#Interview with Mehdi Saleh of Alphaxone

Beyond Existence and Perception, Interview with Mehdi Saleh of Alphaxone by Pegah

Hello, Blessed Altar Zine readers, this is Pegah and I’m back with another Interview. Today we are going to learn more about Mehdi Saleh, the creative force behind Alphaxone. My first encounter with this project dates back to 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many, I found myself confined at home, and during those long hours, dark ambient music became the soundtrack to my days. Then one day, Spotify randomly played a track by an artist I didn’t recognize—Alphaxone. I was instantly drawn in. What surprised me even more was discovering that he was based in Tehran, my hometown. As an Iranian, I understand how difficult it is to pursue an artistic path, especially within niche genres like dark ambient. The lack of full institutional support and limited exposure makes international recognition a rare feat. Yet, Alphaxone has managed to break those barriers and gain a strong following—arguably more outside of Iran than within.

Now, with the release of two new albums this year—one solo and one in collaboration with Dronny Darko (their second together)—I saw the perfect opportunity to dive deeper into his creative world.

Thank you so much for accepting this interview. Let’s begin at the very start—how did your adventure into dark ambient music begin? As an artist based in Iran, where challenges and limitations are considerable, how were you able to pursue your passion for dark ambient in a professional way?

Thank you for having me, it’s a pleasure to share my story .. 🙂 I’ve always been fascinated by the interplay between sound and atmosphere, and how music can transcend traditional structures to convey something more abstract and introspective, it began during a period of introspection and exploration, when I found myself drawn to the more mysterious and atmospheric corners of music , with its emphasis on texture, mood, and space, felt like the perfect medium to explore these ideas .. When I was young, I explored many different music styles. among the most important, were certain subgenres of metal, rock and electronic music, between which I felt a kind of deep connection .. later, I discovered ambient and dark ambient artists who were blending field recordings with subtle drones and deep textures, artists like (Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Lustmord and Atrium Carceri) .. I was particularly drawn to the way dark ambient music could evoke a sense of the supernatural and explore themes of introspection, emotion, and the unknown .. I started experimenting with basic software, field recordings, and simple drones, layering sounds to build textures that felt cosmic, evolution, isolation or derelict by combining through dark and light elements, I was just trying to capture a mood, a mental or emotional landscape .. over time, it became a personal ritual, my way of exploring both the outer universe and my inner one .. ultimately, ambient and dark ambient gave me a kind of freedom I couldn’t find elsewhere, it allowed me to explore contrasts, the balance between light and shadow, and to express emotions that don’t fit into conventional musical forms ..

As for being based in Iran, yes, there are many challenges, access to professional tools, exposure, support systems, limited access to the Internet and even basic artistic freedom are limited .. ambient music, especially dark ambient, is a very niche and misunderstood genre here, there’s little to no infrastructure for it, no real venues, labels, or audiences that understand this type of expression in a mainstream context, while the road hasn’t been easy, it’s been a journey of adaptation, resilience, and community-building, finding ways to turn challenges into opportunities for expression and growth .. I learned to rely on minimal tools, to push boundaries creatively, and to build connections beyond borders through the internet, that’s how my work slowly started to find its audience, share my work globally, and expand it .

How do you personally define dark ambient music? Given that concepts in this genre tend to be highly subjective, how do you usually conceptualize your albums?

In general, in this style, the abstraction of the art of music stands out more than in any other genre, the musician’s goal in this style is to create a kind of inner meditation for the listener and to enhance focus, it is essentially a deeply introspective and psychological genre, but I personally define it as an atmospheric form of sonic art that evokes introspection, feelings , mystery, or transcendence through minimalist, often non-rhythmic, and heavily textured compositions, these auditory spaces often feel as if they belong to dreams, nightmares, forgotten rituals, or alien worlds, because of that, it’s incredibly subjective, what feels ominous or unsettling to one person might feel calming or introspective to another, I think that’s part of what makes the genre so powerful-it allows each listener to project their own inner world onto the soundscape .. when conceptualizing an album, I usually start with a theme or a feeling I want to explore, this could be a philosophical idea, a narrative arc or a visual landscape for example, I might imagine a concept of space or the vastness of cosmic emptiness, post-apocalyptic world or an emotional state like cold landscape, from there, I build soundscapes that mirror those ideas, I pay attention to the pacing, the transitions, and how the listener might experience the journey from start to finish, field recordings, synthetic drones, reverb, and layered textures help me create that immersive world .. each track is like a chapter in a book or a scene in a film, pieces of a larger story, I want the listener to feel like they can touch the space, not just hear it, even if my music leans towards darker colors, I try to include a subtle presence of light, a sense of clarity .. I like to play with the contrast between oppressive and serene, a brief glimmer in the abyss, this keeps the narrative dynamic and prevents monotony .

What was your first official album? Were you satisfied with the feedback it received? How do people in Iran generally respond to your music? Do you feel your work is understood or appreciated differently at home compared to abroad?

”Living in the Greyland” was my first serious and advanced album, which I independently released through “Cryo Chamber” as my first physical release, it received relatively positive feedback abroad, but in IRAN, due to the dominant musical inclinations, such as traditional styles and mostly pop music, genres like ambient or dark ambient have largely remained unfamiliar to the general public .. before that, since 2009, which I consider the beginning of my artistic journey I had worked on a number of albums and some song remixes, at the beginning, they served more as a means for me to practice, explore, and experiment with making music, although they didn’t attract much attention in terms of numbers, they marked an important milestone for me, it was the first time I truly committed to transforming my inner world into sound and letting it go.

What is your ultimate goal in creating music? Would you say your work is meant to foster introspection, or is it more about evoking specific emotions in the listener?

My ultimate goal in creating music is to craft an immersive auditory experience that serves as a gateway to deeper emotional, sentimental, and psychological explorations .. the genre’s ethereal, often unsettling textures lend themselves to both introspection and the evocation of specific emotions, and I see these two aims as intertwined rather than separate, it’s a genre defined by subtle textures, drones, environmental sounds, and an often cinematic or immersive quality, it doesn’t tell you exactly what to feel but gives you a space to feel something, mystery, unease, solitude, transcendence, perception of the unknown and beyond .. there’s an openness to interpretation, and that’s what makes it so personal and profound, so yes, introspection is absolutely at the heart of it, but not in a guided or prescriptive and that the listener feels less like they’re hearing music and more like they’re inhabiting a mood, because the genre is so subjective, I see each album as a kind of portal, a space the listener can inhabit and interpret in their own way .

There’s often a sense of sorrow and emotional weight in your compositions. What is the role of darkness in your work? Where does that emotional depth come from, and how much of it reflects your personal inner world?

In general, darkness in my work is not a wall, it is a door, it leads inward, downward, and sometimes upward toward something greater than myself .. it’s about the unspoken, unknowns and existential questioning in my work, darkness plays several roles .. darkness allows emotional truths that don’t fit within everyday expression to exist, it’s where sorrow, longing, fear, and reverence can simply be without needing to be resolved .. there’s something spiritually significant in emptiness and decay, like ancient ruins or abandoned places, darkness holds memory, loss, and transformation, it creates a space for reflection .. sonically, i’m drawn to textures and tones that sense of balance and submerged .. this aesthetic, distorted drones, fading signals, muffled spaces is inherently immersed in a kind of sonic melancholia yet calm, balancing serenity with emotional depth, while darker and more space-themed this process is an externalization of something internal, yet it remains abstract enough for listeners to project their own emotions into it as well .. at the same time, I try not to stay in absolute darkness, there’s always a contrast, a moment of light or openness, even if it’s subtle .. for me, that balance is essential .

What aspects of your personality do you feel are most deeply reflected in your music? Would you say there is a “profound self” hidden behind the sound?

The most deeply reflected aspects of my personality in my music are solitude, inner depth, and a fascination with the unknown, my music often emerges from a space of silence and observation, where emotions don’t express themselves loudly, but instead ripple subtly through layered textures and slow movements .. there’s a tendency toward introspection, a pull toward shadowed corners of the psyche, where thoughts aren’t always clear but are deeply felt .. I don’t try to say anything directly, but rather to reveal a presence, something quiet, vast, maybe even sacred, something that has always been there, waiting to be heard, there’s a tension in me between optimism and melancholy, hope and despair, I think my music reflects that balance-never fully one or the other, but always suspended somewhere in between .

Now, let’s talk about your professional experience. You’ve released a significant body of work, particularly through Cryo Chamber—one of the most respected labels in the ambient scene. How did your collaboration with the label begin?

The collaboration with “Cryo Chamber” began much like many meaningful artistic partnerships do, through a shared aesthetic vision, mutual respect, and timing that aligned just right .. “Cryo Chamber” had just started making waves, founded by Simon Heath of Atrium Carceri, the label stood out immediately .. not just for the quality of the music, but for the depth of its cinematic vision, consistency in curation, and the emphasis on immersive storytelling, it wasn’t just a label, it felt like an aesthetic universe .. I reached out to Simon with some of my early work, and to my surprise and gratitude, he responded with interest, he saw potential in my sound, and our creative visions aligned well, from there, although there was an immediate creative synergy, it was very strict in some cases .. we began working together, and my first release with “Cryo Chamber” followed soon after, since then, the relationship has grown stronger with each release .. working with “Cryo Chamber” has allowed me to reach a wider audience, collaborate with other incredible artists, and evolve continuously as a composer, it’s been one of the most meaningful and creatively fulfilling parts of my journey .

Over the years, you’ve worked with several artists on collaborative projects. How do these collaborations usually take shape? Which one has been the most challenging or rewarding for you, and why?

Almost all of them have been valuable to me, and along the way, there have been some challenges as well .. for example, in some cases, our vocabulary might not align, which compels us to expand our toolbox and, instead of aiming for cohesion, experiment with contrast, along the way, both of us will intuitively understand what the soundscape requires, it’s a different kind of approach, because the genre leans so heavily on mood, texture, and subtle narrative .. overall, I see collaborations not just as musical exercises but as conversations .. silent ones, carried through sound, they’re about learning to listen differently, to relinquish ego, and to build something shared that wouldn’t exist otherwise .

As I mentioned in my previous interview, listening to dark/space ambient often feels like drifting weightlessly through the cosmos. That feeling is what drew me to this genre, and I experienced it strongly with Edge of Solitude (2018), and Aftermath (2019)—your collaboration with fellow Iranian artist Xerxes The Dark. How do you go about crafting such deeply immersive soundscapes?

That sensation of drifting weightlessly through the cosmos is at the very heart of what I try to evoke, so it’s truly meaningful to hear that “Edge of Solitude” and “Aftermath” resonated with you in that way, for me, crafting immersive sound is less about composing in the traditional sense and more about sculpting sonic environments creating worlds that feel lived-in, ancient, or even forgotten and unknown .. ”Aftermath”, on the other hand, with Xerxes The Dark was about ruin and memory something cataclysmic has passed, and you’re walking through the lingering frequencies of what remains, the collaboration allowed us to explore both the coldness of space and the emotional debris left behind, working with Xerxes The Dark introduced a complementary vision, his style is often gritty and industrial .. while mine leaned more into cinematic and emotional spaces, there’s a kind of respectful mystery in that process each of us contributing something that the other reacts to emotionally rather than analytically, that’s part of what gives “Aftermath” its layered, almost archeological feeling .

In 2020, you released Shadows of Forgotten Legends with Onasander and ProtoU. In 2021,you reunited with ProtoU for Back to Beyond, and in 2024, with Onasander again for Futuristic Dereliction. How have these collaborations evolved over time? Who usually initiates them, and what does your collaborative process look like?

The evolution of those collaborations with ProtoU and Onasander has been both organic and deeply rewarding, each project is a reflection not only of our individual sonic identities but also of the emergent chemistry that forms when we come together around a shared vision, over time, these collaborations have grown more fluid, intuitive, and conceptually layered, each partnership began from a place of mutual artistic respect .. “Shadows of Forgotten Legends” : started as a trio project, with all of us drawn to the idea of resurrecting buried mythologies sonic echoes of forgotten civilizations, and watery soundscapes . “Back to Beyond” : was a natural follow-up with ProtoU, we’d discovered a shared interest in creating emotionally rich, cinematic soundscapes that lean toward cosmic melancholy and environmental decay . “Futuristic Dereliction” : with Onasander returned to a colder, more ruinous palette where urban desolation meets science fiction, It felt like completing a cycle with him, but from a more mature place artistically . In the end, these collaborations have become less about merging styles and more about creating a shared language of space and feeling, each artist brings a different texture, but the harmony comes from knowing when to speak and when to listen .

Is there a thematic connection between The Infinite Void (2022) and your latest solo album Final Encounter? If so, could you explain that link? If not, could you elaborate on the unique concept or theme behind each album?

Yes, there is a thematic connection between “The Infinite Void” and “Final Encounter” though it’s subtle and more spiritual than narrative, you could almost think of them as two parts of a cosmic existential arc one contemplating the abyss, and the other confronting the end of the journey ..

“The Infinite Void” : This album was about drifting into the unknown, both physically and metaphysically, it focused on the emptiness between worlds, the silence that exists beyond all communication, where time dissolves and identity fades, I envisioned it as a long descent or ascent into an infinite expanse where the listener is alone with the void . “Final Encounter”: In contrast, is not about emptiness it’s about the moment of contact, whether that contact is alien, spiritual, or symbolic of death itself, it’s the edge of revelation, there’s tension, beauty, and even fear in the sound design .. you can hear a sense of urgency in some tracks, like something vast and unknowable is finally closing in, or it is meant to reshape a form of the world in order to arrive at new laws .

Your most recent release, Invisible World—a collaboration with Dronny Darko—comes after your 2023 release Beyond the Event Horizon with the same artist. How did this new collaboration come about? And where—or what—is the Invisible World?

The collaboration with Dronny Darko on “Invisible World” felt like a natural continuation of the creative synergy we explored on “Beyond the Event Horizon” that first album was a deep dive into the vast, incomprehensible spaces beyond known cosmic boundaries full of gravitational collapse, silent acceleration, and the cold logic of astrophysical oblivion, it was remote, scientific, even brutal at times, “Invisible World”, by contrast, turns inward, It asks : what if the most alien frontier isn’t out there in space but within .. ? After “Beyond the Event Horizon”, both of us felt there was more to explore something quieter, more subtle and psychological, we had touched the outer rim of the cosmos, now we wanted to pull back the curtain on a different kind of space, one shaped not by physics, but by memory, shadow, and perception ..

The idea for “Invisible World” emerged during our conversations about liminal spaces, non-places, and the layers of experience that exist just beneath perception dream states, forgotten corridors of the mind, things that are real but unseeable .. the “Invisible World” is a metaphor and a sonic reality a dimension that exists parallel to ours, shaped by forgotten thoughts, faded rituals, suppressed emotions, and unseen energies, it’s not one place, but a continuum of spaces .. dreamlike ruins of personal memory, ancestral echoes buried beneath an ocean of consciousness, unreachable zones behind locked psychological and spiritual doors .. in sonic terms, it’s less harsh and more immersively atmospheric than “Beyond the Event Horizon” .. layered field recordings, warped beyond recognition, low-frequency drones that resemble subconscious rumblings whispers of melody, as if something familiar is trying to emerge but stays just out of reach .. “The Invisible World” is intimate, but not safe, It’s not cosmic terror, it’s quiet revelation, The sense that what you don’t see might shape you more than what you do .. Dronny and I have developed a strong mutual understanding over time for this album .. we exchanged textural sketches and concepts, not fully formed tracks, we built the album in layers reacting to each other’s sounds rather than imposing structure, we both focused on depth and restraint, letting the atmosphere breathe, letting silence speak .. there was a shared intention to blur the boundary between the internal and the external, between ambient as environment and ambient as emotion .

As an Iranian artist, what are the key cultural, political, or logistical barriers you continue to face? Are there any particular obstacles you hope to see removed or improved in the future?

As mentioned in the responses above .. there are numerous obstacles that often affect your ability to create, share, receive support, and evolve in your practice .. So yes, there is also sometimes prejudice or misunderstanding about Iranian artists, due to media portrayal and political tension, while the global ambient/experimental community is often open-minded, curators, labels, and fans unfamiliar with Iranian culture might overlook your work because of unconscious bias or a political lens .. Ultimately, most job opportunities in this industry are designed for artists who have access to infrastructures outside places like Iran, not for those who are under sanctions .. so I hope that situation regarding these issues, limitations, and perspectives, both culturally and politically-toward the Iranian music community and artists improves .

Thank you again for your time and thoughtful answers. Accepting this interview really means a lot to me. As a final word, is there anything you’d like to share with your listeners or anyone discovering your music for the first time?

I’d just like to say thank you to those who’ve supported my work over the years, and to anyone who’s just discovering it now, especially knowing the challenges of creating from a place like IRAN, i’m deeply grateful, it’s not always easy to stay devoted to a genre so far removed from mainstream attention, but knowing that the music reaches people, even across vast distances, makes it worthwhile .. Also, many thanks to you for providing the space for this conversation 🙂 Keep an open heart, and don’t be afraid to explore the emotions it stirs, I invite you to go beyond the surface .. that’s where the magic happens.

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