How a Los Angeles-based artist’s return to an ancient soul-origin forged ceremony, mysticism, and synthesis into a breakthrough melodic-techno sound
From Dancing to Drumming
Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, LYRAN (Aleksandr “Alex” Dovgal) discovered rhythm through movement rather than instruments. As a professional dancer first, he internalized groove through his body long before it reached his intellect.
Later, rock music, drums, and formal studies at Kharkiv’s Music School No. 10 shaped him into a trained percussionist and the front-man of his first band. Music was never a hobby; it was an early-embedded language.
Collapse and Calling
At 19, moved by a powerful inner calling, Alex made a daring decision to leave Ukraine for the United States—selling a small business and parting ways with family, friends, and familiar culture. Starting from scratch in America, he followed that call through humble beginnings, working at McDonald’s, washing dishes, delivering pizza, and driving trucks.
A later venture brought him material stability, yet it eventually led him to face the challenges of burnout, financial struggles, health issues, and the weight of personal adversity. The pressure felt overwhelming, as if it would never end.
“There was a moment where I knew—either I disappear, or I rise,” he reflected. This understanding became a call to action, pushing him to confront his difficulties and reclaim his life with renewed strength and purpose.
That turning point sparked a radical transformation. He rebuilt his body, then his mind, and finally his spirit. Seeking healing beyond Western frameworks, he traveled to a traditional retreat in the Peruvian Amazon. Stripped of identity and noise, a voice long suppressed resurfaced. At thirteen, a teacher had publicly silenced his singing (“Shut up, Alex. What a terrible voice.”). The wound redirected him toward dance, but the Amazon experience allowed the voice to return, carrying with it a vision larger than music.
The Birth of LYRAN
After the Amazon, Alex moved from Chicago to California and began constructing a multidimensional creative ecosystem centered around W1SE Castle—a private hub that houses W1SE Studio, the birthplace of the LYRAN project. W1SE Castle functions as a modern sanctuary where music, ceremony, art, technology, and spiritual practice coexist. It is a space for creation, initiation, and recalibration, reflecting LYRAN’s belief that true art emerges when the artist is fully aligned.
A second jungle initiation with Yawanawá elders provided the final key to his sonic identity. He describes the experience as a remembrance—a soul-origin linked to the Lyran constellation, referenced in ancient cosmologies as a source of creative intelligence and harmonic order. From that moment, LYRAN became a return rather than a project.
What Is the “Ancient Future”?
Ancient Future is the philosophy that underpins LYRAN’s music and the broader W1SE universe (including the W1SE Summit festival). It is the convergence of primordial wisdom and advanced technology, suggesting that humanity’s most powerful truths are not ahead of us but behind us, waiting to be remembered through modern tools.
At the W1SE Summit, this philosophy materializes as a living blueprint: music, visionary art, ancient ritual, cutting-edge sound design, and community-building experiences merge into a transmission of values, frequencies, and future culture. In sound, Ancient Future translates into melodic techno infused with shamanic technologies, ancient-civilization mysticism, ancestral rhythms, and cinematic futurism. In experience, it becomes a ritual.
Within W1SE Studio, LYRAN designs his sets not as conventional DJ performances but as immersive journeys—woven with storytelling, chants, prayer, joy, and vast, dune-like atmospheres that feel less like a club night and more like a collective remembering. This is spirituality as architecture, not mere aesthetic.
From the Playa to the World Stage
LYRAN’s rise has been quiet yet undeniable. He has performed at Burning Man across respected camps and stages such as Project Froth, Sound Garden, Bloom, Kuker, and the Pirate Ship. DJ Bhaskar featured LYRAN’s track “Ancient Spirits” in his set on the Project Froth stage, confirming that the music resonates with fellow artists and EDM community.
At the W1SE Summit, LYRAN united with creative visionaries like Android Jones and Glass Crane, crafting a transformative journey that seamlessly merged music, art, ritual, and the essence of future culture.
Recent releases include the single “Ancient Spirits” (via Vagalume), a winning remix of “Human Robot” (VOLTA), and “Be United” on his own label ORIIBE. Collaborations with artists such as Bhaskar, Ekanta, Going Deeper, and MYLA demonstrate a purposeful trajectory and an unmistakable frequency.
Distinctive Position
While some listeners draw parallels to Anyma, the distinction is essential. Where futurism often races ahead, LYRAN turns inward—to nature, memory, and embodied unity. He does not escape through technology; he reintegrates through sound, positioning the human as the primary technology. The result is melodic techno framed not as spectacle but as initiation.
A Living Mission
Lyran is not chasing trends. He is building a lineage.
Through W1SE Castle, W1SE Studio, and W1SE Summit, the Ancient Future becomes a lived reality—a cultural framework for artists, leaders, and seekers navigating collapse, rebirth, and collective awakening. For those seeking joy and celebration, Lyran invites you to experience the vibrant energy of creativity and community. It’s a space where artistry flourishes, and the spirit of celebration shines, reminding us that amidst life’s challenges, there is always room for joy and connection.
- In a world overloaded with content, LYRAN offers coherence.
- In a scene driven by optics, he offers depth.
- In a future racing forward, he invites remembrance.
The Ancient Future is no longer an idea; it is a movement, and LYRAN is one of its clearest signals.
For inquiries, interview requests, or any questions please contact:
Email: gabriela@lyranmusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyran.music
Website: https://lyran.komi.io/