Some artistic projects are born from years of planning, research and preparation. Others begin with something much simpler: a single moment that stays with you long after it has passed.

For British composer Terry Overall, the story behind his new album VAROSHA began in 2008 on a beach in Cyprus, when he looked across the sea and saw a city he knew almost nothing about.

He was simply here on a family holiday. It was his in-laws who suggested a visit to Famagusta. Until then, Overall had little knowledge of Varosha or the events that had transformed the once-famous resort into one of the most recognisable abandoned places in Europe.

But the view in front of him was impossible to ignore.

“I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of what I was seeing,” he recalls. “It was difficult to comprehend that such a large part of a once thriving resort had remained closed and untouched for so many decades.”

That moment stayed with him.

The artwork is based on photos Overall took in Varosha

When he returned home, curiosity turned into research. He began learning more about Varosha, its history and the wider story of Cyprus.

The more he discovered, the more he realised that behind the empty hotels and silent streets was something much deeper than a forgotten city.

“What surprised me most was how something so extraordinary had almost become part of the landscape to an outsider like me,” he says. “Behind those empty streets and abandoned buildings lay an immense human story.”

As he explored, he shifted his attention from the city’s remnants to the people who once filled those spaces. He envisioned everyday moments. The empty streets became reminders of a vibrant past.

This human perspective formed the basis of VAROSHA, an electronic concept album that delves into memory, loss, resilience and shared experiences.

The album does not aim to make political statements or provide historical context; rather, it reflects Overall’s personal artistic response to a place that deeply affected him.

It contemplates what remains when places change, memories endure and human stories persist long after people have departed.

Although Varosha is often described as a city frozen in time, Overall never wanted to simply recreate that silence. “The album itself is not particularly quiet,” he explains. “In many respects it is the opposite.”

For Overall, the most powerful thing about standing outside the abandoned city was not the quiet itself. It was thinking about everything that was missing.

The cover of the album

“It made me think about everything that was no longer there,” he says. “The conversations, the laughter, the music, the traffic and the ordinary moments that once filled those streets.”

Those thoughts shaped the journey of the album.

The opening pieces reflect the Cyprus that existed before division, capturing a sense of beauty and possibility. As the story develops, the atmosphere becomes darker, reflecting conflict, change and the passage of time.

By the final tracks, the music becomes more contemplative.

The album’s visuals mirror its emotional tone. The cover image was inspired by a photo Overall took during his 2008 visit to Varosha, where a soldier asked him to stop photographing.

“I wanted the visuals to feel like fading memories,” he explains.

From the beginning, Overall understood that Varosha was not simply an abandoned location. It is a place connected to real experiences, memories and personal histories for thousands of Cypriots.

He was careful not to present himself as someone offering answers or a definitive version of history. He wanted to encourage reflection.

“If the album encourages people to pause for a moment and reflect on the human stories behind those events, then I will feel it has achieved what I hoped it would.”

The album can be found here