Interview: Arrosa
Arrosa is a German-born, Turkish DJ and producer based in London. She is the founder of The Hiddens Records and founded her own event series ‘’ Necropolis’’ which happens at an old church from 1563.
Although she is new in the scene, she already accomplished to play some of the most established clubs in London such as the Ministry of Sound and EGG London and had a residency in Ibiza. She is interested in a variety of genres and plays different styles depends on her mood. Her sound is ranging moods from 90s old school techno tracks to acid, dark disco, EBM, industrial, and electro.
TF: Can you introduce yourself a little bit ? How did you came to electronic music?
AR: I was 19 when I went to my first techno party. I’ve always wanted to learn DJing and producing music since then. But I wasn’t involved with music till 2018.
At the end of 2018, when I was studying in the Netherlands, one of my friends had a studio and he thought me some primary stuff about producing, and I slowly started to learn using Ableton by myself. In 2019, I went to a DJ school called London Sound Academy and I played my first gig at the Ministry of Sound Club.
TF: What was your first musical memory?
AR: The first musical memory that I can remember is dancing to Tchaikovsky’s compositions. I used to do ballet between the ages of 5-8 and classical music was the first sound I remember in my childhood.
TF: What are some artists (past or present), Whose work really excites you?
AR: I am a big fan of Ancient Methods and Sarin. Crystal Geometry, Zoe Zanias, Itako, and Unconscious’ work really excites me as well.
TF: How did the move from Germany to London influence your sound? How does the change in place affect you in general?
AR: I was born in Germany but I raised in Turkey. When I was 19, I moved to London.
When I was 20, I moved to Los Angeles for studying Business Administration.
After that, I studied in the Netherlands for a while, then I went back to London. Living in different countries gave me a chance to meet people from diverse backgrounds and a better inside to the wider world. I really don’t like staying stable somewhere. Somehow, I always need to move from place to place.
I’d describe my sound more as dark techno and more hypnotic when I used to live in the Netherlands. When I went back to London, I got more industrial techno influences and I started to like playing and producing harder, faster, and even darker tracks. And I think, visiting Germany from time to time, gave me my EBM roots.
TF: Your label, The Hiddens Records, is now built on a strong catalogue with very intriguing releases. What was the initial project ? Can you tell us more about what to expect on the imprint?
AR: The project first started as a podcast series in 2019. In 2020, I started to organize some small events under the name ‘’ The Hiddens’’ in London. I was planning to organize an event at Temple Club in Istanbul as well but it canceled because of Covid-19. As I had extra time, I turned this project into a label at the end of March in 2020.
The reason why I created this label is to share my music taste with everyone. Therefore, I mostly invite artists with who I’m impressed by their work to join my label. I still listen to demos that I receive, but I mostly prefer working with the artists that I know and that I’m a fan of or friends of mine.
The Hiddens’ sound is focusing on dark techno, dark disco, EBM, wave, and industrial sounds. At the moment, I’m releasing mostly EBM and industrial techno tracks but I’d like to make more dark disco or darkwave releases on my label in the future.
"III - Curse" is a great compilation, Why did you choose that group of producers? For any specific reason? Was it difficult to coordinate this release?
All the artists on the compilation affected me with their productions before and I thought their sounds are a perfect fit for the label.
It wasn’t so difficult to coordinate it. I’d say, the hardest part was reaching to the artists. It was also a bit short notice because I started the project late but wanted to release it special for Halloween so the deadline was close. But luckily everything worked out well.
TF: What new hardwares did you apply to make new album? Do you have a particular method while working in the studio?
AR: I actually made the track “The Call of Nine “at the last minute and used only Ableton while creating it. I was working on another track but I wasn’t so happy with my vocals so I started a backup track and ended up liking this one more.
I have a small studio that I’m slowly getting growing. I have a Focusrite audio interface and Yamaha HS7 speakers. I recently got Behringer TD-3 Analog Bass Line Synthesizer and I have a microphone to record my vocals. I’m not so confident about using my vocals on my tracks yet but I’m currently practicing.
I usually work on my bed to feel comfier haha. First, I work with my headphones and later continue to work at my small studio when I have complete half of the track. I double-check and test the sound both with my speakers and my headphones.
TF: What are you working on now? What ideas or plans do you have for your future work? Could you elaborate on this?
AR: I’m working on a new compilation for my label’s 1st anniversary at the moment. It is again a cassette EBM & industrial techno release with 14 artists and I'll release another track of mine in this new V/A.
I’m also in the process of creating a new magazine “ROTH’’ where I’ll share the latest electronic music news, events, recommendations, and interviews with artists.
I'd like to release my first album on vinyl with some remixes from the artists that I admire on my birthday day, as a birthday present to myself.
TF: How do you compose your tracks? Can you tell us about the track that you premiere with us? Do you treat them like musical narratives or more like sound sculptures o images?
AR: It really depends on my mood. I mostly like to use the sampling technique. I get sounds from movies, vocals or if I hear anything interesting, I just sample it and play with it on Ableton. It can be from a nature walk, visiting a church or from anything just I think that can be useful.
For this track, I sampled Scarlett Johansson’s voice as a vocal from Under the Skin movie and I also sampled the rain voice. First I arranged the tempo to 134 bpm, then I created a heavy kick and snare. Later, I created the bassline, added hi-hats, rides, and stuff.
Release date: December 13th, 2020.
Format: Tape + Digital.
Buy link, here.