Tineidae interview: ‘Tineidae Is A Mechanism Of Emotional Self-Regulation’
Tineidae
Pavlo Storonsky, an Ukrainian artist currently based in Poland, has been active under the moniker Tineidae for many years. I first discovered the project through “Lights”, his debut album released by Tympanik Audio in 2012. At the time, his music was heavily influenced by IDM, a style that continued to shape his subsequent releases. In recent years, Tineidae became part of the Cryo Chamber roster, marking a clear evolution toward a more Ambient and Cinematic sound. However, at the end of last year, Pavlo revisited his past, completing and refining some older compositions. The result, “Dead Chapters”, released on his own label Artificers, is a meticulously crafted IDM-driven album that brings us full circle—back to the intelligent Electro roots of the project. I had the opportunity to discuss this release, as well as other aspects of his music, with Pavlo. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: The war in your home country, Ukraine, is ongoing. Although you left Ukraine some years ago, it must be deeply painful to witness the devastation. How have you been coping with this personally, and in what ways does music serve as an emotional outlet or form of regulation for you?
Pavlo: It’s tough, honestly. During the last few years war has been one of those topics that filled the gaps in my own info-space daily, if not being the center point of it. Most of our family members, who are not in Poland, live in relatively safe regions of Ukraine, and those who were not, now have moved there. That said, it is hard to be fully safe, when missiles fly over your head. Every now and then I read about a death of someone I knew or someone my friends or relatives knew. That messes with my head.
Like, sure we’re all gonna die eventually, but when you think about how little value the human life has for a crazed old leader who misses the Soviet Union era, it’s quite scary… The horrors caused by the ‘unbrotherly’ neighbor impact everyday life pretty substantially. It’s not something I can properly describe with words (I’m generally bad at describing my feelings), so that is why there was a huge surge in my musical output recently. Music is that refuge for me, a relief, and a way to let out what I feel.
Q: Last year, you’ve been remarkably active, releasing multiple projects. Could you share the stories behind these releases? What does collaboration with other artists mean to you, and what criteria do you look for in a potential creative partner?
Pavlo: “Remnants Of War” is self-explanatory I think. It started some time ago but already during war in Ukraine. It’s a collaboration with Sole Massif, whose music I very much enjoy and I’m glad we got to do it, even though the topic is not a positive one. It’s a bit of a reimagination of the possible aftermath of war in a more futuristic setup.
Then “Dead Chapters” was one of those concepts that I’ve started working on a long time ago, but didn’t really flesh out until this year.
And “Reports From Isul” was started during covid lockdown, when Burma Project reached out to me.
Usually I’m quite open to collaborations, but I had to turn some down as I was already quite busy with the ongoing ones. If I like the idea and concept/sound, that to me is more valuable than potential ‘big name’ of the artist I’ll be working with. But lately I’m trying to limit the amount of collaborations, as I don’t have enough time and you can never predict which one will be finished or get stuck for whatever reason and nothing ever develops afterwards. I promised myself to be much more picky from now on.
Q: Your new album, “Dead Chapters”, marks a return to your IDM-influenced roots. I understand that some of the tracks are older pieces you revisited and reworked. Can you tell us about the process of rediscovering these songs? Why were they left unfinished, and what inspired you to breathe new life into them now?
Pavlo: Back in 2014 when the first demos were started, I quickly realized that I simply lack skill to finish those ideas the way I wanted. I really liked the sound and the story that started emerging in my head, but I didn’t want to mess it up with my lack of experience and technical abilities. Sure it had a lot in common with my previous works with a more glitchy or IDM sound, but my focus has already shifted towards bass design and heavier drums. I was revisiting the demos from time to time, but never had that final push. There was no huge turning point, aside from overall emotional tension, and also 2024 marked 10 years since I drafted the first demo (first two tracks of the album), so I felt like it’s way past its due.
The result is by no means perfect, but I’m quite happy about it. Some of the demos from that time were also the ones that pushed me towards Ambient music later on, which now resulted in a good few releases on Cryo Chamber. So all in all this album was something that further shaped the sound of Tineidae as a project in several directions.
Q: In recent years, your music has leaned more heavily into the Cinematic genre. How does it feel to reconnect with your earlier influences on “Dead Chapters”? Looking back at your early work from over two decades ago, how do you see your evolution as an artist?
Pavlo: I feel like these changes in sound -it’s all one thing, honestly. Just slowly evolving over time and slightly diverging into what my brain enjoys more in that moment. I’m still listening to stuff like Access To Arasaka, Candle Nine, Subheim, Hecq, Boxcutter, Broken Note and many others that had the most influence on my earlier works. Initial demos from “Dead Chapters” were similar to those, but as I mentioned there were also a few that gave me an early push into Ambient and Cinematic sound. Some of them ended up forming “Slowly Drown In Static” other ones were left untouched and remained a part of “Dead Chapters”. So in a sense these two albums are a bit related to each other.
That said, there is a change at least in terms of technical understanding of the issues I had back then and could not resolve, whether from the mix or sound design perspective. I’ve learned a bit from others, collaborations do help with that. Also tools got way better in the recent years, by which I mean VST plugins for the most part. It’s a constant learning process.
Q: “Dead Chapters” appears to center on a conceptual theme of a lost civilization possibly coming back to life. Could you elaborate on the background of “Dead Chapters” and how it might metaphorically relate to the modern world? And how important is it for you to work with concepts in your music?
Pavlo: Seeing ruins of once largely populated areas and modern metropolises being destroyed and devoid of life makes you reevaluate things that you take for granted. “Dead Chapters” is rather open to interpretation, and even I don’t know whether it’s going to be a story with a happy end. Maybe that civilization was never meant to come back to life. But there is always hope, as long as there is at least one living being, and those who live will always strive to rebuild and recreate.
For the concepts in general -it’s something that keeps me going. You have a story you want to tell, but instead of words, you rather try to evoke emotions with your music. And when the music resonates with the listener, it feels great and even therapeutic, as that is a way to share those emotions, feelings and stories.
Q: As such a prolific artist, it’s clear that music plays a central role in your life. What does Tineidae mean to you personally? What would you consider your greatest achievements so far, and what exciting projects are currently in the works?
Pavlo: Tineidae is a mechanism of emotional self-regulation where it happens to let out what I can’t let out otherwise. Hard to tell about achievements, it just feels good to finish things that were holding you back, and see people’s reactions.
With the future plans -Artificers is what comes to mind first. I want more great music released, doesn’t matter mine or not, and I want more people to hear that music. This is what I’m trying to achieve. I can’t really call it a label or collective as I don’t yet know how it’s gonna shape, but at the very least a platform through which I and a few of my friends would be able to release music and find a responsive audience.
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