Esoteric Circle: An Invitation To Move

The latest release on ICONYC welcomes brothers Julien & Raphaël Piacentino, known as Esoteric Circle, to the label for a brand-new EP. The French artists are widely recognized for their unique blend of intricate sound design. Their genre-defying sound has remained fresh over the years and their discography features releases on Spectrum, Future Romance, and Oddity as a result.

Type < / 01 Magazine caught up with Julien & Raphaël Piacentino for a candid conversation where we discussed the release of their Sierra Maestra EP, their creative partnership, the evolution of Esoteric Circle, their future endeavors, and more.

Hello Julien! Raphaël! How are you doing? How have you been? Thank you for joining us today. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.

Hi there! We are doing well, thank you. We’ve been pretty busy the past few days, working on some content for the release and on our different projects. Thank you for having us today; it's a pleasure to be here with you.

By the way, congratulations on the recent release of your latest EP, Sierra Maestra! You must be amped to have this one out. What has the initial reception been like so far? How have these cuts gone down with the crowd?

Again, thank you! We're really pleased with the initial feedback we've received for Sierra Maestra. Unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to play these tracks live yet as we haven't had any gigs in the past weeks. However, we are very excited and eager to perform them soon and can't wait to see the first videos from artists who have already played them.

So, what can your fans and ICONYC devotees come to find on Sierra Maestra? Is there an emotional trigger behind these cuts?

I think this EP is more personal, especially the tracks "Eldritch Knight" and "Sierra Maestra." We really let our inspiration flow without setting any boundaries. Raphaël sings on "Eldritch Knight," which is a first for us, and I believe it adds an even more personal touch to the track. With "Move," our followers will find a more dancefloor-oriented track in the vein of our latest EP on AMAEO.

Featuring three new original tracks, Sierra Maestra definitely paints a broad picture in terms of your creative palette and sound...Was this something that you set out to achieve from the onset? Do all three cuts stem from the same studio sessions?

It wasn't really planned or premeditated. We composed "Eldritch Knight" several months ago and sent it to Pietro, who really liked it. When he contacted us a few months later to propose an EP on ICONYC featuring this track, we quickly composed "Move" to add a more house and dancefloor-oriented side to the EP. "Sierra Maestra" was composed very quickly just a few days before finalizing the EP, so we were able to include it because it fit perfectly with the other two tracks.

There seems to be a sense of boldness running through the EP, yet all tracks manage to “undress” themselves and showcase a really “emotional” core. Is this duality something that you have consciously worked for?

Yes, this duality is something we've consciously aimed for. We believe that combining bold, energetic elements with deep emotional cores creates a more engaging and memorable listening experience. For instance, in "Eldritch Knight," the intensity of the beats is balanced by Raphaël's heartfelt vocals, adding a personal touch. Similarly, "Move" maintains a dancefloor vibe while still conveying a strong emotional resonance. "Sierra Maestra" ties everything together, showcasing both our creativity and emotional depth. This contrast is something we enjoy exploring and it reflects our artistic vision.

You guys are actually brothers, and while you have worked in music for quite some time, Esoteric Circle is a rather “new” project. When and how did you guys connect with what Esoteric Circle would come to be?

We've actually been working on Esoteric Circle for several years now. It took us some time to find our musical identity, but we've been making music together for about 5 or 6 years. Even before officially forming the duo, we were creating music together. We're happy to have finally found the sound and musical direction that suits us after all these years. Making music together has become enjoyable again, which we had somewhat lost along the way. Now, we don't set any barriers for ourselves and have a lot of fun in the studio.

So, do you have set roles in the studio? Do you tend to play on each other's strengths?

To be honest, roles tend to dissipate over the years with everyone gaining more experience. In our early years with Esoteric Circle, Raphaël was more focused on the melodic aspect of tracks since he didn't have much technical experience. Nowadays, it just depends on our respective ideas. If one of us has a melody, groove, or sample we really like, we send it to the other who adds something to it, and so on. We try to let things flow naturally.

And, being brothers, how would you describe your dynamic in the studio? What’s the age gap between you two? How do you resolve any creative differences that may arise?

We have a 7-year age difference, with Julien being 33 and Raphaël 26. We live 700 kilometers apart, so our physical studio sessions together are rare. Most of our tracks are composed remotely; we send files back and forth and discuss ideas through video calls. It works quite well, but nothing can replace our in-person studio sessions. We're quite honest with each other—if one of us doesn't like the direction of a track, we say it right away. Most of the time, though, we are on the same wavelength.

Reflecting on the sound of Sierra Maestra, are you making the music that you thought you’d be making when you first started? If not, what do you think of the voice you have found as artists?

As many can see, our style has evolved quite a bit over the past few years. The simple reason for this is that we've always wanted to compose music that we appreciated at that particular time. Where I believe we are more fulfilled is in this feeling of creative freedom that we find ourselves in today. Even though we still love the same music and are club lovers, we no longer hesitate to constantly experiment, whether it's in terms of effects, instruments, or other aspects. Using guitars or other real instruments would never have crossed our minds a few years ago. And today, that's what we've done with this EP. Perhaps it means more in that regard than the others.

By the way, moving into a hot topic…what do you guys think of the implementation of AI in music? Has any form of AI been implemented in the new album? What’s your relationship with that like?

We don't really have an opinion on artificial intelligence. For us, it's a very interesting tool and particularly efficient for certain specific tasks.

Programmers, editors.. will surely become avid users of AI, but when it comes to art in general, we are quite old school. We have a fairly clear vision regarding the prominent role of humans in artistic creation, and I think that pieces composed by AIs rather prove us right.

Now that Sierra Maestra is out, what’s next for Esoteric Circle? What new milestones are you looking forward to? Where can your fans catch you next?

We've released a lot of music since the beginning of 2024, with our two releases on AMAEO and this EP on ICONYC. We have another EP set to come out before the end of the year, which features more dub techno-inspired tracks. Additionally, a more dancefloor-oriented track might be released in the coming months, but we can't say too much about it yet as nothing is fully signed and official.

We've also launched our solo projects—Julien has created the Avero project, focusing more on Afro House, while Raphaël is launching his solo project with a style much closer to Berlin techno.

Well, thank you for your time guys! Catch you soon!

Thank you, it was great! See you around!

Esoteric Circle’s Sierra Maestra is out now via ICONYC. Buy or stream here.