Techno & Zen: Cloudy Ku on HER 他, Akira and seeking unknowingness

If you follow HER 他 and SPEED 速度, you probably already caught the announcement.

On August 29, Cloudy Ku posted that both platforms would be going on hiatus for a year starting mid-September 2026. A quiet goodbye after six years of transmissions.

The twin platforms grew from scrappy Melbourne mixtape nights into a cross-continental community spanning Australia, Taiwan, and beyond, all held together by a simple mission: make space for women, queer communities, and anyone who felt like an outsider on the dancefloor.

So what now for the Taiwan-born, Naarm-based DJ? She's doing something almost unthinkable in a scene built on momentum: pausing. Not for a tour break or a burnout retreat, but for a full year of monastic training, stepping away from both labels and from music itself.

It's a decision she traces back to a strange, cinematic realisation: a moment that felt, in her words, like something out of Akira. Years of touring, curating, and running a label had left her constantly planning ahead but never actually present.

So she's trading the booth for stillness, and finding, unexpectedly, that Zen meditation and techno have more in common than you'd think.

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In this interview, conducted just before she went off-grid, Cloudy talks about her "Bardo" year, the sound of silence after years of noise, and why she's finally letting go of needing to know what's next.

Read on and scroll through a gallery of photos she's handpicked from past events, a look back at the moments she's shared with the community before stepping away for her sabbatical.

We’ve seen artists step away from their careers for all kinds of reasons, but rarely to take a full year away from music. How did you arrive at that decision?

Years of intense multitasking and touring brought me to a point like the anime movie Akira. I realised I was always planning for the future but never preparing for life and death. Life is precious, and I want to explore possibilities beyond music while my body allows. No one is irreplaceable, in the music scene or in our world, but I also have the fortune of returning to music if I wish to.


What are your expectations going into this year? Do you feel it’s something you needed to do?

I’ve found a deep affinity between Zen meditation and techno, driving me to practice "being in the present." And this year is my "Bardo"—a transitional state between sleeping and waking, a pause between life and death, and a farewell to my stage persona. I am lucky to slow down and experience the nuances of life that I usually missed on the road.


With music most likely largely absent from your time there, what’s one track you suspect will keep surfacing in your mind while you train?

I don’t think a specific song will follow me; instead, I will spend more time listening to the ambient sounds of nature and the universe. Zen and techno share a fascinating parallel: repetition, focus, and the dissolution of ego through time. Zen inquiries ground us in the now, while techno’s loops and rave synergy dissolve worries into pure presence. I’m not leaving music; I am tuning into the rhythms of the universe.

You're about to step away from HER 他 and SPEED 速度 for a while. What made you feel that now was the right time to take a pause, and what are you hoping to make space for in your own life?

HER 他 and SPEED 速度 have been a massive part of my life, and I am deeply grateful for them. However, running labels always revolves around the next event, the next release, and the next project, and there is always more to do. Through this time, I will gain a lot of time to live a life without "the next thing."


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Looking back at these early photos, what do they remind you about why you started HER and SPEED?

From 2020 to 2026, HER 他 and SPEED 速度 have always revolved around fun, cuteness, friends, and music. Back then, it was purely because I felt something was missing in the scene—since nobody else was doing it, I created it myself.


Over the years, you've watched both HER 他 and SPEED 速度 and the electronic music scene evolve. Which parts of HER 他 and SPEED 速度’s original mission feel even more relevant today, and which parts have evolved with you?

From 2020 to 2026, HER 他 and SPEED 速度 have always revolved around fun, cuteness, friends, and music. My initial intent was pure: I felt something was missing in the scene. I wanted to create a platform for women and minorities communities to discover Australian and Asian music so I did it. Looking back at those photos, HER 他 and SPEED 速度 started by connecting people through events and mixtape series.


When someone looks back on HER 他 and SPEED 速度 years from now, what do you hope they’ll remember it for beyond the parties and releases?

Creating a space where diverse individuals can find their place and an endless curiosity for underground music remain vital today. However, both I and the definition of "community" are constantly evolving. I used to focus on creating events and shielding others from the hardships I faced. That care remains, but now I lean more toward encouraging people to talk less, do more, and commit fully to their craft. Collective listening—both online and offline—is truly magical.


When you’re ready to return, what kind of future do you imagine; for yourself, and for HER 他?

I have no answers, and it is precisely the lack of answers that opens up endless possibilities. I am not stepping away for a year only to secretly plot a massive, full-throttle comeback. I simply want to return to my mind, and after a year, we will see. I might come back, or I might not. I desire a future of simplicity and happiness; otherwise, I wouldn’t have made this choice.

Out of the many photos you sent over to us, is there a particular one that’s your favourite and why?

Sorting through these photos feels surreal. What began as a simple idea blossomed into HER 他 and SPEED 速度, expanding wildly from Australia and Taiwan to other parts of Asia and Europe—a surprise I never anticipated. Six years later, every image fills me with gratitude. The quiet helpers, the lovely nights, the meaningful connections, and the uncertainties—every piece mattered. Thank you to everyone, whether you appear in these photos or not.

I deeply cherish the group photo onstage from mid-August 2026 at Sub Club, Melbourne—capturing some of those who stayed until the very end of my "All Night Long" set.

Almost everyone in that frame became a friend through HER 他 and SPEED 速度, including Anita, who has supported us since our first event six years ago. Seeing all these ravers, both old and new faces, moved me beyond words. Thank you for your endless support.


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Finally, what are your expectations coming out of training at the monastery; both for you personally and for the world you’re coming back to?

A year passes in a flash; looking back, time and space barely exist, and my world is a void of my own creation. I hope to stay resilient in mind and body. If I ever return to music, I wish to share this peace with those I touch. I have never been anywhere in the past, the future is beyond reach, and I exist only here, right now.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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