Maxime Dangles & Tommy Rizzitelli x AUR presents: REEF
Following the release of their debut single ‘BUG’ featuring Craig Walker (Archive), French duo Maxime Dangles and Tommy Rizzitelli continue the unveiling of their art-science project SONARS with ‘REEF’ featuring French electronic artist, poet, and vocalist Aur, released March 4.
Where ‘BUG’ (which was record of the week on Dan Hegarty’s RTE2 radio show) leaned into sharp post-punk tension, ‘REEF’ moves with a more cinematic, retro-futuristic energy. Built around a steady, almost processional rhythm, the track evokes the relentless movement of research expeditions and the vast, immersive scale of the ocean itself. Synth textures and dense percussion create a sense of forward momentum: a march into the immense.
“For ‘Reef’, we wanted a catchy, cinematic vibe, filled with retro-futuristic and robotic imagery,” explain Dangles and Rizzitelli. “We wanted it to feel like a march, evoking the relentless movement and endless research of our scientist friends in the vastness of the ocean.”
Conceived in dialogue with marine ecologists from the French-Québécois research institute BeBEST, SONARS translates encounters with scientists studying ocean ecosystems into sound. Rather than positioning itself as a protest record, the project explores the emotional and existential weight of ecological research; the tension between urgency and immensity.
On ‘REEF’, Aur’s French-language poetry becomes central to that narrative. Her lyrics move between fragility and resistance: “Against life, the abyss at the heels / The ocean is drowning… Against the shipwreck, the reef-man / Hands in the fight…”
The imagery speaks to humanity standing before the infinite, “turning world before the immense / the blue in the arms,” balancing ecological tragedy with the determination of those working daily to protect fragile ecosystems.
Aur explains: “The journey Maxime and Tommy took with the scientists deeply moved me. I had the chance to speak with Laurent Chauvaud and Frédéric Olivier during a SONARS event, and I was inspired by what I heard from them, their scientific work, and their travels. Starting from the emotion they conveyed was the starting point.”
The decision to keep the lyrics in French was intentional: “The ecological tragedy on one side, and the involvement of those who fight every day to understand, improve, and find the path of life on the other. These are paramount subjects, in ecology and everywhere else.”
For Dangles and Rizzitelli, Aur’s involvement felt inevitable: “We wanted to entrust the vocals of this track to Aur because we knew her talent for writing and poetry. While we were in the studio working on the mixes, dressing this track with a voice became obvious. Aur recorded some test vocals for us, and the need to lay one of her poems on the track came naturally.”
REEF’ is the second glimpse of SONARS, the duo’s forthcoming album out March 20 via Amoor Records. Across ten tracks, including collaborations with Craig Walker and Oxmo Puccino, SONARS unfolds as an immersive sonic expedition: melodic, repetitive, profound. Drawing inspiration from wooded landscapes, frozen expanses, uncertain seas and the scientists who study them, the album bridges electronic composition and ecological reflection without collapsing into didacticism.
If ‘BUG’ introduced the urgency of the project, ‘REEF’ expands its emotional landscape. placing poetry at its centre, and the ocean at its heart.
‘REEF’ (ft. Aur) is out now
The album SONARS follows on 20 March.
