We spoke to producer and entrepreneur zircon about his latest boundary-shattering offering Arcology. Released on 14 January, the concept album is an extension of his debut album which was released in 2004. Arcology was created around a fictional, dystopian society featuring a self-contained megacity The Arcology. Surrounded by chrome walls, The Arcology is a seemingly thriving community, however, there’s a brooding void lurking ominously.
The album features collaborations with violinist Jeff Ball, who has worked on Steven Universe, and League of Legends, as well as vocalist Jillian Aversa, who has contributed to video games like Halo, God of War and Assassin’s Creed.
In an exclusive interview, we chat to zircon about whether he makes music for himself or his listeners, remaining authentic throughout his two decade career, and what inspires him outside of music. 
Hey Zircon! Welcome to YourEDM, we’re so excited to have you 🙂
Could you tell us about your earliest musical memory?
My parents aren’t musicians, but they’ve always deeply appreciated music. My dad still has the record collection he used to play when I was a kid. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Billy Joel, Procol Harum, and lots of classical music. But one specific formative memory was when I was about 8 years old, and rented this video game, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, from the local video store. The boss battle music blew my mind, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It was like high tempo power metal via a Super Nintendo. It still slaps.
When you compose and produce tracks, do you make music for yourself or do you make it with others in mind?
I have to create things for myself first. If I’m not enjoying the process, what’s the point? When I was in college and for about 5 years after, I wrote a lot of music on spec for soundtracks, music libraries, corporate ads, that kind of thing. For a lot of people, that’s the dream, being a professional composer. But honestly, it lost its appeal for me when it felt like I was just working under other people’s visions, on their schedule. I’m way happier when it’s just me, and my own feelings. That’s not to say I don’t think about what my fans might enjoy though. That’s priority #2.
Your recently released album Arcology is a continuation of the sound from your debut album which was released in 2004. How were you able to balance staying true to your distinct sound, while ensuring the music still resonates with audiences today?
I think it starts with not trying to chase trends too closely. I listen to a lot of music from all eras, in many styles, including tracks getting released right now. So I’m listening to Virtual Riot, Au5, Space Laces, and Skrillex, but also Japanese fusion, French Jazz manouche, Big band, Pat Metheny, Djent, Chiptune, and a whole lot of other stuff. All of that gets mixed, synthesized, and expressed when I make music. If I go out of my way to focus on aping a specific style, artist, or song, suddenly all those other influences get pushed to the background, and the result is never going to be as special. That’s always been my belief, and I think it’s why people who have been listening to my work for 20 years can hear both how much it’s evolved but how the spirit is still there.
Stream Arcology below:
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the self-contained megacity that the album’s concept is based on?
My favorite science fiction stories are where humans have managed to advance far beyond where we are now, at the cost of some kind of tension with nature, or humanity itself. You can see that in works like Foundation or Ghost in the Shell. The idea of a single city for all of humanity is along those same lines. It’s also partially inspired by real life places like Kowloon Walled City.
The visualiser for the album is absolutely stunning! How do you go about ensuring the essence of the music is translated into the visuals?
I’m absolutely not a visual artist myself, not even a little bit. So I absolutely had to connect with someone to help bring these ideas to life via illustrations, which is where Tomás came in. I’d put together mood boards and descriptions for each scene, along with clips from the tracks, to give him as much context as possible. He always nailed it. From there, when we worked on the 3D animations, it was just a matter of connecting them even further by syncing elements to the music itself. Rhythms, dynamics.
What would you like listeners to take away from the album?
At the end of the day, I want people to feel moved. You don’t have to imagine the same ‘story’ I had in mind creating it. Maybe you feel moved to dance, or to reflect on something. Maybe you feel sadness, or hope, or it takes the edge off something difficult in your life. I know in this age of music consumption, where so much of what we listen to is just wallpaper – background music – that’s not easy. But it’s what I hope people will feel.
What inspires you outside of music?
It changes over time. Science fiction – books, films, anime, games – has always been an inspiration, but lately, life itself has started to feel like science fiction. I don’t think most of us could have imagined just how fast generative AI snuck up on us and how profound an impact it’s had. Or the degree to which algorithms really control what we see, hear, and even think. I’ve been thinking about all of that lately and I’d say it’ll show up in the music I’m making next.
Can you tell us what you’ve got in the pipeline for the near future? Any collaborations or forthcoming projects?
For Arcology, I’m already lining up several remixes, though I shouldn’t name names until they’re out. I’ve got an EP in the works that features several tracks with a more chiptune and synthwave-influenced sound; I’m thinking that 80s nostalgia is going to be a through line, but with my own spin on it. I’ve also relaunched my YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/zirconst) where I’m making videos about music production and tech, which people really seem to love. Beyond that, it’s definitely not going to be another 12 years before my next album. I’ll try to keep it within 12 months this time.
Watch the visualiser below:
Follow zircon:
Website – Spotify – Bandcamp – Bluesky – YouTube – Facebook
