There’s something immersive about Shadow Puppets, the new EP by Instrumental Humans. Entirely instrumental, the release leans into atmosphere, emotion, and narrative without ever spelling things out directly. It’s music that invites interpretation rather than instruction, leaving space for listeners to find their own meaning inside the sound. As with any release from Instrumental Humans, I appreciate the uniqueness and surreal vibe it brings to the ears, almost like Salvador Dalí translated into music.
🎧 You can listen to Shadow Puppets on Bandcamp here.
I wanted to explore how this EP came together, from its first musical sparks to the ideas that eventually shaped its title and concept. We talked about process, emotion, challenges, and how Shadow Puppets fits into a broader creative journey.
What was the first spark or idea that inspired this EP?
The music usually comes to me first. Since my music is pretty much entirely without vocals and lyrics, so far at least, aside from perhaps the occasional sample, the actual comprehensible ideas, such as titles and album concepts, come afterward. That part will usually come to me after I’ve sat and listened back to the completed tracks a few times, or sometimes as I’m working on them. It’s sort of like searching for a story within the music. The music is almost always the first step, though.
Did you start this EP with a melody, a rhythm, or a concept?
When I begin writing a piece of music, I’m just going off how I’m feeling in the moment. I’m always sort of jamming with myself in my head in my free time, so it’s really the same as that. Sometimes it starts with a melody, but I think more often than not I start by thinking in terms of the structure of the rhythm. As I go along, I’m sort of discovering the notes and melodies.
Was there a specific emotion or scene you wanted to capture across the EP?
It’s really just a bipolar whirlwind of mixed emotions, like all the rest of my music. With some exceptions, I don’t usually set out to capture any particular feeling. I’m often just playing it by ear and being present in the moment.
Which sounds or instruments are most central to the EP?
Each track on this EP is somewhat unique in its instrumentation, but the violin and the piano are fairly prevalent throughout the album.
Did you experiment with any new techniques or plugins while making this EP?
When it comes to the technical stuff, mixing, effects, mastering, though I’ve been at it for quite a while now, my approach is pretty basic in that regard. I’ve tried to expand my understanding of that aspect of making music, but admittedly it’s moving at a snail’s pace. For this release, though, I did begin playing around with some new EQ tools, and I think it made a noticeable improvement.
What was the most challenging part of producing this EP?
I think it was coming up with the titles. That’s probably always the case. I’m really bad at that. It might be more difficult to come up with titles for instrumental tracks than it is to just write lyrics.
Is there a story behind the EP title Shadow Puppets?
There’s that whole “searching for a story within the music” thing, but in this case it’s more of an idea or concept than a story, just a bunch of weird stuff that was going through my head as I worked on it.
There’s an audience. The shadow puppets are being cast on a big curtain in front of them. It’s a show intended to provoke specific emotional reactions. The shadowgraphers hide behind the light as they perform. The audience always has mixed reactions. They disagree on the theme, the premise, and the subtext, and they believe that what they’re seeing is real, that their interpretation is objective and not a puppet show at all. They even define themselves and behave according to those interpretations. They bicker and fight, and all the while the shadowgraphers continue deceiving and manipulating, but in reality they are merely puppets themselves. The ones really running the show are the theater owners. They don’t own the theater because they have money; they own it because they took it over. They took it over by lying, cheating, and using violence. They don’t put on the production because they want to entertain. They do it because they know the audience will keep watching. As long as they keep watching, it’s business as usual. The show never ends, at least not until the audience gets up out of their seats and walks out of the theater.
Of course, you would never get any of that just from listening to the EP, but maybe this adds an interesting layer of context.
What do you hope listeners feel when they hear this EP?
I hope they feel the same exuberance that I felt while writing it. To me, creating music feels exactly the same as playing with my toys as a child. Well, maybe with a bit more frustration than my Ninja Turtles action figures, but I mean the parts that are just fun. I hope that comes through at least a little bit in the music.
How do you see this EP fitting into your broader discography?
I believe this EP is the best addition yet. It’s been quite a learning curve since 2013, when I first started producing my own music, especially over the last four years since I began releasing it. I still have a great deal to learn about music production in general, but I’m very pleased with Shadow Puppets. I think it’s a big step up from my past releases in terms of composition and sound quality.
Do you imagine this EP being heard in a specific setting?
I tend to imagine people listening to my music the same way I usually listen to music, at home, either on headphones or speakers, preferably while drinking coffee.
Did the EP change direction during production, or did it stay close to the original idea?
I originally wrote each of these tracks several years ago, so since then I’ve made small changes to the compositions here and there. Once I started putting the finishing touches on the EP, I did a bit of an overhaul on a lot of it. Mostly I just tightened things up, but there were also some new ideas that were completely different from the original compositions. There ended up being quite a change in direction in that regard.
How do you know when an EP or music project is truly finished?
I don’t. I basically never stop thinking of things I could add or change, but at a certain point I try to let it be what it is. On a few occasions, I’ve given in to my compulsive urge and gone back to change things after releasing a track. I really try to avoid that, but every now and then I just can’t help myself. I have to tinker and tamper. I’m working on it.
When I listened to Shadow Puppets, it felt like the kind of EP that is so multidimensional and complex that you need to listen to it multiple times to fully grasp all of its musical aspects. Instrumental Humans’ music is the kind of music you really have to sit with and actively listen to, rather than letting it play in the background. It reflects a long creative arc shaped by instinct, curiosity, and a willingness to let music lead before meaning follows.
Rather than dictating how it should be understood, the EP leaves space for interpretation, much like the shadow play it references, inviting listeners to sit with it, question it, and perhaps see something different each time they return.
Thank you to Instrumental Humans for this beautifully layered EP and for sharing with us your creative vision.
If you’d like to explore his creative process further, you can also read the ”Behind Music Interview” I did with him on the blog.
Follow Instrumental Humans on Instagram here.
— Spacey Panda
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