Few projects in the contemporary Electronic Progressive Rrock landscape manage to evolve as deliberately and visibly as Enigmatic Sound Machines. Founded in Montreal by Jeremie Arrobas and Thomas Szirmay, ESM has compressed three albums and a radical sonic transformation into less than three years — moving from the synth-driven palette of “Telepathic Waves” (2023) to the darker, more architecturally complex world now arriving with “Divided By One,” their fourth studio record, due June 05, 2026 via Progrock.com Essentials. With bassist Hansford Rowe and guitarist Alain Bellaiche now fully on board as core members, ESM is no longer a duo experiment — it’s a proper band, with all the weight and ambition that implies. We sat down with the project to go deep into the new album, the studio process, the themes, and where electronic progressive rock stands today.
Jeremie, Thomas — ESM started as a friendship project between two lifelong friends. At what point did it stop feeling like a personal creative outlet and start feeling like a serious artistic statement that needed to be heard?
It started being a serious artistic project right from the get-go! The idea was to start something different. “Telepathic waves” is a very new wave-oriented album. We needed to start somewhere, and somewhere was the place we were in at that time 😉 Thomas and I were sharing a lot of common ideas, that’s where the album title comes from. It was imperative for Jeremie to have a comfort zone compositionally and grow or ‘progress’ from there on in.
The name Enigmatic Sound Machines carries a strong conceptual identity. Was it a deliberate choice to build the project’s persona around a sense of mystery and mechanism, or did the name come first and the philosophy follow?
The name of the band came to Jeremie very naturally. We are a “machines” based outfit, we use sequencers and drum machines, we call them “sound machines” The name came out during the writing of “Telepathic Waves”. All the elements in our music world are described in these 3 words.
Your discography has moved fast — four albums in roughly three years. Is that pace driven by creative urgency, a deliberate strategy, or simply the way the two of you naturally work?
Hahaha, the fifth album is already in the works, so being creative is not an issue. Jeremie is a very creative musician, I think the only time he’s not composing is when he sleeps…although I’m not even sure of that…. Same when we write lyrics, it’s very dynamic and fast, no wasted time, just 100% effort.
The leap from “Imperfect Silence” (2025) to “Divided By One” is clearly the most significant stylistic shift in your catalog — darker tones, heavier guitars, more cinematic scope. What was the internal conversation that led you there? Was there a single moment or track idea that cracked the record open?
Thomas is the one who stirred our ship towards more progressive music. And that began with our second album “The Hierarchies of Angels”. What interested me was the doors it opens to synthesizers and sound machines. Prog music is full of synthesizers, it’s true, but our approach is different. It was more how to integrate synths and rhythms into prog. As you know we don’t have a drummer. Believe it or not, Jeremie started his musical career as a drummer. So, regarding writing drum parts it’s very easy for him. We also attended the 1974 Led Zeppelin concert, in which John Bonham prevented us from sitting comfortably. As well we started playing with different musicians and that of course expanded the scope of our music.
“Divided By One” is also the album where Hansford Rowe and Alain Bellaiche transitioned from guests to full core members. How did that structural change affect the composition and arrangement process in the studio — practically, not just conceptually?
Both Hansford and Alain are long-time friends. We played together on a few other records. So that transition became obvious to us. How can you lose using two top notch musicians? And both were essential in developing the melodic content of “Divided by One”. Alain and Hansford are very melodic players, and you can hear that clearly in each song.
The album title itself, “Divided by One,” is mathematically paradoxical — dividing by one leaves you unchanged, yet the title implies fracture or tension. Walk us through the conceptual logic behind it. What does the phrase mean to ESM?
Indeed, it is a paradoxical mathematic operation…. unless you take ONE as a word and not a number. Then, ONE becomes a “mythological” entity, some kind of divinity. Then it becomes something totally different. For example: God is supposed to unite us all….or are we divided by that “ONE”? And yes, at the same time, it also means “nothing really changes.”
The tracklist opens with the six-minute title track and closes with a nearly ten-minute piece (Inviolate Fields) before the Gary Numan cover. Was the sequencing of the album a long deliberate process? How do you approach the arc of a full record?
Thomas and I had decided which should be the first and last song. The final sequencing of the album was done by our label, and we believe they did a great job. At that time the cover wasn’t part of the album, it was supposed to end with “Inviolate fields”. We will come back to that later in this interview.
“Chaos Dreaming” is the longest track at 9:32 — a significant structural commitment on a record that already has several seven-plus-minute pieces. What was the compositional approach for that track specifically? Did it grow organically or was the length intentional from the start?
It grew organically. All the songs on this album come from a place deep inside our soul, everything is heartfelt. The different parts came one after the other, it was never a chaotic process, go figure! The song came to life as an instrumental and it became clear that vocals were needed to complete the story. The only section that gave us trouble was the reggae section; it was a complex arrangement and difficult to assemble at first. But once Alain added guitars, it all became fluid. Regarding the length, writing is like travelling, you start the journey and you stop once you reach your destination.
“Sirensong” and “Pool of Mirrors” sit at the center of the record and have notably more concise runtimes. Are those tracks functioning as emotional pivots or breathing spaces within the album’s architecture, or did they simply develop into shorter forms naturally?
These two songs are probably the most accessible pieces on the album. They both use the classic verse-chorus pattern. So yes, you don’t need 7mn to establish the right mood. As I said earlier, our record label decided on the album sequencing. Somehow, they do provide a change of atmosphere and a different perspective on the architecture of the work.
The album explores themes of tension, resilience, and transformation. Are these themes that emerged from the music retroactively, or were they conceptual anchors that guided the writing from the beginning?
Lyrics always come after the songs are written. On occasion, I write alone but most of the time Thomas and I sit down in the studio and we write together. The subjects vary according to the atmosphere of a song, as well determining the kind of vocal line required. When we work together, I sing phonetics (“speaking in tongues”, and Thomas channels them into actual words (a specialty of his since he is a rather prolific wordsmith). And yes, ultimately the music always dictates the essence of the lyrics.
“Heavy Water” and “Screaming Sound Machines” both suggest intensity and pressure — one through density, one through almost self-referential force. Can you talk about the production choices on those two tracks in particular? How did you build the sonic weight?
“Heavy water” is probably the bulkiest song on Divided by One. A slow build up to a major dramatic ending. All was accomplished through multiple track layering, involving several synthesizers, two guitar players plus synth guitar, and about 4 drum kits playing slightly different patterns at the same time. Talking about drums, all the tracks on this album have a minimum of three kits drumming as one. Also, Hansford plays 2 different bass tracks during the choruses. Vocals are of course a very important element of that development. We layered many vocal tracks at the end of the piece. With “Screaming sound Machines, the process was different. We also have three different guitar players (Alain, Steve Bonino, and Jeremie). Very robust guitar hooks, and that adds a lot of energy, along with a complex synth loop intertwined with Hansford’s serpentine bass lines. This song is a subtle mix of classic rock and new wave elements.
The Gary Numan cover “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?“ is a bold choice to close the record, or at the very least, to include at all in the release. What is ESM’s relationship to Numan’s work, and what does a cover of that specific song say about where you are as a band right now?
Here is the true story about that remake…. the album was completed and we started mixing, when one evening I got a call from Mark Monforti (Progrockessentials.com boss) asking me if I could do a cover of “Are friends electric”. At first, I was slightly reluctant. That song is one of my all-time favorites. Mark had no idea, I said OK, but only if we happen to do a good version of it. Three days later, the remake was done and proceeding nicely. That one has only 2 musicians playing, myself and Hansford. Thomas does the talking (he usually does).
On the production side: how did the recording and mixing process for “Divided by One” differ from the previous albums? Did the expanded lineup require a fundamentally different approach in the studio?
This album required plenty of bass and guitar recording. It was a time-consuming and very productive process in my home recording studio. Steve Bonino and Roland Buhlmann guitars were sent to me as wave files, as well as Laura Piazzai vocals. The mixing was done in two parts. Most of it was done by Hansford and Jeremie in the first phase, and then these mixes were sent to Ian Beabout in Ohio, who put the final touches on them and mastered the complete album. That process also involved Alain who was at that time in Mexico. It was occasionally very difficult to agree on what should be the final mix. Ian did a great job and that settled any debate.
Montreal has a rich and somewhat underacknowledged history in Progressive and Electronic music. Does the city’s creative environment — its studios, its community, its cultural texture — have any measurable influence on ESM’s sound, or do you operate in relative isolation from the local scene?
I don’t believe the Montreal scene had any impact on ESM sound. We don’t really listen to what’s going on, or let’s say it doesn’t influence us. Thomas certainly has many prog connections in the province of Québec, but just like Montreal, it’s a huge and diverse melting pot that embraces a wide variety of languages, cultures and musical styles.
Speaking more broadly: how do you read the state of progressive rock and electronic prog today — internationally, but also specifically in your own country? Do you feel part of a movement, or more like an outlier?
We consider ourselves to be relative outsiders. We don’t follow and have no intention of pursuing any ongoing trends. So many things have already been said by so many amazing bands. The idea is to be different and create our own little universe.
ESM has been primarily a studio project. Have there been live performances in the past, and if so, what did translating this music to a live context look like? Any specific memory from the stage that stays with you?
We haven’t played live yet.
With the full quartet now in place, are there live dates planned around the release of “Divided By One”? Is getting ESM on stage a priority for this album cycle?
There are plans to bring ESM live in 2027, maybe even later this year. Stay tuned 😉
Before we close — are there additional singles or visual releases planned between now and June 5th? Anything else listeners should be watching for?
“Divided By One” arrives June 5th, 2026 on Progrock.com’s Essentials. The title-track and the Gary Numan cover “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” are already available. For ESM, this is not simply another release in a fast-moving catalog: it is the record where the project consolidates its identity, expands its lineup, and commits fully to a darker, more demanding version of itself. Listen and watch attentively.
Pre-Order “Divided by One” on Bandcamp: https://enigmaticsoundmachines.bandcamp.com