Modera are the Seattle-based duo taking over the progressive house scene with their evocative and succulent soundscape. The pair unveiled their breathtaking sophomore album Together, Apart on 8 August, via Colorize.
The 10-track album touches on themes of yearning, inner-growth and connection, while it showcases their artistic evolution and depth since they dropped their debut album From Walks of Life in 2023. With support from heavyweights like Don Diablo, Nicky Romero and Nora En Pure, Modera’s earnest and intentional approach to creation has laid a powerful foundation for what’s to come.
In our exclusive interview, Modera dive deeper into the album’s themes, the personal stories and experiences which shaped the album as well as what the rest of 2025 holds for the pair. 
Stream Together, Apart, while reading the interview below:
Your sophomore album Together, Apart feels like a significant sonic and emotional shift from your debut album From Walks of Life. What was your creative vision going into this album?
With Together, Apart, the vision was to challenge ourselves emotionally and sonically. Our debut album leaned heavily into the classic house space, but for this album, we wanted to explore a broader emotional spectrum, to get more vulnerable, more cinematic, and more intentional. We still leaned into our core, but this time with more orchestral textures, more ambient space, and a lot more patience in the production. The vision was to create an album that felt both personal and expansive.
You describe the album as “finding unity in separation”. Can you tell us about any personal experiences that shaped the theme?
Yeah, that phrase really came to define the album for us. When we started this project, we were living on opposite sides of the country, thousands of miles apart. That distance was the first hurdle, and the creative friction it caused ended up being the foundation for the whole album. Eventually, it became less about geography and more about emotional and spiritual distance, friendships that faded, relationships that shifted, times we felt disconnected from ourselves or from the world around us. Ironically, midway through the process, we ended up back in the same city, which brought a new energy… full circle.
Your tracks are known for cinematic sound design and emotional weight. What does your typical studio process look like when crafting that atmosphere?
Honestly, it’s all about starting with a feeling. A string swell, a piano motif, or a vocal texture, something that instantly creates mood. From there, we build out the sonic world around it. We both come from different musical backgrounds, so collaborative process can be very fun. But it always starts with creating that emotional anchor, a piece that could almost exist on its own, even without drums.
Were there any unexpected challenges or breakthroughs during the making of Together, Apart?
Absolutely. There were a few tracks that went through at least 10 to 15 versions. There were moments where we, the label, and the collaborators all had different visions, and that friction forced us to refine it over and over until we finally landed on the versions that felt right. That kind of tension can be exhausting, but it also pushes the song to a place it wouldn’t have reached otherwise. That was a big lesson for us, trusting the process, even when it’s uncomfortable.
As a Seattle-based duo, how has your environment or community shaped your music or career so far?
Seattle’s definitely in our DNA. There’s this quiet intensity here, long stretches of grey, lots of rain, lots of beauty, and we think that really seeps into our music. We both live on the outskirts of the city, which is pretty remote, and that isolation gives us space to go deep creatively. Also, if you grew up in Seattle, you probably listened to a lot of ODESZA, and their influence is all over this album, consciously or not. That whole PNW indie-electronic wave played a big role in shaping our sound.
The album features some strong collaborators such as CVBZ, FARLEY and Blonde Maze. How do you go about selecting vocalists and collaborators that align with your sound and vision?
It always starts with a relationship. We’re not big on cold outreach or forced collabs. We work best with people we trust and vibe with. Blonde Maze, for instance, is basically one of our best friends at this point. She was there when we hit creative walls and brought us out of them. Same goes for CVBZ, he brought a whole new perspective to the creative process when we needed it most. We value collaborators who understand that we’re not just chasing a hook, we want to make art with them. If someone can bring that emotional depth to the table, we’re all in.
‘Faceless’ and ‘Walk You Home’ are especially introspective tracks. Can you tell us the stories behind those tracks?
Both of these songs came from really personal places but represent different emotional states. ‘Faceless’ is about disconnection, that painful moment when someone you were once close to becomes unrecognizable. It’s the feeling of being lost in the noise of a relationship that’s falling apart, where words don’t land and glances carry more weight than conversations. Lines like “your faceless, still calling through the silent sounds” really capture that ghost-like presence someone can still have in your life after things break down.
On the flip side, ‘Walk You Home’ is more about devotion through the distance. Even when things are uncertain or imperfect, there’s this quiet promise to show up, to meet halfway, to walk someone home, literally or metaphorically. That lyric “everlasting like the ink of our tattoos” is about holding on to the things that last even when everything else is shifting. Together, these two songs certainly add to the emotional arc of the album, one about letting go, and one about holding on.
You’ve played some powerful sets recently at Experience Festival and other venues. What’s been some of the most surprising reactions you’ve had from fans while playing live?
One of the most surprising, and humbling, things is how emotional people get during our shows. We’ve had people come up to us in tears, telling us that a song helped them through a breakup or a loss. That’s not something we take lightly.
We haven’t had the opportunity to perform the new material live just yet, but that’s coming soon. With the wider range of tempos on this album, we’re excited to build a set that taps into both the emotional intensity of the slower tracks and the high-energy moments of the more upbeat ones.
What does this album represent in the broader arc of Modera’s journey? Does it mark the ending of a chapter or the beginning of a new one?
It’s kind of both. Together, Apart closes the chapter of long-distance collaboration and the growing pains that came with it. But it also sets the stage for what’s next, now that we’re in the same city again, the next chapter feels more fluid and collaborative. Sonically, it’s our most mature work yet, and that opens up a lot of new creative territory. So yeah, it’s an ending, but also a very intentional new beginning.
What do you have in store for the rest of 2025? Where can your fans catch you next?
We’ve got a couple exciting things on the horizon that we can’t announce quite yet. However, we can tell you that we’re building out a new live show, one that’s more dynamic, and more immersive. We’ve decided to step away from our typical DJ performance to one that involves several live elements including keys, pads, drums, vocals, etc. But more than anything, we’re just excited to reconnect with fans in person again and play these songs the way they were meant to be heard.
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