Monsoonsiren is the alias of musician Nathan Thomas Menon, an artist who specialises in delicate, sprawlingly elegant compositions. He’s been working musically for a while now, having released a debut single in 2011, and has since put out two EPs, both in collaboration with the artist Tom Day. But now it’s finally time for his debut album. A collaboration with producer LAPLACE, Creature Hum has arrived, and we’re got the first listen for you right here.

Creature Hum is electronic music crafted into sweeping, orchestral beauty. Menon’s voice sits delicately in the middle of the storm, as the music blooms and swells around it. LAPLACE’s production sets the atmosphere as dark and cold, with Menon the soul that exists in that space – his vocals and lyrics, brutally open, give the pieces their depth and raw emotional force.  The combination of their talents makes Creature Hum an album of strange, captivating power. You can listen and read an interview with Menon below.

Ok, to start off with, Monsoonsiren, introduce us to yourself as an artist.
I’m a musician and filmmaker, presently residing in India.

Tell us a little about your debut album Creature Hum.
It’s a repository of themes and memories and yearnings that I’ve been obsessed with; mortality, familial influences, Christianity, power, trying to source out some form of cosmic purpose – that have all overlapped and fused to eventually take form in nine tracks.

You spoke about roadblocks and contract problems delaying the release of this album. Has it been difficult to get to the point where you’re releasing it? And how then does it feel to finally be putting it out?
Yeah. It’s been frustrating to say the least (and too tedious to get into) so I won’t bore you. But it’s a relief to finally put it out and have people experience the record.

Even though they’re often submerged in effects, Creature Hum is clearly a very lyrical album, where the words are given space and focus. What inspirations did you use when writing the lyrics on this record?
It’s been four years since my last release and a lot of things had amassed during that span that I felt I needed to unfurl and deposit into this record. So most of the tracks have materialised from very personal experiences; I made it certain to myself that I wasn’t going to be cryptic when it comes to the songwriting, I wanted to be as open and susceptible as my mind warranted.

You’ve worked with the producer LAPLACE on this record. How did you guys start working together and how does your collaboration usually work?
I’ve known Danny before he became LAPLACE, when he went under the moniker Phantom Shilla, so we go back, haha, and I’ve always been a big fan of his work, right from Falstrati (my first EP) which he produced two songs on.
When it comes to collaborating we usually have a tone or an idea that we centralise on and then we just feed off of that until somehow everything falls into place.

You’ve worked with LAPLACE on this album, and a lot of your previous work is also collaborative. Are you an artist who thrive when working in tandem with others?
Definitely. Collaboration is really important for me, when it comes to music it’s the only ecosystem I can thrive in. There’s an indistinct satisfaction that sort of hovers around you when you’re working with someone you respect.

Finally, what happens next after this album?
Another album. A movie. And then maybe another album.

Creature Hum is out on June 20.