View Active ThreadsCreate an account on HarderFasterLogin to HarderFaster Information for Promoters Information for Advertisers Search HarderFaster About HarderFaster Link to this Page
[HarderFaster] - Work Hard, Play Harder!
Home | News | What's On | Annual Poll | Photos | Forums | DJs | Features | Music | Venues | Reviews | Links |

  Features
Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’!
Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases!
Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme!
Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works.
Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain!
Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September!
NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases!
Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup!
Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast!
Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music!
SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023!
The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023!
NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music!
Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project
The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22!
A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden
Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma
Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino
New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik!
PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records!
Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters!
N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood!
Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna
A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!
'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!
DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022!
TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022!
A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London!
Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide!
DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022!

The Speed of Sound

Reported by Craig Gunn / Submitted 16-07-14 06:30

Ronski Speed is a true trance fans favorite. Having played in at least 80 countries and all five continents and for such super events as Pacha, Love Parade, Gatecrasher and many more. His remix and production credits are unrivalled in the trance industry: Above & Beyond, Tritonal, Armin Van Buuren, ATB, and Markus Schulz - the list is endless. Ronski has had “Tune of the Week” over twenty times on ASOT and has released on Euphonic, Armada, and AnjunaBeats and now on his own label Marcaido Records with which he released hit track “Summer Always Ends” with vocalist Shannon Hurley and also the track “Welcome to your Life” with production collaborator Mark Frisch.

Being known all over the world for his flawless productions and energetic DJ sets - he truly is a world class trance artist for our times. He released his full artist album “Second World” in 2013 and continues to push the boundaries of trance music. We caught Ronski whilst he was at home in Dresden, the day after Germany thrashed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup . . .

Hi Ronski thanks for taking time to talk to us at Harderfaster.net - You must be celebrating the thumping Germany gave Brazil last night . . .

It was a crazy result but no I’m not suffering a hangover this morning. I think maybe Holland to win tonight (they were beaten by Argentina) and Germany to win the World Cup 2-1 in the final as they seem to be in the mood for it and its being 20 something years since they last won.

Ron how did you get into DJing and what were your influences?

My Dad was already a DJ and I had a lots of friends and class mates that were DJ’s. I was DJing professionally quite quickly in Germany but when I took up productions that was the time I could DJ around the world.



I’m guessing your Dad wasn’t a trance DJ, what genre was he into?

He was into like Dad stuff, pop and commercial music, my mum also sang in a choir so I was surrounded by lots of music early on. I listened to a lot of synth pop stuff growing up like the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode.

So you had turntables in the house?

Well when I was born it was then GDR (German Democratic Republic – Dresden was part of the former East Germany pre-reunification) we had access to very few vinyl’s and so had stuff mostly recorded onto cassette which was during my early childhood. Later on after the Berlin Wall came down we had this chance to buy all these great records that were around especially Techno records which was my very early inspiration and then it evolved into Trance and it was the late 90’s I really got into the DJing.

So whilst Germany was divided access to dance music was difficult?

Yes it was very very difficult. We had some access to shall we say some radio stations. It was actually when the wall came down that electronic music exploded worldwide and so it was the ‘right’ moment to be a fan of electronic dance music at this time. It was a great development.

Germany has always been a hot-bed of Techno sounds and you have some great clubs in Berlin for the Tech-house and minimal sounds where does Trance fit in?

Well in Germany it is and was mostly about Techno. There have been a couple of successes like in the late 90’s early 00’s but the general German sound has always been more underground and deeper it’s not really comparable to the kind of trance you get in the UK and later on the USA – trance has a much bigger impact outside of Germany.

When you started can you pin-point a key moment when your career took shape?

There were a couple of key moments but I can definitely say the biggest inspiration at this time was Paul Van Dyk. I appeared in the credit of Mirco De Govia’s Epic Monolith on Paul’s Politics of Dancing Volume 1. He was getting No1. DJ in the world and getting hits and I saw him play a few times but when he played my first ever production - It was like the best feeling I’ve ever had. Everyone knows that feeling. His productions of “For An Angel” and remix on BT’s “Flaming June” are all time classics for me.



So you love that big soaring melody based trance. Your productions are famous for this. On your last album I noticed a lot of female vocalists involved, is there something you get from collaborating with live blissful lyricists that is different to working alone?

It is always a nice process to acquire good vocals. I’ve explored this with a few good singers that have gone on to be famous like Aruna, Emma Hewitt and Ana Criado which I worked on their first productions and it makes me proud they went onto bigger things. I’m always trying to find some voices that are fresh that can bring something new into the scene which isn’t always easy but I love working with them as they bring a special feeling to the music. It is hard to only do instrumental tracks so vocalists can bring an extra depth. I’ve done a couple of live shows with Emma Hewitt which was real fun but I’m concentrating on my DJing for the moment.

Do you have any tunes in your record box that have always been with you in your 12 years career?

Well the biggest problem is the sound in the last ten years has changed a lot in production quality with newer productions being much more powerful so I tend to wait for a remix of an old track like remixes of Energy 52 ‘Café Del Mar’ or BT’s ‘Flaming June’. I’m happy when I hear good remixes as long as you don’t play them out too much.

You’ve released a lot on Euphonic Records and have a good relationship with Kyau and Albert, how did that start and what is brewing next for you?

Well a friend of mine knew Kyau & Albert and said they were looking for new producers so we had a sit down and I was basically starting producing. I worked with Sonorous, who is now into rock music, and also Mirco De Govia, but technology wise I am 100% self-taught. I never left the studio. Finally we had this vocal record ‘I’m Alone’ which I remixed under my Sun Decade moniker which did really well and people then started to want Ronski Speed remixes. So what is cooking in the kitchen now is one track I’ve done with Stoneface and Terminal - “Yuma” for their new album which is doing well and recently a remix of Lange “Fireflies”, I also have a new instrumental track coming out soon which I am releasing on my own new label Maracaido Records because I wanted to have more of a different sound. Euphonic tends to be progressive and slower and I wanted a more up-tempo. On my label I’m also pioneering new artists so have a track called “Upgrade” by Nick Callan and I remixed a tune called “Immense” by Randall Glenn



When you come over to Lost Dawn in September what can we expect musically?

My sets are always going from there to there (progressive to hard trance). I’m releasing some stuff on Anjuna which is really progressive at the moment but I’m always bringing this 140bpm sound. So this to that. My basic concept of a set is slower to more powerful. I hope to see some fans enjoying this.

You’re based in Dresden. It’s an extremely cultural city – is it nice to return too and relax after travelling?

The most important thing about returning home is as you are travelling you are constantly inspired by other DJ sets and exciting sounds and the need to return home is to get back into the studio and get something working by grabbing the memories of your journey’s and getting something created.

Is there any piece of technology kit you are using or liking at the moment?

I’ve just explored the Spire Synthesizer which is a VST - I’ve moved from hardware to software now mostly because they are much easier to handle and use and transport. The most important thing is a real good studio monitor system so I can hear with clarity the sounds – my basic behaviour is picking up a melody but it is not a reality until I’ve heard it clear and loud in the studio.



When you are not touring and producing how do you wind down – do you have any extra-curricular hobbies?

I’m completely absorbed by my music. I’d be interested in film scores and cinematic sounds as the transition from trance is not too great. You are trying to create emotion through chord change whether it be dark emotions or uplifting you can use strings and whole orchestras and experimental sounds. I’m pretty nerdish about TV box sets and movies. I love watching the new Games of Thrones. I’m really looking forward to the German dubbing of the 4th season so I am a little behind to you guys – please make sure I don’t get any spoilers in Brixton. I’m sure in one or two months we can speak about it.

You’ve travelled the globe with your music. Has there been an amazing show you will always remember?

There have been so many great moments but for myself one has to be Love Parade in Mexico City, because it was one of the very last Love Parade’s in the world which had its roots in Germany and I was privileged to play there. Everyone knows Love Parade has gone forever but there are plenty more festivals coming up. I’ll be in festival season now with something in Atlanta, New York and then Poland and Ukraine and fit them all in before Lost Dawn in London.

You can catch Ronski speed and much more at Lost Dawn presents The Fifth Birthday on 20th September 2014 at the Prince of Wales in Brixton.

Tickets available at www.lostdawn.co.uk
www.ronskispeed.com
www.euphonic.de
www.anjunabeats.com
www.facebook.com/lostdawn
@ronskispeed / @LostDawnUK / @djcraiggunn



All images courtesy of Ronski Speed. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Share this :: Facebook : Digg : Stumble Upon : Delicious
Follow HarderFaster :: Twitter
Other Features By Craig Gunn:
Glastonbury, The Biggest Show on Earth
I survived Glastonbury 2015
HarderFaster Guide to Glastonbury 2015
THREE ‘BRINGS’ THE CROWD TO LOST DAWN
Cracking the Global Code with Greg Downey
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
Comments:

From: Latex Zebra on 18th Jul 2014 14:05.03
Dude.

HarderFaster Jump
Bookmark and Share
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. All other content is (c) 2001-2024 HarderFaster.

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement | Text Mode