Doomed Confessionary: Sander, Maarten & Berry (Spacejunk Mafia)
pacejunk Mafia is a three-piece instrumental space rock band from Nijmegen, Netherlands. Sander Weijers (guitar), Maarten van der Kamp (bass) and Berry Claessen (drums) enjoy jamming together and exploring psychedelic, groovy soundscapes.
Following the release of their 2024 demo EP, which received very positive feedback, the band continued developing their first full-length album. The recordings were made in a professional studio to capture their strongest songs, including selections from the demo along with new material, with improved audio quality.
The album was recorded with David Tonnaer at NautaMix in Nijmegen, and the artwork was designed by Stella de Hoog. The result reflects the band’s signature raw, groovy, and psychedelic style, offering listeners a vivid experience of their sound. Their self-titled debut album was released on December 1st, 2025.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
We’ve known each other since high school. Our passion for music led us to create sounds together, drawing inspiration from an inexhaustible source: Space.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Combining our demiurgic day jobs with making music. Unfortunately, we aren’t at a point where we can live off our music yet. That remains a significant challenge.
What can you be most proud of so far?
We are simply very proud of each other and everything we’ve done; there’s no need for a specific reason for pride. We are proud simply because we exist.
What was your biggest regret?
No regrets. We do this out of passion and because we enjoy the process.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
In 2024, we played a fantastic show at a private festival called Pikpop. We played barefoot in the grass of a farm’s backyard. That felt like ultimate freedom. The power went out twice, even while we were playing, luckily it was solved very quickly. The audience intensely enjoyed our groove and we enjoyed it together. We were in the zone, united with everyone.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
The collaboration between Monkey3 and Mars Red Sky really surprised us. “Monkeys On Mars”, it’s very special and incredibly well-executed.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Wild Fuzz Trip, Monkeys On Mars, Delving, My Sleeping Karma, Naxatras, Tuber, Yawning Man, and so on. We mostly listen to music without many lyrics. The music itself tells the story. It allows you to fully dream away and create your own narrative while listening. That is the most beautiful thing you can do. When someone sings, they often impose their own ‘labels’ and ‘truth’ on you. We want the listener to be the creator of their own universe while they listen. Words often limit the infinite; sound alone keeps the portal open.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Making music and life itself is about the friendships you make, not about how many listeners you have. If we create music that can save just one person’s life, that is worth more than a million listeners or a large sum in the bank.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I (Maarten) listen to a lot of classical music, but I don’t feel guilty about it at all!
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Nijmegen?
Nijmegen is truly the place to be for stoner and space rock in the Netherlands. Brown Note Booking brings top-tier names to the local scene (like ‘De Onderbroek’) almost every month.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
This year is a bit quiet. Maarten recently became a father and is focusing heavily on fatherhood right now. That’s another challenge that also ties back to the second question.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Just keep going and, above all, enjoy the journey. We’ll see where we land.
How can people best support your band?
This might sound blunt, but if you want to see more of us, we obviously need financial support so we don’t have to spend all our time at our regular jobs. That means instead of listening to our album on YouTube or Spotify, buy it from Bandcamp. But ultimately, we prefer hearing how our music touched the deepest parts of your soul. Music is liberation, both for the creator and the listener. Money buys us time, but the soul-connection with a listener is what sustains our spirit.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Start a band, just for the fun of it. You don’t have to be good right away; just make music because you enjoy it. Focus purely on your feelings and use music as a method to express yourself, it doesn’t even have to be “pretty.” Art isn’t always pretty, but art is honest. And in this world, where so much is fake or AI generated, the most radical thing you can do is create something raw and real.
Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well