Rhythm, Air, and Matter

Photography Colin Savercool

Header artwork Kevin Pinsembert, « Modèles », 210x155cm

In a hidden corner of Paris, far from the city’s usual stages, an intimate audience gathers for a singular sonic encounter. Iranian percussion virtuoso Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, celebrated for pushing the tombak and daf beyond their traditional boundaries through dizzying polyrhythms and meditative precision, performs a rare live set that blurs the line between trance and technique.

At the heart of the evening is Mateo Garcia, a Paris-based sound designer and researcher whose practice redefines how we experience space through sound. Specializing in the design and development of bespoke sound reinforcement systems and electro-acoustic equipment, Garcia doesn’t simply accompany a performance — he constructs the conditions for it to exist. Through his custom-built speakers and acoustic interventions, he sculpts the architecture of the venue itself, turning it into a resonant instrument where sound becomes both physical and perceptual.

This immersive sonic environment unfolds under the curatorial direction of Latency, the Paris-based record label founded by Sidney Gerard and Souleymane Said, known for its quietly radical approach to sound and space. Since its inception, Latency has cultivated a constellation of artists who move fluidly between disciplines — electronic experimenters, acoustic minimalists, and conceptual performers — all exploring how listening can become an act of transformation.

Together, Garcia and Mortazavi, guided by Latency’s attentive curation, construct an ephemeral environment where rhythm, air, and matter converge — an invisible architecture of sound that is experienced as both performance and place.

Mohammad Reza Mortazavi,'s new record is out on October 17, 2025.