Yves De Mey has spent decades exploring the fringes of electronic music. Starting in the world of drum’n’bass and breakbeats, he soon expanded into experimental sound design, creating music for theater, film, and contemporary dance. His discography stretches across labels like Line, Sandwell District, and Editions Mego, while his performances at festivals such as Atonal, Mutek, and Labyrinth have solidified his reputation as a boundary-pushing artist.
His latest album, Force Over Area, released on Totalism, pushes this even further—slow, ominous melodies collide with stripped rhythms and acidic basslines, creating a pressure-filled space where sound seems to bend and reshape itself. Beyond his own productions, De Mey is deeply involved in audio work as a sound designer, sound editor, and re-recording mixer. In the last few years, he also added (live) mixing and mastering to his package.
For his Orb Podcast, Yves De Mey assembles a mix of recent finds, personal favorites, and timeless classics. Moving through rhythms and deep drones, spoken word pieces, and layers of rustling textures, the mix captures his distinct sensibility. With essential selections from Autechre, Mika Vainio, Pete Namlook, and S_Core, alongside contemporary gems, it’s a fluid and immersive hour, unconstrained by genre or trends.
What is the concept behind Force Over Area and how does it reflect your current approach to music?
Yves De Mey: There’s not really a concept behind the album. But I do have some ideas before starting a new series of tracks that eventually turns into an album, things I like to try out. I was figuring out some new tools I got from Joranalaogue, the Belgian Eurorack brand, and everything I did with it sounded somewhat organic, sometimes even a bit acoustic. And I think that found its way in all the tracks on the album. It has a certain sensuality to it, but not necessarily something soft or elegant. Most of the tracks are quite slow, and that leaves a lot of space for sounds to develop over time. All set against a steady rhythmic backdrop.
Working within this frame of feelings gels everything together, without adhering to a concept. I’m not sure I have a “current” approach to music, or at least not for this album. I guess it depends on the definition of approach. But basically it comes down to experiment, mess around with tools, and turn it into something that somehow makes sense. To me, and hopefully to other people as well.
Tracklist
01. Jan St. Werner – Axiomatic Rhythmicry
02. Ancient Plastix – Museum of Barbed Wire
03. NYZ – RLD DT1
04. Beatrice Dillon – Seven Reorganisations I live
05. Andrea Belfi & Jules Reidy – Dessus
06. Nicola Ratti – Automatic Popular Music 1
07. Russell Haswell – Heavy Handed Sunset (Autechre Form Conversion)
08. Elizabeth Davis – Couldn’t Help It
09. Catherine Christer Henna – Solo for Tamburium
10. So Sner – Lost Mot
11. S_Core – Introit
12. Richie Culver – Bedsit
13. Valentina Magaletti – The Unity of the Mind
14. Pete Namlook – Je Suis Triste Et Seul Ici
15. Mika Vainio – Radio
