WhoMadeWho's Evolution Under the Ibizan Sky

Just days before they are set to take the stage for one of the most anticipated closing ceremonies of the summer, we sit down with the Danish trio WhoMadeWho. The occasion is Between Worlds, the acclaimed four-date residency conceived by Brunch Electronik in collaboration with The Gardens of Babylon—the Amsterdam-born collective known for crafting immersive experiences where music, spirituality, and community converge.

On Sunday, August 30, WhoMadeWho will headline the Garden Stage for the grand finale of this summer-long journey, a day-into-night celebration designed to honour the connections and transformative moments shared throughout the season. Their hybrid DJ set, a signature blend of live instrumentation and club-ready mixing, will anchor an evening that promises far more than just music: opening ceremonies, sound healing sessions, creative workshops, and the whimsical Market of Curiosities will transform the open-air venue into a living tapestry of art and nature.

We caught up with Tomas, Jeppe, and Tomas ahead of that performance, before the sunset would paint the Benimussa hills gold, before the Garden Stage would come alive under the stars—to explore the restless creative spirit that continues to define their extraordinary career.

In this exclusive conversation for Mixmag AE Group, the band reveals the intricate philosophy behind their genre-defying Hybrid Set, explaining why they deliberately keep its live elements "minimal" to preserve the instinctive, reactive pulse of true DJ culture. They discuss the magic of playing outdoors in Ibiza and how the natural surroundings become an essential part of their sonic journey. Beyond the performance, the trio opens up about their ambitious new playground, The Moment, a label and global festival concept born from a desire for intimate connection, long-table dinners, and community over sheer spectacle. They also reflect on their recent collaborative single "Energy" with Gordo, a decade-in-the-making partnership that masterfully bridges their melodic, emotive songwriting with raw club energy.

As they prepare to blur the lines between controlled electronic precision and the beautiful, unpredictable imperfections of live performance, one thing becomes clear: after more than 20 years, WhoMadeWho are still thriving on creative friction and the sheer thrill of not knowing exactly what will happen next. Here is what they had to say before turning the Ibizan night into something utterly unforgettable.

1.⁠ ⁠Let’s start with your latest show at Brunch Electronik Ibiza X The Gardens of Babylon on 30 August at 528 Ibiza, presented by Between Worlds. It’s not the first time you’ve performed your hybrid set at 528 – what do you aspect form this time?

We’re really looking forward to coming back to 528. It’s a place that suits us very well, especially for the Hybrid Set. There’s something about Ibiza, being outside, the landscape, the sunset and then slowly moving into the night that fits naturally with our music. We already know the space, so this time we can hopefully push it a little further.

2.⁠ ⁠Your “Hybrid Set” seems to blur the lines between live performance and the club. In your own words, what is the core philosophy behind this format, and how do you keep it from “relapsing back into traditional concert thinking”?

The main idea is actually to keep the live elements quite minimal. We don’t want it to turn into a smaller version of our live show. The foundation is still DJ culture: mixing, effects, long transitions and reading the room.

Then we bring in selected WhoMadeWho songs, vocals and instruments, and leave space for experimental moments where we don’t completely know what will happen. That balance is important. It should feel like a DJ set that can suddenly become something else, rather than a concert with some electronic music around it.

3.⁠ ⁠Ibiza is traditionally the kingdom of the DJ, but there’s a clear appetite for live electronic performance. How do you think your Hybrid Set challenged or redefined what a dancefloor experience can be in a setting like 528 Ibiza’s open-air gardens?

We’ve always loved playing outdoors. Somehow it fits the emotional and organic side of WhoMadeWho very well. You can create a different journey when you have the sky, the sunset and the surroundings as part of the experience.

The Hybrid Set gives us the freedom of a DJ set, so we can react to the dancefloor, but suddenly there can be a voice, a live instrument or a WhoMadeWho song that creates a very human moment. We like that contrast between something quite electronic and something vulnerable and imperfect happening live.

4.⁠ ⁠With The Moment, your new project label and global festival concept, you’re creating a playground for music, art, and connection. Can you walk us through the vision behind this platform and how it reflects your evolution as artists beyond just releasing music?

The Moment grew out of a desire to create the environments we personally want to be in — not just a stage, a lineup and thousands of people, but something more intimate and connected.

We just had one of our most special gatherings to date, The Moment Puglia, in July: three days with close friends and family, long-table dinners, acoustic sets and pool parties. It was a really special experience, and we’re already planning for next year.

Music is at the center, but we’re equally interested in everything around it — location, food, art, architecture, nature and, most importantly, the people. After years of touring and meeting incredible artists and people around the world, The Moment gives us a way to bring that community together.

It feels like a natural evolution for WhoMadeWho — moving beyond simply releasing records and playing shows to creating a universe people can enter.

5.⁠ ⁠And, speaking of collaborations and ecosystems, your single ‘Energy’, featuring Gordo, was released in July, that marks a decade-in-the-making partnership. How did you bridge your distinct musical worlds to create a track that feels both authentic to your sound and genuinely collaborative?

We’ve known Gordo for a very long time, so there was already a friendship and understanding before making the record. Musically we come from quite different places, which was actually what made it interesting.

He brings a very direct understanding of club energy and what works on a big dancefloor. We tend to come from the opposite direction: melody, emotion, songwriting and sometimes slightly strange ideas. With “Energy” we tried not to compromise those differences too much. The interesting part was finding the point where both worlds could exist in the same track.

6.⁠ ⁠With your backgrounds in rock, jazz, and experimental music, how do you integrate live instruments into a genre that’s increasingly software-driven, and what does that bring to the audience that a DJ set cannot in your opinion?

We love technology and software, so for us it’s not really analogue versus digital. It’s more about unpredictability.

When somebody sings, plays drums, bass or another instrument live, there are tiny imperfections and decisions happening all the time. The audience can feel that. Something can go slightly wrong, somebody can suddenly play differently, and everyone on stage has to react.

Electronic music can sometimes become extremely controlled. We like having some elements that we cannot completely control. That little bit of danger gives the music life.

7.⁠ ⁠You’ve been active since 2003, constantly evolving from punk-funk to indie-electronic to avant-garde pop. How do you sustain that creative restlessness, and what keeps you excited about making music after all these years?

Maybe the reason we’re still together is that we get bored quite easily. We’ve never been very interested in repeating the version of WhoMadeWho that worked yesterday.

We also have three quite different personalities and musical backgrounds, so there is always some friction between us. One person gets excited about something that the others don’t completely understand yet, and often that tension becomes the beginning of something new.

After more than 20 years, the exciting thing isn’t proving that we know what we’re doing. It’s finding situations where we don’t know exactly what we’re doing again. That’s usually where the good stuff starts.