Stubbleman is the alter ego of Belgian-British composer and producer Pascal Gabriel, a genre-defying artist with a remarkable career spanning several decades.

From a punk background, he made his mark in the late ’80s by co-writing and producing two defining tracks of the UK acid house/breakbeat  explosion: “Theme from S’Express” (S’Express) and “Beat Dis” (Bomb The Bass). Over the years, he has worked with an eclectic range of artists, from Wire, EMF, Can, and Miss Kittin to Ladyhawke, Goldfrapp, Dido, Debbie Harry, Bebel Gilberto, and Kylie.

After years in the pop world, Pascal returned to his electronic and experimental roots with Stubbleman, a project blending modular synthesis, found sounds, and experimental instruments. His critically-acclaimed debut album, Mountains and Plains, was inspired by a road trip across the United States, capturing the vast landscapes and lost highways in an evocative ambient soundscape that bridges post-rock, electronic music, and minimal contemporary composition.

His second album, 1:46:43 – The Ventoux Trilogy, takes inspiration from a very different journey: the cycling ascent of Mont Ventoux, one of the most iconic climbs of the Tour de France. Built around a unique compositional process, the album is driven by real-time cycling data—heart rate, speed, power, and cadence—recorded live during the climb and translated into four interwoven modular synthesizer sequences. These constantly shifting parameters create a hypnotic yet ever-changing sonic foundation, enriched by field recordings, instrumental textures, melodies: an evolving soundscape of themes and variations. The album consists of 18 pieces arranged into three movements, each reflecting the distinct atmosphere and environment of the mountain’s three sections.
One ride. Four parameters. Eighteen compositions.

But The Ventoux Trilogy is not simply a piece about cycling. It is a meditation on human endurance, solitude, the raw beauty of nature, the struggle between despair and hope—a sonic reflection on life itself. 

For Pascal’s other writer/producer work, check out Melophobia