Anoebis is a Belgian DJ, party organiser, and co-founder of Suntrip Records. Known for his deep understanding of classic Goa trance, he has been instrumental in preserving its legacy within the modern psychedelic scene.
When it comes to chill-out music, he delivers ambient and downtempo selections that wander through psychedelic, ethnic, and cosmic territories.
A central contributor to the scene’s evolution. We are very happy to speak with him.
Interview by the psybient.org team on 30/01/26.
Hi Joske, how are you? Thanks so much for taking the time to be with us.
Hey guys! Nice to have this interview. And life is finally starting to get better and better, so I would say it is relatively good! As you probably know I have been fighting leukemia for almost 2.5 years now, but if all continues well, the (heavy) treatment can stop in 3.5 months! I can’t wait to be a healthy guy again, able to dance like before.
Are you in Belgium now? How do you usually spend the winter there?
Belgium for sure. As my main job is still teaching, I usually spend winter the “normal” way, which is a mix of working and dj-ing. But I like winter, snow and cold have something very cosy, and the fireplace burning screams for some nice history books to be read! This is harder since there is a little one, but hey, as a father building castles isn’t too bad either!
The name Anoebis is quite evocative. What’s the story behind choosing it as your artist name?
I was always very interested in history and religion. So, when I was 17 and my first gig was happening I needed a name. So I chose the Egyptian God Anubis (in Dutch we write this as Anoebis). He is often depicted as “God of Death” but this is actually not correct, he was the God that brought the souls to the heavens (which was the highest form of being in ancient Egypt). With our Christian background this sounds like the God of Death, but Egyptians would never call it like that. Anyway, this idea “bringing the soul to the havens” is actually my goal as a DJ as well. So it wasn’t a long search to choose the name.
Let’s take a step back in time. What has been your relationship with music, and how has your journey evolved over the years?
My relationship with music was pretty extreme from the very beginning. It was my first love and it will be my last (oooh). The moment I had some pocketmoney I was already buying cd’s in the 90s already, and it never stopped ever since. The journey intensified throughout my life, you always start with the “big names” but once you start to dig deeper and in all “crossover” genres, the amount of music is endless. So it literally takes many many hours a week to focus only on musics and I still love it. I’m lucky my girlfriend is equally hard into Goa-trance & ambient as I am, so it is literally the soundtrack of our life!
Why being a DJ? What do you aim to share with dancers and listeners through your music selection and journeys?
My aim is double when it comes to ambient sets, I want the listeners to forget about everyday life. Welcome into the alternative world of soundscapes and melodies where everything is just fine! And the second thing I try is to touch people’s emotions with music, I have a soft spot for very melodic, harmonious music. And for me, the power of melodies is their ability to touch people’s hearts! So in an ambient DJ set I try to let people step into a warm, emotional world full of love and melodies.
What are your main sources of inspiration?
I would say nature in the broad sense of the word. When I play ambient sets I always have a view in mind where the sun is going down. The weather is warm, the wind gives some cool air. It could be Namibia or the Sahara desert, or yes, even a warm Belgian summer day.
We’ve been enjoying Suntrip Records for more than 20 years now. Could you tell us about the label’s mission, vision, and artists? And what importance do you give to chill-out music within that vision?
Our main focus is for sure to keep old styled Goa-trance alive in an era where Psy-trance took over the music, but clearly, there are still a lot of Goa-trance lovers out there in the world! For me, psychedelic ambient music is closely linked to Goa-trance. For sure the first years there was not much of a split between the 2, almost every artist had an uptempo and a downtempo side or release. These days it has become different, little artists make both styles.
For sure in the beginning of Suntrip we had quite a few ambient releases, but it became less. Not because we love ambient less, but because there is just too much good Goa-trance to release. But if I count correctly we have now 5 ambient cds so far. Mindsphere’s ambient CD3 of his albums “The Path” as the last one. I hope more artists make albums with both and uptempo music so we can continue this rich old school tradition. But maybe this is a good moment to announce it, there is an interesting release coming up in a year of 2 of Etnica/Pleiadians.
As a dedicated music researcher and collector, do you have any idea how many records or tracks you have in your discography?
My music collection is probably too big, but within psychedelic music I now have around 5000 cds and 3500 vinyls. Around 50% of it is Goa-trance, 20% is ambient and the other 30% is psytrance, forest trance, suomi and “normal” trance. All this music has been listened to for the last 30 years and ended up in huge excel lists and systems I use for my DJ sets.
How do you perceive psychedelic chill-out music, and how does it interact with your favourite rhythmic styles?
Answer:
For me, ambient and psychedelic chill-out is the perfect music to set a peaceful, otherworldly atmosphere. Even though I love to listen to more uptempo music it is great to put on psychedelic chill out in the garden and just close your eyes. It really brings me to other places. I am a big fan of the more “typical” downtempo Goa-trance styles (what a surprise). So with lots of spacy sounds and melodies and sometimes even soft beats. But since I also play at ecstatic dance events I make sure to catch up with the more worldly vibes of a lot of the music too these days :)
When it comes to event creation, how do you approach organisation, and what kind of energy do you aim to build?
It all depends on the events we do of course. I am part of several organisations, but let’s get a bit deeper into the 2 biggest ones.
I am part of Surya Spirits, and actually the brain behind the concept. This is a daytime festival (3 days) where we focus on Goa-trance in a sober and more conscious setting. This is focused on people that love Goa-trance and ambient but can’t always connect with 3 days non stop boom boom without sleep, it combines Goa-trance music and ambient music. We start every day with ambient music (also on the main stage) to build a true story musicwise. On top of that we focus on healthy food, drinks etc…
Apsara is a more traditional psychedelic Goa/old school styled festival, but also there we chose to have a traditional chill out. And yes, only chill out! I don’t like the fact it often becomes a second stage with techno or house or whatever, nono, true ambient only.
Apart from electronic music, what other styles do you listen to? Have any artists had a strong influence on you?
I am actually listening 90% of the time to electronic music, the other 10% is exclusively classical music. I like this style a lot, probably because of the focus on melodies again. The artists there are the more frivole ones, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart and even Prokofiev. The modern ones are Max Richter for sure my favourite but also guys like Nils Frahm and other minimalists have great music.
Would you consider yourself a spiritual person? Do you believe in transcendence?
As I studied religions a lot in university I would say yes, but not in a very traditional way. I do like traditions big time, but I am not much of a fan of institutions telling us what to do. But for sure I connect the most with the Christian roots, and more precisely with the Fransiscan spirituality. And yes, without any doubt transcendence is a part of me, and I hope every person. It’s a powerful experience!
Who is Joske in his daily life?
A nerdy book reading history freak, a loving father, a hard working gardener, a hardcore music freak and happy guy all over.
Before we wrap up, is there a message you’d like to share with the psybient.org community?
Thanks for the work you guys are doing for so many years! No Yin without Yang! It’s important we keep working together in unity to keep this music thriving!
Big thanks for your time and the good vibes. We’re ready to get lost again whenever the next Dj set or Suntrip release drops. See you on the dance floor or the chill floor!
Listen and follow Anoebis:
Soundcloud: Anoebis (Suntrip Records)
Facebook: Anoebis
Instagram: joske.anoebis.goa
