In the realm with Rohaan

It appears Rohaan never sleeps. Backed with an extensive catalogue of with heavy weight releases, he came into 2019 armed to the teeth, dropping 14 records in 12 months.

Spanning from Drum and Bass to Halftime, Beats to Trap, Rohaan delved deeper than before, showing his versatility and technical advances, as well as appealing for both the home and club environment.

Hot off his most recent 'Lost Sirens EP' on Unchained Recordings, he set aside some time to speak with us about the ripples he's been making, his production process and what 2020 has in store.

Hey man, thanks for taking the time to speak to us, tell us a bit about how you got into production, and how your sound came to be?

Big up for having me! Yeah, so: 16 year old Rohaan was actually in the RAF Cadets at the time. My friends and I went to go watch Skrillex & Flux Pavilion perform in Sheffield in this tiny venue. The next day I quit RAF Cadets and told my Mum I was going to pursue music for the rest of my life, not even joking. Funny, I know, but my mum has always been a Trance head and she loves Drum and Bass so she has backed me the whole way! (Geeeeezer).

I spend so many hours daily listening to the widest range of music, from jazz to Donk, Drum and Bass to Hip Hop, so my style is a fusion of everything I love. (I am mainly making club music right now, though.)

You have been making waves across the oceans, with releases on Shanghai based Unchained Recordings, and Berlin's Saturate, how does it feel to be supported by a vast international network of creatives?

Pretty damn good! I've been working my ass off, so to have both these labels back my new sound feels bloody good. Both Saturate and Unchained work so, so hard to maintain their positions in the industry, it's great to be a part of their story.

Let's talk a little about the 'Lost Sirens EP'... What was the process behind the project like, was there a bunch of tracks written specifically for the release? Or was it more a collection of tracks that fit well together?

Yeah, so I sent some demo' s to my mate HØST, he recommended sending some stuff over to Unchained Records, (I hadn’t heard of them at the time) they got back to me with in the day, asked me to call them, and bam. A full EP and a show were organised on the spot, it was crazy!! They literally got back to me and offered an EP release + the show in London, I was beyond grateful that they believed in my sound and brand that strongly.

You've been dabbling in a bit more Drum and Bass of late, is this a direction you are moving towards?

Myself and my group of friends have always loved Drum and Bass, my mum would buy me Pendulum's albums and Chase & Status' records. So naturally, over the years of producing I've gone back to my roots! A few months ago I actually left my management team who were based in America to pursue more of a Drum and Bass sound! Best career move I've made.

Yourself and Yunis recently launched Knots Audio, can you tell us about how that got started and the trajectory for the year ahead?

We are super proud of this! I had the concept of a company called ‘Knots’ back in 2017, I paid a graphic designer (Ben Bursell) to design me a logo, I then sat on the idea for 2 whole years! From visiting Yunis loads in Berlin, we started to realise we have the exact same vision and work ethic. I pitched this idea to him and bam, like clockwork it's all come together!

You have featured on a couple of remix albums, a notable one being for our very own HØST on his album 'Sustain Attack Release' with a flip of 'Dry/Wet', how do you approach a remix?

That was a fun one, big up Høst & Saturate! I had just started working more at 172bpm, so naturally when it came to that remix I bumped the BPM right up. I personally feel the mix could be tons better but the response from that remix has been nuts! I've seen it get played out at tons of shows!

What can we expect to see from Rohaan in 2020?

Honestly, I can't wait man. I can't say much right now but I've already got 12 songs signed for 2020 on some mental labels that I looked up to when I was starting production! Also some crazy show announcements, keep an eye out for the shows!! Better music. Bigger shows. My visual brand to keep developing. Happy days.

(Also I'm playing Hit & Run on Jan 24th at Hidden MCR… See you there..)

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, is there anything you would like to add?