Roman was driven by certain emotions and states of mind while working on the ‘Middle of Nowhere’ album. Being his second solo album, Roman has been putting energy, thoughts and dedication in this work for some time. The compositions on this album ought to speak to different people on different levels.
We caught up with Roman Rai to talk about his ‘Middle of Nowhere’ LP.
Electronic Groove: Hi, Roman, congratulations for your second album, ‘Middle of Nowhere’. What this release means to you?
Roman Rai: Hello and thanks for the invite. This release has a lot of meaning for me. I have been working on it since 2016, with some long pauses that have been caused by important and demanding situations in my life. This allowed me to be able to revisit these projects and look at them as a whole from a big perspective. I was able to work on them for longer periods of time, polish and refine the elements until the point where I have managed to get exactly what I want from these compositions. Some of the tracks were not drastically changed, but others have gone through a long journey of transformations and changes to sound like they do today. I am the type of producer who can make quality creative work only when I am feeling well and right. If I am not in the right state or mood – then I do not do music at all. In the past years I even wait a bit with showing my new tracks to my closest friends – I tend to freeze the tracks for some time, to be able to revisit it and get a better objective perspective on them.
Electronic Groove: Can you explain more about the title ‘Middle of Nowhere’?
Roman Rai: ‘Middle of Nowhere’ is my portrayal of the sensation or feeling when you get lost dancing. It is a kind of meditative feeling and a state of trance that you can put yourself in. You almost do not think, and it is just your body and the dance. If the artist/DJ is good you can be easily hypnotized and get lost in it. That was the feeling I was experiencing when I started listening to house music 24 years ago.
Electronic Groove: Where it was produced and how long did it take to process the whole LP?
Roman Rai: The whole thing was produced in my “bedrooms” if I can say it this way. As I have mentioned before, the album was produced over a lengthy period of time, so this album has “seen” the walls of 3 different flats that I have stayed in. These four neighborhoods in Prague are called Smichov, Karlin, Vrshovice and finally Vinohrady. So, this album “knows” Prague quite well, from different angles.
Electronic Groove: Any favorite track on the album? Why?
Roman Rai: The whole album is like my baby, and I do not have the feeling I like more some part of it (like head, leg, or arm). It makes sense to me only as a whole. So, it would be quite hard to pick a favorite. Every piece has its own sense and meaning. There are no unused or meaningless sounds for me in this album. If there were some, then those were deleted, which for me is one of the most important procedures in music production.
“I feel much more comfortable and happier with what I do now than 15 years ago”
Electronic Groove: What would you say are the differences between your first LP and this one? What has changed in this period of time for you?
Roman Rai: I have produced my first album ‘Tokyo’ more than 13 years ago. First of all, it was not even meant to be an album, but more like a really long EP. But the final versions of tracks sounded for many of my peers more like an album. For example, there were couple remixes of the same tracks, but those have sounded so different from the original and from each other that those were pretty much accepted as some new tracks.
… And what has changed? Definitely a lot of life experiences came after the release of ‘Tokyo’. I feel much more comfortable and happier with what I do now than 15 years ago. And that is really the most important thing to me. It is essential to me that I am having fun while making music. There can’t be any frustration in the studio during the process. And those 15 or 20 years ago there was some frustration I had to go through.
Electronic Groove: In other topics, you have been playing live lately. How has been the experience so far?
Roman Rai: I have been playing live for some years now. I think that currently I am on my third live setup, which I have based mainly on my album ‘Middle of Nowhere’ but also on the EPs like ‘Perception of Delusion’, ‘PSYMA’, ‘Walking on The River’, etc. Additionally, in my live sets, I can combine components from even more of my productions under different alias such as ‘Universe of Everything’, ‘Inceptions’, as well as a new project ‘DNA’, which I am part of. So finally, my live performance is quite diverse and eclectic. Now we are also practicing with my friend and great musician Filip Markes, who plays beautifully on saxophone. He plays more minimalistic compositions on sax, treating it as more of an ambient performance, rather than classic saxophone act. I am looking forward to see what this collaboration brings.
Grab your vinyl copy here >> http://bit.ly/2QAMrsN
Electronic Groove: Any confirmed gig you are especially looking forward:
Roman Rai: Our first live show with Filip will be at Prague’s Wildt Bar, which is one of the most beautiful spots in the city for the electronic music scene. We do our own regular ‘Moving Pictures’ label showcases there together with my label partner Täino. The second show will be held in Prague Rock Cafe, where we will be on supporting duties for the legendary Banco De Gaia. For more info click here.
Electronic Groove: What are your plans for the Winter season?
Roman Rai: Definitely it involves a lot of studio work. I am working on a variety of projects. For instance, the DNA is the project that we do together with Dimitri Nakov Charlie May and with the beautiful voice of Natasha Atlas. It will be the first purely electronic oriented project with her spiritual singing and chants. I am definitely planning to do a lot of work on DNA during this winter season. And I have been really enjoying working on his project for the last two years, and its time is coming soon.
“Creativity is a really spiritual thing and if you want to get something across, then forget about all the musical rules and what other people say and think and enjoy yourself”
Electronic Groove: As part of the industry, do you like its current state and what would you like to see improvements in the coming years?
Roman Rai: I do not like to judge the scene. It is too big to judge it objectively. There is a lot of musical material that I do not like and it is considered as electronic dance music, and on the other side there are plenty of producers and composers who make such incredible pieces of music that grab me by heart and soul. After years of existence, house and techno has become a well-established musical genre, so any kind of energy may be transformed in it, and expressed via it. Some of those outputs you would be able to listen to 24/7 and some of them you would not be able to stand for a second. Everyone chooses their own vibration.
Electronic Groove: Times have changed and the music industry has grown and evolved exponentially. What advice can you give to those who are venturing into DJing and music production?
Roman Rai: What I can say and what I have found out after those years is that the process is more important than the aim. To have a clear vision and goal is important, but the process is the main thing here. It should be fun. Creativity is a really spiritual thing and if you want to get something across, then forget about all the musical rules and what other people say and think and enjoy yourself. Take more from the journey itself, and don’t think too much about destination.
Roman Rai’s ‘Middle of Nowhere’ is now available via Moving Pictures. Buy and stream here.
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