Leonard Maassen’s debut 9 track album is a vibrant journey through atmospheric electronics and experimental psychedelic ideas, adorned with a rich sense of musicality and beauty.
Opening with the glitching vocal cuts and cinematic soundscaping of ‘Contect (Intro), Maassen sets the scene with a track which would fit on the sound track for Bladerunner or even Black Mirror. Beautiful chord progressions, thoughtful experimental production choices and a grinding electronic bass which drops in and out, the track gives a captivating and alluring intro for the rich, textural sound across the solo artists work.
‘Take Me To Space’ balances dreamy distant falsetto vocals with rich idm production and analogue synths to create a sound comparable to the likes of Mount Kimbie, Bonobo and Tycho. Elsewhere on the album immersive ambient tracks like ‘Colours’ and ‘Time Remembered’ balances their synth designs against layered, emotive vocal harmonies, reflecting man-made sounds against honest heartfelt vocal delivery to great effect.
Across all of the tracks on ‘Inside Cycles’ Maassen showcases a unique musicality and a feel for otherworldly, tranquil and strikingly transportive sound pallets adorned, at times bringing danceable beats such as on ‘Rainspace’, but more often than not, hardly using drums at all and instead relying on it’s vibrant use of swirling sounds and wonderfully arranged ideas to keep a captivating edge and move forward with a sense of purpose.
Maassen dives into the new project: “With Inside Cycles, the focus is on shifting sound worlds. Every sound changes over time, all the musical elements are fluid and in motion. Contemporary technology allows us to constantly shift the characteristics of instruments, so we can create previously unheard musical textures not by changing the notes we hear, but by changing the sound of the notes as they reoccur. Exploring this principle, Inside Cycles is a solo record that takes you on a digital-psychedelic journey through intricate, evolving sound worlds.
When I was producing the album, I was always inspired by my natural surroundings. The music feels elemental and rooted in the natural cycles of life. The name ‘Inside Cycles’ references day/night, love/loss and birth/death, as well as bodily cycles, planetary orbits and seasons. I sing about the sun, the rain, the moon, planets, flowers as metaphors for emotional experiences. When I was making the record, I would often walk around a park or a forest listening to the music. I guess that’s where a lot of this influence came from. If I could recommend one interesting way to listen to the album, it would be to take it on a walk with headphones!
Originally, I tried to make the whole album without drums. As a drummer, I wanted to challenge myself to write music that feels propulsive and rhythmically interesting, but doesn’t use traditional drum sounds. In the end, some drums did end up on the record, but the initial approach allowed some really interesting things to emerge. The last three tracks of the album really showcase this idea. They’re completely driven by synthesizer and vocal sounds and punctuated by occasional percussive hits
While being focused on developing my electronic sound, it was also great to collaborate with some amazing musicians. The saxophone (Benjy Sandler) on ‘Time Remembered’ (which is inspired by a Bill Evans composition) references the jazz language which is also a feature in my first EP. On “Colours”, I was exploring folk storytelling through an electronic, abstract lens. The second vocal (Erin Snape) really foregrounds the idea of multiple perspectives to the same story.
Along with the almost orchestral-sounding arrangements towards the end of the record, the violin on ‘Time Remembered’ and ‘Show Me (The Way)’ (Yente Lottman) references the classical canon – especially Bach, Beethoven, Ravel – as well as contemporaries like Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Arvo Pärt. The classical tradition is very strong in Germany and my early music education came from this direction. Classical music still inspires me to this day, but the way we see this history is also problematic in a lot of ways. It has been very interesting for me to explore and challenge my relation to this lineage, and I’d like to explore it more in future.
After my first EP, Lilies (2021), Inside Cycles includes much more developed, intimate vocals, while keeping the atmospheric and journeying electronic arrangements. I leaned into my electronic style, making trippy cosmic journeys with existential lyrics. It was so freeing to explore synthesizers, electronic vocal processing and free-form arrangements. Producing the album allowed me to find a whole new depth of expression which feels much more genuine and profound. It’s scary to share something so intimate and vulnerable, but that’s the thrill I love. For me, the best art is the most personal and raw.”
Listen below:
