Milan-based composer Thomas Feriero launches Challenging Conditions, a new solo project exploring unstable musical structures and experimental sound design. Its debut release, Condition 01, is out November 26, 2026, via Hidden Mountain, with a limited vinyl edition developed in collaboration with Paris-based design studio Aléa Work.
Built entirely from digitally modelled instruments simulating a jazz ensemble, Condition 01 explores how sound changes as musical structures gradually lose cohesion. Saxophones shift toward bass tones and drum-like textures, while individual parts respond to one another in a constantly evolving system. Drawing on physical modelling and digital waveguide synthesis, Feriero treats instability as a compositional tool rather than something to resolve.
The release also marks Hidden Mountain’s first publication of its own work after a decade of sound design for brands including Chanel, Prada and Bottega Veneta. The 100-copy vinyl edition features a mycelium object developed by Aléa Work, a studio exploring regenerative materials and living systems through design. Cultivated while exposed to the recording, the mycelium carries a physical trace of the music. Eighteen additional copies will be available exclusively through Bandcamp, with the living organism presented in its Petri dish. Each object is unique and cannot be reproduced.
Thomas FerieroAléa Work
Previously known for his work as one half of CW/A and under the alias Maenad Veyl, Feriero also runs the Veyl label with Alex Knoblauch. Condition 01 opens a three-part project in which each release follows a different compositional method.
