Interview: Apeexp

General info

Artist Name: Apeexp

Real name: Angelos Katzilierakis

Age: 34

Location: Athens, Greece

How long have you been making music? I have been making music for the past 10 years or so.

Social Media / Music Links

linktr.ee/apeexp

Do you release music under a label or independently?

Independent

Creative process and inspiration

What drew you to ambient music in the first place?

I’ve always loved ambient, but to me, it’s a genre that defies strict definitions. While Brian Eno gave a classic foundation, so much music outside that framework feels inherently ambient. Ambient is anything that doesn’t demand an instant reaction of rhythm, emotion, or focus. It invites you to lean in, tune your ears, and immerse yourself in a complex tapestry of feelings. Melody sets the direction, but the true emotional color is sculpted by texture, timbre, and atmosphere.

My path here was deeply personal. I always loved music and longed to create it, but I was afraid because I didn't know how. Having no formal training or knowledge of instruments, my early attempts to make genres like Disco or French House left me struggling against rigid patterns and a musical vocabulary I didn’t possess.

What changed everything was discovering electronic hardware synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, tape loops, and cassettes. Driven by a desire to understand what sound actually is, I began exploring frequencies, timbres, and pitches. Without realizing it, I was learning music in a completely different way, not by reading notes, but by listening to sounds, fitting textures together, and building emotion based on what felt right to my ears rather than traditional musical rules.

Hardware became my greatest ally because it offers endless freedom. Traditional instruments like a piano or guitar will immediately let you know if you play a “wrong” note, which can be deeply discouraging. Synthesizers, however, allowed me to look past formal theory and embrace intuitive play, where the sonic colors themselves guide the way.

Can you describe your creative process when starting a new track?

I try to avoid preconceptions. I’m not the kind of artist who carries a predefined melody in their head and sits down to translate it into notes. Instead, I absorb emotional input from everything around me. Inspiration can strike while waiting for the subway listening to an album, or while cycling on a mountain, smelling the trees, feeling the soil, watching the horizon, and observing how tiny the city below looks. These experiences plant emotional seeds rather than specific musical ideas.

Once in the studio, my process is completely hands-on. My setup relies on two core hardware chains of synths, samplers, and guitar pedals that sculpt my overall timbre and texture. I’m deeply fascinated by time-based effects, reverbs, delays, saturation, and drive. Rather than emulating real-world spaces like a hall or a cathedral, I use multi-dimensional reverbs to architect imaginary environments where the sounds can live.

A track can start from anything: simply deciding to patch the Moog Mother-32 on a given day. As I experiment, a small melody might emerge, followed by a subtle pulse or a drum groove. Using my hardware setup, I gradually build sonic colors. I’ve learned to respect restraint, sometimes a single pad with a subtle timbre or a floating melody is all a piece needs.

Lately, I embrace the raw nature of intuitive play by recording everything live in one take. While I used to layer tracks individually, I now find that capturing a session in real-time is the most authentic way to preserve the true emotion and spirit of that specific moment.

What kinds of experiences or environments tend to inspire your work most?

I’m deeply inspired by the concept of scale, both in time and space. I often reflect on the nature of time: whether it’s linear or relative, and how perspective changes depending on where you stand. Standing on a mountain looking down at a city, seeing how small our human structures appear, or moving through different stages of life, shapes my worldview.

Nature is a massive, fundamental influence on my work. I'm fascinated by its geometry, the organic shapes that appear perfectly ordered yet beautifully imperfect to the naked eye. The physical sensations of being immersed in nature, the air, the changing atmosphere, the skies, the shifting clouds, and the colors of a sunset, fill me with an overwhelming sense of wonder, terror, and awe.

On an emotional level, I am drawn to a specific kind of nostalgia: a gentle longing for beautiful moments frozen in time, honoring feelings that remain crystallized within us.

This blends deeply with my love for Science Fiction and Dreampunk aesthetics. I’ve always been captivated by dystopian, neon-lit, rainy cityscapes like the atmospheres of Blade Runner, Neuromancer, or Birth of a New Day by 2814. Exploring futuristic landscapes through philosophy and sound design excites me endlessly.

Lastly, I’m inspired by the archetype of the Hero’s Journey across sci-fi, video games, and philosophy. The story of enduring trials, evolving through internal struggle, and reaching a state of spiritual redemption is a theme that continuously feeds into the emotional arcs of my music.

What atmosphere or emotional space are you trying to create with your music?

Ultimately, the atmosphere I create is a direct reflection of how I perceive the world and how I express myself. Music, for me, is the ultimate form of expression, it communicates things that words simply cannot explain; it can only be heard and felt.

I’m not trying to enforce a specific, rigid story on the listener. Instead, the emotional space I build is an honest snapshot of where I am at the exact moment of creation. It captures my live experiences, thoughts, inner feelings, and whatever frequency or vibration I happen to be tuned into during that session.

My goal is to offer a space where listeners can enter that same frequency, translate the sonic colors through their own life experiences, and find their own meaning within the sound.

What moment made you feel like you had truly found your sound?

The real spark happened when I acquired my first proper analog synthesizer, the Roland SE-02. Moving beyond the entry-level Volca Keys, diving into three oscillators scratched an itch for deep sonic experimentation, allowing me to build surprisingly complex atmospheres.

Pairing the SE-02 with the Strymon Deco and Chase Bliss Tonal Recall, I began crafting my first short soundscapes. That setup birthed Ingress, the very first track of the Apeexp project. It was just a single improvised line played on the SE-02, through Tonal Recall and DECO, joined by marching, toy-like drums from a Volca Sample pushed through a RAT distortion pedal.

That specific moment was a total revelation. I realized I was embarking on a unique sonic journey. From that point on, I stopped judging myself musically or comparing my work to traditional genres and artists. I fully accepted my own path, embracing the idea that whatever emerges in the moment is pure, authentic, and carries a story meant to find its own listener.

How important is storytelling in your work?

Storytelling is an inseparable part of my work, and honestly, of ambient music as a whole. Even without lyrics, storytelling happens naturally through timbres, sonic textures, and emotional shifts. It's cinematic in an abstract way, if you tune your ears and truly listen, the sound itself guides you through a narrative.

However, I don't believe in forcing a rigid storyline onto the listener. While I embed my own emotional state and experiences into the music during the session, the listener always has the final word. My goal is to paint an atmospheric canvas with sound, providing the space for everyone to project their own memories, feelings, and personal stories onto it.

What makes a track feel “finished” to you?

Nowadays, a track is finished when the performance is over. Because my process relies on live, one-take recordings and intuitive play, finishing a track is all about accepting the creation of the moment as it happened.

I usually set a rough time window, typically between 5 to 10 minutes, though sometimes the session naturally evolves and stretches to 15 or 20 minutes. My only real constraint is keeping an eye on the clock so I don't lose complete track of time. Once the setup is patched and ready, I simply surrender to the process and let the gear and emotion produce whatever result needs to be produced. The capture of that live session is the finished piece.

Which artists (or even non-musical influences) have shaped your artistic vision?

Vangelis: My absolute number one musical influence, not just for his iconic sound design, but for his entire philosophy, character, and spiritual approach to music.

David Lynch: His unique worldview and cinematic storytelling seamlessly blend space, time, and the metaphysical, which deeply shapes how I perceive atmosphere.

Philip K. Dick & Cyberpunk Literature: Masterpieces like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and William Gibson’s Neuromancer provide the dystopian, sci-fi backdrop for my imagination.

Musical Icons: Boards of Canada for their nostalgic tape textures, Tycho for his spatial aesthetics, and Aphex Twin as a massive influence on how I construct sound and approach musical creation.

Gear and setup

Are you using hardware instruments, software, or a hybrid setup?

I use an exclusively hardware-based setup. My studio is centered around two dedicated hardware chains consisting of synthesizers, samplers, tape loops/cassettes, and an extensive array of guitar effect pedals, especially time-based effects like reverbs and delays.

I stay away from soft synths or heavy DAW environments during creation. Moving physical knobs, routing signals through hardware pedals, and capturing raw, live performances in one take gives my sound an organic, tactile quality that software simply can't replicate for me.

What’s your favorite piece of gear or plugin, and why?

My favorite combination is the Yamaha MT2X four-track cassette recorder paired with the EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run. I am deeply in love with the tactile nature of magnetic tape. Writing a line at normal speed and then slowing the pitch down to half speed (or lower) unfolds a completely new universe. It feels as if you are zooming in on the sound, revealing hidden micro-details, textures, and character right down to its sonic molecules. The Avalanche Run feeds perfectly into this aesthetic, creating expansive, otherworldly spaces.

What piece of gear completely changed your workflow?

Without a doubt, the Yamaha MT2X. I literally unearthed it from a thrift store under a thick layer of dust, having been forgotten in a studio clearance for decades. Over the last 6–7 months, it became the heart of my creative setup.

It completely changed my approach because tape leaves no room for second chances. You record your track, and then you perform the tape itself,using the mixer, the faders, the EQs, and the panning knobs as a live musical instrument routed through effect pedals. It pushed me even deeper into intuitive play, transforming mixing into a real-time, irreversible performance.

Challenges

What’s been the biggest challenge so far in creating ambient music?

The biggest challenge has been letting go of self-criticism and the urge to compare myself to other established artists. For a long time, it was hard to stop putting my work into rigid boxes and simply trust my own voice.

Overcoming that required developing deep trust in my own perception. As the great Vangelis used to say, when we create, we function as antennas. Whatever frequency we are tuned into at that exact moment is what gets captured on tape, canvas, or paper.

Learning to silence the inner critic, release the fear of judgment, and step out of the way so that internal frequency can flow naturally through intuitive play has been both my hardest struggle and my greatest breakthrough.

How do you stay motivated or inspired when you're in a creative rut?

Creativity isn't a battery that stays at 100% all the time; slumps are natural. For me, staying inspired comes down to maintaining an artistic mindset in everyday life. Keeping that inner flame alive is about how you perceive the world around you.

Cycling plays a huge role in this. Long hours on the bike, listening to my breath, feeling physical endurance, observing the sun and nature through repetitive motion, becomes a form of active meditation. It shifts my perspective on existence and recharges my energy.

I’m also endlessly inspired by the history of audio technology and sound design. Thinking about how delay or reverb were created, how we attempt to replicate spaces, or the fact that capturing and storing sound on a medium is something humanity has only achieved in the last century, all of this fuels my curiosity. Reflecting on what it truly means to freeze sound in time is often all it takes to spark a new session.

How do streaming platforms affect the way you release music, or what is your relationship with those platforms?

Streaming platforms are an inescapable reality, they are the primary medium of how music is consumed today. While physical formats remain my absolute passion (and releasing my music on physical media is something I am achieving very soon), streaming is part of daily life.

It’s true that the system can be deeply unfair. The distribution of wealth is skewed, and the relentless demand for content can make artists feel more like algorithmic factory workers than creative beings. However, I believe we cannot control everything. We use the tools available to survive and share our art, while doing our best to contribute positive energy along the way.

My main issue with mainstream streaming platforms is that they often reduce ambient music to shallow background noise, slapping it into generic “study” or “sleep” playlists, ignoring its true depth and multi-dimensional character.

The major exception is Bandcamp. Bandcamp is tremendously respected in the ambient community because it truly supports emerging artists, highlights new sonic movements, and gives real power back to creators. It has become a massive, living library for ambient music, and I believe we must actively support it with our presence and releases.

What are your thoughts on AI’s impact on music and art? Have you, in any form, used it in your approach to creating and shaping ideas?

AI will undoubtedly have a massive impact, but I don't believe human ambient music has much to fear. Ambient is deeply human, complex, and emotional. Built on organic processes, tape loops, and intuitive play without rigid boundaries, its core essence relies entirely on raw human intervention. Listeners who seek real emotion will always spot that human touch.

I believe human-made music and the genuine transmission of emotion will eventually become a rare commodity and a luxury. While many artists might struggle to compete with machine output, I choose to remain on the human side. I love the physical labor, the process, and the journey of creation.

We are likely heading toward a hybrid world with two distinct realities: AI-generated music and human-crafted art. After the initial wave of AI saturation clears, a new movement will emerge. I want to believe there will always be listeners seeking real human experiences, sharing genuine emotions, and connecting with the soul behind the sound. I haven't used AI in my creative process, as my focus remains entirely on capturing that raw, unadulterated human frequency.

How do you see AI evolving in music and art? Are you cautious about it, or do you think it will increasingly function as a tool within creative workflows?

AI will inevitably evolve into a heavily integrated tool within creative workflows, but I approach it with a mix of realism and caution. While it might streamline technical tasks or generate functional background sound, it cannot replicate the unscripted, organic nature of human intuition and raw emotion.

I see two distinct paths forming: one driven by automated, machine-generated media, and another that preserves human-crafted art. After the initial wave of AI saturation clears, purely human creations, built on live physical interactions, imperfect hardware, and genuine experience will stand out even more. It will transform real human output into a rare, highly valued commodity.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my upcoming album, Circular Stillness. The entire record was built on the Yamaha MT2X and shaped through the EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run, blending two distinct synths: the raw analog power of the Dreadbox Nymphes and the digital FM textures of the Volca FM2. Everything is ultimately infused into the physical world of magnetic tape and ambient tape loops.

Conceptually, the album traces a hero's spiritual path through sound, capturing struggle, trial, recognition, acceptance, and the ultimate transition into the unknown next chapter. It merges ancient philosophical principles like Hermeticism (“as above, so below”) and the classical wisdom of moderation (metron ariston) with the cinematic surrealism of David Lynch and the narrative grandeur of Vangelis.

I won't reveal the exact release details or label/platform just yet, but it’s a deeply personal sonic voyage that distills all my core influences into a unified vision.

What advice would you give to new ambient artists?

Even though I consider myself a new artist as well, still on a path of lifelong learning alongside everyone else, my single piece of advice would be this: trust your inner voice.

Don't judge your early work, and stop comparing your progress to other artists. We each carry a completely unique perspective. Allow yourself to step freely onto your own distinct path, embrace the learning process, and trust that your natural frequency will find its way into the sound.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Abducted Android for giving me the space to share my voice, my story, and my perspective on ambient music.

This journey has taught me a vital lesson about community. When you’re creating in isolation, it’s easy to feel like nobody around you understands your sound. But the moment you start listening to your inner voice, trust yourself, and stop comparing your path to others, you begin emitting a frequency that naturally attracts like-minded souls.

The global ambient community is something truly remarkable. It’s an space where artists and listeners support one another without ego, vanity, or hidden motives, united purely by a shared devotion to sound. As we navigate this technological era and the rise of AI, maintaining real human connections through community will be more critical than ever. I am deeply honored to be part of this collective voyage.

The sound of Apeexp