Orchestral romanticism meets psychedelic trance in borderless sonic alchemy
Born in Orléans, France, where history hums through cobblestones and cathedral bells, Dr. Clarke crafts sonic alchemy: 19th-century romanticism waltzing with trance, orchestral grandeur fused with electronic pulse.
His tracks? Time-bending, borderless, alive.
In his latest single, United Cultures, Dr. Clarke blends progressive, electro, and psytrance with sacred chants from Native American, Persian, African, and Buddhist traditions — a soaring 130-140 BPM journey celebrating unity through sound.
More than just a banger, United Cultures is a movement—a call to dance beyond borders and celebrate our shared pulse, where ancient voices meet futuristic beats,
His previous track, Ad Vitam Aeternam merges trance with orchestral power, taking listeners on a journey through eternity.
From ethereal choirs to Baroque strings and psychedelic drops, it dissolves time into one infinite moment—a sonic meditation on the eternal now.
Inspired by Schubert’s melancholy and quantum physics’ riddles, he sculpts melodies that feel unearthed rather than written.
Listen to his transcendent songs here.
Catch Dr. Clarke’s interview below.
HAPPY: What’d you get up to today?
DR. CLARKE: This morning I played a bit of chess, finalized my next release, and started experimenting with some semi-professional camera gear I recently got.
The goal is to eventually record scenes for future video clips.
I love learning new ways to bring music to life visually.
HAPPY: Tell us about where you’re from, and what do you love about it?
DR. CLARKE: I’m from Orléans, France — a city known for its deep history, especially the liberation by Jeanne d’Arc.
It’s also famous here for the “Fêtes Johanniques.”
The cathedral is stunning (and honestly underrated), and the “bords de Loire” are my favorite places to walk and reflect.
The city even has Roman traces, possibly visited by Emperor Aurelius.
What I truly appreciate nowadays is how the city’s been revitalized over the last decade — there’s a beautiful energy returning to it.
HAPPY: What inspired the fusion of 19th-century waltz and modern trance in Ad Vitam Aeternam?
DR. CLARKE: Great question. I started piano around age 7 or 8, and as I grew, my teachers would often say I had “a romantic soul.”
Not in the modern sense — more in the 19th-century artistic spirit. I’ve always felt a strong connection to that era, as if some part of me once lived there.
I’ve been deeply inspired by composers like Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven, and even by painters like Caspar David Friedrich.
I guess Ad Vitam Aeternam was a way to honor those roots while exploring new frontiers through electronic music.
There’s a tendency today for tracks to feel very polished but somewhat soulless.
I wanted to bring back storytelling and melody — to lift the boundaries between styles.
HAPPY: How do you approach blending classical and electronic elements in your compositions?
DR. CLARKE: To be honest, I’ve never sat down and planned it.
When I compose, melodies just come — as if they were always there, waiting.
Some call it “the flow.”
I just follow it. Sometimes a melody clearly belongs to strings, or a French horn, and then I sculpt the electronic part around it.
That said, mixing everything together can be quite technical, and it definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone — but that’s part of the fun.
HAPPY: What meaning does the ticking clock motif hold in Ad Vitam Aeternam?
TDR. CLARKE: That’s such a great question.
The ticking clock could symbolize many things, but I wanted listeners to ask themselves: “Does time even really exist?”
Sure, we measure it, but isn’t it a human construct — something we created to make sense of what we can’t control?
And yet… music can’t exist without time.
It lives and breathes through rhythm, progression, and silence.
That paradox fascinates me: how something as intangible as music depends entirely on something we invented.
As Debussy once said, “Music is the silence between the notes.” Even silence needs time to exist.
Interestingly, new perspectives in theoretical physics are questioning the very nature of time itself.
Researchers like Carlo Rovelli, in works such as The Order of Time, suggest that time might not be fundamental — that it emerges from deeper layers of reality we barely understand.
So in a way, the ticking clock in the track isn’t just a symbol.
It’s a reminder that time is both essential and illusory.
Music, just like consciousness, dances in that fascinating mystery.
HAPPY: How did you come about crafting the emotional journey of United Cultures?
DR. CLARKE: I’ve had the chance to travel and to study ancient civilizations, stories, and spiritual traditions.
And while there are clear differences between cultures, I kept finding deep similarities — in symbolism, in sound, even in beliefs.
I came to believe that cultures aren’t meant to be melted into each other, but rather held together in harmony, like voices in a choir.
After spending time in retreats, I felt the urge to reflect that unity in music.
Each culture’s sound became a voice in the same story.
HAPPY: The video shows fleeting glimpses of people worldwide.
If you could teleport the song to any location on Earth, where would you plant the speakers?
DR. CLARKE: At the top of the United Nations headquarters — with a 360° setup, so the sound travels in every direction at once, touching all corners of the Earth.
HAPPY: Were there challenges in merging different cultural sounds for United Cultures?
How did you overcome these?
DR. CLARKE: Definitely — especially because I don’t yet have a recording studio of my own (but that’s part of the long-term vision!).
I spent hours listening, exploring sample packs I’ve collected over time, searching for sounds that echoed one another across traditions.
Once I found them, they almost seemed to layer themselves. Some call it coincidence — I prefer Einstein’s version: “God does not play dice.”
HAPPY: You could’ve made United Cultures purely instrumental, but the human voices are its heartbeat.
Why was that essential?
DR. CLARKE: Because voices are what connect us.
Language, singing, storytelling — they’ve always been at the heart of our civilizations.
Even during war, in the darkest of times, humanity would shine through: during World War I, soldiers from opposing sides stopped fighting at Christmas, sharing songs and even moments of peace.
Some carols were sung in different languages — but the melodies, the rhythm, the spirit, were one and the same.
That says everything about the human soul. Voices and rhythms are reminders of our shared essence — and a way to transcend boundaries.
Music, frequencies and rhythm – are the common source.
As Tesla said, understanding energy, frequency and vibration is the key to understanding the universe: and music embodies all three.
In many ways, I believe music is one of our purest connections to that greater truth.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
DR. CLARKE: Hehe! Opening the shutters in the morning, feeling the fresh air, hearing birdsong, knowing there’s a hot coffee waiting…
…and that a whole new day has just begun.
