Fractal Sextet
Fire and Grace
by Anil Prasad
Copyright © 2024 Anil Prasad.

Fractal Sextet: Stephan Thelen, Jon Durant, Fabio Anile, Colin Edwin, Andi Pupato, and Yogev Gabay | Collage: Stephan ThelenTransforming compositional and rhythmic complexity and ambition into beauty is at the heart of Fractal Sextet’s creative process.
 
The band, comprised of guitarists Stephan Thelen and Jon Durant, keyboardist Fabio Anile, bassist Colin Edwin, drummer Yogev Gabay, and percussionist Andi Pupato, is a worldly affair. Its members hail from America, Britain, Israel, Italy, and Switzerland.

They first came together in mid-2022 to extend the possibilities Thelen first explored on his Fractal Guitar album trilogy, released between 2018 and early 2022. Anile, Durant, Gabay, and Pupato all contributed to those recordings which seamlessly combine cascading delay patterns, shifting time signatures, and polyrhythms, all filtered through an expansive rock mindset.

The Fractal Guitar recordings were built around Thelen’s compositions and direction. As Thelen continued working with the musicians across the years, he realized a deep chemistry was emerging. Thelen felt the appropriate next step was to cement a fully-fledged, collaborative band and have everyone provide comprehensive input into the shape and direction of the music. With the addition of Gabay, Fractal Sextet became a reality.

The debut self-titled Fractal Sextet album emerged in September 2022 and proved an exhilarating and fulfilling challenge for its members to assemble. It was put together during the COVID-19 pandemic, with recordings made in Rome, London, Portland, and Zurich, and then integrated and refined by Thelen. The result was an intricately sculpted and propulsive highlight of that year’s crop of new music releases.

The enthusiasm for the record from both the band and listeners yielded tremendous motivation for the cross-continental group to continue. Given the distances between the members, and the success of their established remote recording approach, they chose to pursue a similar route when realizing the new Fractal Sextet LP, Sky Full of Hope.

The recording leans further into art rock territory, and more holistically represents the group as a collective entity. With a cross-pollination comfort zone already in play, its members felt even more adventurous when it came to contributing their perspectives. That enabled the pieces to rapidly evolve beyond the initial structures provided by Thelen and Anile.

Notably, as the album title intimates, the band seeks to communicate optimism and positivity in an ever-darkening world. Together, they provide a unique showcase of the value of elegantly blending multiple forms, modes of expression, and viewpoints.

Photo: Michael Bearpark

Discuss Fractal Sextet’s mission and how the lineup came together.

Thelen: I was talking to Jon on the phone and we both agreed it would be a great idea to have a steady band that could perform the material of the first two Fractal Guitar albums, which were both studio projects. It was clear to us Fabio and Andi would have to be part of this band, as they both played such a major role in creating the sonic atmospheres of the Fractal Guitar universe. Jon was also keen on asking Colin to join the band, knowing that he would bring a new dimension to the music, as the bass parts on the Fractal Guitar albums had been played on touch guitars which sound very different compared to Colin's bass lines. The only real question was who the drummer should be. It had to be somebody who could handle all the polyrhythms. Colin had heard of Yogev Gabay from Israel who had a YouTube Channel on polyrhythmic drumming and who was a big Porcupine Tree fan. So I checked out his videos and was immediately convinced he was the perfect drummer for us.

We wanted to record our first album together in the studio, but the COVID-19 pandemic and travel issues made that very difficult. So we decided to record by sharing files in a similar way that the Fractal Guitar albums were recorded, but with the difference that it was no longer just me making the decisions. Everybody recorded their parts at home with the exception of Yogev, who flew to Zürich to record his tracks at Powerplay Studio. The two days with Yogev in the studio were two of the best days of my musical life. Yogev was so well prepared and skillfully played the complicated beats with such fire, grace, and good taste that the engineer Reto Muggli and I just sat behind the mixing desk with our jaws on the floor.

In contrast to some other of my projects like Sonar or my string quartet compositions, I don't really think Fractal Sextet is very minimalism-oriented. It's groove-oriented for sure, with many new kinds of polyrhythmic beats at the core, but the amazing thing about this band is how well the six members, who all come from very different musical backgrounds, fit together. Everybody brings their highly individual voice and distinct personality into the mix to create this magically glowing sound that nobody could have planned in advance.

What evolution does Sky Full of Hope represent for the group beyond the debut album?

Thelen: I think it's a looser, more free-flowing and more emotional album that still has all the polyrhythmic interplay and the deep ambient atmospheres of the first album. It also has some new sonic elements like the Minimoog and Azzam Bells which make it a more colorful album.

Durant: For me, the new album is definitely more emotionally-centered than the first one. Also, I feel as though everyone was really much more ready for what the music would entail. Having been through the first one, we all felt much more prepared for what we could do as an ensemble and what we could each bring to the music.

Anile: While the first album was a bit like getting to know each other and discovering the group’s potential, the new one  has a more defined focus as it aims for a more precise and emotionally richer musical direction. However, to me, this album is not a final destination, but rather a starting point from which to develop new ideas in the future.

Edwin: I think the first album was a very successful thing, artistically speaking, and also from the point of view of it being a place where everyone was playing to their strengths. Despite the odd time and polyrhythmic nature of the music, the first album was very warm and accessible, and Sky Full of Hope is even more so.

Pupato: The first album is significant in many ways. One is that it represents the igniting spark of this incredible ensemble. In some ways, it opened our minds to where to go with Sky Full of Hope, which, in my view, is a more intricate and multifaceted work. It is home to an array of new sounds, “music ghosts,” and collective ideas that each member contributed. Through this process, we truly refined and expanded our shared musical vocabulary, allowing our collaboration to reach new dimensions.

Gabay: Making the first record felt like jumping into a pool of cold water—I didn’t know what to expect, and everything was new and exciting, which I loved. This time around, I was much more mentally and stylistically prepared. The music feels more focused and deliberate, especially with these specific band members in mind. I was able to fine-tune my contributions and solidify my parts, and I feel the rest of the band did the same. Each album has its own unique character, and I love them both.

Photo: Nino Barletta

Describe the unique opportunity Fractal Sextet represents for you, individually.

Durant: Fractal Sextet for me is an opportunity to explore musical approaches I wouldn’t necessarily pursue on my own. Stephan and Fabio have such tremendous compositional approaches which are very different from my own. But they allow me so much flexibility to create something utterly unique. Oftentimes, I will get a starting groove to play over, and then they will orchestrate around what I’ve done in really cool ways. But it’s always amazing to have such incredible music and the freedom to completely be myself as a guitarist, and always be pushed to go beyond.

Anile: When you're working with musicians of this caliber, every sound fragment and idea can take unexpected directions. I think of Jon’s use of the fretless guitar with its unusual tones, Stephan’s use of delay effects, Andi’s use of tuned percussion, and so on. Fractal Sextet represents, for me, a constant stimulus to explore new ideas and sounds, pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Edwin: The compositions have a hyper focus on certain aspects of rhythm and the interplay between sometimes opposing aspects of time, and the inherent tension that this creates. For my part, there’s a paradoxical need to be completely locked in but the music also offers the freedom of a long form to explore that tension and macro space totally. There are frequent moments where things break out, and some unexpected aspect comes to the fore or there’s a change in the structure. As a bass player, I absolutely love exploring the lesser-visited rhythmic patterns and ideas that Fabio and Stephan come up with. Fractal Sextet is also a highly-layered, textural space. It’s an area I’m familiar with and comfortable in, so that’s an additional thing to explore.

I had a lot of comments from people telling me the first album sounded a bit like early Porcupine Tree material. I really couldn’t hear that myself and still can’t, but I will admit it does share a certain expansive sonic territory. I feel Fractal Sextet has a rare group improvisational feel similar to something like Can, even though there are featured solos throughout.

Pupato: Creating music at this level, alongside such outstanding musicians, is one of the most fulfilling experiences an artist can have. In the creative process, a profound connection is forged between everyone involved, and it is this synergy that amplifies the artistic energy in ways that are both magical and indescribable. The opportunity to further explore this vast, shared musical universe feels extraordinary, unique, and profoundly enriching.

Gabay: Being the drummer for this band is one of the most satisfying musical experiences I’ve had. The music Stephan and Fabio write is so rhythmically driven that the grooves I play are quite complex, which I love. Most songs typically revolve around one or two rhythmic ideas that repeat and gradually build, creating a wide sense of space. This allows me to think in broader forms and explore slowly-evolving ideas, resulting in drum parts I never imagined before. Jon’s guitar work significantly contributes to this expansive feeling. Plus, playing alongside a rhythm section like Andi and Colin is a dream come true for any drummer.

Photo: Stephan Thelen

What are the biggest challenges, risks, and rewards you experience when working together?

Durant: This is an ensemble with six very distinct musical voices, each bringing something special to the music. And each with their own history of having a larger say in the compositional process. But with that, the primary composer–either Stephan or Fabio–will have very specific things they are hearing, so on some rare occasions we can get into heated discussions over a solo or part that maybe they are hearing differently than I am. On the other hand, there are many more times when we absolutely know immediately that we’re into something really special that maybe the composer hadn’t anticipated.

Anile: I’d say challenge and risk go hand in hand. When Stephan asked me to compose a piece for our first album, I wanted to “test” Yogev. We had found this very good drummer who was experienced with odd time signatures and polymeters, so I thought, “Let’s see what happens if I write something really rhythmically challenging.” That's how “Planet Nine” came about, which alternates between 15/8 and 14/8 time signatures. It was a challenge for myself  to compose the piece and Yogev nailed it right away. In general, the biggest risk when working with complexity is losing the emotional aspect, but I believe each of us places the highest importance on emotion in that regard.

Edwin: There are some obvious technical challenges in the music, with some of the odder rhythmic aspects being a challenge to perform and absorb. The risk would be the failure to bring things to life in a way that just makes things sound like some esoteric intellectual exercise, which would be pointless. For me, the reward has been hearing how things have all come to life so successfully with everyone in the band giving their all.

Pupato: Recording this album was great fun and an exciting experience. The flow of music and the recording process itself felt so organic and fluid. Despite the freedom I sometimes embraced, it was also deeply challenging at times. Given the complexity of the material, crafting and refining specific parts demanded an immense amount of focus and, at times, quite literally, sweat.

Gabay: The challenges of working with this band come from several aspects. The first is learning the grooves themselves. The music is rhythmically advanced, so I find myself practicing for hours at slow tempos until I get them right. After that, the emotional aspect comes into play. I need to make the math work. It has to sound like music. Numbers crossing each other can easily end up sounding like a practice exercise. Something I absolutely love about this band is that the music never feels like mere rhythm exercises. It’s always musical, vibey, and emotionally deep.

Another challenge is that we’re recording separately. While this has become standard and got a boost especially after COVID-19, Fractal Sextet music is so dynamic and rich that playing it alone requires a lot of imagination. I often find myself thinking about how the band would react, and that’s quite a challenge.

Photo: Mirifoto

Describe the creative and decision-making process and how it differed from the first album.

Anile: I wouldn't say the creative process has changed. Sometimes Stephan has specific requests, but essentially, everyone is free to interpret the compositions as they wish. On the new album, for example, there's a field recording captured by Andi. It just sounded right in the context of the track, so we used it. Personally, when I compose for the group, I try to leave as much space as possible for the other musicians, so that new ideas can emerge.

Stephan, Jon, and Fabio all have significant processing, textural, and melodic capabilities available to them. How do you determine who is at the forefront of those roles on any given piece?

Thelen: It's not planned in advance. Somebody starts a process and then the others start adding voices according to what they feel is needed. What’s amazing and very unique in this band is that everybody almost always likes what the others have done, there is rarely a difficult discussion about newly-added parts. We surprise and inspire each other almost every time.

Durant: It’s really very open to whoever has an idea. And with this group, there is no shortage of ideas. A large amount of the textures on this album, as well as the first one, are mine, but Stephan’s fractal guitar parts have a huge role, too. And Fabio’s orchestrations around a lot of my melodic parts are incredibly powerful. On the title track, my solo ends with a really strong melodic statement that Stephan orchestrated to turn it into the final melodic theme.

Anile: This is perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the band, because there isn't one instrumentalist who stands out above the others. We haven't assigned ourselves specific roles, and this works because we clearly have the ability to feel what the music needs, what spaces should be filled or left open, and which sounds can coexist harmoniously. In this sense, Fractal Sextet is like a shapeshifting creature that remains true to itself.

How do Stephan's and Jon’s guitar approaches complement each other and work together?

Durant: The reason our playing complements each other so well is that we are very different as players. As a soloist, I tend to take more of an emotional melodic approach, and Stephan is much more rhythmically grounded. And one thing I really try to do in Fractal Sextet especially is to push the melodies around bar lines because the rhythms underneath are so tight and steady that I feel like my role is to break that pulse to make sure it’s not totally static.

Anile: Here, too, the distinct personalities of Stephan and Jon come to the forefront. While Stephan prefers to explore more Fripp-like sounds, Jon has a more classical approach and an extremely melodic one that I really love. It’s fantastic to have two guitarists who don't step on each other's toes, as often happens in so many bands.

Jon, you describe what you do as cloud guitar. Explore what that is and how it contributes to the moods and atmospheres of the music.

Durant: Cloud guitar is my name for the textural things I do that are long delay-based sounds that hang in the air without an obvious start or finish, like clouds–much like David Torn’s textures or Robert Fripp’s soundscapes. In Fractal Sextet, they create a textural bed that a listener might think are synth pads, but they’re all guitar. They add a wonderful atmosphere, often adding a slight sense of uncertainty about where things are heading. Another use of them on these albums is a technique that began with Burnt Belief, in which Colin or I will take these drifting sounds that have no tempo, and slice them up into rhythmic pulses in tempo with the song. On “Ladder to the Stars,” starting around 2:30, there’s an example of that concept where it sounds almost like a VCS3 synth.

Photo: Benedetta Balloni

Colin, discuss your approach to the bass role within the group.

Edwin: In a broad sense, the role of the bass in Fractal Sextet is the same as in most other ensemble settings. There’s a responsibility, for the most part, to keep everything grounded so that the rest of the group have a solid foundation to work on top of. The music demands a very disciplined approach because there are interlocking patterns and rhythmic accents that need to be there to establish the foundational stability and maintain the often hypnotic nature of the pieces.

That said, there is within that, the opportunity to react to some other elements that might appear, such as the dynamic changes that come with the way a solo might be developing, or a spot where Yogev increases the density of the drum part which will then allow the bass to change in a certain way.

My approach is similar to what I usually do to try and develop a bass part–listen and react as much as possible. To take the example of the title track, the bass part is very similar throughout the piece and based around a particular short figure. But as the tune progresses, it responds to changes in the dynamics, both in volume and also the legato or staccato nature of the bass notes. Other changes happen subtly as things move along.

I am not overly analytical so it’s always an attempt to be as simpatico as possible with what everyone else is doing while keeping the foundation interesting. Overall, Fractal Sextet has much more of the essence of pure minimalism than any other set up I’ve been part of, and I really enjoy exploring that aspect of music.

What informs when a solo emerges or when a musician diverges from the relative contiguous path of a composition?

Durant: That depends on where I come in within the compositional process. Within Fractal Sextet, I’m often early in Stephan’s process, so he will often compose around my solos and flesh out the full composition after I’ve done a solo. But in a larger context, I feel like solos should feel like compositions in and of themselves. In a great solo, there should be melody, dynamics, flow, and form. And sometimes, that needs to really take you out of the original space of the composition. Other times, it might feel better to stay inside. But it’s all about feel for me, rather than a set of rules.

Anile: In most cases, the demo of the track already includes some sections dedicated to solos, but not always. In “Uneven,” I had planned a drum and percussion solo, to which I added a prepared piano. On the other hand, the final solo in “Sky Full of Hope” wasn’t planned. I simply felt it was the right thing to play at the right moment, and it worked. It has never happened that someone strayed from the path of the composition, and that’s a bit of a magic. It really seems like the band has the ability to think and express itself as a single, unified organism.

Edwin: Listening back, it always feels to me that the solos, or featured parts are really just part of an overall flow which takes as long as it takes.

Fabio, explore the freedom you have within the group and the multiple colors and functions keyboards serve in it.

Anile: Sometimes Stephan asks me to use a particular sound for certain parts, but overall I feel very free to choose the tones I believe best suit a piece. For Fractal Sextet's sound, I generally like to use both acoustic and electric pianos, but there are many other sounds and timbres I incorporate. In this album, you can hear the Minimoog and other sound effects scattered here and there. I like having a distinctive sound, so many of the sounds I use with Fractal Sextet are programmed by me, like the sound you hear in the final solo of “Sky Full of Hope.”

Thelen: Fabio asked me if I was interested in co-writing a piece called “Four Hands,” because it would obviously take our four hands to write it. He sent me what was basically a bass riff in 10/4 and a melodic pattern grouped 3+4+3. One of the compositional tools I often use is to take a pattern, in this case the pattern that Fabio had suggested, and play it against the same pattern in different speeds and different registers. It's a very minimalistic idea that creates complexity out of a simple building block and has this interesting effect of static motion. At the end of the piece, for example, you can simultaneously hear the original pattern in quarter notes, the same pattern as a bass line in half notes one octave lower, the pattern in eighth notes an octave higher, and also in sixteenth notes two octaves higher. So, you could just as well call the piece “Four Speeds” or “Four Octaves.”

Anile: I suggested to Stephan that we write a piece together. I presented him with a rhythmic idea in 10/8 and some musical fragments, using specific sounds, particularly the electric piano, to create a sonic environment. Stephan then developed those initial ideas, using his usual techniques. Stephan and I share a rather similar minimalist approach to music. When we met in person for the recording of Music for Piano and Strings, we discovered that we had very similar listening habits and experiences. But beyond this common background, what I find most interesting in our collaborations is, in fact, what differentiates us and is rooted in our respective cultures: a more North European approach for Stephan and a more Mediterranean approach for me.

Talk about the new version of “Ladder to the Stars,” originally from Stephan’s Fractal Guitar 2, and how this group interprets it.

Thelen: The main difference between the new version and the version on Fractal Guitar 2 is that Jon and Fabio significantly expanded the harmonic range of the piece, introducing chord changes and more chromatic elements. Fabio is really good at orchestrating Jon’s solos and here you will find a great example of that. The rhythm section is also really cooking on this track, which is quite an achievement when you consider that the main bass riff is in 11 and that many other rhythms in 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10 are simultaneously going on.

The focus is clearly on space and supportive performances within the rhythm section. Discuss the collective approach Andi, Colin, and Yogev share.

Pupato: Finding the right texture, instrument, or sound for each piece is always a challenge, but in this case, the recording process greatly facilitated that exploration. I could develop intricate patterns, listen back, and cross-check ideas against the broader structure. From the very beginning, there was always a shared musical and rhythmic aesthetic between us, and an underlying harmony that anchored everything we created.

Edwin: I think you either understand minimalism and space in music or you don’t. Clearly everyone in Fractal Sextet gets it.

Reductionism is sometimes a little game I play with myself when recording. I attempt to leave out as much as possible and still contribute something which works well as a bass part. The legendary bass player Duck Dunn once gave advice along the lines of “Think of something to play and then play half of what you first thought of.” Despite being in a very different area of music to Dunn, it was an idea that stuck in my mind and it has amazed me how often I’ve found it useful to consider over the years.

Gabay: Anyone can create busy music. I once heard a great quote from percussion master B.C. Manjunath, who said, “Complicated and complex are not the same thing. Complicated is easy to make. Complex is where the magic is.” That really resonates with me.  A lot of polyrhythmic music tends to be complicated and extreme, but I feel this band truly nails it. The patterns we play as a rhythm section are very adventurous, featuring multiple layers and rhythms stacked on top of one another. However, the atmosphere and vibe of the pieces carry a mantra-like, zen, almost tribal quality that blurs the line and infuses the music with deep emotion. I feel like Andi and Colin really understand this and express it beautifully, and I hope I do too.

Photo: Anouck van Oordt

Explain the polyrhythmic component of the music and the creative opportunities it enables to emerge.

Pupato: Polyrhythms play a key role in Fractal Sextet’s music. By layering different rhythmic patterns, we create intricate textures that challenge both the performer and the listener. Due to their complexity, some polyrhythms can shape the underlying structure of the entire composition, requiring us to deeply connect and resonate with the music.

Edwin: We are accustomed to three- or four-beat measures and cycles in music, and everyone playing the same cycle length simultaneously, which is the default mode of the vast majority of the music around us.

Polyrhythm is basically a rhythmic tension created by simultaneously playing two or more different rhythms. When I work with less typical time lengths, or so-called odd time signatures, and cycles like 7 and 5, I try to absorb them and make them feel natural to myself and the average listener. It’s an interesting challenge. It should also be said that a lot of these odd times are natural in other non-Western cultures. The creativity comes from it all being a less regular rhythmic format than usual, so on bass for example, I am forced to absorb and get comfortable with an unfamiliar phrasing and I’m not able to fall back on regular patterns in order to create an idea or expand on an existing one.

Gabay: Most Western music tends to rely on a single rhythmic idea at a time, which drives the song forward. All musicians adhere to that idea, creating a unified, solid, and unmistakable rhythmic identity. A polyrhythm, on the other hand, involves two or more rhythmic ideas played simultaneously, that compete for your attention in a way. This is what makes these patterns so magical. Both listeners and performers can interpret a piece in different ways, which is one reason why these grooves feel so special.

In the music of the Fractal Sextet, there’s so much space that I, as the drummer, have a unique opportunity to gradually explore each side of the polyrhythm and shift the song's feel to different places. I love this aspect of the band. I rarely get a chance to dive into a pattern the way I can here. Typically, these rhythmic sections are short and very deliberate, but here they span a much broader range, which I absolutely love.

Discuss how Andi and Yogev’s percussion elements mesh to propel the music forward.

Pupato: Our music truly unfolds as an open universe of ideas, especially when it comes to rhythmic ideas. These interwoven structures form the very DNA of Fractal Sextet’s sound. Sometimes I felt like a scientist, carefully calculating Euclidean rhythms and developing the intricate percussion parts, then embracing total freedom, experimenting with special metallic percussion instruments and piezo-electronic microphones.

Yogev’s drumming is truly exceptional and also really inspiring when it comes to adding more elements to the rhythm parts. His mind-bending polyrhythms and captivating groove create moments in which I can lock in with something as simple as a shaker, allowing us to drive and propel the rhythm together in a seamless flow. There were also many specific composition requests for percussion parts from the beginning, which I deeply appreciated. This approach gives each element a sense of purpose and allows even the smallest details to become integral to the piece. Collaborating on that rhythmic layer with Yogev, who brought so many cool ideas, sometimes inspired by classical Indian music, was truly an extraordinary experience.

Gabay: Playing with Andi is truly every drummer's dream. I often feel that no matter what I play, Andi has a way of making it sound way cooler. His rich rhythmic vocabulary, textured thinking, and mastery of multiple instruments make him the ideal collaborator for this band. He has an incredible instinct for knowing when and how to reinforce a drum part—sometimes by simply doubling it, or occasionally by adding a single bell hit at just the right moment. While I lay down the majority of the rhythmic engine for the songs, Andi brings them to life.

What does the future hold for Fractal Sextet in terms of recordings and performances?

Thelen: We already have some material for a third album, but what we all really want to do is to play live. Unfortunately, this is logistically and financially very difficult because we all live in different parts of the world and touring has become so incredibly expensive. But we are looking at possibilities for live gigs in 2025 and 2026. These would only be in Europe. As much as I love to play in the U.S., the current costs of visas there is way over the top for a band like us.

As a global enterprise, what larger statement do you feel Fractal Sextet’s music is making?

Thelen: The music of the Western hemisphere is very advanced in a harmonic, melodic and sonic sense. But rhythmically, most of its music is based on simplistic and one-dimensional concepts. Somebody once told me that there’s a reason why most of our music is in 4/4 and that the reason has to do with the fact that listeners need that kind of stability, otherwise they get disoriented. I don’t believe that at all. It’s a matter of what you grew up with. I now live in Romania where traditional music is often in 7/4 and for the people here, there’s nothing unusual or disorienting about that. My hope is that the music of Fractal Sextet contributes to a more advanced and more multi-dimensional understanding of rhythms in which odd meters, polyrhythmic beats, and isorhythms are no longer considered to be strange and exotic. I still believe that “it doesn’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing,” but hopefully we can elevate the complexity of “swing” to the next level.

Durant: This really is music of togetherness. Despite having had to record it remotely, separately, this really is all about listening and coming together to create a whole that is way better than any of us could achieve individually. And wouldn’t it be nice if there was more of that approach in the polarized world in which we are living?

Anile: I like to think that the fact that each of us comes from different countries and cultures is, in itself, a statement—that there are no cultural barriers and that the mix of different cultures represents richness for humanity. In fact, the polyrhythmic approach we use in our work is rooted in cultures very different from the ones we come from.

Edwin: This will sound like a terrible cliché but it’s true that although we might be divided geographically, we have easily found a mutually-satisfying creative area and a shared purpose through the common language of music. There is an obvious message in there for anyone who cares to contemplate it.

Gabay: Just chill. Everyone needs to relax a bit more. The music we make really takes a step back in a way. It takes a slow and deep breath and has an overarching slowness to it that really calms me down. In a world in which screen time is God, and every second of your fractured attention span is monetized, I hope our music can bring a calmer and more nuanced element to the world. And if we can throw in a polyrhythm or two in there, even better.

Pupato: We, Fractal Sextet, speak a universal language through sound and music, which can bring people together even in the most challenging times. In these layered beats, complex rhythms, textures, and melodies, we’re after something that’s not just heard but felt, inviting everyone to ride the groove with us, find harmony in the unexpected, and embrace music as both a journey and a discovery.