Carving out a reputation as one of the most exciting voices in the world of electronic music, Leonard Maassen’s rich world-building has become the core of his creativity. His versatility has seen him take on audio-visual installations, most notably his MUSE Digital Art and LOM+you lauded ‘Heart of a Glacier’ project, developed during a spatial audio residency at IKLECTIK Art Lab.
Scoring for films has seen him music featured at the likes of Festival de Cannes Court Métrage, Firenze FilmCorti and Montecatini International Film Festival, and performances across major venues from the Barbican Centre to Durham Cathedral have brought his vast creations to life.
After enticing tastemakers across the industry with his initial EP ‘Lilies’, Leonard embarked on a new compositional journey, sharing the first insights with recent singles ‘Colours’ and ‘Take Me To Space’. Now, the entrancing invention has been unveiled in its entirety, introducing audiences to the gorgeous soundscapes of Inside Cycles. Leonard uses the project to explore his subjectivity within the developing digital worlds, with each track emanating intricately designed electronic bliss.
Guiding the listener through a boundless odyssey, Leonard laces his music with golden harmonic arrangements, contrasting almighty moments of celestial proportions with intense roars of experimental electronic sounds. Inside Cycles also sees more of Leonard finding his voice, embodying an angelic figure as his performances fill the atmosphere. Balancing bright and dark, big and small, Leonard’s work feels consistently complete, constantly captivating and leaves the listener spellbound by the enormity of it all, all the while taking pioneering frequencies, and making them not only palatable but awe-inspiring.
Diving deep into his work across the project, Leonard shares, “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.”
‘Inside Cycles’ is out now, don’t miss it!
