il:lo on ‘Lucent’, emotional tension, and finding space through sound

il:lo is the electronic duo of Dejan Dejado and Andreas Schütz, creating music between Paris, Berlin, and elsewhere. Since debuting in 2012, they have developed a distinctive sound across electronica, downtempo, and deep house, with releases including the ‘Distances’, ‘Places’, and ‘Sloh’ EPs, ‘Meliadi’ on Anjunadeep, and later ‘Myriad’ and ‘The Fair’ on Nettwerk.

Photo credit: il:lo – Official

Their catalog also includes singles on Future Classic, Bitbird, and Deutsche Grammophon, while collaborations have connected them with Parra for Cuva, TWO LANES, CloZee, Emancipator, and Panama. The duo have built an international audience of more than 100 million streams across Spotify and Apple Music, alongside headline touring across Europe and the United States.

In 2026, il:lo return with their debut studio album, ‘Lucent’, set for release on October 16th via Nettwerk. The 12-track record moves through tension, doubt, and hope, with ‘Iraya’, ‘Is This Forever?’, and ‘Silhouettes’ tracing different points within that emotional arc.

In this conversation, il:lo discuss the making of ‘Lucent’, their approach to space and emotion, and the ideas behind ‘Silhouettes’.

EG: Hi Dejan and Andreas, welcome back to Electronic Groove. It’s a pleasure to have you with us. How have you both been lately, and what has this period leading up to ‘Lucent’ been like for you creatively?

il:lo: Thank you for having us again! We’ve been good. We started working on ‘Lucent’ almost two years ago. Curiously, the album came together very naturally. We started with about fifty tracks, and choosing the twelve felt obvious. These twelve songs shared a distinct color and coherence, while also telling a story through a gradual evolution of emotions. Looking at them as a whole, they felt like different stages of the same journey, and that’s what ultimately made the album feel complete to us.

EG: Your single, ‘Silhouettes,’ feels remarkably intimate and restrained. What was the initial spark behind the track, and what emotions were you hoping to capture when you first started working on it?

il:lo: Andreas started working on the track by recording everyday sounds and finding a chord progression with a special color. At first, he had a deep house track in mind, with a four-to-the-floor beat to give it energy and drive. But it ended up feeling perhaps more “deep” than “house,” mainly because of the melancholic elements, particularly the piano and the atmospheric pads.

EG: You’ve described ‘Silhouettes’ as exploring the feeling of being protected and isolated at the same time. That’s a fascinating contradiction. Was there a particular experience or state of mind that inspired that idea?

il:lo: In a world that is so hyperconnected and constantly moving, this contradiction can sometimes feel like a necessity.

We all create little spaces where we can disconnect, recharge, and protect ourselves from everything happening outside. But sometimes the same thing that protects you can also separate you from the world. We found that contradiction very interesting because it feels very human.

EG: Laura Wolf’s contribution is central to the track’s atmosphere. Her voice feels almost suspended within the arrangement, becoming part of the emotional landscape rather than simply leading it. How did that collaboration come together, and what made her the right fit for this piece?

il:lo: It’s funny, because Laura had sent us a batch of recordings a few years back; we tried one of the samples over the instrumental, and it worked instantly. We could say Laura’s voice was an addition that blended seamlessly into the track; her timbre and the softness of her voice worked really well with the other instruments. That said, we never build tracks around an initial vocal idea; vocals are an element added towards the end of the production process.

EG: The production feels incredibly spacious, with every element serving a purpose. In an era where electronic productions can often become increasingly dense, what inspired you to embrace such a minimal and vulnerable approach on this record?

il:lo: When we started making music, we were probably more focused on adding a lot of layers (maybe too many). Now we spend more time asking ourselves if something is really needed. Sometimes, a simple sound with the right emotion can be much stronger than a complex arrangement.

“Sometimes, a simple sound with the right emotion can be much stronger than a complex arrangement”

EG: Looking at the singles released so far, ‘Iraya,’ ‘Is This Forever?’ and now ‘Silhouettes’ each seem to reveal a different emotional dimension of your work. What does ‘Silhouettes’ tell us about the broader world you’re building with ‘Lucent’?

il:lo: ‘Iraya’ has more movement and openness. ‘Is This Forever?’ is more about questioning things, and ‘Silhouettes’ is probably the most introspective one. This is a time of calm and peace, something we all truly desire in our hectic lives.

In a way, that’s also what ‘Lucent’ is about for us: moving through these different emotions and states of mind, and allowing each track to explore a different side of that journey.

EG: A recurring theme in your music is the balance between tension and beauty. Even when your tracks explore uncertainty or melancholy, there’s often a sense of hope running underneath. Why do you think you’re drawn to that emotional space as artists?

il:lo: We do not consciously set out to compose music that conveys hope or is tinged with melancholy. However, it is true that our music generally establishes a melancholic foundation, with shifts and resolutions that open up a more joyful space. This kind of progression is also what gives us the strongest feeling when we compose: starting from something more introspective or emotionally dense, and gradually moving towards something lighter, more open, and more spacious. It feels natural to us, almost like a release or a sense of breathing after being immersed in something deeper. That movement towards something more airy and open is probably one of the sensations we are most drawn to in music.

EG: The concept behind ‘Lucent’ touches on modern stress, emotional pressure, and the search for breathing room. Did working on the album change your own perspective on those themes in any way?

il:lo: This story, which moves from tension to hope, reflects what we experience both as musicians and in our private lives; we often feel weighed down and stressed, yet that can drive us to create something better. Once the album was composed, we linked the tracks to the various emotions within that story, as if we had rewritten the story itself through music.

EG: You’ve always had a talent for creating immersive worlds through sound. When composing a track like ‘Silhouettes,’ are you thinking more about storytelling, visual imagery, or simply following an emotional instinct?

il:lo: Not really, to be honest. We are more interested in searching for ideas that have a specific mood or flavor, and from there, we try to develop them. If the music creates a strong atmosphere, images naturally begin to appear afterward. We don’t often start with a story that we want to illustrate. We prefer leaving enough space for listeners to create their own stories. Everyone experiences music differently, and that’s something we really enjoy.

“We prefer leaving enough space for listeners to create their own stories. Everyone experiences music differently, and that’s something we really enjoy”

EG: Although the album is still a little way off, what excites you most about finally sharing ‘Lucent’ with listeners after introducing them to these first chapters of the story?

il:lo: Singles only tell part of the story. What we’re most looking forward to is people experiencing the album as a whole. Some tracks can completely change meaning depending on what comes before or after them, and we built the structure of the album with that in mind, carefully choosing the order of the tracks.

We hope listeners will take the time to live with the record and discover those connections for themselves. There are things that might not reveal themselves on a first listen, and that’s part of what makes an album exciting to us.

EG: Thank you so much for your time. We wish you all the best with ‘Silhouettes,’ ‘Lucent,’ and everything ahead. Take care!

il:lo: Thank you so much. It’s always a pleasure talking with you. We really appreciate your support and hope people will enjoy discovering the full album very soon.

il:lo’s ‘Silhouettes’ is out now via Nettwerk. Stream and download here.

Pre-save ‘Lucent’ here.

Follow il:lo: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram