JDNB INTERVIEWS

BILLIAN JDNB INTERVIEW

Few artists in drum & bass or electronic music more broadly operate on the same level of intensity as Billain.

A sound designer, visual artist, and storyteller, he has built an entire universe around his music that stretches far beyond the club into film, gaming, and visual art.

His long-awaited new album "Mirror" is out now on Evolution Chamber, and it is not just another LP.

Seventeen tracks deep, it is an odyssey through Drum & Bass, Neuro-hop,

ambient and experimental electronics, bending form and expectation into something cinematic and immersive.

It is brutal in places, intricate in others, and always pushing at

the edges of what is possible.

The album's scope is vast.

Alongside heavyweight solo productions, it includes collaborations with German duo Rawtekk on "Dystopia" and with Magnetude on "Glass Fortress" further broadening the emotional and sonic palette.

First unveiled dramatically

at this summer's Let It Roll Festival with a full Evolution Chamber stage takeover and an "Eyetifacts" treasure hunt, "Mirror" arrives as more than just a record.

It is a full-concept release, complete with artwork, collectables, and interactive elements designed to pull listeners inside Billain's distorted world.

In this interview, we dig into the story behind "Mirror" the decade of ideas that shaped it, and Billain's vision for breaking boundaries across sound, visuals, and human connection.

"Mirror" feels like a complete universe, not just an album. What was the starting

point for it - sound, concept, or something else entirely?

Mirror is a part of a narrative cluster of albums that have a mission to break free from

constraints of formats, genres, and separation. The starting point was my vivid dreams, which evolved into a clear idea.

One day, I decided to draw small sketches of things I saw in them. They defined the start of the narrative, outlining the images that I eventually began incorporating into vinyl artworks. Blockfield was the first one; "Colossus" followed, then "Colonize" "&quot" "Extraction" and so on. Giving visuals to music is something destined to happen in this art form, at this point, unavoidable and undeniable, as it resonates even with people listening and seeing it for the first time. It gave birth to a movement called "Cyberneuro."

You've said this is your most unfiltered work. What did you need to let go of, or

embrace, to make that happen?

Many factors were involved in influencing a life's creators work, as they pour emotions of different kinds into the work to set them in stone and bring them to life. Like my previous albums, the Span of this album's works dates back to 2014, with a multitude of emotions as we fly through uncontrollably, leaving brushstrokes of momentum and energy that eventually need a hardcover like any other creator's creative journey.

This is why I believe in albums being "books" where a writer has to set you on a trip. I am glad that some older tracks get to be finished, so another album sees the light of day, containing a decade of work and journey. The unfiltered truth is that it does not undergo specific curation, as people trust me and give me no boundaries on how long or what genre the album should be.

From ambient textures to chaotic breakbeats, there's a vast range across the

album. How do you hold all that sonic chaos together?

I learned in the most boring places in my life during years and years of sound design

work, and starting from techno, hiphop, to house music for business ads, breakbeat out of curiosity...the general rule is, the more genres you know the rules, the better

musician at heart you become, and sound design is all one needs to be a technician to tie that in an audible spectrum so the chaos sticks in a seamless weld. Then you break the rules and watch reactions undergo a significant change in how people judge neurofunk, for example, from the standpoint of standardization. Everyone needs a breath of fresh air eventually. Stagnating is what kills entire music scenes, so I tend to be the passionate enemy of that.

You debuted the album at Let It Roll with a full-stage takeover and the

"Eyetifacts" treasure hunt. Why was it essential for you to add that layer of interactivity?

I was never a poser on stage; the cult of personality is probably a good business model, but the music and the story of it are more critical than the finely tuned product of fashion and short-term trends. For me, how people experience music comes first, and realizing the importance of connecting with people, I always think about how to give more, so leaving "Eyetifacts" the eyes drawn on 8000+ stones for 16 years around the world, was one way to connect with total strangers who might later be people you know well.

For me, it was always about building bridges on an individual level as a citizen of Earth, transcending the boundaries created by society, because compared to a trend, this connection never fades away. For a creator, this is one way to really do it sincerely and really feel that you are growing and being in touch with the world around you.

Where does "Mirror" sit in your more expansive creative universe, especially

alongside AETHEK and your film and game work?

The mirror is at the precipice, examining you and me in a series of reflections that have faces up to your interpretation. The mirror font on the artwork is backwards, as if you are the reflection of a person, prompting you to consider yourself thinking about yourself from the other side: the grief, the path, the happiness, the sadness - all of it is a part of your personality that can be translated into music. People also pick which track you made, utilizing what emotions; it almost feels as if there is a sixth sense of detecting this engraving of a deed. So the Mirror album introspects, making you the character in my story. You will pick a reflective vinyl sleeve, and your face reflection will match the outline of the artwork. You, holding the vinyl, is some of my best artwork. Are you a protagonist or a villain? This is the story of who Broel and Kira are facing.

Also, consider this: many people now remember tracks by the character we posted on Soundcloud, associated with that track, such as the Rorschach-like red figure tied to the "Ketchup" track, or the turquoise track branching out from the "Forcefield" character. People do remember faces, and if the tracks are the things to remember, then let's give them faces.

"Mirror" is many things at once: an album, an artwork, a narrative, even a puzzle for

listeners to explore. Above all, it is Billain unchained. Across seventeen tracks, he distils years of emotion, experiment, and relentless innovation into one body of work that does not sit neatly in any box.

For fans of drum & bass, it is a reminder of how far the genre can stretch. For anyone drawn to experimental art in its purest form, it is an invitation into a world of distorted reflections, cryptic messages, and unfiltered creativity.

Billain has always been an artist who refuses to compromise. With "Mirror" he takes that stance further than ever. It is not just about listening, it is about seeing yourself in the music, confronting both the darker and lighter parts of the reflection, and deciding where you stand in his universe.

Stream or buy the album now via Evolution Chamber: https://lnk.to/EVOC071.

Billain // Instagram - Spotify - Soundcloud

Evolution Chamber // Instagram - Spotify - Soundcloud