THE STORY BEHIND
A DARK PROJECT
DENA has been a movie lover for as long as he can remember, with a particular fascination for science fiction, horror and fantasy. Naturally, the films of John Carpenter became an early influence, not only for their atmosphere and imagery, but also for Carpenter's unmistakable synthesizer-driven soundtracks.
At the same time, he grew up loving the great American comedies and teen movies of the 1980s, especially films by John Hughes. There was always a real story, strong characters, emotion, and above all, an incredible soundtrack. Music was never simply something playing behind the images. It was part of the movie itself.
His own musical journey started very early. At the age of eight, he received his first electronic organ, followed a few years later by a small children's synthesizer. Then, in 1987, everything changed when he bought a Commodore Amiga 500. He discovered Soundtracker, followed by NoiseTracker, early music sequencers that in many ways anticipated the modern DAW.
In 1991, he bought his first professional synthesizer, a Korg 01/W, connected via MIDI to Bars & Pipes Professional 2.0 running on his Amiga. Suddenly, he had his own little electronic studio. He spent countless hours recreating music inspired by his favorite movies before gradually moving toward his first original compositions.
One of those early compositions ended in a painful lesson when it was taken and used by a major video game publisher without his permission. The experience, along with the disappointment of having been too trusting, eventually pushed him away from music. He turned instead toward photography, audiovisual creation and video production, paths that would shape the next decades of his professional life.
Then, 26 years later, he came back.
This time, the tools had completely changed: a modern DAW, an incredibly powerful computer, virtual instruments offering sounds he could only have dreamed of in the early 1990s, all mixed with the character of his old Korg synthesizer and his vintage BOSS DR-550 drum machine.
A DARK PROJECT is where all those worlds finally meet.
During those first months, many ideas were shaped through late-night phone calls with musician friends across Europe. DENA would often call them in the evening, sometimes well into the night, asking if they wanted to join the adventure or simply bring a small musical contribution of their own. Those conversations became part of the identity of the project itself.
That is where the title A CALL IN THE NIGHT comes from.
It is both a literal reference to those late-night calls and a more symbolic invitation, a signal sent into the night to anyone who might want to become part of the journey.
It brings together the synthesizer sounds and cinematic atmosphere of the 1980s, as if the music had been taken directly from the soundtrack of a forgotten movie from that era, but with a subtle touch of French electronic music.
After all, he is French.
