Next month, Diskret will release their self-titled debut EP via Quiet Love.

The project began when longtime friends Ramon Ziegler and James Varghese were snowed in at an abandoned guest house in the Swiss Alps with just a few synthesizers, drum machines, and other toys to keep them company. They resurfaced a few days later with four songs that formed the basis of the project, which focuses on experimental ambient and beat-driven electronics.

In support of the release, Ziegler and Varghese have offered up a track from the EP as today’s XLR8R download, which, as Varghese explains below, kicked off the project proper.

“Odes was the first song we started and the last one we finished. It all began with the chord progression Ramon came up with on his old Fender Rhodes Mark I. Although it sounds very simple and organic it alternates between two sequences, the first being 6.5 bars long and the second 6 bars. We put that over a one bar drum loop so it shifts the emphasis of the beat every second time. We just sat there the whole afternoon listening to this 12.5 bar loop, fascinated by how organic it felt.

“After that we started stacking layers of synthesizers, doubling the chords and adding countermovements. There is a purpose and a reason for each element we added. And some things were happy accidents of course! We had also just modified our Roland Juno synthesizers with a new chip that gave us additional features like a built-in sequencer and polyphonic glide that we immediately made use of.

“This song really means a lot to us as it kind of symbolizes the beginning of Diskret. While working on this song we realized we were on to something. That we couldn’t just let this track rot on our hard drives. We also really love the ambivalent feelings that it evokes. It’s neither a feel-good song nor a sad one. It’s both, or none…This was going to be the first release on Quiet Love, but then Jan (Jan Wagner) came through with his album and we had to adjust the release schedule.”

You can download “Odes” below, with the EP dropping December 14.

Due to issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can download the track here.