Rone - Megapetra [CD]

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: IF1101CD
Barcode: 3516628513527
Release Date: 12 Jun 2026
Genre: Electronic

MEGAPTERA, the scientific name of the humpback whale, is also the title of the new album by French producer and composer Rone. Born from an ambitious film project, the record was largely composed at sea, off the coasts of Brittany and Réunion Island, using a modular synthesizer and melodic sketches developed for an almost unreal proposition: attempting to resonate with whales through music. Following Room With a View—a soundtrack to a performance created with the alternative dance company La Horde, exploring collapse and rebirth—Rone continues his investigation into new imaginaries. If that earlier work emerged from reflections on ecological, social, and technological tipping points, MEGAPTERA marks a shift: away from the city, toward the sea. Gradually, he moved away from performance toward a more craft-based approach, extending his practice beyond the studio into a wider space of listening, exchange, and fieldwork. Early footage of sailors broadcasting his work into open water—seemingly answered by whale presence—circulated online, generating fascination, but also a growing unease for the artist regarding what these projections might imply. This tension became the starting point for a longer period of field experimentation, developed in dialogue with scientists, environmentalists, sailors, and bioacousticians. The resulting 15-track album reflects this open-ended inquiry — not only into whether human-made sound can reach whales, but also into how this process can shape a new form of electronic music, and open it towards new deep-sea soundscapes. Rather than seeking imitation, Rone works with reduction. Drawing on research into cetacean vocalisation, he pares back his language—focusing on frequency bands, repetition, and suspended structures. Minimalism appears less as reference than as natural convergence.

TRACKLIST: 
01 Al Lark  
02 Premier Contact  
03 Verba Aliena  
04 Breach  
05 La Baleine et le musicien  
06 Speaker  
07 Caudale  
08 Cap Lahoussaye  
 
09 Insomnia  
10 Zodiac  
11 Lingua  
12 Breathe In (feat. Yael Naim)  
13 Megaptera Novaeangliae  
14 Panimal  
15 Try Again