Burning Man Music: Trilo’s Soundtrack for Atomic Octopus

Atomic Octopus will definitely not be a sound camp at Burning Man 2026. However, that does not mean we are heading to Black Rock City without plenty of Burning Man music. Trilo has spent months preparing more than 100 hours of mixes and carefully curated playlists for the week.

There will be no massive sound system blasting across the playa. In fact, there will not even be a tiny sound rig pretending it wants to become a massive one someday. Instead, Atomic Octopus will have a couple of speakers in our front-of-house space. They will provide a soundtrack for campmates, visitors, and anyone who happens to wander into our little corner of Black Rock City.

Months of Burning Man Music

Putting together more than 100 hours of music takes some serious digging.

For months, Trilo has been building playlists and recording special mixes for Atomic Octopus. The collection ranges across decades, genres, artists, and musical moods. Some sets focus on particular artists. Others explore different styles or create longer musical journeys designed to unfold over several hours.

As departure approaches, Trilo is putting the final touches on the collection.

More Than Four Decades Behind the Decks

Trilo has been DJing and producing events since 1983. Over the years, his gigs have ranged from high school dances and pool parties to club nights, corporate events, underground parties, and art festivals.

Although he retired from playing out years ago, he never stopped mixing music. Recording sets also offers an important advantage at events. Once the music starts, Trilo can walk away from the decks and enjoy the party instead of spending the entire evening working behind them.

That approach should work particularly well at Burning Man.

Creating a Soundtrack for Atomic Octopus

The music project has also inspired another kind of creativity. While assembling the playlists, we experimented with generative tools to create original cover art for many of them.

Most people on the playa will never see those images because they live inside the music players on campmates’ devices. Therefore, we decided to share some of our favorites here on the Atomic Octopus website.

Meanwhile, if you want to hear the music itself, come find us on Bodhi at approximately 3:15.

We will have Monday Morning Mimosas, a Wednesday evening Village Not Found soirée, and other gatherings throughout the week. Check the board out front to see what is happening.

There may not be a DJ booth, but with more than 60 hours of Burning Man music ready to roll, the Atomic Octopus should have plenty of tunes for the playa.

Playing with generative tools, we knew there was no chance that they would know what Trilo looked like. As a result, we found ourselves having to upload an image of Trilo in one of his favorite outfits. It did a pretty admirable job of taking a basic photo and putting him behind the decks. The gear choices were a little odd and questionable, but we felt that it created a fun and whimsical vibe. Though Trilo started on vinyl back in the day and switched to CD in the 1990s, he has been using digital files, laptops and controllers for years. We liked the look of the image playing vinyl better. Check out covers we did for retro, ambient, disco and ska playlists, as well as the music of Depeche Mode, Earth Wind & Fire, Queen, U2, Tipper, Fatboy Slim, David Bowie, Underworld, Garbage and Muse.