2026-01-17

I Don’t Need Architects in Order to Build Skyscrapers

 I apparently already have several articles where I take shots at Trump. The first one was probably when I wrote about Chloë Moretz. I like Chloë Moretz because of her identity. She spoke out against Trump during the elections. She’s not alone—recently, Trump also went after George Clooney.

Everyone also knows how Trump wanted to deal with the war. Sometimes I wonder whether Trump even really exists, because he seems so absurd, as if he lived detached from reality. Everyone knows that he once attacked Ukraine as if it were the instigator. His attacks on Europe have also been more than sufficient, and recently, in relation to Greenland, I was amused by the public statement that “Donald Trump is a huge idiot.”

And this is the point of this post: Ukaleq Slettemark also said that she fears for the future of her country and that the people of Greenland are “terrorized” by Donald Trump’s statements. Slettemark stated that her family and people in Greenland are frightened and are considering that they might have to leave their home, because they see the current situation as dangerous and “terrorizing.”

Trump has repeatedly and over a long period of time expressed hostility toward Western Europe as well—politically, economically, and culturally. This isn’t about a single statement, but about a recurring pattern.

I recently also wrote about the economy, for example about the richest Luxembourg per capita. And about the fact that although Trump attacks Western Europe, if Benelux were on U.S. territory, it would be the richest country in the world, with far greater wealth than it has now, and with a social system that the U.S. lacks. Nowhere in Benelux, nor in Germany, will you find problems like those in the U.S. For example, in Benelux there are no homeless classes, zones, mass drug addicts on the streets, excluded areas, etc., and human rights and freedoms exist here—because Benelux is structured so that this happens, and so that what is happening in today’s U.S. on a massive scale does not happen.

In a way, Greenland seems to me as if Trump wanted to take another state, for example somewhere in Europe. As I said, sometimes I feel that Trump doesn’t live in reality when I randomly see his statements on the internet. But they are mostly random precisely because I don’t even want to read nonsense. Similarly, since someone in the Czechia came into power, I don’t read anything at all, because it’s clear to me who they are, and no constructive statements can exist—only nonsense. Since we’re here, I also currently don’t have the fears that were obvious during their last term. Everyone in the West already knows the reality, and there is no possibility to repeat anything. It is probably clear today also because of the statements themselves.

It’s like when someone says that their power is limited only by their own morality and their own judgment, and that they “don’t need international law” as a restriction on their actions. That’s something anyone could say about any laws in court. And it’s also something anyone can say in general. People could then return under the trees, back to an existence of an unwritten civilization. Civilization begins at the moment when force ceases to be the only law. That means: norms exist that limit even rulers; there is a difference between power and legitimacy; violence is regulated, not arbitrary. Without that, you only have a tribe, an empire, or chaos—not a civilization. 

Shutdown the Dissolution

“England's Paula Temple is a highly respected DJ and producer of hard, uncompromising techno, and a technological innovator. Active as a DJ since the 1990s, Temple co-developed the MXF8, a MIDI controller designed for live performances, during the early 2000s. After a nearly decade-long break from touring and making music, she returned in 2013, releasing EPs on labels like R&S and 50 Weapons, leading up to her full-length debut, 2019's Edge of Everything.”
  At Leucanthemum (Leontyne) I wrote about an example from a Dutch techno festival, where there was a girl who asked me, “When will it end?” I also noted, half-joking, that it could be maybe when she takes off a bra.

 However, I was thinking about Paula Temple, and why she stopped producing music for ten years. Not because of her technique, not because of ideas—but because of the values of the scene she was part of.

When I read about Paula Temple and her many-year hiatus from music, I realized that the mechanism behind it feels familiar to me. Not musically—we are fundamentally different there—but in attitude.

Paula Temple left because the techno scene stopped being meaningful to her. Once, as a participant, I did the same in the Czech Republic. I didn’t want to produce techno either, because of the scene’s values, even though in the beginning, I learned to mix using techno. Paula Temple didn’t want to produce music just to fit expectations. She preferred silence over compromise. This is where we meet, because when Sidney SN started being critical of liquid DnB joining the mainstream DnB scene and losing its meaning, the silence was also an option.

At the same time, it’s important to say: Sidney SN is not about dark beats. In this regard, I am not Paula Temple, nor do I want to be. Sidney SN chose the exact opposite of darkness.

While Paula Temple found her voice in hardness, confrontation, and darkness, me after ten years (2006-2016) since my beginnings in mixing and my subsequent decision to step back from engagement, Sidney SN chose modern liquid drum and bass precisely because it allows him to speak about what he wants.

My doubts about certain directions in the techno scene did not lead me to radical beats, but, on the contrary, to music that breathes.

What Paula Temple and I probably share is one thing: we refuse to make music in an environment that denies its meaning. Paula Temple is also critical toward hard drugs and dedicates herself to social work, social services. In this, we are similar—we respect the voice of our integrity and values.

The difference is in the language we use to express it. Hers is darkness. Mine is melodies.

For those who don’t know, it’s worth mentioning at the end that Paula Temple also designed her own MIDI controller, the MXF8, which connects technology and creativity. 

In a way, I can say that I am fulfilling the mission of Sidney SN. I chose liquid drum and bass because I liked it—both musically and for its potential. However, due to issues in Czechia, something happened that went beyond music itself. And the meaning I saw in liquid drum and bass transcended the limits of the music’s own potential. Music no longer has to be the carrier—and it is no longer. 

At its core, it is not about the music, but about the potential that this music had, and that was realized through it. Music is no longer the necessary medium for that potential to unfold. What once could be as its vessel has since moved beyond it and continues to manifest independently. 

Nevertheless, Sidney SN’s liquid drum and bass is the reason why this is so. And thus this music fulfills the potential that I saw in it. Once again, I can say: thank.

2026-01-12

Grand Est

 I carried with me a certain criticism of France—especially regarding the banlieues, a phenomenon largely absent in countries such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, or also Germany. 

It was also noted that, after Czechia, France has the most widespread free tekno scene in terms of population. Unlike in neighboring countries, where refusal to shut down a sound system often leads to arrests and confiscations, the “party” there is expected to last through the night.

 Yet France is also a land of extraordinary beauty. The Ossuaire de Douaumont stands unforgettable in its majesty, singular in its gravity, not far from Toul. Not far from Ossuaire de Douaumont is Fort de Vaux. A flowering spring there was amazing. Across the whole Grand Est region, one encounters countless places of interest—monuments, historically charged landscapes, and cities that quietly carry meaning.

At the edge of Grand Est lies Luxembourg, Belgium and also Strasbourg, a city balanced on the border with Germany. From there, a tram crosses effortlessly into the nearby German town of Kehl. Few places in Europe allow one to pass between nations with such ordinary ease.

To me, Strasbourg bears the imprint of Germany through its closeness, yet it remains unmistakably French. For me, it is also place of an interesting meeting. 


 I wanted to write about Strasbourg because the city is beautiful—and genuinely safe. Compared to many others, it is also cleaner. Certain areas, especially around the historic center, resemble the carefully constructed sets of historical films.


Last year, this drew me to Strasbourg on the night of Christmas Eve. The city was empty, wrapped in silence, and revealed itself through a distinctly Christmas atmosphere. These streets are usually well kept, and at night—particularly at Christmas, without people—the nocturnal life in French cities like Strasbourg feels calmer. With its architecture and immaculate streets, the city appeared to me like a stage set, a quiet theater awaiting its actors. In its own way, this may also reflect the distinctly French sensibility for art and culture. 

 In France, one is also struck by how close nuclear power plants can be to residential areas. The Grand Est region is no exception. It is here that the important Cattenom nuclear power plant is located, situated just a few kilometers from cities and inhabited areas. The plant is embedded in the landscape along the Moselle River, in close proximity to forests and settlements, which clearly illustrates the French approach to nuclear energy. France has built its nuclear network (the parc nucléaire) since the 1970s as a strategic infrastructure to ensure energy self-sufficiency.

2026-01-06

Discotheque (Sidney SN DNB Mix) 2025

 Released 12/12/2025

 Lately I’ve been kind of productive. I recently recorded a progressive house mix. And now I’m back with DNB. It’s an energy I don’t want to keep inside for no reason. 


Yeah, Discotheque. This is the latest DNB mix from Sidney SN — a slightly lively liquid or disco DNB mix...

 
 Tracklist:

 Nichenka Zoryana & Amigosu – Voise

 Midnight – Quiet Earth

 1991 – You May Find Yourself

 Flava D – Reesey Thing

 Hoax & Zitah – What You Came Here For

 Dynamic Stab – Contrast Shower

 Hillsdom – Say What’s On Your Mind

 Rueben & SOLAH & Klinical – Your Move

 Dawn Wall – Holding On

 Sonic Art & Maykors – Keep Running

 Linx – Trying To Hold Onto Life

 Ownglow & Elle Vee & Disco’s Over – Breathe

 Duskee & Deadline & Slay - CHICA

2026-01-05

Integration

 Part 1.

 For instance, I cannot avoid Germany when I want to reach the West coast. I enjoy the journey. I try to also change the places where I stop along the way. Sometimes it leads to Dortmund, sometimes Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, or Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, or Munich. Or sometimes the days in Berlin areas. 

But it’s not just about traveling through Germany. I have the sense that the country has a strong integration system. Germany is often cited as a place where migrant integration works better than in much of Europe.

What is visible in Germany is that the system is set up so that it is worthwhile for people to be part of it, while also preventing the formation of spatially segregated, marginalized areas. People in Germany are also more open, and origin or ethnicity does not play as strong a role in integration into society and the system.

I mean that in Germany there are no clearly separated marginalized areas, unlike in certain parts of France for example. In other words, Germany lacks the visibly segregated, marginalized neighborhoods or marginalization.

In certain parts of France or in the Czech Republic, ghettos itself emerge: in the banlieues or in Czechia, or in Slovakia, people sometimes live outside the system due to limited economic opportunities, housing constraints, identity-based segregation, or structural racism. 

 Part 2.

 Not to leave the Benelux out, I have already written an article about Luxembourg economy, and I would also include the Western coasts. In the Netherlands, the natural coexistence is visible in the local communities. South Holland is very naturally diverse. The presence of “black culture” is also unmistakable. It is part of the character of the Western regions of Europe. In France, communities are also diverse, but there are areas of exclusion.

The West system encourages integration through economic opportunities and accessible social services, while urban planning avoids large, concentrated areas of poverty. People are generally open to migrants, and the emphasis is on participation and functioning within the system rather than background or origin. 

This helps prevent the formation of ghettos and allows migrants to take part in society across multiple neighborhoods.