Gaspar Claus to return with first album in five years, Cells

Cells arrives after Claus' 2021 debut, Tancade, and is described as an album "shaped by friction and breath". New track "Désir des astres" lands today, following earlier single "World of Idols" released in April.

Speaking about the song, Claus shares: "This theme comes from music written for a documentary. It ultimately wasn't used: the cello often carries that melancholic sweetness so unique to it, and it weighed the film down a bit. So I dug it up, reworked it, and pushed it towards an almost epic boldness. It's an ideal way to kick off the journey this album offers."

Cells was recorded with producer Basile3 in a custom-built studio, and builds upon Claus' collaborative work with contributions from Basile3 and producer, guitarist, and singer-songwriter Matt Elliott. “Basile is the ‘producer’ of this record: he turned my fantasies of transforming the cello into electronic matter into reality,” Claus says of the creative partnership.

“Most of these sounds have been processed, run through machines, transformed into more synthetic or electric sounds, sometimes more percussive. Listening to the album, I feel a kind of fertile struggle between the instrument and its digitalization. The electronics remain organic because their raw material always comes from the cello.”

Speaking about the flow of the album, Claus adds: “I like the idea that each track is a musical cell, both autonomous and connected to the others. However, the album is not based on any particular concept. Music, especially instrumental music, doesn’t necessarily need a narrative or discourse imposed on it.”

Cells artwork

Cells tracklist

"World of Idols"
"Désir des astres"
"Amour constrictor (fugue)"
"Cells"
"Chrysalis"
"Cupidon (feat. Matt Elliott)"
"Die Wahl Der Wögel"
"Ecstacy"
"Colaïdo"
"El Paradis Són Els Altres"