The Amsterdam-based collective Wanderwelle, consisting of Alexander Bartels (1993) and Phil van Dulm (1993), works with sound and imagery.

Their work, fueled by their shared interests and academic backgrounds in history, art history, and medicine, is characterised by a strong conceptual foundation imbued with uncanny elements. Enduring, insidious, and estranging undercurrents are consistently present, seeping into their work and those who encounter it. Sometimes these sub-layers coexist harmoniously; sometimes they chafe in unpleasant ways.

Time does not run linearly within their work. Wanderwelle intertwines the climate crisis and its impact on coastal areas with ancient sailors’ superstitions and medieval folklore for their album trilogy which is currently being released by the prestigious, US-based label Important Records. Wanderwelle believes that, despite the past being a distant, different land, many parallels with the present can be discerned among the tangle of endless events. They constantly try to seek out the space between these echoeing, juxtaposed timelines. Timelines which harbour both reason and superstition.

These ideas also come to fruition when Wanderwelle works with archival material, as this form of media can engage with contemporary issues by referencing and building upon past perspectives and insights. Their experimental collage film, The Four Nightmares is assembled from material they unearthed in the extensive collection of the Eye Filmmuseum.
The film has been selected for the Gouden Kalf Competition (2023) and the Debut Competition (2023) by the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF).

The film, influenced by the Bible book The Revelation of John, depicts the story of a man plagued by a series of nightmares that foretell the apocalypse, based on the great crises of our time. The film premiered in the Eye Filmmuseum and was accompanied by their video installation The Summer of ’72 (Fire), which addresses the failed relationship between the climate crisis and education.

Their music lies in the twilight zone of ominous ambient and experimental music, which they perform with a large arsenal of electronic, acoustic, and self-made instruments. In a short period of time, they became known for their vinyl albums and live performances in art galleries, museums, festivals, clubs, and renowned venues, such as the Royal Theater Carré, Tresor and Paradiso. Their albums get (inter)national coverage from magazines like The Wire, Gonzo (circus) and Rockerilla.

Around the same time, alongside their first album for Important Records, Wanderwelle worked on their graphic novel De duizendpoot (The Centipede). With The Centipede the duo debuted as scriptwriters.

In October 2022, Wanderwelle performed at Royal Theatre Carré as part of Within Without II, an interplay of grand light installations by Nick Verstand, dancers from the Dutch National Ballet and their music, which formed the sonic backbone of the piece. Wanderwelle occasionally performs live scores for silent films. At Paradiso’s main hall, for instance, the artists provided a contemporary, haunting soundtrack to the film Häxan (1922).