What defined IONO MUSIC
IONO Music was founded in Germany at the end of 2005 by Matthias Sperlich, known as Cubixx, and Murus. Based around Berlin and the wider German progressive-trance network, it grew into one of the largest international platforms for progressive psytrance while steadily widening into full-on, psytech and other psychedelic electronic styles.
How IONO MUSIC developed
IONO began as a small independent label and expanded through long-term artist development rather than rapid stylistic changes. Its rise coincided with progressive psytrance becoming one of the dominant sounds of the late-2000s and 2010s festival circuit. The label’s 20th-anniversary period emphasised that continuity: a stable curatorial philosophy with an increasingly international roster.
People, organisation & management
Matthias Sperlich/Cubixx is co-founder and current leader. Murus is credited as the second co-founder; a fuller personal identity is not established. Current management is led by Cubixx.
Sound, roster & A&R direction
Progressive psytrance remains IONO’s central identity—clean, driving, melodic and built for long-form dance-floor flow. Over time the catalogue has made greater room for full-on and psytech, but those additions function as extensions of the label rather than replacements for its progressive core.
Place in psytrance history
IONO helped professionalise and internationalise the polished progressive-psytrance sound after the mid-2000s. Its size, digital reach and sustained artist-development model made it one of the labels that defined how modern psytrance operates in the streaming and global-festival era.
Scene impact & cultural reach
Its artist-development model and large digital releases illustrate the professionalisation of independent Psytrance labels while retaining a scene-specific sound.
Key releases & catalogue moments
Protonica’s Form Follows Function is one of the label’s major album landmarks, surrounded by a large catalogue of progressive-psy releases from multiple generations of artists. The 20th-anniversary period in 2025–26 marks the label’s transition from successful contemporary imprint to established institution.
Artists connected to the label
Audiotec
Audiotec is Israeli producer Miki Damski’s Psytrance project, rooted in melodic Full-On and later explicitly exploring progressive Psytrance directions.
Cosmic Tone
Cosmic Tone is Israeli Psytrance producer Roi Nissan, known for melodic sunrise-oriented Psytrance and a career that moved firmly into Full-On by the mid-2000s.
Dual Resonance
Progressive Psytrance side project of Skopje producer Angel Zdravkovski, created as a slower counterpart to Spirit Architect and released through IONO MUSIC.
E-Clip
Serbian producer Marko Radovanović’s progressive-psytrance project, active since 2009 and built on a production career that began with the earlier Beyondecliptica project.
Egorythmia
Skopje producer Boban Lazovski’s progressive-psytrance project, known for combining dark melodic tension with house and techno-influenced groove.
Flegma & Nerso
Flegma & Nerso is the Serbian progressive-Psytrance collaboration of Dalibor Delic and Dragan Matic, with the 2009 IONO MUSIC album Opposite and later EP work.
High & Mighty
Danish duo of Morten Granau and Phaxe/Kevin Josefsen, used for slower progressive and deep-house material outside their main trance identities.
Kaempfer & Dietze
Electronic duo of Protonica founders Piet Kämpfer and Ralf Dietze, used for progressive-house and techno-oriented material outside their Psytrance releases.
Liquid Ace
Progressive Psytrance collaboration of Ace Ventura (Yoni Oshrat) and Liquid Soul (Nicola Capobianco), active intermittently since their first joint work in 2006.
Nerso
Belgrade producer Dragan Matic's progressive-psytrance project, associated with TesseracT Studio and the Serbian progressive scene.
Nyquist
Progressive trance duo formed by FREq producer Aran Gallagher and Ben Hartley in 2005, with releases across Iboga and IONO Music.
Protonica
Berlin progressive-psytrance project founded by Piet Kämpfer and Ralf Dietze and now continued by Kämpfer as a solo act.
Ritmo
Dubi Dagan’s Israeli Progressive Psytrance project, known for polished groove, melodic detail and a long association with IONO and Iboga.
Ritree
Israeli Psytrance project of Ritmo (Dubi Dagan) and Suntree (Alon Brillant), created for faster and more psychedelic material than their main solo projects.
Suntree
Israeli progressive Psytrance project of Alon Brillant, known for melodic, emotionally focused production and an increasing use of analogue sound.