Mitxoda Weekly #31: Mitxoda Turns One, From Silence to Signal

Song of the Week :  Telephone by RedPrint (released on October 11, 2023)

Hello Dear Friend!

Welcome to Mitxoda Weekly #31! Glad to have you here!

You’ve shown a lot of interest in the new radio show in French, even if some of you admitted you don’t speak the language… Well, get ready, because this Friday at 4PM Brussels time, I’ll be welcoming you to Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda.

Thanks to Dave and Lisa from OTAT247 (indiemusicfans.com), you won’t just be reading me, you’ll be hearing me. It’s quite a challenge, I won’t lie… but also a beautiful way to celebrate Mitxoda’s first year!

This edition of the newsletter will be a little different, more personal, more revealing. I’ll explain a lot of things you may already know… or not.
My hope is that you’ll come away with a clearer sense of what Mitxoda is, and more importantly, how welcome I want YOU to feel here.

Because this is a real indie moment.
Twelve months ago, I never imagined things would grow like this:
2,000 followers on Facebook, 250 Weekly readers, 20 songs, and a whole web of collaborations around the world...
And honestly, it feels like this is just the beginning.

Let’s check this out together, as usual.

Enjoy the read!

Mitxoda

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Au menu, this week:

• Long Play: Mitxoda, A Soft Rebellion, One Year In

• Playlist of the Week: Whispers in My Mind

• Nadine's Indie Treasures: Arcane Synthetic

• Quick Indie News

Your Words To Describe Mitxoda

Before letting Mitxoda explain Mitxoda (it’s totally weird, I know)… let’s hear your thoughts.
Around 42 of you replied, and I’ve woven your words together, in my own way.

When I asked people to define Mitxoda in one word, I wasn’t expecting a dictionary of contradictions wrapped in poetry. Yet what I received was more than words, it was a reflection of the very soul behind this strange, stubborn little musical garden we’ve been growing together. Some said enigmatic, fair enough. Mitxoda was never meant to be explained. Others called it true, authentic, consciencieux, or even superb, where honesty, even when whispered through broken sounddesign and unexpected groove, somehow resonates louder than noise.

It made me laugh, someone threw in Plastique (a knowing wink to my very first track Echo Plastique), while others offered words like whimsy and inexplicable, as if Mitxoda were a late-night rendez-vous between melancholy and rebellion, dressed in lo-fi and cinematic minimalism. But most responses touched me deeply: supportive, altruistic, inclusive, gentillesse, community, philanthropic, magnanimous… how often does a project that started as a personal rescue mission become a collective space of awesomeness?

People called it inspirational, insightful, informative even, as if the scattered lyrics and blog ramblings somehow turned into a quiet updater for weary souls. One simply said INNOVATION, another chose tenacious. And someone beautifully paired fantabulous with refreshing, like a homemade cocktail only Mitxoda could pour, a strange, spectral mix of shadows, light, and unapologetic sincerity.

All of this, really, just confirms one thing: Mitxoda was never just about songs. It’s about creating a space where being exactly who you are, complex, cracked, evolving, is not only allowed but welcomed. It’s about authenticity over perfection. A small act of resistance. A soft revolution. And yes… sometimes it’s spectacularly surprising to realize how much a quiet voice can echo, once you let it out.

Thank you for listening. You are the sound.

You are all MY sound.

Long Play: Mitxoda, A Soft Rebellion, One Year In

Mitxoda wasn’t planned.
There was no strategy. No release calendar. No label in sight.
Just silence, thick and heavy, and a quiet need to survive it.

What started as a whisper turned into a voice. A trembling one at first, often unsure, but mine.
I didn’t create Mitxoda because I wanted to build something.
I created it because I was burning out and couldn’t find a language that fit me anymore.

It was after years of doing things for others, creating, working, performing, pushing.
Until the walls started closing in.
Until I broke.
Until I had to find another way back to myself.

Mitxoda was, and still is, a rescue mission.

A Project Born From the In-Between

I’m based in Brussels. But Mitxoda doesn’t come from a place.
It comes from the gaps in between things. Between identities. Between languages.
Between burnout and rebirth. Between grief and creation.

For years, I’ve lived with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory condition that quietly rewrites the way you move, the way you sleep, the way you experience your own body.
There are days where everything flows. And days where nothing does.
That tension, between control and surrender, you can hear it in songs like SPA, Je Te Hais.
They’re about more than just physical pain. They’re about feeling trapped inside a body that doesn’t always listen.

Then came the loss of my mother.
It’s still too close to name in a song, even though I’ve tried.
There’s a piece in the works called An Empty House. It speaks of that frozen, untouched home. My childhood house.
Her house.
A place I still can’t walk into without feeling like I’m walking underwater.

What Does Mitxoda Sound Like?

Imagine a diary left open in the rain.
Ink bleeding, words fading, but the truth soaking in deeper.

Mitxoda is not a genre. It’s a feeling. Sometimes chanson, sometimes prog, sometimes cinematic, sometimes silence.
I love imperfections. The little cracks where emotion sneaks through.
The sound design is always intentional, but never over-controlled.
If you sit with it long enough, it might whisper something back.

With just a bass, a guitar, a keyboard, a mic and an old Mac, I started.
I wrote. I recorded. I sang, in my own voice, something I never imagined I’d dare do.
Singing in English came naturally. Some lyrics were new. Some came from notebooks written years ago. I stitched them together, built songs from scratches and ghosts.

Letters in Song Form

Each track I’ve released feels like a letter I never quite knew how to send.
Some speak of oceans, others of second chances, silent screams, or distant deserts.
Some found their voice through friends, Sonophagen, Kymskreation, TimtmMusic, Doryphore and many others…, weaving textures of didgeridoo, whispered lyrics, or bursts of joy.
Whether wrapped in solitude or carried by shared laughter, every song holds a piece of what words alone could never say.

And this... is only the beginning.

A Garden With No Gate

Mitxoda isn’t a brand.
It’s a space. A refuge. A slow-growing garden for those who don’t always feel at home in the industry, or in themselves.

Over the past year, I’ve met amazing people through this project. Indie artists who give without counting, who share before they shine. It all started with the trust I received from John and Denise (Whiskey Club and Whiskers), and the rest went on. So easily.
Artists are bees. They carry pollen across fields without knowing it. They build hives, not empires.

Mitxoda is part of that hive.

The indie world saved me

One thing became crystal clear: the indie scene is not a place, it’s people.
From the US to Australia, Germany to Thailand, I met incredible humans. Musicians and non-musicians. Listeners. Fighters. Dreamers.

Sure, there was one diva, but 99.9% of this journey has been kind, supportive, real.

We share struggles. We face the same platform nightmares:
Facebook bans out of nowhere. Spotify deleting songs because of "suspicious activity."
We’re penalized twice, first by being invisible, and second when the little visibility we earn is taken away.

And still, we go on.

We create.
We help each other.
We build little ladders for each other to climb out of the noise.

I’ve taken this personally: I started showcasing indie artists through Art & Inspiration posts on Instagram and Facebook. 20 days, 20 artists, and so much joy in doing it.

Later, that evolved into something even more powerful…

A newsletter, a rhythm, a connection

One day, I realized I needed to collect all of this energy.
To understand what was happening. To document the indie moment I was living.
So I started writing. And the Mitxoda Weekly was born - 7 months ago.

Always in English, it helped me connect with artists and fans around the globe.
Some weeks were harder than others, finding the right theme, keeping the rhythm, but it worked.
I now have over 250 subscribers. Only 10 unsubscribed (and I know who and why 😄).
More than 55% open and read the newsletter every single week. That blows my mind.

It became my base. My home. My mirror.
A place to share stories, celebrate others, and keep the indie flame alive.

And yes, a French version is about to start. Twice the work. Twice the joy.

🎙️ A radio voice, finally

What started as an April Fools' idea for the Weekly newsletter is now reality…on air!
Mitxoda is going on the airwaves.
“Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda”, my brand-new radio show in French, launches this Friday at 4PM Brussels Time thanks to Dave and Lisa from OTAT247.

Instead of reading me… you’ll hear me.
Nervous? A little.
Excited? So much.

Join us on Discord to talk about it during the show. En français, évidemment 🙂 

What I Hope You Feel

If I could ask just one thing of anyone who listens to a Mitxoda track, it would be this:

Don’t try to understand it. Try to feel it.
If it opens a door inside you, if it lights up a corner you’d forgotten existed, then that’s the magic. That’s the point.

It’s okay if it’s uncomfortable. It’s okay if it doesn’t fit neatly.
Neither do I.

A Final Image

Imagine a forest banshee who’s forgotten how to cry.
One night, she stumbles on a Mitxoda song.
She listens.
She breathes.
And for the first time in centuries, she howls, not from pain, but from release.
Then she smiles. And disappears into the mist.

Love you all.

M by Z

Playlist of the Week: Whispers in My Mind

11 tracks, 48min of music curated by Mitxoda

Nadine's Indie Treasures: Arcane Synthetic

Curated with care by Nadine de Macedo

Next up, Nadine invites us into a darker realm of indie discovery.
Describing Arcane Synthetic is like trying to bottle a thunderstorm. It's experimental, electronic, and dark, shifting between calm, immersive soundscapes and harsher, almost metallic energy. Each track feels like a standalone journey.

If you’re into dark wave, EBM, or industrial, Nadine says this one’s calling your name.
Listen now: Arcane Synthetic on Spotify

Continue the discussion with Nadine here!

💬 Introducing Nadine’s Indie Treasures a new chapter where Nadine de Macedo handpicks and spotlights exceptional artists. Subscribe to her Bandcamp to support her work, enjoy exclusive singles, and be part of her evolving story!

Quick Indie News

Mitxoda releases Patience on May 1, 2025! My latest instrumental is ready for presave here! Make it a big event!!

• Shake the Dust by Brad Thomas Project – Country Rock (USA) – 11 April 2025. Straight-up country rock about the thrill of gigging and hitting the road.
  👉 Shake it off

• Special Places by K.A.R.L. – Electronic (Netherlands) – 11 April 2025. Inner peace comes at a cost in this dark and hypnotic track.
  👉 Stream it now

• Through The Decades by Glass Iron Syndrome – Rock (USA) – 11 April 2025. A journey from the ‘50s to the ‘80s — this is the big finale.
  👉 Travel through time

• Lost and Found by Cul De Sac Kings – Alt Rock / Country (USA) – 15 April 2025. Being saved by love after feeling lost in the world.
  👉 Find it here

• Forget Me by Hard To Explain – Metal (Ireland) – 22 April 2025. From silence to defiance — an explosive anthem of breaking free.
  👉 Don’t forget this track

• Love at the End of the Line by Kathleen Turner Overdrive – Rock (Australia) – 1 May 2025. A gripping true story set in 1940s outback Australia.
  👉 Pre-save it here

If you'd like to introduce your latest release, just click here to submit all the details. I’d love to hear about it! 😇 Submit your track here.

Until Next Week: Indie is a movement

This is not just a personal project. It’s part of something larger.
Call it indie. Call it DIY. Call it freedom.
No one owns this space. We shape it together.

Mitxoda is about building bridges, between genres, languages, bodies, hearts.
And I’m just getting started.

Thank you for being part of this.
Whether you’ve read one post or twenty, shared a track, replied to a Weekly, or just lurked quietly in the shadows, you matter to me.

Let’s celebrate.
Let’s listen.
Let’s keep this soft rebellion alive.

With love,
🖤 Mitxoda

END 😆