[Interview by Jacopo Vigezzi, originally published in Prog Rock Journal, July 10; republished with permission. Link ]
The label manifesto cites Boulez, Cage, and Eno. Which of these thinkers most closely mirrors your current belief that music is an “ethical category” rather than just an aesthetic one?
In my mind, Cage is the one closest to our approach, in his appreciation of chance within defined frames.
Common to all three is an interest in discovery, and the drivers of those moments of new insight are not always musical. They often involve philosophical and ethical components, as well as synergies between Western and Eastern thought.
All three also shared a deep appreciation of architecture, because the experience of space is so central to both their definition—and our definition—of musical discovery.
The inaugural tracks were recorded between Nina Studio in Paris and your Large Array in Los Angeles. What kind of technical and poetic dialogue exists between these two very different geographic poles?
In 2026, geographical distance has become quite relative. Thanks to file-sharing and video-conferencing, we have meetings every week, and our conversations go from technical discussions all the way to creative-aesthetic exchanges. We’ve both been obsessed with music for a long time, and beyond that, with books, philosophy, history – and the most fun conversations are always those that can go from the most minute details, to the most universal aspects of creation. It’s our definition of having fun. Lately we've been hearing about attempts to revive supersonic civilian flight, so I haven't entirely given up hope that one day I might once again meet Christian for a coffee in Paris!
In “Mallarmé,” you were inspired by a radical 1897 poem known for its fragmented typography. How did you translate those visual "silences" and the "abolition of chance" into a fluid sonic environment?
Mallarmé saw this poem as the opening of a new space, and in so many ways he demonstrated principles that became central to avant-garde music in the 20th century: non-hierarchical structures, free association, and the breaking of barriers. It is all contained within this text. You could also relate this to the founding principles of musique concrète.
This “field of experience” that Mallarmé was after is also very much reflected in our compositional approach. We typically start with a few musical elements that create a specific atmosphere in line with the poem. This becomes the basis from which we develop a catalogue of ideas in the form of small musical lines, themes, and gestures.
Eventually, we begin reducing and shaping those accumulated ideas into a sequence and balance that achieves the greatest clarity and impact. This is a critical step in the creative arc of these pieces: by reducing elements, we try to get to and unveil the essence of the piece.
Moving to “Borges,” the music unfolds like a labyrinth. How does the sound reflect Jorge Luis Borges’ specific fascinations with infinity, memory, and the unstable nature of reality?
Borges often takes scientific principles to extremes, and then, by distorting them, drives them into the absurd. Labyrinths are patterns that at one point become unpredictable, confusing. In music, we thought that patterns and sequences represent the starting point of order. And their deconstruction, fragmentation and modulation necessarily lead to an aleatoric structure. This, of course, brings us back to the open space of exploration. There is an obsessive quality in Borges, which we also tried to mirror in certain looping aspects of the music. There are always winks and a nice dose of humor in his descriptions of the absurd. Likewise, the music keeps a lighter tone, allowing for some of the comic qualities to shine through.
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