LP SONIC AREA - AND SHADOW (RED VINYL)

SONIC AREA. and shadow.

12“ vinyl lp trauma063/act479

tracklist:

A1. epiphany

A2. spiritus contra spiritum

/A3. the red book

A4. integration and anomaly

A5. transmute

B1. meta phoros

B2. parallax

B3. the rope dancer

B4. the crossing

B5. and shadow

created, performed, mixed and mastered by sonic area @ kawati studios, strasbourg. dolby atmos & binaural master by dominique gaudeaux @ bronx sound machine studio. cover photography by yoann amnesy. artwork and layout by stefan alt. 

12" vinyl record: transparent red vinyl. full colour sleeve and 12" inlay

release date: 16.02.2026

SONIC AREA is the visionary electronic project of french composer arnaud coëffic, a meticulous architect of sound who has spent more than two decades navigating the space between industrial abrasion and cinematic grandeur. emerging from the experimental underground of the late 1990s, coëffic’s work defies conventional genre distinctions, weaving together dark ambient textures, trip-hop rhythms, and modern classical sensibilities. his compositions are distinguished by an immersive, world-building quality, unfolding like sonic blueprints for imagined noir films or surrealist landscapes where mechanized pulse converges with haunting orchestral refinement.

AND SHADOW reimagines early 1990s techno as both form and philosophy, drawing on carl jung’s ideas to position idm as a self-reflective, philosophical techno - an ‘intelligent music’ that contemplates its own becoming as it unfolds. the album marks a decisive turn toward minimalist techno: colder and more austere, yet sharply focused and unflinchingly precise. it functions as a mirror in which the subject appears divided, embodying the tension between light and shadow, consciousness and the unconscious. this metamorphic journey unfolds in three distinct spiritual phases, evocative of ascending chakras and their evolving energetic states.

a stark, solitary inner landscape takes the place of external stimuli, evoking the isolating vastness of deep introspection and the loneliness that accompanies it. the vocals function as a kind of guided meditation, a companion leading the listener inward - an artificial friend that remains fundamentally incomplete without its own unconscious. only when its shadow finally emerges does this presence feel whole, closing the arc from fragmentation to a fragile, hard-won unity.

SONIC AREA. parallax [official video]

https://youtu.be/4mCJ4ignBJI

"Few figures have shaped the European post-industrial underground like Arnaud Coëffic, known as Arco Trauma. As co-founder of Audiotrauma and the mind behind Sonic Area and Chrysalide, he defined the label’s sound: cinematic tension, raw electronics, and melancholic poetry. Without his touch, Audiotrauma would never have become the emblem of uncompromising experimental music it is today. With Sonic Area, Arco Trauma crafts records that feel like sonic essays. Music for Ghosts was hailed as “experimental electronics overflowing with originality and mystery,” while Ki unfolded as a “vast, meticulously produced soundscape” merging ambient minimalism with ancestral rhythms. His music slips between fragile atmospheres and technoid shockwaves, evoking the soundtrack of a film never shot, yet vividly remembered. This winter he returns with "And Shadow", a new album co-released by Ant-Zen, Bella Ursa and Audiotrauma. Inspired by early Autechre, it marks a bold step into minimalist techno: colder, more austere, yet piercingly incisive. Whether on record or stage, Sonic Area has always been ritual—intense, unpredictable, deeply human. With And Shadow, Arco Trauma once again proves himself a rare visionary, pushing boundaries while keeping Audiotrauma’s spirit alive."