Rone’s Megaptera: An Album – the Language of Whales

Rone returns with Megaptera, a deeply immersive new album released via InFiné on June 12, 2026. Named after the scientific genus of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), the record explores the fragile space between human expression and the unknown intelligence of the natural world.

Across fifteen tracks, including the focus track “Verba Aliena”, the singles “La Baleine et Le Musicien” and “Zodiac”, and the closing reflections of “Megaptera Novaeangliae”, Rone transforms an extraordinary encounter with marine life into an album about curiosity, humility and the act of listening.

From the stage to the ocean: Rone’s search for silence

Following the acclaimed dance production Room With A View, created in collaboration with (La)Horde and the Ballet National de Marseille, Rone found himself searching for distance. After years shaped by touring, performances and the constant presence of digital noise, the French producer felt the need to disconnect — to leave the intensity of urban life behind and rediscover a slower rhythm.

Then, in 2020, an unexpected phenomenon caught his attention. Videos began circulating of sailors playing his music at sea, with whales and dolphins appearing nearby. From the French coastline to the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, reports emerged of encounters between his electronic compositions and cetaceans.

What initially appeared to be a mysterious coincidence became the starting point for a much deeper investigation.

What were these animals responding to? Could music create a connection across species? And how could humans approach a form of communication that exists far beyond their own understanding?

A musical experiment beyond human perception

Together with French diver and filmmaker Valentin Paoli, Rone approached bioacoustics expert Olivier Adam to explore these questions. The aim was not to prove a theory, but to observe, experiment and learn how to listen.

Preparing for the journey, Rone immersed himself in hours of whale vocalisation recordings. Alongside La Maîtrise de Radio France and conductor Sofi Jeannin, he explored the similarities between human voices and whale songs, creating vocal textures inspired by the complex sounds of marine mammals.

The idea was both poetic and scientific: could the purity and collective resonance of children’s voices create a bridge between two distant forms of communication?

Composing with whales as listeners

For the expedition, Rone developed new material using synthesizers and a custom modular instrument created together with musician and producer Cubenx. Travelling into the waters surrounding Reunion Island, the team established a strict observational protocol to understand the relationship between sound, environment and animal behaviour.

Yet the central question soon changed.

It was no longer about whether music could attract whales. Instead, the project became an exercise in attention — learning to recognise silence, patience and presence.

The ocean became less a stage and more a collaborator.

Megaptera: Music as a gesture of humility

Returning to the Breton coast, Rone transformed the sounds, impressions and uncertainties of the journey into fifteen compositions. Megaptera is not a record that claims to decode another species; it is an album shaped by the awareness that some forms of understanding remain beyond human reach.

From the atmospheric opening of “Al Lark” to the meditative closing track “Try Again”, the album moves between electronic experimentation, organic textures and moments of fragile beauty. Tracks such as “Breathe In” featuring Yael Naim underline the album’s central theme: connection through vulnerability.

At its core, Megaptera asks a simple but profound question: how can we communicate with beings that have existed on Earth for millions of years before us?

Perhaps understanding does not begin with answers, but with the willingness to listen.

With Megaptera, Rone turns music into an act of encounter — a sonic exploration of the distance between species, and a reminder that the unknown is not something to overcome, but something to approach with curiosity and respect.

Details:

Artist: Rone
Release: Megaptera (LP / CD / Digital)
Label: InFiné
Release Date: June 12, 2026