Melancholy and euphoria are closely connected in the Paris producer's oeuvre. The dynamic tension of indie songwriting melts into the sweet magnetism of deep house grooves, creating moods between dream and desire.
In Glasgow Domenic Cappello is already a legend. The pieces of his upcoming EP could make him one far beyond the city's borders. Layering rich, dreamy strings over Kraftwerk'esque beatwork, it's his most personal release yet.
The Berlin trio places Kraftwerk's naïve melodicism and cool vocals on top of Moroder-style bass sequences. The result is sexy, nocturnal, and physically intoxicating.
“The modular's an instrument that I have to work on constantly. When I come back from a holiday, I often find myself wondering how it all works.”
Pavel Tchikov had to face emotional baggage from childhood for his duo with Dutch vocalist G.W. Sok. It translated to a work of brutal beauty, industrial beats, glistening strings, and naked poetry.
Translating their raw, propulsive electronic afrobeat to the stage remains a constant challenge for the trio. The real task, however, is to remain relevant: “Being an original artist today feels like survival.”
Konalgad's debut LP sits at the cusp between dream and nightmare, reliving and exorcising a dark phase in his life. And yet, these pieces move towards the light, not away from it – testimony to the ideal of physically playing, singing and moving his body while composing.
Beats, sampled and chopped lyrics, field recordings and processed instruments: In his wondrous songs, inspired by Irish culture and poetry, Daniel McIntyre excavates fossils from the future.
For the British drummer and producer, the stage is the studio and improvisation is instant composition. His collaborative performances have myriads of roots – but jazz and a love for randomised electronic systems are key components.
An inveterate perfectionist Live Sollid Schulerud could never finish a track in a few hours. Perhaps that's precisely what makes her inimitable electronic songscapes, often driven by deeply personal experiences, so unique.
Ned Pegler sees no reason to fear for the future. On his deep new album he is tapping into the unknown and building instantly relatable visions of dance music from improvisations.
After once being blown away by Reich's 18 Musicians, the Catalan composer no longer looks at music through a maximalist or minimalist lense. It's all about finding and honing the ideas that truly matter.
A caleidoscopic continuum from hip to jazz, a transatlantic bridge, a showcase for a highly individual band sound.
Experiencing the duo's debut album MestizX is “like downloading a mountain” - a mind-altering journey through trance-inducing vocals, multilayered drumming, naked emotion and psychotropic electronics.
Even after five decades, Fisher Turner is still just "making it up."
First, Febriani spent time in the Indonesian forest. Then, she translated the inspiratio into stripped-down, bass-heavy percussion-funk.
Experience and the search for essence have turned the French electro duo into architects of sound.
For Iona Evans, sheer determination in the face of rejection and belief in the world you are creating are crucial.
“The process of DAW to Bandcamp to CDJ is starting to run out of mileage. Exploring new ways to present your work is going to be the fun part.“
"My own voice isn't loud enough to be heard. So I'll let the music speak through big speakers."
"In a time when developments tend to draw people apart, creating something as a democratic collective is, in itself, a political act."
"Sound design is is just one piece of the puzzle. Creating something emotionally compelling or memorable should come first."
“Everyone has their own way to fight their demons. For me, dancing is one of the healthiest ways to do that.“
"I notice a certain darkness in AI generators. The word “fear” feels very relevant here."
"I like to make the distinction between when something needs to be performed and when it needs to be drawn in. There’s always a place for both."
“A minimalist approach allows me to push myself while I compromise my comfort.“
“Music is about emotions, a narrative, a beginning and an end. Sound deals with what is there, what occupies the space.”
"AI will become an integral part of our DAWs. But in a fun way."
"The process of connecting sounds often mirrors life."
"If original is something that’s never been done before, I don’t think anyone would enjoy it."
"Electronic music is escapism, it’s a dream, it’s fantasy, it’s the unknown."
"It's essential to dominate the technology, not let it dominate you."
"We always try to start from a place of simplicity."
"There's a balance between embracing the vast potential of electronic music and using constraints to drive innovation."
"Making music is deeply personal and scarring. But I enjoy that. I guess I’m a sadist."
"Electronic music can possess a specific kind of nostalgia. It feels like an open door to write something new."
“I would love a tool where you paint a bassline and then convert it to sound.”
"I want collaborators to have complete musical freedom. Too many words in advance can destroy that."
“Jean D’Arc armed herself to fulfil her mission. Sometimes music feels that way.”
"You can't replicate human creativity that easily with artificial means."
"Oscillators are not percussive, not made of air or strings. They are made of electricity, of energy."
"Some of the time I may have a slightly unorthodox way of working."
"Having your studio work as ONE cohesive mind is something that I really encourage to those who want to level up their work flow."
"To be considered a part of a lineage would be the ultimate compliment for me."
"You can learn anything from tutorials. This can also be overbearing and stand in the way of your own distinction."
"The experience of playing acoustic instruments can feel so weighed down by tradition. It can be really discouraging."
"I have to love it, enjoy it. It's art. That’s what it's all about."
"Collaboration feels like a massage. It stimulates areas you couldn’t reach on your own."
"We are now close friends - even though we haven't met in person yet!"
"Practical application with your own experiences is what makes the difference."
"I like my modular world. There isn’t a preset in sight!"
"I was scared of Max for Live. It felt like opening pandora’s box."
"It’s important to experiment with new sounds. But it’s also important to vision your own style and do what you're best at."
"Playfulness is extremely important. When we overwork ideas they can become stale."
"I have a terrible habit of rarely using the same kick drum. It has cost me months of my life."
“We have to embrace new tech to stay competitive.”
"To be totally absorbed in making something is the best feeling in the world. It's kind of self care.”
“On some level I think we should have EPA standards for noise pollution just like we have standards for air pollution."
“I’d take a laptop and headphones over a fancy, multi-room recording studio any day.”
“Most things in nature seem very creative without a consciousness.”
“What tool can have a deeper impact on creativity? Learning. Learning will help improve the creative output for any artist.”
"I let go of equipment that I seem to ignore. Well at least I try to."
"When I’m low on ideas I always try to buy new hardware or software to find new inspiration."
"The result of my work is always a surprise to me. Sometimes it's a good surprise, sometimes it's bad."
"Sometimes I walk through the city and inhale the noise. Sound is all around us, it is in everything."
Patricia Wolf about a synthesizer with effortless flow and almost limitless possibilities.
"There is music hidden in the sound of boiling water and burning firewood."
“With the birth of granular synthesis, the whole world changed for us.”
“We are already becoming cyborgs. Our intertwinement with machines is getting deeper every day.”
BRUX about an analogue percussion synth that is keeping her on her toes.
"Working without a DAW totally changed the way I write music."
“With live instruments and musicians, the music remains fluid until you record it.”
"The kitchen is always rewarding. Some of my sounds are samples of saucepans."
"It's like there's an ancient civilisation hiding behind the DX7 algorithm."
"I’ve been doing this so long that the idea of “inspiration” doesn’t really exist."
"Technology is meant to make sounds unique and personal. Sometimes, that means destroying a song."
"We have a lot of "unfinished" projects. We somehow always want to start fresh."
"All the important plugins exist already. They just aren't 100% yet."
"I doubt AI will offer much beyond saving time or small variations."