Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with XPQ-21

XPQ-21 - Overgod

With the new album OVERGOD, XPQ-21 opens an uncompromising chapter. Focused, relentless, and with a clear sound that reflects the radical nature of his artistic path and accepts no boundaries.

After a deep rupture and a complete reorientation, an album emerged that is more than just music: it is the result of a profound confrontation.

It is the reflection of a search for identity, meaning, and expression. Every track is part of this journey; every shift, every contrast an expression of a transformation that has led XPQ-21 to new sharpness.

The pieces unfold an enormous range: from the intensity of brutal hardness, to the driving energy of club tracks, to moments of poetic depth. EBM, rock, drum’n’bass, and electronics do not merge here by accident, but flow into each other, held together by a sound design with striking sovereignty – the expression of a production that shapes its contrasts into a powerful whole, precise and intense at the same time.

This album is not a cautious step, but a clear statement. With uncompromising sound, artistic freedom, and grand complexity, XPQ-21 makes a mark in the electronic music scene – and true to Jeyênne’s guiding principle “Destroy to Create,” shows that music is all the more powerful when it carries the entire journey from darkness to clarity within itself.

Thus, Jeyênne presents himself as an experienced artist who, after years of silence, does not simply pick up where he left off but opens a new chapter: more mature, more demanding, and more intense than ever.

Mastermind Jeyênne – singer, producer, and exceptional talent of the international electronic scene – doesn’t see music as a mere arrangement of sounds, but as poetry, vision, and calling.

In the ’90s, The Jeyênne stood on the frontline of the rave and techno revolution - less a traditional musician than a performer who built raw intensity and swept crowds along with him.

He toured the globe, sharing stages with Prodigy and Moby, performing alongside Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, and Ellen Allien, earning a reputation for high-energy gigs that electrified audiences – and sometimes spiraled out of control. His appearances on MTV, VIVA TV, Mayday, and the Love Parade became manifestations of a new era – landmark moments in electronic music history. With several XPQ-21 releases reaching the top of the German Alternative Charts, he firmly established himself in the alternative music genre.

Interview with XPQ-21

Interview with XPQ-21

(•)> What inspired the uncompromising vision behind OVERGOD?

OVERGOD isn’t consistent in the traditional sense. Every track stands on its own, each with its own identity — some are EBM, others lean towards drum’n’bass or industrial pop. The album feels like a mosaic of emotions and phases. The red thread is my voice and my sound design — that’s what ties everything together. No compromise, no polishing, no need to please. I wanted to create an album that comes entirely from within — raw, direct, and without any concern for trends or expectations.

(•)> How does this album reflect your personal and artistic transformation?

OVERGOD is basically a mirror of my own transformation. In the past years, I’ve taken things apart, redefined them, and rebuilt everything — including myself.

Today I work with more awareness and a clearer mind. I’ve always been intense and emotional. OVERGOD carries a sense of personal liberation, a different view on life and on art. The energy is still there, only more conscious. I didn’t want to make a concept album; I wanted to make a real statement — the result of an inner metamorphosis.

(•)> Which track do you feel best embodies the journey from darkness to clarity?

The entire album is a long journey from darkness to light. I wouldn’t pick one specific track for that — it’s the album as a whole that tells this evolution.

(•)> How do you approach blending EBM, rock, drum’n’bass, and electronics into a unified sound?

It happens without me thinking too much about it. I get an idea, sit down, shut everything around me off — and then it just happens, almost like magic. Sometimes a track ends up being 100% EBM, other times I mix EBM with drum’n’bass or whatever comes to mind and feels right — or simply because I like it. I don’t think in genres; I only think in two categories: I like it or I don’t.

(•)> What was the process of achieving such precise and intense sound design?

Oh, that comes from loving sound design and spending years working with it. Sound design means understanding what frequencies can do — and how to bring music to life through EQs and effects. Imagine a sound in your head, then try to recreate it using frequencies and effects. Compare it to other sounds you like. Take your time — and if it doesn’t work out, take a break and start fresh the next day. Sometimes it’s a long process; sometimes it happens really fast.

(•)> How does OVERGOD differ from your previous work as XPQ-21 and The Jeyênne?

The Jeyênne used to be about rave, techno, and trance. The new Jeyênne tracks now also carry some industrial elements. XPQ-21, on the other hand, moves in a different direction — less techno-club, more post-punk, goth, and industrial. It’s like yin and yang — two opposites that complement each other and come from the same source. Two sides of the same energy.

(•)> Which moments on the album carry the most poetic or emotional depth for you?

The first track, “Coloro,” is about my homeland and my mother.

(•)> How do you balance radical experimentation with accessibility in your tracks?

Real art happens in that tension — between chaos and structure, intuition and control. I experiment radically because I want to surprise myself. But it always has to stay emotional. If you go too far into experimentation, music loses its human connection. If you aim only for accessibility, it loses its soul. I try to hit that point where sound feels brutally honest — yet still connects.

(•)> What role does your philosophy “Destroy to Create” play in shaping this album?

If you want to evolve without turning into a boring copy of your own past, you have to break yourself open first. But that doesn’t mean losing the signature that makes XPQ-21 what it is. “Destroy to Create” isn’t about becoming a completely new person — it’s about tearing down the old layers, then rebuilding yourself with the knowledge, scars and experience you’ve collected over the years. You deconstruct, you reassemble, and you come back sharper. That’s how you stay in the game, stay relevant, and keep growing. That mindset is deeply woven into OVERGOD.

(•)> What do you hope listeners take away from experiencing OVERGOD in full?

I can’t tell people what to feel or think — that’s not my job. I made OVERGOD for myself. It’s my process, my chaos, my evolution. What listeners take from it is completely up to them. If the album triggers something, inspires something, or even irritates something — perfect. Music should open doors, not dictate what’s behind them.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out The Kiss That Took A Trip on the Pigeon Spins Playlist