office x Apple Music: DEMIIGODDESS

Head-To-Head with Rat Section

January 14, 2025

Last October, under a railway arch, Rat Section took over Loki, one of South London’s nightclubs. The duo—Ratty Sleigh Johnny and Soopi (aka Soops)—held a “sparring match,” where their cryptic, electronic sound went head-to-head with that of New York. It was at this show that I came across the group for the first time, and their in-situ performances that are currently introducing their music to a new fan base.

The group, formed in Warsaw in 1989, was active until 2001 before disappearing for nearly two decades. Three years ago, they decided to bring the project back, bringing new life to their sound and underground legacy. In 2023, they released What Stays in Vegas, an album packed with transient, genre-blurring tracks that only raise more questions about the group’s past.

office caught up with Rat Section to talk about their back catalog, reunions, and Warsaw in the 80’s.

Interview by Julia Silverberg
Photography by Jebi Labembika
Styling by Clara Mary Joy

Julia Silverberg— What caused you to reunite after more than a decade-long hiatus?

Rat Section— Out of necessity, we arranged to meet in a New York Jazz Lounge a few years back to talk business. We actually bumped into each other by chance in Bucharest and kept in contact from there.

Why did you choose Rat Section as a name for the duo?

RS— It’s funny, it actually came from lengthy discussions about our dream house; we would have a sauna, heavy bag, dishwasher and a whole section dedicated for rats. Maybe another one for raccoons too.

Another dream-like story, I heard you two met at a karaoke bar in Warsaw during the 80s?

RS— Yes.

Tell me the backstory about those first years working together. And the decision to split up?

RS— It was a wild time, a different era. We are more controlled and precise with how we move about nowadays. Back then it was loose. We’re not saying we would do any performance, but at the same time we wouldn’t turn much down either. It took a toll, and maybe became a bit too much for us. Johnny disappeared and no one heard from them until the Bucharest chance meeting.

Is there any way for fans to access the original albums from that period?

RS— Unfortunately our whole back catalogue, archived by a dedicated portion of our fanbase, Club Rodentia, was burned in a boat fire in Venice some time ago. If anyone has access to it we’d appreciate it if they let us know!

What are the differences between that project and what you’re making now?

RS— Nothing has changed, we’re still on the same path.

Your sound has been experimental from the start. How would you describe it?

RS— We don’t feel good about genres although we are happy to join one if there is a good compilation CD that wants to include us.

If you ever do, let me know, I’d like a copy. What influences do you hope fans pick up on when they hear your music?

RS— Timbaland, Tricky, M.I.A, O Yuki Conjugate, and Muslimgauze, because we listen to them a lot. Films, choreographic ideas, or specific places in time also help to inform what we write.

I know you often play with other groups, I recently saw you play in London with New York. Is there a group you would love to perform with?

RS— Outkast, Gangsta Boo, Tupac, The Bee Gees, 50 Cent.

You tailor each performance to the venue you are playing. How do you begin in that process?

RS— We like to think about where we will be positioned and what set design to use depending on what we can make of the space from pictures and technical capacity.

Do you have a favourite show you’ve played?

RS— Mostly everyone that has invited us to perform has really looked after us; we have felt very welcome and made some nice friends along the way which we are grateful for. For me (Soopy) Museion in Bolzano was a lot of fun. (Slay John) Sparring at Loki was great - the line up was a family affair and people danced a lot.

It was so much fun to be a part of the audience at Loki, I hope you come back to London. Is there anything else for listeners to look forward to in the upcoming year?

RS— We hope to be able to travel and scale up the performances and set design. A new single is also coming out at the beginning of the year, with a music video.

Music

Art x Machine: Alexander Wessely Blurs Reality at The Sphere

January 10, 2025

On December 27, Alexander Wessely, the creative director who collaborated with The Weeknd and Rihanna premiered his latest show at the Sphere Las Vegas. In collaboration with DJ & Producer Anyma, Afterlife presents Anyma: The End of Genesys marks the first electronic music artist to headline the venue.

Working with artists such as FKA twigs and Grimes, Wessely continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible artistically. This production takes the audience on a journey navigating the relationship between technology and humanity. Wessely blends the physical and digital world to create an all-encompassing experience that challenges our perceptions of reality.

Fusing art and machine, the humanness amidst this technologically-charged performance sets itself apart. office sat down with the visionary himself to discuss everything from blurred realities to robotic cellists playing compositions by Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad.

By Abby Dillingham

Photography Rafael Deprost, Jason Martinez, Nicko Guihal

As the show goes on I want the audience to experience this existential terror and think ‘What the fuck is going on right now? Is this reality? Is this real or not?’

What kind of experience do you want the audience to have while attending the show and how do you envision the show affecting people emotionally?

I'm obsessed with this idea of the audience forgetting the boundaries of reality and merging the physical and the digital. The longer they're inside the experience, I want the audience to experience this existential terror and think, ‘What the fuck is going on right now? Is this reality? Is it real or not?’

How did you incorporate futuristic elements in the production, while also making sure it felt grounded for the audience and emotionally resonant for them?

One way or another, whether it's a sculpture, a stage, or a screen, I want to create something that speaks to the human experience.

The luxury of working with musicians is that music is such a strong medium. I can have an idea that initially might feel kind of flat and then you add this music to it and it becomes something else entirely. It comes to life, in a way. And I guess that's what keeps drawing me back to working with musicians. That type of collaboration speaks a lot to me. I can sense that I give them a lot and they give me a lot back to me in return.

In this case, Anyma was a very close collaborator. Working with him was a new experience in some ways because he's so well-known for his visuals so collaborating with a musical artist who is also very focused on visuals is quite special.

One way or another, whether it's a sculpture, a stage, or a screen, I want to create something that speaks to the human experience.

Throughout the show there was a focus on the human body in a lot of the visuals. How did that come to be and was that something you had a lot of influence on?

When I joined this project in April 2024, Anyma and Alessio de Vecchi (the art director and lead visual artist on the project) had already been developing this concept called Genesys which is the first and third act of the Sphere show. Coming from working quite heavily with humans, the very first piece I made was with Grimes. The piece is called Tarata and it felt very natural to create a juxtaposition to this very digital and robotic world. That's why the act is called Humana. It’s more about human skin and human emotion.

I really enjoyed the parts with Grimes and FKA twigs. What kind of technology did you use to create that section of the show?

It's all shot footage. But it's supposed to make the viewer question how it’s made. Is it digital? Is it actual shot footage? I wanted to create an offset in the rhythm through speed ramping so they both move in an odd way. We also worked with this fantastic team of VFX artists in post production. That was all led by Alessio De Vecchi who Anyma has been working with since the very beginning.

Are there any techniques or technology that you explored for this that you haven't used in the past?

The most obvious one is the 180 projection for the Sphere. I had never dipped into that before and it was very complex and made the workflow quite insane in a lot of ways. That's why I felt so at home in the Humana part, because it was not that different from previous stuff I've done. It was up to the VFX team to adapt it and really make it work.

It's an unprecedented venue in a lot of ways.

Yes, it's so beautiful but it's also so fucking messy. It's almost insane. The most beautiful thing about it is also the worst thing about it. It's way more complex than I thought it would be.

I was also wondering what drew Grimes and FKA twigs towards this project?

Both of them are such interesting visionaries in their own ways. They’re true artists. And the Sphere is potentially the biggest and most interesting stage in the world right now if you're interested in pushing technology. Also I think, like me, they are intrigued by the unknown. On New Year's, we premiered another piece with Grimes in collaboration with Studio Drift. The piece was focused on quantum computing and in it Grimes is basically seducing a computer.

Oh my god !!

Yes (smiles), and creating nature from it. In some ways, it's almost like cheating working with these kinds of artists because they're so fantastic. I also want to mention that the piece I creatively directed with FKA twigs was directed by Jordan Hemingway. It was fantastic.

What was the process for including the robotic cellists?

I have a long-standing collaboration with my very close friend and composer Jacob Mühlrad and we started talking about these robotic cellists about a year ago. When Anyma approached me about this project in April he told me that he wanted to create a cybernetic opera which I thought was very interesting. I told him we should include these robotic cellists and create a stage design that literally puts them on a pedestal almost as a centerpiece of the performance.

Is there one moment from the show that you're particularly proud of?

The FKA twigs piece. I love it. I'm very proud of it and it really hit the spot of what I wanted to achieve with this kind of performance in terms of this integration we’ve been talking about. She really feels holographic in that space. Her performance was insane and I am very thankful for how that piece has been received. Especially because it wasn’t the most commercial or affect-seeking piece. It gives me a lot of hope.