Raidho is a Polish artist who is a combination of modern electronic music with ethnic and folk elements from various corners of the world. The project started in late 2017 and has already made it into the TOP40 best selling artists worldwide in Electronica / Downtempo on Beatport. We caught up with him recently to find out about his new “Jaguar Dance” EP on Sol Selectas…
Hey Raidho, how are you? How has your year been so far?
I’m doing fantastically well, thank you 🙂 I haven’t released much music in the last 2 years. I found that during the pandemic period I would slow down a bit and focus on my family. This summer was a very busy one for me, with lots of travel and concerts. Amazing festivals and destinations. Of course, I also worked in the studio. I recorded some new material, which will now be released step by step. The upcoming release is Jaguar Dance on Sol Selectas with beautiful remixes from LUM, Amemè & Nenahalena and West & Hill. Another EP with remixes from Marco Tegui, Kaob and Landikhan has been signed with O’Tawa Records and is awaiting final remixes and release.
Explain your artist alias to us and the idea of Raidho?
RAIDHO is one of the runic symbols signifying changes in life and travel. For me, the new music project meant a lot of changes in my musical approach in the studio. I expected it to give me a lot of fun and travel, so everything was in line here. I can say that it was more the runic sign that chose me, not the other way around 😉
What scene did you come up through in Poland? What parties, what sounds, what labels excited you?
I’ve been on the Polish scene for almost 20 years, so I am a living witness to all its changes over the years. We now have a very strong scene with many amazing shows with many international artists visiting regularly. There is a lot going on in our country in terms of events / festivals, but if we look at our scene in terms of local booking agencies and artist managements, this is where we still have a lot to improve.
During the summer there are many interesting shows with organic music, which makes me very happy. Festivals such as Summer Contrast, Audioriver, Fest, Wisloujscie or Wibracje are definitely worth visiting.
In my music you can find many tribal elements. This is something that is at my core and has run through most of my musical projects in the past. This is why I feel so comfortable with Sol Selectas Records, there is a lot of music and artists with similar sounds. I also regularly check out labels such as Pipe & Pochet, Lump, A Tribe Called Kotori, Still Von Talent and more.
What styles dominate the polish underground? Does it have its own identity do you think?
By far the dominant genre in our scene is techno, but there are also quite a few events with Melodic House & Techno music. In general, our scene draws most inspiration from the German scene, that is why I expect more local creations in dark disco sounds soon 😉
Tell us about your new EP on Sol Selectas Records – what inspired it? Where and when did you write it and did that matter to you?
I started working on a cover of the song “DJ Rolando – The Knight Of The Jaguar “a long time ago, but at some point it went into a “drawer”. Only last year, after a busy summer season and the birth of my daughter, I accidentally came across a folder with this song. I played it and immediately felt the need to finish it. I then called T.Etno and asked him to add new elements or melodies and together we put it together. So you could say that I was first inspired by the classic made by DJ Rolando, while the later inspiration came from the kids 😉 I wrote the other songs on my own.
What bit of gear or software defines your sound do you think? Are you bothered about what you use?
Of course it’s important what you use because it also defines the quality of your sound. I often use Omnisphere, plug-ins from the Native Instruments, U-he, Moog, Arturia or Waves families. Ethnic elements are often the responsibility of my colleague T.Etno, who has more than 300 rare ethnic instruments from different parts of the world in his collection.
You bring ethnic elements to your music – is there a culturally sensitive responsibility that comes with that as a white producer?
There isn’t. I’m completely open to different sounds from different cultures. Of course, I try to mix them with taste.
How do you judge the success of your music? What makes you realise you have made a good tune?
I judge the success of my music by the smiles on faces or raised hands in people on the dance floor. That’s the best sense of fulfillment and success. It’s also a gauge of whether a piece is good. Another is the fact that it is played by many well-known artists and gets on many playlists. I hope this will also be the case with my upcoming releases 😉
Raidho’s “Jaguar Dance” EP is out now
Grab it here
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