Ikarus

Wolfgang Stindl began his musical journey under the name Ikarus in 1995. Restless by nature, he set out to shape a sound entirely his own — weaving electronic chill-out with voices, instruments and field textures gathered on extensive travels around the globe. From the very start, Ikarus treated electronic music less as a genre than as a meeting place: a space where ancient ethnic traditions and modern production could breathe together.

In 1999, MP3.com carried his music to a worldwide audience, opening the door to international collaborations and high chart positions. The momentum led to his debut album „Touch the Sun“ (Sonic Images Records / Earthtone Records, January 2001), released after the label’s A&R discovered him online. Three more albums followed in close succession — „Praying to Different Gods“ (2002), „The Angkor Sessions“ (2003) and „Breathing Cultures“ (2004) — establishing him as a pioneer of ethno-electronic music.

His work soon reached far beyond the album format, appearing in compilations, films, television and video games. Among the highlights are the Warner Bros. documentary „The Matrix Revisited“ (starring Keanu Reeves) and the acclaimed US/Indian film „Flavors“. He has also reimagined landmark tracks through remixes of 1 Giant Leap’s „My Culture“ (feat. Robbie Williams & Maxi Jazz), Madonna’s „Ray of Light“ and Peter Gabriel’s „Shock the Monkey“, and has been featured by MTV-Undiscovered, Yahoo and Amazon.

Alongside his recordings, Ikarus is a respected sound designer, crafting instruments and libraries for leading synthesizers — among them the ESC Deep Forest sound library for Spectrasonics Omnisphere.

In 2012 he took over the Marienapotheke in Perchtoldsdorf, devoting himself to herbal medicine spanning Traditional European, Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese traditions — a parallel craft that, much like his music, blends the wisdom of many cultures into something healing and whole.

Today, more than two decades after his debut, Ikarus returns to the studio — carrying the same restless curiosity into a new chapter of his work.