Sofi Airlines Turns Boeing and Airbus Cockpit Controls Into Musical Instruments at Tokyo's Intergalactic Festival

Boeing and Airbus cockpit controls are transformed into musical instruments. SOFI AIRLINES, a live audiovisual project built from upcycled aircraft cockpit hardware, custom electronics and creative coding, makes its Japan premiere on Saturday, October 17, 2026. The performance is part of INTERGALACTIC: PLANETFALL, a three-day outdoor festival running October 16 to 18 in the forests above Hinode, on the western edge of Tokyo Metropolis.

The act belongs to Spicy Sofi, who built SOFI AIRLINES out of throttles, switches, panels and cockpit gestures repurposed as controls for a set that moves between progressive house, electro, acid and breakbeat. Organizers describe it plainly as a live performance, not a DJ set and not a flight simulator, staged as an actual flight with a narrative arc from boarding through take-off, turbulence and landing. AV gimmickry is common on festival stages, but most of it lives inside a laptop. This one is salvaged aviation hardware operated live in front of the crowd, which is a different proposition from a visual effect.

Where the Flight Lands

INTERGALACTIC: PLANETFALL runs across two stages, pairing Japanese and international artists over its three days. The site sits in Hinode, a town of roughly 16,000 people in the Nishitama district. It's an hour and a half from central Tokyo, reached on the JR Itsukaichi line to Musashi-Itsukaichi and then by road, but entirely rural once you arrive, which is what makes it usable for an outdoor festival within the metropolitan boundary. Haneda airport is about two hours away. Mid-October in the Kanto mountains brings cool nights and the first autumn colour.

Part of a Longer Tradition

The festival sits in the Japanese outdoor party tradition that runs from Rainbow Disco Club and Labyrinth through to the smaller mountain gatherings. Programming runs across house, techno and more exploratory electronic music. That's a wide enough net to make room for something as odd as a cockpit turned instrument. Tickets, site details and travel information all run through Resident Advisor, with the organizers posting updates on Instagram.

SOFI AIRLINES plays October 17, 2026. INTERGALACTIC: PLANETFALL runs October 16 to 18 in Hinode, Tokyo. Tickets are via Resident Advisor.

Cover photo: Spicy Sofi, via Mixmag Asia.