Stubbleman is the alter-ego of maverick composer and producer Pascal Gabriel.

From humble beginnings in a Belgian punk band, Pascal moved to London to form a string of art-school experimental bands, until he discovered the joys of the recording studio and gained recognition as an innovative producer & songwriter.

Initially known for landmark dance hits “Theme from S’Express” and “Beat Dis”, he has since composed with, produced and mixed a huge spectrum of artists including Dido, Kylie Minogue, Inspiral Carpets, Can, Bebel Gilberto, Miss Kittin, Wire, Ladyhawke and countless others.

After many years in the wilderness of pop, Pascal has re-embraced his adventurous electronic ambient past with a project combining a lo-fi, cinematic mixture of found sounds, field recordings and modular synthesisers, often accompanied by live piano.

Stubbleman’s panoramic debut album, Mountains and Plains, is inspired by a journey across the USA, during which Pascal recorded many sounds and ideas to be used as a basis for eleven tracks. These were further elaborated in his studio in southern France, and mixed in London with his old friend and accomplice Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Tuxedomoon, Grizzly Bear).

A true sonic road trip, the album evokes the poignant delights of endless train tracks, sleepless cities, nostalgic ruins, big skies, high deserts and lost junctions (which Pascal also captured in videos which will illustrate his live shows), keeping at all times an affectionate eye for the humanity which populates these diverse landscapes.

The music in Mountains and Plains can be perceived as a contemporary take on the golden era of ambient music in the ‘70s, while entertaining a relationship with the current trend of instrumental music which sits on the border between electronic and classical/minimal.

Read the reviews here

Out now on Crammed Discs
Buy / Stream the album here

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