Pikotto, the producer and composer behind Spanish synthpop project Mondträume, looks back on sixteen years of the band in a new Side-Line interview. “Mind Games”, the project’s third album, was issued by Alfa Matrix on 26 June 2026 as a two-disc, 24-track set, and it introduces Nicky Schulschenk as lead singer on a full-length for the first time. Asked what has stayed the same since 2010, Pikotto points to the melodies that sit between melancholy and happiness and to his wish to make listeners feel something; the real difference, he says, is the new voice carrying them.
The double-album format was worked out with Seba at Alfa Matrix. Pikotto had first pictured two separate records, the new Mondträume album and a looser “Pikotto & Friends” set, before the two were merged, and he designed the booklet’s visuals himself. The guest-vocal slots, which went to Antilav, Color Theory, District 13 and Neon Space Men, were in fact a way of auditioning singers: a fan named Alain proposed the idea and made the introductions, and every instrumental bed existed before any vocalist was contacted. Once Pikotto heard Schulschenk, he knew he had found the voice. The previously unreleased Mondträume remix for Bruderschaft made the album with the blessing of Rexx, who has since died, and Pikotto sees its inclusion as a means of preserving his memory. A remix of “I Need You Now” by Gerrit Thomas was left off by accident and is promised for a future EP.
As for the line-up, Pikotto states that only he and Schulschenk make up the group. Schulschenk sings and writes all the lyrics, now and then suggesting a melodic tweak, while Madil Hardis and Ivan Derbenev are close friends who contribute but are not official members. Pikotto says the album has lifted the project’s Spotify audience from about 3,000 to more than 15,000 monthly listeners and spent several weeks at No. 2 on the GEWC Top 15, yet the legacy talk does not steer his writing, and the 80s flavour simply comes naturally. He would also contribute again to benefit releases like the Ukraine compilation “United 2 – The Odin Files,” which carried “Poisoned Love.” Next comes the stage: the first shows are set for Leeds on 27 February 2027 and Madrid on 6 March 2027, with a Mexican date close to confirmed, a non-exclusive deal with Dark Entries Spain and Barbara Banu as manager.
About Mondträume
Mondträume is a Spanish synthpop outfit that began in 2010 around Pikotto. The early records were sung by Damasius Venys, who departed in 2020 to join Mental Exile. From 2022 Madil Hardis and Ivan Derbenev worked alongside Pikotto, and in December 2023 Nicky Schulschenk became the singer with the “Heart Machine” EP, which makes today’s line-up a duo. Alfa Matrix has been the project’s label since its debut album; “Lovers, Sinners & Liars” followed after a five-year wait, and “Poisoned Love” appeared as a single in December 2024, later extended into a digital EP (February 2025).
“Mind Games” was announced in April 2026. The set mixes new songs with remixes: Antilav, Color Theory, District 13, Madil Hardis and Neon Space Men appear as guest vocalists, while Beyond Border, Code 64, Final Selection, Neon Space Men and Rob Dust supply reworkings, alongside Mondträume’s own take on Bruderschaft’s “Falling”. The Leeds and Madrid dates will be the first live shows in the project’s history.
Read the full interview on Side-Line, or stream the album on the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp.