The Future is what Pavel Khvaleev does … until perhaps he doesn’t. Are we about to shatter a decade-long universal truth? Well, a little bit. Pavel’s fifth longform takes both name and inspiration from Fritz Lang’s iconic Metropolis – a breathtaking vision of retro-modern grandeur, meeting expressionist dystopia, high above cloudscraping edifices and stark industrial backdrops. That however was as so close to a hundred years ago as to make little difference. Pavel, by contrast, only began work on his ‘Metropolis’ after the release of his last two studio albums (‘Inhale’ and ‘Exhale’), back in 2021.
To do so, he’s drawn on a wellspring of collaborators from the pool of actors, singers, songwriters and voice artists he’s built up over twenty years of film and musicmaking. To put that into ‘Metropolis’s context, it includes Ryan Masson (soon to be seen in season 2 of The Last of Us) and the recently Grammy nominated singer Haley Johnsen.
A dazzling collage of progressive and melodic house, fringed with techno, February 2025 finds him ready to release this singular reimagining. Welcome to the world of PARAFRAME’S ‘Metropolis’.
1927’s Metropolis was a fusion of visual storytelling, uncanny silent era ether and strikingly toned music – a modus that Khvaleev’s respectfully channelled into his interpretation. When composing, his mind’s eye will take him places visually very specific indeed. To spaces that could be, well … anywhere but here. Naturally though, the frustration was he was ‘there’, but his audience wasn’t. Waiting for technology to catch up has long been the bane of the visionary, but historically the payoff is it gets there in the end. That was where Pavel finally found himself three years ago, and is also where he has broken step with Lang. The ‘playground’ that 3D engine technology now afforded him allowed him to place himself, not in front of ‘Metropolis’s towering structures, but inside them – within them. And to do that, he used Unreal Engine – the same tool that studios employ to visually power games like Fortnite and shows like The Mandalorian.
The Frankfurt-based artist goes on to explain. “I already had good experience creating short 3D animations with Unreal Engine, so I decided to work on a conceptual, hour-long film, which integrated my live performances and that of my vocalists. 3D designer Vasiliy Poryagin sent me concept ideas for futuristic locations, that I then rebuilt and refined through Unreal, adapting them to become the visual component of ‘Metropolis’. I changed entire buildings, rearranged architecture and added wildlife, all the while being able to see the results rendered in real-time.”
Completing the project also required a collaborative troop of players, something Pavel already had close at hand. “Aside from their talent’, he continues, ‘many of these artists have fascinating backgrounds. Ryan Masson for example is a successful Hollywood actor, with one of his latest roles being in the new season of HBO’s The Last of Us. The wonderful and charming Haley Johnsen was nominated for a Grammy last year with her solo project.
Boticka, whose voice can be heard in the track ‘We Are The Only Ones’, has the most captivating and sensual tone in the world—or at the very least France! The guys from Denton Thrift were simply born to sing, and this is already our second collaboration together. Avis Vox, my wife, is essential to every one of my albums; I couldn’t imagine releasing one without her involvement.”
From one to the next, ‘Metropolis’s metropoles each vary in their aesthetic. From the worn and industrialized to the borderline pristine, each tonally reflects the audioscape PARAFRAME’s composed for it The technotic drive of recent single ‘Mermaids’ leans into, if not quite the apocalyptic, then certainly the worn and dystopian. By contrast, ‘Breathe’ models a refreshingly colourful, hyper-modern vision of mechanised industria. “I spent almost three years working on this album’ concludes Pavel.’ It was a long journey because sometimes it’s hard to know when a track is truly finished and ready to share. Each song has its own story and unique feel, but at the same time, they’re all connected by ‘Metropolis’s overarching vibe and atmosphere.”
PARAFRAME’s music to comes to life through ‘Metropolis’. You can experience it, in all its stunning 60-minute glory here, and its music through all good streaming and sales channels from Feb 7 via this link [blackhole.lnk.to/metropolisalbum].
Tracklist: PARAFRAME – Metropolis
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