Interview: Digard

From spectral morphing to deep listening, Paris-based ambient artist Digard (Aurélien Digard) crafts immersive soundscapes shaped by constraint and introspection. His debut album Scapes explores texture over melody, inviting the listener into a world of abstraction and hidden detail. In this interview, Digard opens up about his creative process, modular setup in VCV Rack, and the influence of artists like Lustmord and Forest Management. We also catch a glimpse of upcoming collaborations and future sonic explorations. Dive in and discover the subtle power behind his ambient universe.

General info

Artist Name: Digard

Age: 41

Location: Paris, France

Social Media / Music Links

digard.bandcamp.com

mastodon.social/@digard

How long have you been making music?

25 years.

Do you release music under a label or independently?

Independent

Creative process and inspiration

What drew you to ambient music in the first place?

My first contact must have been the album "Heresy" by Lustmord, but it was really with the album "Black One" by Sunn O))) released in 2005 that I was fascinated by the fact that a song could have an evocative force without any percussive instrument, while remaining very repetitive. The riff from "It took the Night to Believe" haunted me for a very long time... Although Sunn O))) isn't strictly speaking a pure ambient project, its aesthetic certainly guided me towards the ambient genre.

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

There is always a phase of exploratory play by voluntarily limiting myself to a limited number of plug-ins in order to give me a creative constraint. If I judge that the result of this improvisation is interesting in terms of textures and atmosphere, then I try to keep the process used on a whole series of pieces in order to compose an album. This is the case for my first release "Scapes", which is the result of experiments on spectral morphing between two distinct audio sources.

Where do you find inspiration? Emotion, nature, science fiction, or something else?

I believe that every life experience can nourish a melting pot of sensations, memories, and dreams, which will inevitably be reflected in our art. Whether it's cultural objects, the places we find ourselves, the season of the year, or social relationships, everything infuses into our creative process in a more or less conscious way.

How would you describe your sonic identity or the mood you aim to create?

I have only released a first album, so the sonic identity will be built over time, but I hold on to certain aspects in my artistic expression: abstraction, sustained tonalities, with very few melodic progressions, the search for a deep listening experience in which certain elements are present subliminally, hidden in the mix. I try to solicit the listener's imagination, leave as much room as possible for them to make their own interpretation.

Are there any artists that deeply influenced your style?

Among the references that have touched me the most: the dub-techno from Deepchord, or much more recently, Forest Management, an artist from Chicago who is capable of creating an introspective journey with minimal production. I think about Hiemal also, a French dark-ambient project, which, when listened very carefully with headphones, reveals ghostly layers of sound that seem to come from our imagination.

Gear and setup

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

Currently, I mainly use VCV Rack software (a simulation of Eurorack, and so much more) that I control with a Midi Fighter Twister, which allows me to improvise by taking my head out of the screen a little, and I only use Reaper to record my songs directly on a single stereo track, mix them and master them. I love the flexibility that a computer offers, the saving of presets, the small footprint, the quick setup for a live performance. I have to admit that I feel very little attraction for analog gear, unless they have a very compact ergonomics while offering plenty of possibilities. These instruments fortunately exist more and more, but it is still not enough for me to do without a laptop.

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

For VCV Rack enthusiasts, the ultimate module is, in my opinion, MindMeld's Shapemaster, which is an oscillation generator that can be used for absolutely everything: ADSR envelope, LFO, step-sequencer, quantizer, VCO, automation curves, and can be synchronized to the clock if you opt for the paid version... Once you've tried it, it almost becomes a cheat code that revolutionizes the way you can create patches in the software.

Challenges

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

Personally the challenge comes after the recording process. It's about being patient before deciding to release some music, letting the tracks rest for a few months to listen to them again with a fresh perspective, and finally validate or not the final result. Rushing can lead to a certain form of regret, even denial. This has happened to me before, to the point of deleting music posted online in the past...

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

Until now, I've always worked in creative cycles lasting a few weeks only, between which I put musical composition aside, to play a lot of Magic the Gathering for example. So I rarely get stuck in a creative rut. However, I'm trying to change that and compose on a much more regular basis. I noticed that working on sound design just for a few minutes a day is like training a muscle; it encourages new ideas to constantly emerge. On the contrary, taking too long breaks feels like you have to start from scratch again.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

By the time you read this interview, I'll have played a nearly three-hour set at the Musée de la Poste (in Paris) with Ujjaya, a leading figure in the ethno-ambient scene here in France, and we plan to collaborate together later this year. I'll definitely be working on a follow-up to 'Scapes' also.