OR is the new musical project from John Talabot, the Catalan producer, electronic musician, and DJ residing in Barcelona. He has announced his forthcoming debut album under the OR moniker, and his first new music in over a decade — Music for Empty Stadiums, out October 30 via AD 93. The record exhibits a more left-field side of Talabot’s repertoire, featuring a tangle of cartwheeling synth hooks bursting with color and looping electronics.
Music for Empty Stadiums is also announced today with its first single, ‘Nokik Messiah’.
OR – ‘Nokik Messiah’
New Single Released September 16, 2026
>> STREAM <<
Throughout his career, Oriol Riverola (best known to the electronic music world as John Talabot) has relied on the spark — both creative and social — provided by being on the road, playing gigs, getting into the studio and living the life of a working musician. But when the world shut down in 2020, that spark was abruptly snuffed out, and he was struggling. At the time, it was unclear when — or if — things would ever go back to normal; Riverola was suddenly adrift, and in an effort to cope with the void, the Barcelona artist would walk over to the empty office of his Hivern Discs label and blast music at full volume, hoping to feel some semblance of what he was missing.
During this time, the idea of producing dance music felt weird and somewhat pointless, and as much of the music sphere pivoted hard toward a blurry strain of homebound ambient, it left Riverola feeling uninspired. It’s not that he didn’t like ambient, but in a moment when the world felt anything but calm and his own anxiety levels were peaking, he was craving adrenaline and cortisol. Add in the widespread speculation that even when things opened up again, ambient might be the only music allowed at live events for the foreseeable future, and Riverola found himself asking, “What might the most euphoric possible variant of ambient sound like?”
With that question in mind, he cocooned himself in the studio, working at a frantic rate and piecing together dozens of sketches in the span of a few months. The music he made was fast, energetic, full of bright colors and almost entirely beatless. An alternate soundtrack to a world in which it felt like dance music had been added to a long list of prohibitions, what Riverola created was a kind of anti-ambient, though he didn’t necessarily see it in such lofty terms. To him, the whole thing was an exercise in escapism. But once restrictions began to lift, he wasn’t sure if this music had any real value — so he put it aside and promptly forgot about it.
That music might have stayed sitting on his hard drive forever, but a chance email from AD 93’s Nic Tasker — who was assembling an NTS Radio show with music people had made during the pandemic — prompted Riverola to revisit his previous flurry of activity and share a few of the tunes. Tasker liked what he heard, and eventually asked to hear the whole batch, and pretty soon, he and Riverola were talking about releasing an album. They weren’t in a rush; it took years to whittle the material down into a reasonably sized tracklist, and Riverola (moving between Barcelona, Mallorca and Japan) also had to whip the selected sketches into fighting shape. Doing so wasn’t easy; despite being a veteran producer, this music had far more melodies and polyrhythms than anything he’d ever done, complicating a mixing and mastering process that ultimately took more than 18 months to complete.
Music for Empty Stadiums is the end result of that process, and with 17 tracks and a runtime of nearly 95 minutes, it’s easily the most substantial release of Riverola’s career. The record has no concrete narrative, but by presenting its tracks in the chronological order they were created, it does serve as a diaristic document of a uniquely distressing time — and one artist’s attempt to work his way through it. In that sense, Music for Empty Stadiums is also one of the most personal things Riverola ever done, which is why he’s settled on the name OR, as it’s not only a stand-in for his initials, but is also the Catalan word for “gold.” And while he’s not comparing this work to some sort of precious metal—though its darting melodies do sparkle—it does embody a certain grandeur, presenting a richly immersive soundworld in which energy and momentum have nothing to do with a standard kick-drum pattern.
Artists experiment with aliases all the time, especially within electronic music, and there’s something to be said for the idea of becoming someone else to explore something different. Side projects provide a space for artists to delve into specific concepts or modes of working, and do so without the pressure and scrutiny that comes with releasing music under their primary monikers. Riverola has tried on numerous aliases over the course of his career, and though they’ve all followed unique paths, each one has also gone on to broaden the tapestry of what he does as John Talabot. The same can be said for OR, precisely because it’s both so personal and so deeply rooted in a desire to escape. Opening a window to another world, the project was forged during a moment when Riverola was isolated and unsure what lay ahead; left with only himself, he found that looking inward was the most effective way forward.
Music for Empty Stadiums is not a new John Talabot album. It is, however, a new album from John Talabot.
OR’s Music for Empty Stadiums is out October 30 via AD 93 — for more information and to pre-order, head HERE.
OR – Music for Empty Stadiums
AD 93 | WHYT100 | October 30, 2026
Formats: Digital | Standard Black 2xLP | CD
TRACKLISTING
- The Cortisol Arena
- Barroque
- Terrace Continuum
- Ginger & Miyake
- Where’s The Melody?
- Ombra de Ninja (Balearika Mix)
- Preset Symphony
- Supper Bowl
- =^.^= (ANTHEM4U)
- Nokik Messiah
- Reflex Amnesia
- Maracaná
- Fractal Love Odyssey
- CROWDPLEASER
- Strings of Death (Dtunin’ version)
- Trancient
- Serotonin Bliss Blues
OR Biography
John Talabot has spent more than a decade shaping the sound of contemporary electronic music, quietly becoming one of the scene’s most respected DJs, producers, and musical curators. From intimate clubs to the world’s leading festivals, his sets are celebrated for their emotional depth, patient storytelling and effortless ability to blur the boundaries between house, disco, ambient, leftfield and psychedelic electronics.
Breaking through with his landmark debut album ƒIN, Talabot established a sound that was both deeply personal and universally influential—earning widespread critical acclaim and cementing his place among electronic music’s most distinctive voices. Since then, rather than following trends, he has continued to evolve through carefully chosen collaborations, acclaimed remixes, his influential Hivern Discs imprint, and projects including Talaboman alongside Axel Boman.
As a DJ, Talabot has built a reputation that extends far beyond his productions. His marathon sets combine rare selections, timeless classics and unexpected discoveries with an instinctive understanding of the dancefloor, creating journeys that feel equally suited to sunrise festival stages, iconic clubs and intimate listening spaces. Every performance is unique, balancing hypnotic groove with warmth, elegance and a sense of adventure.
His career has taken him to many of the world’s most respected institutions and festivals, including Dekmantel, Sónar, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, Nuits Sonores, DGTL, and Panorama Bar, while his celebrated DJ-Kicks mix remains a defining document of his musical vision. Along the way he has collaborated and shared creative paths with artists including Pional, The xx, Jamie xx, Axel Boman, and numerous others across the electronic spectrum.
Today, John Talabot continues to occupy a unique space within electronic music: an artist whose influence is measured less by constant releases than by the enduring quality of his work and the singular experience of his performances. Whether closing a festival, soundtracking an all-night club session or curating an immersive listening experience, his sets remain among the most sought-after in contemporary dance music — thoughtful, timeless and unmistakably his own.
OR / JOHN TALABOT ONLINE
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