The Lithuanian techno, industrial, and hardcore producer and DJ Somniac One—real name: Kristina Ma—started making tracks at the age of 13. Since her first release over a decade ago, she has cut a blinding path through the underground, releasing tunes on everything from Perc Trax to PRSPCT to Ghostly International—a splay of labels that serves as a testament to the artist’s range and mastery. With so much history in such a relatively short period of time, we wanted to go back with Somniac One and dig through her early days as both a producer and a fan of hard dance music. Give the newest edition of Web of Influences a read, and listen to her recent release, To All My Soggy Creatures of the Night, below.

Can you remember the first time you heard a gabber kick drum?

Somniac One: I must have been five or six, and it was probably some happy hardcore tune broadcast on Lithuanian TV or radio. It was the 90s and gabber must have been a big deal then, not only in the Netherlands. The first time I heard a gabber kick drum and was conscious of it was six or seven years later thanks to a middle-school girlfriend of mine. 

What was the music scene like in Lithuania when you were growing up?

Lithuania is a small country, with just about three million people. Nevertheless, it’s always had a diverse and lively (underground) electronic music culture. In my later teens and early 20s I’d attended all kinds of events, ranging from industrial, dark ambient, noise, and neo-folk nights in dirty basements, dark concert halls or serene natural locations, to techno, hard techno/schranz, hardcore, psytrance, or drum and bass raves in old industrial spaces, outdoor festivals, and plain old clubs. A lot of my friends from that time were part of the music scene in some way, and I’m grateful for having been exposed to such an exciting music community so early on.

As a kid, did you have a romantic view of rave music in the Netherlands?

For sure! I came across videos and set recordings from massive Dutch events, like Sensation, Qlimax, or Q-Base. This was the time when hardstyle was becoming a thing and trance, as well as hard trance, were huge. The Netherlands truly felt like the mecca of dance music, and I had dreamt of at some point attending or even playing at one of those raves. There was also a time when DJ Tiesto was my celebrity crush. That’s quite romantic, right?

What was your first year of producing like? Can you recall any major breakthrough moments? 

I was only 13 when I started. The first big breakthrough was when my dad helped me to configure the right audio drive settings and I finally got sound to come out of Reason 3.0 after eight hours of silent frustration. The second one was probably when I finished my first track a few months later. There are infinite possibilities in electronic music, so it’s often hard to decide when the sounds and the ideas are good enough, and when the track is finished. That’s something I struggle with even to this day. I’m quite the overthinker.

How important is dancing to your music making process?

Historically I’ve been making music either in bed, lying down, or seated in a chair, in front of a desk. In fact, rhythm was never my strong side, and in the old days I used to dance to melodies, rather than beats. After years of training, I’ve become better at dancing and nowadays groove and danceability is something I think about quite a lot while I work on music in the studio. 

Were there any DJs that you looked up to when you were young?

Honestly, I’ve never really paid much attention to what DJs do. I seldom listened to DJ mixes and always preferred hearing tracks. I’ve looked up to a lot of music producers and still do. 

Are there any scenes that you aren’t part of that still inspire you?

I’m generally fascinated and inspired by mastery. Witnessing people and work created by those who’ve dedicated their lives to mastering their artistic craft tends to inspire me, whether it’s mastery of a specific instrument, a genre or a technique. It can also be intimidating, which is ultimately motivating to me. Regarding specific scenes, I’m often inspired by the bass music and drum and bass scenes due to their cutting-edge production. I’m also inspired by more minimalist and experimental electronic music, as well as artists who are capable of creating an intense and captivating atmosphere through their work, regardless of genre.

Are there any pieces of gear or plug-ins that have been inspiring you lately, or historically?

I tend to use a lot of funky (as well as less funky) effect plugins, and chain them one after the other as part of my sound design process. So, anything that can bring about a bit (or a lot) of randomness and unexpected outcomes can lead to creative breakthroughs. Of course, I nearly always also try to distort things, especially if the given sound has a lot of low-end content. NI Trash, Audio Damage FuzzPlus, or even Camel Phat have been my go-to distortion plugins for years. The last couple of years I’ve also used XLN XO quite extensively which allows one to put a cool beat together super quickly.

Any non-musical influences?

Lonely walks, long conversations, witnessing and hearing about the lives of others, or just any random piece of art, a natural landscape, harsh Lithuanian winters, long nights and short days, short days and long nights, spending time in different cities and places ... Generally, I feel like I need change to feel inspired. However, too much change can also be distracting or overwhelming! I don’t know, inspiration moves in mysterious ways, and sometimes, or usually, it’s best not to wait for it, but just to do. 

How did you feel about techno music in 2024? What are you excited about in 2025? Anything that annoys you? 

In the last few years techno has changed a lot. I believe 2024 marked the death of the pop edit—which is nice—but it also was the year of 165 BPM opening sets, shirtlessness and big stadium raves. Image and social media fame are as important as ever, and a new “techno” celebrity is born each minute. After all, with just two Euros per 500 followers, and increasingly shorter attention spans, fame (or “fame”) may no longer need to be conditional on skill or talent. 

While this might be a demotivating period for many creators in this genre space, lately I’ve also been discovering lots of exciting and well-produced new techno music centered around rather reasonable BPMs, cool grooves and fresh sound design. Perhaps 2025 will turn out to be a great year for techno?