I was profoundly influenced by the positive spirit of atmospheric drum & bass as a teenager in the ‘90s, and ‘Ziyal’ was the alias I took for my first published works in that musical sphere. The project was named after a beautiful character in ‘Star Trek DS9’ who attempts to bridge two warring worlds with her innocence and love until she is betrayed and killed at a young age. The music felt bright and powerful, and ‘Ziyal’ also found additional momentum early on through the prolific collaboration with the UK based artist Daljit Kundi, a friend and sonic co-pilot of mine ever since.

As time went on it began to feel to me like the ‘Ziyal’ project was cursed. A couple of labels had expressed enormous interest, signed tracks, and then… nothing. Five years of empty promises later, I found myself having to pull tracks out and try to get them released somewhere else, before I had completely moved on emotionally (this all happened before I had clear ways of self-releasing music; a process that is much more convenient now). Similar scenarios turned out to be recurring during this phase of my musical journey, as well as the emotionally tough experience of labels that cut ties after release – still controlling the distribution but not paying royalties or sharing any information.

Because of the uphill struggle, it was a relief to finally let ‘Ziyal’ go, though her spirit is alive and well. My ‘Illuvia’ project represents the merge and further evolution of ‘Alveol’ and ‘Ziyal’; both energies dancing together framed within one moniker instead of two.