Arude is the sound of something unfamiliar, mysterious, and conscious.
After debuting on the Berlin-based label Steyoyoke in 2017 with his EP ‘Existentia’ and further releases on Armada, Renaissance, and Radikon, Arude tries to show his vision of electronic music influenced by many genres and explore his sound. He mixes moments of sadness, happiness, timidity, and audacity in his personal music and DJ sets.
EG caught up with Arude to learn more about his latest release, his creative process, approach to mixes, future endeavors, and more.
EG: Hi Anton! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you based right now?
Arude: Hello! Thank you very much for your interview, I am very happy to answer your questions!
I’m pretty good overall. I have lived for quite a long time in Poland. I was born and raised in Ukraine, in a small town called Kupiansk. At one point I wanted to see how people live in other countries and I decided to move to Poland for a while. At the moment, I can’t go back home because my city was almost destroyed due to the war. In Poland, I have a main job and I also built a small studio at home where I continue to work on my new tracks.
EG: First of all, thank you for your contribution to our EG Mix Series! What’s this mix about? What can fans expect to find on this one?
Arude: It was important for me to show your and my audience in what direction my sound will move in the next few years. I tried to create a balance between the tracks that I write, listen to, and play in my DJ performances.
EG: How do you go about when creating a podcast? Do you consider yourself a “storyteller”?
Arude: I always try to record a podcast with the goal of telling a story for the listeners. This podcast was no exception, but this time I decided to include as many of my tracks as possible so that people listening to this could delve into my world, my emotions, and my experiences in a given period of time. I would like people to listen to this mix in the days of streaming services, not only for entertainment and background but for the purpose of music self-development and self-knowledge. I hope I managed to do it.
EG: By the way, congratulations on the recent release of ‘The Touch’, your collaborative single with SANDHAUS. What was the reception like? What’s the dynamic between you and him like?
Arude: It’s always a pleasure to work with SANDHAUS. He understands my vision of music very well and he always has a certain approach to my demos. The story with this track is very funny, as it took more than a year to work on it. We made a trial version of the track very quickly. SANDHAUS’ vocals were great, but the problem was with my instrumental. I was unhappy with it and some parts were inflexible for the vocal, so I decided to leave this track on stand-by for a while…
So about a year later, at one point, returning on the train after my performance at Smolna in Warsaw, for some reason, I remembered the words by SANDHAUS – “What are you waiting for…”, and I think it was the sign that I need it to finish this track. After multiple alterations, we finally did it and send it to the guys from Radikon. It was a great joy for me to release this work on this label.
“…I remembered the words by SANDHAUS – “What are you waiting for…”, and I think it was the sign that I need it to finish this track”
EG: We know every track is different, but what does your creative process look like by now? Is there a “blueprint” or certain steps you follow?
Arude: It is not important for me to finish the track, it is important for me to come up with and develop an interesting idea to make it sound like a full idea. I started trying to write music at the age of 15 and, for me, everything is very simple in this regard…if I have an idea that I like, then it is very easy for me to finish the track. But I can add that it is very important for me to find the right mood and try not to be distracted by various trifles, and if I hear that an idea has potential, I finish it in a few days. I don’t have any special approaches or secrets, everything is very simple, and you are your creativity.
EG: By the way, we also know you have some new music incoming via Oddity Recordings soon…Is there anything you can anticipate on that front?
Arude: Yes, you are right. It will be a 3 track EP that I have created with my partner Sinch. I can say that this will be a new sound for me, on which I have been working for a long time and I really hope that people will appreciate our efforts and creativity. I am very glad that Fur Coat signed these tracks very quickly and we are looking forward to the release of this EP in July this year via Oddity.
EG: Can you tell us something about yourself that only a few people know about?
Arude: I’m an atheist.
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Have you checked out any good movies, series, books, or albums you’d recommend?
Arude: I can say that I do not really like to talk a lot about myself and I do not have a very large social circle. I really like to drink coffee, I like to ride a bike and I really like to watch art house films, and listen to as many different kinds of music as possible.
Among the films, I could recommend ‘Blade Runner 1982’ by Ridley Scott, ‘I Origins’ by Mike Cahill, and ‘Whiplash’ by Damien Chazelle.
As for my preferences in music, I can’t single out just one genre, since I like variety in this regard. From EDM music to hip hop. But some of my favorite books are ‘Martin Eden’ by Jack London, ‘Shantaram’ by Gregory David Roberts, ‘Flowers for Algernon’ by Daniel Keyes, and ‘A Fine Balance’ by Rohinton Mistry.
I don’t really like to watch serials because they take up a lot of my free time.
“I started trying to write music at the age of 15 and, for me, everything is very simple in this regard…if I have an idea that I like, then it is very easy for me to finish the track”
EG: What’s next for Arude? What particular milestones are you looking forward to in 2023? Where can your fans catch you next?
Arude: At the moment I’m preparing new music and looking forward to upcoming events in countries such as Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland many others. I also hope that I can finally come to Ukraine in 2023 after the victory of my country in the war against Russia, as I really miss my family and friends.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Anton! We wish you all the best for the future.
Arude: Thank you for your questions. It was a pleasure to speak with you. Good luck!
Arude & SANDHAUS’ ‘The Touch’ is out now via Radikon. Purchase your copy here.
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