Few figures have shaped the European post-industrial underground like Arnaud Coëffic, known as Arco Trauma. As co-founder of Audiotrauma and the mind behind Sonic Area and Chrysalide, he defined the label’s sound: cinematic tension, raw electronics, and melancholic poetry. Without his touch, Audiotrauma would never have become the emblem of uncompromising experimental music it is today. With Sonic Area, Arco Trauma crafts records that feel like sonic essays. Music for Ghosts was hailed as “experimental electronics overflowing with originality and mystery,” while Ki unfolded as a “vast, meticulously produced soundscape” merging ambient minimalism with ancestral rhythms. His music slips between fragile atmospheres and technoid shockwaves, evoking the soundtrack of a film never shot, yet vividly remembered. This winter he returns with And Shadow, a new album co-released by Audiotrauma and Ant-Zen. Inspired by early Autechre, it marks a bold step into minimalist techno: colder, more austere, yet piercingly incisive. Whether on record or stage, Sonic Area has always been ritual—intense, unpredictable, deeply human. With And Shadow, Arco Trauma once again proves himself a rare visionary, pushing boundaries while keeping Audiotrauma’s spirit alive.