Polish-born, Berlin-based artist Ultra Instincts (formerly Melania & Harsh Mentor) moves fluidly between techno and experimental sound, grounding their practice in intuition and process-driven creation. Shaped by a long-standing presence in the electronic music landscape, Ultra Instincts approaches sound not only as artistic expression, but as a tool for regulation — a way to navigate inner states as much as physical environments. These ideas culminate in Spectral Access, a project that brings together sound, image, and healing intent, set for release on January 30, 2026 via Bunkai Terepōto.
The musical foundation of Spectral Access emerged during a period of constant movement and exhaustion, when Ultra Instincts was traveling between gigs with little space to recover. Written on overcrowded trains and in moments of depleted energy, the track became a quiet refuge — a deeply intuitive, one-take attempt to calm an overstimulated nervous system and create a sense of safety where none was externally available.
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Recorded in a single session without overthinking or revision, the piece functions as a form of self-therapy. Through texture, repetition, slow progression, and an unwavering commitment to flow, Ultra Instincts shaped a sound that acts like a soft blanket for the mind, balancing anxiety through immersion rather than control.
Picture: @keyistudio Wearing Luise Zücker @luisezuecker
Although completed quickly, the track remained unreleased for months, held back by self-judgment. It was only after reconnecting with trust in intuitive creation that Ultra Instincts allowed the piece to exist publicly, a moment that opened the door for the project to expand beyond sound alone.
That expansion took shape through an audiovisual collaboration with visual artist Peggy Engbers. Rotterdam-born and Berlin-based, Engbers created the accompanying painting while listening to the track for the very first time. Guided entirely by sound and without conscious control, her process formed an organic dialogue between image and music, with Ultra Instincts’ sonic landscape directing movement, gesture, and emotion.
At the time of the collaboration, Engbers was on her own healing journey through art therapy, and the clarity and intuition emerging in her work reinforced the central intention of Spectral Access. Oscillating between storytelling electronica, ambient, experimental trippy noise, and ASMR-like textures, Ultra Instincts positions the project at the intersection of art therapy and sonic storytelling — an exploration of vulnerability, flow, and shared intuition.
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and Bunkai Terepōto
34th issue of KEYI MAGAZINE with JEFF MILLS on the cover
