Atelier: A Light That Never Goes Out

Lights Towards The Exit is Atelier’s second full-length studio album. After the release of Varsam Court at the end of 2019 on Lossless, run by mentors and friends Mathias Schober and Thomas Herb, the duo experimented with different ideas in the studio, and at the start of 2020, a common thread began to appear between a few of the tracks which laid the foundation for the sound of their second album.

In this interview, Type < / 01 Magazine caught up with Alexander & Jaś to dive deeper into the release of their new album Lights Towards The Exit, their evolution over the years, plans to revamp their live show and more.

Hi, Alexander! Jaś! How are you doing? How have you been? Thank you for joining us today.

Thanks for having us! We’re in a good place now that the album is out.

Yeah, we can only imagine! Congratulations on the release of your sophomore studio LP, Lights Towards The Exit! You must be psyched to finally have this one out. What has the initial reception been like so far?

So far so good. It’s always an odd yet special feeling to know that in this day and age, your music can be heard in so many situations and environments.

Being Lights Towards The Exit your second studio album, where does it find you in comparison to the Varsam Court sessions? In which ways have you changed as people and artists?

The first album was recorded in a beach house in South Africa and the second in Berlin, so right out of the gate there’s a strong separation that we feel. However, it’s very much still “us” at its core. Seeing as we took a long time to develop our sound even before the first album came out, we’re confident in our stylistic choices and have always treated the project as a “space to grow.”

And how would you define Lights Towards The Exit? What can your fans expect to find this time around?

We think there is a natural progression from the sound of our first album. Being in a new city with new influences and experiences shows in the music. There are more upbeat rhythms aided by recording live drums. There’s also a sense of maturity, in that over the years of working on it our technical knowledge grew but at the same time, we’re always known what we like and don’t like. The latter sometimes being more important.

As one can see, Lights Towards The Exit doesn’t feature collaborations, which is something fairly common, especially when electronic artists set out to complete a studio album…was this something that was premeditated?

We’ve always been open to collaborations, and have had some successful ones in the past - but we are also very selective. It’s an intimate space that you really have to feel deeply comfortable in with those around you in order to access that storytelling part of yourself. On this album, we had Robin Brink and a friend named Spike who recorded a lot of the live drums you hear, and in a way, our close studio friends and colleagues gave invaluable insight and feedback during the process.

Lights Towards The Exit sees you guys returning to Mathias Schober and Thomas Herb’s Lossless. Why did you guys decide to return to the imprint for this particular project? What is your relationship with the guys like by now?

After working with Lossless on our first album, they had a first option on our second album and when they heard it, they wanted to release it. We met when a mutual friend put us in touch back in 2017 and since then it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, but predominantly in our personal lives with everything that went on in the world during that time period. They are friends and mentors and we’re happy to be a part of the Lossless family.

Reflecting on the sound of Lights Towards The Exit, 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 an artist?

We mentioned it briefly earlier but it’s something that many people are not aware of - we took about 3 years of making music together with zero pressure, no deadlines, and little outside influence in order to find out two things: who are we and do we really want to do this? It’s special to be able to answer these questions together with a childhood friend, we’ve both grown a lot during this time, and having Atelier as an outlet for the creative energy that lives within, not only gives us a sense of purpose but a light at the end of the tunnel. Pun intended.

And, are there any plans to present Lights Towards The Exit in a live setting?

This is the goal. However it’s gonna take some time, we’re moving away from club shows and into more live music spaces, so it comes with a different set of challenges, but we’re optimistic about this direction.

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 both have different views on this, some positive, some ambiguous. But the short answer is no, there was no AI used while composing this album.

Now that Lights Towards The Exit is out, what’s next for Atelier? What new milestones are you looking forward to? Where can your fans catch you next?

The future is unwritten. Right now it’s about enjoying the moment, enjoying the relief of having this album out, and refining our live show. We move at our own pace. All shows and news will be posted to our Instagram, so that’s probably the best place to stay informed.

Thank you for your time guys! Best of luck with Lights Towards The Exit. Catch you soon!

Thank you, Type < / 01 Magazine!

Atelier’s Lights Towards The Exit is out now via Lossless. Buy or stream here.