New Risen Throne interview: ‘The constant presence of light, even within darkness’
New Risen Throne
Gabriele Panci is an Italian artist who has been active since the 1990s within the broader sonic realms of Dark-Ambient, Drone, and related genres. I first discovered him through the Konau project, but it is above all with the solo project New Risen Throne that he truly captured my full attention. More than 20 years ago, he released his debut album, and since then he has built an extensive discography, including several notable collaborations while he still remained involved in different side-projects. The latest album, “The Journey To Reach The Fathers”, released via Cyclic Law, once again demonstrates what New Risen Throne stands for. The work remains grounded in a perfect fusion of Dark-Ambient and Drone influences, enriched by an essential Ritualistic element that has always defined the project. The music is both intriguing and deeply immersive, revealing a highly personal creation that Gabriele Panci explores further in the interview below. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
New Risen Throne interview
Q: Last year seemed to be a very productive one for you. Not only did you release a new album with New Risen Throne, but also a collaboration with Phragments, as well as a collective album on Cryo Chamber. How do you look back on 2025 and these diverse productions?
Gabriele: Looking back on 2025, it was an intense and very productive year. Releasing “The Journey To Reach The Fathers” as a solo work, collaborating with Phragments on “Between Ecstasy And Death”, and contributing to the Cryo Chamber’s “Tombs”-series album (it’s my second time on the series) allowed me to explore very different creative processes. Each project challenged me in a unique way. Solo work pushed the conceptual and emotional depth, collaboration opened new dynamics and the collective piece let me experiment within a wider sonic context. For me, it wasn’t just about producing music, but about engaging with sound from multiple perspectives and pushing my own boundaries as a composer and producer. Looking back, I feel 2025 was one of growth, experimentation, and a deepening of the paths I want to continue following.
Q: The title of the New Risen Throne album, “The Journey To Reach The Fathers”, carries a deeper, esoteric concept in which death seems to function as a starting point for a more profound, ancestral quest. Am I understanding this correctly? Could you elaborate on that idea?
Gabriele: Yes, your understanding is quite close to what I intended. In “The Journey To Reach The Fathers”, death is not framed as a divine or supernatural event, it is simply the end of life. Yet the passing of someone close inevitably makes us imagine a continuation, a kind of journey beyond what we know. I pictured this journey as a passage through five portals, each one representing a stage that gradually frees us from the burdens accumulated during life. It is both a passage and a release, culminating in a space where reunion with those we’ve loved becomes possible.
This album is profoundly personal to me, dedicated to my father, who passed away almost thirty years ago. For a long time I wanted to dedicate a work to him, but I never felt ready or skilled enough to adequately translate my feelings and thoughts about his passing. With this album, I finally feel I’ve managed to express it in the right way.
Q: To what extent did this concept influence the music itself? Or was it perhaps the other way around — did the music shape the concept? How did the composition and production process unfold?
Gabriele: The concept of gradual liberation after death directly shaped the music itself. I deliberately designed the tracks to become increasingly primitive and ritualistic as the album progresses, reflecting the journey through the five portals.
The first two pieces, “The Leaving” and “Blowing Funeral Chant (II)”, mark the beginning of the journey. They are the richest in melody and compositional structure, setting the stage for what follows. As the listener moves through the five Gates, the tracks become mostly ritualistic drones, emphasizing space, repetition, and the stripping away of excess, guiding the listener through the stages of passage and release.
Finally, in “Where Fathers Dwell”, I return to melody, signaling the end of the journey and the reunion with what has been lost.
Q: Should we interpret your music as a form of contemporary mysticism, or rather as a sonic translation of ancient principles? Where does your inspiration originate?
Gabriele:I would say it’s a combination of both, though neither in a literal sense. There is certainly a mystical dimension in my work (the sense of journey, ritual, and transformation) but it’s more about evoking states of mind than following any traditional system or doctrine. At the same time, some of the structures, repetitions, and ritualistic elements in the music do echo ancient principles, whether in myth or ceremony.
As for inspiration, it comes from many places. Films and TV series, books (Philip K. Dick in particular), walks in the woods, moments of reflection, and, of course, the music I’ve loved over the years. I also draw from the interplay between sound and visual imagery: the music often develops alongside the visual concepts I create, and the two feed into each other.
Q: What fascinates me about your New Risen Throne concept — and also about the collaboration with Phragments on “Between Ecstasy And Death” — is that although the themes and soundscapes are undeniably dark, there seems to be an underlying quest for enlightenment and wisdom. Am I misinterpreting this, or is there indeed a deeper purpose behind the darkness?
Gabriele: You’re not misinterpreting it. Even though the themes and soundscapes are undeniably dark, there is always a sense of journey and transformation at the core of my work. The darkness is not an end in itself. It’s the space in which reflection, release, and understanding can emerge.
“In Between Ecstasy And Death”, as with much of my music, the collaboration with Phragments allowed us to explore extremes of emotion and atmosphere, but the underlying purpose is to guide the listener through a process. It’s about confronting the unknown, facing loss, and moving toward a state of clarity or insight. In that sense, the darkness becomes a medium for something larger, a sonic exploration of transition.
Even the logo of New Risen Throne reflects this idea: it represents a sun, which can be interpreted as either rising or setting, but in any case it is always a sun, a symbol of cycles, passage, and the constant presence of light, even within darkness.
Q: How do you perceive your evolution as a musician over the years? To what extent has the expansion of your instruments, studio techniques, and production methods shaped that evolution — and more specifically, how did this influence your most recent album?
Gabriele: In the very early years, I worked entirely on a computer, using plugins to create and shape my sounds. Over time, I began incorporating hardware synthesizers, which opened up new possibilities for textures and drones. At the same time, I continued using field recordings and kept my passion for heavy resampling, especially of vocal material, which has always been a central part of my sound. The use of hardware synthesizers, together with field recordings and vocal sampling, has gradually influenced all of my recent works. These elements have become increasingly integrated into my creative process, shaping the atmosphere and overall character of my sound over time.
Q: After such an intense and productive 2025, what can we expect from you in 2026?
Gabriele: I’m currently working on two new albums for 2026 and 2027, which will be released through two Italian labels, Eighth Tower Records and Glacial Movements. I’ve finally almost completed the first chapter of the virtual reality experience based on my 2020 album “The Outside”, and I’ll soon be able to release it on stores. At the same time, I’ve started sketching concepts and ideas for the second chapter.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
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