ITNRODUCING: Pyrrhus

Manchester producer Pyrrhus occupies a unique space within the UK's progressive electronic scene, crafting records that are as emotionally affecting as they are dancefloor-ready. Blending melodic breaks, cinematic sound design and analogue warmth, his productions channel the spirit of late-'80s rave culture through a distinctly modern lens, balancing introspection with peak-time energy. With a growing catalogue of releases across labels including Prognosis Records, Capital Heaven, Morphosis Records, Stripped Digital and his own Somnia Records, Pyrrhus has steadily built a reputation for music that resonates as deeply on headphones as it does through a club sound system.

As he prepares to unveil two deeply personal full-length albums, Pyrrhus – Genesis and Pyrrhus – Better Days, this next chapter sees the Manchester artist pushing further into atmosphere, emotion and storytelling than ever before. We caught up with him to discuss the balance between club functionality and emotional depth, the influence of Manchester's rich dance music heritage, his hybrid production process, and the personal experiences that shaped his most ambitious work to date.

Your music sits in that sweet spot between introspective listening and peak-time club energy — when you’re writing a track, do you consciously think about balancing those two worlds, or does that tension happen naturally in the studio?

I think it happens quite naturally now, but it is definitely something I have become more aware of as the Pyrrhus sound has developed. I have always been drawn to music that carries emotion, but I also come from a club background, so rhythm and movement are always important to me. I don't really want to make records that only exist in one space. I like the idea that a track can work late at night on headphones, but also still make sense on a proper sound system.

A lot of my music starts from feeling rather than function. It might be a chord progression, a pad, a bassline or a little melodic idea that has a certain mood to it. From there, I try to build a world around it. The club energy usually comes through once the drums, breaks and low-end start to take shape.

That balance between introspection and dance floor intent is probably the heart of what I do. I like music that gives you something emotionally, but still has enough weight and momentum to move a room.

You mention a background in cinematic composition, sound design and analogue experimentation — how have those influences shaped the emotional arc and sense of atmosphere in your productions?

Cinematic music has definitely shaped the way I think about arrangement and emotional movement. I tend to see tracks almost like little scenes. There needs to be an opening, a sense of space, a build in tension, a moment of release and then some kind of afterglow. I am not just thinking about drops or sections; I am thinking about how the record feels as it unfolds.

Sound design is a big part of that for me. Sometimes the atmosphere around a track is just as important as the main hook. The little textures, the noise, the movement in the background, the way a pad opens up or a delay catches the end of a phrase — those details are what give a record depth and identity.

The analogue side brings a bit of imperfection, which I really love. There is something in the warmth, instability and hands-on nature of hardware that makes the music feel less static. It gives the record a pulse. Even when the track is very polished, I still want it to feel human and alive.

There’s a strong nod in your sound to late ’80s and early ’90s rave culture, but it never feels purely nostalgic — what is it about that era that still resonates with you, and how do you reinterpret it through a modern progressive lens?

For me, that era represents freedom, expression and a real sense of discovery. Being from Manchester, it is impossible not to feel the weight and influence of that musical history. The Haçienda sound, the energy around that period, and the way Manchester absorbed rave culture has always stayed with me. It was not just about records — it was about attitude, movement and how music could completely change the feeling in a room.

When I was younger and DJing on the circuit, playing and being involved with places like Sankeys and The Warehouse Project opened up a completely new understanding of dance music for me. Those spaces showed me the impact certain sounds could have on a dance floor — the tension, the release, the emotion, the unity. You could feel when a record shifted the atmosphere, and those moments stayed with me personally as much as musically.

I am not trying to recreate that era exactly, because I do not think that would feel honest. What interests me is the spirit of it — the feeling of release, the emotion in the chords, the breakbeats, the acid lines, and that sense that music can take people somewhere.

The modern progressive side allows me to take those influences and shape them with more detail, space and depth. I like using those older references as a foundation, then bringing them into a cleaner, more cinematic and melodic world. It is nostalgia, but with forward motion. I want the music to carry echoes of the past without being trapped by it.

Your process blends modular synthesis, analogue hardware and digital production — what does each of those elements bring to a Pyrrhus record, and how important is that hands-on workflow to capturing the warmth and movement in your sound?

Each part brings something different, and I think the combination of those worlds is a big part of the Pyrrhus sound.

Hardware gives me a more physical connection to the music. I currently use pieces like the Novation Peak, Akai MPC Live 3 and Roland TR-8, and each of them brings something different to the process. The Peak is great for warmth, movement and atmosphere. The MPC gives me a more hands-on way of building ideas and capturing rhythm, and the TR-8 brings that immediate drum-machine energy that keeps things feeling alive.

I also use digital hardware and controllers like Maschine and the Akai APC40 MKII, which help bridge the gap between performance and production. I like being able to physically interact with the track rather than just staring at a screen. Turning things, triggering ideas, recording takes and letting small imperfections happen is really important to me.

On the software side, my go-to instruments are things like the Arturia Collection, Diva, the Korg Collection and Native Instruments Komplete. Those tools give me a huge palette — from vintage synth tones and classic electronic textures to more cinematic sounds and modern production detail.

The digital side gives me precision and freedom. Ableton is where I can really shape the arrangement, edit the finer details, build transitions and bring everything into focus. But I still want the process to feel human. I do not want the records to sound too clean or clinical. I like warmth, movement, texture and the feeling that something has been played, pushed and shaped by hand.

That hands-on workflow is a big part of capturing the emotion in the music. Some of the best ideas come from accidents — a sound moving slightly differently than expected, a take that is not perfect but has feeling, or a texture that suddenly gives the whole track a different atmosphere. That is where the life in the record often comes from.

With two full-length albums lined up for 2026, what feels different about this next chapter creatively — and what can listeners expect from these records that perhaps goes deeper than what they’ve heard from Pyrrhus so far?

This next chapter feels like the most honest and vulnerable version of Pyrrhus so far. Both albums were written during a really difficult period in my life, when a family member found out they were unwell. That naturally brought a lot of sadness and reflection, but it also created a much deeper connection to the music. The studio became somewhere I could channel what I was feeling into something more positive, hopeful and meaningful.

The two albums — Pyrrhus - Genesis and Pyrrhus - Better Days — represent a very personal passage of my life. They are built from real heartfelt writing and production, and they show a different side to how I approach electronic music. There are still the melodic breaks and progressive energy people have started to connect with, but these records go further into atmosphere, texture, emotion and composition.

A lot of the music features field recordings from nature around where I walk near home, as well as sounds captured inside the studio environment — little clicks, taps, keystrokes and small ambient details that have been woven into the music. Those sounds might seem tiny on their own, but they carry a lot of memory and feeling for me. They make the records feel lived in.

Both albums are deeply connected to that period of writing, but they are not just sad records. They are about trying to find light through something difficult. They are about movement, acceptance, hope and using music as a way of processing life when things feel heavy.

Looking back, it was during that period of writing and studio work that Pyrrhus really started to find its traction and movement within the breaks and melodic progressive breaks scene. So in many ways, these albums feel like the foundation of everything that has started to happen around the project. Pyrrhus - Genesis and Pyrrhus - Better Days will both drop in winter 2026, and I think listeners can expect something more personal, more cinematic and more emotionally open than anything I have released so far. They represent a side of Pyrrhus that I will forever be deeply connected to.