To describe Orrin’s Lost in Translation as nostalgic would miss the point. The album references past sounds, yes, but only to build something unfamiliar with them. Hip House, his own term, pulls from American rap and European dance culture. It is loud, rhythmic, restless. The BPM climbs, but the songs remain grounded in mood: alienation, love, longing, and late-night philosophy. Orrin works like someone recording messages for the future. That intent echoes across his catalogue, his interviews, even his visuals. A conversation with Sophia the Robot is research. He speaks in third person not for distance, but for perspective. Orrin moves away from what is popular. He focuses instead on leaving behind something coherent enough to be understood later.

This album captures the dissonance of the present moment. Music as algorithm, style as template, intimacy through a screen. Orrin avoids lamenting these conditions. He builds inside them. The songs may feel euphoric, but they remain layered. Their energy carries uncertainty, confusion, and disconnection. Still, they move. And that may be the point. When language fails, when signals cross, when everything is lost in translation, rhythm might still reach you. Orrin places his faith in that.

Lost in Translation reintroduces your signature Hip House as a high-BPM clash between New York rap and the European dancefloor. How did this sonic direction take shape?

We are born and raised in New York, so Hip Hop is central to our DNA. You hear it at the bodega, our parents are the same age as the genre, and it shaped the city attitude.

After the pandemic, we spent a lot of time in Europe, visiting London, Berlin and Portugal. It was in Berlin specifically, experiencing the clubs and nightlife, where we thought, “What if we brought this swag back to America?”

Let’s say the entire US listens to rap, that’s still about 300 million people. Meanwhile, billions of people listen to house, techno and dance music worlwide. Since then, we’ve been working to create a unique sound that blends our influences.

We call this sound Hip House.

You have described yourself as a cyborg from 2050. How much of Orrin is still human today?

We are forever a cyborg. This means we are partially mechanized, but the human part allows us to connect, feel and create. It’s our connection to that human side that fuels our musical and creative expression.

With the rise of technology, from iPhones to AI and robotics, it seems everyone is slowly becoming a cyborg..

The album comes after collaborations with Grimes and Sophia the Robot. What do you look for in a collaborator, especially when that collaborator is not entirely human?

Whenever we collaborate, we always think about how people in the year 2050 will respond. We want to leave time capsules for the future to look back on and understand the mood, culture and mindset of today.

Hopefully, the artifacts we create and leave behind—whether interviews or music—will help the future better understand both their past and where they’re headed.

There is a strong robotic and post-human presence throughout your visuals and sound. Are you using AI to connect with people or to distance yourself from them?

Technology allows us to augment, edit and superimpose new identities. It’s interesting how in 2025 an Instagram profile has more real-world merit than the person behind it.

AI is a new way to connect with humans. It helps unlock creativity, and while we definitely advocate for safeguards, technology should level the playing field for creatives.

We’ve been using AI in our music videos since 2019 and even released an AI collaboration with Grimes in 2023.

Our music and art are often inspired by human interaction, so our goal with AI is to explore new ways to deepen that connection.

What did your conversation with Sophia the Robot unlock in terms of lyrical or philosophical thinking?

She reminded us that we’re all trying to understand our existence and our role in this world. Even Sophia wants to connect and hopes to bring a positive balance to the struggles of human nature.

It made us reflect on how we’re all placed on this planet with a series of choices. Hopefully, when it’s over, we can look back and feel good about the direction we chose.

You spoke with Neil deGrasse Tyson about the future. Do you feel that music can still shift culture in the same way science or technology does?

In our opinion, music is one of the strongest drivers of culture and influences society more than we often acknowledge. For some civilizations, music carried their history, their lore, and their traditions.

In 2025, it’s the same. What’s beautiful now is that technology allows us to hear music—and culture—from parts of the world that once didn’t have the platform to broadcast it.

We’re all born with a heartbeat. That’s our first relationship with music. It has a primal yet mesmerizing effect that can move your mind, body and soul.

That’s why we believe the messaging and intent of music are important. That’s also why we speak in third person. It’s our collective responsibility to guide science, technology and humanity toward a brighter future.

How do you approach emotional authenticity in a time when AI can simulate nearly everything?

Travel helps with reflection. In airports, on planes, and in unfamiliar places, we get a better sense of who we are and what makes Orrin, Orrin.

When you’re away from home, you start to notice what you miss and what really shapes your personality. Without the safety net, without the familiarity, who are you? That’s a question we constantly ask ourselves. We’re also huge fans of science fiction books and movies. We love weird content from the 90s and early 2000s because that era was a golden age in America for culture, technology, media and fashion.

By the early 2000s, everyone knew technology would significantly shape the future. It’s fascinating to watch movies or listen to artists from that era, projecting what they thought 2025 would look, sound and feel like.

Our advice? Keep following the rabbit holes of your interests and don’t stop. While most people stay surface-level, you’ll build pockets of knowledge that are unique to you.

You once said you were built for the future. What kind of future are you trying to build through Lost in Translation?

With the homogenization of music and style thanks to platforms like TikTok, we believe things need to be shaken up. And make no mistake, technology is shaking things up. But risk takers seem to be rewarded less and less.

Lost in Translation is an ode to the 90s and early 2000s. It’s inspired by the movies and songs that bring back that Y2K nostalgia, but in a new format. What’s new? The fusion of Hip Hop with different dance subgenres into one cohesive Hip House project.

Hip hop production, especially with tools like Ableton, FL Studio and Logic, has become formulaic. Radios, playlists and even Spotify reward sameness.

We’re hoping to signal a cultural shift. It’s boring going to a rap show and hearing the same distorted 808s and lyrics about luxury brands, sports cars or self obsession.

With all the global turmoil, politics and noise, people just want to feel good and dance.