INTERVIEW: Experimental electronic music from Alveolus

Based in Finland, Alveolus is a new experimental electronic music endeavour exploring the sphere between ambient soundscapes, post industrial textures and the unpredictable nature of live performance. Revolving around the interaction of electronic instruments, analogue circuitry, digital synthesis and manipulated sound sources, its music eschews the shiny uniformity often associated with contemporary production. Alveolus embraces instability, allowing repetition, distortion and spontaneous decisions to shape compositions that move between quiet contemplation and intricately controlled disarray.

Driving the project is a deliberate rejection of the expectation that electronic music should be flawless and in an environment increasingly shaped by automated production, algorithmic composition and standardised sounds, Alveolus takes a different avenue entirely, viewing the creative process as something physical and inherently unpredictable. The instruments are not merely tools for executing predetermined ideas; their interactions become part of the composition itself.

Unstable signals, unexpected sonic collisions and imperfections are welcomed as evidence of human involvement, giving the music a character that cannot be entirely planned or even replicated. Alveolus captures entire compositions as single stereo performances, using no virtual instruments or DAW-based MIDI sequences, nor making an attempt to remove every irregularity through endless development. Each piece forms in real time, with the performer responding to the behaviour of interconnected machines and the opportuniries that arise as sounds collide, overlap and transform.

Such an approach gives Alveolus a unique relationship with technology, where he questions the assumption that increasingly sophisticated tools must inevitably lead to greater perfection. The machines might provide the materials but the music is crafted through interaction, intuition and a desire to accept outcomes that cannot be fully anticipated. Now unveiling the highly original project, Alveolus shares the debut single titled “This Side of The Water,” presenting a seven-minute sonic voyage of drifting textures and immersive sound design.

Drifting into view with the soft swell of gliding synth textures, a transportive musical soundscape takes shape as gentle modulation and sonic swells add delicate fluctuations to the sound. As it progresses, layers form and the piece becomes ever more engrossing while hypnotic repetition and mechanical rhythms cast patterns that can feel almost ritualistic, while distorted textures introduce friction. Soft hiss and crackle adds flickers of sonic shifts while the low end slips with rumbling aesthetic, resulting in a musical experience that’s in a constant state of flux.

Within the industrial edges of the piece, something distinctly organic remains, with Alveolus finding expression in the relationship between organic creative expression and mechanical tone. It allows electronic sound to feel emotive and occasionally resistant, while distortion and noise become ways of exploring the emotional areas hidden within technological systems. With “This Side of The Water,” the Finnish project begins a journey into the unexplored areas of the musical map, where machines can produce something imperfect, immersive and alive all at once.

We caught up with Alveolus to find out more about his musical journey so far, his debut single “This Side of The Water” and what he’s got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Alveolus below.

Hey Alveolus, how’s things?

Hi there, Plastic Magazine! Things are good here, although the rest of the year is looking pretty busy.

What’s your earliest memory of making music?

I have two, and I don’t know which came first. It was the ’80s, and my dad brought home a Roland Axis. What it was connected to, I have no recollection of!

Then there was my grandpa’s acoustic guitar. I used to sit with it on my lap and play the open strings. I think I was somewhere between five and seven years old.

Which artists do you draw most inspiration from?

Oh, there are so many, really. I’m drawn to most music in one way or another. It also depends on what I’m doing at any given time: sound design, playing jazzy piano, or accompanying an opera aria as a live musician. I’m also a hired gun—a freelance musician for certain artists—so it depends.

One thing has always been present, regardless of what I’m playing or whom I’m working with, and that’s improvisation. Through improvisation, you have freedom of expression. I’ve always wanted to challenge and break down assumptions, especially regarding music.

That being said, for Alveolus specifically, one of the main inspirations has definitely been Throbbing Gristle. I guess there’s no point denying how much I’ve admired their whole approach.

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

Through life in general. Human relationships, our deepest emotions, science—you name it. I definitely don’t find it in politics, though!

Weirdly, the single “This Side of the Water” and the album as a whole were actually inspired and kickstarted by death. Death as the inevitable endpoint of at least one journey we humans know of: the journey of life.

It just so happens that the mystery lady on the cover is a certain type of “angel of death,” if you will—a clinical nurse specialist in palliative care here in Finland. So that connection was naturally very fitting, too. Whatever concepts future Alveolus music explores or draws from, our umbrella lady will be present on the album covers.

What do you love about your local music scene?

I’m totally out of touch with the local scene when it comes to newer artists or bands. I mostly know the old-timers like me—or perhaps I should say those of us closer to middle age!

We all have different agendas, and some work in different genres, but we still sometimes hang out and jam together, regardless of those boundaries. Music definitely connects people.

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

Great question. It might be a setting where you have Alveolus playing in the background while you’re doing your own thing. The repetitive music creates whatever atmosphere or feeling it creates for you, and suddenly something makes you think, “What the fuck is happening?” Maybe it’s a texture you didn’t expect, or some other sound that catches your attention.

I think that’s exactly how “This Side of the Water” works. It’s repetitive and long, and one of its nuances is the distorted feedback from the analogue filter and input I’m playing it through.

It’s all live from start to finish: one take, recorded onto a single stereo track, with samplers and keyboards connected to a 12-channel Mackie analogue mixer. The whole performance—even the mixing—is live. You see, I definitely don’t know what I’m doing most of the time! I listen to changes, and I react.

Then there’s the setting for people who want to ditch melody. Alveolus mainly isn’t about melody at all, although some songs will have a bit more of it.

Alveolus is ridiculously tough and unforgiving conceptually—for me, that is. Sometimes I wonder why I made it so hard for myself. But I’m so committed to live expression and improvisation that I couldn’t record everything as separate tracks and then start polishing them one by one in a DAW. I respect that work, too, but it isn’t for me. There’s only so much you can do to a single stereo track, right? I love that concept.

How has your own style and sound evolved since you started out?

A lot, even in the past year. I’ve redefined my workflow, which is probably one of the most important things you can do. It has to be easy enough to get into making music in the first place, without extensive hassle—and easy enough to record a song you’ve just made up on the fly.

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

Oh, there would be so many. I’d say Chris Carter, Rhys Fulber, Bill Leeb, Pat Metheny… I have a lot of ideas in my head, and there are so many possibilities. I’d also like to experiment with some ideas involving vocals in the future.

How did you find making your new single “This Side of The Water”?

Good question. Although Alveolus is a new project, I personally have a long background in music, from playing keyboards in a progressive metal band to working as a freelance keyboard player for some bigger artists here in Finland.

I’d already experienced a lot through music, even if I obviously hadn’t made millions! My work in progressive metal has included a record deal. I’ve played countless live shows, with the biggest crowds exceeding 10,000 people, and songs I play on have accumulated millions of streams and views.

But even though I’ve been lucky enough to have enormous musical freedom in all those settings, I was still longing for something else. I’d long since grown a bit bored with conventional approaches to music, where everything starts to sound the same.

So Alveolus was born out of death. The death of a friend kickstarted it and set certain concepts in motion. Mainly, though, Alveolus is a rebellion—a rebellion against the music industry.

What message did you want to get across with this release?

I wanted to show that electronic music can still carry a very human presence. Everything doesn’t have to be corrected, polished and made predictable. I want room for instinct, tension, strange sounds and things I couldn’t repeat exactly even if I tried.

There’s a rebellion in that, against the expectation that music has to follow certain rules to be worth listening to. I’ve spent years playing in different musical settings, and Alveolus gives me the freedom to question those rules myself.

And because this project began with the death of a friend, there’s something personal underneath it all. Life ends, and we don’t control when. While I’m here, I want to make something that feels honest to me. Even when it’s uncomfortable or imperfect.

What artist have you been listening to most recently?

That would be Throbbing Gristle, particularly “The Third Mind Movements.”

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?

I’d like people to feel curious, and to have room for their own reactions. There’s no correct way to feel about it. Something I hear as comforting might feel unsettling to someone else, and I like that.

Maybe a sound catches your attention and you start hearing the whole piece differently. Or you get lost in the repetition for a while. I’m not necessarily trying to tell people a story with a fixed meaning. I want to leave them space to find something of their own in it.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

I think it will be the day Alveolus goes live.

Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?

No matter how long it takes to find your own way to express yourself—a year, a decade or two—it’s there. Never give up.

Finally, what do you have lined up next?

I’m finishing the album, aiming for the end of the year or January 2027, unless something drastic happens. We’re definitely cooking up new stuff for 2027 as well, so we’ll keep you posted!

Listen to This Side of The Water below