With ‘Skies Are Moving’, Sonidos Distintos enters a new chapter — one rooted in depth, emotion, and personal vision. Leading this moment is Conoley Ospovat, an artist whose journey spans continents, cultures, and decades of exploration. In this interview, Conoley reflects on the experiences that shaped his sound: travel, improvisation, nature, and the quiet power of observation. Much like the EP itself, his words reveal a practice guided not by trends, but by curiosity, intuition, and a deep connection to the world around him. ‘Skies Are Moving’ isn’t just a release — it’s a reflection of motion, memory, and meaning translated into sound.

How did your journey start? What was the spark that led you to electronic music & DJing/producing?

I grew up in a musical family. My parents made me take piano lessons when I was quite young. I hated it at the time, but it formed the formal basis of my musical training, for which I am forever grateful. I later started playing guitar.

I didn’t think about buying a synthesizer back then (and of course, they were quite expensive), but I became mesmerized by the electronic sounds in ’80s pop and rock music — and later post-punk, synth-pop, and indie music.

It wasn’t until much later that I discovered underground electronic and dance music.

I played in a band in junior high and high school, and I was the guy who wanted to incorporate synthesizers. Early on, my drive was to make music like New Order, Depeche Mode, and Joy Division. Cabaret Voltaire was — and still is — one of my biggest influences. Synths, guitars, drums, drum machines, and vocals. My bandmates were fairly accepting of this, but I couldn’t take it as far as I wanted to.

Just before graduating from high school in 1991, I wrote, produced, and recorded my first two solo electronic tracks using only a Yamaha RX-7 drum machine, guitar, and vocals. After that, I went on a long, strange trip with the Grateful Dead and stepped away from electronic music for quite a while.

On a hitchhiking journey up the West Coast of the United States in ’97 — not long before I moved to Japan in late ’99 — I discovered Massive Attack, Underworld, Kruder & Dorfmeister, a sublime Drum and Space mix CD from Wish FM, and The Orb. I was immediately hooked. When I arrived in Japan, I decided I wanted to make electronic music again.

I started an electronic duo called Moments of Truth with a friend in Tokyo, which eventually played at Fuji Rock Festival. Not long after that, I had my first major club experience — a seven-hour Deep Dish set at Womb in Tokyo. The evolved electronic sounds I had rediscovered, combined with life in Osaka and then Tokyo, were an incredibly powerful catalyst. It feels like when I landed in Japan, this journey really began.

Which genres or influences define “the core” of your work?

In terms of genres: synth-pop, post-punk, psychedelic rock, and electronic music in all its forms.

The sounds of nature, and the human world.

Before I ever set foot in a club, the Grateful Dead and Phish showed me the magic and power of improvisation and transcendental musical experiences.

Within underground electronic music, the influences are almost too many to name. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to listen, learn, and exchange ideas with many people. That’s one of the best things about being part of a community — sharing experiences, knowledge, and inspiration.