Liquicity festivals, something has changed. Artists like Black Sun Empire, IMANU, Buunshin or Synergy—with roots in neuro—have started appearing on the lineup. Although for soulful or dancefloor liquid DnB people can be difficult allowed the changes in the DnB genres, liquid DnB (once) stood as a different music genre with different vibes than was mainstream DnB scene, than is neurofunk, perhaps artist like IMANU (once known as Signal, signed to Noisia’s Invisible) represent this evolution. His sets are not pure neurofunk anymore—they’re a swirling mix of glitchy halftime, sharp bass design, and unpredictable emotional arcs. It’s a sound that doesn’t quite belong to any subgenre. A shifting towards neuro genres brings also its aggression, including a ravers— this a man can feel. 

And yeah, beyond programming logic, there’s a cultural shift at play. The drum & bass scene has never been more fractured—yet also never more interconnected. In Czechia, for example, neurofunk is the mainstream. Labels like Eatbrain, Hoofbeats, and events like Let It Roll dominate, pushing aggressive, high-speed tech into the everyday. For young Czech ravers, this isn’t fringe music—it’s just what drum & bass is. Meanwhile in the Netherlands, Liquicity’s home turf, the neurofunk movement was once led by giants like Noisia and Black Sun Empire. But after Noisia’s farewell in 2022, the neuro scene fractured into something more hybridized. Artists like Posij and [IMANU] now explore new sonic worlds that blur genre lines entirely. Neuro no longer exists in a box—it’s leaking into liquid, into halftime, into house and glitch and IDM. 

Due a roots of liquid DnB or liquid DnB policy, this can’t be advocate, but probably Liquicity can no longer afford to be seen as insular or elitist. In an era when inclusion, diversity, and openness are demanded from every cultural institution, sticking to a single subgenre becomes a branding liability.

Another 1000 Miles (Sidney SN SoulfulLiquidDNB Mix)

 In April 2025, Sidney SN released Leucanthemum (Leontyne), a spring liquid drum and bass mix.  

Although Sidney SN had no plans to release another mix, he spontaneously dropped Another 1000 Miles on BassBlog.pro. The inspiration for Another 1000 Miles came from Life Is But A Dream by London Elektricity. If it weren’t for that track, Another 1000 Miles wouldn’t exist. In Leucanthemum (Leontyne), Sidney SN mixed Life Is Beautiful by London Elektricity—and now, everything seems to continue with Life Is But A Dream in Another 1000 Miles. 

But Another 1000 Miles is a bit different from previous mixes on Sidney SN’s BassBlog.pro. It has a different vibe—maybe more similar to Sidney SN’s pre-2019 mixes, before something changed due to world events.

For example, Life Is But A Dream is blended with Velour by Koherent feat. Catching Cairo. I really love Catching Cairo’s vocals. Or there’s Swang Song (Calibre Remix) feat. Dua Lipa, mixed with Nostalgia by Icicle. Also, for liquid people legendary, Never Let You Go (Blu Mar Ten Remix) by Seba, and the instrumental Shattered Dreams by TS—this one really makes the mix stand out to me. Mixed with Waves by Linx, this is a poison of a smell by a red flowers, for me. And of course, 1000 Miles by Machinedrum and Sub Focus. 

Maybe this mix will get fewer plays because it’s a little different—but Sidney SN simply loves every track in it. Simply, not everything from Sidney SN needs to be understood—because his reality might exist beyond what others think his reality should be. Enjoy the summer!

Link; Another 1000 Miles (Sidney SN SoulfulLiquidDnB Mix) May 2025.

And for an Another 1000 Miles, thank you for this week. 

Passion for responsibility

 Because of my experiences with open-air Dutch techno festivals and a drum and bass festival in the Netherlands, I had a conversation with ChatGPT about safety and responsibility—sustainability. 

I don’t want to express pure hate or negativity, but I found myself thinking in a similar way to the insights that I verified during the research with ChatGPT. And maybe this result is interesting because someone could think that the DnB festival is more focused on the theme. But the techno festivals are organized by Dutch policy itself and by Dutch values itself. 

The techno festivals have a much stronger and more genuine sustainability policy than the DnB festival. The techno festivals operates fully on renewable energy from the national grid, minimizes fuel usage, enforces a zero-tolerance drug policy, and has a clear circular waste system. Their actions reflect real responsibility, not just pretty language. 

The DnB festival might have an initiatives like reusable cups and water-saving showers, but it’s mostly optional, symbolic, and without clear structure. No real public zero-drug policy, no transparent energy sourcing.  

The Dutch techno festivals— Safety: Apply zero drug tolerance policy, clearly communicated and enforced- Strong security presence and coordination with Dutch authorities- Professional infrastructure with decades of event experience. Strong festivals professionalism over community bonding. Sustainability: 100% renewable electricity from the national grid. They manage energy consumption through smart systems, serve local and sustainable food, and apply circular waste management. This isn’t PR—it’s practice, backed by transparent commitments. 

The DnB festival in Netherlands— Safety: No clearly stated drug policy- Friendly, DIY-style security with community policing. Emotionally bonded DnB fanbase—grassroots atmosphere—Less formal, more communal ethics. Sustainability: The DnB festival does have thoughtful touches: reusable cups, eco-showers, and post-event gear donations to charity. But these are mostly voluntary and symbolic. There’s no formal sustainability policy, and the festival hasn’t made public efforts to measure or offset its ecological footprint in a structured way. It’s well-intentioned, but lacks the system and seriousness than the techno festivals brings.

Poverty on Paper vs. Poverty on the Street: A Comparison Between Czechia and Luxembourg

Luxembourg - Ville Haute

  

  Because my experiences with different countries of EU, I need a words to recently stats on paper, but not in reality. Here are a words about Luxembourg, but Luxembourg is an example. We could to discuss another Western Europe country. 

 When we talk about poverty in Europe, numbers can mislead. A country may show a high percentage of people “at risk of poverty” statistically, but that figure can hide the true experience of daily life. 

This is the case when comparing Czechia and Luxembourg — two vastly different nations where poverty means very different things. 

 1. Visibility of Poverty 

In Czechia, poverty is not a statistical abstraction — it’s often painfully visible. The country faces a deepening crisis of homelessness, with estimates suggesting up to 270,000 people (from 10 million citizens) living without stable housing. Across cities and rural regions, you’ll find individuals sleeping in shelters, on benches, or crammed into overcrowded hostels. The elderly, especially pensioners with low incomes, struggle to meet basic needs. Many families live in decaying apartment blocks (paneláks) or overcrowded flats, often choosing between heating and food. 

In Luxembourg, on the other hand, poverty is less visible. Someone classified as “at risk of poverty” may still live in a well-maintained apartment, send their children to good schools, and access high-quality healthcare. While economic inequality exists, the material realities of being poor are less stark than in Czechia.

 2. Material Conditions The difference becomes even clearer when we examine living standards: 

In Czechia, many low-income families face hardship affording basic needs like heating, fresh food, or out-of-pocket medical expenses. The minimum wage and pensions are low in terms of purchasing power. Public housing is scarce, and waiting lists can stretch for years. 

In Luxembourg, even the poor receive strong social transfers — housing subsidies, childcare support, unemployment assistance. This doesn’t eliminate inequality, but it softens its consequences. A person earning near the poverty line in Luxembourg generally still enjoys a much higher quality of life than someone at the same relative level in Czechia. GDP itself in Luxembourg (richest country in the world) is $132,800 and in Czechia $31600. Luxembourg monthly minimum wage is €2,570 (for unskilled persons), €3,084 (for skilled persons) and in Czechia monthly minimum wage is around €760. In Luxembourg, food takes around 18% (€350-400) of a minimum wage and in Czechia, food takes around 40% (€250-300) or more (to 47%) of a minimum wage. (And in the Netherlands, for example, a minimum wage is around €2000 and food takes 20% [€300-350] of a minimum wage. In Belgium, a minimum wage is around €2000 and regarding food expenses, in Belgium, food takes €235 [it’s 12% of a minimum wage] with slight regional variations: Flanders €241, Wallonia €226, and Brussels €242). In Czechia, a minimum wage barely covered all basic needs — it itself making poverty more pressing, harder and visible. 

 3. Homelessness and Housing Stress Homelessness 

In Czechia is not only widespread but structurally embedded. It’s more than just people on the streets — many live in temporary hostels or crowded, unstable accommodations. The social safety net often fails to catch people before they fall. 

In Luxembourg, despite high rental prices, the situation is very different. Emergency shelters, housing aid, and rental protections reduce the risk of people ending up on the streets. Homelessness exists, but it is less common and less visible. 

 Conclusion: Poverty’s Paradox 

On paper, Luxembourg has a higher poverty rate than Czechia — around 18–21%, compared to Czechia’s 9–12%. But this statistic doesn’t tell the full story. In reality, Czechia shows more visible and deeper poverty, especially in housing, rural life, and among seniors. 

In Czechia, poverty is part of the public landscape:

• Overcrowded flats, • Elderly struggling to survive, • People caught in cycles of debt and low wages, • Homelessness as a persistent reality. 

In contrast, in Luxembourg: 

people officially “at risk” may be financially stretched, but they still have a material standard of living that would seem comfortable by Czech standards.

 Is Being Poor More Impossible in Luxembourg Than in Czechia?  Yes — to a large extent. 

In Luxembourg, the combination of: • High minimum wages, • Robust welfare systems, • Generous child and housing benefits, makes it far harder to fall into extreme or absolute poverty. Most people receive help before they lose housing or access to essentials. 

In Czechia, by contrast, it’s easier to fall through the cracks: • Lower social protections, • Weak eviction safeguards, • A shortage of affordable housing, • Widespread financial illiteracy and household debt, …mean that even people with jobs can end up homeless or deeply impoverished.

In Simple Terms: In Luxembourg: Poverty is on paper — it exists statistically, but the poor are mostly housed, fed, and medically covered. In Czechia: Poverty is on the street — it’s visible, painful, and far harder to escape.

And why…

 Poverty Is More Visible and Severe in Czechia Than in Germany 

Poverty in different Central Europe countries

 1. A Tale of Two Realities Germany is Europe’s largest economy with high wages, a comprehensive welfare system, and one of the strongest labor markets on the continent. Its official poverty rate, hovering around 17%, reflects income inequality and relative deprivation. But being poor in Germany often still means: Having access to affordable housing, Receiving citizen income (Bürgergeld) or social support, Using well-functioning public healthcare, Living in a home with heating, electricity, and running water. In Czechia, despite a lower statistical poverty rate of around 10–12%, poverty is more tangible and painful: Homelessness is widespread, with estimates reaching up to 270,000 people when including hidden homelessness. Many low-income families live in overcrowded or poorly maintained home’s — often in aging concrete paneláks from the communist era. Old-age pensioners struggle to afford food, medications, or heating during winter. Entire regions, especially in the north and east, suffer from systemic underdevelopment and unemployment.

 2. Housing: The Most Visible Divide One of the clearest differences is housing security; In Germany, while housing prices are high in cities, social housing, rent control, and tenant protections help prevent large-scale evictions and street homelessness. In Czechia: Public housing is extremely limited and waiting lists are long. Legal protections against eviction are weaker. Low-income renters are often pushed into debt spirals, leading to loss of housing. Thousands live in temporary hostels, shared rooms, or even without heating or sanitation. Homelessness is not an invisible issue — it’s a daily presence in train stations, city centers, and shelters. 

 3. Social Safety Nets: The Difference Between Falling and Crashing Germany has spent decades building a layered safety net: Bürgergeld (formerly Hartz IV) provides financial support and integration programs. Families receive generous child allowances, and housing benefits, and unemployment insurance, Health care is universal and efficiently administered. Czechia, while having universal healthcare and basic social support, offers significantly lower benefits: The minimum wage is around €730/month, compared to over €2,000/month in Germany (In Germany, food takes from minimum wage between €200 and €300, in Czechia, food takes from minimal wage €250-300). Unemployment and pension payments are often insufficient to meet basic needs. Financial literacy is lower, and household debt is a common trap among the poor. In short, it’s easier in Czechia to fall into poverty — and much harder to climb out.

 4. Who Feels It More? The elderly, single mothers, rural families, and the working poor all exist in both countries. But the daily struggle for dignity is harsher in Czechia: An elderly woman in Germany may receive a modest pension but lives in a warm, subsidized flat. Her Czech counterpart may be choosing between buying medicine or paying for heat.

 Conclusion: Poverty Is More Than a Number While official statistics place Germany above Czechia in poverty rates, these figures mask the realities on the ground. In Germany, poverty is often an economic classification. In Czechia, it is a lived experience — marked by physical hardship, housing stress, and social exclusion.

End: While Germany shows a higher official poverty rate on a paper, poverty is far more visible, severe, and difficult to escape in Czechia.

 Poverty and Social Boundaries: A Cultural Contrast Between Czechia and Western Europe 

 The post about the differences in poverty between Luxembourg or Germany and Czechia, it’s just point out about systemic differences—but in a shadow are hidden differences in socially accepted behavior as well. 

Amongst other factors, in Czechia, poverty can sometimes be perceived as a natural or normalized state of being. This mindset is almost impossible to find in Western Europe, where society draws different boundaries around acceptable living conditions and social behavior. Perhaps because of this cultural perception itself in Czechia, the system is built in a way that allows social safety nets to exist without strong societal pressure to escape poverty. In contrast, Luxembourg’s socio-economic system is shaped by clear cultural and social boundaries—boundaries that are part of its national policy and identity. In Czechia, these boundaries are often absent. There’s a visible lack of shared cultural expectations around social behavior. 

This isn’t just a matter of culture or economy; it reflects a Czech system, and to some extent, a kind of Czech naturism. Luxembourg’s policies aim to preserve a specific image, culture, and economic standard through its socio-economic framework. Czechia, on the other hand, often lacks that kind of culturally driven structure, allowing poverty to persist in a more socially normalized way, or this way can be acceptable for system management itself.

Czechia, otherwise, tends to have longer working hours than most Western European countries (Czechia have longer working hours about more like 1 1/2 month per year—towards to worker hours in Czechia, in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, minimum wage could increase to €2250 per month), and work especially in industries like manufacturing and services. On other topics, minimum wage in Czechia is significantly less than in Western Europe countries or in Germany. 

And perhaps the points themselves illustrate a cultural difference: post-Bolshevik cultural traditions often contrast with Western Europe’s emphasis on work-life balance, shorter full-time workweeks, and stronger labor protections, focused toward different sectors than is manufacturing.