The Team

Henning Karwowski

For more than a decade, Henning has been combining his love of captivating music with his compassion for people. Bringing them together he has formed the perfect blend of community and energy through Monument. As Founder and CEO, Henning has poured his time and passion for techno into this one-of-a-kind organization.

For the last 15 years, Henning has been immersed in the clubbing and electronic music scene. He founded this culture company as a way to allow people from around the world the chance to connect through this unified interest. Today, Henning is proud to lead a team of over 50 talented individuals who are equally dedicated to the Monument mission.

While actively working on the overall strategy and future of the company, Henning is always looking for new ways to bring the organization together working for a unified goal. By acting as a role model, he confidently leads the leader-team and enjoys each step of the journey. Whether he’s being hands-on as our festival director, traveling the world, dancing, meeting new people, or learning a new lesson, Henning loves to take on challenges head-on. He is well-respected in this industry because of the sincere care and exceptional quality he provides in everything Monument has to offer.

If you’re looking to learn more, or just want to connect with a fellow techno enthusiast, reach out to Henning any time for more insight or a great conversation.

Marit Launes

Since joining the Monument project in 2015, Marit has become an integral part of our team. She oversees the hiring process, ensuring that recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding of new members align with the warm, family-oriented culture of Monument. Her commitment to creating a safe and supportive atmosphere is at the heart of everything she does.

Additionally, Marit plays a crucial role in shaping the artistic elements of the Monument festival. Her passion for traditional instruments blended with modern technology, reflects her continual quest for deeply resonant and heart-touching experiences.

By day, she’s a tech and sustainability lecturer in Oslo’s academic scene. Outside work, she balances motherhood and her world-exploring hunger.

Hallvard Müller

Hallvard is from Oslo, Norway. His interest for techno originally comes out of the original scene of industrial and avant garde music, and to him it has always been about the energy and the sensation of the music.From entering Monument as a writer, he soon took on other roles. He was Head of Operations at the Monument Festivals in 2019 and 2021, and is now the project manager for the upcoming 2022 festival where he will also be Head of Security. But Hallvard’s main role in Monument is about leadership, strategy and business development.

He is also a musician, both as a solo act under the name of UE/Ü (which also serves a revenge against Facebook for taking the «ü» away from him when he signed up years ago) and as part of the improvisational, hard-hitting techno duo Bazalt.In his daily work, Hallvard works as a consultant, specializing in privacy and personal protection. He is a strong supporter of everybody’s right not to have their freedom infringed or limited. Hallvard also is a married family man, with two grown-up children. Unfortunately, all things techno seems lost on them

Victor Jousselme

Deeply passionate about nature and music, Victor joined the team in late 2017 to co-organize the first international Monument rave in Sweden.

With his knowledge of creating moods and atmosphere by selecting the right artist at the right time, he took the role of festival booker and artist host at the Monument festival.

He has also been contributing with sets and podcasts, articles and premieres.

Today, Victor is working on the next chapters for the Monument label

Arikas Pačešiūnas

Arikas became a part of Monument in 2019 when he joined our team as a social media contributor, throughout the years he tried different positions such as being a leader of the Premiere team and having various roles at our forest festival. At the moment he`s working in the festival`s lineup team. Besides that, music plays a vital role in the life of Arikas aka Javel. It pushes forward both, his personal goals and various projects in Norway.

Lara Palmer

Lara contributes to Monument as a writer, resident DJ and by being part of the festival team. She is a social and cultural anthropologist by training with roots both at the polar circle in Norway and Berlin. When DJing, her sound oscillates somewhere between dreamy atmospheres, dark, hypnotic grooves, and straightforward techno.

Jim Andersen

Jim joined Monument in early 2020 to help getting Monument Records started. As a the label’s co-manager together with Victor Jousselme he does all things label related, from making sure the tracks are mastered and all the way to the finished vinyl. He has a deep passion for all things music, and his roots run deep into the electronic genre, where he produces and djs under the Monodogue moniker.

Joao Pereira

Joao Pereira, also known under his artist name DRIV, joined Monument in 2018 as visual artist and stage designer, to bring his experience and passion accumulated over more then 20 years to our live events.

He has been passionate about Techno music since the 90s, when he was working in the club scene of Lisbon, from where he originates. His daily job is in Motion Graphic Design and Video Editing within the Norwegian music industry. He loves to play his drum machines, sail and mountain bike through the amazing Norwegian nature!

John Fernie

Fernie is a Glasgow based producer creating sounds since the early 2000s.
He joined monument in June of 2020 initially to focus on live streaming but most recently is also now coordinating the podcasts across Monuments social platforms

Martin Tveten

Martin is a long-time friend of sweaty dancefloors and sonic experiences in moist forests. He is eager to spread and maintain the unique atmosphere found at Monument’s festival — a blend of hypnotic and intense, while caring and intimate.

After several year’s of volunteer management in Oslo’s student organisations, he is now head of volunteers for Monument Festival 2022. Apart from techno, he likes science and numbers, and works as a researcher in statistics and machine learning. 

Robert Sæther

Web developer by day, techno-lover by night. Robert lives in Oslo and became a part of the Monument-team in late 2018.

Since then he has helped develop the Monument-websites further. In 2019 he also developed the Festival webpage. His main focus is to develop future-proof and sustainable systems that are user-friendly and intuitive.

On his spare time, he likes to travel, going hiking in the woods, making new friends and discovering new music.

Dennis Spinn

Dennis is the head of infrastructure at Monument. He has been an important part of the Monument team helping set up everything to build our online magazine.

Today he takes care of security, back-up, servers and everything else regarding back-end systems. He is a progressive programmer, with his own company in computer science.  

Dennis also has a deep passion for techno music, organizing events and playing as a DJ in his current town Zagreb.

Vadim Dørum

This Russian-born lover of techno has over the last couple of years devoted his time to Monument for the sake of bringing techno to Oslo and spreading it to all other parts of the world. Currently spending most of his time in the Forgotten Valley where Monument has its festival. He supports the Monument management in HR related topics when he’s not busy liaising with artist playing at Monument parties in Oslo.

Laura Bestle

Laura is an explorative and always motivated mind constantly moving to the next project while making sure Monument’s core values and the love for deep sounds in connection with nature are visible and communicated throughout all of our channels. As a project manager, she takes on the development of Monument as an innovative techno platform connecting electronic music lovers with producers, DJs and visual artists. 

Besides being a resident artist at Monument, Laura is constantly on the go from country to country, consulting, teaching, organizing events, dj-ing as Laura Mrls and also secretly producing dark techno and ambient sound spheres under her second alias, Psychatrian. 

Sten Listra

Born in Estonia but currently based in the west of Ireland, Sten has had an abiding love of dance music since discovering the Belleville Three in his teenage years. As a voracious listener, from that technoid core he has branched out with little regard for genre boundaries, finding something to enjoy in practically all forms of music.

Sten joined Monument’s writing team in 2020 as a creative opportunity to combine his love of music with his passion for media criticism. When he is not listening to or thinking about music, he can be found cooking or reading.

Joakim Johannessen

Joakim has been a supporter and friend of the Monument family for a long period and helps out wherever it’s needed. Usually, that means ensuring guests at events are having a good experience and value based commercial thinking/sparring with his amigo Henning.

In his everyday life, Joakim helps out as an advisor and business developer in different startups within technology and sustainability, likes voluntary work and is one of the Co-founders of Altü Family. A nonprofit platform for other nonprofits. 

Appreciates life, food, long hugs and a good dance.

Henriette Wulff

Henriette has been part of the monument family since 2016, and was key part in starting Monument festival. Easily recognized and loved on the dance floor.

Joe Mayberry

As one half of the podcast team and responsible for our digital marketing, Joe helps to get our excellent content in front of our delightful followers.

Marthe Nordby Lileng

Marthe is a passionate music lover, social animal and curios human – giving out here energy where needed. She is connected to the family through unique friendships, contributing with design thinking skills and love for moving to electronic sound.

Marthe is based in Oslo where she works as a landscape architect and has a strong wish to use here skills on planning unique cultural experiences.

Jørgen Grønneberg

Jørgen has been supporting and dancing at Monument events for a long time. At the festival in 2019 he found his place in the family: smiling, dancing and helping where needed.

Jørgen works as a teacher in Oslo, aspiring to use music as a tool in his daily work with students. He plays squash, spins records and is always dancing.

Nobu Eriksen

Nobu`s passion for electronic music comes out of countless childhood hours spent in epic video game universes.  After living in tune with Tokyo’s subcultural techno cityscapes for seven years and witnessing Funktion-One stacks flirting with trees in the Japanese mountains he has a special place in his heart for techno and nature.

Jacopo Severitano

Jacopo is an Italian designer and multi-disciplinary artist based in Berlin, where he established the seminal deep techno record label Midgar in 2014. Jacopo is curating the ever-evolving aesthetic of Monument brand and imagery, among the various social media platforms, offline events and festival.

Jon Eirik Nøding

Generally friendly and social, except when dancing.

Isak Sowe 

Isak, a longtime enthusiast of the electronic music scene, is recognized for his vibrant presence and constant smile on the dancefloor. His appreciation for good music and meaningful connections led him to join the Monument family in early 2023. At Monument, Isak is responsible for planning and coordinating transportation, and also plays a role in guiding the team on their journey towards sustainability.

Melissa Follestad Larsen

Melissa has a passion for live video performance and building visual environments for the audience to slip into. Since 2018 she has been deeply involved with the visual aspect of Monument Club events and Monument Festivals.

Christopher Opso

Christopher has extensive experience in the digital field with a background as a video journalist, content producer, and in television post-production. He manages our social media and communication. When he’s not posting or chatting with you online, you can find him dancing in the front row at our events, smiling from ear to ear.

Christopher lives in Oslo and works with marketing and digital content production as his main occupation. He developed a passion for rhythm and electronic music in his early teens, delving deeper into the techno scene over the years. After attending more and more of our events, Christopher decided to join the Monument team in late 2023.

In his spare time, he enjoys nature, music, yoga, bouldering, and indulges in cold baths.

Belinda Sturm

Belinda is a member of the Monument team since 2 years in the field of decoration. Her passion for nature and spatial planning is her key tool to help creating an atmosphere that allows us to dive into the rythm of nature and music

Tormod Flesjø

Tormod is a key member of the developer team, responsible for maintaining the website’s functionality. During the festival, he is often found near the speakers, regardless of the time of day or weather conditions, be it sunny or rainy.

Tuva Bjørnstad

Tuva is a passionate and curious human who has found the power of the breath as one of her main paths in life, as a breathwork facilitator. She is a writer, poet and a timeless adventurer who enjoys the beauty of human stories, mysteries & jumping into every opportunity to learn something new. She is also a co-founder of the brand Hjerteloke, which encourages people to follow their heart.

In 2022 she contributed with breathwork & eye-gazing meditation at the Monument festival, and is now on board as an Activity Coordinator to organize the workshops for people to connect with their body, mind & soul throughout the festival.

Tamara Belin 

Tamara affectionately refers to herself as the “child” of Monument, as it is through this family that she discovered the charms of electronic music and everything it brings with it. 

Since 2022, she has been actively involved in the Bar team, primarily as the person responsible for volunteers in the Main bar. 

Tamara works at a school as a special educator, with a deep focus on sensory development and everything that stimulates, relaxes and playfully engages the senses of the human being. 

Mike Patterson 

Mike is a graphic designer and developer working with the new website. He loves to work with most things design, tech and art.

When he’s not coding he is probably dancing somewhere while making food for some nice people – if not he’s out on his bike.

Erik Alexandre Duhamel

Erik has been familiar face in the Monument festival team for two years, although his journey with the festival and podcast began even earlier as a dedicated fan. In the role of assistant to the head of volunteers, Erik’s mission is clear: crafting a uniquely memorable volunteer experience. Erik is driven by a desire to have a positive impact on volunteers in any way possible, creating an atmosphere that invites people to return. 

You’ll typically find Erik stationed in the volunteer area throughout the festival, engaging with guests and fellow volunteers. If he’s not there, he’s most likely drawn into the Monument experience, dancing his shoes off near the main stage, immersed in the festival’s captivating atmosphere. 

Outside the festival buzz, Erik is navigating a shift from banking to psychology, adding a diverse touch to his professional journey.

Hamish Cook 

From Scotland and with a passion in all things music; Hamish joined the Monument team in 2023 through his marketing with digital media studies at Napier university and discovered an amazing family of techno-lovers, festival enthusiasts and all round legends.

Assisting with the volunteer team and at 2m tall, you won’t miss him on the dance floor this year in the forgotten valley.

Dani Aronson

Growing up in the punk and hardcore scene, Dani’s journey into the world of techno began when a Berlin friend took him to Berghain in April 2012.  This ignited a renewed love of seeking out that raw synergy of sound, dance, space, and shared experience among people from all walks of life. Dani first joined Monument as a Festival Volunteer in 2023 and has been spreading the word ever since as a brand ambassador online and in his world travels.