Perturbator dives into dreamscapes with new single ‘The Swimming Pool’

Parisian electronic alchemist Perturbator (aka James Kent) has just unveiled The Swimming Pool, the third single from his upcoming album ‘Age of Aquarius,’ landing October 10 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Known for crafting dystopian synth soundtracks that feel equally suited to neon-lit streets and crumbling futures, Kent takes a softer turn here. The Swimming Pool is a serene, minimalist piano ballad—more dream than dancefloor—calling back to the atmospheric video game scores that first brought him cult fame with the Hotline Miami series.

“It’s a little moment of respite in an otherwise mostly aggressive album,” Kent explains. “Inspired by a dream I had years ago in which I found myself stuck in a huge hotel, searching ever so unsuccessfully for the swimming pool.” The track glows with moonlit melancholy, a brief but haunting breath before the storm.

That storm is hinted at by the album’s previous singles:

• Apocalypse Now (featuring Ulver’s Kristoffer Rygg), a brooding epic dripping with menace.
• The Art of War, one of Perturbator’s hardest-hitting tracks to date, which Kent describes as “war as an idea” rather than a single event—EBM battle music at its most cinematic.

‘Age of Aquarius’ promises to be Kent’s most confident, thematically sharp release yet. Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Opeth) and featuring collaborations with Alcest, Author & Punisher, and Greta Link, the album explores the tangled web of individualism, conflict, and war. It’s brutal, beautiful, and—like all Perturbator’s work—deeply cinematic.

Later this year, Kent will take ‘Age of Aquarius’ to some of his biggest stages yet, including London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town and two nights at Paris’ legendary La Bataclan.

Perturbator – Fall 2025 Tour

Highlights: London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Stockholm, Helsinki, Vienna, and more. Full dates & tickets here.

Pre-order ‘Age of Aquarius’ here and step into Perturbator’s latest world—a place where beauty and brutality swim side by side, just out of reach.