Few projects embody the eerie, subterranean essence of dark ambient as profoundly as Schloss Tegal. Founded in New York in the late 1980s by Richard Schneider and MWB, the duo quickly established itself as one of the genre’s most enigmatic pioneers. Where others flirted with atmosphere, Schloss Tegal carved entire cartographies of dread — sonic architectures that drew upon esoteric ritual, psychoanalysis, and the occult. Their music does not merely accompany darkness; it dissects it. From their early release The Myth of Meat to the seminal Oranur III – The Third and Final Report, Schloss Tegal cultivated an aesthetic that was both intellectual and terrifying. Using field recordings, EVP fragments, and processed voices, they turned conspiracy theories, haunted landscapes, and medical archives into sonic material. Their work has often been described as “psychological sound research,” a meticulous exploration of the hidden terrors that linger beneath the veneer of modern life. For listeners, each album functions less like a collection of tracks and more like a séance — an encounter with forces that resist rational explanation. What distinguishes Schloss Tegal is their refusal to romanticize darkness. Instead, they treat it with clinical precision, building dense soundscapes where the supernatural and the scientific intertwine. It is a project as much about ideas as about sound: Wilhelm Reich’s experiments, cybernetic paranoia, and occult symbolism all find echoes in their discography. The result is music that unsettles not through volume, but through suggestion — an invasive whisper in the mind that refuses to leave. Live performances carry this aura into the physical space. Rather than offering spectacle, Schloss Tegal envelops audiences in thick fogs of resonance and low-frequency vibrations, drawing them into a collective trance. It is an approach that has made the duo enduring figures in Europe’s dark ambient circuit, standing alongside names like Lustmord or Inade, yet always with their own unique identity. For Audiotrauma Fest 2025, Schloss Tegal’s presence is both a nod to history and a vital reminder of the genre’s power. Their work remains as unsettling and relevant as ever, a sound-world where occult shadows and modern anxieties converge. In their music, the festival finds its most spectral voice: a haunting that stretches across decades, reverberating into the present.