Exclusive Premiere and Interview: Stream a Track from the New Rødhåd EP, Kinder der Ringwelt Ahead of the release, XLR8R spoke with Rødhåd about his latest EP.

Berlin-based producer, DJ, remixer and label-boss: Rødhåd needs little introduction. Following the success of his Haumea EP on Token at the end of last year, Rødhåd now returns with Kinder der Ringwelt, a stunning four-track EP that drifts seamlessly between techno, ambient and drone. While laced with the deep, powerful and melancholic sound that has brought him such widespread acclaim, Rødhåd’s latest EP reveals a slightly more experimental side to his artistic repertoire.

Kinder der Ringwelt will arrive on Dystopian in June, with the A-Side of the EP, “Im Glanz Des Mondes,” exclusively streamed in full below.

Ahead of its release, XLR8R spoke with Rødhåd about the ideas behind the EP.

So this is your first release on Dystopian this year. What were your ideas for the EP – were you intending to do something a little more experimental?

Yes, for my first own release this year I had a concept of a trippy, spacy release. I also had so many ideas in the studio while working on the tracks that I decided that it should not only be party EP, but more like a story where people also need to listen to it carefully to understand. Also, sound-wise, I tried to keep it on a highly emotional level.

Tell me about the name for the new EP, Kinder der Ringwelt. Is there anything behind it?

Actually, yes. As soon as the tracks were ready, I looked out for the right dystopic track names (as always for our EPs) and I remembered that I had recently read a review about the book Kinder der Ringwelt so I searched to come along with the track titles again. And now, even its German only, I have to say that each track title (choosen from the book) fits perfectly to the sound in the track. Things come together… 🙂

Your profile as an artist has really exploded over recent months. Do you feel any more pressure in the studio, or do you still just “play around?” Is this growth and maturity reflected in the EP?

Honestly, I dont feel any pressure for my own releases anymore. Maybe my growth over recent has years helped me to be more relaxed with the stuff I put out. In the beginning I wanted to have dancefloor weapons that can work in every club, but now I have the freedom to play with my sounds, with my ideas and to release it when I like it.

This is also the idea of the label itself. As soon as we like it, no matter if its techno, house, dub or whatever, if its danceable or not, we want to release it. We forget the pressure and open the mind.

You’re steadily developing a strong reputation for your remixes, including Radio Slave and this year on Howling. How do you choose the remixes that you take on?

At the moment, I have stopped doing remixes, and even in the past I only chose stuff that I liked or where I saw enough artistic potential for myself to work on different music – and, of course, when I had enough time to work on it, which is quite rare these days. For me, doing remixes is a lot of work; my studio process is quite complex and I sit on every remix longer than on my own tracks. So it is always a completely new interpretation of the sound of the original artists.

For me it’s super emotional as well; I think for the “Signs” remix, it took me over one month to get a version that I actually liked.

Talk to me about the production process for this EP. How long did it take to produce? It must be hard to find both the inspiration and time with your busy touring schedule?

This EP itself contains mostly 2015 produced tracks. I had some jams from last year that I recorded and I started to work on again, but most of the EP followed a concept that I already had in mind and I detailed it more in the last months.

Yes, it is hard to find the time after touring to go in the studio with fresh ears, but I can say that I always feel inspired to make electronic music. I am really happy about this fact. I still like to just jam around with my equipment every day; I like to test out new and old sounds, recording my sessions. It still keeps me going!

Finally, what’s up next for you?

So, we just had the DYSTOPIAN 012 EP by Stone Edge. Now it is my EP, then in July I am touring LA and San Francisco for the first time. And than during summer I am all yours touring through Europe. Later in the year, I will also tour Australia, Asia and hopefully South America and the USA again.

DYSTOPIAN 014- Rødhåd – Kinder der Ringwelt EP

A1 – Im Glanz des Mondes

B1 – Kinder der Ringwelt

B2 – Planet der Verlorenen

B3 – Venusianische Hölle