INTERVIEW: Superpoze
Ten years ago, French composer and producer Superpoze released Opening—a debut album that approached electronic music with intimacy, restraint, and a sense of space. Built with limited tools but rich in ideas, the record blended ambient sensibilities with subtle rhythmic and harmonic structures, sketching out a musical language he would continue to refine across later albums, film scores, and collaborations. Now, a decade on, Opening returns in a limited anniversary edition featuring unreleased material and a new remix by Rival Consoles. To mark the occasion, we caught up with Superpoze—aka Gabriel Legeleux—to reflect on the evolution of his process, the tools behind his sound, and the experience of revisiting such a foundational piece of work. With a new album on the horizon and a headline show at Paris’ Salle Pleyel set for 2026, we look back at where it all began—and ahead at what’s still to come.
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The reissue of Opening marks 10 years since your first full-length. Looking back, what was your setup like at the time? Were there any limitations that ended up shaping the album in interesting ways?
I produced it in my bedroom with Reason, a Minibrute by Arturia, an Ultranova by Novation and my upright piano recorded with a SM58, but the main limitation was myself. I didn’t know anything about production : compression, eq, etc.. I didn’t even know the difference between send and insert.
To me, all effects were inserts and I think it shaped the sound of the album. I’ve put reverb and distortion - in that order - to so many tracks! This is what I love the most about Opening: you can hear my will to make something wide and deep but it sounds so much like a bedroom album, and this is what being in your early 20’s is about!
You’ve called Opening your “origin point.” From a creative perspective, what has stayed constant in your process since then—and what’s changed?
Opening defined my approach of music : making records. Before Opening, I was making tracks or songs, like « let’s make a song today ». Since Opening, I’ve never recorded music without thinking « this is a part of that record ».
What has changed is the way I’m writing music. When I was doing Opening, the software session was where I wrote, recorded, produced, all in one movement. Now, I’m working going through different phases. I’m recording piano sketches on my zoom, then I’m making a demo where I integrate some sounds from folders I’ve made before (synths, drums, samples), then I’m preparing the session for the real recording, etc…
What’s your current studio setup like? Any instruments, VSTs, or workflows you feel you couldn’t live without?
I now have a real studio and a fair amount of gear - synths, drum machines, acoustic instruments, mics, etc - but if I had to choose some favorites I would say the Prophet-6 which is the synth I’m using the most for 7 or 8 years now, my Korg 770, and my TR-909.
The Rival Consoles rework brings new light to “Unlive.” How do you usually feel about remixes of your work? Do they offer a new perspective, or feel more like reinterpretations at a distance?
I think about remixes as a movie character played by another actor. It’s the same character, but it’s not.
It’s also a way for us electronic producer to be a performer, like in classical music.
When composing or producing, how do you usually begin a track? Do you reach for an instrument, a sample, a motif—what tends to start the process?
I always start a record and not just a track. It takes me months to record ideas - it can be a piano melody, a field recording, a drum pattern - and to collect it. I need to get the main ideas and to feel the desire before starting to record any demo. What could be the sonic world? Who’s the main character? Why am I doing this again?
The beginning of the process is long and chaotic.
Your music often blends acoustic and electronic textures in subtle ways. Do you tend to think in terms of sound design, harmony, or mood first—or does it all emerge at once?
I want my music to sound like the world I’m living in, and this world is a subtle blend of electronic and acoustic. I make instrumental music and I don’t want it to feel alien or abstract. I don’t think about sound design or mood, but I’m trying to answer the question « how does a world where life is possible sound like? ».
The Opening reissue includes a previously unreleased track. Why did “Wait (2015 Archive)” stay hidden until now, and what made it feel right to include this time around?
This is a track that I’ve made really late in the process of the album, and I played it live but never released it. It’s a gift for the people who saw me perform live at that time.
You’ve also got a new album coming in 2025—how does it connect to Opening, if at all? Should we expect continuity or rupture?
The upcoming album deeply connect with Opening but also with my last album, Nova Cardinale, released in 2022. It’s where these two records meet, and this meeting is magical. I can’t wait to release it!
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