Moiré

Moiré is an artist whose work is defined by twisted beauty, ephemeral structures and the architecture of sound. As suggested by his alias, Moiré’s work ripples and undulates with mesmeric elegance and supple power. His albums for Ghostly, Rush Hour, Werkdiscs and most recently Avenue 66 explore multifaceted textures and vivid electronic sound fields that take on a life of their own. Consistently subverting market expectations and genre tropes, Moiré aligns himself with the radical explorations of Detroit techno and close peers like Actress and Helena Hauff. His records draw you into the vivid and sublime sensuality of raw materials and reconfigured memories.

Moiré first rose to prominence with Never Sleep, his 2013 album for Actress’ Werkdiscs imprint. The short EP laid out the foundations of the artist’s sound: syrupy, off kilter grooves, cryo-freeze pads, glitchy vocal hiccups and a shifting, vertiginous sense of perspective. The result, simple, intuitive and daring, remains fresh to this day, and a remix from Actress himself is a standout from that artist’s storied catalog.

Full length albums like 2014’s Shelter and 2017’s No Future showed Moiré going deeper still into lushness. Spurred by a desire to create “euphoric experiences,” Moiré fused his background in design with his productions, often starting works as digital drawings which he then rendered as sound. Far from the clinical results one might expect, this process yields textures that seem to float and drift in mid air, or that draw the listener to the depths of a sonic ocean. On these albums, Moiré guides us to places of profound immersion.

These practices continue to extend through his work. 2021’s Good Times, made in collaboration with Nigerian singer Demigosh for Hypercolor, is a landmark. The soulful, understated vocals center the eerily spacious arrangements. In this work, Moiré shows himself to be a sound painter of the highest order. Each sound feels perfectly crafted, alien yet familiar, uncanny yet completely right. The album allows you to sink into it, recalibrating your expectations and delivering back an unexpected cohesion.

Moiré’s work continues to expand. Working with game engines to create interactive 3D worlds as well as reintroducing his visual art into his work, he engages with electronic music as a truly multidisciplinary practice. His rare performances and DJ sets make good on the promise of his recordings, rendering the supple elegance in dynamic form. A cult favorite and a master of the entrancing and mercurial, Moiré’s work touches the shadowy dreamlife of electronic music in ways few can.